Yunyu and PoisonLily chatted as they walked out from the alleyway. Turned out, Lily was a very good woman. She was neither quiet nor talkative, but she would respond to Yunyu's rambling about random stuff appropriately.

Lily herself also saw Yunyu as a cute little brother that she wanted to take care of. Especially when Yunyu said that he was nineteen years old, that was six years age gap between them!

"You should call me Big sis from now on!" Lily said while rubbing Yunyu's head.

"A—Ah, uhm… B—big sis Lily…" Yunyu said he was blushing because it felt a bit embarrassing. But honestly, he also felt comfortable around Lily because she was mature.

[Hey, I like this girl! She is like a proper lady!]

[Pupa: It is quite unfortunate that she stands side by side with you. It's like… beauty and the garbage can.]

[Hey, it's supposed to be a handsome beast!]

[Pupa: I don't see a handsome beast here.]

…

"Ah, Big sis Lily, I have to meet with my partner at the city fountain," Yunyu said.

"Partner?" Lily grinned mischievously, "Ooo~ our little Yunyu has a partner already? Big sis Lily was about to introduce you to some of my friends. But since you have a partner already, that's great!"

"No, no, it's not that kind of partner!" Yunyu laughed, "We just know each other through a coincidence and—"

"I've been waiting for so long. Where have you been?" XuanLake said. He was standing near the fountain with obvious displeasure on his face.

Turned out, they had reached the fountain without knowing. Maybe because Yunyu and Lily enjoyed their companionship together, "Ah… I'm sorry, Brother Xuan! I have to help Big sis Lily first," Yunyu grinned happily.

"Ah, you are the one called Brother Xuan?" Lily smiled and stretched out her hands, offering a handshake, "My name is Lily, PoisonLily. Little Yunyu told me about his small adventure with you."

XuanLake had spied on Yunyu and this woman from afar. He watched how Yunyu was very unguarded around this new woman. Which somehow made XuanLake a bit sour. He thought Yunyu would be a bit more careful around everyone else other than him.

But turned out he was nothing special.

XuanLake looked down at Lily's hand and then pulled Yunyu back to his side. It was quite sudden, and Yunyu was also surprised. He looked up to XuanLake, who glared at PoisonLily, "Brother Xuan?"

"You barely know her, and you already told her everything about us?!" XuanLake clenched his hand around Yunyu's shoulder, "How naïve."

PoisonLily's gaze chilled, "What is this all about? I get to know Yunyu better, and I found that he is a good kid. That's why I want to get closer to him."

"Y—Yeah, Brother Xuan. I've invited Big sis Lily to come with us to Ander Town. She said that she wants to visit Ander Town and is also quite intrigued with a new dungeon in the Ander Forest you are talking about," Yunyu said innocently.

XuanLake glared at Yunyu, then he glared at Lily again, "We are good as two. Go away."

"I heard that this is a new dungeon. Who knows what is inside that dungeon? It might be a dangerous enemy," Lily had a hint of sarcasm in her gaze, "Yunyu said that you are strong, but even a strong player will not be able to handle an unknown dungeon alone. The danger is too big, and what are you going to do if you face a high-rank boss? Sacrificing Yunyu?"

XuanLake's heart stopped beating for a moment there. He actually had that plan before.

"No! Big sis Lily, Brother Xuan is not a bad person. How could he sacrifice me there?" XuanLake gulped as he felt a bit guilty. He was unsure if this was part of Yunyu's scheme or it was genuine. Because it genuinely hit on his conscience.

[Pupa: Ding! Breakmeter increases to -5%.]

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 0%.]

[Wait, he really wants to sacrifice me in that unknown dungeon?! He really feels guilty?!]

[Pupa: Of course. I mean, who wouldn't want to sacrifice you? I would prioritize you too.]

[You black-bellied evil system!]

"Yunyu, can't you see that he is suspicious? He is only level 70, but how could he clear all the monsters in Faran Meadow alone until you reached the city? You should know that it would take the whole party to cross Faran Meadow against lv 60 monsters.

[Well, Big sis Lily, because he is actually level 150, of course.]

"T—That…" Yunyu acted as if he was scared. He tried to break away from XuanLake's grip but could not, "Brother Xuan… you are not going to hurt me, right?"

"I… I will not," XuanLake said hesitatingly. Yunyu saw the hesitation and struggled to break free, "D—Don't hurt me!"

XuanLake saw that Yunyu got scared of him. He couldn't believe that his cover would be blown right before he could even enter the dungeon. He was unsure whether this was part of Yunyu's scheme, or he was truly scared.

"Let Yunyu go, or I will not be kind," PoisonLily unsheathed her sword and pointed it at XuanLake. People started gathering around them, watching the commotion. XuanLake was cornered for the first time. He finally released Yunyu, who immediately hid behind Lily.

"Brother Xuan… I really have no bad intention to you. Why do you want to hurt me?"

XuanLake gulped, "Y—Yunyu, I was just joking. Of course, I will not kill you."

XuanLake wanted to approach Yunyu, but the sword was pointing at his neck, "Stay back!" Lily ordered.

'How could it suddenly turn like this? I was just trying to keep someone else out of the team. Because I can sense danger in this girl,' XuanLake was a snake. He admitted that he would do anything to get what he wanted.

And as a snake, he could quickly identify another snake.

[Pupa: Do you really want to kick XuanLake out of the party? I don't get what you want here.]

[Hehe, not really, honestly. I just want to teach Xuan something because he actually wants to sacrifice me! Can you believe that? He wants to sacrifice the cute me! At some point, I actually trusted him, you know!]

[Pupa: Then, what about Lily? Why do you want her to come too?]

[Because I want to see which one of them is the real snake! You see, based on the plot of the story, either Lily is a cheating snake, or XuanLake is downright evil. I want to see which one is the actual snake.]

[Pupa:…]

Pupa almost slipped its tongue and praised Yunyu for his sudden good insight. But it was glad that it could hold on, or else, Yunyu would brag about his 'genius' idea every time he had the chance.

"B—Brother Xuan, I trust that you are not a bad person… but if you want to go to that unknown dungeon with me, then we should take Big sis Lily with us…" Yunyu said. He looked sad because it seemed like he had no idea about XuanLake's true nature.

"If that is what you want…" XuanLake nodded. He didn't want Yunyu to stay with this PoisonLily alone. He had an ominous feeling that something would happen if he left Yunyu with her.

But then again, he also wondered why did he suddenly turn protective when Yunyu met another person?

'I think it's because I see him as my toy. I don't want my toy to be played with anyone other than me,' XuanLake reasoned.

[Pupa: Ding! Breakmeter increases to 0%.]

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 5%.]

[Hehe, I know I'm a genius.]