Lily, coming from a wealthy family, had no real concept of what five thousand dollars a month meant. Kira and Little Chili, however, were visibly surprised.

Little Chili laughed softly. "Brother Don, when you were a department manager, your guaranteed monthly salary was only three thousand. Looks like I made the right call quitting when I did."

Vera straightened her expression and said with complete seriousness, "But let me be clear from the start. I don’t care if you’re dating, flirting, or teasing each other inside the studio, that’s your business. What I care about is that it never interferes with leveling targets. Miss those targets for two consecutive months and don’t expect me to be gentle. Especially that newbie with the crossbow. I don’t want to see anyone drifting through the day doing nothing."

Lily protested immediately. "Sis, I was not slacking off! Ask Don, my damage output is solid, and I can land weakness shots too!"

Without hesitation, Don twisted the knife. "Your weakness shots are all because I pointed out where to aim."

"Waaah! You bullied me too! Fine, I’ve decided."

"Decided what?"

"I’ve decided to stay here and never leave!"

Don and Vera wiped their foreheads in unison. "You win."

Don had barely opened the villa door before his nose caught the aroma. The table was covered in classic Liverpool home cooking, braised pork with preserved mustard greens, four-happiness meatballs, garlic shredded tripe, braised vegetables. Abundant, warm, and genuinely delicious. And seated in front of all of it, staring at the dishes in a private trance, was a little girl.

She wasn’t particularly tall, roughly the same height as Vera. Her outfit was charming in a cosplay sort of way, dark purple shirt, white vest, fitted white suit trousers. Two carrot-shaped braids hung on either side of her face, her skin was fair, and her large bright eyes made her look almost like a miniature copy of Vera.

Don turned to Vera with genuine surprise. "You never mentioned having a younger sister."

"She’s not biological. But she might as well be. I found her in London."

The little girl was still in her trance, paying no attention to any of them.

Vera tapped the table gently. "Quinn. These older brothers and sisters are family from now on."

The girl finally snapped out of it, blinking her large watery eyes at Vera. After a contemplative pause, she said something that made the entire room go momentarily silent. "Sister, there’s no cotton candy for sale downstairs."

Vera patted her head with visible affection. "Her name is Quinn. In-game ID is Under the Hibiscus. Level 27. Class: Dancer."

Don stared. "She’s the highest-ranking Dancer in the American region right now?"

Quinn’s expression shifted into something unexpectedly sharp. "Please. I’m already Level 28. Twenty-seven is ancient history."

Don decided immediately that he enjoyed sparring with this child. "If you’re not happy about it, come online and I’ll put you in your place."

Quinn tilted her head. "Then I’ll have my sister come after you. Aren’t you just that Level 31 little Rogue? My sister is a Level 33 War Spirit."

The three women burst into laughter. Don stared at the ceiling. His attempt at teasing had spectacularly backfired. Tragic.

Dinner was served, and Vera immediately started using her chopsticks to put food on everyone’s plates without ceremony. "Eat up. We’re all family here, no need to stand on formality. Treat this place like home."

Smiles appeared around the table. The others weren’t really focusing on the food, they were responding to the feeling of the room, the ease of it. Vera hadn’t changed much from a few years ago. More mature, more beautiful, but fundamentally the same person Don had known. Though where others saw warmth and ease, he also saw something else, she was carrying something heavier than before, some weight she kept carefully out of the light.

Like Tian Ge, Vera never discussed business during meals. It was only afterward, while assigning rooms, that she laid out the studio’s most important principle almost as an afterthought. Equipment obtained through collective effort would be distributed by need, with surplus sold. Fifty percent of the proceeds went to members, the other fifty into the guild fund. Individual loot and gold required a 20 percent tithe, paid to her weekly. No one objected.

She also assigned roles. Don was named deputy manager of Extraordinary, responsible for leveling coordination and dungeon planning. Little Chili was named deputy manager of the Dwarf Team, overseeing consumables, gathered materials, and equipment crafting.

Don asked about the studio’s total membership. Vera told him around 300 players, relatively small, but the average level was high, and most of them were skilled Dwarf crafters and gatherers. They were the core that Mick had built and maintained over years, even after stepping back from gaming professionally. When the time came, Mick had passed the most capable among them to Vera.

