Luo Shu opened his eyes, staring blankly at the rows of bookshelves lined with books in front of him.
Under the dazzling lights, the bookshelves and the urban nightscape visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows left Luo Shu momentarily unable to think straight.
And just then, a flat, emotionless electronic voice rang out.
[Main consciousness has awakened. Beginning transmission of common knowledge.]
The next second, Luo Shu's head felt like it was exploding.
Luo Shu, born in the Celestial Empire, registered in Hujian Province, transferred at 15 to the high school division of Toyonozaki Academy, a private school in the Island Nation, due to his parents' job relocation.
At 16, his parents died in a plane crash... working part-time at a bookstore... hourly wage of 850 yen... scenes and information flooded into Luo Shu's mind one after another, making him instinctively raise a hand to press his temples.
"What the hell?"
Luo Shu's mind was a bit foggy right now. Just a second ago, he'd been lying in bed scrolling on his phone, watching short videos, and the next, his bed had turned into a bookstore?
And he'd even gotten several years younger, turning into his high school self with the same name and surname. Everything had changed so fast that Luo Shu couldn't process it at all.
Before Luo Shu could snap out of his daze, the voice from before spoke directly in his mind:
[Detection: System-bound host consciousness is now fully awake.]
[Activating Energy Collector System. Activation successful.]
[Activating Notification Panel System. Activation successful.]
[Activating Ability System... Insufficient energy. Attempting to reactivate Ability System. Reactivation failed. Investigating cause: Insufficient energy.]
[Please have the system holder replenish energy as soon as possible. Warning: Please have the system holder replenish energy as soon as possible.]
Along with the repeated warnings came waves of pain as if his strength was being drained away.
It felt just like drowning, making Luo Shu's breathing labored, his face flushing red, utterly unbearable.
"What the hell is going on with you, System?"
[Answer: Host has lived two lives, resulting in excessively strong mental power that is currently overwhelming the brain's nerves.]
"Fuck!"
Luo Shu couldn't help cursing under his breath upon hearing the response. So, after transmigrating, having too strong a mental power was a problem now?
"Then how do I fix the mental power issue?"
[Answer: Host can integrate the 'Energy Collector' into the 'protagonist's' body to collect excess energy from them, activate the Ability System, and awaken your own divine rank to alleviate it. Note: Integrating the Energy Collector requires the 'protagonist's' voluntary consent.]
"Fuck, it has to be voluntary? Fine, whatever. So where's the protagonist right now?" Feeling his breathing grow more difficult, Luo Shu immediately asked.
[Beep!]
[Would you like to activate the Detection System to scan the surroundings?]
"Acti—screw that, does the Detection System need energy too?" Luo Shu started to agree but then remembered their current situation with the system's energy shortage, his face turning green.
Energy shortage preventing a fix for the mental power issue, needing the Detection System to find the protagonist, but activating that also required energy—a total dead loop!
[Activating a large-scale Detection System requires 100 energy points. Small-scale Detection System requires no additional energy.]
"How big is the small-scale detection range?" Luo Shu didn't have time to think and hurriedly asked.
[Range: Centered on the host, a 50-meter radius.]
"Fifty meters? Then activate it. Notify me as soon as you find that protagonist."
As he spoke, Luo Shu took off his bookstore clerk's hat and uniform, tossing them aside casually.
"Shu-kun? What are you..."
The female store manager's puzzled voice came from beside him, but Luo Shu had no time for chit-chat and said directly:
"Emergency. Manager, cover for me."
With that, Luo Shu bolted out of the bookstore, grabbed the shop's shared bicycle, and pedaled like a top spinning at full speed.
"System, scan the surroundings."
[No discoveries.]
[No discoveries.]
"What the fuck."
Luo Shu cursed under his breath, speeding up the bike even more while his face darkened:
"You idiot system, you're not messing with me, are you?"
"Is this some big shot playing a game with me?"
"Could there be some powerful non-human lurking nearby right now, disguised as a system grandpa or something, handing out kill missions to turn me into a clown for their amusement?"
"So everything I'm doing now is just a dream, and I'm actually still lying in bed scrolling on my phone?"
Though he said that, a vague intuition deep down told Luo Shu that his guesses were all wrong.
There was no bored big shot toying with him. Everything happening now was because of that system that had suddenly appeared in him.
He didn't know where this intuition came from, but it only made his emotions more and more agitated.
Even someone with the strongest mental fortitude would crack if they woke up on the verge of death. Luo Shu considered his own mental resilience average at best, so he was even more pissed.
If there was a knife handy and he could actually reach the system, Luo Shu would absolutely stab the damn thing to death.
And just as Luo Shu was recklessly weaving his bike through the pedestrian walkway, ignoring the screams around him...
[Ding!]
A notification sound that Luo Shu would later think of as heavenly music rang out.
[Target discovered.]
[Scan complete!]
[Please have the main system turn left 20 centimeters, then look up at a 30-degree angle.]
Following the system's prompt, Luo Shu turned and looked up. With the system's assistance, he quickly locked onto a girl in the alley next door.
But at this glance, Luo Shu froze.
At the same time, the girl across from him came rushing over barefoot. While Luo Shu was stunned, she also looked up and saw him.
The next second, the already panicked girl shouted tensely:
"Don't just stand there—run!!"
Luo Shu's pupils shrank at her words, and in his line of sight, he immediately spotted the calf-sized rat behind the girl. He subconsciously blurted out:
"What the fuck!"
Luo Shu quickly stuck out his leg to brake, the rubber tire screeching black marks on the ground. Under this makeshift stop, he forcefully spun the bike 180 degrees and roared:
"Get on!"
"Huh?" The girl was momentarily stunned and hadn't reacted yet when Luo Shu started pedaling again.
At a time like this, Luo Shu didn't dare waste words. He'd only glanced because she seemed kind enough to warn him; now he was returning the favor. The priority was to get the hell out of there.
Thinking this, Luo Shu suddenly felt significant resistance from the pedals. Without time to think, he pushed hard and fled on the bike in a blind panic.
However, five minutes later.
Luo Shu stared at the wall in front of him, his mouth twitching. He turned his head to look at the giant rat blocking the alley entrance, at its mud-caked buckteeth, and numbly said to the girl who was now pressed against the wall:
"Hey, before we die, can I put a device inside your body?"
Kasumigaoka Shiwa froze at the question.