Luo Shu opened his eyes, staring blankly at the rows of bookshelves filled with tomes before him.
Under the dazzling lights, the sight of the bookshelves and the cityscape beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows left him momentarily unable to think.
Just then, a monotonous electronic voice rang out.
[Primary consciousness has awakened. Commencing common sense infusion.]
The next instant, Luo Shu's head felt as though it was splitting open.
Luo Shu, born in China, Fujian native.
At 15, due to his parents' job transfers, he transferred to Japan's private Toyogasaki High School.
At 16, his parents died in a plane crash... part-time job at a bookstore... hourly wage of 850 yen...
Scenes flooded Luo Shu's mind along with the information, forcing him to press his fingers against his temples.
"What the hell?"
Luo Shu's mind was in a daze. One second ago, he had been lying in bed scrolling through short videos on his phone, and the next, his bed had turned into a bookstore?
Not to mention, he had somehow become several years younger, reverting to his high school self—with the same name, no less. The changes were too rapid, leaving him completely unable to process them.
Before Luo Shu could snap out of his confusion, the voice from earlier spoke again in his mind:
[Host consciousness confirmed awake.]
[Activating Energy Collection System... Activation successful.]
[Activating Prompt System... Activation successful.]
[Activating Ability System... Insufficient energy. Reattempting activation... Failed. Investigating cause... Cause: Insufficient energy.]
[Host is advised to replenish energy immediately. Warning: Host is advised to replenish energy immediately.]
Along with the warnings came waves of agony as his strength was forcibly drained away.
The sensation was akin to drowning, making Luo Shu's breathing ragged, his face flushed, the pain unbearable.
"Hey, System, what the hell is going on?"
[Answer: Host's dual-life existence results in excessively powerful spiritual energy, currently compressing brain nerves.]
"Damn it!"
Luo Shu cursed inwardly. So, his post-transmigration spiritual energy being too strong was a problem now?
"Then how do I fix this spiritual energy issue?"
[Answer: Host may integrate the 'Energy Collector' into a 'protagonist' to harvest excess energy from them, thereby activating the Ability System and awakening the host's Authority to alleviate symptoms. Note: Integration of the Energy Collector requires the 'protagonist's' consent.]
"Consent? Seriously? Whatever—where's the protagonist right now?" Luo Shu demanded, already struggling to breathe.
[Beep!]
[Activate Detection System to scan surroundings?]
"Open... open my arse, does the Detection System also need energy?" Luo Shu was about to agree when he suddenly remembered the current situation—the system's energy was insufficient. His face instantly turned green.
Not enough energy meant he couldn't solve the spiritual power issue, but he needed to activate the Detection System to find the protagonist. Yet activating the system still required energy.
A bloody, vicious cycle!
[Activating the large-scale Detection System requires 100 energy points. The small-scale Detection System does not require additional energy.]
"How big is this small-scale detection?" Luo Shu didn't have time to think and hurriedly asked.
[Range: A 50-metre radius centred on the host.]
"Fifty metres? Then activate it. Alert me immediately if you find that so-called protagonist."
As he spoke, Luo Shu took off his bookstore employee cap and uniform, tossing them aside.
"Shu-kun? What are you—"
The female manager's confused voice reached his ears, but Luo Shu had no time for explanations.
He cut her off:
"Emergency. Cover my shift, Manager."
With that, Luo Shu rushed out of the bookstore, borrowed the shop's communal bicycle, and pedalled like a spinning top.
"System, scan the surroundings."
[No targets found.]
[No targets found.]
"Bloody hell."
Luo Shu cursed under his breath, his face darkening as he pedalled even faster:
"Stupid system, are you messing with me?"
"Is this some big shot's twisted game?"
"Could there be some powerful non-human lurking nearby right now, disguised as a system grandpa, issuing elimination missions to turn me into their entertainment clown?"
"Am I actually lying in bed scrolling on my phone, dreaming all this?"
Despite his words, an inexplicable intuition told Luo Shu his speculations were wrong.
No bored big shot was toying with him—everything happening now was due to that sudden system appearing on him.
He didn't know where this intuition came from, but it only made him more agitated.
Even the most mentally resilient person would crack upon waking up to find their life hanging by a thread, let alone Luo Shu, who considered himself average in that regard. He was thoroughly rattled.
If he had a knife and could reach the system right now, he'd absolutely stab that bastard to death.
As Luo Shu recklessly weaved through pedestrians on the pavement, ignoring the screams around him—
[Ding!]
A notification chime—which Luo Shu would later describe as heavenly—rang out.
[Target located.]
[Search complete!]
[Host, please turn left 20 centimetres and look up at a 30-degree angle.]
Following the system's instructions, Luo Shu turned and looked up. With the system's assistance, he quickly locked onto a girl in the adjacent alley.
But the moment he saw her, Luo Shu froze.
Meanwhile, the barefoot girl sprinted towards him. As Luo Shu stood stunned, she also looked up and saw him.
The next second, the already terrified girl shouted in panic:
"Don't just stand there! Run!!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu's pupils contracted. His vision finally registered the calf-sized rat behind the girl, and he instinctively cursed:
"Holy shit!"
Luo Shu swiftly stretched out his leg, using his foot to brake directly. The rubber tyres left black marks on the ground from the friction. With such manual braking, Luo Shu forcibly turned the bicycle 180 degrees and roared:
"Get on quick!"
"Huh?" The girl froze for a moment, and then instinctively reacted, before Luo Shu started pedalling the bicycle.
At a time like this, Luo Shu didn't dare say more. He'd just seen that she had a good heart to warn him, and now he was returning the favour. The top priority was to make a quick escape.
Thinking this, Luo Shu suddenly felt considerable resistance from the pedals. Without time to ponder, he pushed down hard and fled helter-skelter on the bicycle.
However, five minutes later.
Luo Shu looked at the wall before him, his mouth twitching. He turned his head to see the giant rat blocking the alley entrance, its large mud-stained front teeth making his scalp tingle as he addressed the girl already pressed against the wall:
"Hey, before we die, can I put a device inside your body?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka was stunned by such a question.