Chapter 284: Not Registering

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Not Registering

’Next time?’

’There won’t be a next time.’

She and Feng Ling were in different cities. It was hard for their work and lives to intersect. Today’s get-together was already a rare occasion; who knew when they would ever have another meal together?

"It’s fine. Work is more important. You go on," Feng Ling said, completely unaware of Pei Xianjue’s melancholy. She waved her hand. "We didn’t get to eat properly this time. I’ll treat you guys again later."

"Okay," Pei Xianjue replied quickly before leading Baozi out of the private dining room.

The Inspection Bureau’s teams had to respond fast, so she didn’t have time for more pleasantries with Feng Ling.

After Pei Xianjue and Baozi hurried off, Feng Ling sighed at the table full of food. She reached out and ruffled Huangfu Miaomiao’s hair. "Go on, eat. We’ll head back to Qingjiang when you’re done."

Huangfu Miaomiao looked up at Feng Ling. "Aren’t we waiting for them to come back?"

"By the time they finish work, the food will be completely cold." Feng Ling picked up her chopsticks. "It’s always a huge hassle whenever a Pollution Body or an Alien Species is found. The Inspection Bureau has to eliminate the target first, then secure the scene and wait for the cleanup crew to arrive before they can leave. Plus, they have to write reports and all that. They’re swamped. I doubt they’ll have time to eat with us."

Huangfu Miaomiao nodded and went back to eating. "There aren’t many Pollution Bodies showing up outside the Maze anymore," she mumbled. "The Inspectors’ jobs shouldn’t be too busy in the future."

Feng Ling’s tone was cool. "To Alien Species, Pollution Bodies are points. With fewer Pollution Bodies around, Alien Species who can’t earn enough points will start targeting Inspectors and the Maze. I think they’ll be even busier in the future, and in more danger."

Pollution Bodies, Inspectors, and even Hunters... in the eyes of players, they were all just mobs. But Inspectors were the hardest to kill. If any players were desperate for points, they might just take the risk.

Huangfu Miaomiao didn’t want to talk about this topic any more, worried about drawing unwanted attention.

For a while, the only sound in the private room was the clinking of cups and plates.

Feng Ling was getting bored, so she picked up her phone and started scrolling through videos.

The trending videos recently were almost all related to Xu Yiming. His press conference had just ended, and he was having a moment in the spotlight. A few clips of him speaking were being endlessly edited and spliced together by content farms, set to all sorts of trendy music, and were getting a ton of views.

Feng Ling couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the familiar face. ’He looks a little different from how he does in real life... Did he put on makeup? Tsk, has he used concealer on his skin? And it looks like his eyebrows have been shaped... Hehe, I have to take a screenshot and send it to him.’

A mischievous thought popped into Feng Ling’s head. She decisively took a screenshot, ready to send it to Xu Yiming.

But the bullet comments were so dense they completely obscured Xu Yiming’s face.

Feng Ling wanted to take another screenshot and was looking for the button to turn off the comments when her eyes caught Pei Xianjue’s name.

"Huh?"

Feng Ling paused. She scrolled through them, and almost all of them were cursing out Pei Xianjue, with only a few replies from Pei Xianjue’s fans mixed in.

She was puzzled. She didn’t understand why people were flaming Pei Xianjue in the comments of a video about Xu Yiming. They were two completely unrelated people.

Driven by curiosity, Feng Ling searched online for the full replay of the press conference and went straight to the comments section. Sure enough, the top few comments were all related to Pei Xianjue.

Someone said Feng Ling had seen Pei Xianjue’s true colors. Someone else said she had already broken ties with Pei Xianjue. There was even a comment saying she had deliberately not invited Pei Xianjue on her second trip into the Maze because Pei Xianjue’s mother had once looked down on her.

Feng Ling thought, ’Their imaginations are something else. I’ve never even met Pei Xianjue’s mom.’

But after reading through them one by one, she finally pieced together the whole story.

"No wonder..." Feng Ling muttered.

No wonder she felt that Pei Xianjue hadn’t been as lively as usual today. Something was weighing on her mind.

’Such a trivial matter, honestly.’

Feng Ling opened the camera app on her phone and snapped a picture of the empty seat where Pei Xianjue had been sitting, preparing to prove there was no conflict between them.

But to prove it, just posting the photo to her circle of friends was useless. It had to be posted on the social media platform with the most traffic.

Muttering in distaste, Feng Ling downloaded the app from the app store. Then, she patiently went through the registration process, filling in her information and entering "Feng Ling" as her nickname.

Such an unusual name, and it was still taken.

She casually tried "FengLing123," "FengLing666," and "TheRealFengLing"—all taken.

Feng Ling furiously typed out, "I never knew so many people had my name until I tried to register"—

Registration successful.

Feng Ling was stunned. ’That was just a spur-of-the-moment rant!’

She tapped "Change Nickname."

The system prompted that she could only change it after three months, but members could change their nicknames an unlimited number of times. A link to subscribe to a membership appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"This piece of crap software!" Feng Ling felt her hatred for it was completely justified.

’Damn it.’

There was nothing to be done. She would just have to make do.

Feng Ling posted the photo with a caption: "Left for a mission halfway through dinner. The Inspection Bureau’s work is so tough. Guess we’ll have to schedule another meal next time~"

Then she @’d Pei Xianjue and sent her a friend request.

After doing all that, Feng Ling looked at Huangfu Miaomiao. "Are you full?"

"Mhm, I’m full." Huangfu Miaomiao wiped her mouth.

Feng Ling glanced at the half-eaten dishes on the table, then stood up. "Let’s go. Back to Qingjiang."

「...」

「...」

Pei Xianjue finished her mission and returned to the Inspection Bureau branch to report. By the time everything was done, she felt completely disheartened.

She felt so foolish. Because of a moment of distraction, she had missed the perfect opportunity to get a photo with Feng Ling.

It was too late now. The chance was gone.

’Now I’ll have to come up with a new plan.’

Not wanting to see all the negative comments online, Pei Xianjue avoided opening her usual social media app. It wasn’t until late at night, when she was about to go to sleep, that she finally opened it for a quick look.

She froze the moment she saw it.

She stared at the photo for a good ten seconds, then shot up in bed, scrutinizing the username of the person who posted it—

"I never knew so many people had my name until I tried to register."

’This has to be Feng Ling, right?’

’It’s her! It has to be!’

Pei Xianjue’s heart pounded. Then, she looked at the number of views on the photo Feng Ling had posted and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Only a dozen or so.

After her laughter faded, a warmth spread through her chest, and her eyes began to prickle.

She knew Feng Ling had done this to help her out of her predicament. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have suddenly registered an account just to post a single photo.

Pei Xianjue carefully followed the new account back, then reposted it with a reply: "Waaaaah, I just got off work! I’m so hungry! Seeing the picture makes me even hungrier!"

Pei Xianjue’s account was a premium VIP account with millions of followers.

The moment she reposted it, the view count exploded.

Pei Xianjue’s fan club immediately reposted it, as happy as if it were a holiday: "See! I told you our Peng’s reputation wasn’t ruined! She and Feng Ling have always been friends. Haters, please have some self-respect."

There were also some more inquisitive netizens who left comments under Feng Ling’s post, questioning her:

"Are you really Feng Ling?"