A chilling aura coiled around everyone in the room, heavy and oppressive; though it wasn't enough to suffocate them, it gave them a sense of their hearts being clutched by something, a feeling of being on the brink of death.
Pain!
So much pain!
Excavation Princess couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
For the first time, she met an NPC who could prove her brilliant analysis was correct;
For the first time, she built a good relationship with this NPC.
These two pleasant things intertwined, and she should have become even happier, but why had things turned out like this?
Once what happened here got out, even if Lily's settings were later proven to be even more formidable than her post analyzed, she wouldn't need to think about counterattacking or getting revenge; considering going to Gotham to confront Batman would be more fitting for her new identity.
In the dead silence, the first to break it was Lily.
"No answer? Then don't blame me for being ruthless."
She clenched her left hand into a fist, radiating killing intent.
Blocking an iron rod with her arm, catching a blade empty-handed—a series of moves performed without a scratch, no one doubted that this punch could kill Excavation Princess!
At that critical moment, Patrick Star stepped forward.
"Wait a minute!"
This shout directly shattered the invisible pressure, and everyone's gaze, including Lily's, focused on Patrick Star.
A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead, and Patrick Star quickly took two deep breaths.
"This is a misunderstanding—no, it can't exactly be called a misunderstanding; it's mainly that we didn't know the target of this mission was you. If you're willing to listen, I can explain!"
"Is that so?"
Lily didn't give a direct answer, her expression still cold, but she unclenched her fist and let go of Excavation Princess.
She didn't make a move, so there was still a chance?
Patrick Star quickly explained the process of Convert to My Lily accepting the mission.
"That's how it is. If we had known the target was you, we definitely would have come to inform you immediately."
The Calamity Dragon immediately added, "That's right, Sister Lily, if we really wanted to deal with you, we would have done it yesterday; there was no need to wait until now."
As soon as they spoke, the other players, as if grasping at straws, began talking over each other.
"Lily, my feelings for you are witnessed by the sun and moon!"
The great mistake had been made, and they were filled with regret. All they could do now was try to salvage the situation as much as possible, so they wouldn't be completely buried, and perhaps there would be a chance to raise their favorability later.
Just as a group of players were anxiously shouting, Lily suddenly let go of Excavation Princess.
Huh?
Excavation Princess was stunned, and the others were also puzzled, watching as Lily hastily walked up to a player.
"You, if I remember correctly, weren't you choked to death yesterday? Why?"
With that, Lily walked up to Patrick Star.
"And you, although you didn't die, your right hand was severely injured. Why did it recover in just one day? There shouldn't be such advanced medical skills here!"
Surprise, confusion, disbelief.
At this moment, the expressions on Lily's face were so rich that a young idol would exclaim it was impossible.
Seeing her like this, the stone in Patrick Star's heart finally dropped. With a topic, they could continue to communicate normally.
"It's like this, Sister Lily, just as we said yesterday, we don't truly die in this world. See, his coming back to life is clear proof."
Patrick Star pointed a finger.
"Resurrection? How is that possible? Although it can be achieved through methods like necromancy, just by you all… Wait, it seems it's not entirely impossible!"
Lily seemed to suddenly realize something, her pupils sharply contracting.
Her action made the players even more confused, and Convert to My Lily, whose mentality was almost exploding from the setback, also looked up.
What happened?
It was Patrick Star who mustered his courage.
"Is something wrong?"
Lily returned to her poker face mode: "You aren't from Origin Star, are you?"
This question was a bit perplexing, but Patrick Star still subconsciously nodded: "No."
Lily closed her eyes, and it was several seconds before she opened them again.
"It seems that holy word might not be false after all."
The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone in the room.
"What holy word?"
"I once listened to a holy word, and the holy word said: When justice shatters, when crisis appears, the Undead from beyond the mist will, by the will of the supreme, arrive in our homeland. After crossing the boundary of life and death, they will rekindle the flame here."
