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Dan Xingyu’s analysis sounded quite plausible. But Qiyu couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Hadn’t his good friend accepted the fact that he wasn’t human a little too quickly?

Come to think of it, when he told Dan Xingyu that he wasn’t human, did Dan Xingyu just listen to him, glance at the survival board, and then believe it as if it were the most natural thing in the world?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing Dan Xingyu suspiciously.

Dan Xingyu:？

The little mage rarely looked at people that way, so he wasn’t quite used to it. At the same time, he felt a weight on his shoulders.

He thought carefully—had he done anything to wrong the little mage? Qiyu suddenly called out to him, “Dan Xingyu.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

Qiyu asked him, “Are there elves on Earth?”

Dan Xingyu shook his head: “No, there are only humans on Earth.”

Only after he had instinctively answered did he realize something was off, and he cautiously observed Qiyu’s expression. Qiyu looked pensive: “I see.”

No wonder Dan Xingyu had reacted so calmly.

Curious, he asked, “When did I give myself away?”

Dan Xingyu pressed his hand to his forehead: “Oh my, the sun’s rising in the west—even the Lord has learned to deceive people.”

Qiyu explained to him with a straight face, “You’re in the Forest of Stars—it’s been a long time since the sun has shone there.”

The slight tension in Dan Xingyu’s heart was effortlessly dispelled by those words.

“You always manage to say funny things in such a serious tone.”

He admitted, “I’ll admit it—quite a while ago, I guessed you weren’t from Earth.”

“Quite a while—how long ago?”

“At first, something just didn’t feel quite right, but I didn’t really confirm it until the Swift Points incident.” Dan Xingyu asked him, “That day, when we ate bubble tea and drank soda together—do you remember?”

Qiyu nodded.

He’d always had a great memory; both good and bad experiences were firmly etched in his mind.

That bowl of delicious beef hot pot and the first time he ever drank a carbonated beverage—of course he could never forget them.

Dan Xingyu explained to him, “On Earth, ‘junk food’ doesn’t mean it’s actually trash. It refers to foods that are high in salt, oil, and sugar, and nutritionally unbalanced.”

“I see,” Qiyu realized.

He’d thought he’d blown his cover on some major issue, but it turned out to be such a minor detail.

Sure enough, in a world he couldn’t begin to understand, it was still far too difficult for him—an alien—to pretend to be a local.

“You Earth people are really picky,” he couldn’t help but say. “High sugar, high salt, high fat—back home, those are delicacies I can’t even get my hands on if I wanted to.”

Dan Xingyu fell silent again.

He didn’t know how to respond to that.

Qiyu blurted out, “You know I’m not from Earth—so what? What do you think my origins are?” He thought for a moment and speculated, “Would you think I’m a native of the survival game world?”

He was certain that no matter how vivid Dan Xingyu’s imagination might be, there was no way she could have guessed he was from another world.

Dan Xingyu nodded honestly: “I actually did think that at first.” 

“At first?”

Dan Xingyu looked a bit conflicted. “But last time in Gold Hole City, you said it was your first time seeing fireworks, so I wasn’t quite sure anymore.”

Although he didn’t yet fully understand the Survival Game world, he’d been able to observe a few things from his few forays out to explore. The Survival Game world wasn’t poor.

Professionals have broader horizons and brighter futures, but the lives of ordinary people aren’t bad either.

Furthermore, many practitioners of magic, alchemy, and artifact crafting have brought numerous conveniences to the lives of ordinary people. Even a small town like Gold Hole City can afford to set off fireworks night after night for an entire month.

For a native of a survival world to reach the age of 19 without ever having seen a single fireworks display is virtually impossible.

But such matters could only be kept buried deep within, along with his doubts. Just as Qiyu had thought, no matter how wild his imagination might be, he could never have imagined that when the Survival Game had not only brought the People of Earth into the game but had also casually dragged in the ways of other worlds along the way.

By the time Qiyu heard this, he fully understood.

This person had long known he wasn’t from Earth and had naturally assumed he was a native of the survival game.

In this world, aside from humans, there were elves, dwarves, fairies, orcs, Lute people… all sorts of races. So the fact that he had suddenly awakened to his elven heritage didn’t seem all that unbelievable.

He said softly, “I always thought this would be my biggest secret.” 

“Do you want to know about my past, Dan Xingyu?”

After a moment of silence, Dan Xingyu shook his head: “Discovering your identity was a coincidence; I have no intention of delving into your past.”

His gaze was sincere and gentle: “If one day you feel your past no longer matters, I’d welcome you to share it as if you were telling a story—”

“Just tell me as it is. It’s not because your identity was accidentally exposed that you had to tell me.”

“Whether you’re Qiyu from Earth, Qiyu from the Survival Game world, or Qiyu from some mysterious place—my feelings for you will never change.”

He assured Qiyu, “I swear, this secret will never leave my lips and be revealed to a third party.”

Qiyu gazed at his good friend sitting beside him, his eyes gradually brightening. He said softly, “Dan Xingyu, you’re so kind.”

