The morning sunlight poured into the room of the inn where Zhu Yufeng was temporarily staying. Although Fire Moth would reimburse the mission expenses in the end, Zhu Yufeng had no interest in fancy hotels, so he had casually picked a decent enough inn. He would not be staying in this city for long anyway.
He yawned. He had not slept well last night because one of the people he was assigned to investigate had silently gone missing on the other side of the city. He had no choice but to go there and find his observation target to confirm their condition. When the other Fire Moth personnel heard the news, they had been extremely nervous, terrified that the missing person might be the Sixth Herrscher. Only he had not cared, because he knew very well that the Sixth Herrscher was Seele.
Still, finding that person had taken some effort. In the end, he found her hanging in an abandoned park. He guessed that the Sixth Honkai Eruption had inflicted severe psychological trauma on her, driving her to find a secluded place to hang herself. He had been the first to find her. She had died alone in that park.
Like other people who committed suicide, she had left behind a suicide note. It said that she had lost all her family in the disaster, that no one in the unfamiliar environment cared what she did anymore, that no one cared what she was doing, and similar things. Zhu Yufeng took one look and put it aside.
He was not responsible for figuring out how people had died, nor could he be bothered to care why she had died. But he needed to record her information. Even if no one looked at it, it still had to be entered into Fire Moth's database afterward. As the first person to discover the body, he had also given a statement. Only after showing proof of his Fire Moth identity had he been allowed to leave.
He left the inn and bought a simple breakfast from a nearby breakfast shop, then prepared to visit Seele's school and see how things were going.
"Hey, Feng, you're back from over there already?" Another Fire Moth operative assigned to this mission greeted him.
Zhu Yufeng did not really remember the man's name, so he nodded in response and said, "It was handled, so of course I came back. I had no intention of finding another inn on the other side of the city. The final investigation result confirmed that she committed suicide."
"I saw the report you submitted." The man spoke with some regret. "How many people have killed themselves because of the Honkai Eruption by now? Some of them seemed perfectly normal before they did it, then suddenly turned around and went to kill themselves... You don't need to take it too much to heart. Each of us has to observe so many people. How could we possibly have the energy to closely monitor every single person's mental state? Not everyone is someone like Raphael."
Zhu Yufeng said nothing. He would not care in the first place. He did not know any of those people, and he had no obligation to watch over their mental health.
"You're planning to visit Seele's school again, like usual?" His colleague's gaze turned teasing. "Say, Feng, don't tell me you actually have feelings for Seele? She's still a student."
Zhu Yufeng looked at his colleague speechlessly. "It's just for the mission. I'm not about to send myself to jail."
"No one said you had to do anything now. Just wait a few years until she's an adult," his colleague teased. "Still, you should be careful. Girls like that aren't easy to get along with."
She really wasn't easy to get along with. Who knew when she might suddenly turn into the Sixth Herrscher and blast me away?
Zhu Yufeng could not be bothered to explain anything to this gossip anymore. He could hardly tell him that he knew Seele was highly likely to be the Sixth Herrscher. Besides, he also knew that before Elysia sacrificed herself and returned to Honkai, the Herrschers of the previous civilization had all been Honkai's puppets, inhuman beings. He did not know Seele's current situation. The Sixth Honkai Eruption had already happened, yet the Sixth Herrscher had not appeared for a long time...
In both scale and range, the Sixth Honkai Eruption had reached the Honkai level that Fire Moth recognized as sufficient for a Herrscher to be born. Yet not only had no Herrscher been born from this Honkai Eruption, there had even been a large number of survivors. Therefore, the higher-ups suspected that the Sixth Herrscher was hiding among the survivors and had sent them to investigate.
If the higher-ups were right, then Seele was currently the Sixth Herrscher lying dormant. But according to his observations, every aspect of Seele's behavior resembled that of an ordinary human, though her moods were as fickle as a cat's and she was easily provoked.
He truly could not see any sign of her being inhuman...
But if the higher-ups were wrong, he also remembered that the Sixth Herrscher of the previous civilization had looked very much like Seele of the current civilization. Before coming here, everyone had guessed that Seele would be the Sixth Herrscher, that Auntie would be the Herrscher of Binding, and that Himeko would wake up one day to find the entire Hyperion full of Herrschers.
However, Otto had used an exploit to get rid of the Herrscher of Binding, and Auntie had lost out on a new Herrscher battlesuit.
