Fate Trading System – Chapter 287

Plan A

Divine Vestige 13

Moreover, fourteen years old?

This face did indeed resemble a 14-year-old little loli¹ of this era, but Su Xin had obtained Mi Lou’s² information; the person before her was indeed a 19-year-old young woman.

In a way, she was an adult child.

“I really didn’t mean to steal the food; I was just too hungry. I don’t know any magic or anything else. I’m just an ordinary commoner. Big brother and big sisters, what will it take for you to let me go?”

As Mi Lou performed, she grew anxious.

Although these three people look like good people, the world is full of hypocrites. Those who appear pure and kind, looking like the best of people, are often the biggest villains. Like herself, for instance.

Mi Lou was aware of the advantage her appearance gave her. While she couldn’t be called a bad person in real life, she was skilled at spinning lies.

She used one lie after another to make others believe her, thereby achieving her goals.

She had never done anything heinous, but perhaps she really was a scumbag.

“There are no outsiders here, little one. Please stop your performance.”

Su Xin was getting a bit annoyed by Mi Lou’s crying. A girl tear-streaked like a pear blossom in the rain³ was indeed beautiful, but she disliked those who wailed and sobbed, and she detested the sound of crying, no matter the kind.

“How should we deal with her?”

Slayer had just failed in her attempt to act cute, so she wasn’t in a good mood. Hearing Mi Lou’s whimpering only made her more irritable.

Only the weak shed tears—this was the thief’s creed. But if Su Xin were to cry in front of her, Slayer felt her heart would break just thinking about it. She would never find Su Xin annoying; she would surely pull her into her arms and comfort her tenderly.

“I’m really a good person! What will it take for you to believe me? Do you want me to apologize? I can apologize to you right now. Do you want me to cook you a new pot of mushroom soup? If you give me the ingredients, I can consider it, as long as you’re not afraid of it tasting bad.”

Mi Lou maintained the appearance of a pitiful and harmless little rabbit, her eyes blinking as she tried hard to convey her goodwill.

The two girls present were unmoved by Mi Lou’s tears and words. Sha Ying felt sympathetic, but he would absolutely not act rashly.

“A Glib Talker? That sounds cool, doesn’t it? But in truth, I don’t like dealing with people like that.”

Su Xin stood before Mi Lou, looking down at her with a height advantage.

“Big Sister, what are you talking about?”

“You’d better confess. Why are you here? What are you looking for, or what are you waiting for? Otherwise, you can say goodbye to that cute little tongue of yours.”

Su Xin’s face still wore a kind smile. It was impossible for Mi Lou to stay in this place indefinitely without reason. There were clearly more prosperous towns and villages nearby. Even if she didn’t dare to meet other players or Lost Ones, staying among NPCs would be very safe.

Su Xin didn’t believe a Glib Talker couldn’t distinguish between a player and an NPC. They had always used lies as their weapons, like little animals naturally sensitive to danger, faster than anyone when it was time to flee.

Mi Lou continued to play dumb, feigning ignorance.

“Slayer, what’s the best way to punish a liar?”

“To make it so she can’t speak anymore, of course.”

Slayer twirled the dagger in her hand, a gesture full of menace.

“Stop, stop, stop! Wait, wait, wait! We can talk this out. Why must we resort to violence?”

Mi Lou immediately stopped her whimpering act. The lost and helpless look on her face vanished completely, replaced by an ingratiating smile.

But this face had its advantages. Such a smile on anyone else would seem incredibly sleazy, but on Mi Lou, it just looked rather cute.

Sha Ying was a bit dumbfounded by this reversal. He glanced at Su Xin, then back at Mi Lou.

He couldn’t help but feel relieved that his earlier silence had been the right choice.

Sha Ying knew it wasn’t that simple. Who would have thought this little girl’s true face was like this? She looked so cute, and her crying was so pitiful.

“I really am just a commoner. I’m only here because I have nowhere else to go. I live in a village not far from here. If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask. I secretly followed him here—you should have met him, right? There were three of them in total, and they went in there. I didn’t dare to go in, so I was just waiting outside. I saw the mushroom soup, and I was very hungry, so I drank it. But then I was afraid you’d blame me when you came back, so I was getting ready to run.”

Mi Lou explained the sequence of events, but she still didn’t admit to being a Glib Talker, trying her best to disguise herself as an NPC.

“I’ll give you one more chance. If you still don’t tell the truth, then you won’t have to speak ever again.”

