After venting without caring about her image, Lin Nan found that aside from her aloofness value dropping to the minimum, nothing else seemed to have been triggered.
She couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.

What she didn’t know was that she hadn’t just been in the game for over eight hours—her physical body had already completely disappeared inside the gaming pod for more than a month.

At the moment, aside from the Dark Feather Crane obediently crouching beside her, there was no one around. Yet she had no interest in further exploring her new body and only tested it briefly.

She also clearly realized something: the game’s degree of freedom was incredibly high. It seemed that no matter what she did to herself, it was allowed. Logically speaking, the game should have prohibited any intimate actions below the neck, but even when she had just reached into the so-called “absolute territory,” the system had not issued any warning.

What exactly was going on?

Just as she was utterly baffled and growing increasingly irritated, the system finally appeared, unfolding a dialogue interface in front of her.

“Dear player, we sincerely apologize. Due to a data error during character creation, your character entered a collapsed state. After emergency repairs by our engineers, your character has now been restored.”

“Restored? I appreciate you switching me to a female character, but why can’t I log out of the game? And can my wish to join a righteous cultivation faction be fulfilled? I don’t want to be a villain who’s hunted every day!”

Since the system was finally responding properly, Lin Nan immediately voiced her demands.

System: “We regret to inform you that your character has been permanently bound to your account and cannot be changed. To compensate for your losses, the system has arranged a dual identity for you—as both a player and an NPC. You may accept system missions and enjoy gameplay as a player, or live freely as an NPC. The two roles do not conflict and can operate simultaneously.”

Lin Nan froze. “Both a player and an NPC?”

System: “Correct. In other words, we have created a secondary account for you. You may freely switch between your main account and your alt account.”

Lin Nan immediately became excited. “That actually sounds great. But what happens to my main account when I’m controlling the alt?”

“You may entrust it to system management. It can act according to preset behavior patterns, or remain idle in a safe location. The choice is yours.”

“That sounds nice… wait a second, don’t try to dodge the issue. Why can’t I log out of the game?” Lin Nan asked anxiously. “The gaming pod can only sustain life for twenty-four hours. Beyond that, my body could die from dehydration or starvation!”

System: “I can guarantee only one thing: as long as your main account—the Cold Moon Witch—does not die in the game, you will remain safe. The alt account functions like a normal player character. You may play it freely, and its death carries no consequences.”

“Hey! What does that even mean? Explain it clearly!”

Lin Nan reached out to grab the floating system screen, but in the next instant, the glowing interface vanished, and the surroundings returned to a cold, pitch-black void.

She stood there blankly, suddenly feeling as if she had been abandoned by the entire world.

Did this mean she would never return to reality—never again feel real sunlight or rain?

She squatted down, her eyes suddenly stinging as a powerful urge to cry welled up.

Damn it—did turning into a woman make her emotions this fragile too?

She rubbed her eyes hard, took a deep breath, and forcefully suppressed the urge to break down.

Although the interface now had an option to switch identities, she dared not use it recklessly in this gloomy forest.

The system had made it very clear: the main account’s life was her lifeline. If this body died, everything would end—even her existence in the game world.

“Let’s go.”

Lin Nan leapt onto the broad back of the Dark Feather Crane.

Under the cold moonlight, a black silhouette streaked across the sky, flying away from Qianniao City.

She didn’t know where she was going, but anywhere farther from Qianniao City was better. A single inner-sect disciple had already forced her to use all her strength—if the city’s elites were mobilized, her fate would be sealed.

For now, finding a place to settle down came first.

The wind howled throughout the night.

As pale dawn light appeared on the horizon, the Dark Feather Crane was nearly exhausted.

Lin Nan gently stroked its soft back.

She hadn’t expected that her first true companion in the game world would be an immortal beast taken from the enemy’s side.

When she spotted countless lakes scattered below like stars, she immediately felt the scenery was suitable for hiding and seclusion. With the crane already at its limit, they descended together, like immortals drifting down from the heavens.

Looking at the glowing lakes amid the forest, Lin Nan felt refreshed.

The night-long escape had not been in vain. This place was likely over a thousand kilometers from Qianniao City—finding her here wouldn’t be easy.

