“So you’re still a girl, then?”

Fang Chang sighed. She looked like a world-weary old man—if only she had a cigarette between her fingers. “I used to be a guy, but in the last world, I had to become a girl to survive. Then some god called the Shadow-Devouring Lord gave me a name. His naming carries the force of a rule, so unless I become an equal to him, I’ll be a girl forever.”

Chen Xiaotan felt a lot more at ease. If she’d really lost her virginity to a man, she’d never want to live it down. A girl was much better, even if she had a guy’s heart.

“I’ve met the Shadow-Devouring Lord too, and he gave me a name as well. But based on its strength, it’s nowhere near as powerful as yours.”

Fang Chang was instantly intrigued. She lunged forward, making Chen Xiaotan nearly fall off the bed, but Fang Chang was quicker. She pressed both hands against Chen Xiaotan’s thighs, leaned close, and looked her in the eyes.

“The Shadow-Devouring Lord? You met him too? Can you tell me about it?”

Chen Xiaotan nodded timidly, afraid Fang Chang might launch another unwelcome attack.

“He named me a vampire. It’s just a species, with no rank, and the name’s pitifully short. Even so, my power increased quite a bit. Right now, I’ve got the enhancement of a vampire viscount, but the power I can actually wield is already close to that of a count.”

Fang Chang asked in surprise, “The longer the name, the stronger the person who receives it?”

“That’s right,” Chen Xiaotan replied. “A name is like information about your existence. The longer your name, the greater your share of the world’s information—and the stronger you become. This might be a bit forward, but what’s your name?”

“My name’s Fang Chang. My title is Mother of Veris.”

Chen Xiaotan’s eyes widened. “A five-character title, with a name that’s specific to you—and the word ‘Mother’ in it. How much did you offer the Shadow-Devouring Lord as a sacrifice?”

Fang Chang answered honestly, “I don’t know. Someone else arranged it for me.”

Chen Xiaotan fell silent.

After a long pause, she finally asked, “Are you being kept by someone?”

Fang Chang shook her head firmly. “Of course not! She’s just making it up to me!”

Chen Xiaotan asked, “Did she take your virginity, or your chastity?”

Fang Chang furrowed her brows. “You’re a perfectly nice girl. How did your mind get so twisted?”

“Wait, no!” Chen Xiaotan suddenly turned serious and pushed at Fang Chang. When she couldn’t budge her, she simply leaned back to put some distance between them. “You said earlier that the game mechanics couldn’t bring people back with you?”

“Yeah. A big shot told me that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a baby with my wife!” Only after saying it did Fang Chang notice that Chen Xiaotan looked a little off. Was there something more to this?

Chen Xiaotan stared at her gravely, sounding unsure. “Was that big shot the one who turned you into a girl?”

“Becoming a girl was an accident! The Shadow-Devouring Lord’s naming has the force of a rule. It’s hard to resist.” Fang Chang’s voice turned uncertain. “Wasn’t that how it worked?”

“You’re right that the Shadow-Devouring Lord’s naming is rule-bound, but it didn’t necessarily have to turn you into a woman. I think the big shot who transformed you had some other reason…” Chen Xiaotan paused, then suddenly asked in a teasing tone, “Are you sure he wasn’t trying to keep you?”

Fang Chang thought back over what had happened. It seemed like she’d always been under Li Zirong’s control—from their first encounter right through to the birth. It had been her own decision, but most of the time, Li Zirong had been the one guiding her.

Fang Chang started to panic. “She’s a woman! Did she turn me into one so we could be a yuri couple?”

“Then she must have some kind of scheme. She probably wants you to have a child,” Chen Xiaotan said with certainty. “Because there’s one thing she lied to you about. If you don’t believe me, ask the system whether you can bring people from other worlds back with you.”

Fang Chang’s pupils shrank slightly. She lowered her head, brought up the system, and asked, “System, can I bring someone from a mission world back to the Present World?”

[Pay 100 reward points and obtain the other party’s consent. You can bring them back to the Present World without revealing the system’s existence.]

Fang Chang was struck as if by lightning.

She looked at Chen Xiaotan in disbelief. “She lied to me!”

Chen Xiaotan nodded. “That’s common knowledge among players.”

Fang Chang lunged forward and hugged Chen Xiaotan. “Why did she lie to me?”

“I think it was because of your child,” Chen Xiaotan replied. “She transformed you into a mother, then summoned the Shadow-Devouring Lord through a sacrifice so he could name you, strengthening your power almost without limit. And in the end, she lured you into having a child. You said your current appearance was a side effect of giving birth, and that the child took most of your power, right?”

Fang Chang nodded with difficulty. The joy was gone from her face, replaced by pain.

Chen Xiaotan’s voice turned grave. “Your child must be incredibly powerful! It was born with half your strength, and its potential is enormous. In the supernatural world, a being like that would have tremendous symbolic value. I know one way to gain power: sacrifice a child. The stronger the child, the greater its potential—and the greater the reward for the one making the sacrifice.”

Fang Chang’s face had gone ashen, though a sliver of hope remained. “She wants to sacrifice my child?”

Seeing Fang Chang like this, Chen Xiaotan felt a sudden ache in her heart. Memories of their earlier, heated moment came back to her. Her heart stirred, and she instinctively wrapped an arm around Fang Chang.

“It’s only one possibility!”

Fang Chang looked ready to burst into tears. “Th-then what do I do? How can I get my child back?”

Thinking of her own experience, Chen Xiaotan asked with a pained look, “Are you a newcomer?”

“This is the first world I’ve been to.”

The words filled Chen Xiaotan with a powerful sense of unfairness. But when she thought of what Fang Chang had been through, her heart ached even more.

“Look up.”

Fang Chang raised her head. A mist veiled her big eyes, and her lashes curved slightly, like the wings of a bird opening.

Chen Xiaotan’s heart ached even more.

Mom used to be this heartbroken for me, too!

She thought of that warm ray of sunshine in her heart, yet couldn’t feel its warmth. Her memories were like blades, cutting her to pieces.

She lowered her head and covered Fang Chang’s lips with her own.

“Mm…”

A little while later, Chen Xiaotan finally pulled away. She smacked her lips and said, “Mm. It tastes better than I remembered.”

Fang Chang wasn’t in the mood to tease her anymore. Qiu’er was just a little ball, and she’d only held the child once—but the thought of it being sacrificed made her heart twist in agony.

She lowered her eyes. “What are you doing…?”

Chen Xiaotan stroked her long hair, her tone finally returning to its usual dependable self. “This is your payment!”

“Payment for what?”

“For teaching you how to find your child!”