Chapter 26: The Unexpected Encounter

Irene and Red Spider are the same person, and while this might seem surprising, Xiluo’er found it somewhat acceptable.

After all, from a player’s perspective, the story is mostly told through Eve’s viewpoint, so it’s bound to be one-sided.

However, Irene recognizing that Cat Tail and Xiluo’er are the same person was a bit hard to accept.

Xiluo’er was already pondering in her mind: what expression would Irene have if the plot progressed to a scene where her sister meets a member of the Chaos Cult standing by her side?

But that’s a matter for the future. For now, Xiluo’er had had enough.

Since Irene had already seen her face, Xiluo’er decided to let her look as much as she wanted.

Thus, with a listless expression, Xiluo’er allowed Irene to scrutinize her with curious eyes.

Yet, why did Irene seem so surprised?

To be honest, Irene was genuinely surprised. She never imagined that beneath the wide black cloak and the unappealing plain mask was such an adorable girl!

During her activities as ‘Red Spider,’ Irene had encountered several members of the Chaos Cult, including some high-ranking priests.

Irene’s impression of the Chaos Cult was: mentally unstable, obsessive, dark, and old fools with something wrong in their heads—especially the latter, which referred to those priests.

She had interacted with Xiluo’er a few times before, and though this mysterious assassin known as ‘Cat Tail’ was quiet and different from the others, Irene didn’t have a strong impression of her.

But this girl in front of her… she didn’t seem to fit the image of a ‘Chaos Cult’ member at all.

Irene felt like she had opened a blind box and unexpectedly found a golden legendary item.

Xiluo’er’s build was somewhere between a loli and a teenager, and her petite frame, wrapped in the oversized black cloak, made her look even cuter.

And that little face, filled with discontent as it stared at her…

Resisting the urge to pat Xiluo’er’s head, Irene nodded with a smile.

“Wow, who would have thought Cat Tail was such a cute girl?”

“I thought you’d be a bit more… ah, sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Xiluo’er sighed helplessly, realizing from Irene’s expression that she was being treated like a child.

She had seen that look in others’ eyes before, like that three-faced hero.

Speaking of which, these sisters had different personalities, yet they were strangely in sync at times.

“Is there anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”

Xiluo’er stepped past Irene, intending to leave the alley.

“Hey, don’t rush off.”

“Let’s chat a bit more. It won’t hurt, little Cat Tail.”

Seeing Xiluo’er about to leave, Irene quickly reached out to stop her.

Xiluo’er raised her head, her face cold.

“Is there something else?”

“Shadow Assassin members shouldn’t have this much free time, right?”

Hearing Xiluo’er’s serious tone, Irene couldn’t help but laugh.

To maintain her assassin persona and avoid complications, Xiluo’er had always tried to keep her speech formal and concise when acting as ‘Cat Tail.’

With the plain mask covering her face and her voice distorted by an enchantment, her speech didn’t sound unusual.

But now, without the mask, seeing this cute loli trying to keep a straight face and speak in a serious tone, Irene found it amusing.

How could she put it? It was strangely endearing.

“What are you laughing at?”

Although Xiluo’er didn’t know why Irene was laughing, the sound made her feel strangely annoyed.

“Cough, cough, it’s nothing. I just thought of something funny, that’s all.”

Seeing the adorable loli about to get angry, Irene coughed a couple of times to suppress her laughter.

“Well, let’s get back to business, Cat Tail.”

Covering her mouth, Irene made her voice serious again.

“With this lead cut off, we need to find another way, don’t we?”

Irene gestured to the two thugs’ bodies on the ground.

“But I already got some information from them earlier, so we have other options now.”

Thinking of Irene’s performance as a trembling victim, Xiluo’er frowned.

“You managed to get information in that situation?”

“Well…”

Irene smirked mischievously.

“Guiding the conversation to where you need it to go and making reasonable inferences based on existing clues isn’t that hard, little Cat Tail.”

Seeing Irene stick her tongue out, Xiluo’er narrowed her eyes.

This person was more cunning than she thought.

“Fine, tell me.”

Xiluo’er gestured for Irene to continue.

“Uh…”

Irene blinked, a troubled expression on her face.

“It might not be suitable to discuss this here.”

“Black Market?”

Irene shook her head, pointing to her cute dress, declining Xiluo’er’s suggestion.

“I’m not exactly dressed for that kind of place today.”

“How about you take off that cloak, and we go somewhere else to talk?”

Xiluo’er stared at Irene for a moment before nodding.

Before leaving the alley, Xiluo’er glanced one last time at the two thugs’ bodies.

She suddenly realized something—why Irene wore a mask but didn’t disguise her voice.

It was a trap, using a seemingly innocent voice to deceive others.

If someone thought Red Spider was just an inexperienced girl beneath the mask, they had already fallen for it.

As for the results, the two thugs on the ground were proof of that.

Xiluo’er also noticed that Irene hadn’t completely disguised her voice.

Earlier, when Irene was discussing serious matters, her voice was colder, less ‘cute.’

Her voice beneath the mask was already somewhat altered, and the one she had just heard was likely her true voice.

A mix of truth and deception, a strategy to conceal one’s true self…

Watching Irene leave the alley with a cheerful stride, Xiluo’er hurried to catch up.