Very well. She would rest here for now.

At that moment, the Dark Feather Crane suddenly dove into a nearby lake. In an instant, it emerged with several large fish in its beak, lifting its head and swallowing them happily.

Lin Nan watched the fishing display intently, completely unaware of two catfish monsters emerging from the grass, each holding a wooden club.

“Hey! Human woman! When you see Lord Little Drill Wind, why don’t you kneel at once?!”

The other catfish monster sneered, “If you know what’s good for you, Little Drill Wind’s big brother—Old Drill Wind, that is—might even spare your life!”

Monsters?

Lin Nan’s gaze shifted to them.

These two catfish monsters had only recently gained intelligence. Their heads were nearly identical to actual catfish, though their limbs resembled human ones, complete with webbing between their fingers.

They wore nothing but a crude straw mat covering their private parts. Their small eyes stared greedily at Lin Nan.

Lin Nan glanced at them briefly, then turned her head away, clearly uninterested.

“Aloofness value +10.”

Of course—she couldn’t forget to restore her aloofness above 100. Otherwise, her passive talent wouldn’t activate.

After defeating Gongsun Ding, she had gained 4,000 experience points and reached level 8.

But that level was far from enough to fight stronger enemies. Her passive talent had to stay active to continuously generate experience.

Seeing that the woman in black completely ignored them, the two catfish monsters flew into a rage.

Just as they were about to charge forward, a massive black shadow suddenly descended from the sky. Sharp talons tore a deep trench into the ground at their feet.

The two monsters were so terrified they nearly lost control of their bladders.

“Damn it! Where did this bird monster come from? Old Drill Wind, why didn’t you see it earlier?”
“And you’re blaming me? You didn’t see it either!”

Their eyesight was poor—anything beyond a certain distance was a blind spot. While sneaking toward Lin Nan, they hadn’t noticed the Dark Feather Crane fishing in the distance.

In the next second, both catfish monsters were pinned beneath the crane’s claws, completely immobilized.

Their levels were clearly low. Against a level-50 Dark Feather Crane, they had no chance.

Lin Nan looked down at them coldly. “Where are you monsters from?”

Little Drill Wind stiffened his neck. “I, Little Drill Wind, will never submit to your tyrannical oppression! I won’t say a word!”

Old Drill Wind added, “That’s right! Our king is a famous demon lord. If you dare touch us, you’ll die horribly!”

Lin Nan replied flatly, “Kill them.”

“Aloofness value +10.”

The Dark Feather Crane spread its wings, grabbed one monster in each claw, and soared into the sky—clearly preparing to drop them.

The two monsters screamed in terror.

They were aquatic creatures—how could they withstand such heights?

“Help! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
“I know more than him! I’m Old Drill Wind! Save me!”

Lin Nan had originally intended to kill them to avoid exposing herself, but then she reconsidered. If these monsters already had a lair, it would save her the trouble of building one.

After all, settling down in an unfamiliar place wasn’t easy.

“Put them down,” Lin Nan ordered.

The Dark Feather Crane released them from several meters above the ground. The two monsters crashed down, dizzy and bleeding, unable to recover for a long while.

Seeing Lin Nan’s cold, lofty demeanor, they finally realized they had offended someone far beyond their level.

Little Drill Wind hurriedly crawled forward, slapped himself hard across the face, and said, “I was blind and foolish. I failed to recognize your greatness.”

Old Drill Wind tried to imitate him and slapped himself twice—but used too much force and knocked himself unconscious.

Lin Nan almost laughed, but her expression remained icy.

“My lady, we come from Cold Wind Cave, about five kilometers from here. Our king is known as the Cold Wind Old Demon. There are over a hundred monsters in the cave. I advise you to leave now. Our king is no ordinary demon—if you go, I promise we won’t say a word.”

“No need,” Lin Nan said coldly. “Lead the way. Take me to Cold Wind Cave.”

Little Drill Wind froze, unable to believe his ears.

Then delight surged through him. He slapped Old Drill Wind awake several times.
“Get up! We’re taking the lady back to Cold Wind Cave.”