The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

In the dark, empty dungeon, Lihua lost track of time.

She really didn't know how long it had been. She had been bored for less than half an hour in the empty cell and she was already about to explode.

Looking at her 2.7 million energy points, which had now dwindled to 200,000, Lihua first felt heartache, and then she simply gave up. She took out 50,000 points and exchanged for a game module from the System.

From now on, whenever and wherever she was, she could enter the game space in her soul and play any game from the past and present.

It was probably the broken window effect. She couldn't bear to spend any of her hard-earned energy, but when a large chunk was spent because of unavoidable circumstances, she didn't feel any pressure spending more.

After exchanging for the game module, Lihua laid down on the straw. She submerged most of her consciousness into the game, ignoring the outside world.

She had originally planned to kill herself, but since death was inevitable, she might as well play some games to pass the time. Especially since she had exchanged for Rapid Recovery, she could go without food or water for a few days. She could play to her heart's content.

Besides, the fully immersive games were pretty good.

But while Lihua was playing games calmly, someone outside was anxious.

"She still hasn't eaten anything?"

Looking at the servant who had come to report, Otto's eyes were so sharp that the man's legs trembled and he knelt on the ground. "Y-yes, Lord Otto, Miss Lihua is still lying on the straw with her back to the bars…"

"She hasn't touched any of the food I sent her, and she's not responding. She's just been lying there, not moving."

Otto stood in place, deep in thought. Finally, he glanced at the trembling servant and waved his hand impatiently. "Go back."

The servant left, relieved, but Otto's mood didn't improve.

It had been three days. Lihua hadn't eaten anything for three days. At first, she had tried to talk to the servants, but after failing twice, she went silent.

Otto knew that Lihua was angry. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so quiet.

She was probably waiting. Waiting for him or Kallen to come to her and explain.

Otto was furious whenever he thought about the frail Lihua suffering. But another emotion stopped him from rushing to her.

He was afraid.

Otto was afraid of seeing Lihua's disappointment, afraid of Lihua asking him why he had hurt her, and afraid that Lihua would leave him.

But…

After much thought, Otto finally made a decision.

"Ugh, this is too hard…"

In the dungeon, Lihua exited the game and sat up on the straw, stretching her stiff limbs.

She didn't know how much time had passed in the real world, but she had spent at least six months becoming a Pokémon Master in the game.

In the game, she had caught many Pokémon and traveled with her companions. After becoming champion, she had entered the Champion League.

But she had been swept away by a green ape in her first match.

After finally managing to win the revival match, she was then beaten by a Pikachu with a hat using G-Max moves.

No matter what she did, the enemies were always invincible. Meanwhile, her Pokémon would die easily. She wanted to ask them if their Pokémon were even legal.

After losing dozens of times in a row, Lihua finally gave up and quit the game.

She wasn't fit to be a Pokémon Master. She should just hurry up and die in the Honkai world and have a peaceful life.

But as soon as she quit the game, she was shocked by a system notification that popped up.

She had earned a lot of energy while she was unconscious. It was enough to make up for the energy she had used for the game module, with some left over!

What was happening? Was someone worried about her? Or did someone hate her?

"Lihua, I'm sorry..." A slightly guilty voice came from behind her. Lihua turned her head and saw Otto standing outside the bars.

Otto looked at Lihua, who seemed to have lost a bit of weight. His heart ached. Lihua was always so optimistic. She never showed weakness in front of others. But just now, when he entered the dungeon, he had heard her sigh with frustration and resentment.

This is too hard...

Ah, that's true. Her two closest friends had betrayed her and chosen to side with Schicksal. This must be an unprecedented blow for Lihua.

"Otto..."

Lihua sighed as she looked at the silent Otto outside the cell. Though she knew it was probably pointless, she'd still try. "If I ask you to stop, would you listen?"

"Of course, Lihua, but not right now..."

Heh, I knew it.

"Then just do as you wish…" Lihua sighed. "How is that kid?"

"I sent her home." Otto answered bitterly as he watched Lihua droop her head in disappointment, "Because you wanted to save her, right?"

"Oh, then thank you."

"..."

"..."

The unspoken silence lingered in the air.

Otto could open the cell door whenever he wanted, but he felt like an invisible wall had grown between him and Lihua.

It made him uneasy. Otto knew that he had to do something, or Lihua might slip away from him.

"Lihua, you've become so strong. You could actually put up a fight against Kallen Kaslana… That move you used to defeat her, was that the Red Immortal's move?" Otto said, forcing a smile and trying to find a topic to talk about.

"…I wanted to help you, so I trained myself secretly. I copied the move when I saw the Red Immortal fight Kallen."

Lihua said, not even batting an eye. "And I have you to thank for that, Otto. After being cured by you from the Black Death, my body seems to have become much stronger."

"Is that so…" Otto believed her. It was common for those infected by Honkai to become more resistant to it.

He didn't know that Lihua had secretly trained so hard to help them. It made him…

Thinking about that, and seeing Lihua's dejected face, Otto grew more anxious. "Lihua, everything I do, is for you!"

"For me?"

Lihua looked at Otto, who was so sincere, and just wanted to laugh.

A maniac who loved Kallen for 500 years, what would he do for me?

He was the one who tied her up and knocked her out…

He was probably just trying to get her to like him so that he could use her as an excuse for his dirty deeds in front of Kallen.

But now, that Kallen had been infected by him too, what was the point of all of this?

He used to be such a cute kid. How did he become like this? Lihua thought of little blonde Otto who always followed her around and sighed. It must have been the timeline converging on itself…

She looked at Otto's panel in the System. His favorability was still level 10.

But now Lihua didn't believe it. She had thought that level 10 meant they had a close relationship, but it probably just meant that 10 was the highest level the System offered.

Otherwise, Kallen and Otto wouldn't have acted like this. Tsk, the Hedgehog Novel System really is useless!