Kafni was also stunned.


    The girl who had suddenly run out of the house and thrown herself into Lin Da''s arms was dressed so strangely!


    A square cardboard box adorned her head, with a caricatured portrait of a turnip painted on it, a chibi version of the turnip character smiling and holding up a knife and fork, with the words beside it: "The more you eat, the bigger and healthier you get!"


    Was the turnip taking charge like this? That''s "healthy" to an excessive degree, isn''t it?


    Kafni watched the girl clinging tightly to Lin Da''s waist with a trembling heart, feeling an inexplicable sourness inside.


    "Uh... do you agree to join the Phoenix Tail Flower Adventure Team?"


    Lin Da awkwardly raised his hands, not knowing why the other party was hugging him so tightly, but it seemed inappropriate to hug back at random, right? What if she was a simpleton, and he ended up bullying her? The Law Enforcement Bureau would hand him a pair of silver bracelets on the spot.


    The girl''s sobs came from the box, whimpering without a response, only the words "Lord Captain" repeated over and over.


    Under the cardboard headgear was a loose white top with its hem covering the upper thighs, the girl''s bare feet were on the ground, her skin pale and delicate, the unhealthy white of someone not exposed to sunlight for a long time.


    Lin Da felt as if he was handling a fragile, delicate toy that would break with just a couple of touches.


    The girl was barely one meter sixty tall; even with the box on her head, she only reached his chin; arge panda with a small body... seemed slightly familiar?


    "What''s your name? Can you take off the headgear so uncle can see your face?" Lin Da asked in a gentle, hushed tone.


    The girl nced at Kafni beside her, then quickly drew back into Lin Da''s embrace, as if afraid that the brief look would draw Kafni''s attention, she said in a timid voice, "Only, only for Lord Captain to see."


    Kafni was irritated, "Huh? I''m not going to eat you, what are you so afraid of?"


    As she spoke, she reached out to pull off the girl''s headgear.


    "Wu wu wu!" A cry like that of a young beast erupted from the box, the girl moved behind Lin Da, her small hands anxiously clutching the corner of Lin Da''s clothes.


    Lin Da sighed, stopping Kafni, "I''ll talk to her first; you wait outside for a while."


    "That won''t do, she''s been here for three days, always hiding and refusing to meet. This kind of ingratitude needs to be hung up and whipped for all to see!" Kafni said firmly.


    When the cardboard-boxed girl heard "whipped for all to see," she trembled with fear, her legs shaking like a sieve, and a trickling sound followed,


    At first, Lin Da thought the water pipes in the house weren''t closed tightly, but when he turned around, both he and Kafni were dumbfounded.


    Right in front of them, the cardboard-boxed girl, whose name they didn''t even know, had been scared into wetting herself!


    "Ah?"


    Kafni was thunderstruck, watching the girl''s trembling body, slowly feeling a twist of guilt in her heart. She thought the girl was faking it, but it turned out she was genuinely timid, even more so than a mouse!


    "Don''t worry; you won''t be whipped, she was just kidding," Lin Da said softly, caressing the cardboard and holding the girl''s feeble hand, leading her into the house.


    This time, Kafni didn''t say more, waiting outside speechlessly.


    Both tactfully pretended not to hear the sound of water, so as not to hurt the girl''s pride.


    Upon reaching the entryway, Lin Da smelled a stench.


    The hallway on both sides was filled with round, white trash bags, containing many disposable chopsticks, food containers, heaps of toilet paper, and filthy, smelly clothes...


    Jackets, skirts, underwear, aplete mess of dirty items that seemed to have been tossed aside after bing filthy, toozy to be washed.


    They say the scene of a room can reveal the character of its owner. Lin Da''s small rental, though a bit worn, was impably clean otherwise; not even the slightest trace of dust could be found on the dining table after wiping it for a long time,


    And the room before his eyes...


    Lin Da nced at the cardboard box girl, who sat sping her legs and trembling, her head hung low, and quicklybeled her in his mind, social anxiety,zybones, and a poor soul who can''t even afford clothes!


    He had thought the girl''s loose top was an attempt at emting the ''trendy outfits'' of the Elf race, but now he was sure—the person in the cardboard box dressed that way because she couldn''t afford trousers!


    Sewing dolls all day wasn''t enough to earn even one silver coin, and she had a substantial debt with the Mands in Gold Coins,


    Simply not being dragged out of her house and sold into a chicken coop to serve the Beastmen was pure luck.


    If he hadn''t happened toe by today, Luke would definitely have smashed the door in and stormed inside... the consequences would have been unthinkable.


    Lin Da sighed and, taking the girl with him, sat down in the living room.


    The living room was just as messy, the table was coated in dust, and the floor was littered with meticulously cleaned ice cream boxes and many haphazard bottles of ''Great Water'', a necessity for down-and-out adventurers at one copper coin a bottle.


    A huge question loomed before Lin Da, "You''re a Level 15 adventurer, right? Why is everything, well, how do I put it, so Spartan? Your living conditions are excessively Spartan?"


    A Level 15 adventurer could easily take on a quest to subdue Magical Creatures and bring in at least 10 Gold Coins.


    "Poor..." the cardboard-box-wearing girl mumbled hesitantly.


    "I know you''re poor, but I''m asking, why are you so poor?"


    The girl shook her head, "All adventurers, except for the Lord captain, they... they would harm me, definitely use Monica as bait to attract Magical Creatures..."


    Monica?


    Lin Da was momentarily taken aback; the name sounded somewhat familiar to him.


    His gaze intensively focused on the girl, "No one''s here now. Can uncle take off your head cover?"


    Once he saw her face, he would definitely remember.


    "Mm-hmm." The girl who imed to be Monica nodded her little head gently and shyly clutched the hem of her oversized top, covering her tightly clenched thighs.


    This tense posture quickened Lin Da''s heartbeat slightly,


    It was merely removing her head cover, so why did he feel so nervous?


    "So, uncle is going to start now, okay?"


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    Lin Da shook his head, dispelling any improper thoughts. As an adventurer who knew and understood thew, he must not take undue actions just because someone seemed easy to bully.


    With a serious expression, he held down the cardboard box on Monica''s head and grasped the edges, slowly lifting it up...


    Rustle—


    In an instant, the girl''s silky brown hair cascaded out of the box like a waterfall.


    Disheveled in appearance, yet possessing beautiful, smooth long hair!


    Gradually, her delicate chin came into view, followed by her pursed pink lips, her refined nose, and her shy, batting eyes looking timidly at her toes.


    Lin Da continued lifting the cardboard box upward, revealing her significantlyrge and adorable forehead, bright and shining, with long hair on the right side braided into a it, passing across her high forehead and being nervously fiddled with in her palm.


    Now fully exposed to the air, the girl instinctively curled up as she cautiously lifted her head to look at Lin Da and said timidly,


    "Lord captain, you haven''t... you haven''t abandoned Monica, have you?"