Chapter 7: “Welcome home, Rinrin…”

The countdown on the panel before her eyes—【Room fusion in progress. Remaining time: 11 hours 47 minutes 22 seconds】—finally ticked down to the last three seconds.

Three.

Two.

One.

Zero.

“Buzz–”

A low, sustained vibration rose directly from the white floor beneath her feet, spreading through her entire body in an instant.

Bai Linlin felt like a bean tossed onto a sieve—her whole person shaking violently along with the room.

“What the hell is happening?!”

She yelped, nearly losing her balance.

Then the world spun.

The entire pure-white cubic space seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand. It twisted, stretched, deformed crazily.

The walls were no longer flat; they flowed and folded like melting wax.

The floor beneath her feet bulged and dipped, forming irregular waves.

The eternally unchanging pure-white “sky” overhead shattered, revealing an indescribable, rapidly swirling chaos of colors behind it.

The space was disintegrating.

Her own consciousness felt like it had been thrown into a tumble dryer—violently blurring along with the spatial upheaval.

The scenes in her vision fractured, intermittent and broken.

She seemed to glimpse her shabby little basket flying up, saw pure-white fragments peeling away like snowflakes, watched new colors and new textures “grow” out of nothingness…

She held on for less than two seconds before her vision went black. She fainted cleanly.

When she opened her eyes again, the first sense to return was smell.

A fresh scent mixed with green grass and faint floral fragrance poured into her nostrils.

This aroma was completely different from the monotonous, almost “sterile” blankness of the previous pure-white space—it was brimming with vitality.

Then vision followed.

Bai Linlin was lying on soft, lush grass.

She propped herself up, shook her still-dizzy head, and looked around.

The pure-white room was gone.

Completely gone.

In its place was a world she had only ever seen in fantasies and game promotional art.

The first thing that met her eyes was a castle.

Yes—a proper European-style castle with stone outer walls, towering turrets, and tiered rooftops.

It stood not far ahead of her, quite large in scale. The main building was three stories tall, with an even taller observation tower beside it.

The castle’s exterior walls appeared to be solid stone, dotted with numerous windows—some ordinary square ones, others elegant arched designs.

The roof was dark, steeply sloped, and even featured delicate curved architectural elements.

In front of the castle lay an open courtyard paved with neat stone slabs.

At the courtyard’s edge stood decorative railings with pillars.

And the entire castle—together with the courtyard—was fully enclosed by a sturdy wooden-and-stone perimeter fence, forming an independent, vast manor estate.

Bai Linlin’s mouth fell open. She slowly turned her head in a daze.

Her gaze passed over the manor’s fence to the farther distance.

Beyond lay orderly roads, and lining both sides of those roads were countless other estates—each different in style, yet all similarly grand.

Some held modern villas, others exquisite gardens; in the far distance she even glimpsed lakes or mountain views.

Compared to the earlier monotonous, densely packed region of “white coffin houses,” this place looked like an upscale villa district.

Her eyes returned to the manor she was currently in.

So big!

That was the first word that popped into her mind.

The estate’s area was, at a rough guess, easily a hundred times larger than her original thirty-square-meter white box.

The entire foundation seemed to have been fully and efficiently utilized.

The castle was the core.

But around it, various functional zones had been carefully planned.

She saw the planting area.

Not just a few patches of dirt—this was a neatly divided field, perfectly organized.

Above the fields hovered cleverly placed 1×1 “farming furniture,” making the planting zone look both orderly and highly efficient.

She saw the livestock area, fenced off, with signs of animal movement inside.

She saw what looked like a tool shed and the shadow of a construction workbench, perhaps tucked into one wing of the castle.

But what drew her most were the decorations.

Wall lamps and oil paintings adorned the castle walls and courtyard.

The courtyard wasn’t empty—it was furnished with outdoor dining tables, sofas, a barbecue grill, even parasols.

Natural flowers and grasses grew in the gaps between stone slabs and along the manor’s edges, while carefully arranged artificial landscapes added charm.

Small patches of “sparse, cool bamboo” created with wooden decking, bamboo stalks, wild grass, and rockery; romantic flower beds paired with ballroom roses, wildflowers, and vases.

Colorful blooms dotted the scene, lending everything a dreamlike quality.

Warm sunlight poured down freely—not the dappled forest light from the previous instance, but bright, unobstructed daylight.

A gentle breeze carried faint sounds of distant conversation and tool use. The whole place breathed with life.

【Room fusion completed】

【Current: Ruan Yuan (Lv. 22 Manor) – Primary Manor】

【Current: Bai Linlin (Lv. 1 Manor) – Affiliated Manor】

The panel popped up at the perfect moment, explaining the situation.

“This is… what a high-level player’s home looks like?”

Bai Linlin murmured, utterly stunned.

From a bare-bones “whiteboard room” to suddenly living in a castle manor complete with pastoral scenery and defensive fortifications—the gap was enormous.

Just as she tried to process everything in front of her, a pair of arms suddenly reached around from behind—gentle yet firm—encircling her.

The person was tall; their arms easily wrapped around her small frame.

Immediately after, a warm, soft body pressed against her back. The sensation was unmistakable.

Bai Linlin froze.

Instinctively she tilted her little head back and upward.

Long black hair cascaded over a shoulder, brushing against her cheek.

A refined chin, lips curved in a slight smile.

It was Ruan Yuan.

Ruan Yuan bent slightly at the waist, hugging her from behind, her chin nearly resting atop Bai Linlin’s white head.

Her voice came right beside Bai Linlin’s ear—countless times softer than it had sounded in the instance, carrying a sigh of pure contentment.

“Welcome home, Linlin.”

Bai Linlin’s heart pounded wildly.

Since turning into this white-haired little gremlin, this was the first time she had been hugged so intimately by a “girl” from behind.

The contact was vivid. The atmosphere… felt excessively close.

Her mind was a chaotic mess.

If this had happened back when she was still a guy, being embraced from behind by such a beautiful woman would probably have left her blushing, heart racing, completely flustered.

But now… now she was just a 137-cm-tall little bean, being held by her “very best friend” and current “biggest thigh.” Apart from feeling a bit dazed, there didn’t seem to be… many other emotions?

Oh—wait. There were feelings.

Mainly shock at this brand-new “home,” and that persistent, faint unease and confusion toward the enigmatic “good friend” behind her.

Ruan Yuan seemed to be savoring the moment. She didn’t move, simply holding her while they both gazed at the castle manor ahead.

Bai Linlin remained stiff in her embrace, her small head spinning at high speed.