On Arena One of the Event Map.
“I say…”
An Dong scratched his head, casting a helpless glance at the diminutive girl 20 yards away, clad in a black dress and white gloves.
“Can we… finally start fighting?”
“Oh, come on! Does Big Brother An Dong truly wish to strike such a cute, delicate little girl like me?”
The little girl tilted her head, tucking a strand of emerald-green hair that framed her face behind her ear, revealing a pitiful expression.
“Hey, hey! Don’t put it like that!”
An Dong exclaimed, a touch of panic in his voice, clearly struggling to contend with the seemingly harmless little girl’s hidden mischievous nature.
“I’m a man with a family, you know! Besides, at your age, you could practically be my daughter!?”
The 32-year-old An Dong, in reality, helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead as he gazed at the figure before him, who appeared to be a young elementary schoolgirl.
“You can’t really tell a player’s age in a full-dive VR game, can you?”
The little girl puffed out her cheeks, seemingly displeased with An Dong’s arbitrary assumption of seniority.
“After all, avatars are just custom-made.”
“But my gut feeling tells me your actual age isn’t particularly high either.”
An Dong declared with absolute certainty, making a statement based purely on ‘feeling’.
“Why’s that?”
The little girl looked at him quizzically, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
“Because you use the term ‘Big Brother’ very skillfully and naturally.”
An Dong grinned, explaining his reasoning soundly, revealing that his guess hadn’t been a shot in the dark after all.
“Just based on that…? I don’t get you…”
The little girl still seemed unable to comprehend An Dong’s thought process.
“So…”
An Dong sighed, raising an eyebrow in resignation, before steering the conversation back on track.
“Xiao and [Finisher Mage] have already finished their match, shouldn’t we be starting ours soon?”
“[Poison Maiden] Hayata Midori?”
It turned out that Yan’s third arena wasn’t the only one where fighting hadn’t yet commenced due to a desire to watch other matches. In fact, An Dong and Hayata Midori had been standing idly in Arena One for a full five minutes, all because the cute, innocent little girl had pleaded with An Dong, a distressed look on her face, to watch the Finisher Mage’s match first, thus delaying their own battle.
‘It seemed she was friends with Finisher Mage…’
Now that the other match was over, An Dong’s patience had worn thin. Normally, he would have welcomed his opponent delaying their attack, as dragging the match to the full 30 minutes would guarantee him a win as the arena master.
But not this time, because…
He knew Suo Liya was watching his match.
Well, that desire to show off in front of the woman you love is something that exists in men, no matter their age.
He wanted Suo Liya to witness him, clad in the Black Lantern Helmet she had personally crafted for him, deliver a spectacular performance.
Even if he was a tank.
Observing An Dong’s growing impatience, Hayata Midori gently pouted, then lifted her gaze to meet his.
“Just call me Little Green.”
The little girl, bestowed with the title of [Poison Maiden], tilted her head slightly, revealing a sweet smile that starkly contradicted her ominous moniker, and spoke, her bright eyes fluttering.
“Ah… alright then, Little Green.”
As An Dong gazed at that angelic, sweet smile, the impatience in his heart instantly vanished, replaced by a helpless grin.
‘Why was he getting so flustered in front of such a young girl? Could he even be considered a mature adult like this?’
“Mhm, Big Brother An Dong~”
Little Green’s adorable smile and soft, endearing voice nearly melted An Dong’s heart; he couldn’t help but smile in contentment, thinking with a sigh.
‘Ah, if only his own daughter could grow up to be such a well-behaved child.’
An Dong, an adult who was already a husband and a father, thought thus.
“Big Brother An Dong, I want a hug~”
Little Green removed the silver-white gloves from both hands, gently spread her arms wide, and displayed that innocent, sweet smile, making it impossible for anyone to harbor even a sliver of hostility.
“This…”
An Dong wore a troubled expression.
“No… can’t I…? QAQ.”
Little Green’s eyes reddened, looking so wronged she seemed on the verge of tears.
“Ah, fine… alright then.”
‘She’s just a child, Suo Liya shouldn’t mind, right?’