Su Xin had never been patient with insignificant people. There was nothing in Mi Lou’s backpack that she wanted, but Su Xin still wanted to subdue her because Mi Lou had an achievement called 【Harbinger of Misfortune】. A legendary jinx, whose bad predictions came true while the good ones never did. To have obtained this achievement, she must have correctly predicted at least 50 bad events. If there was someone by her side who could give her timely warnings, things might not get too bad. When necessary, she could even be used as a diviner. To see if a day was suitable for a certain activity, as long as Mi Lou had a bad feeling, it was highly likely that something would go wrong.

However, subduing a Glib Talker was no easy task. They had their own minds, were incredibly sharp, and such people were usually quite timid, easily becoming turncoats⁴.

Su Xin had asked Mi Lou a question—what she was waiting for here—but in reality, she didn’t care what Mi Lou was waiting for. That wasn’t Su Xin’s main goal. She was just trying to bluff her out.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

Big shots, big shots, can’t afford to offend them.

With this kind of person, whether you take a soft or hard approach, they are likely to lie to you. Sometimes it’s not that they want to lie, but that they are habitually using lies to conceal their true selves.

Lying had become a natural, ingrained part of them, as if it were intertwined with their very breath.

Su Xin couldn’t be bothered with the soft approach and was directly taking a hard line.

“I wasn’t waiting for anything here; I just didn’t want to run around aimlessly. You guys must be players, right? The kind who haven’t lost consciousness. Then you should know this is a dungeon. I just wanted to get some food from that man.”

Mi Lou spread her hands.

“That NPC has already been dealt with? It seems you don’t intend to complete this dungeon quest. Makes sense. Look at the times we’re in, who has the mood to do quests anyway.”

Mi Lou tied up her hair and gave herself a look of utter disgust.

She looked disheveled, but this dishevelment wasn’t an act. She had genuinely been surviving out here for over ten days, subsisting on a little food each day. The nearby fruits were all gone, and her daily sustenance had depended on that NPC.

She never thought she would live so wretchedly in a game, as if she were repeating her past in reality.

A disgusting, filthy, rotten past.

In real life, Mi Lou was a woman—or rather, a young lady—who lived quite well. Many people revolved around her, adoring her. She had many friends.

But in truth, Mi Lou didn’t have a single good friend. She never told anyone the whole truth.

Or rather, she only spoke in half-truths.

In an age of advanced technology, many tasks had been replaced by machines. With robots, manual labor was no longer needed. Such a society should have developed well.

Yet, the poor were still poor, and the rich were still rich. The social classes remained distinct, far from the so-called Great Unity⁵.

She was born in the slums, her parents deceased.

She was beautiful, had been trafficked, had been poor, had begged.

Her appearance was her tool; lies were her means.

She had thought she could have a different life in this game, and at first, that was true. No one knew her past, and everyone tried their best to be kind. But one day, this place changed.

Mi Lou frowned in annoyance, letting her true emotions show through.

Revealing truth at the right moment was for the sake of a better lie.

“Why not go to a village or town? Didn’t you say earlier that you lived in a village?”

“Don’t you already know I’m a Glib Talker? It’s really strange, Big Sister. How did you figure it out? Do I have the feet of a liar?”

In fact, when Su Xin revealed her identity, Mi Lou’s heart had skipped a beat. When a liar’s identity as a liar is exposed, it’s undoubtedly a painful blow.

For a liar, the most fatal thing isn’t being unable to speak—because they can still use actions to deceive. The most fatal thing is when no one believes them.

Why can liars deceive people? They exploit trust. Even if it’s tentative and meager, as long as there is the slightest possibility of belief, the liar can succeed.

“How I know isn’t important. Let me guess why you lied about that. Is there something in the village or town that you feel threatened by? Something that prevents you from leaving this place, something that makes you feel terrified or afraid. Is that why you haven’t gone to them to play with your words, why you haven’t lied? Is it because your lies might have been exposed, leading to you not being trusted? Or is it that you’re afraid to lie to them because the risk is too great?”

Su Xin speculated. Mi Lou was not a very bold liar. She valued her life more than her lies. Some people lie to survive, some lie to live better, and some lie simply for a sense of accomplishment.

A sense of accomplishment from manipulating others in the palm of their hand.

That kind of pleasure could even be frenzied, far surpassing any concern for their own life. The more thrilling it was, the happier they became.

Clearly, Mi Lou was not like that. She was a cautious, careful Glib Talker.

“Big Sister, has anyone ever told you that the way you talk is really unlikable.”

“People whose sore spots I’ve hit often feel that way.”

“I’ll tell you why. Because everyone around here is a f#cking idiot.”

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