Chapter Twelve: You Shall Never Walk Alone

The night had deepened. Sonia and Maria, looking more energetic than they had that afternoon, sat at the dining table, behind them two invisible tails wagging. Local specialty dishes were laid out on the table, their aroma wafting from a simple warming and baking.

Sonia wrinkled her nose, eyes closed, utterly immersed in the scent. The afternoon’s fatigue had left her ravenous, her stomach audibly grumbling. Melina used magic to manipulate the wine bottles, making them tap-dance skillfully on the tabletop before pouring themselves out.

“Thanks, Houmi,” Sonia said habitually, tapping the table with her index and middle fingers in unison.

The three of them froze momentarily, then burst into laughter simultaneously. Maria, a poised blonde, laughed with a surprisingly wild abandon. Pointing at Sonia, she said, “So, Sonia, you’ve just revealed your identity as a dim sum lover.”

Having changed out of her knight’s armor, Sonia wore a black-and-purple overdress, her long black hair loose over her shoulders, looking very much like a lady.

“What’s wrong with drinking tea?” she argued confidently. “My grandmother is over ninety and still drinks dim sum every morning...” She trailed off.

A brief silence fell over them, each lost in their own thoughts.

“People have to look forward,” Melina said, recalling her family, her lips involuntarily curving downward into a melancholic expression.

“Hmm...” Maria gazed at her glass, replying weakly, lost in thought.

Sonia smiled wistfully, supporting her face with one hand. “You too?”

Melina’s cruel sense of humor surfaced: “There’s no choice. We can’t always be the ones without parents, right?”

Maria lightly patted her thigh, offering a smile more bitter than joyful: “True. Sometimes, people like us have to step up! It can’t always be them.”

Sonia raised her glass filled with low-alcohol drink and shouted loudly, “To those who have cars and houses, parents alive and well, siblings all present, and grandparents who live long lives—transcendent travelers!”

Melina clinked glasses with her, then with Maria. “To the dear colleague handling the luxury car accident involving my parents!”

Maria asked curiously, “You got hit by a luxury car?”

“Yes.”

“Your colleague?”

Melina smiled bitterly, “I work at a law firm.”

Maria coughed and gave a thumbs-up, “That’s ruthless.”

She clinked glasses with Sonia and said in her slightly lispy accent, “May there be no high voltage in other worlds, may there be hope and signals to return home, and may travelers never be lonely or walk alone!”

Then she burst into song: “Your dreams may shatter, but carrying hope in your heart, you will never walk alone...”

They were all delighted. At least for this moment, happiness replaced the loneliness of being strangers in a foreign land.

---

Sonia tapped her bowl and dishes with a spoon. Melina tilted her head back and downed her drink in one go—an extremely spicy taste burning down her throat, almost making her want to cry. Did she? Maybe, maybe not, for now she would never walk alone again.

Hamlet’s local delicacy, the “Dagger Noodles,” contained no noodles at all. The outside was crispy roasted octopus, encasing a fried rice filling made with green and red peppers and roasted meat. The crunch alone was enough to bring a satisfied “mmm” expression.

Hydra Marsh’s specialty was a thick fish broth—not for drinking but for dipping bread. The rich, fragrant fish soup was packed with protein and nutrients—so potent that even the scarlet-winged dragons suffered gout!

Reluctantly admitting it, this meal was far better than anything Melina could make herself.

Perhaps because resources were less scarce, the locals didn’t have to worry about using less oil or seasoning when cooking. However, supplies were somewhat unstable—if yesterday’s gatherers brought back mostly meat, they’d have a meat feast; if today they brought fish, then a fish feast. Though theoretical, locals rarely stockpile food, except the rat people.

After the meal, Melina had to tidy her room, while Sonia and Maria collected samples from her for reagent testing.

Melina had an abundance of magic energy; choosing a weapon required caution. The senior had said that in her first playthrough, she was a blade specialist due to declining magic energy from poor health, later stabilizing as a six-sword blade wielder, eventually degenerating to a five-sword specialist. Now fully healthy, her first run’s experience couldn’t be applied directly; tests were necessary.

Samples were mainly saliva and blood—small amounts.

After collection, the two excitedly rushed downstairs to the alchemy workshop, leaving Melina on the second floor to pack her belongings.

Before packing, Melina handed mosquito-repellent potions to the Echo Squad.

Her body ached slightly. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned.

Drinking had negative effects on controlling magic energy.

She wanted to replenish with alchemy potions but couldn’t in her current state, so she took a shower, changed into dry pajamas, and planned to replenish afterward.

The alchemy workshop on the second floor provided no raw materials, so she had brought her own.

Potion of Invisibility.

Its main ingredients were ground dragon scales from shadow dragons and ground black gemstones, with common roots, spider legs, and raven beaks as secondary materials.

