"It couldn't be Anna, could it? The speaking style is a bit similar, but isn't she 'Schicksal Valkyrie Schariac'? Why use such a username? Won't talking trash online like that get her arrested by Schicksal..."
Li Wu couldn't help but glance toward her desk. The seat was empty; he had no idea where Anna was or what she was doing.
It shouldn't be...
Alright.
It was most likely Anna.
Li Wu covered his eyes with his hand and smiled with relief.
Anna was on a mission and needed to observe him from all aspects.
Who else besides her would discuss him so blatantly and use such a username? Li Wu couldn't find a second person who cared about him this much.
Discuss him?
If those noble students fawned over him because of Mei, almost no one would be willing to waste time on an insignificant stranger, especially when there was no profit to be gained from him.
As for the authenticity of the post, Li Wu could actually guess that no one cared. Everyone was just watching for the fun of it.
Before long, they would forget. Internet traffic comes quickly and goes quickly.
During the lunch break.
The bell rang for the last time. The curtains were drawn, and the Life Committee member counted the students, specifically glaring at Li Wu before turning off the classroom lights.
The noise vanished instantly without a trace, leaving only a dazed gloom shrouding the classroom.
Li Wu wasn't sleepy.
He didn't know why, but lately he had inexhaustible energy and didn't feel tired at all.
Even after thinking constantly and fighting a gang brawl, his body and mind were fine, quite good actually.
Play with my phone for a bit...
Might as well check if Ruslan found any clues about the Holy Blood.
Li Wu rested his head on the desk, holding his phone in front of the drawer.
To avoid disturbing other students, Li Wu put it on silent mode and turned the brightness very low.
Surprisingly, Ruslan had figured out the secret black market he wanted in such a short time and sent the address to his phone.
Everything was going unbelievably smoothly.
Li Wu even felt a faint unease.
According to his plan, in the coming days, he just needed to temper Mei's character, make her self-reliant, and finally achieve complete metamorphosis to fully clear Act One.
Previously, he didn't know the source of the crisis, but now it had come to light.
Most of the inexplicable crises in the manga came from Raiden Ryoma. With Schicksal's guarantee, Raiden Ryoma was now on their side and would also protect Mei, preventing crises from happening.
In other words, all he had to do was accompany Mei and spend a quiet school life.
But... something felt wrong.
Did he miss some important information? He couldn't think of anything...
He hoped things would continue smoothly without any accidents.
A significantly enhanced body, Kosma's "one-time assistance" opportunity, the potential connections of the Fire Moth Feather, the "Holy Blood" he was about to buy, most of the manga crises resolved...
Everything was developing in a positive direction, but that unease grew deeper. He couldn't see it or grasp it, but if he could see and touch it, it would seem to herald an irreversible dead end.
Probably.
I'm just overthinking it.
Li Wu thought to himself.
From his transmigration until now, crises had occurred almost periodically over the past few days, making him somewhat sensitive, almost paranoid.
Maybe there were no crises at all, and the days ahead would pass peacefully without needing so much thought...
Li Wu opened the locked notebook.
This notebook was a guideline he specifically left to keep his thinking clear and to prevent entering a "dissociative identity" state again in the future.
After all, "dissociative identity" didn't happen overnight; it was an extremely slow but hard-to-detect process.
During the period of relying on the "soul-separation state", Li Wu always thought he could handle it and do it again. But gradually, after some unknown death, he felt that the Reaper didn't matter at all. Pain, pressure—everything began to vanish along with the decay of his emotions...
This was a vicious cycle.
The more indifferent he felt, the more he died.
Later on, he would even reset directly for a tiny piece of intelligence.
Therefore, Li Wu had to prepare in advance.
If he lost his emotions, the content recorded above would be meaningless.
Perhaps to his future self, becoming cold or warm would seem fine either way.
But even if there was a slight possibility, Li Wu hoped to guide his future self, helping him possess the ability to re-examine his actions, no longer twisting ethics, despising morality, and trampling on humanity just to clear this realistic game with a single-minded focus.
