Love, or Die

Buying a gift? What kind of wonderful quest is this?

Zhong Yi was overjoyed. He immediately followed the quest guidance and arrived at the market to purchase a gift.

The mission location was a tailor shop selling clothes.

There were garments of every style imaginable.

Which one should I choose...

Zhong Yi, who was wholly dedicated to his cultivation and had never bought a gift for a girl before, found himself in a predicament. He hurriedly began consulting with the bullet comments in the live stream.

This one? No, that's too mature...

Holy crap? Who suggested buying that bridal attire? That's too perverted!

This one looks quite boyish; I feel like she'd look handsome in it?

Whoa, this is clothing from a foreign land, isn't it? It looks so strange...

...

Although it was a simple task, Zhong Yi spent a long time browsing before finally selecting a glazed azure Fairy Skirt.

Imagining how Su Di'er would look wearing it, Zhong Yi nodded with satisfaction and paid two taels of silver.

In the original movie The Professional, the assassin Léon buys a pink, mature-style low-cut dress for Mathilda after completing a mission.

Some claim Léon simply didn't understand what a little girl should wear, while others argue this signified that Léon no longer viewed Mathilda as a child.

When Lu Ze designed this part of the game, he had two considerations.

First, having the player personally buy the gift they wanted to give Su Di'er would enhance their sense of immersion.

Second, the style of clothing chosen by the player would, to a certain extent, alter the emotional direction of the plot.

Although this was a role-playing game, not everyone would necessarily fall in love with the young girl like the protagonist of the original work.

Li Ang's feelings for Su Di'er could be familial love, or they could be romantic love.

The answer was quietly determined through the player's interactions with Su Di'er and the gift-buying segment.

...

Back at the inn where they were temporarily staying.

Zhong Yi pushed open the door with his right hand, which was dripping with fresh blood.

Su Di'er looked at him with a guilty expression, then buried her head and pretended to write and draw on the scroll Zhong Yi had left behind.

Zhong Yi glanced at the little rabbit doll not far away, and the Assassin's Focus state automatically activated.

Little Rabbit Doll: Fur messy, retaining warmth; obviously just held in Su Di'er's arms.

The corners of Zhong Yi's mouth curled up slightly.

Clearly, Su Di'er had been hugging the doll right until she heard his footsteps.

In front of Zhong Yi, she always tried to carefully discard childish hobbies, striving to pretend to be an adult.

This is the gift I bought for you.

Zhong Yi didn't expose her. He placed the paper box containing the clothes on the table.

Su Di'er nodded, looking preoccupied with heavy thoughts.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Zhong Yi opened the door to find the innkeeper, that white-haired old man with an extremely high sense of morality.

Behind him stood a group of aggressive waiters.

What is the matter? I don't believe I... owe any rent...

Zhong Yi frowned in confusion, only to be met with a look of disdain and contempt.

Pah! You scum, you won't even spare a little girl!

???

...

...

After being kicked out of the inn, the illusion once again entered a cinematic sequence.

Only then did Zhong Yi realize what had happened during the time he was out on his mission.

Shortly after he left, Su Di'er had gone downstairs alone and bumped into the innkeeper.

Previously, the owner had assumed they were father and daughter. Unexpectedly, Su Di'er flatly denied it and instead openly declared that Li Ang was her lover.

Considering the age gap in their appearances, the innkeeper was dumbfounded and immediately prepared to report them to the authorities.

Su Di'er didn't realize the gravity of the situation, nor did she know that Li Ang was now viewed by others as a pervert trafficking children...

She hailed a carriage and went to her former residence.

Su Di'er was naturally intelligent and had long known where her father hid his money.

She lifted a loose wooden board in the floor and took out several banknotes, but unexpectedly ran into a group of uninvited guests.

It was Shi Dan, the Demon Vanquisher from the Demon Suppression Division—the terrifying man known as the Star Lord Sirius, who had killed Su Di'er's family.

At that moment, Shi Dan was being interrogated by two magistrates from the government because the commotion caused that day had been excessive.

Unintentionally, Su Di'er overheard the location of Shi Dan's office within the Demon Suppression Division...

...

The scene shifted.

Under the scorching sun on the street, two figures, one large and one small, once again embarked on the journey to find a place to stay.

This sense of déjà vu was honestly somewhat comical.

Fortunately, it didn't take long. The town was large enough, and they soon found new lodgings.

Su Di'er cleaned the room while Li Ang bathed in the washroom.

Li Ang held a needle, thread, and ointment, stitching up his wounds bit by bit, fresh blood continuously trickling down his chest.

When Li Ang walked out of the washroom, he saw the usually lively Su Di'er sitting quietly outside.

Seeing Li Ang emerge, Su Di'er quickly poured him a glass of goat's milk as usual, then fished out several crumpled banknotes from her bundle and gently slapped them onto the table.

Here are four banknotes, each worth five thousand copper coins...

The girl gritted her teeth, her eyes red and filled with hatred and sorrow.

Li Ang, I want to hire you to kill four people...

They work at the Demon Suppression Division, Zone A, Tianshu Team.

The leader's name is Shi Dan.

Hearing this, Li Ang paused.

He quickly realized that Su Di'er was asking him to exact revenge for her.

I don't accept.

Why?

It's too much.

Then, can you lend me your demonic artifacts?

My demonic artifacts are never rented out... You can use your own weapon.

As he spoke, Li Ang took out the wooden sword Su Di'er used for daily practice and placed it on the table.

Why are you so... so stingy toward me!!

The girl bit her lip, looking somewhat angry.

Every day you go out and kill people you don't care about at all... but you refuse to help me deal with the ones who killed my family!

Faced with the girl's interrogation, Li Ang lowered his head in silence.

Once revenge begins, there will be no good ending, Su Di'er... You should forget about this.

Hearing this answer, Su Di'er's expression instantly became agitated.

Forget it!?

You want me to forget... after seeing my little brother die with his eyes wide open?

I want to kill those animals! I want to watch with my own eyes as their heads explode!

Li Ang raised his head, glanced at Su Di'er's wet eyes, and quickly looked away.

You are a good girl, Su Di'er... You shouldn't be stained with blood.

Once you start killing, your life will never be the same.

For the rest of your life, you will sleep with one eye open.

Hearing Li Ang's answer, Zhong Yi and the audience in the live stream also fell into thought.

In my opinion, this Li Ang is just not being fair! He can kill for others, so why not kill for Su Di'er?

First, you have to consider if he can win, right? That's the entire government!

Even if he kills them, he'll probably be hunted by the government for the rest of his life... It's really not worth it.

What do you mean worth it? If it were me, I would have razed the Demon Suppression Division to the ground!

This Li Ang is a real coward!

[Fellow Daoist, you have to consider that Li Ang is merely a Qi Refining cultivator...]

...

In response to the discussions in the bullet comments, Zhong Yi expressed his own opinion.

"I actually think that aside from considerations of strength, Li Ang wants Su Di'er to retain her youthful innocence... Once the path of the Dao is stained with blood, there is no turning back."

Zhong Yi sighed.

Immersed in the first-person illusion, he felt a deeper sense of empathy with Li Ang compared to the audience watching from an omniscient perspective.

Hearing Li Ang's answer, tears instantly streamed down Su Di'er's cheeks.

"I don't want to know how the hell we're supposed to sleep in the future... Li Ang."

"All I want..."

"Is either love or death."