Auntie had no chance of becoming a Herrscher, but with the plot point of Seele feeling familiar with Black Abyss White Flower, it was basically set in stone that Seele would become the Herrscher of Death.
Also, Himiko from the previous civilization was the Seventh Herrscher, and her name was pronounced the same as Himeko's. Seele was pronounced the same as Seele, too. Wasn't that just Seele from the previous civilization? There was nothing strange about her becoming the Herrscher of Death.
So why had the Sixth Herrscher still not appeared?
Zhu Yufeng was very curious, so whenever he had extra time, he would spend more time interacting with Seele.
Deep down, he also held a small hope that Seele was currently in the same state as the Twelfth Herrscher. As long as she was not stimulated, she could remain human. That way, at the very least, he could preserve a potentially important fighting force for humanity, couldn't he? And Kevin would suffer one less blow.
But he also knew that the Twelfth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Erosion, had only been born because Ling needed to die.
The Herrscher of Death...
He had tried to investigate Seele's past, but aside from learning that she had grown up in an orphanage, he knew very little else. Everyone else from the orphanage had died in the Sixth Honkai Eruption. He wanted to investigate, but there was nowhere left to investigate, so he could only give up.
He felt that the current Seele was somewhat like Dark Seele, so he had guessed that the current Seele was the Herrscher personality, replacing the original Seele's personality. But that still could not explain how the Herrschers of the previous civilization had been inhuman...
It was a real headache.
With a mess of thoughts in his mind, Zhu Yufeng finished breakfast and walked into Seele's school.
"Ah, Mr. Feng. Good morning." A bespectacled man with a refined, gentle appearance walked over and greeted him.
This man was also among the people Zhu Yufeng was observing.
"Good morning." Zhu Yufeng nodded.
"I didn't seem to see you yesterday?" the man asked in confusion. "Did you go handle something?"
"Something like that. It's already been handled," Zhu Yufeng said.
"Good morning, Mr. Daniel!" A student entering through the school gates greeted the man.
"Good morning, Richard." The man smiled and nodded. "You're here as early as usual."
The boy shrugged. "Mr. Daniel, aren't you here very early too?"
More students gradually entered through the gates, greeting the man one by one. The man smiled and returned each greeting.
"You seem to be doing pretty well?" Zhu Yufeng looked at Daniel. "In just a few days, you've adapted to the new environment and gotten along with the students?"
Daniel smiled helplessly. "People have to look forward. I'm a teacher too. I have to teach students knowledge, teach them the skills to survive and the principles of dealing with people. As a teacher, I need to set a good example. How could I just give up?"
"You're a good teacher." Zhu Yufeng smiled.
"I merely did what I should have done," Daniel said modestly. Then, as if he had noticed something, his gaze went past Zhu Yufeng. "Good morning, Seele."
Seele?
Zhu Yufeng turned around. The black-haired girl glanced at him, then walked silently toward the classroom.
Daniel sighed softly. "Seele is my student, as well as your observation target. I can more or less adapt, but Seele... She never gets along very well with the other students. If this continues, problems will arise sooner or later."
"Those punks came to trouble her again while I was gone yesterday?" Zhu Yufeng shifted his gaze from Seele's retreating figure and looked at Daniel. If that was the case, then apparently his lesson had not been enough. He could just beat them up again.
"Is this how you people always solve problems, so simply and violently?" Daniel rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Those punks were indeed ordered around by the students in my class who don't get along with Seele, and I criticized her too... Besides, after the way you solved things, how would they dare trouble Seele again?"
"Then why do I feel like she's in a terrible mood today..." Zhu Yufeng said.
"I don't know either... Seele has always had trouble getting along with others, but she does seem genuinely unhappy today..." Daniel looked hesitantly at Zhu Yufeng, then at the school building. "Yesterday, aside from being a little distracted in class, Seele acted the same as usual."
"Could it be those few days of the month for girls?" Zhu Yufeng rubbed his chin. If so, should he prioritize his life and hide for a while until this formidable lady's mood stabilized before continuing his observation? No, that would not work. The mission only gave him a week to observe and follow up, and he did not have many days left.
Daniel's expression turned somewhat strange. Seele had suddenly appeared behind Zhu Yufeng earlier, but this man had clearly not noticed and had kept talking to him. Seele's mood had only worsened afterward...
"Maybe..." Daniel said. "By the way, Mr. Feng, have you ever been in a relationship?"
Zhu Yufeng: "..."
Why had he suddenly asked such a painful question?
"No..." Zhu Yufeng looked at Daniel with half-lidded eyes. "But there is a girl I like."