As long as he fell into hesitation or confusion, sooner or later he would recall the feeling of transcendence, instead of just being a cold walking corpse.
"No, don't die!"
A shrill cry came from the direction of the window. No, it sounded more like sleep-talking with a high pitch.
Li Wu became alert and immediately stood up to look at the source of the sound, locking eyes with the startled Kiana.
One second, two seconds.
Kiana didn't look away. Her eyes were wide open, looking very intense. Her azure pupils were clean as mirrors, reflecting the not-so-bright light drilling in through the curtain gaps.
Her chest heaved. Her eyes were filled with panic as she carefully looked Li Wu up and down. Finding nothing missing, she let out a long sigh of relief and lay back on the desk, though she didn't continue sleeping.
Since the lunch break was halfway through, the whole class was in deep sleep and hadn't been woken up.
Li Wu, who had suddenly stood up, felt a bit awkward and sat back down, but his gaze occasionally drifted to Kiana's beautiful face, which was pale as paper.
Did she have a nightmare?
Li Wu felt guilty.
Nightmares weren't rare. Whether children or adults, everyone had a few nightmares throughout the year.
But most people just woke up from nightmares; they wouldn't scream out in terror from the horrific scenes in the dream.
Someone like Kiana screaming out because of a nightmare was indeed rare.
Was it that scary?
Don't die?
Who was she saying that to?
Li Wu quickly analyzed. The subject of "don't die" couldn't be herself, otherwise she would only say: Don't kill me, I don't want to die, or simply No, instead of Don't die.
Forget it, thinking about these empty theories is pointless.
Li Wu laid softly on the table, withdrawing his gaze completely and no longer paying attention to Kiana.
Kiana was already thoroughly disappointed in him. All he could do was not disturb her.
Li Wu hadn't forgotten what he said earlier.
Regardless of the reason, once words were spoken, one had to be prepared to bear the consequences.
Just like Conan said in the anime from his original world: Once hurtful words are spoken, they cannot be taken back.
Kiana probably thought the same way.
Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. I should put more thought into Mei!
Li Wu gently patted his cheeks with both hands, reminding himself to focus on cultivating Mei's personality.
But for some reason, his mind was filled with that terrified face waking from a nightmare. What kind of nightmare could make the aloof and otherworldly Kiana scared like that... Even after waking up, she looked around in a daze, confirming she had returned to reality and that it was a false illusion.
It must have been terrifying, that nightmare of hers.
Wait.
Why am I thinking about Kiana again?
Li Wu slapped his cheeks hard, making them slightly red this time.
Focus, focus, focus...
Mei, as the Herrscher of Thunder, needed to be monitored properly to avoid the "Greatest Tragedy—The Third Great Eruption" happening in Nagazora City. He needed to stay by Mei's side as much as possible so he wouldn't be unable to stop the Third Great Eruption via Return by Death if it happened.
Then Kiana, as the Herrscher of the Void, didn't she have the risk of losing control?
She...
"..."
"...Dammit."
Li Wu cursed as he put away his pen, greeted the Life Committee member at their desk, and left the classroom to get some air.
Now, it didn't matter even if he was caught by a teacher. Whether it was the imagined "noble life" by everyone or being the person closest to Mei, either identity would make those people turn a blind eye and be flexible with the rigid rules.
Arriving at the empty sports field, a massive heat wave swept over his body. The air was stiflingly stuffy.
There was PE class this afternoon. Li Wu planned to warm up and calm his inner turmoil through sprinting, while also testing what his current body could do.
Too many things had happened these past few days. Plot-related, unrelated—everything was mixed together, making Li Wu feel irritable and unsure how to prioritize.
Under the shade of the trees, Li Wu began running laps around the field.
During the lunch break, no one would disturb him.
As time passed, after running dozens of laps continuously, Li Wu finally felt a slight soreness in his muscles. If he continued running, his limit would probably be forty or fifty laps.
"Much calmer now. No wonder the Valkyries in the game are all beauties. Turns out in this world, becoming strong makes you good-looking. Stigmata, gene fusion, Honkai energy enhancement... there are too many ways. Any powerhouse with a name is a beauty. Wait, except Lewis..."
