"One of her would have been enough! But all her personalities had to come out—how am I even supposed to tell which Vill-V this is in the photo?!"
"Might as well just randomly name one of them..."
Then, counting on his fingers, he muttered, "Aside from 'Kevin' and 'Pardo', the left ones are 'Aponia,' and 'Kalpas' These two are going to be tricky..."
"Help, help—!"
"Is anyone there—! Please save me—!"
------------------------
Hearing the cries for help from afar, Can that had been quietly lying on Fu Lin's head sat up and, after confirming the direction, darted out.
Fu Lin put away the wine glass and ran toward the cries with Can, "Wait for me... Can."
Meanwhile, after dealing with the last monster, Mei looked seriously in the direction of the sound, "That's Pardo's voice?"
"She ran into a monster? Wait for me, Fu Lin!"
...
"Wow—! Help—help me!"
"Meow~"
"Can? And Sister Hua? Sister Hua! Quick, save me!" Seeing Pardo stuck in a treasure chest, struggling desperately, Fu Lin silently took out a camera and walked over to Pardo.
Seeing the camera in Fu Lin's hand, Pardo's face immediately changed, and she quickly waved her hands, "Wait, Sister Hua! What are you doing? No, please!"
After rescuing Pardo from the treasure chest, Fu Lin looked at the photos in the album, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to Pardo.
Pardo, now utterly devastated, knelt on the ground, her eyes gradually losing their shine as she muttered, "It's over. My black history has been recorded by Sister Hua."
"If Sister Elysia sees this, she will definitely spread it around. Then everyone will know I got stuck in a treasure chest..."
Can patted Pardo with its paw and shook its head helplessly, "Meow~"
Mei, arriving late, looked at Pardo kneeling on the ground and then at Fu Lin fiddling with the camera. She spoke up, "Pardo, what just happened? Are you okay now?"
Hearing Mei's voice, Pardo immediately acted as if nothing had happened, stood up, and patted her chest, "Sister Mei? Ahem! Nothing happened just now."
"It's great to run into you here!"
Mei walked over to Fu Lin and glanced at the camera, seeing the picture of Pardo trapped in the treasure chest. Raising an eyebrow, she teased, "Oh~ is that so?"
"Then why are you stuck in the treasure chest in this photo?"
Pardo scratched her head, then put her hands on her hips, straightened her back, and confidently declared, "Well... isn't opening treasure chests every adventurer's duty? And after opening them, isn't it only natural to go inside and check carefully?"
Mei nodded with a look of understanding, "Hmm. That does fit your style perfectly... Curiosity killed the cat. I'll remember that."
Fu Lin put away the camera, walked to Mei's side, and joked, "Though curiosity killed the cat, cats have nine lives, Mei."
Mei froze for a moment. She had always thought that was just a saying, but hearing it from Fu Lin, she couldn't help but start believing it.
"Sister Hua, how could cats have nine lives? That's just a myth, right, Sister Mei...?" Pardo trailed off as she saw Mei's serious expression and took a step back, afraid that Mei might suddenly test the theory on her.
Mei spoke with certainty, "No, I believe it's true." Fu Lin next to me is proof.
Pardo hesitated, then pointed to the treasure chest beside them, "Uh... Sister Mei, whether it's true or not, let's drop this topic! How about we check what's inside this treasure chest first?"
Fu Lin handed the card in her hand to Mei and said, "No need to check. I already looked when I pulled you out—just a card."
Pardo was speechless, scratching her cheek with a confused expression, "Uh... Sister Hua, since just now, why do I feel like you've changed? You seem different, almost unrecognizable. And... are those cat ears on your head?"
Fu Lin lowered her head, revealing a mischievous smile, and murmured softly, "Oh... what a pity~ I thought you wouldn't recognize me~"
Pardo, her fur standing on end, hid behind Mei and stammered while looking at Fu Lin's strange state, "S-Sister Mei! Sister Hua... doesn't seem right!"
"Pardo, just as you said, I'm not the Hua you know... Actually, I am a vengeful ghost from the abyss!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Lin slowly raised his head, his bright blue eyes staring straight at Pardo, then performed a 90-degree head tilt.
Tingyun 90-Degree HeadTilt.jpg
"T-T-T-There's a ghost, Sister Mei!"
"Aaah~! I'm scared to death..."
Pardo's legs trembled as she watched Fu Lin slowly approach. Without another word, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. Mei reacted quickly, catching her and gently laying her on the ground.
Lying on the ground, Pardo slightly opened one eye to check the situation, then quickly shut it again, silently chanting in her mind, "I'm already dead, don't eat me! I'm already dead, don't eat me!"