Chapter 178: Can a Beautiful Woman Fool Aliens?

After a week away, Xiao Ye was finally home, diligently cleaning up the mess left by her disappearance; though Lena had used her identity to fabricate traces, some inconsistencies remained, and she had to meticulously record every trace Lena had left and gradually fill in the gaps over time.

Though only seventeen, as a resident of He Zujie, she was already an adult living independently—after all, in this place, few girls even attended high school, let alone university, for in this high-pressure environment, women struggled to compete with men in the workplace, especially since she lived in a tourist city famed for its Geisha District.

Even if she had gone to university, the legitimate jobs available would be no different from those open to high school graduates; instead, dancing with the label "university student" might draw attention, but to visiting tourists, that label paled beside the far more alluring "neon high school girl."

She still wore bandages and sat in a wheelchair, making no effort to hide her injuries—or rather, her injuries served as the best disguise for her identity.

According to Tina, who worked at the research institute, even with Giant He Xing's technology, it was impossible for someone half-decapitated to recover in ten days with not even a scar remaining.

In Giant He Xing's records, she had merely slipped down the stairs while working at the maid café yesterday, sustaining minor bone fractures.

"Haa~ So boring! As my first devotee, you should please me more!"

The voice of Xiao Lingdang echoed in Xiao Ye's mind; Xiao Ye sighed inwardly:

"My lord, Giant He Xing's surveillance is everywhere—if I slip up, it'll be disastrous! Let me finish memorizing this first, okay?"

"What? You need to remember who you are! You're my devotee—instead of rote memorization, just ask me for help! This little bit still takes you so long… here, look at this—follow this and you'll be fine!"

"Follow what…?" Before Xiao Ye understood what Xiao Lingdang meant, a large block of text suddenly appeared in her mind.

It was barely a thousand characters, yet it perfectly summarized the activity log Lena had given her, exposing even the smallest flaws she herself had missed, and adding notes on seemingly contradictory but ultimately insignificant details.

"Can you even do something like this?"

Xiao Ye was slightly startled; Xiao Lingdang's proud tone followed:

"What's so surprising? I'm the Guiding Goddess! Leading believers toward the 'correct' outcome is child's play! Of course, you must first clearly understand what 'correct' means. Now that the work's done, can you please me yet?"

"Mm-hmm, of course! But how do I please My Lord? Dancing isn't convenient right now—do you have any shows you like? A drama? Manzai? Or…"

"Don't treat me like an old-fashioned relic! Fine, just browse online!" Xiao Lingdang's exasperated voice reached Xiao Ye's mind; Xiao Ye felt a twinge of embarrassment but obeyed, turning on her computer.

Yet, just as they browsed a video site for a few moments, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Ah…?" Xiao Ye paused, puzzled as to who would visit now, but pushed her wheelchair to the door, alert yet speaking in her usual tone:

"Who is it?"

"It's me!" A lively voice came from outside; Xiao Ye thought for a moment, then recognized it as the voice of Lena's maid café employee alias. She mentally prepared her reaction to seeing an alien, then opened the door.

"Mako! I heard you got hurt! How bad is it? I came straight after work—do you need anything? I…"

A flood of words poured in; Xiao Ye, catching the hidden code, exhaled in relief, pushed her wheelchair back two steps, and said:

"Nana, come in!"

"Oh!" Lena stepped inside, carrying a get-well gift, changed her shoes, then wheeled Xiao Ye further in, saying as she walked:

"Have you eaten dinner? I brought some snacks…"

"I already ate. The injury isn't serious—I'll be fine in a few days!" Xiao Ye waved her hand, speaking naturally, but her faith power had already unfolded: unlike Lena's ability to alter appearance, hers was concealment—blocking sound, light, or even presence—perfect for a spy.

As her power activated, Lena's conversation became dual-layered: outwardly, it was casual gossip between friends, but the real message was hidden between the ordinary phrases.

"Huh? Make the Goddess a virtual streamer? Is that allowed?" Xiao Ye kept her expression steady, yet her voice carried concern; but in both her and Lena's minds, Xiao Lingdang's voice rang out:

"No problem at all—it's a great idea! Actually, I was just thinking that while watching videos, but will Xiao Ye going live cause suspicion?"

"Not at all." With Xiao Lingdang's mental communication, Lena no longer needed to switch between ventriloquism; she complained aloud about the annoying customers at the café while thinking inwardly:

"Lots of people stream these days—everyone's repressed in real life and loves exposing their true selves online. There are even weirdos who stream just to get yelled at, and others who watch just to yell back. Xiao Ye used to stream too, just never went viral—I think her old alias was… Ninja Xiao Ye Wan?"

"Lena-nee~!" Xiao Ye shouted inwardly, cutting off Lena's monologue, then continued:

"I'm injured now and can't work these few days—I might lose my café job. Well, I won't actually lose it, but thinking that way is normal. To maintain income, restarting a stream to earn some money is reasonable—but I can't reuse my old avatar. The new one must use only public resources; if it takes off, I'll upgrade slowly. Buying one outright would be too obvious."

"Leave it to me! I'm a professional at avatar design!" Lena responded inwardly, while outwardly shifting topics:

"These new girls are so competitive! But then again, high school graduation season's coming—there'll probably be another flood of JKs and JCs flooding the market…"

Hearing this, Xiao Ye immediately wore a panicked expression: "Ah! Then I'm in danger!"

(End of Chapter)