Instead, he genuinely felt that perhaps this equipment might not be as difficult as he had imagined, and maybe it didn't require doing any extremely embarrassing movements.
That transformation dance was very likely just something the system used to systemize him.
Li Pu entered the system.
He faced his crude system without any questions.
His system was remarkably crude, just as crude as the underworld forums of a certain island nation with almost no sense of design to speak of. It even looked like the default Microsoft YaHei font to him, completely devoid of any distinctive features.
He carefully observed this system.
He hoped to see something from it, but that was impossible.
No matter how one looked at it, this was the most ordinary and featureless system.
Yet something must be hidden within it.
The character has already been equipped, right?
Li Pu opened his eyes, dangling one leg over a long bench as he thought about this question. The system had said that as long as one equipped a character, they could acquire things like the character's 'abilities', 'memories', and 'wisdom'.
However, this had a prerequisite, which was 'equipping'.
Equipping required performing that embarrassing transformation dance to be able to equip them.
So was that really the case?
Li Pu carefully recalled every detail of today's test. Inside that machine, he entered a strange Middle Ages where his identity was a knight's servant. Aside from grooming horses and polishing armor, he also learned swordsmanship.
An ordinary servant shouldn't learn swordsmanship, right?
And during the first round of sparring with Mei, his counterattack was completely like a conditioned reflex, a movement his body executed on its own.
Finally, checking the mission progress, he found that the mission 'Nobody understands King Arthur better than me' had already reached a certain completion rate.
Thinking about it from all angles, this equipment might not necessarily require dancing some transformation dance.
It was very likely related to this "better than me".
There was also a possibility that it had already been equipped, just not displayed yet.
Perhaps I should find someone to test it out. Li Pu stood up, took his sweatpants out of the locker, and changed. Perhaps for the so-called equipment of these characters, it's actually activation.
Li Pu put on his pants and left the employee locker room.
He intended to find someone to test it out to verify his conjecture.
And this person...
Li Pu stood by the hallway window, looking at Kiana playing, fighting, and chasing each other with Mei on the playground outside. Suddenly, some ideas formed in Li Pu's mind.
He had already found the person who could be used for testing.
He didn't return directly to his workstation; this was the lunch break.
Not all students went home or returned to their dorms to rest. There were also some students who, like Mei and Kiana, played and chased each other on the school playground.
"Is Mei still thinking about today's battle?" Kiana asked, seeing that Mei seemed preoccupied.
"If you're always thinking about it, why not go find that guy and fight another round?"
Ever since the match ended, Mei seemed to have something on her mind the entire time.
As a close friend, Kiana naturally could also tell what Mei was thinking.
"Since you feel he's pretending," Kiana said carelessly, "then why not just find him and fight another round? Force him into a desperate situation fair and square."
"Force him to use his full strength."
"That approach is simple," Mei shook her head and said, "but Kiana, have you ever thought about why Mr. Li Pu wants to hide his strength?"
"This is the core issue here."
If it was simply wanting to see how strong Li Pu was when fighting at full strength, that would be easy, but wanting to get to the bottom of why he chose to hide his strength was very difficult.
"I just feel it's a bit troublesome," Kiana waved her hand and said, "Actually, I think a good beating is still the most satisfying way."
"If he's not willing to say anything even after a beating, it just means the beating wasn't hard enough."
"That kind of simple and crude method is for dealing with enemies," Mei shook her head again. "Mr. Li Pu is not a bad person."
"Anyway, I don't think he looks like a good person," Kiana said. "Then why not have your dad investigate him?"
"Neither approach is good," Mei denied again. "Forget it, Kiana shouldn't concern herself with this kind of matter."
"Maybe people have their own unspeakable difficulties."
"Speaking of which..." Kiana suddenly thought of something and said, "Could he be a special forces soldier sent by your dad to protect you, Mei?"
"Eh? Why?" Mei had just decided to drop the matter, but Kiana's nonsense-like words instantly made Mei feel like she was hearing a joke.
"Just like the ones in novels," Kiana said. "Some of those novels I've read, like king of soldiers novels."
"You know, the heroine's father hires a young but very capable special forces soldier to protect his daughter's safety."
"And that guy might actually have been a soldier."
"How is that possible?" Mei said, half-amused and half-exasperated. "You think too much, Kiana!"
"Always reading those kinds of novels is bad for your IQ!"
"You're already dumb enough."
"Don't get any dumber."
"Yahaha~"
Right at that moment, a strange greeting sounded beside the two of them. Li Pu—apart from this youth who exuded an eerie vibe from head to toe.
There would never be a second person coming over to greet them like that.
Mei and Kiana didn't have many friends at school, so greeting them in this strange manner made him the first as well.
