I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 344 1.23 7 Paper Cutting
Lan Xiao walked through the bustling city with her head down, recalling the thrilling scene just now, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She unconsciously stretched out her palm, her emerald eyes fixed on her hand, a blush rising on her face, whether from nervousness or shyness, she couldn't tell.

She gently clenched her fingers into a fist and placed it lightly on her chest. She slowly raised her head and looked up at the mysterious and vast starry sky.

"Is he trustworthy?" The soft murmur to herself was carried away by the breeze, carrying doubt and struggle.

She suddenly remembered what the first person she met after coming into this world had said to her.

I remember that at that time she was afraid and suspicious of everything, unwilling to talk to anyone, unwilling to get close to anyone, and others also distanced themselves from and rejected her because of her behavior.

Only that person...

"How will you know if it will work if you don't try? Some things you only know if you'll regret after you try them. I don't know what happened to you in the past, but the point is, do you want to continue like this, or do you want to change yourself?" He looked at her with a light laugh, as if he were just saying it casually.

To be honest, she was indeed moved by that sentence at that time.

She wants to change, but she's afraid of change.

Before she came into this world, the only courage she had ever possessed was in fighting against her alcoholic and abusive father. It was because her mother used her body to block her so-called father and forced her to muster her courage with her death.

In fact, she did show courage once.

It only happened once.

That act of courage killed that man.

Overnight, he lost both his parents and became an orphan.

She didn't know if it was good or bad, but what she felt in that moment was relief.

Finally, I escaped that family that could almost be called a mistake and gained my freedom.

But is that really freedom?
None of her parents' relatives were willing to take her in, so she was placed in an orphanage. Because both her parents died overnight, a psychologist was also sent to her.

She thought she had gained freedom, but little did she know it was the beginning of all her misery.

Initially, she did not have paranoia. She was a normal person. Even though she was somewhat introverted and timid due to family reasons, she never thought that anyone would want to hurt her.

It wasn't until after her parents died that she realized she had entered a true hell.

She was constantly mocked, bullied, and insulted, and was even frequently used as a punching bag, receiving even harsher beatings for disobedience. At one point, she almost died and became deaf, yet those who beat her bore no responsibility whatsoever.

An irresponsible psychologist, as if deliberately trying to worsen her condition, instilled wrong ideas and gradually eroded her health.

By the time she realized what was happening, she had become someone who would immediately crouch down, cover her head with her hands, and admit defeat at the slightest disturbance, her mind filled with images of how others would bully her.

Her paranoia was man-made, but now it has become her instinct.

The only instinct that could protect her was like a hard shell, isolating her from the outside world, protecting her while also rejecting the outside world and refusing everyone to get close.

She knew this couldn't go on, but she had absolutely no way to solve the problem.

"First, you need to learn how to communicate with others."

Because of that person's suggestion, she chose the entertainment kingdom, which requires interpersonal interaction, and tried to integrate into this world little by little.

The result wasn't bad; at least her condition wasn't as severe as before. With a little effort, she could calm herself down and talk to others.

She is slowly changing, getting closer to being a normal person.

This is accompanied by certain corresponding changes during the process of change, but since they do not affect her as a whole, they do not need to be changed.

Initially, she was afraid of this change, so she went to find that person.

He said, "Isn't that great? Even if things change, we can still protect ourselves. There's no better change than that."

She felt at ease, so she gradually began to enjoy the change.

I can't trust others right now, but maybe I will in the future...

Is Bertias trustworthy?
Should she try to believe it?

This is the first time someone has been willing to save her...

A delicate black butterfly fluttered by and gently landed on her shoulder.

"Can I trust you?" Lan Xiao asked softly.

The butterfly fluttered its wings but did not answer Lan Xiao. It flapped its delicate, translucent wings and flew into the sky, scattering specks of black, shimmering phosphorescent powder.

"You can ask yourself," a slightly familiar female voice said in my ear.

Lan Xiao subconsciously turned to look at her, only to see Ke Ya casually leaning against a wall, playing with the bone flute in her hand, completely unaware that she had said something that might cause concern.

"I didn't mean to listen to you, but I saw you spacing out here as soon as I came out, so I wanted to remind you. The time flow in this instance might be much faster than outside, so while you're spacing out, it might only be ten minutes outside, but several hours could have passed here."

Koya pointed to the gradually darkening street in the distance and added, "It's late at night."

"Now is not the time to think about such things. Let's think about how to end this instance first," Lan Xiao said, shaking his head.

"Really? I don't care, you're the one who's bothered. Oh right, by the way, the special currency of this instance is called Embroidery Coins. Basically, the paper dolls living here use Embroidery Coins for their daily needs, you should know that, right? So I was wondering what the difference is between the paper dolls' Embroidery Coins and the Embroidery Coins we use... and guess what I found?"

Ke Ya smiled at Lan Xiao with an expression that suggested she had discovered something good.

"Aren't the embroidered coins on the paper figures different from the embroidered coins we use?" Lan Xiao asked.

“You’re right. In the hands of the paper dolls, the embroidered coins are just paper, but in our hands they turn into copper coins.” Ke Ya tossed the round coin with a square hole in her hand and said with a smile.

"In other words, some items can be transformed. Even if they temporarily become paper figures that we can use, it doesn't matter. They will become physical objects after we touch them, but only those items that the system allows us to use. Is that right?" Lan Xiao lowered her eyes and said softly.

"You got it right. As expected, being the runner-up in the Entertainment Kingdom's '30-Second Quick Quiz' makes all the difference," Ke Ya praised with a light laugh.

Lan Xiao blushed and said shyly, "You don't need to praise me like that. Others would think the same thing if they heard it."

"What's so good about those other men...?" Ke Ya frowned and said helplessly.

"Stinky, stinky man?" Lan Xiao blinked, her tone slightly surprised, completely unexpected that Ke Ya would comment on them that way.

(End of this chapter)