The Dark Lord had resurfaced-prematurely discovered, defeated at Hogwarts by Mr. Wardling Glyth, and executed by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
The news sent shockwaves through the entire Wizarding World.
Of course, the most important thing was still Morin's wand sales... though, though it hadn't been mentioned much before, Morin firmly believed that all his actions were for the sake of pushing his Wandmaker profession to Master level.
(It definitely wasn't because he forgot.)
Sales of the new wand model were naturally nothing to worry about. Aside from the shocking news itself, the wand Grindelwald had used at the time became the hottest item.
A wand with so many functions, one that had clearly played a massive role, was obviously not short on buyers.
On top of that, Morin also offered wand modification services. If someone didn't want to replace the wand in their hand, they could just hand it to Morin for an upgrade. This was something everyone could accept.
Good publicity played a major role as well.
Most notable was Dumbledore's wand. When the finishing touches were applied the next day, two gold bands appeared. That alone became the perfect endorsement, and Morin's orders skyrocketed almost instantly.
However, Morin didn't continue making money.
Because he had to skip town for a while.
As for timing, there was no need to worry. When Morin returned, it could very well be the very next second after he left. The curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship would definitely be broken. It was only a matter of time.
As for world-travel opportunities, there was even less reason for concern. Each profession provided two chances to travel-one at the Advanced level, and one at the Master level. By now, Morin had accumulated more opportunities than he could reasonably use.
Above the Sea of Stars.
"I acted as a godfather to a poor kid and almost broke the rules of the game..." Morin paused, then shook his head. "Putting it like that, it feels like I didn't do much in that world."
At best, he could say he'd cast plenty of long lines without landing a big fish. Saying he'd done nothing was an exaggeration. After all, he had stirred up quite a bit of trouble.
"Next world, then."
Morin used one of his opportunities to open a world-crossing portal.
The starry sky began to churn again, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand. No matter how many times he saw it, the sight still left him shaken. His current strength simply hadn't reached that level yet. At most, he could move one or two planets with everything he had, which didn't even come close to a spectacle like this.
Soon, a single star emerged and drifted toward him.
[World Selected - "Dragon Raja" World]
[Please Select - New Profession]
[Please Select - Time of Travel]
[Please Select - Location of Travel]
Morin: "..."
Last world: Harry Potter.
Next world: Dragon Raja.
Was this really a direct comparison?
So even this big-eyed, bushy-browed system liked pulling these cheeky tricks.
But... he liked it.
"Dragon Raja..."
A storm of emotions passed through Morin in an instant.
Ignoring the fact that Dragon Raja had indeed borrowed certain structural elements from Harry Potter, there was a reason it was called the "Chinese Harry Potter."
The influence was undeniable.
If only that old bastard didn't love handing out so many blades.
Every time he thought about it, Morin felt irritated. Irritated at the main character's lack of backbone, angry at so many vivid characters being killed off, and a whole pile of other emotions mixed together.
But this time was different.
With his involvement, there was a chance to change everything.
Morin looked at the profession selection interface.
"Dragon (Native Dragon). Dragon Slayer..."
As usual, his gaze slid straight to the very last option.
"Student?"
After a brief pause, Morin selected Student.
Becoming a Dragon was out of the question. No matter how cool foreign dragons looked, to a Chinese person they were still just oversized lizards.
If it were a Chinese-style dragon, he might have chosen it without hesitation.
As for Dragon Slayer... that meant working under people like the Secret Party.
He had no interest in being anyone's lackey. Frankly, he didn't like the look of them from the start.
That left only one option.
Student.
Conveniently, his age fit perfectly.
Eighteen years old.
A man is a youth until he dies.
As an eighteen-year-old youth, going to school, earning scholarships, experiencing young love, and casually resolving world-ending crises-completely normal.
Morin successfully convinced himself.
"Travel time..." He thought for a moment. "2008. Location: the city where Lu Mingfei is."
It couldn't be helped. Morin didn't know exactly which city Shilan High School was in. A Schrödinger's city could only be located by the system.
[Profession Selected]
[Travel Time Selected]
[Travel Location Selected]
[Travel Commencing]
The star before him exploded into light, swallowing him whole.
In the blink of an eye, Morin appeared in a room.
It wasn't large, but everything inside was arranged neatly.
"This is..."
This wasn't unfamiliar. During his first trip to the Resident Evil world, the system had directly provided a villa-complete with several nuclear warheads. A few were still sitting in his system space.
After a quick glance around, Morin pulled open the curtains patterned with pale little flowers, sat on the bed, and took out his identification documents from the system space.
He flipped through them one by one.
"Raised in an orphanage. Transferred due to school bankruptcy. Government-arranged admission to Shilan High School. Final year of senior high..."
Morin stared.
"So why would the government pay to send an orphan to a private elite high school? And is the school bankruptcy actually real?"
He felt genuinely confused.
Then again, considering there were people in this world bold enough to seriously injure two academicians, a bankrupt school and a government-sponsored orphan didn't seem that strange.
The world was big. Nothing was too absurd.
"Age: eighteen."
Morin nodded in satisfaction.
"I told you I was eighteen."
After successfully interpreting self-deception, he set the ID aside and checked the rest of the background. Aside from the bankruptcy issue and the strange government arrangement, everything else was standard.
The orphan identity was excellent cover.
Aside from neighbors who had seen Morin's face, most others who had seen him were already dead.
Very on-brand for the system.
"March 1st..."
Morin checked the date.
"School starts today."
...
Lu Mingfei felt today was pretty lousy.
Though it wasn't much worse than usual.
