"Phew—that was close!"
The cat-eared girl breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up while clutching the breakfast bag, and patted it as if it were precious, brushing away non-existent dust.
Then, acting as if she owned the place, she turned around, back to the still-petrified Baiheng, and naturally opened the bag while muttering, "Honestly, such fragrant food—what a pity it would have been if it dropped! Don't you know that every grain is hard-earned?"
Having said that, she unceremoniously took out a fried dough stick, opened her mouth, and took a big "crunchy" bite. Her cheeks puffed up immediately, and she narrowed her cat-like eyes in satisfaction, vaguely commenting, "Mmm! Crispy! Fragrant!"
Baiheng: "..."
She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound.
Her brain finally recovered a sliver of processing power from its overload state, but the conclusions she reached only left her more confused: the breakfast was real and had been caught; the cat-eared girl was real and was eating her breakfast; this courtyard was real, and she hadn't walked into the wrong house... So the question was—
(Cipher?! Isn't she... isn't she still sealed away?! Why is she appearing in my courtyard?! And... and eating my breakfast?! Is the System playing tricks?)
Baiheng felt like her CPU was about to burn out.
She took several deep breaths before she could barely find her voice. With extreme suspicion and uncertainty, she tentatively spoke up:
"Th-that... who are you...?"
The cat-eared girl—Cipher—finished the fried dough stick in a few bites, then took out a steamed bun. Hearing this, she turned her head, waving her hand casually while chewing, a cunning glint sparkling in her cat-like eyes: "Cipher. You're Baiheng, right? I've heard Mu Zi mention you, saying you know me and also know about the affairs of Amphoreus."
She swallowed the food and grinned, revealing two cute little fangs, "So, for the first stop of my 'running away from home,' I've come to rely on you! Surprised? Unexpected, right?"
Baiheng: "!!!"
Mu Zi?
This strange form of address... could it be her master?
Cipher calls her "Mu Zi"?
This is a lot of information to take in.
But more importantly— "Rely on me?!"
Baiheng finally broke free from her extreme shock, replaced by immense confusion.
She couldn't help but step forward to get a closer look at Cipher.
That's right, it's that Golden Descendants from her memories!
But the one before her had clear, lively eyes, natural demeanor, and spoke clearly; there was absolutely no sign of cognitive confusion!
"Are... are you really Cipher? Cipher from Amphoreus? The Golden Descendants?"
Baiheng's voice trembled with excitement. She even subconsciously wanted to take off her blindfold to see more clearly, but her remaining rationality made her hold back.
"The real deal~"
Cipher nodded and took another bite of the steamed bun, speaking a bit vaguely but clearly, "Authentic, guaranteed genuine. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mu Zi, or Anaxa—oh, and Big Sister Tribbie, they all know."
"But... aren't you..."
Baiheng organized her words, "Aren't you supposed to still be in... that special state? How... how did you suddenly..."
"Get liberated? Get free?"
Cipher took over, shrugging indifferently as her cat Tail swayed leisurely behind her, "The specific process is a bit complicated. Simply put, I chatted with that guy named Anaxa in a sandbox called 'simulated universe' for over thirty years. While I chatted him into being a bit abnormal, I also more or less chatted myself into clarity."
She licked her oil-stained fingers, her eyes drifting for a moment as if recalling that long stretch of time, "And then, I just figured it out. Being trapped in the past, trapped in dreams of my own weaving, is pretty boring. The world is so big; I want to come out and wander around, eat some good food, and see scenery I haven't seen before."
She polished off her breakfast in no time, clapped her hands, and looked at Baiheng with her blue cat-like eyes, which twinkled with a casual attitude: "As for why I came to find you? Hehe..."
She leaned in a little closer, carrying the scent of morning dew, her smile filled with a bit of mischief and justification: "First, Mu Zi said you were here and knew the ropes. Second, I heard Anaxa mention you, and I felt you should be more interesting than them and wouldn't be straight-faced all day. And third..."
She looked around the small courtyard and nodded, "This place looks quite comfortable; it has food and lodging, and it's close to the bustling streets. It perfectly fits my requirements for the first stop of 'experiencing life'! So, Baiheng, please take care of me for the next while! ♪"
Baiheng looked at the cat-eared girl who had unilaterally decided to "rely on" her, and for a moment, she didn't know how to react.
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