CHAPTER 97: NPC FLUTTERING WINGS IN GAME 097

In the Alchemy Room.

Lin Bai tossed a Belly Filling Pill onto the table. "Xiao Bai, mealtime."

The Little White Fox eagerly ran over and swallowed the Belly Filling Pill in one gulp; it had no resistance to the enticing aroma of the pill.

"Water." Lin Bai pointed to the bowl full of clear water beside him.

"I’m not thirsty yet." The Little White Fox glanced at the bowl full of water, a paw gently patted its slightly swollen belly, clearly reluctant.

"Damn it!" Lin Bai hurled a Palm Thunder, turning the Little White Fox into an exploded furball. He calmly said, "You have to drink, even if it’s just a sip. I feel our intimacy isn’t strong enough and needs more cultivation. Creatures require balanced nutrition; how can you thrive if you only eat and don’t drink?"

...

The Little White Fox looked at Lin Bai with a woeful expression, went to the bowl of water, lowered its head, and obediently took a sip.

"Urinate!"

Immediately afterward, Lin Bai pointed at the small basin on the floor.

...The Little White Fox froze. A deep sense of humiliation burst forth from its heart as it stared at the small wooden basin, its body trembling.

Revenge. This must be revenge! Just because I tricked him once? You know I’m sentient, yet you still humiliate me this way? Do you have to go this far? Such petty humans!

The Little White Fox looked at Lin Bai with a wronged expression, fawning, "Master, I’ve truly told you everything I can. I didn’t hide anything. I swear, I will never dare to trick you again. And, my mother will absolutely not come to save me; she can’t defeat you..."

A Three-tailed demon fox, huh! Just because you say she can’t beat me, that means she can’t? You probably don’t even realize how long the wind-up time for my Palm Thunder is!

Lin Bai looked at the little fox, and said softly, "Xiao Bai, don’t be scared. I’m not torturing you. Urinating regularly can effectively reduce your body’s burden. I’m really doing this for your own good. If you’re shy, I just won’t look."

You’re doing this on purpose!

The Little White Fox looked at Lin Bai with teary eyes, its tail wagging continuously behind it, yet it refused to move towards the basin.

"I really miss the days when I didn’t know you could talk. You were so obedient back then, doing whatever you were told! Now that we can communicate, you’ve become disobedient." Lin Bai looked at the Little White Fox and sighed deeply. "Xiao Bai, I remember you said you have six brothers and sisters, all as beautiful as you?"

"No, Master, I’ll listen!" With that one sentence, the Little White Fox’s defenses crumbled. It despairingly moved next to the basin, closed its eyes, and squeezed out a bit of urine.

When I was pretending to be a wild fox, it wasn’t a big deal! But now, this is so humiliating! Why did I end up with such a terrible master?

...

Was Lin Bai torturing the Little White Fox?

No.

He was completing the daily tasks of the Pet System, increasing his favorability with foxes.

Ever since he learned that Xiao Bai’s mother was a Three-tailed demon fox capable of transformation, Lin Bai had consciously started to focus on increasing his favorability with foxes.

In the Little White Fox’s eyes, perhaps he was an eminent master of Lei Fa.

But only he knew how much of that ’eminent master’ title was inflated.

Morning Flight had time limits. The wind-up time for Palm Thunder was too long. The remnants of the *Nine-Days True Scripture* were unreliable...

If he encountered a Three-tailed demon fox that could use Illusion and Charm, he truly might not be able to withstand it.

Furthermore, Lin Bai had no desire to gamble on whether or not he could defeat a Three-tailed demon fox.

He would rather expend some extra effort training the Little Fox, build up his favorability with foxes, and turn all the Three-tailed demon foxes, Nine-tailed demon foxes, and the like into his family, friends, and battle companions...

As for the Little Fox’s sense of shame? An untransformed fox, no matter how pleasant its voice, is still a different species! What normal man would be interested in a vixen urinating? If it transformed, maybe I’d take an extra glance or two...

So be it.

