"It's fine, I don't mind waiting until the investigation is over. Because everyone settles the score at the very end. The process is gathering for a meal first on that day, and then splitting into smaller groups to do whatever we want—singing, playing games, anything goes."
"Thanks. Also, stay safe."
Li Wu waved goodbye to Sato Yuno. Then, alone, he bought meals for two at the convenience store and leisurely walked back toward the school building.
He didn't plan to participate in the mixer, but he would observe from nearby for a while to prevent the tragedy from the manga.
As for Sato Yuno, Li Wu was almost certain she was a pure sis-con.
When Sato Yuno spoke hesitantly, her face was full of smiles; when Sato spoke fluently, her face was practically written with joy and excitement. It was like she had won the lottery—the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed, like an AK firing on auto.
Sigh... I've had enough of this yuri world.
Li Wu suddenly felt that the Demon King in the bushes next door was right—Humans should f**k humans! Monsters should f**k monsters!
If she was a sis-con, it wasn't hard to understand why Sato Yuno would later become a pseudo-Herrscher, betrayed by everyone and full of hostility toward humanity.
If her sister, whom she depended on for life, died in the Third Great Eruption right before her eyes, while the perpetrator—the Third Herrscher: Mei—went unharmed to a safer, warmer St. Freya Academy to enjoy a wonderful youth and campus life... any normal person would become mentally unbalanced.
Why?
Why was my family killed by you, yet you didn't go to jail, didn't bear infamy, didn't pay the price, and instead get to live better than us victims?
The game's plot piled up a bunch of points worthy of ridicule.
Despite knowing Raiden Mei was the Herrscher of Thunder, they let her live freely in Nagazora City without surveillance or restrictions, ultimately leading to a massive tragedy.
Few people in the entire city survived, yet by the final chapter of the game's first part, the culprit was at most given the cold shoulder.
Do ordinary people just count as game NPCs? If they die, they die? Do they respawn?
Raiden Mei even said a couple of sentences during her metamorphosis arc, feeling she had recognized herself and could bear all past sins to live uprightly... and the reason was actually to protect Kiana.
Shouldn't it be about saving more people to make up for the survivors whose families were broken because of her?
Protecting Kiana was fine, but using that reason to exchange for the strength to bear the past... Li Wu felt it was inappropriate.
Thank goodness this world was based on his manga plot. Otherwise, wiping out families without paying with one's life would be a bit too disgusting.
Li Wu suddenly thought of his attitude toward the pajamas when getting dressed this morning.
He had to be more careful in the future to avoid going down the wrong path...
Li Wu walked with his head down, thinking as he went.
Suddenly, as he passed the edge of the sports field, many dark silhouettes appeared on the grass ahead. He looked up and found twenty or thirty boys gathered together in a brawl.
Although there were no restricted weapons, fists were hitting flesh. It was a scene of utter determination to knock the opponents down.
The boys fought with ferocious expressions, fierce eyes, and solemn demeanors. Some boys formed alliances to take down others first. Looking closely... nobles actually made up the majority? Commoners were the minority. Compared to commoners, nobles fought more extremely, completely disregarding the consequences.
That's unreasonable. Why did the nobles suddenly start beating each other up, and so seriously at that?
Li Wu didn't understand what they were doing. Having seen hail of bullets and supernatural powers, watching high school students in a gang fight... Li Wu actually wanted to laugh a little.
Just as Li Wu prepared to act like an innocent bystander and walk past to avoid getting involved, someone was suddenly thrown out of the crowd, landing right in front of him.
Their eyes met, and that person clenched his fist and charged up.
"Li Wu! You are the biggest enemy!"
"Wait, who the hell are you? Do we even know each other for you to call me the biggest enemy?!"
Li Wu had too many things he wanted to retort, but his body moved faster than his mouth. He tilted his head slightly to the left, dodging the heavy punch aimed straight at his face.
Immediately following was a hook from the other hand, which Li Wu also dodged easily. Throughout the process, Li Wu didn't even use his hands; the bag containing lunch was still tightly gripped in his hand.
His movements are so slow...
No, my reaction speed has become faster.
And... why does it feel like this person's attacks are full of openings?
With a mindset of giving it a try, Li Wu tentatively raised his foot. In the interval between the boy's punches, he pressed the tip of his foot against the opponent's lower abdomen and sent a light kick.