At first, he'd been happy. He no longer had to use the red-dot nub to play StarCraft to kill time. He didn't have to wait four hours like an idiot just for her to come online, only to exchange three or four lines of chat, send a message, refresh repeatedly, and finally get a reply more than ten hours later.
School had started.
They could talk face-to-face.
When Chen Wenwen walked into the classroom, the boys fell silent for a moment.
Lu Mingfei was different. How could he be lumped in with those vulgar guys? He was someone personally invited into the Literature Club by Chen Wenwen.
His breathing stopped for over ten seconds.
He wondered if Chen Wenwen would give him mouth-to-mouth if he fainted. After all, fainting because of her seemed reasonable, right?
That was as far as his courage went.
If it actually happened, he suspected he'd be sent straight to the ICU, with the cause of death listed as excessive adrenaline and heart failure.
The boys in the class began sneaking glances in that direction.
Under the sunlight, a girl with soft, fine hair sat by the window, quietly reading a book whose title couldn't be seen. Her pure white down jacket made her skin look even fairer. The scene felt unreal, like a poem or a painting.
Lu Mingfei didn't dare approach her.
Throughout all three years of high school, Chen Wenwen had always sat alone. Not because she was ostracized, but because no one wanted to disturb that scenery.
If he went over now, the others would probably see it as a fly landing beside a white lotus.
Fortunately, "white lotus" wasn't a derogatory term yet.
Even if Lu Mingfei was already a nobody, at least he was still a human nobody.
Better than a fly.
But just as he was debating what excuse he could use to talk to Chen Wenwen without being disliked, Zhao Menghua walked over and shamelessly started chatting with her.
Zhao Menghua was easy to describe.
He was the guy most likely to become the "next Chu Zihang." He was also the target of Su Xiaoqiang, the "Little Princess," another beautiful girl in class who most people ranked just slightly below Chen Wenwen.
Now Lu Mingfei definitely couldn't go.
He slumped, turning to look out the window.
He also sat by the window, but on the opposite side. He also had a single seat without a desk-mate.
The difference was obvious.
Still, he comforted himself.
At least that was something he shared with Chen Wenwen.
Soon, the classroom quieted. Everyone had arrived. Class was about to start.
Zhao Menghua finished talking and returned to his seat.
Even he didn't dare sit beside Chen Wenwen.
The spirit of The True Story of Ah Q allowed Lu Mingfei to feel better about that.
Once the room settled, footsteps echoed from outside. The sound of high heels drew closer.
Lu Mingfei knew who it was.
The "Old Boss."
She was their homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher. "Old" wasn't just a title-it was an adjective. Rumor had it she'd retire after their year.
She was also called "The Boss," thanks to her stiff, expressionless face. Especially when dealing with Lu Mingfei, whose English was passable but whose Chinese was disastrous.
The Old Boss entered, smiling radiantly.
Lu Mingfei wondered if she was the fifty-million lottery winner he'd seen in the newspaper yesterday. Otherwise, why was she smiling like that?
"Everyone's here."
Her smile didn't fade.
The students straightened in confusion. Lu Mingfei included.
When things are abnormal, there's always a catch.
"I have an announcement," the Old Boss said. "Our class has a new transfer student."
She waved toward the door.
"Come in, Morin."
The first reaction was surprise.
The second half of senior year had already begun. With only three months left until the college entrance exams, who would transfer now? What was the point?
Then the boy walked in.
A white turtleneck sweater. Jeans that emphasized long legs. An ordinary backpack. No visible brand names.
But sometimes, clothes don't matter.
What matters is who's wearing them.
And this person's looks were excessive.
No description was needed.
Girls gasped, mouths slightly open, eyes practically shining. The boys stared as if facing a natural enemy-like Shiba Inus guarding their food.
With zero threat level.
Lu Mingfei subconsciously glanced at Chen Wenwen.
She looked up. Her gaze lingered on Morin's face for two seconds.
Then she looked down.
Lu Mingfei let out a breath, silently praising her for not caring about appearances.
Then she closed her book.
Looked up again.
And focused intently on Morin.
Lu Mingfei felt his heart go hollow.
"Student Morin ranked first in the city in multiple mock exams," the Old Boss announced. "Due to special circumstances, he transferred here. Everyone, please welcome him."
Now her smile made sense.
Anyone would be happy to land luck like this.
Handsome. Top-ranked.
The boys' expressions darkened.
Especially Zhao Menghua, who was still chasing the dream of becoming the next Chu Zihang-only for another Chu Zihang to drop from the sky.
The girls applauded enthusiastically, already captivated.
"Hello everyone. I hope we can look out for each other from now on."
Morin smiled, the picture of a sunny, gentle boy.
"Go ahead and choose a seat," the Old Boss said warmly.
The classroom fell silent.
All eyes drifted toward Chen Wenwen.
There was only one empty seat left in the class.
Her desk-mate's.
Technically, Lu Mingfei's seat was also empty.
But there was a desk.
And no chair.
And even if there were, anyone with a functioning brain knew which one to pick.
Chen Wenwen calmly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down, opening her book. Whether it was the sunlight or something else, the tips of her ears turned faintly red.
"Alright. Thank you, Teacher."
Morin nodded, stepped off the podium, and walked straight toward Chen Wenwen.
Lu Mingfei felt his heart wail.
So did most of the boys.
Zhao Menghua probably did too, but Lu Mingfei couldn't spare the thought. All he felt was something indescribable.
And helpless.
Morin stopped beside Chen Wenwen.
"Is anyone sitting here?"
She shook her head.
"Good."
Under everyone's gaze.
Morin lifted the solid wooden chair with one hand, walked around in a circle, and stopped beside Lu Mingfei.
He placed the chair neatly behind the desk that lacked one and set down his backpack.
"I'll just sit here."