Flender stayed near the hotel.
His intuition was screaming at him—the purple-haired woman was still inside. The longer he lingered, the more certain he became. The receptionist, the manager, even the owner… all of them were still tense, stiff, as if they were hiding someone or waiting for an order.
Flender smiled faintly.
Yes. She was still here.
One hour passed.
He continued observing, scanning every movement, every fluctuation of soul power.
Thirty more minutes passed.
Still, he didn't leave.
Then—he smiled wider.
His intuition had been right.
A woman with purple hair emerged from the VIP passage.
Flender's eyes sharpened as he analyzed her. Her dark purple irises were empty, devoid of emotion, completely uninterested in the world around her. That alone made her unsettling.
Her skin… he had seen that kind of pallor before—among high-level cultivators or those who had undergone extreme changes. That part didn't surprise him.
What truly caught his attention was this:
He felt nothing.
No soul power fluctuation.
No intent.
No pressure.
Nothing at all.
That left only two possibilities—either she wasn't a cultivator, or she was deliberately hiding everything.
Flender didn't even hesitate in his judgment.
Definitely the latter.
Those calm strides, that empty gaze… Flender knew immediately—this woman was the real deal.
Then he watched her place fifty gold coins on the counter as if they were nothing.
His grin widened.
"Now that," he muttered to himself, "is something I wish I could do… throw money around like trash."
His gaze followed her back as she left the hotel.
Quietly, Flender moved after her.
No sound.
No presence.
Just silent observation and careful calculation.
Then he noticed something odd.
She was walking slowly.
Painfully slowly.
Like a turtle.
Flender narrowed his eyes, curiosity deepening.
♤
Lili walked slowly toward the destined location of that Shrek-ing shit.
He asked the system where Shrek was, and a map immediately popped up in his vision. The system began giving instructions, calm and mechanical, like some fantasy version of Alexa.
Ding—
□ Location
Turn right.
That's really nice of you, Shakky, Lili said silently.
He walked like a sloth, completely unhurried, hands clasped behind his back—the posture of those old Chinese overpowered, wise ancestors who looked like they knew every secret in the world and didn't care enough to explain any of them.
After a few minutes, Lili finally saw it.
The entrance.
Exactly the same as in the show.
A ruined place.
A dilapidated academy.
Vines coiling around cracked stone and rotting wood.
He gave it a single glance… then shrugged.
Then he walked toward the entrance.
No people.
Just rocks, grass, vines, broken wood, and silence.
Lili looked around once more. Still no one.
"Maybe I'm too early," he muttered. "Or the enrollment hasn't started yet… or maybe it got canceled."
He paused, then added flatly, "Whatever."
"I'll take a nap first. I'm kinda tired from all this walking."
He walked over to a large tree, slowly sat down on the grass, and leaned his back against the trunk. The leaves above blocked the sunlight perfectly.
"Nice," he added. "Perfect place to sleep."
Just as Lili was about to close his eyes—
COUGH.
An intentional cough interrupted him.
A man approached, walking with the confidence of someone who owned the place.
Because he did.
Flender.
Flender had been stalking the purple-haired woman from a distance. He watched her slow, lazy pace, saw her heading straight toward Shrek, and his grin widened.
Jackpot.
He saw her stop briefly at the entrance, heard her mutter something under her breath, then watched as she casually went to rest beneath a tree.
Seeing that, Flender knew he had to intervene.
There was only one thought in his mind—
If she sleeps here, who knows when she'll wake up?
He had been studying her the entire time, and within moments he confirmed it:
Uninterested.
Lazy.
Dangerously capable.
If he didn't stop her now—or at least guide her—he might lose a golden opportunity.
And Flender never missed a chance like that.
His unique skill activated.
Money-Sucking Owl: ON.
"COUGH."
Lili heard the cough but didn't care.
Not until he opened his eyes and saw the man approaching.
Ah.
The real third wheel of Douluo Dalu.
The man who couldn't get the girl he loved because his friend and her crush fell in love with each other.
Lili stared at him lazily.
Then he opened his mouth.
In his deep, hoarse voice, he said only two words:
"Friend zone.