As she spoke these somewhat chuunibyou lines, the ice on Lily's face finally began to melt, and the anger hidden deep in her eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by suspicion.
At this moment, even Black Tiger Afu, who usually didn't care much about the plot, trembled.
Didn't what Lily say sound exactly like the game's setting?
The Undead must refer to the players.
The game world falls into crisis (developer's setting), so the supreme will (game development company) recruits players to enter the game, and after crossing the boundary of life and death (referring to being abused thousands of times by monsters), they will rekindle the flame for the game world (the game's grand finale).
An NPC who could utter such a setting could never be just an Ordinary member of the Wildfire Gang. Lily must harbor a super, super huge secret!
Listening to the holy word, could she be some kind of saintess?
Patrick Star was utterly shocked.
He quickly turned to look at Excavation Princess.
Perhaps Excavation Princess always guessed wrong before and was criticized for over-interpreting, but this time she really did it!
Yes, she did it!
Excavation Princess was so excited she wanted to rush over and rub against Lily's leg.
The other players were equally excited.
Whether they liked Lily's appearance or were pursuing hidden quests, they all felt like they had struck gold.
Before they could get too excited, Lily poured a basin of cold water over them.
"To be honest, I've always been skeptical of this holy word. I also can't imagine the legendary heroes would come to assassinate me late at night."
Ah, this?
All the players hung their heads in shame.
They were truly despicable to have made such a mistake. How could they atone for it now?
"But this time..." Lily paused, "I'll believe half of it for now. Even heroes have their moments of youthful mistakes."
Huh?
This time, it was the players' turn to look up, staring at Lily with incredulous eyes.
They never expected Lily's attitude towards them to take such an unexpected turn.
What surprised them even more was that Lily walked up to Excavation Princess and unhurriedly helped Excavation Princess straighten her clothes, which she had disarranged earlier.
She's so gentle!
Compared to her, Black Tiger Afu, who only thought about leveling up, felt a bit embarrassed, and the other players were even more guilty, feeling they owed Lily too much and didn't know how to repay it.
"And I've thought about it carefully; what you said isn't impossible. Recently, there have indeed been people who see me as a thorn in their side. I originally intended to hide my strength, but it seems somewhat difficult now."
Lily moved her hand away from Excavation Princess.
"Alright, we've caused such a commotion just now; it's hard to guarantee no one will come to check the situation. If they see you, you won't be able to escape. Go now; I'll come find you tomorrow."
Lily gave them an address.
Since she had said so much, Excavation Princess and the others could only comply.
Even as their feet trod on the uneven road, they still felt that what had happened tonight was somewhat unreal.
"The legendary heroes, huh? It seems we must prove ourselves to Lily next."
"How strong do you think Lily's real strength is? When she grabbed Excavation Princess just now, just looking at her made me feel like I was freezing."
"Who knows? I only know that Lily is a very gentle person."
"Don't you think Lily is very cool? That block, that pinch, so cool! This feeling of gentleness and coolness coexisting is just too cool!" Excavation Princess's eyes sparkled.
Convert to My Lily sighed with emotion: "This is Lily. Gentleness is her nature, but she carries a very heavy mission and has no choice but to show her ruthless side to her enemies."
As he spoke, one player said with lingering fear, "It's a good thing Lily's true strength is terrifying, otherwise tonight we would have made a huge mistake, and a crucial plotline might have been broken just like that."
It was fine until he said it, but once he did, the other players' expressions all changed.
Embarrassment turned into guilt, and guilt turned into towering rage.
"Other things can wait; I'm going to find the person who posted that mission and settle the score right now!"
Convert to My Lily clenched his fists.
The other players all expressed their desire to go together.
In the evening breeze, ten players in a state of red rage marched angrily towards the mission drop-off point.
Watching them leave, Lily nodded contentedly.
She was somewhat looking forward to seeing the reaction of the person who wanted to eliminate her when they found out their subordinates had been brutally beaten by players.