Lia felt offended.
She gritted her teeth and said, "If you're unwilling, then don't come, Young Lady will find another Healer!"
After hearing Lia's words, Lin Da felt a complete chill in his heart, yet he also felt relieved.
Perhaps he had always been waiting for an opportunity like this, to give himself a reason to leave this suffocating place with perfect justification.
"What are you dazing off for? Remember to gather on time tomorrow, otherwise Young Lady will really find another Healer!"
Lia said irritably, then yawned, ready to return to her bedroom to rest.
"I'm leaving the team."
Lin Da suddenly declared.
"What?"
Lia's hand, reaching for the doorknob, froze.
She seemed to have completely not anticipated this turn of events.
A look of astonishment flickered in the girl's ruby-like large eyes, as if she couldn't comprehend what Lin Da was saying.
Lin Da stood up, towering over Lia, who was more than a head shorter, still with her mouth open and a somewhat vacant expression.
"There's no need to wait until tomorrow, you can now contact that Healer named Phyllis to join the Snow Goose Adventure Team."
Having said that, he grabbed a brown jacket, put it on, and headed for the door.
"Stop right there!"
As Lin Da stepped toward leaving the room, a piercing voice came from behind.
One could tell that Lia was shaken; otherwise, her voice wouldn't have sounded as shrill as a chicken being stepped on the neck.
Expecting to hear some words of retention, Lin Da paused his steps.
But what followed was a barrage of the girl's complaints and incomprehension.
"All I asked was for you to wake up a bit earlier tomorrow and go to the ninth floor together, and now you want to leave the team? Is it necessary?"
Lia's face turned red with anger, her chest heaving violently.
She really wished she could rush over and give Lin Da a harsh kick, then grab his ear and ask loudly once more: Do you even know what you're talking about?
The Snow Goose Adventure Team was initially established by three people, one of them being Lin Da. Lia had considered the possibility of anyone leaving the team, but she had never thought that Lin Da would be the one.
After all, even the name of the adventure team was something she came up with alongside Lin Da; how could anyone abandon their own team and choose to leave?
Lia took a deep breath, clenched her fists tightly, and with a voice that was cold and slow yet extremely firm, she said, "Lin Da, if you dare leave, don't ever come back."
"Mhm."
Lin Da nodded.
This casual 'mhm' made Lia's expression even uglier.
She said, "Young Lady will definitely recruit that Phyllis into the team by tomorrow."
"Whatever."
"There will be no place for you, you know?"
"Mhm."
Lin Da didn't bother with Lia, who stood with a foolish expression like a pillar in his own room.
If it had been Lia from three years earlier showing this kind of expression, Lin Da would have offered a few words of comfort, but now, he found he had neither the sentiment nor the inclination to do so; it was as though he was looking at a stranger, feeling completely indifferent.
Lin Da thought with self-mockery, he should never have accepted Lia's invitation to create the Snow Goose Adventure Team from the start.
Comrades for three years, and in the end, it amounted to nothing.
Thud, thud.
The sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed around the spacious villa, seeming somewhat cold and lonely.
Lin Da entered the living room.
"It's late at night, stop playing and go to bed."
"Still reading at this hour? It's bad for your skin."
As he passed through the living room, he noticed the other two Young Ladies of the team hadn't gone to sleep yet.
The former was a mature and seductive-looking Mage Miss from the Holy Light Church, Aiko, lounging on the sofa in a white dress that hugged her breathtaking curves, lazily flipping through a fashion magazine with the latest summer releases,
The latter was the undersized little tyke, Klrona, with pink twin tails, serving as a Heavy Armored Warrior, and playing Whack-a-Mole with a fiercely competitive expression on her face.
Lin Da had a rather good relationship with these two Young Ladies, certainly much better than with Bilya.
"So late, where are you going?" Aiko laid down her magazine and looked quizzically at Lin Da, tilting her head.
Klrona, on the other hand, acted as if Lin Da didn't exist, wishing he wouldn't come back for the night. A new board game had recently come out in the shops, and she planned to play all night long; Lin Da being home would definitely have something to say about it.
"Nothing much, just going out for a walk."
Lin Da smiled softly, not planning on telling the two about his resignation from the team.
He was really afraid they might show a sign of happiness, just Lia alone was enough to chill his heart.
"Oh, come back early," Aiko said, sensing something was a bit off in his expression, but didn't think much of it.
Both of them, including Klrona who was thoroughly enjoying her game of Whack-a-Mole, were unaware that this was Lin Da's last day with the Snow Goose Adventure Team.
Lin Da walked out of the villa and blended into the dark night outside.
This villa was located in a luxury community in White Dove City, with wide and clean roads, and the deep night of summer was very quiet, with only scarce chirping of insects to be heard.
It was unlike the small shabby house they first rented in Sparrow District, where drunk adventurers often caused trouble nearby, creating a messy scene.
After three years of hard work, Lin Da and the others had bought this large villa in the pricey Inner City District, occupying nearly three hundred square meters of land.
The Snow Goose Adventure Team was wealthy and had gained enough fame to be known as a prominent team in White Dove City.
But Lin Da was becoming increasingly suffocated, having to face Lia's questioning every day.
'When will you be able to come up with the strategy?'
'I'm level 23 now, what about you?'
'There's no level 15 Healer in the first-class adventure teams in White Dove City, you know?'
And so on...
Before the team became famous, Lia was not like this.
Lin Da sighed.
Lia used to be down-to-earth and earnest, always full of energy and, because she was pretty, he was willing to create the Snow Goose Adventure Team with her.
But now, all Lia thought about was how to conquer the next level of the Mystic Realm, overtaking those established adventure teams and pressing them underfoot.
Lia, wielding a small whip, was crazily squeezing Lin Da like a donkey spinning a mill, never satisfied with his extensive late-night efforts, always thinking he was slacking, not working hard enough.
He was tired, and that was why he could only leave.
Lin Da put his hands in his pockets and looked lonesomely toward the north,
at that towering, verdant tree which still twinkled with magic light even in the darkness of night.
The World Tree Secret Realm.
Just like the game he had played in his previous life.
Inside the World Tree, there were fifty layers of Mystic Realms, each with different Secret Realm Guardians. Defeat these bosses and you would receive the rewards of the World Tree Goddess.
Various equipment, Skill Books, Gold Coins, Magic Potions... the rewards became richer the higher one went.
Like when the Snow Goose Adventure Team had recently conquered the eighth layer; the bounty from that venture was worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins, enough for an ordinary person to work from the Ancient Times until today.