Zhu Yufeng Extra: Sixth Herrscher Under Investigation

Sunlight streamed into the inn room where Zhu Yufeng was staying. Although Fire Moth would reimburse the mission expenses, Zhu Yufeng wasn't interested in high-end hotels and had simply picked a passable inn. He wouldn't be staying in this city for long anyway.

He yawned. He hadn't slept well last night because one of his investigation subjects had gone missing without a word, heading to the other side of the city. He had to go to the other side of the city to find and confirm the status of his subject. The others in Fire Moth had been very nervous when they heard the news, fearing the missing person might be the Sixth Herrscher. Only he was indifferent because he knew very well that the Sixth Herrscher was Seele.

However, finding that person had taken quite some effort. He finally found him hanging himself in an abandoned park. He deduced that the Sixth Great Eruption must have caused severe psychological trauma, leading the person to find a secluded spot to hang himself. He was the first to discover the body; the person had died alone in the park.

Like other suicides, she had left a suicide note, lamenting that she had lost all her loved ones in the disaster and that in this unfamiliar environment, no one cared about what she did or what she was up to. Zhu Yufeng glanced at it and put it aside.

He wasn't responsible for figuring out how people died, nor did he care why she died. But he needed to record the person's information. Even if no one read it, it would be entered into Fire Moth's database later. As the first discoverer, he also had to give a statement. He was only allowed to leave after presenting his Fire Moth identification.

He walked out of the inn and bought a simple breakfast from a nearby shop before heading to Seele's school to check on the situation.

"Hey, Feng, you're back from over there already?" one of his colleagues on the Fire Moth mission greeted him.

Zhu Yufeng didn't quite remember the man's name, so he just nodded in response and said, "The matter has been handled, so I'm back. I wasn't planning on finding another inn on the other side of the city. The final investigation result confirmed it was suicide."

"I've seen your report," the man said with a sigh. "How many people have committed suicide because of the Great Eruption now? Some people seemed perfectly normal before they committed suicide... You don't need to worry too much. Each of us is responsible for observing so many people; we don't have that much energy to carefully observe one person's psychological state. Not everyone is like Raphael."

Zhu Yufeng didn't say anything. He didn't care at all. He didn't know anyone, and he had no obligation to observe their psychological state.

"Are you going to that Seele's school like usual?" his colleague's gaze became a bit teasing. "I say, Feng, you don't actually have feelings for Seele, do you? She's still a student."

Zhu Yufeng looked at his colleague speechlessly and said, "It's just for the mission. I wouldn't send myself to jail."

"I'm not asking you to act now. She'll be an adult in a few years," his colleague teased. "But you should be careful, girls like that are hard to get along with."

Hard to get along with. You never know when she might suddenly become the Sixth Herrscher and obliterate me.

Zhu Yufeng was too lazy to explain further to this gossipy guy. He couldn't exactly say that he knew Seele was very likely the Sixth Herrscher, could he? Moreover, he knew that before Elysia sacrificed herself and returned to Honkai, the previous Herrschers were puppets of Honkai, devoid of humanity. He wasn't sure what Seele's situation was now. The Sixth Great Eruption had already occurred, but the Sixth Herrscher had yet to appear...

The Sixth Great Eruption, in terms of scale and scope, had reached the level of Honkai that Fire Moth identified as capable of birthing a Herrscher. Yet, in this Great Eruption that could birth a Herrscher, not only did no Herrscher appear, but there were also a large number of survivors. Therefore, the higher-ups suspected that the Sixth Herrscher was lurking among the survivors and sent them to investigate.

If the higher-ups were correct, then Seele was currently the latent Sixth Herrscher. However, based on his observations, Seele's behavior was that of an ordinary human, albeit moody and prone to outbursts like a cat.

He really couldn't see any lack of humanity in her...

But if the higher-ups were wrong, he also remembered that the previous Sixth Herrscher looked very much like the current Seele. Before he transmigrated, everyone speculated that Seele would be the Sixth Herrscher, Auntie would be the Herrscher of Binding, and so on, achieving Himeko-sensei waking up to find the Hyperion full of Herrschers.

However, Otto had exploited a loophole to remove the Herrscher of Binding, and Auntie had lost her new Herrscher armor.

Auntie had no chance at becoming the Herrscher of Binding, but the plot point of Seele developing familiarity with Black Abyss White Flower basically confirmed that Seele would be the Herrscher of Death.

