Though she had known for a long time that Hong Ling's complete detachment from reality bordered on the loss of humanity—her forced cuteness and awful jokes leaving one utterly defeated—Lin Xiaoke had always held onto the belief that despite her personality flaws, Hong Ling was once an unrivaled powerhouse, meaning anything she said deserved careful consideration and deep analysis, lest a crucial detail be missed.

But at this very moment, Lin Xiaoke finally understood... she had been far too naive before.

Setting aside Hong Ling's actual power, the woman was simply a nonsensical rambler, perpetually lost in flights of fancy, harboring utterly impractical notions, and constantly doing or saying things that drove others to distraction, a master of irritating, unintentionally hilarious absurdity and malicious cuteness!

To think she used to seriously try to decipher Hong Ling’s words was utter idiocy; they held no inherent meaning. Lin Xiaoke had simply overthought everything, allowing herself to be led around by the nose and played for a fool. She should have just ignored her completely—why couldn't she grasp that simple truth?!

It would have been infinitely better to watch that short film directed by Lin Luo than to listen to this woman’s drivel. Even if Lin Luo’s work wasn't dazzling, at least his commentary was entertaining.

Thus, having composed herself, Lin Xiaoke immediately dismissed Hong Ling, setting up mental safeguards before reconnecting to the network... Her previous lack of vigilance had allowed Hong Ling to launch a surprise attack in the chaos. With her guard up this time, history would not repeat itself.

After all, Hong Ling was merely a parasitic soul; the body remained under her—Lin Xiaoke's—true command.

Meanwhile, during the time Lin Xiaoke spent dealing with Hong Ling, a small interlude had transpired over with Lin Luo.

Having been publicly confessed to twice by Lin Xiaoke, Lin Luo couldn't determine if she was sincere or merely joking. Regardless, either scenario left him feeling completely adrift.

Before he could recover from that shock, Gaia, that rowdy brat, decided to join the fray. She stared at Lin Luo with wide-eyed excitement, as if she herself had been the recipient of the confession, and chirped, "Hey! That girl already confessed to you! How are you going to respond to her?"

Lin Luo scanned the expressions of everyone in the room: Komeiji Satori smiled faintly, revealing nothing; Sanae looked utterly disdainful, as unimpressed as ever; Alaya remained expressionless, making her seem like a stone statue. And then there was Gaia... that pest!

Lin Luo cursed inwardly, then gazed deeply at Gaia with a look of profound sentiment, his voice low and resonant, "I love you."

"Ugh!" Gaia’s face instantly changed. She hadn't expected the heat of confession to suddenly swing toward her. It was so illogical it made her skin crawl. She quickly stammered, "Hey, hey, what are you doing? You can eat anything, but you can't just say anything."

Her tone, uncharacteristically, held a distinct note of panic.

Lin Luo chuckled, "I'm not speaking nonsense. I’m simply confessing to you. As soon as you respond to my confession, I will naturally tell you how I plan to respond to hers."

"You..." Gaia froze, then finally realized she had been tricked. She snorted coldly and fell silent.

However, Gaia, the troublesome child, was clearly incapable of staying put. Barely five seconds after deciding to ignore Lin Luo, she noticed the movie had become significantly less interesting without his commentary. She immediately spun around and asked, "Hey, can I go in and play a minor role?"

"A minor role?" Lin Luo blinked in surprise. He understood the literal meaning of the words, but coming from Gaia, it made no sense... She was the Authority of Restriction, capable of summoning wind and rain at will. Watching his movie might be an exercise in leisure, but taking a bit part? Wasn't that just being pathologically bored?

"Yeah," Gaia nodded repeatedly, excitement flashing across her face. "Just sitting here watching them play isn't fun enough. I want to join them too! Just make me some prophet or sage or something to give them some guidance, please?"

Go to hell!

Lin Luo muttered under his breath, but on his face, he feigned reluctance, shaking his head, "That’s impossible. The plot is already set; we can’t add any more characters."

"Just slip one in without affecting the plot."

"I really can't..."

"Adding one won't cause pregnancy!"

"While it won't cause pregnancy, people might die..."

"Are you adding one or not?"

"No."

"Are you adding one or not?"

"I'm truly powerless. As a director, I must be responsible for my film."

Lin Luo adopted an air of righteous indignation, flatly refusing Gaia’s demand. Once she confirmed Lin Luo genuinely wouldn't add any extra roles for her, Gaia instantly pouted, staring at him like a jilted wife. "Stingy!"