"It's actually you, guy." The moment Kiana saw him, she intended to pull Mei away.
"Mr. Li Pu." Mei, unlike Kiana, didn't walk away directly. She gave a slight bow and said very politely, "Good afternoon. Didn't you go eat lunch?"
"Hahaha~" Li Pu scratched his head and smiled foolishly. "No, I came over because of some matters."
"You guy, it's definitely nothing good, right?" Kiana looked at Li Pu with slight hostility. "Or are you planning to have another match with Mei?"
"In this place?"
"Of course not." Li Pu smiled foolishly. "Although it's a bit presumptuous, and I know this request might be very rude."
"Still, I think I want to say it anyway."
"Mei, don't agree to this guy." Kiana answered for Mei without hesitation.
"This has nothing to do with Mei." Li Pu blushed and said, "It has to do with you, Kiana!"
"Although I know my request might be very rude, I think that..."
"If it's alright, please, absolutely... absolutely..."
"Let me touch your private clothes..."
"Ah, wait, wrong!"
"Let me touch your face."
Chapter 26 I Am Your Mother
Silence!
Dead silence!
Not a single footprint on the paths, not a single bird in the mountains!
At that instant, the world seemed to plunge into a deathly stillness.
Mei and Kiana looked at Li Pu, and Li Pu looked at Kiana.
After both sides confirmed that this wasn't nonsense...
"Erm..." Kiana immediately closed her eyes in helplessness, pressed her temples, and said, "Well... the wind and sand were a little too big just now."
"I didn't hear clearly what you just said."
"Please~"
"SAY IT AGAIN!"
Saying it again would get him killed!
He would die a miserable death! He would be strung up on a lamppost, or perhaps tied to the school gate as a decoration. He even felt he'd end up on a stake for burning!
Yet!
Li Pu was going to say it!
"Please allow me to touch your face." Li Pu said with unshakeable firmness. "I have no malicious intent, no desire to take liberties, no..."
Having no malicious intent was useless!
Kiana directly delivered a flying side kick, her big foot stopping less than ten centimeters away from Li Pu's face. At this distance, Li Pu could not only feel the wind pressure brought by that kick, but also clearly see what kind of pattern would be left on his face as a souvenir if she made contact.
"If you just haven't woken up yet," Kiana said with a forced smile, "I can help you wake up."
"Although beating up a school faculty member is a serious mistake, I also have the right to self-defense."
"If you apologize now and crawl away, it's still not too late!"
"I'm not Mei!"
"I'm! Not! Gentle!"
"Kiana!" Seeing that the situation was turning south, Mei hurriedly pressed down Kiana's leg and said, "Mr. Li Pu, this request of yours is truly outrageous! This is harassment towards a student."
"It's a serious mistake! It's still not too late to apologize now!"
Never had she expected it to be such a request. Mei was also flustered and could only step in between, attempting to smooth things over.
On one side was the person she had recommended, and on the other was her good friend. Once a serious and irreconcilable conflict truly broke out, she would be caught in the middle and it wouldn't go well.
Previously, Kiana had been fairly stable, at least not hard-pressed to pick a fight with Li Pu.
This time, however, he had truly crossed the line.
"I am not harassing her." Li Pu had no intention of changing his tune. With a firm attitude, he said, "Please believe me, I am not harassing her, nor do I have any malicious intent."
"It's just... because of... some special reason that I have no way of explaining."
"That's why I need to do this."
"Let's go!" Kiana pulled Mei along as she walked away, saying angrily, "I said long ago this guy isn't a good person. As expected! Just as expected."
Kiana still chose not to resort to violence; a shred of reason told her that if a fight broke out,
it would also be a loss of face for Mei.
There was temporarily no need or reason for it!
Out of sight, out of mind with this lecherous wretch!
"If you two want to know why I chose to hide my strength," Li Pu said, "although I can't explain it directly, as long as you let me touch your face, I think Kiana should be able to understand a little bit."
Li Pu had no intention of giving up. He naturally understood that after having experienced that round of combat,
Mei and Kiana would definitely be curious about his combat strength.
If they thought he was an expert hiding his combat prowess, they would definitely be curious about this.
"You guy!" Kiana was angry, suppressing her urge to beat the guy up as she said, "We are not curious at all!"
"What kind of strength you have, what does that have to do with us?"
"Of course it has to do with you!" Li Pu said. "And it might have a huge amount to do with you."
"As long as you let me touch it once, you should be able to figure some things out."
"If I'm lying to you," Li Pu spread his hands and opened his arms in a completely undefended posture, "hit me however you like! You can drag me to an empty place and beat me up all you want."
"If I make a single sound, count me a loser!"
Before you continue