Unexpectedly, the opponent was all show and no substance. Focusing only on offense, his center of gravity was unstable. He was instantly sent flying by Li Wu's self-perceived "restrained" kick, crashing straight into the pile of people brawling and letting out repeated screams.
What's the situation?
Am I that strong?
What on earth did Raven feed me?
"Li Wu!"
"It's you!"
While Li Wu was still confused about why his body seemed a bit off, the twenty or thirty boys stopped beating each other one after another. They exchanged glances with tacit understanding, then turned around to look at him aggressively.
"Beat him down first, then settle the rest!"
"I will prove to Student Anna that I am the strong man most suitable for her!"
As soon as the words fell, Li Wu watched the massive number of boys attacking his face, looking as if they were going to tear him to pieces.
Holy crap.
I didn't offend you guys, did I?!
He could guess the reason. Anna probably said something that caused a misunderstanding, like the winner of this fight could become her boyfriend.
Li Wu moved the bag aside and was forced to join this gang fight.
Mmh, him alone gang-fighting dozens of people.
Rationally speaking, one against three still had a chance of winning. One against three or four with similar builds was almost impossible, let alone one against thirty.
But Li Wu didn't feel that way at all. The combat experience honed from purging the Blood Wolf Mercenary Corps, combined with his physical fitness seemingly being massively enhanced, made the movements and openings of these thirty people fully exposed before him.
One punch, one down. Li Wu felt like Lu Bu in Dynasty Warriors, rushing into the crowd and activating Musou mode—high attack, high HP, extremely fast speed.
There were no flashy moves. Every strike accurately hit a joint or a weak point. Muffled sounds and groans of pain were endless around him.
In less than two minutes, the thirty people who were originally arrogant all fell to the ground, clutching certain parts of their bodies in pain.
Li Wu shook his wrist and looked around at the "opponents" who were lying all over the place, groaning ceaselessly.
This feeling... seems pretty good?
Li Wu didn't want to be Anna's boyfriend, nor did he like the feeling of trampling all enemies underfoot like a Musou character.
But exercising this body of mine every day... perhaps it wasn't disadvantageous after all!
"Sigh... why bother? Why... force me to act?" Li Wu cheekily recited a line from a League of Legends champion, then his expression froze, becoming serious and steady. "If violence is not for killing, then it is meaningless. Let's end this here. I'll give you time to catch up, until you can no longer even see my back."
After reciting lines from Aatrox, Lee Sin, and the Huangtian Emperor, Li Wu raised his gaze and stepped over the fallen students one by one, calm and composed.
Pure power is truly fascinating~
Originally, running while explaining he had no intention to fight might have allowed him to escape.
But the moment he saw the dark mass of people rushing over...
Li Wu's super intellect told him it was time to use super power.
The result satisfied him greatly.
Leaving the sports field, Li Wu picked up the bag from the ground and walked straight toward the school building.
"I'll have to ask Raven what exactly she fed me later. Does World Serpent have such drugs for enhancing the human body? Why does it feel similar to the Holy Blood Anna mentioned, but with even more exaggerated effects than the Holy Blood?"
"I remember Anna saying that although Holy Blood can enhance physical fitness, the stuff Raven fed me enhanced it way beyond Holy Blood... Wait, could there be side effects, like lifespan reduction?"
The more Li Wu thought about it, the more scared he got.
Holy Blood didn't have such a huge effect on ordinary people.
Since the effect of his becoming stronger was so obvious, the price of whatever Raven fed him couldn't be low. The enhancement effect might even have a time limit.
Whatever.
According to Li Wu's experience as an old internet user, a significant physical enhancement inevitably meant a massive reduction in lifespan.
Could it be that I'm really going to die young?
No, no, no. Raven shouldn't be that bad. Besides, lifespan reduction is a trope in xuanxia novels. In reality, it would just cause organ failure or some terminal illness.
These wouldn't be problems once he got the Holy Blood from the black market.
Most likely, Gray Serpent and Raven did some weird experiment on me, like the Stigmata that World Serpent is best at...
Could it be—
I am that one-in-a-million artificial Stigmata adapter?
Bang!
Just as he reached the corner of the stairs, a figure rushed out and knocked Li Wu to the ground. Fortunately, his physical fitness had been enhanced, so Li Wu adjusted his posture upon landing and wasn't injured.
"I'm sorry!"
"As long as you're okay... Student, don't run so fas—eh, Anna?"
