Inside Suibian Temple, in Ling's bedroom.
One foot—wrapped in white stockings—was planted on the floor. In her hands, she held a cracked glass that kept seeping cold water. She stood there stiff as a board, utterly at a loss.
Just then, a translucent prompt box popped up in front of her without warning:
[Prompt]
[The Group Owner requests to travel to your world. Approve?]
[Yes / No]
She glanced at the message the group owner had just sent in the chat, then hurriedly jabbed [Yes] with her free hand.
In the next second, a figure abruptly appeared right in front of her.
Ling's eyes went wide as she stared at him—
Perfectly average features. A completely unremarkable build. Slightly below-average height. Wearing an aggressively ordinary set of casual clothes.
Even with what might be a life-or-death situation looming, the moment Ling saw the group owner's real face, she blurted out anyway:
"Wow… you're so normal. Boss, if you were in a crowd, I'd lose you in a blink."
Eisen was currently gauging how much this world suppressed his power. Hearing that, he tossed her a helpless side-eye and explained in a flat tone:
"Any system of power—technology or the supernatural—once it develops far enough, changing your appearance is trivial."
"I can modify my looks however I want. I chose this on purpose to keep a low profile."
Ling froze for a moment. Thinking of the ghouls in her world—twisted in shape yet still retaining their memories after being remolded by the First Lord—she figured that for beings on that level, appearance really would be something you could alter at will.
She nodded in understanding.
"Makes sense."
Then, in one smooth motion, she snapped a photo of Eisen and sent it straight into the group chat—so naturally it was as if she'd rehearsed it.
[Sports-Style Lunchbox (Ling): image.jpg]
[Sports-Style Lunchbox (Ling): Face reveal! This is the boss's real face! Way too normal! (laugh_cry.jpg)]
[Sports-Style Lunchbox (Ling): He says he can change his appearance whenever he wants, though. (tongue_out.jpg)]
The group instantly got lively.
[Roasted Eggplant (Mash): He really is… extremely normal… (blank_stare.jpg)]
[Purple Sweet Potato & Taro Paste (Kafka): This "normal" is, in itself, proof of the group owner's strength.]
Kafka commented with clear interest.
[Purple Sweet Potato & Taro Paste (Kafka): There are no traces or features of any extraordinary power in this appearance. It's plain to the extreme. But the key is—aside from the basic recognition cues of two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, there's nothing that can anchor memory.]
[Purple Sweet Potato & Taro Paste (Kafka): You could call it a concept-level ordinary face. (amazed.jpg)]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): With a face like that, he's basically born to be a spy. (shocked.jpg)]
As a veteran shinobi, Tsunade immediately recognized the value from a professional angle.
A disguise that dissolved into a crowd like a drop of water into the sea—this was top-tier talent for intelligence work.
Eisen glanced at the chat interface, neither confirming nor denying the discussion about his looks.
He'd chosen this face precisely because he didn't care about appearances.
Right now, he had more important things to do—he'd already roughly mapped out how much strength he could exert in this world.
Without using the First Flame, and without causing catastrophic damage to the world—he didn't have much, but he had enough.
After all, based on the bits and pieces Ling had let slip before, this world didn't sound particularly high-tier.
He refocused on Ling. His sharp gaze began to examine the "cute-act" girl in detail.
But the deeper he looked—toward the underlying essence—the tighter his brows drew together.
It seemed he'd concluded "this world isn't that strong" a bit too early.
Meeting Ling's expectant eyes, he spoke slowly:
"Looks like we're the same kind of Stand."
"Huh?"
Ling blinked, her big eyes full of confusion.
Then she realized he was probably referencing a meme from some work she hadn't watched.
Even if she didn't catch the exact joke, she understood the core point—
The group owner meant that the two of them were very similar in some particular way.
Eisen was about to explain why he and Ling were alike, but a thought flashed through his mind: this information was probably just as important for the other members.
As the group owner, he would likely be traveling across different worlds in the future to handle the crises his members ran into.
Was he supposed to explain it once to Ling now—and then repeat himself again in the group later?
Too annoying.
He decisively pulled up the group chat interface again and asked directly:
[Group Owner (Eisen): @Group Assistant, do we have a group livestream function? I want to share what's happening on my side directly.]
[Group Assistant: New functions can only be added during level-up. If the group owner requires it, "Group Livestream" can be added once the group reaches Lv2.]
Eisen sighed, resigned.
Fine. If it's a hassle, it's a hassle. He'd just explain it twice.
However—right as he was about to close the interface and speak to Ling first—the assistant's message popped up again:
[Group Assistant: Based on the group owner's current request, the assistant determines that enabling a real-time text relay can sufficiently meet synchronization needs. Enable?]
Eisen's eyes lit up.
A text relay? That was a solid compromise.
It wasn't as intuitive as a livestream, but it sure beat repeating himself.
"Enable the text relay," he ordered without hesitation.
As soon as the words left his mouth, every member's chat interface refreshed automatically. A new panel appeared, labeled:
[Group Assistant Text Relay Panel]
This panel was separate from the main chat window and could be dragged freely within one's field of vision.
[Group Assistant: Text relay enabled. Relay scene: real-time conversation and events between the group owner and member [Sports-Style Lunchbox].]
[Group Assistant: Relay begins.]
Eisen looked at Ling and said simply, "Test, test."
Ling immediately understood. She cleared her throat, faced Eisen, and spoke like a radio operator:
"Ahem—can you see this? This is Ling, over!"
They both shifted their eyes to the group interface.
[Group Assistant Text Relay Panel]
[The group owner remains calm and speaks to member [Sports-Style Lunchbox]: "Test, test."]
[Member [Sports-Style Lunchbox] clears her throat, looking toward the group owner with slight nervousness, and cooperates: "Ahem—can you see this? This is Ling, over!"]
Feedback immediately came from the others in the group.
[Purple Sweet Potato & Taro Paste (Kafka): Clear status and language description.]
[Roasted Eggplant (Mash), Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): +1]
With confirmation received, Eisen nodded. His expression turned serious as he began explaining to Ling for real:
"First, I need to make something clear. The world I'm currently in is not my original world."
"My original world is in the middle of an extinction-level crisis. Time has completely collapsed—countless parallel worlds are interwoven and colliding, and traveling through space-time is as routine as eating and sleeping."
"I've gone through who knows how many time loops… in order to save it."
Join here to read ahead.
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Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter35)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter35)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter35)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter35)
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