Chapter 10: “Rinrin, I’ve found you.”.

“Victim Witch”? That name… doesn’t sound good at all.

Her vision cleared before her thoughts did.

The first thing she noticed was the perspective.

She was looking straight ahead, and the height of her line of sight… seemed a little higher than usual?

She instinctively looked down.

What met her eyes wasn’t the familiar white nightdress and red cloak, but a set of high-quality dark girls’ school uniform. Below the short skirt were legs wrapped in black knee-high socks.

She raised her hand. The fingers were slender, but no longer carrying that childish roundness.

She touched her hair. A lock slid through her fingertips—soft, but the color… She pulled the ends in front of her eyes.

Pink.

She had become a girl with long pink hair, wearing a school uniform, seemingly a bit taller (though definitely still under 160 cm).

The body felt unfamiliar, but at least the chest size hadn’t changed—still small.

She was standing in a stairwell.

Concrete steps, metal handrails with peeling paint, dust floating in the air.

The emergency exit sign on the wall glowed with a faint green light.

A heavy fire door stood slightly ajar. Outside, the sky was darkening; slanted light from the corridor cut in.

[Victim Witch]

[Only task: Investigate the past of the witch Xi Ran, and resolve her obsession with the character Bai Linlin.]

The system panel popped up. The task description was so concise it sent a chill down her spine.

“Bai Linlin… Bai Linlin isn’t that just me? Why do we have the exact same name?”

She muttered under her breath, brain struggling to keep up.

There was another Bai Linlin in this instance?

And she had become part of the task target?

Before she could sort it out, the panel updated again.

[Character: Bai Linlin (currently being played)]

[Identity: Young miss of the Bai family, attending St. Marianna Girls’ Academy.]

[Background: Blackmailed by classmate Xi Ran; every day she is required to carry out “bullying” against Xi Ran to satisfy some unknown demand of hers. Once suffered severe torture for failing to meet the requirements.]

[Current event node: Has completed the task Xi Ran assigned—“find out who is behind the campus bullying targeting Xi Ran.” Currently meeting with transfer student Jiang Jiaojiao in the east stairwell to ask how Xi Ran discovered “that plan” they had against her.]

The information load was massive.

The current Bai Linlin blinked rapidly, quickly seizing the key points.

First: In this instance, she had taken over the role of some identically named “young miss of the Bai family.”

Second: This young miss was an unlucky one, targeted by a ruthless person named Xi Ran. Forced to “bully” her daily—refuse and get punished.

Third: The young miss apparently wasn’t willing to take it lying down. She had conspired with someone named Jiang Jiaojiao on a “plan” to get rid of Xi Ran. The plan had been exposed.

Fourth: She herself was now stuck right at the awkward moment after the plan’s failure—meeting up with accomplice Jiang Jiaojiao to figure out “how exactly the information leaked.”

She looked up, toward the front.

She wasn’t alone in the stairwell.

A few steps away, leaning against the opposite wall, stood a girl with white hair.

The girl had a full figure, her uniform worn impeccably, her face carrying a… gentle expression, even overly concerned.

She was quietly watching Bai Linlin, as though waiting for her question.

This had to be Jiang Jiaojiao.

Bai Linlin’s scalp went numb.

She didn’t know anything!

How was she supposed to ask? Ask what?

What exactly was “that plan”?

How had it been exposed?

She didn’t even know what this body’s original voice was supposed to sound like!

Jiang Jiaojiao waited a few seconds. Seeing Bai Linlin just staring wide-eyed without speaking, she let out a soft sigh and spoke first. Her voice was indeed gentle and soothing.

“Linlin, are you okay? Did you… get scared? Xi Ran really is much sharper than we imagined.”

She paused, stepped closer, and lowered her voice.

“As for how she found out… I think maybe when we met before, someone accidentally saw us and word got back to her.”

“After all, in this school, a lot of things can’t be kept secret.”

The excuse sounded very perfunctory, like something made up on the spot.

But Bai Linlin didn’t dare question it. She hurriedly nodded along.

“Ah, yeah… probably… probably something like that.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Jiaojiao looked at her, eyes filled with some concern.

“Your face doesn’t look good. From now on… we have to be even more careful.”

“I’m going to the restroom first. You stay here and catch your breath, okay?”

Bai Linlin felt as though a huge weight had been lifted. She nodded immediately.

“Okay, sure. Go ahead.”

Jiang Jiaojiao gave her another gentle smile, turned, pushed open the fire door, and walked into the slightly brighter corridor. Her footsteps gradually faded.

The door swung back to its half-closed position.

Bai Linlin let out a long, silent breath, leaning her back against the cold wall.

That was terrifying. She had barely muddled through for now.

She quickly summoned the panel again, focused hard, and tried to dig up more information about this identity and her current situation.

Sure enough, more detailed text records appeared on the panel—like summary logs from this “Bai Linlin.”

She scanned them quickly.

“So that’s how it is…” she murmured.

In summary:

The original (or rather, the instance’s native) Bai Linlin, unable to endure Xi Ran’s twisted “you must bully me” control and the torture that came with it, had in desperation grasped the olive branch extended by Jiang Jiaojiao.

Jiang Jiaojiao was gentle and offered to help her escape Xi Ran.

The so-called “plan” was an elimination operation against Xi Ran, orchestrated by Jiang Jiaojiao.

But the operation failed. For some reason Xi Ran knew about it in advance, resulting in Bai Linlin receiving even harsher “punishment” than before.

And right now, it was the moment after the plan’s failure: the shaken Bai Linlin had secretly arranged to meet Jiang Jiaojiao to figure out why it went wrong.

Bai Linlin rubbed her temples.

So her current situation was:

On the surface—a domineering, bullying schoolyard tyrant.

In reality—the puppet and designated punching bag of the yandere witch Xi Ran.

Secretly—an unlucky accomplice in a failed elimination plot, now probably under even tighter surveillance from Xi Ran.

And right now, secretly meeting with “plan” partner Jiang Jiaojiao was undoubtedly a high-risk move.

If Xi Ran found out…

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Just then!

Click.

Above the stairwell, the fire door leading to the upper floor was gently pushed open.

Footsteps sounded—unhurried, step by step descending the stairs.

Bai Linlin jerked her head up. Her heart leapt into her throat.

A figure appeared from around the stair landing.

Long black hair draped softly over the shoulders.

A slightly pale face, delicate features lacking color, eyes pitch-black when they looked over.

Wearing the same uniform, slender figure that looked somewhat fragile.

It was exactly the person from the photos—the one who appeared to be “the long-term victim of bullying.”

Xi Ran.

She stopped on the middle landing of the stairs, gaze falling on Bai Linlin.

The corner of her mouth seemed to curve ever so slightly—or perhaps it didn’t.

Her voice rang out, soft and gentle, carrying a faint sense of relief as though she had finally found someone:

“Linlin… so you were here.”