Regaining his senses, before Li Wu could speak, he saw the familiar emerald short hair and the misfit detective outfit. Compared to before, this time she wore brown high-heeled ankle boots. They were very clean, with no stains on the soles, seemingly newly bought.
Wait...
Li Wu shook his head. My attention has been getting distracted by these meaningless details more and more lately.
"What happened? You don't look like the type of Valkyrie to act in such a rush."
Li Wu stood up and patted the dust off his butt.
Anna took a half-step back, looking anxiously toward the direction of the sports field where Li Wu came from.
"Never mind that for now. I have to go stop a tragedy from happening. Because of me, ordinary people might get hurt... If I get reported to Schicksal, my year-end rating is finished! Aaaaaah!!"
"Ordinary people getting hurt... are you referring to—that group of jealous boys shouting that the winner could become your boyfriend?"
Anna had just run two steps when she heard Li Wu's words. She braked immediately and turned her head stiffly, as if she had a stomachache. The corners of her mouth twitched incessantly, and her expression was extremely ugly.
"Yes. Schicksal has regulations. Unless it's a special situation, Schicksal Valkyries cannot harm civilians. I just felt there were too many suitors and it was annoying, so I casually mentioned something everyone couldn't do..."
"I don't know why. I clearly said: 'If you want to be my boyfriend, you must beat me.' But somehow it got twisted into 'the person who is best at fighting can become my boyfriend'... It's over, it's over. If someone reports me and my rating this year doesn't reach A+, my vacation next year will be completely ruined!"
"Uh... if it's about that, you don't need to worry anymore."
As soon as the words fell, Anna smiled through her tears. Her pink pupils twinkled, magnificent as sparkling gems.
"Don't need to worry? They haven't started yet? Or has the rumor been clarified? That's great... As long as people are okay. If someone got hurt because of this, I'd get a disciplinary mark..."
Li Wu turned his head guiltily and lowered his voice: "Uh, actually, um, how should I put it..."
"Is that not it? If one or two people got hurt, it should be fine if I apologize in advance."
The smile on Li Wu's face became increasingly stiff. By the end, it practically solidified into a weathered statue—living, yet slightly dead.
"You need to be mentally prepared..." Li Wu spoke.
"Say it. I'm listening." Anna hung her heart in the air and took a deep breath.
"Actually—"
"Those several dozen people... not a single one can stand up right now. They were all beaten down..."
"...Li Wu, are you joking with me? This joke isn't funny. I'm getting a little angry!"
"I'm not lying to you. Turn right when you go out and you'll see. The school doctor will probably be here soon. You can't hide this..."
Anna: "..."
The outdoor unit of the air conditioner in the first-floor classroom hummed dully. Hot air surged from the main entrance like a tidal wave, engulfing Anna.
One step, two steps.
Anna walked to the front of the school building, mechanically turned her neck, and looked toward the sports field.
Dozens of people lay on the field, flipping around like grubs, wriggling incessantly, their expressions painful.
A bunch of students around them took out their phones to take pictures, posting the scene online. Not far away, several school doctors were rushing over, looking panicked.
"...Li Wu."
"What is it..."
"I think I'm done for."
"My condolences."
"Li Wu."
"I'm here."
"You evil bastard, are you cursing me?"
Like a ghost, Anna walked silently behind him, one hand gripping Li Wu's shoulder, a dangerous smile hanging on the corner of her mouth.
"Ever since I met you, nothing good has happened around me."
"Buying a house and getting extorted by the landlord; buying snacks and getting caught in heavy rain without an umbrella; finally meeting an acquaintance, only to be dragged onto a pirate ship by you, violating the Schicksal Valkyrie code for several days."
"My first kiss was tricked away by you, and my only major disciplinary violation was seen by people..."
"Ha... haha... hahaha... hahahaha..."
Anna's laughter was very quiet, but Li Wu felt the soreness in his shoulder getting heavier and heavier. The laughter by his ear was like the low muttering of an evil spirit, gradually becoming terrifying.
Finally, at a certain moment, she let go. Anna walked toward the sports field in a daze, joining the team transporting the injured.
The sun beat down on her face, burning hot, flushing Anna's cheeks red. Although she smiled while moving the injured, it felt forced, like an apologetic smile.
How should he put it? She felt resigned to her fate.
No blame, no making things difficult—just silently bearing it all. No matter who the culprit behind this tragedy was, since she started it, she had to take full responsibility.
(Bottom Caption)
Surprisingly, there is no facial expression information.