[World] BleakAndBitter: "Do it!"

He felt cornered, like a moth pinned on the fifteenth floor of the Divine Demon Tower, nerves sandpapered raw by the wait. If he didn’t break through soon, madness would bloom like nightshade.

[World] BleakAndBitter: "Can we do it first and pay after?" He clenched his coins like frost on glass—he wasn’t blowing a hundred gold for nothing.

[World] Treasure Imp: "Sure. Meet me at the Divine Demon Tower entrance."

Nana Toki didn’t fear a freeloader slipping away like a fish under moonlight. If he dared, she’d cut him down till he respawned back at the starter village, like a fallen leaf sent back to spring.

Five minutes later.

......

[World] BleakAndBitter: "Holy crap! This Treasure Imp’s too cracked—she solo’d two full runs like wind through bamboo. The floor fifteen boss with forty thousand HP just vanished. I even pulled [Dragon-Scale Armor], level sixty-five. That hundred gold was pure profit—blood well-spent!"

[World] I'mAnIdiot: "?"

[World] Lion Simba: "You sure you’re not a dev’s pet?"

[World] I'm Cute Please Give Me Money: "Wow! Treasure Imp, big sis, look at me too—I wanna clear the Divine Demon Tower!"

[World] Treasure Imp: "Come to the Divine Demon Tower entrance. Post-pay supported."

Like clouds parting after rain, the world chat shifted in a heartbeat—from “Damn, why hasn’t Treasure Imp’s bug been fixed?” to “Treasure Imp, big bro, notice me and carry me through the Divine Demon Tower!”

The turn was swift, like a hawk stooping mid-sky.

Truth be told, Nana Toki was the sharpest battle maiden among this batch of Treasure Imps. Forget her outrageous stat sheet—her wit eclipsed every NPC in the game, and her banter flew like sparrows skimming a lake.

Players could only offer two breathless words for how they felt.

Badass.

Exactly that.

They’d gamed for years and never seen an NPC with such cutting intelligence, sharp as a blade’s reflection on water. Some even suspected a human puppeteer behind her, otherwise how could she be this deft?

[World] Treasure Imp: "Boosting the Divine Demon Tower. Max three floors per person. Limited offer."

Nana Toki had planned to strike gold carrying runs, like panning a river at dawn. But the System reminded her it would skew the plane’s plot, so she reined in the flood.

If too many rode her currents through the Divine Demon Tower, story paths would warp like wet paper. So she laid down the rule—three floors only.

That rule felt like a stone in many players’ shoes.

If it’s easy, why not keep carrying?

A few in world chat asked her, rain-tapping-on-tiles persistent.

Nana Toki’s stock answer was simple as mountain air: cheat lightly—don’t strip the game of its native joy.

Then.

A rare sight—the world channel rolled into a wall of [Contemporary Grand Literati], like banners flapping across a city gate.

Even with Nana Toki carrying folks through the Divine Demon Tower, plenty still drooled over the golden legend set shining on her like dawn on armor. Other regions had raised the cap to eighty-five for half a month, while they were still stuck at seventy—ridiculous as a fish on a tree.

So.

On top of guided runs, Nana Toki had to swat down daily swarms of idle players waving “liberate the server” like a tattered flag, trying to farm her for drops—gnats around a lantern.

Ding! System: Congratulations to players [Xianlan Yanyu] and [Yanyu Jiangshan] on becoming this server’s 13,678th married couple.

She’d just flattened one gear-hungry wanderer when the System notice floated over her head like a paper kite. The moment it hit, world chat blew up like summer thunder.

Many wondered how the Protagonist Lord got married out of the blue, and who on earth Yanyu Jiangshan was.

Only Nana Toki stayed calm, a moon on still water; she even carried three more floors of the Divine Demon Tower, neat as a ritual.

Outside the tower, she opened world chat, and a forest of messages filled her vision like reeds.

[World] Men Don't Weep Easily: "Damn, how did the god-tier suddenly get married?"

[World] Rolled Beaded Screen: "Sob sob—my superstar married someone else. My first-love fantasy is over."

[World] Love Poison: "Upstairs, you poisoned? Why’s a male account whining over a god’s marriage?"

[World] Apricot Branch Over the Wall: "Also, who’s this Yanyu Jiangshan? Never heard of her."

[World] Baby Kiss-Kiss: "Yanyu Jiangshan’s just a level-thirty newbie—the girl Treasure Imp stole mobs from in the starter village days ago. Pretty face, sure, no clue how she snagged the god-tier’s attention."

[World] BleakAndBitter: "Tsk~ Pretty’s not prettier than my Treasure Imp, is it?"

Since Nana Toki had carried him through the Divine Demon Tower, BleakAndBitter became her die-hard fan, popping up like a spring underfoot whenever her name was mentioned.

To be fair, Nana Toki’s body in this plane was excellent—her cute face bubbled with charm like sweet foam on tea. Even the Protagonist Lord’s heroine fell a few petals short beside her.