There was also the fact that the previous Himiko was the Seventh Herrscher, and her pronunciation was similar to Himeko, while Seele's pronunciation was also similar to Seele. Wasn't she the previous Seele? It wasn't strange for her to become the Herrscher of Death.

So why exactly was the Sixth Herrscher so slow to appear?

Zhu Yufeng was very curious, so he spent more time interacting with Seele whenever he had free time.

In his heart, he held a small hope that Seele was currently in a state similar to the Twelfth Herrscher, remaining human as long as she wasn't provoked. That way, at least he could preserve a potentially important combat force for humanity, and Kevin would have one less blow to endure.

But he also knew that the birth of the Twelfth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Erosion, was due to the fact that it was meant to be born only after Ling's death.

The Herrscher of Death...

He had tried to investigate Seele's past, but apart from knowing she grew up in an orphanage, he knew very little else. Most of the other people in the orphanage had died in the Sixth Great Eruption. He wanted to investigate but couldn't find any place to investigate, so he had to give up.

He felt that the current Seele resembled the "Black Seele" somewhat, so he speculated that the current Seele was the Herrscher personality, having replaced the previous Seele's personality. But this still couldn't explain the lack of humanity in the previous Herrschers...

It was quite a headache.

With his mind in a jumble, Zhu Yufeng finished his breakfast and walked into Seele's school.

"Ah, Mr. Feng, good morning," a man with glasses, who looked gentle and refined, walked over and greeted him.

This was also one of the individuals within his observation range.

"Good morning," Zhu Yufeng nodded.

"I didn't see you yesterday?" the man asked with some confusion. "Were you handling something?"

"Something like that, it's all taken care of now," Zhu Yufeng replied.

"Good morning, Teacher Daniel!" a student entering the school gate called out to the man.

"Good morning, Richard," the man smiled and nodded. "You're still arriving this early as usual."

The boy shrugged and said, "Aren't you arriving very early too, Teacher Daniel?"

Subsequently, more students entered the school gate, greeting the man one by one. The man responded with a smile.

"You seem to be doing well?" Zhu Yufeng looked at Daniel and said, "In just a few days, you've adapted to the new environment and mingled with the students?"

Daniel smiled helplessly. "People always have to look forward. I'm also a teacher; I need to impart knowledge to students, teach them survival skills and how to conduct themselves. As a role model, I must set a good example. How can I just give up?"

"You're a good teacher," Zhu Yufeng said with a smile.

"I'm just doing what I should be doing," Daniel said humbly, then his gaze moved past Zhu Yufeng as if he had noticed something. "Good morning, Seele."

Seele?

Zhu Yufeng turned to look behind him. The black-haired girl glanced at him and then walked silently towards the classroom.

Daniel let out a soft sigh and said, "Seele is my student and also your subject. I can adapt to it, but Seele... she never gets along well with other students. If this continues, there will be problems sooner or later."

"When I wasn't here yesterday, did those delinquents bother her again?" Zhu Yufeng shifted his gaze from Seele's retreating figure to Daniel. If that was the case, it seemed his previous lesson wasn't enough. Another beating should suffice.

"Do you guys always solve problems in such a crude and direct manner?" Daniel rubbed his forehead with a headache. "Although those delinquents were indeed instigated by students in my class who don't get along with Seele, and I've already reprimanded them... and with your method of solving problems, they wouldn't dare bother Seele again, would they?"

"But I feel like she's in a really bad mood today..." Zhu Yufeng said.

"I don't know either... Although Seele has always had trouble getting along with others, she really does seem unhappy today..." Daniel looked at Zhu Yufeng hesitantly, then towards the teaching building. "Yesterday, apart from being a bit distracted during class, Seele's behavior was the same as usual."

"Is it that time of the month for girls?" Zhu Yufeng stroked his chin. If that were the case, should he prioritize his own safety and hide for a while until this young lady's mood stabilized before continuing his observations? No, that wasn't right. His mission only allowed him one week for observation and follow-up, and he was running out of time.

Daniel's expression was a bit strange. Seele had suddenly appeared behind Zhu Yufeng earlier, but he clearly hadn't noticed and was still chatting with Daniel. After that, Seele's mood had turned sour...

"Maybe..." Daniel said. "By the way, Mr. Feng, have you ever been in love?"

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Why was he suddenly being asked such a heartbreaking question?

"No..." Zhu Yufeng said, squinting at Daniel. "But I do like a girl."

