Chapter 20: Troublesome People

On the way back, Maria’s oil lamp developed a glitch. Despite half a day of using all sorts of misunderstood tricks to fiddle with its nozzle, she couldn't get a single "I'm fixed" in response.

It looked like she’d have to take it apart for repairs once they got back.

Sonia couldn't help but mock her: "Is this the kind of item you get from a system lottery? How ridiculous!"

It was indeed quite ridiculous, and Melina felt the same. But Mei-Mei didn’t say it out loud. She knew one simple truth: *In this world, who can tell the truth without incurring the wrath of the gods?*

Sonia once again nudged the noble elbow of the Daughter of the System with her own lowly ribs, attempting to let out a shrill, desperate scream to capture the attention of the referee, Mei-Mei. But Mei-Mei was already asleep, oblivious to everything. Mei-Mei was sleepy.

Climbing up the valley was a trivial matter for explorers. However, what both explorers found hard to accept was that Melina, a non-explorer, climbed faster and more gracefully than both of them. If she was an elegant ghost girl in a black dress drifting along, then the two seniors were just hulking brutes in plate armor smashing their way through.

On the road, they encountered a Helltooth Dragon—a cool name for what was essentially just a low-level reskinned giant wolf.

Facing an opponent that wasn't up to par, Sonia finally showed her true colors. Support, offense, suppression, and even a bit of frontline tanking—the influence she exerted was incredibly, impossibly versatile. Maria’s aim with her gun had also improved; with better aim came more confidence. Without needing Melina to intervene, the two of them finished off the Helltooth Dragon and pried out the only valuable thing on its body: the Helltooth (not to be confused with the Fang Over Fang technique).

"It won't fetch much, but it's something," Old Maria said, serving up a slice of quintessential "nonsense literature."

"Because it’s worthless, it’s worth a little bit," Sonia echoed.

There seemed to be some inside joke hidden in their dialogue, and they burst into laughter together. Then, Old Maria pressed a hand to her knee and shuddered. "Does it feel cold to you?"

Melina pulled back her gaze, suddenly remembering that, to Senior Sonia, Maria was actually a pretty good senior. Plus, they had a common language.

Mei-Mei twirled her umbrella.

...

The downpour came suddenly. The scorching heat of the day was quickly replaced by warm rain that pelted down upon them.

Rat-men scurried about, shrieking to escape the rain. The clockwork cat-balls, however, didn't mind at all; they strolled through the rain with their heads held high, the gears on their backs spinning rapidly.

A local courier service employee left a large box—made of dragon scales stripped of their magical essence—at the front gate of Hamlet Manor. After ringing the notification bell, he left with his umbrella.

...

*Ding-dong—ding-dong.*

*Sizzle, sizzle—* The harsh sound of grinding stopped. Maria, who had changed into casual clothes and a work apron, pulled up her mask and forcefully opened the soundproof magic curtain, shouting into the living room:

"Suo-suo, get the package!"

Sonia was busy writing a letter and sketching on a map. She wore a casual dress and a pair of glasses embedded with magic that displayed split-screen data. Hearing the noise, she didn't even look up: "Little Mei, get the package!"

Melina, sitting barefoot on the sofa, rolled her eyes. She was practicing magic-factor gun control; she had decided to commit to the musket route. Her earlier anger made her doubt whether it had been too rash to become a professional player just because she was annoyed, but later, Maria’s transformation into "Horse-Maria" and Sonia’s into "Lock-Sonia"—the Horse-Lock combo—had successfully driven her mad.

Another reason was that muskets were cost-effective, requiring upgrades only every two to three levels, and the ammunition was cheap. The characteristics of the musket came with downsides: cumbersome reloading, high consumption of magical essence, and insufficient sustained output.

But for Melina, these were all good things.

She grabbed a towel, slipped into her slippers while still barefoot, and picked up her umbrella.

Seeing her do this, Senior Sonia said happily, "Thanks for the hard work, Little Mei."

Melina hummed and walked out with her umbrella, wearing that signature melancholic, "sexually cold" face.

Sonia watched her retreating back. Her bare calves were incredibly fair, almost reflecting light in the dim environment. In terms of physique, it was no surprise that her junior had so many followers. But in the first playthrough, such a beautiful junior had ended up in a wheelchair due to a series of unfortunate events, and those healthy, fleshy thighs had eventually withered away.

At the same time, Sonia gave a small cheer in her heart.

Little Mei choosing a ranged weapon was a very good direction. Based on her past-life combat style—where she didn't treat