Regardless of whether the little fox was willing or not, the Pet System was gradually increasing his favorability with foxes.

The Little White Fox didn’t realize it, but it had already been influenced by the increasing favorability from the Pet System.

In fact, it had many opportunities to easily escape, or even ambush Lin Bai.

After all, Lin Bai couldn’t possibly watch it all the time.

When he held it, it could have easily plunged its claws into Lin Bai’s heart.

But from beginning to end, the little fox had never done so.

Whenever this notion surfaced, new thoughts would pop into its head: Maybe he’s doing it on purpose. How could such a cautious man deliberately expose a vital spot to me? Or, Just one more Belly Filling Pill. They smell so good. I’ll eat one and then escape. Or perhaps, I can’t escape. He’s so fast; it would bring disaster to my family...

The Little White Fox came up with one excuse after another, to the point that it had never once actually attempted to escape...

...

「While Lin Bai was engaged in his rather forceful fox-taming.」

In the real world, his audacious advertising stunt had caused a massive stir.

The game *Immortal World*, with its incredibly realistic world as a backdrop, had already captured nationwide attention. For days, it had been the hottest topic of discussion.

An alternative to sleep, an absolutely real experience in another world.

Even a ninety-year-old grandmother couldn’t resist such a novel game; after all, entering the game meant effectively doubling one’s lifespan!

How could a game with such widespread popularity not attract the attention of major capitalists?

Besides, these businessmen, who controlled society’s wealth, naturally possessed sharper insight than ordinary people.

From the game’s inception, some large corporations had begun investigating the company that released *Immortal World*.

After all, the level of technology showcased in this game was enough to change the entire world. Whether it was investing or purchasing the technology, no one wanted to miss out on getting a piece of the pie.

Strangely, despite all their efforts, none of them could find out where the game’s publishing company was located.

No physical address, no IP address on the game forums, not even any office staff could be found...

*Immortal World* seemed to have materialized out of thin air. The only means of communication with the outside world were its official website, which offered a cursory introduction to the game, and the game forums.

Some companies spent vast sums to acquire game cabins from players, attempting to reverse-engineer them.

The results shocked them: their top scientists couldn’t even manage to dismantle a game cabin.

What horrified them even more was that no matter how stringent their security measures, as soon as they began research involving tampering with a game cabin, it would invariably vanish without a trace.

Yet, this never happened when the game cabins were in the hands of players...

Furthermore, none of their findings from investigations into the game company could be disseminated via the internet or other media. Any information they released about the company behind *Immortal World* would mysteriously vanish almost instantly.

After several days of such investigations, a gag order came down from the higher-ups, imposing silence and completely shutting down any opportunity for them to continue their investigation.

The higher-ups even forbade them from using external means to interfere with players already in the game...

Under all this pressure from various quarters, ordinary players remained immersed in discussions about the game, oblivious to the anomalies surrounding it.

Of course, with such an engaging game to play, most people couldn’t be bothered to delve into the secrets behind it...

Precisely because of this, many large companies had adopted a wait-and-see approach towards this mysterious game.

It wasn’t until Mu Ming’s Milk ran a small, tentative advertisement that it triggered a massive media tremor, finally dispelling their hesitation.

Perhaps *Immortal World* was a game not of this world; perhaps there was some conspiracy behind it.

But this shouldn’t be a shackle hindering their path to profit.

Capital has always been profit-driven.

The ironclad fact was that no one in the world could stop this game’s surge in popularity—not even the authorities. It was destined to coexist with this world long-term and become a part of society.

Since it couldn’t be stopped, adapting and joining in was the only logical course of action.

In fact, if the game company hadn’t been restricting account distribution, the major financial groups would have collectively entered the game long ago. Having their own people operate within the game was far more reliable than depending on outsiders!

The ability to substitute sleep and maintain clear thoughts within the game—this alone offered countless avenues for exploitation. Used wisely, it could completely alter the global power dynamic.

「That day.」

All manner of analyses and reports concerning the game landed on the desks of CEOs at major corporations...