"Is she your colleague?"

"...She's my superior."

Daniel was stunned for a moment upon hearing this answer, then said, "Oh... I see..."

Sigh... Emotional setbacks are something everyone experiences in life to some extent, especially when it comes to the vague feelings of youth. I've been through it, I understand...

And Mr. Feng will only be here for a while before he leaves... I hope my student can get over it... Given Mr. Feng's emotional intelligence, he probably can't sense a girl's subtle feelings at all.

Zhu Yufeng chatted with Daniel a bit more about Seele's behavior yesterday. After confirming there were no anomalies, he bid farewell. After all, Seele was about to start class, and he wouldn't disturb her during class time. Study hard, progress every day!

He should go observe the other subjects first.

After Zhu Yufeng left, Daniel's gaze shifted to the teaching building. He saw the back of a girl turning around just then, then looked in the direction Zhu Yufeng had left, and shrugged helplessly.

After confirming the status of the other observation subjects, it was already approaching evening. Because he had been delayed by a day yesterday, he had spent a little more time today...

Zhu Yufeng checked the time and decided to go see Seele. But the young lady was in a bad mood today, should he really go...

After thinking very seriously, he suddenly remembered that today was Seele's birthday according to her file. He quickly checked the information of his subjects stored on his phone and found Seele's file.

Indeed, it was Seele's birthday today. It seemed there was still a chance.

He went to a cake shop and bought a cake. After some thought, he placed the cake at the entrance of Seele's apartment, along with a card stating it was for Seele, and then prepared to leave.

"Yo, what's the busy man doing here?" a voice laced with sarcasm suddenly rang out. "Don't tell me you've finally shown your perverted nature and are planning to steal my stuff?"

Zhu Yufeng turned around and saw Seele, carrying her backpack, looking at him with her arms crossed. Then, her gaze fell on the cake Zhu Yufeng had placed in front of his door.

Zhu Yufeng observed Seele's state, confirming she had no intention of suddenly becoming a Herrscher and killing him. He decided it was necessary to explain his actions: "This is a cake for you. According to your file, today is your birthday. Earlier today, I saw you were in a bad mood and had class, so I didn't want to disturb you."

Seele snorted and said, "Who needs your concern? My birthday... I stopped celebrating it long ago. Take it away, I don't need that thing!"

You don't need it? Should I take it back then?

Zhu Yufeng glanced at the cake he had placed by the door. Never mind. It was for Seele in the first place, so there was no reason to take it back. He said, "This is for you. It's yours now. You can decide what to do with it. If you want to throw it away, you can."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "At least, in my opinion, your birthday is still a day to celebrate. After all, it's a day that belongs to you."

"Tch..." Seele looked away. "Is this how you act when you're pursuing a girl you like?"

"I've never pursued a girl." Zhu Yufeng thought seriously. "I... at least I don't have any plans to right now... After all, I'm not good enough to get her more attention..."

Seele glanced at him and suddenly said impatiently, "Heh... you deserve to be single! Alright, alright, you can go. You should have asked Daniel about what you wanted to know, right? So stop bothering me."

Why is she in a bad mood again?

Zhu Yufeng looked at Seele, then sighed after a long pause. "Then... I'll come find you tomorrow."

He also planned to go to the school tomorrow to learn about the specific situation in Seele's class. Before, he had only heard about it from Daniel or from the thugs when they were begging for mercy. Seele herself was too lazy to mention anything about her class...

Watching Zhu Yufeng leave, Seele looked down at the cake by the door, bent down, and picked it up. She didn't throw it away; instead, she walked into the apartment with the cake.

Evening.

"Oh my, Feng, I heard that you have a very tsundere girl around you now. I heard that boys nowadays seem to like girls like that. Do you have any thoughts about it?" Elysia teased Zhu Yufeng through the video call with a playful smirk.

Did that person spread false information? And very tsundere... She's clearly very straightforward, you can tell if she's happy or not at a glance, and she's quite capricious.

And... Elysia, when you say things like that, it's really...

He was silent for a long time before replying, "...No."

"Oh my, you're also a tsundere child~" Elysia said with a "can't help it" expression. "Don't learn from Dr. Mobius, okay~"

Be more straightforward... But... if confessing fails, you can't even be friends anymore, right?

Zhu Yufeng lowered his gaze. But if you always hide your feelings, they won't reach the person you want them to reach.