An Dong forced a bitter smile, as if already envisioning the scene of himself kneeling on a washboard, offering explanations.
But seeing Little Green’s utterly piteous appearance, An Dong simply couldn’t bring himself to utter a harsh refusal.
Little Green scurried forward on her fair, tender legs, rushing into An Dong’s broad embrace.
An Dong stiffly opened his arms, though he didn’t actually hug her.
“Hehe, Big Brother An Dong, you’re so nice~”
Little Green shook her emerald-green short hair, gently nuzzling into An Dong’s chest, seemingly content just to rest upon his broad, welcoming frame.
‘AWLS.’
‘If his own daughter could grow up to be such a well-behaved and adorable child, An Dong felt he would have no regrets in this life.’
A gentle smile, reserved for his own child, softened An Dong’s resolute face as he thought this.
He then gently pushed Little Green away, and she, satisfied, skipped out of his embrace, moving a short distance away to stand slightly apart from him.
“Well then, let’s start fighting, Big Brother An Dong~”
Little Green’s tone suddenly shifted, the abrupt change in topic leaving An Dong somewhat bewildered. Although her voice remained as sweet as ever, a mischievous grin now played upon her face.
‘Ah… he almost forgot this one had a hidden mischievous streak.’
‘Allow me to retract my previous statement. If my daughter were to become like this, my already low status in the family might just be the death of me…’
An Dong thought, his face darkening, his emotions a complicated mix.
“Big Brother An Dong, how much do you know about my fighting style?”
Little Green wore a curious expression as she put her silver-white gloves back on, then raised her right hand to gently stroke the thin silver-white glove on her left hand through the fabric.
“To be honest…”
Hearing this, An Dong’s expression turned grave.
“I haven’t a clue.”
“Oh, I see…”
Little Green raised an eyebrow, lightly tapping her chin with an index finger, speaking with a hint of surprise.
“So, from behind a screen, you couldn’t quite figure out how I won my matches?”
“That’s right.”
An Dong wore a bitter expression. As an adult, he found it utterly baffling that he couldn’t comprehend the fighting style of Little Green, who appeared to be merely an elementary school student, leaving him completely unsure if he could even win. This, he felt, was quite embarrassing.
“Although Qing Bai did share some information about you, your fighting style—one that relies neither on fists, nor magic, nor any cold weapons—reveals absolutely nothing…”
“It’s just that, for some reason, every player who fights you always seems to be constantly losing health, and then they just… die.”
An Dong could still vividly recall Qing Bai’s complex expression when she had kindly informed him about players to watch out for, specifically mentioning Hayata Midori, known as [Poison Maiden].
“Well, if you can’t figure out my fighting style, then who gave me the nickname [Poison Maiden]?”
Little Green seemed completely oblivious to An Dong’s words, merely pinching her chin, puffing out her cheeks, and pondering to herself.
“Hey…”
An Dong attempted to interrupt her monologue.
“Ah! I know! It must have been those players I knocked out of the arena, spreading it on the world chat!”
Little Green clapped her hands together in sudden realization.
“I say…”
An Dong’s voice was immediately drowned out by Little Green’s continued soliloquy.
“How annoying! Those people, I’m clearly such a cute girl, yet they call me [Poison Maiden]?”
Little Green stomped her foot, declaring this with a slightly indignant expression.
“Little Green, I’m telling you…”
“So noisy! You stop talking first!”
Little Green stamped her foot, and An Dong promptly snapped his mouth shut.
‘Where had his cute, sensible, well-behaved daughter Little Green gone?’
An Dong thought, feeling like he wanted to cry but had no tears.
He dejectedly lowered his gaze, his eyes inadvertently catching a glimpse of his status bar.
“Holy crap! Why am I losing health!?”
An Dong stared in shock at his slowly depleting health bar, raising his massive shield in alarm.
“Oh my, you noticed so quickly~ Big Brother An Dong is amazing~”
An Dong’s gaze peered over his shield, settling on Little Green, who was happily clapping her hands.
There, on her face, he saw the triumphant, mischievous smirk of someone whose prank had succeeded.