Its effect: upon drinking, magic energy within a four-meter radius mimics the energy pattern of a no-man’s land, achieving a certain level of presence nullification. She had had enough of a squad playing “one, two, three, wooden man”—if she hadn’t gone mad, they might still be out there...

Though scarlet-winged dragons were terrifying, every professional explorer had undefeated triple crowns in the “one, two, three, wooden man” game.

Thinking this, she turned the valve on the alchemy kettle.

A blue flame hissed out.

She poured in plenty of clear water with bubbling sounds.

Secondary materials went in first to avoid worsening an already poor economy.

The crackling sound of magic energy breaking down the scales and gemstones was like a banshee’s handiwork.

...

“Success!” she exclaimed, looking proudly at the full pot of potion. Such a potion wasn’t easy to make all in one go. Next, she would let impurities settle, then siphon off the clear liquid and dilute it to the correct ratio with water.

At that moment, a husky female voice came from the doorway: “Excellent blending.”

Melina turned to see Maria, exuding strong feminine charm—also a senior.

Maria had drunk quite a bit; because the tipsy senior Sonia was stubbornly claiming, “I can’t drink anymore? Weakling!” Maria couldn’t resist and had shoved Sonia to the restroom, using an energy outburst and drunken rampage herself, then wandered around with a rolling keg... Melina noticed the small keg she carried.

In that instant,

Sixty-eight versions of “Whatever this woman says now is just an excuse” flashed through Melina’s mind, preemptively blocking Maria’s path.

Putting her hands before her chest, palms outward, adopting the classic “Melina can’t do it” pose, she blurted out, “If you want to drink another round, wait for the senior. I can’t drink anymore.”

Maria’s eyes brightened, pouting in mock grievance: “Really can’t?”

Her left hand pressed on her hip, her forward-leaning stance irresistibly alluring. She was both tough and beautiful but of a different type than the senior. The senior was a flat-faced beauty, heroic but with a more feminine charm; Maria was more tomboyish and had... assets.

“Can’t do it.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do in this world, including beating Elden Ring blindfolded.”

Maria’s tone was serious.

Melina thought to herself: What’s Elden Ring? Hopefully not a mobile game?

She murmured vaguely, pretending to understand.

Maria didn’t press her to drink more, setting down the keg and stretching. Melina sniffed the alcohol scent, frowned, and calmly advised in a somewhat indifferent tone, “Drink in moderation.”

Maria’s eyes widened. “If that bastard Sonia hadn’t rashly jumped the Seer, Ame, our world would be doomed. The Weeping Peninsula alone faces city, state, and world-ending crises. And at a time like this, you tell us to drink moderately? Why don’t you catch a clockwork cat and have those cat bundles serve us for free?”

Clockwork cats were furry creatures with clockwork mechanisms on their backs, only accepting money.

“That won’t work.” Melina recalled the moldy-smelling library where clockwork cats meticulously copied books in neat handwriting. Each copy cost nearly three gold lei. She had haggled with them, but the cats stopped their clocks and turned to stone cats, refusing to communicate until they forgot her face a month later and resumed contact.

They were a money-grubbing species.

Any price cut was an insult.

“Then fine! Drink timely, enjoy timely. None of my business, none of yours,” Maria said calmly, stepping onto another alchemy table to continue a process of “Extracting Gold from Sand.”

She looked a hundred times more enthusiastic than Sonia but harbored a heart a hundred times colder.

“Even if the world ends?”

“Even if the world ends, I have faith to survive.” Maria paused, looking at her. “In my world, there are two kinds of people.”

“Those I know, and those I don’t. The people I know are real, flesh-and-blood. Those I don’t know are like NPCs. If 99% of people died overnight, I’d be sad, depressed, and low-spirited. But if one person I know died, even just one, I’d be heartbroken.”

She stared at the table without looking up.

“But I will help Sonia. If you want to help her too, Ame, remember what I say.”

“Give everything for those you know. Don’t let strangers morally blackmail you. Don’t pretend to care about all humanity, nor act like you’ve lost all morals, okay?”

Beneath Maria’s words lay a hidden kindness.

Melina caught it and smiled, giving an OK sign. “Got it.”

“Good girl, Ame,” Maria teased lightly. “Tomorrow, come with me to West Hamlet.”

Melina bent down, collecting potion liquid with a siphon. “What for?”

“To get you a custom set of gear. Sonia’s paying, don’t be polite. She’s about to have you fight a dragon dozens of times stronger than the scarlet-winged one. Your starter gear must be fully covered.”

Melina felt a bit embarrassed and economical. “Custom gear isn’t necessary, right?”

Maria glanced at her chest assets and shook her head vigorously.

“You’re not Sonia. She can fit into anything, but you... not so much.”

Melina had no objections this time.