Chapter 4: Regarding the possibility that I might have latched onto the wrong person.

“The wolf on the bed… was that you, or was it her?!”

Bai Linlin’s voice rang out sharp and thin in the clearing in front of the cabin.

She pointed at the knife-wielding woman, but her wide eyes were fixed on Lin Yan, her small face screaming “what the hell is going on here.”

The woman with the knife heard the accusation. Her icy gaze shifted from Lin Yan and settled on the tiny figure in the red cloak.

That look was strange.

Appraising… yet carrying something that made Bai Linlin’s back prickle.

The woman spoke. Her voice wasn’t as cold as her expression—in fact, it was eerily calm, almost too even.

“Linlin, wait a moment.”

She said.

“Soon, we can be together again.”

Bai Linlin’s mind buzzed.

Wait—what? Linlin? She called me by name?!

“Wait!”

Bai Linlin blurted out, unable to hide the shock on her small face.

“You… you know me?”

This woman knew “Bai Linlin”?

Was she someone from the original body’s past?

A player? Or some “acquaintance” from this damned game’s previous loops?

Her thoughts raced.

Right now: Lin Yan and this woman were locked in a standoff, weapons ready.

Lin Yan was her visible teammate—quest to protect her and kill the wolf.

This woman… unknown identity, unknown motives, but terrifyingly strong, and—she knew “her.”

A dangerous idea bubbled up.

If she knew “me” and was saying things like “be together again,” then she probably wouldn’t hurt “me,” right?

One more glance at Lin Yan—he was gripping the shotgun, sweat beading on his forehead, clearly under immense pressure.

Compare that to the woman’s calm, unruffled demeanor…

Thigh! This was clearly the thicker thigh!

Bai Linlin’s little mental abacus clicked furiously.

Her own “combat power 5, cute and useless” self—in this death game, was one hunter player really enough to feel safe?

The woman in front of her was obviously higher-tier combat power!

Scary-looking, sure, but… fortune favors the bold!

Grab the thigh while it’s hot!

“Wait, wait!”

She instantly switched to an expression she hoped looked urgent and innocent, then pattered forward on her short legs.

Tap-tap-tap—her little red shoes carried her straight between the two of them, the red cloak fluttering in a small arc behind her.

“Don’t fight yet!”

She spread her short arms wide, as if trying to block the invisible killing intent. First she turned to the knife-wielding woman, tilting her small face up and blinking hard.

“Sister, you’re wearing Grandma’s clothes… so you must be my ‘Grandma,’ right?”

The woman looked down at her. She neither confirmed nor denied; her eyes remained fathomless.

Bai Linlin hurried on, words tumbling out fast.

“Look, our only enemy is that Big Bad Wolf inside! And right now it’s… uh, been turned into that state by someone.”

She glossed over the word “dismembered.”

“We’re not enemies! Right now we should team up to finish off the wolf and clear the stage! Not fight each other here!”

She felt her speech was logical, full of big-picture thinking.

The woman listened. The flat line of her mouth suddenly curved upward—just a little.

The smile was very strange.

Not warm, not mocking—just a pure, bottomless kind of “interesting.”

As though what Bai Linlin said—or Bai Linlin herself—was something worth savoring.

Bai Linlin’s heart crawled at that smile.

What… exactly does this woman want?

Still—the effect seemed to land.

The woman flicked her wrist. The long knife with its ominous black gleam slowly lowered, tip pointing to the ground.

Not fully sheathed, but the intent to attack had clearly diminished.

Across from her, Lin Yan’s tense shoulders eased a fraction. He lowered the barrel a few inches, though his eyes stayed locked on the woman, still full of wariness.

He looked toward Bai Linlin and asked in a low voice.

“The wolf—you’re sure it’s inside? Still alive?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Bai Linlin nodded. Remembering the gruesome sight, her voice dropped.

“But… it’s in really bad shape. Can’t move at all.”

She paused, then added, thinking of the bizarre situation.

“And there’s definitely something else around here. This instance… isn’t as simple as it looks.”

She tried to sound like she was analyzing the situation.

Lin Yan stared at the cabin door, thinking for a few seconds.

“Then… we follow the quest prompts first? Finish the wolf, see if the system gives the next step, and whether we can clear it?”

His suggestion fit standard game logic perfectly.

Bai Linlin thought it made sense too. The wolf looked pitiful, but it was still the quest target.

“Mm, I think that’s fine.”

She agreed.

Seeing that neither she nor the mysterious woman objected (the woman just watched quietly), Lin Yan took a deep breath, raised the shotgun again, and began moving toward the cabin door—extremely cautious, one slow step at a time.

Most of his attention remained on the knife-wielding woman.

Just as his left foot was about to step onto the first rough wooden stair in front of the door—

Shff!

A faint sound of something slicing air.

A flash of cold light streaked almost grazing the toe of his boot—thunk—and embedded itself deeply in the dirt less than an inch ahead of him.

A dagger.

Small, exquisite. Dark handle, no blood groove, but the edge gleamed with a chilling sharpness.

Lin Yan froze mid-step. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He hadn’t even seen where the dagger came from!

He jerked his head up and snapped the shotgun back toward the source—the woman with the knife.

The woman wasn’t even looking at the dagger. Her gaze was fixed on Bai Linlin.

Clearly, she had thrown it.

“Don’t move.”

She said to Lin Yan. Just two words.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried absolute authority.

Then she moved.

Straight toward Bai Linlin.

Lin Yan’s finger rested on the trigger, knuckles white, yet he didn’t dare act.

Her movements were too fast, too casual. That effortless grace carried a pressure far greater than facing any beast.

The woman walked right up to Bai Linlin and stopped.

She was tall—Bai Linlin only reached a little above her waist.

Then… she actually crouched down.

Now her line of sight was level with Bai Linlin’s.

They were very close. Bai Linlin could clearly see the finest pores on her face, and those eyes—up close, the pupils were so dark they resembled bottomless winter pools.

“You,” the woman looked straight into Bai Linlin’s slightly panicked light-colored eyes and asked, word by word, “really don’t remember me?”

Bai Linlin’s heart thumped hard.

Here it comes! Definitely someone the original knew!

Her mind’s alarm bells screamed, but on her face she maintained an expression of blank confusion mixed with just the right amount of pain. She spoke softly.

“I… I think I lost my memory. I don’t remember anything from before…”

As she spoke, she watched the woman’s reaction closely, trying to gauge whether the excuse would hold.

The woman said nothing. She simply stared.

That gaze felt like it was scanning her from the outside in.

Then the woman reached out.

Long, slender fingers, distinct knuckles, very pale skin.

That hand came straight toward Bai Linlin’s cheek.

Cool fingertips pinched one side of her face.

Gently. A light squeeze.

Then another small movement, as though feeling the texture of the skin and the outline of the bone beneath.

Not particularly gentle, but not forceful either.

More like… an inspection.

“Looks like it’s real.”

The woman released her hand and murmured to herself.

The earlier trace of amusement in her eyes seemed to fade, replaced by something more complicated—something Bai Linlin couldn’t read.

“You’ve really lost your memory?”

Bai Linlin nodded frantically like a little chicken pecking rice.

“Mm-hmm! Really! I don’t remember anything at all!”