"Heh heh," Lin Luo offered a strained smile, saying no more.

His claim about being a responsible director was pure nonsense. If he wanted to, adding not just one extra, but a hundred extras would pose no issue. But adding Gaia as an extra? That was absolutely out of the question.

Given Gaia’s power and her inherent chaotic nature, letting her genuinely participate in the melee of Fuyuki City... well, she certainly wouldn't be serious, treating it purely as a game. But even so, if she allowed even the slightest excess, the consequences could spiral horribly. How could Lin Luo possibly permit that?

Though Gaia was one of the highest mysteries of this world as the planet's Counter Force, that fact had no bearing on whether she participated or not. She was the planet itself; as long as the planet lived and functioned, her mysteries were continuously released... Like Alaya, despite being the highest tier of mystery, they were also the easiest to collect.

Truthfully, Gaia showing up here was trouble enough for Lin Luo. To keep this brat occupied and compliant, he had racked his brain to devise the movie concept overnight and felt compelled to provide running commentary, preventing him from doing anything else... If he hadn't poured nine-tenths of his power into the world-altering formation, causing a massive regression in his strength, he would never coddle Gaia this much.

If Gaia could just lie down quietly like a compliant pet, he would be overjoyed. If he could even massage her legs, pat her back, or warm her bed, that would be even better... though, at this moment, that prospect remained highly extravagant.

Zzzzt... Zzzzt...

Just then, a sharp burst of static ripped through the air. Lin Luo immediately glanced toward the upper left of the screen, where the cool, detached figure of Lin Xiaoke reappeared.

"Apologies. A child was being disruptive. Forget everything I said previously." The moment she appeared, Lin Xiaoke declared.

"...Oh, alright," Lin Luo nodded, tearing his gaze away from Lin Xiaoke's screen.

While he was somewhat curious about the preceding events, he lacked the stamina to pursue them. Lin Xiaoke telling him not to dwell on it was exactly what he wanted.

As for why Lin Xiaoke suddenly said that, she possessed as many secrets as he did; there was nothing particularly surprising about it.

"Hey! Commentary! Commentary!" On the adjacent sofa, Gaia, still sulking over being denied a role, noticed Lin Luo seemed to have forgotten her entirely. She slammed her hand on the table, erupting in frustration.

One day, I’ll turn you into a stuffed toy!

Lin Luo thought darkly, but plastered a smile on his face. Holding the microphone, he pointed at the screen and announced, "Very well. This film has now reached the ** stage, featuring the three heroines and their... friends, battling the Four Heavenly Kings under the Demon Lord. But before that, allow me to offer a brief recap."

"Just yesterday at this time, the three heroines engaged the Miracle Priestess, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, for the second confrontation. The Priestess, who held an absolute advantage, suffered a sudden bout of morning sickness during the fight, causing her magic to cut out. She was ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of the three heroines and received the first fresh bento box delivered by SF Express in this film... Wait, two boxes... Alas, the children are innocent."

"Who’s having morning sickness! I don’t have a child!" As Lin Luo’s words faded, Sanae shouted furiously, her beautiful eyes blazing with indignation.

"Oh? You didn't have morning sickness? Then how did your magic cut out?" Lin Luo questioned.

"Nonsense! You cut it off! How else could I have lost!"

"But I didn't do anything! Besides, you told me just a few days ago that you've been craving sour things lately, feeling nauseous, dizzy, and weak, and that your period is way overdue. Those are classic signs of pregnancy," Lin Luo asserted brazenly. Only he could utter such shameless words.

Sanae was on the verge of tears. "I never said any of those things!"

"You didn't? Let's ask the audience here." Lin Luo passed the microphone to Gaia and the others, asking, "Audience members, did the Miracle Priestess lose yesterday's fight because of morning sickness?"

"Yes, yes, it was definitely morning sickness!" The brat Gaia, never one to miss chaos, immediately agreed.

Alaya remained expressionless.

"Hmm, silence means consent," Lin Luo declared, then handed the microphone to Komeiji Satori.

Komeiji Satori seemed slightly embarrassed. "Um... according to the setting, that seems to be the case."

Finally, it was Lin Xiaoke's turn.

Perhaps fueled by the terrible bullying from Hong Ling, she gave in to a momentary need for catharsis and said against her better judgment, "Yes, it really was morning sickness."

"See? Everyone thinks so," Lin Luo turned, gazing deeply at Sanae.

At that moment, Sanae's delicate body trembled, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Waaah... You're all bullying me..."

Then, weeping, she ran out of the room. (To be continued)RQ