"Is she your colleague?"
"...She's my superior."
Daniel froze for a moment upon hearing that answer, then said, "I... I see..."
Uh... Heartbreak was something everyone experienced at some point in life. Especially the hazy feelings from one's student years. He had been there. He understood...
And Mr. Feng would only be here for a while before leaving... Hopefully, his student could move on. With Mr. Feng's emotional intelligence, he probably truly could not notice a girl's tentative affection.
Zhu Yufeng talked with Daniel a little more about Seele's behavior yesterday. Once he confirmed that there was nothing unusual, he said goodbye and left. Seele was about to start class, after all, and he should not disturb her during class. Study hard and improve every day!
He would observe the other targets first.
After Zhu Yufeng left, Daniel turned his gaze toward the school building and only caught sight of a girl turning away. He then looked in the direction Zhu Yufeng had gone and shrugged helplessly.
By the time he had confirmed the conditions of his other observation targets, it was already close to evening. Yesterday had delayed him for an entire day, so he had spent a little more time today...
After checking the time, Zhu Yufeng still decided to see Seele. But the formidable lady was in a bad mood today. Did he really need to go...
After thinking very seriously for a while, he suddenly remembered that today seemed to be the birthday listed in Seele's file? He quickly checked the information on his phone about the people under investigation and found Seele's file.
Sure enough, today was Seele's birthday. It seemed there was still hope.
He went to a cake shop and bought a cake. After thinking about it, he placed it outside the door of Seele's assigned apartment, leaving a card on top stating that it was for Seele, then prepared to leave.
"Well, well. What's a busy man like you doing here?" A voice full of sarcasm suddenly rang out. "Don't tell me you've finally revealed your perverted nature and are planning to steal my things?"
Zhu Yufeng turned around and saw Seele standing there with her schoolbag on her back, arms folded across her chest. Then her gaze fell on the cake he had placed in front of her door.
Zhu Yufeng observed Seele's condition and confirmed that she did not seem ready to suddenly turn into a Herrscher and kill him. He decided it was necessary to explain his actions. "This cake is for you. Your file says today is your birthday. You seemed to be in a bad mood during the day, and you had class, so I didn't disturb you."
Seele snorted. "Who needs your concern? Birthday... I stopped celebrating those a long time ago. Take it away. I don't need that thing!"
She did not need it? Should he take it back?
Zhu Yufeng looked at the cake by the door. Forget it. It was meant for Seele in the first place. There was no reason to take it back. So he said, "I gave it to you. It's already yours, so you can decide what to do with it. You can throw it away if you want."
After thinking about it, he added, "At least, in my opinion, birthdays should still be celebrated one way or another. After all, it's a day that belongs to you."
"Tch..." Seele looked away. "Is this how you pursue girls you like too?"
"I've never pursued a girl." Zhu Yufeng thought seriously. "I... at least, I don't plan to right now... I'm not good enough yet. I can't get any more of her attention..."
Seele glanced at him, then suddenly said impatiently, "Heh... You deserve to be single if you're like this! Fine, fine, you can leave now. You probably asked Daniel about whatever you wanted to know already, right? Stop bothering me."
Why was she in a bad mood again?
Zhu Yufeng looked at Seele. After a long moment, he sighed. "Then... I'll come see you tomorrow."
He could also visit the school to learn more specific details about Seele's class. Previously, he had only heard Daniel's account or gotten information when those little punks begged for mercy. Seele herself could not be bothered to mention what happened in class...
After watching Zhu Yufeng leave, Seele lowered her head and looked at the cake by the door. She bent down and picked it up. Rather than throw it away, she carried it into the apartment.
That evening.
"Oh my, Feng, I heard you have a very unreserved girl around you now. I heard boys these days seem to like girls like that. Do you have any thoughts?" Elysia teased Zhu Yufeng with a mischievous smile through the video call.
Had that guy been spreading rumors? A very unreserved girl... She was clearly very straightforward. You could tell at a glance whether she was in a good mood, and her moods changed all the time.
Besides... Elysia, hearing some things from you was really a little...
He was silent for a long time before answering, "...No."
"Oh my, you're an unreserved child too~" Elysia wore an expression that said she could do nothing about him. "You mustn't learn from Dr. Mobius, okay~"
Be more straightforward... But... if a confession failed, they could not even stay friends anymore, right?
Zhu Yufeng lowered his eyes. But if he kept hiding his feelings, they would never reach the person he wanted to convey them to...
Before you continue