Li Wu stopped under the shade of a tree to observe his physical state. He tugged at his collar; sweat had soaked his whole body, highlighting his tough body lines.
His previously weak otaku body had changed appearance, becoming more defined, with slightly bulging, hard muscles on his arms.
His appearance hadn't changed too much, just looked more spirited.
"Lunch break seems to be ending soon. Save some energy for PE class. Tonight I'll go to the black market to get the Holy Blood."
If conditions allowed, Li Wu wanted to go back and take a shower right now.
But since everyone would sweat in PE class anyway, washing now would be a waste.
Li Wu sighed deeply and walked from the field toward the changing room to change into sportswear. At the corner of the first floor of the building where the changing room was located...
Smack.
He bumped into someone walking out from the corner.
Second time!
What's with today? Usually I don't run into people a few times a semester, but today it happened twice in a row.
Fortunately, this time the person wasn't as rushed as Anna was at noon. They were just walking normally forward, so neither of them fell to the ground.
But when Li Wu looked up and saw the person's face clearly, he froze instantly.
"Anna?"
"Li Wu?"
Li Wu & Anna: "Why are you at..."
Li Wu & Anna: "It's not lunch break now..."
Li Wu & Anna: "..."
Li Wu & Anna: "You say it first..."
Li Wu & Anna: "..."
It was like the two shared the same brain. Every sentence coincided perfectly with the other's thoughts, and even their pauses crashed together perfectly.
"Stop. Don't speak yet. Let me speak first." Li Wu reached out his hand directly, signaling Anna to shut up.
Anna hesitated for a moment, then nodded and gave a "Mmh."
"Are you..." Li Wu frowned, then suddenly his serious expression cracked, and his tone became frivolous, "trying to Pacific Rim drift with me? Such tacit understanding. Next time the third Pacific Rim movie comes out, we might as well go audition for the male and female leads."
"Tsk! I knew nothing serious would come out of your mouth!" Anna subconsciously moved a few steps to the side, looked back to check there was still space, and pressed herself directly against the bulletin board, maintaining an extremely far distance from Li Wu.
"Is that necessary?"
"It is very necessary. Li Wu, your danger level in my mind is second only to an Emperor-class Honkai Beast!"
Anna said with a serious tone.
Not only was her tone serious, but her expression was also stiff, as if she were giving a speech on stage, looking like he might eat her.
"Sigh, it's hard to be a good person these days. I came back to school to watch over you for your mission. Don't you still have the mission to observe me? Speak, what is it specifically? I'll cooperate as much as possible. Consider it compensation, after all, you really helped me a lot... To be honest, I'm actually quite embarrassed. If there's anything I can do for you, I'll definitely help you do it."
Li Wu tried his best to appear kind, but when he took a step forward, Anna took a step back.
Li Wu didn't believe it and took another step forward. Anna subconsciously retreated another step. The two maintained a fixed safe distance.
"Seriously, are you a child? Playing such childish games. It's not like I'm going to eat you!"
"Who knows! Every time I get close to you, nothing good happens. Otherwise, why do you think I didn't return to the classroom during lunch break? Just to stay far away from you. Who knows what bad luck you'll bring me next!"
"Who are you calling small? So childish. Mysticism can't save bad luck, spending money can't change fate—"
"None of your business! I was never this unlucky in Schicksal before. Ever since meeting you, I'm always angry, always unlucky. It's not good at all. I haven't even finished my daily basic physical training! I must keep my distance from you. Li Wu, stay away from me, do you hear?! Observing you isn't a mission; it's something I must do. You can't control it, so don't bother."
Anna glared at Li Wu as if facing a formidable enemy, her shoulders slightly raised. The bright fluorescent light fell on her soft, beautiful face, adding a bit of anger.
A bit like...
An angry pufferfish reacting in the wild!
But if observing him wasn't a mission for Anna, then why did she go to such great lengths to come to Chiba Academy to know him? There was no reason...
It was very strange.
Was she lying?