The Great Thief

If you wanted to do well in the long term of any game, you couldn’t be satisfied with just being average.

However, Dawn was very unique in that it allowed players to find their own fun in the game. This fun could be shared among many different players, and it wasn’t limited to everyone minding their own business.

Halloween was the second festival celebrated in Dawn, and everyone just wanted to have a good time.

As Lu Li walked through the streets, there was almost no one wearing normal clothing. There was Iron Man on one side, and Spirited Away’s No-Face on the other. There were ghosts, the Ring, zombies, Ninja Turtles, Maleficent, and Assassin’s Creed...

If you could think of a costume idea, it could probably be done.

Adults and children, boys and girls, the old and young – everyone could find their respective interests.

Dawn allowed players to make a variety of modifications to their equipment.

As such, in addition to the costumes that were generated by the system, there were also many homemade costumes moving around on the streets. Lu Li even saw a pumpkin rolling around.

Lu Xin had been waiting for quite some time; she had logged on in the morning and had been looking forward to playing with her brother.

However, she didn’t want to create a scene. She knew that her brother was working for them, and had no time to rest.

So, when Lu Li arrived and asked if she had been waiting for a long time, she shook her small head and held his hand before heading into the Halloween Festival’s crowd of players.

Lu Xin’s preparation for the surgery could start at any time, so she needed to be in a calm state and couldn’t be under too much stress.

As such, the Lu siblings couldn’t go into the places like haunted houses. Nevertheless, Dawn provided a wide variety of content, so there were many other things they could do.

Of course, they first went to the festival center to acquire a set of Halloween costumes.

The clothing that the System provided was quite elegant; it was much better than what the players could produce themselves. Lu Li also didn’t have much time to spare, so he spent a few gold coins to buy them.

According to some incomplete statistics, the amount of gold that the players had spent to dress up totaled over 1.7 million gold coins.

When Lu Li arrived at the festival center, there were two players who were constantly changing their outfit. They must have had OCD because it took them so long. Every change of clothing also cost 1 silver.

Lu Li paid the festival ambassador a silver coin and the NPC waved his hand. He then transformed into No-Face.

Spirited Away’s No-Face was probably one of the easiest costumes to create; it seemed like the System wanted to cut some corners. It wasn’t that this costume was bad, but Lu Li had soon a dozen of them today already.

However, Lu Li didn’t really mind, as this wasn’t something he really cared about.

He was only changing his costume for the sake of his sister, and to take part in the festive atmosphere.

"I want to become someone from Spirited Away too!" Lu Xin saw what her brother had transformed into and wanted to follow suit.

In China, Japanese cartoon movies were very popular. Master Miyazaki’s work had been around for more than 200 years and was still as popular as ever.

The first transformation turned her into a small pirate.

The small pirate was quite cool, and many children liked it, but Lu Xin was not satisfied. The pirate and No-Face didn’t go well together.

As such, a second silver coin was handed over to the festive ambassador.

The reason the players had spent over 1.7 million gold coins was because they were all a little obsessive about their costumes.

"Big bro, what is this?"

"A ladybug..."

"What about this?"

"It’s... probably a Transformer..."

"Clown..."

"We’ve spent 12 Silver coins." Lu Xin had unknowingly changed her costume quite a few times, but she still hadn’t found anything to her satisfaction.

"It’s okay, keep going. It’s just one silver coin each time."

Lu Li showed his sister the amount of money in his backpack. He had over 700 gold coins.

"Then I’ll just go eight more times," Lu Xin said sadly.

As a child who had grown up poor and would keep every cent of change, how could she be willing to keep spending money in this place? The Lu Siblings had both grown up in the same environment and struggled to let go of some of their old habits.

"Who is this? Seems like Mei?" Lu Xin looked at the mirror and was unsure. She looked a little older than a four-year-old.

To be fair, the reason she liked this costume was because it took a human form. The previous few costumes were completely incompatible with her image as a little girl.

The Mei that she was referring to was Mei Kusakabe.

Mei Kusakabe was a character from one of the famous Japanese animation masterpieces – Totoro. She was the sister of one of the main characters. The two of them had moved with their father from the city into the country. While living at an ancient house, they encountered the spirit of the forest Totoro.

The translation of her name used its original harmonics, which resulted in Mei.

"This girl from Totoro suits you. It also complements No-Face as they are both Miyazaki’s works," Lu Li explained to his sister, but he didn’t know that much more either.

Now that their life was better, Lu Xin would occasionally watch some TV when she was free.

"If big bro feels it’s right, then I’ll take it," Lu Xin said as she pinched her own arm, which felt a lot smaller. She was already short, and now, she was even shorter.

Then, the little girl from Totoro went back onto the Streets of Astrana holding No-Face’s hand.

Despite the fact that it was quite chaotic outside with all the different costumes, the Lu Siblings had a perfect harmony. They had an interdependence that couldn’t be replaced.

"The System will update tomorrow and the main city will open up. I intend to buy a house from the main city," Lu Li told his sister while dealing with children asking for candy.

Some players were also taking the initiative to give Lu Xin candy. Her costume made her look small and cute, so she received a lot of candy.

"Main city? Isn’t this place okay?" for the little girl, Astrana was already big enough. She was often lost and had to ask a guard about how to find the potion store.

"I won’t be safe here in future; there will be a war," Lu Li said.

As the Grey Valley war intensified, the Orc Legion’s Soldiers would attack the city. Although they would be repulsed, they would breach the city a few times.

However, the main city was not the same – there was a super big Boss there. Any main city was basically impregnable. Not only did the Night Elf’s main city house Tyrande, but it was also connected to the Emerald Dream which was protected by the Green Dragon.

"I’ll follow you then." Lu Xin held her brother’s hand, but she felt a little sad.

If the surgery failed, then nothing in the future will matter. She knew that she needed to listen to her brother.

If she wasn’t around in this world, who would continue to accompany him?