Another weekend.
In the familiar cold drink shop near Chiba Academy, Li Mu and Kiana sat facing each other.
Today, Kiana was dressed just as she had been a few days ago: a blue short jacket over a black tight-fitting top.
Her waist-length white hair was tied into a high ponytail, leaving only a stubborn ahoge sticking up on top of her head.
At this moment, she was slumped over the table, one hand propping up her cheek.
A straw dangled from her mouth as she absentmindedly sipped the cold drink in front of her.
Occasionally, she would let out a soft sigh.
Seeing her practically wearing the words "I have something on my mind" on her face, Li Mu held back a laugh and asked seriously:
"Good bro, how are things with MEI lately?"
Hearing Li Mu's question, the hand supporting Kiana's cheek slipped, nearly knocking over her drink.
As if recalling something terrifying, her face went pale, and her body involuntarily shivered.
"Lately, MEI has been practicing her cooking and often invites me over for dinner." Kiana looked miserable. "I can feel her enthusiasm, but I really can't handle it anymore..."
Seeing the melancholy on Kiana's face, Li Mu's gaze drifted slightly, feeling a pang of guilt. After all, MEI's enthusiastic invitations were entirely his fault.
It was he who had used "bonding between classmates" as an excuse to trick MEI into dragging Kiana over for meals.
After all, as his good bro, how could he just watch him suffer alone? Naturally, blessings should be shared, and hardships should be endured together!
But just as a hint of guilt rose in his heart, Li Mu had another thought.
He was eating MEI's cooking for the sake of 30 Crystals a day, to save hundreds of millions of people in East Asia, even all of humanity. No matter how you looked at it, he held the moral high ground!
Besides, as a good bro, how could he hoard all the benefits? Good things must be shared with one's best bro.
Thinking of this, Li Mu's guilt vanished instantly, replaced by firm resolve.
Kiana, naturally unaware of Li Mu's inner monologue, only thought of MEI's cooking. The stubborn ahoge on her head wilted, and her face scrunched up in bitterness.
But soon, she began to comfort herself.
"I've noticed that MEI's food hasn't been knocking me out as easily these past few days. That means her cooking skills are improving. Maybe it'll become delicious soon..."
That's because your body is slowly building up a tolerance to the toxicity of her food.
Li Mu retorted silently in his heart, but to prevent his good bro from exploding, he wisely kept it to himself.
"So, good bro, you didn't ask me out just to discuss MEI's cooking, did you?"
"Of course not."
Hearing Li Mu's question, Kiana looked thoughtful, as if organizing her words.
"These past few days, I've been having a strange dream..."
"Oh, a dream?"
Kiana recalled, "Yes, dreams. Somewhat chaotic dreams. Some make me feel uneasy, while others feel incredibly warm."
"In the dreams, I saw uncomfortable things that looked like laboratories, a high tower amidst heavy snow, and Honkai beasts covering the land."
"I also dreamt of scenes that looked like a school campus, a massive battleship tearing through the sky, and many people whose faces I can't remember clearly."
Listening to Kiana's narration, Li Mu's expression gradually turned strange.
"Mu, do you know something?"
Facing Kiana's suspicious look, Li Mu nodded.
"Those memories are likely fragments from the Stigmata. They probably come from that flower similar to you, fifty thousand years in the future."
"My counterpart who embraced the Cocoon?"
Li Mu nodded.
Hearing this, Kiana looked worried.
"These memories won't affect me, will they? Like causing mental problems or something?"
Li Mu pondered for a moment and replied, "Most likely not."
"What do you mean 'most likely'?"
"Because I can only guarantee the thing itself is harmless. As for whether there are other unexpected side effects, I'm not sure."
...
Watching Kiana leave, Li Mu fell into deep thought.
He hadn't expected this situation to arise after loading the Stigmata into Kiana, because he hadn't experienced anything similar with his own Stigmata.
Li Mu didn't know the reason for now, but surely products from the System shouldn't have side effects, right?
But considering this broken System could even get the timeline wrong, he suddenly questioned his own assumption.
Just then, a vibration came from his pocket.
Li Mu took out his communicator; someone was calling.
He opened the channel, and an image appeared on the screen. It was a woman wearing a top hat and a unique outfit decorated with gears and machinery.
"Teacher Big V, when did you arrive?"
This person was the famous "V." Her true identity was Vill-V, the "Helix" of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era.
She was also his good bro, bound by the friendship of a single meal. Li Mu called her Teacher Big V.
"Partner, I have some bad news."
She wasn't her usual flamboyant self this time; instead, she seemed rather quiet. Li Mu wasn't surprised. After all, his friend was a master of split personalities. The one communicating with him this time seemed to be a quieter persona.
Vill-V said expressionlessly, "Ryoma has been kidnapped."
"???"
"Teacher Big V, did you mess up this round?"
Hearing Li Mu's words, Vill-V on the screen looked somewhat ashamed. But in the next moment, her expression changed, and her entire aura became wildly arrogant.
"No rush. He can't get lost. I planted a tracker on him."
Following Vill-V's words, the image on the communicator flickered, and the scene changed abruptly to show Ryoma's recent experiences.
He saw Ryoma board the plane, stop in front of the pachinko parlor, lose all his money, and get knocked out and dragged away by a pink-haired woman wearing a mask.
"Do you need me to send someone to grab him back?" The Vill-V on the screen revealed a malicious grin. "Just so happens I have some interesting little gadgets I want to test out."
Li Mu shook his head. He wouldn't be surprised if this guy pulled a nuke out of her magical toolbox.
If he really let her loose, Nagazora City might get flipped upside down.
"Since Ryoma has returned to Nagazora, I'll take over from here."
"What are you going to do?"
To this, Li Mu's lips curled into a confident smile.
"Use the doxxing weapon, of course."
Although Sakura was wearing a mask, Li Mu recognized her at a glance.
And previously, he had already fully doxxed Sakura.
Her preferences, savings, three sizes, interpersonal relationships... Li Mu knew them all clearly.
So, Li Mu dialed a number.
Beep... beep... beep...
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Who is this?" A female voice came from the communicator.
"Am I speaking to Miss Sakura, the Chrysalis assassin whose sister is currently in Ward 212, Building 3, Area B of St. Louis International Hospital?"
"..."
"Who are you!!!" Sakura's incredulous voice came through the communicator.
Hearing this, Li Mu crooked his mouth into a smile, just like a standard villain.
"Heh heh heh."
"Miss Sakura, your sister is in my hands."
"If you don't want anything to happen to her, you know what to do, right?"