Bronya, crouched in the corner, locked eyes with Kiana.
"..."
"..."
Neither of them spoke first.
Bronya stayed silent because she had just seen something that polluted her mind and was currently trying to cleanse her thoughts.
Kiana stayed silent because she was terrified that Bronya might notice her lack of clothing, she didn't dare to open her mouth.
In the end, Bronya was the one who spoke first. Her calm gray eyes met Kiana's as she said evenly, "Bronya didn't see anything."
'That answer obviously means you saw it!'
At that moment, the chat group lit up with activity.
[Elysia: Ohoho~? What shocking thing did I just wake up to~?]
[Elysia: @Levi, did you receive the item yet? Send us a picture so everyone can appreciate it!]
Levi, who happened to be studying the chat group interface, saw the message. Realizing how much of a pervert he'd been, he didn't hesitate any longer.
After fiddling with the app for a bit, he found the camera function.
[Ding! Group member Levi uploaded a photo!]
Elysia, who had just woken up and was smiling at the chat, froze when she saw it.
She had thought the two were just joking earlier. That was why she'd said "send it so we can see" so casually.
She never actually believed Kiana would really offer that as a reward, or that Levi would actually accept it.
But reality proved her wrong.
In the group photo album sat a single image: a handsome young man grinning, giving a thumbs-up to the camera.
Elysia instantly recognized him as Levi.
Then that meant… on his head…
"Caught you~"
Even after waiting for a while, Kiana didn't come out to deny it, so Elysia realized the truth.
'It is real!'
The truth was this absurd. Even Elysia's rich imagination could never have predicted something so insane.
[Levi: @Kiana, first of all, I'd like to thank Group Leader Kiana for giving me this opportunity. Secondly, I want to thank the chat group for providing such a platform. And lastly, I want to thank Lady Kiana for her generosity, without which, I wouldn't have this honor.]
Reading Levi's ridiculous message, then looking at the picture he'd uploaded, Kiana's mouth twitched.
[You're… welcome…]
[Ding! Group Leader Kiana deleted one photo!]
[PhotoGirl: Did I just miss something good?]
Stelle, who had just woken up from a forced sleep state, scratched her head when she saw the notification.
[Ding! Group Leader Kiana deleted a message!]
[Ding! Group Leader Kiana deleted a message!]
[Ding! Group Leader Kiana deleted a message!]
"..."
'Why is Kiana reacting so strongly?'
Seeing Kiana use her admin privileges to mass-delete messages only made Stelle even more curious.
[PhotoGirl: Anyone willing to fill me in on what happened? I'll pay 10 points as a reward!]
Mission-hungry Levi was immediately tempted.
[Levi: Actually...]
[Ding! Group member Levi has been muted by Group Leader Kiana for 30 days!]
Stelle was stunned. Levi had barely typed any words before being muted for thirty days.
Now she was even more curious about what had happened, but didn't dare to ask. She'd have to wait until things calmed down before questioning anyone.
Still, she thought to herself, 'Just what on earth happened… to make Kiana so worked up?'
Meanwhile, Levi, seeing that he'd been muted for thirty days, stayed surprisingly calm.
He opened Kiana's profile and sent her 1,000 points.
[Ding! Payment received: 1,000 points!]
[Transaction fee deducted: 5% (50)! Net received: 950 points!]
[Note: 'Unmute' fee.]
Kiana, sitting in her bathtub, saw the note and snorted. "To stop you from talking nonsense, I'll just keep you muted."
Thinking back to the photo Levi had uploaded, her pretty face flushed, and she sank lower into the bathwater.
'That guy really is a pervert.'
———
Far away, aboard the Luofu Xianzhou, Levi frowned when he saw he still wasn't unmuted. He opened Kiana's profile again.
[Ding! …]
Seeing that Levi had sent another 1,000 points, Kiana lifted her head out of the water.
Propping her chin with one hand, she stared at the ever-increasing point total on her chat group panel.
Her embarrassment had mostly faded by now, but she still had no intention of unmuting Levi.
Her reason? Simple.
[You think I, Kiana, am the type to be blinded by money? I have principles!] she declared righteously.
[Then return the 2,000 points you took from me.]
[Don't be hasty! Don't you even want to hear what my principles are?]
Seeing Levi about to retract the transaction, Kiana hurriedly stopped him, her words dripping with implication.
Unfortunately, Levi didn't buy it.
[I don't. Just unmute me already, or I'll take back those 2,000 points!]
[Fine, fine! I'll unmute you, alright? Geez, who even negotiates like this?]
Grumbling under her breath, Kiana lifted the mute.
[Ding! Group Leader Kiana has unmuted member Levi!]
The chat notification popped up. Glancing at it once, Kiana climbed out of the water.
Leaning over the tub's edge, she reached for the pile of clothes nearby.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she froze mid-motion.
Her expression stiffened. "Wait a second… I don't think… the points can actually be taken back…"
She opened the interface to check, and sure enough, it was just as she thought.
Once sent, chat group points couldn't be retracted manually.
The only way to get them back was for the other person to send them again, and after two rounds of transaction fees, too.
After all, she had only received 950 points out of 1,000. Even if she sent the same amount back, she'd only send 950, not generously add in the missing 50 herself.
But that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was...
"I got played by Levi!"
Kiana gritted her teeth furiously.
That smug "if you don't do it, I'll take my points back" act of his had totally fooled her for a moment.
She glanced at the now-silent chat group but didn't mute him again.
After all, she had scammed 2,000 points off him for nothing.
'Not a bad deal!'
——
Aboard the Astral Express, Stelle took a bite of her bread after seeing Levi's mute lifted.
[I didn't get the chance to ask earlier, who are you?]
[A new member?]
After finishing the "Escape from Belobog" mission, everyone had changed their IDs to their real names by mutual agreement.
Only Stelle was still using the alias "March 7."
While exploring the chat group's functions, Levi replied, "New? You don't even know who I am?"
Stelle was confused.
Levi continued, [I'm your Mr. Yang! It hasn't even been that long, how could you forget me already?]
[Mr. Yang… you're Yang Sit-up!]
Stelle immediately remembered, she had once mistaken someone named "Yang Sit-up" for her Mr. Yang. Turns out, it was just Levi pretending.
She glanced at his profile picture, a pale-faced young man with an eerie complexion.
'That must be what he really looks like.'
Stelle started thinking about who he actually was.
If he knew Mr. Yang, that meant he must be from her world.
But when she'd just joined the Astral Express, she hadn't even known who Mr. Yang was close with.
So she asked directly in the group.
[PhotoGirl: You…]
[Stelle: What's your relationship with Mr. Yang? How do you know him? Which planet are you from?]