Chapter 48: The Master of Cross-dressing Makes an Appearance! (Please Vote for Recommendations)

But complaints aside, even a mosquito is still meat—every little bit counts. For the sake of his sister, Xi Yan braced himself once more. After leaving this instance, he planned to look for other ways to quickly earn points.

He had just discovered on the "Bulletin Board" that core crystals could be sold, their trade currency being points. And these core crystals were truly valuable. A single red core crystal could fetch fifty points, while a purple one commanded an astonishing six thousand. Xi Yan had three blue core crystals, so he opened the exchange mentioned on the bulletin board.

This, too, was on the control panel. In the Land of Survival, all activities—trading, storage—were handled through the control panel. Opening the exchange, Xi Yan found many sections dedicated to various trades, encountering all sorts of strange things, like the slave trading center.

Slaves? Is that still a thing nowadays?

[Exchange: Card Trading Center... Slave Trading Center... Core Crystal Trading Center... ...]

Xi Yan immediately tapped into the Core Crystal Trading Center.

[Core Crystal Trading Center: Core Crystal Prices: Red Core Crystal: 50 points; Orange to Cyan Core Crystals: 100, 800, 1500, 2200 points (each level higher adds 700 points); Blue and Purple Core Crystals: 3500, 6000 points; Higher-level core crystals negotiable.]

Thinking of his three blue core crystals, Xi Yan suddenly felt like a wealthy man. Three blue crystals could be exchanged for 10,500 points!

But Xi Yan hadn’t forgotten that he still owed Lin Shuang for those cigarettes. He wasn’t sure how many points a cigarette cost, so he decided to repay Lin Shuang first before heading to the Eighth Land of Survival to find Celine.

At this thought, Xi Yan’s mood improved significantly, as if he were just about to meet his sister. Ayuan saw Xi Yan sitting on the ground, grinning foolishly, and reached out to poke his cheek. “Brother, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Xi Yan took Ayuan’s small hand away and replied, “Ayuan, I have an adorable younger sister. Perhaps you two will meet very soon.”

Hearing that Xi Yan had a sister, Ayuan brightened immediately. “Really? That’s wonderful! Then Ayuan will have an older sister too! Ayuan will have family again!”

With a gentle smile, Xi Yan patted Ayuan’s head, cradled her in his arms, and soothed her to sleep.

Once Ayuan was asleep, Xi Yan kept his eyes open, remaining vigilant of his surroundings. Now that he had news of his sister, he was more determined than ever not to die here—he had to survive and see her again.

The people around gradually drifted off as well. According to the game’s time, it was now eleven o’clock—many had gone to sleep. But most remained awake, waiting for the refresh. Once a red crystal was refreshed, the ranking on the big wooden board would update immediately. Everyone had their names displayed above their heads, so it was easy to see who held the red crystal.

Xi Yan forced himself to stay awake, waiting until midnight.

“Dong~”

As the clock struck twelve, a bell tolled, jolting every sleeping person awake. Even Xi Yan’s drowsiness was startled away by the sound.

The rankings on the wooden board changed—one for the person with the negative ore, the other for the second-ranked player; both had acquired ore. Yet, neither of these two were within the circle.

“Pfft…”

The sound was sharp, like a blade piercing flesh. Xi Yan followed it and quickly found the source. A tiny girl, wielding a steel fork, drove it into the eye of the burly man beside her, swiftly pulled it out, and stabbed him in the neck. The man, never expecting such explosive force from the petite girl at his side, was killed on the spot.

She took the red crystal from his arms and dashed toward the “safe zone.” Her movements were fluid, practiced to the bone, as if she’d rehearsed this scene countless times.

She was about to make it when two expressionless men suddenly blocked her path. At that moment, a white stilettoed foot kicked her squarely in the face.

The girl hadn’t anticipated this at all and was sent sprawling, her head snapping backward. But she reacted quickly; one hand braced her body, the other cradled the red crystal, and she flipped nimbly to her feet.

When the girl regained her balance and finally saw who had kicked her, she sneered, “Oh, look who it is—Miss Konar, the infamous rookie hunter.”

“Lin Ye, you’re as revolting as ever, still parading around in women’s clothes,” Konar spat.

Watching the unfolding drama, Xi Yan was stunned when he heard that name. He stared incredulously at the “girl.” This was Lin Ye? The second-ranked player on the leaderboard—a man, and yet… crossdressing?

Xi Yan was speechless, and suddenly it all made sense—why “she” had killed the burly man beside her so abruptly, and how “she” had the strength to do it. This was a man, a top-tier one at that.

“Oh? What, you don’t like it? Then I’ll just change back,” Lin Ye said. The first half of the sentence was in a girlish voice, but the latter half deepened into a sultry male baritone.

Lin Ye’s appearance began to shift, transforming from a petite girl of about five foot three into a tall man of nearly six feet. His clothes changed too, the pink dress morphing into a sleek black suit.

Now, this was a look befitting the name Lin Ye.

“Lin Ye, hand over the crystal. I’ll leave, and the rest is up to you,” Konar said coldly.

Lin Ye was unfazed, laughing carelessly and shrugging. “What are you thinking? I have ten crystals now, and today marks the seventh and final day. I just need to get inside that circle, and I can leave this place.”

His tone suddenly turned mocking. “So why would I give it to you? You bitch.”

Lin Ye’s words enraged Konar completely. She snapped open the small folding fan in her hand, shielding her face as she spoke in a low, venomous tone, “Kill him. Don’t let him into the circle.”

At her command, the two men at her side rushed at Lin Ye simultaneously.

Lin Ye, entirely undaunted, raised his hand to unlock a card. A flash of light, and a cane appeared in his grasp. In his hand, the cane seemed almost alive, supple and swift, nothing like a mere object.

The two men lunged, but Lin Ye struck a few casual blows with his cane. Both men collapsed, paralyzed, unable to attack any further.

Konar, witnessing this scene, showed no hint of panic. It was as if she had foreseen it all.