If there were a favor meter, plenty of players would bring tribute like cranes with jade—items to raise her affection. After all, this game even let you marry NPCs, bedchamber and all—vermilion doors under moonlight.

[World] I'm Cute Please Give Me Money: "What do you mean yours? She’s mine!"

......

Beyond BleakAndBitter, Nana Toki’s singular charisma harvested a tidy field of loyal fans, like wheat ripening under sun. Emmm—what kind of charisma, we’ll leave shrouded like mist for now.

In short.

With the Protagonist Lord’s sudden marriage exposed, players dug through the heroine’s profile like foxes in snow. They found zero mechanics—she’d even die multiple times in dungeons with top players carrying her. A pure greenhorn, soft as moss.

Yet this soft, dazed girl had bewitched the god they’d worshipped for ages, like a lantern drawing moths.

Players were stunned, mouths open like clams.

Of course.

As a CP breaker, Nana Toki was curious how the two she’d once made miss each other managed to cross paths again. Was Heaven’s Will nudging threads behind the silk?

She clocked out early, stowed the carries like folding a fan, and went to find the heroine.

Thanks to the System’s notice, one sweep of the low-level raid maps let Nana Toki spot her easily. Unprepared for sudden exposure, Yanyu Jiangshan was running team content in the Western Giant Lizard Forest, when players ringed her three deep, fingers pointing like thorns.

[Nearby] Stir-Fried Chestnuts: "So this is the woman the god-tier chose? Why does she look so dazed, like dew on a leaf?"

[Nearby] Orange Vibes: "And a bit silly, like a duckling."

[Nearby] SoftSoft: "I’m not less cute than this sis—why doesn’t the god-tier notice me? /confused"

[Nearby] NoEmotions: "Maybe the god picked a shield-wife to avoid other women’s harassment—like using a parasol in rain."

The crowd’s chatter splashed like rain, and the heroine at the center blushed crimson, hands fluttering like sparrows, at a loss.

Nana Toki checked the Protagonist Lord’s online status, eyes narrow as a fox. As expected—offline, a shadow behind the bamboo.

She waited. She knew the beats—let the heroine be pushed, then the hero would log in like thunder to avenge.

Low-tier planes had plots predictable as a sundial.

System: "...Host, be a decent person."

Nana Toki lingered at the edge, watching the heroine’s public dissection like a painter studying light. When the moment felt ripe, a distant footstep finally arrived.

Ah—only now does the Protagonist Lord stroll in, late as dusk.

The crowd hushed, air taut like a drawn bow. Nana Toki facepalmed, fingers sliding like curtains across her eyes.

This routine again—really worn to threads.

Is the online-gaming hero’s cool act stuck on a single rail?

"I told you, if you need leveling, ask me—I’ll carry you. What are you doing in these low-tier raids?"

Xianlan Yanyu approached with a wrinkle between his brows, displeasure cold as snowlight. The high-cold aura of a male idol rolled off him like winter wind, blade-sharp.

Around them, players saw his anger near the brim and dared not speak, standing like stones while their idol spoke tenderly to a woman they didn’t know. Hearts simmered with envy, jealousy, resentment—three fires under one pot.

"I... I didn’t want to trouble you. Running low-level raids is fine," said Xie Yiyao softly, voice like cotton soaked in warm milk. Speaking cautiously to him added a thread of tender charm, pulling sympathy like a hand on silk.

The heroine matched the script—soft and cute, no hint of collapse, like a peach blossom intact on its branch.

Maybe this plane was a complete one—no cracks. Nana Toki hid behind the crowd, eyes like crescents, studying the pair. So far, she’d seen no signs of derailment.

Did the trash System assign her the wrong plane, like misplacing chess pieces?

Trash System: "......"

"Come with me. I’ll take you through. Ignore them," Xianlan Yanyu said, sending a party invite like a stamp pressed on wax. His domineering air brooked no refusal—stone seal on river.

Yanyu Jiangshan: "......."

She accepted quietly, like a petal drifting onto a stream.

Satisfied by the new party icon appearing above her head, Xianlan Yanyu nodded, then did something rare—he greeted the world channel like a bell rung in a temple.

[World] Xianlan Yanyu: "Listen up. Yanyu Jiangshan is one of my Langya. If you provoke her, you’re picking a fight with Langya."

At that, world chat cracked open like thunder over the plains.

[World] Rolled Beaded Screen: "Sob sob—god-tier, I want into Langya too! Please notice me!"

[World] Mist Locks Pond Willows: "What’s Yanyu Jiangshan’s story, that the god-tier defends her so fiercely?"

[World] Spring Wind Won’t Cross Yumen Pass: "Good grief—mess with Yanyu Jiangshan, and you’re enemies of Langya, the server’s top warband. Absolutely wild!"

[World] Cutest in the World: "Group photo! Group photo with the god-tier!"