While the others went to settle into their rooms, Don pulled Vera aside. "If you’re short on funds, I can put in something. I don’t have much liquid, about 100,000 dollars, but it’s yours if you need it."

Vera waved a hand. "Don, I appreciate that. But I genuinely don’t need it. My older sister sends me a monthly sum. And don’t take what I said earlier too seriously, siblings talk." She paused, then added, "Your monthly salary is ten thousand. Higher than the others, because you’ll carry more responsibility."

Don smiled wryly. "Why does the brother-sister framing still feel so strange when you’re three months younger than me?"

"Because your awareness needs development. Now go level up."

The room was fully equipped, a proper bed, bedside table, large wardrobe, and most importantly, a high-specification desktop computer. Vera had even placed an expensive backup device next to it, just in case. Don plugged in the second-generation light-sensing glasses, powered up the machine, and went online.

A flash of silver light materialized him in Yiersa Village. Several players stood waiting. Two system notifications arrived immediately.

Player Extraordinary has sent you a friend request.

Player Under the Hibiscus has sent you a friend request.

Don confirmed both. A voice message came through: "Kid. Come to Fies Village. I’ll help you level up."

Don typed back, "You disrespectful little brat, I’m challenging you to a duel."

"Then hurry. Fewer people during mealtimes. At least you won’t lose too much face."

"..."

A team invitation arrived immediately, and Don was pulled in. He noticed a somewhat familiar ID: Extraordinary Butler. Before he could speak, a deep voice came through the team channel. "Little Don. Do you still recognize your uncle?"

Don nodded reflexively even though nobody could see him. That voice. It was Mick’s old team leader, the former head of the most capable production team in Beyond the Heavens. Don had raided the old man’s blue potion supply more times than he could count.

"Uncle Butler. Are you still alive and well?"

"Little bastard! You’re asking for a beating! Is your chrysanthemum itchy again?"

"Uncle. It’s been a long time."

"Four years! You’ve been gone for four years! You’re even more heartless than Gale, and he only disappeared for three!"

"Uncle, don’t be angry. I’m back now."

"Good. Come here quickly and let me see if your legs have grown out yet."

"...Which ones?"

Vera’s voice cut in flatly. "You two are shameless, one old, one young. The whole team is full of women. Can you tone it down."

Butler chuckled. "Since the boss has spoken, I suppose we’ll tone it down. Shall I ask about those legs another time?"

"Quite impressive."

Kira and Lily teleported in shortly afterward. Little Chili sent Don a private message. "Brother Don, I still have a large stockpile of wolf pelts in my backpack and warehouse. What should I do with them?"

Don smiled. "I’ll talk to Butler about it. I’m guessing he means we pass the hides to Sister Diana, people from Beyond the Heavens always kept their word."

"Hey, Don. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m still in our old group somehow."

"Of course. This used to be my home." He patted his chest, even though no one could see it.

Fies Village was similar in structure to Ghost Wolf Village, except that the surrounding monsters were higher level, low-Level 40 Scythe Demons. Like Orcs, this species counted as one of the more powerful mid-game monster families in Realms Online, and even the low-level variants were genuinely dangerous. Vera had clearly chosen this location deliberately to stay under the radar. Very few leveling groups would willingly come here.

Don found Butler in the village, greeted him with a hug, exchanged a few words, and then went straight to the point about Little Chili’s wolf pelt supply. The old man’s answer was immediate. "Is that even a question? Give the leather to them, obviously."

Little Chili brightened. "Then I’ll go now."

Butler nodded approvingly. "This young lady is reliable. She can be trusted with real responsibility."

"Of course," Don said. "Her dexterity coefficient is already at 50 percent."

Butler went quiet for a moment. "...Fifty percent? I’m only at 41."

Don seized the opportunity with practiced shamelessness. "Uncle, you’re remarkable. An elder making the journey of thousands of miles to Liverpool, treating the cause of the people of Liverpool as his own, devoting himself to the virtual gaming industry of his motherland at the age of forty, what kind of spirit is this? This is pure, unwavering devotion."

"Get lost! Stinky kid, you’re even more insufferable than Gale! Stop speechifying and go fight monsters! Uncle needs the ore that drops from Scythe Demons!"

Don looked at the high-ranking Scythe Demons lurking just beyond the village gate and tentatively asked, "Uncle, you’re not joking, are you?"