I had almost forgotten that this girl, who always wore a silly, happy smile by my side, was no ordinary girl. She was a conqueror capable of leading countless troops to sweep across innumerable worlds. Even though she was currently in a temporary period of war-weariness, when she became angry, she was still an Empress who looked down upon all living things.
A chilling aura erupted from Sandora. The three spoiled rich kids targeted by it were so frightened that they could not help taking two steps back. To their shock, the girl who had been gentle and adorable a moment ago now possessed the majesty of an emperor, making them afraid even to meet her gaze. That terrifying presence, unlike anything they had ever experienced, even gave them the urge to turn and run—perhaps they had seen the bearing of those in high positions before, but the killing intent carried by a ruler who had endured countless wars was something they could never possibly have encountered.
Only then did I finally remember why the people in front of me looked so familiar—I had indeed seen them before. Not long ago, these same people had bullied a boy from our school at the school gate. It was also then that I had successfully connected to Shilin Mother Planet for the first time and launched cross-dimensional fire support. That incident had drawn quite a few paranormal enthusiasts and experts from all fields to investigate on-site. There had been all sorts of theories about why the ground had suddenly melted, including many brilliant ideas that could have been made straight into Oscar-winning films with a little polishing and a genius director. Unfortunately, in the end, a few experts saying, "Actually, this is a normal natural phenomenon," had extinguished the public's curiosity like hot milk poured onto snow. The whole incident gradually died down, and I naturally forgot these bit players from that day.
Seeing Sandora's cold expression and the way she looked ready to begin a massacre, I quietly nudged her arm and whispered, "You're not planning to start a human extinction campaign, are you?"
"Don't worry," Sandora replied. "I know my limits. Go keep your girlfriend company."
"All right. Just don't make too much of a scene."
I walked over to Qian Qian, reassuringly patted her shoulder, then rubbed Pandora's little head and said approvingly, "Good job, little one."
Pandora immediately narrowed her eyes slightly, looking utterly content. Sandora's voice rang out in my mind. "What have you turned a perfectly good Empire General into? Does this girl still have even a trace of military bearing?"
I did not respond to Sandora's grumbling—how could an Empire Emperor who had spent years fighting abroad understand the essence of raising a loli... ahem...
"A Jun," Qian Qian suddenly said softly, "that time at the school gate, when the ground melted... was that you...?"
"What do you think?" I said with a smile.
Qian Qian suddenly asked in a sour tone, "What exactly is going on with that girl named Sandora?"
"...Her identity is complicated. I can only promise you this: her relationship with me is absolutely not what you think. There's a special connection between that girl and me, which is why she likes being around me so much. But that connection is more like... how should I put it? It's probably like the connection between Lily and me."
"Between Lily and you?" Qian Qian asked in surprise.
"Something like telepathy." Pandora's voice suddenly rang inside Qian Qian's mind, startling her. But Qian Qian immediately remembered that Pandora was an Esper, so she tried answering in her mind as well. "Telepathy? Really?"
"That's right. Although we don't know why, Sister Sandora really can form a telepathic connection with us."
"You said 'us'? Does that mean the three of you can all form telepathic connections with her?"
"Not necessarily just three people. Brother and I can both vaguely sense that there are people farther away who can resonate with us as well. It's just that Sister Sandora is currently the person with the strongest connection to us. So, Sister Qian Qian, you don't need to doubt the relationship between Sister Sandora and Brother. They only seem close because of their telepathic connection. It's the same kind of bond Brother and I share."
"So that was it..." Qian Qian finally sighed in relief, and her expression looked much better.
"Brother, I helped you cover up your lie." Pandora's voice rang in my mind.
I had been listening in on Pandora and Qian Qian's Spiritual Connection the whole time, so I could not help asking curiously, "...I never expected you to be so good at lying. Who taught you that?"
"Based on a comprehensive analysis of Carbon-Based Lifeform thought patterns and human language expression models, the above information was the optimal response..." Pandora gave her usual style of answer again, but then added, "Brother, don't worry. I will absolutely never lie to Brother."
Pandora was starting to resemble a normal human little girl more and more. That was certainly a good thing, provided she did not learn any bad habits.
The conversation above seemed to have taken a long time, but since most of it had been instant communication through Spiritual Connection, only a few seconds had passed by the time we finished explaining Sandora's situation to Qian Qian.
At that moment, Sandora finally withdrew her mental pressure. The spoiled rich kids also finally recovered from that terrifying killing intent. They looked uncertainly at the blonde girl before them, whose face was cold and proud, and for a moment did not know how to react.
Finally, the leading bit-player student seemed to muster up his courage. He steadied himself, stepped forward, and then, with a thud, dropped to his knees.
Huh? What kind of development was this? Had Sandora scared this guy so badly that he could not even stand? Or was he another Queen fanatic conquered by her?
All right, I admitted it, the second reason was just nonsense...
It was not just me. Everyone around us let out startled cries, completely at a loss over the sudden turn of events.
"Liu Shao!" The two utterly insignificant lackeys who had been following the rich bit player froze briefly, then cried out in alarm and hurried forward to help their boss up from the ground.
So I finally knew it—the guy I had been calling a bit player all this time was surnamed Liu.
The two lackeys quickly stepped forward and reached out...
Smack! Smack! Two loud slaps!
"Ah!"
"Liu Shao!" The two lackeys cried out at the same time, staring in disbelief at their own still-trembling hands. "Liu Shao, we..."
"You two..." Liu Shao, who was still kneeling on the ground, finally realized what had happened and immediately roared, "Do you believe I can have your families ruined by tomorrow?!"
The two lackeys had completely lost their heads by now. At Liu Shao's vicious threat, their faces instantly turned pale. "Liu Shao, we really don't know what happened. All of a sudden, we just..."
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Under everyone's baffled gaze, the two lackeys tearfully apologized to the kneeling Liu Shao while repeatedly slapping his cheeks from both sides. Even stranger, although the one being hit kept shouting curses and threats, he made no attempt to dodge—far from it, he kept raising his face higher, as if making it easier for the two people hitting him to strike!
Curiously, I looked up at Sandora and happened to see her give me a mischievous smile.
So this girl was behind it!
"A Jun," Qian Qian suddenly tugged at the corner of my clothes from behind, "what's going on? Why are they beating each other up?"
I lowered my voice and replied, "This is Sandora's superpower: Group Mind Control."
"Ah—" Qian Qian immediately let out a soft cry. "There's actually an ability like that... that's just... terrifying..."
Indeed, mind control was definitely a terribly unjust ability from a human perspective. Unfortunately, other than that explanation, I really did not know how else to explain the current situation to Qian Qian.
At that moment, I saw teachers hurrying over from not far away—it seemed that the teachers here had not dared show themselves earlier because of the troublemakers' identities, but now that they saw things heading in a bad direction, they finally could not remain silent.
They could not really be blamed. After all, this was a very realistic society. If they wanted to survive, they had to act this way.
I secretly issued orders through Spiritual Connection to several Empire Commanders nearby who were disguised as school staff, telling them to help clean up afterward. Then I called out loudly to Sandora, "Let's go, Sandora. There's nothing worth watching anymore. Those guys seem to be mentally unstable."
Sandora answered and happily skipped over, walking alongside us. Behind us, the sound of smack, smack slaps continued without end...
Before you continue