Then, his voice grew louder: “Dan Xingyu, I’m so glad I got to enter the Survival Game, and I’m so glad I got to meet you!” What a good boy, Dan Xingyu thought, feeling his hands itch again. How on earth did such a well-behaved little treasure come to be? His original plan had been to return from the resource zone, listen to Qiyu finish recounting his experiences, and then say goodbye and head back to the Golden Desert.

After all, since the event was still ongoing, he needed to collect more event tokens.

But right now, the words of farewell just wouldn’t come out.

After all, the other person might be an elf cub—even if they appeared to have the appearance and wisdom of an adult, and had lived here for over a decade, just like any other Earth person.

But for some inexplicable reason, he found himself looking at him through a filter of “tenderness”—even if he didn’t do anything, he just wanted to sit there and keep him company. Yet Qiyu turned out to be much stronger than he had imagined.

He quickly pulled himself together.

To be precise, Qiyu hadn’t actually felt much distress; it was simply that everything had happened so suddenly that he was a bit at a loss.

However, compared to having died once, or being abruptly thrust into a survival game from a world he’d never known, the idea of “turning from a human into an elf” didn’t seem all that hard to accept.

When he first woke up from his sleep, he was still thinking that he had to see Teacher Aegnor right away to tell him that someone from the elf clan had mistakenly claimed him as their own and stuffed him with a whole bunch of ridiculously expensive goodies.

These were probably meant for another real cub; he didn’t want to take a baby’s things, so he could ask Professor Aegnor to return them. Seeing the changes on the survival game’s interface, he was shocked, yet deep down, he was already beginning to believe it.

The Survival Game. Trust.

Still, he decided that once he had a free moment, he’d go find Professor Aegnor to confirm it.

Once he’d sorted out his thoughts and figured out what to do next, these matters wouldn’t cause him any trouble at all. His rationality returned, and his “work mode” kicked back in.

He urged Dan Xingyu, “We’ve already wasted an entire day. You should hurry back to the Golden Desert to complete your quest.”

Dan Xingyu:“……”

He muttered under his breath, “You’re cutting the bridge after crossing it!”

But a carefree smile had already appeared in his eyes: “You’re still thinking about that? It seems you’re no longer troubled by it.” Qiyu stood up, leaned in slightly, and embraced him.

Dan Xingyu froze. He and the little mage had hugged more than once, but this time, it seemed to be the first time the little mage had initiated the embrace.

“Thank you, Dan Xingyu,” Qiyu remembered how much he loved hugs.

He nudged him gently with his foot; snuggling up close to his best friend truly lifted his spirits.

Dan Xingyu hugged him back tightly, then let him go and stood up. “Well, I’ll head back now.”

He picked up the flower from the table: “Once it turns into a treasure, I’ll tell you what a great thing it is.” 

“Mm-hmm.”

After watching Dan Xingyu leave through the teleportation gate, Qiyu reopened his survival panel.

He’d actually intended to check for any new messages at first.

But awakening as an elf had completely thrown him off—he’d even put the Ice and Snow Boss quest on the back burner—which showed just how deeply shaken he was by the event.

Naturally, he hadn’t had time to check the messages in his friends list. That made sense.

Qiyu then realized that every single friend he’d ever added had sent him a message.

01 Survival Squad, as well as the “Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens” siblings.

Based on Qiyu’s experience, a message this consistent was likely related to Region 01. He quickly clicked through each page, scanning them with his eyes, and his expression grew subtle.

He wondered what was going on.

“My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens”—his ID had turned gray.

Members of the 01 Survival Squad had messaged him in the resource zone, simply excited to share the good news with him in a private chat.

Qiyu glanced at the number of messages in the small group chat and guessed everyone was celebrating there.

The two siblings not only brought up the matter but also subtly probed to see if he was the one behind it.

01 Survival Squad:

【I Love Survival Game:.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: The boss is back! I did the math—based on the timing, you should be back around now.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Boss, are you seeing these messages? That cancerous tumor is finally gone.】

【I Love Survival Game: Who did it?】

【Civil Engineering Brother: I Am Domineering, and A Hundred Demons Retrograde. But my gut tells me there’s a good chance it wasn’t just those two. Still, they’re the only ones who’ve come forward to claim responsibility.】

【I Love Survival Game: Dogs fighting among themselves?】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Haha!】

【Can’t Believe My Eyes: Those two were still secretly bragging to you, the gaming big shot, on the regional channel just yesterday. If they heard that comment, wouldn’t they be furious?】

【I Love Survival Game:? What’s it got to do with me? I didn’t ask them to do anything.】

He was a little surprised. After all, early in the game, he was number one on the regional leaderboard, and even though he dropped back later, he’d always stayed in the top ten.

Gone just like that?

A hint of wariness crept into his mind.

【I Love Survival Game: No matter how many of them were involved, the fact that his in-game ID turned gray means they at least have the ability to take down a top-ten player.】

【I Love Survival Game: Everyone needs to be more careful from now on.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: I spent some gold coins to buy some inside info from that little gang called “Hundred Demons Retrograde.”】

【Civil Engineering Brother: This whole thing was masterminded by Little Old Me.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: At first, I wanted to steer players’ suspicions toward the top-ranked big shot, but those guys weren’t willing to go along with it, saying, “How can I not leave my name on something this big? I’ll step forward myself.”】