The moment the monsters saw Fu Zhu draw his weapon, they lunged at him. However, in their vision, Fu Zhu's figure was like a lagging movie scene. With every flicker, he would bizarrely reappear behind a monster, cutting it down with a single, decisive strike.
In just a few flickers of movement, the entire swarm of seemingly menacing monsters was reduced to a pile of mechanical parts on the floor.
Fu Zhu sheathed his sword and glanced back at the wreckage, somewhat baffled.
"That's it? His minions are this weak? Then how did this guy manage to infect the entire Paperfold University with a memetic virus? And The Family didn't notice a thing?"
Hearing this, Sunday's face flushed with a bit of shame. Even though he was no longer the head of the Oak Family, he still felt compelled to defend them.
"If the mastermind was determined to hide, The Family might not have noticed. After all, The Family's philosophy is that of [Harmony]—to be all-encompassing."
Fu Zhu shrugged and said no more, instead turning his gaze down the corridor. The principal's office was that way; the monkey-headed principal had just ducked inside.
"Let's go. Let's see what kind of ghost he's trying to be."
Fu Zhu took the lead, with the other three following closely behind. When they reached the door to the principal's office, Sunday was about to step forward to check for any traps, but Fu Zhu simply took out an axe and smashed the wooden door to pieces.
The move left Sunday, who had just reached out his hand, in an awkward position, and he slowly retracted it.
The door being demolished stunned the principal hiding inside. He had been planning to wait for them to enter and then put on a show, preaching the philosophy of some 'original doctor.' He hadn't expected them to be so crude as to just break down the door. He thought to himself, I haven't even started doing anything evil yet!
Are these really the Nameless outside? They're more like bandits!
Nevertheless, seeing Fu Zhu's group enter and completely block the doorway, the principal collected himself and cleared his throat twice.
"May I help you with something?"
Fu Zhu shot him a glance and called out his name directly.
"Still trying to keep up the act? Professor Pulimeng? Or should I call you a First-Class Research Ape?"
These were the names displayed for the entity on his minimap. Though he didn't know their exact meaning, the fact that they were displayed meant they were significant titles for his opponent.
Seeing that Fu Zhu had called him by name upon their very first meeting, Pulimeng broke into a cold sweat.
"Heh heh... as expected of the rare Double Emanator. To think you could call out the name of an insignificant person like me on our first encounter. Mr. Fu Zhu, you truly are special."
"Are you done talking?"
Fu Zhu raised an eyebrow at him, the Yamato materializing in his hand once more.
Pulimeng was a bit surprised to see Fu Zhu suddenly draw a weapon.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, resorting to blades and weapons isn't very civil, is it? Are you not interested in knowing my objective? Don't you want to hear why I'm doing all this?"
Fu Zhu shook his head with complete honesty.
"Not interested."
"You're really not interested?"
Pulimeng was getting annoyed now. He spread his arms and declared with the utmost seriousness, "My plan will turn all of Penacony into my personal testing ground! Are you really not interested in knowing the specifics?"
Fu Zhu frowned. Why was this guy so irritating?
"Do whatever you want. It doesn't matter what you do. You're going to die. I won't let you go, and neither will The Family."
Pulimeng was about to say more, but Fu Zhu had already heard enough. He pointed a finger, and a [Lead] instantly shot out, tying the professor up tightly.
With Pulimeng dealt with, Fu Zhu turned to Sunday and asked, "Should I let The Family handle this, or should I just take care of him myself?"
Sunday really wanted to say he'd deal with it himself, but he was no longer the Family Head.
"Let The Family handle it. It'll be a good lesson for them. How could they let someone infiltrate such an important institution like Paperfold University without even knowing?"
"Alright."
---o---
Fu Zhu took out his phone and made a call to a familiar Family Head. After a brief conversation, he hung up and looked back at Sunday.
"Someone will be here soon. We'll wait here for a bit."
"Okay."
While Fu Zhu's group waited for The Family to arrive, Pulimeng did not stay idle. He had no intention of surrendering so easily. He struggled against the lead, even trying to transform himself into a Slumbernana Monkey. However, the lead on his body shrank along with him. Even in his tiny monkey form, the rope remained just as tight.
"Dammit, what kind of rope is this!?"
Pulimeng's monkey face flushed with anger. He looked over at Fu Zhu, only to see that the man was so bored he had started playing with the fingers of the girl beside him, completely ignoring him!
Furious, Pulimeng yelled at Fu Zhu, unwilling to accept defeat.
"Don't get cocky, Fu Zhu! I've been infiltrating this school for days! Heh heh, in the days you knew nothing about, this entire school has been thoroughly infected by my memetic virus! Even you can do nothing but watch as the mental projections of these people in the dream turn into Slumbernana Monkeys and return to their primal state!"
Hearing this, Fu Zhu, who had been toying with March 7th's fingers, finally looked up and gave him a disinterested glance.
Seeing that look in Fu Zhu's eyes, Pulimeng's heart burned with rage. Why did everyone look down on him like this?!
"Heh heh, Fu Zhu, don't think I don't understand you. The only reason you can sit there so calmly is because of the power of [Finality], isn't it? Let me guess, you're planning on using [Finality]'s power to travel back up the river of time, to the moment I first arrived at this school, and try to stop me, right?"
Fu Zhu raised his eyebrows in surprise, but not because Pulimeng had guessed his thoughts.
"Go on."
Seeing Fu Zhu's slightly surprised expression, a hint of smugness appeared on Pulimeng's face.
"Heh heh, this memetic virus can't be solved just by killing me!"
Pulimeng's face was a mask of mockery. He was confident that even if Fu Zhu reversed time, he still wouldn't be able to find the true source of the virus!
"So... is it possible..."
Fu Zhu suddenly stood up and walked toward Pulimeng. With each step, the aura around him intensified. By the time he stood before the captive professor, the power of a [Harmony] Emanator was no longer concealed.
Fu Zhu raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A torrential downpour suddenly began to fall from the sky above Paperfold University, but the rain was made of milk.
Seeing the white rain outside the window, Pulimeng inexplicably began to panic.
"Besides Finality, I also have Harmony. What's more... Harmony is nothing but a starter for my own power."