It Can Always Get Worse

If she had that many Points,

she could probably travel back and forth between the past and present several times.

Hoshino Ai: "I just don't understand. Didn't Kanae upload Breathing Techniques before? Why didn't she get any Points then?"

Gotoh Hitori: "That's true. Kanae uploaded Breathing Techniques too. Why didn't she get a reward?"

Hoshino Ai: "@Chen Mu, rich newcomer, get out here and explain yourself!"

Chen Mu: "Uh... maybe because it was too ordinary?"

Having been tagged, Chen Mu thought for a moment before answering uncertainly.

After all, from his perspective,

Kochou Kanae's Breathing Techniques really were rather crude.

It was perfectly normal for the Chat Group to look down on them.

Of course,

Chen Mu himself had been a little stunned by the million Points he had obtained so easily.

Kochou Kanae: "..."

Hoshino Ai: "Then why did you suddenly think of uploading Space teleportation technology?"

Chen Mu: "Because the Chat Group actively asked me whether I wanted to upload the technology just now, so I agreed."

Hoshino Ai: "???"

Gotoh Hitori: "???"

Kochou Kanae: "???"

Good lord.

One had been invited, while the other had done it on her own.

That really was different.

Didn't that mean the Chat Group had taken a liking to Chen Mu's technology too?!!

Gotoh Hitori: "I get it... The gap between people really is bigger than the gap between people and dogs. Anyway, I'm just a Paramecium."

Kochou Kanae: "I get it... The Chat Group simply doesn't think Breathing Techniques are worth anything, which is why there were no Points. Mr. Chen Mu is still too kind. You didn't call Breathing Techniques trash, only ordinary. Thank you, I feel comforted."

Hoshino Ai: "I get it... Points were never hard to get. We just weren't worthy from the beginning."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "...omz"

For a moment,

everyone became depressed.

But they understood as well.

Just how valuable that Space teleportation technology was.

Chen Mu was only more formidable than they had imagined.

At this,

Chen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Fortunately, he took out five hundred Points and sent a lucky Red Envelope in the group.

Ding, group member Chen Mu sent a Points Red Envelope.

Seeing the Red Envelope, everyone's eyes lit up, and they immediately felt refreshed.

Hoshino Ai: "Thank you for taking pity on us, boss."

Gotoh Hitori: "Thank you for taking pity on us, boss."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "Thank you for taking pity on us, boss."

Kochou Kanae: "Thank you for taking pity on us, boss."

Seeing everyone in the Chat Group fooling around,

Chen Mu found it even harder to suppress his laughter.

Sure enough, with these people around, he would not be bored anymore.

Chen Mu: "All right, stop fooling around. There may be plenty of ways to earn Points in the future, so there's no need for you to be too anxious."

Hoshino Ai: "Well, that's true. Then let's get back to the main topic!"

The main topic?

Chen Mu froze at that, a puzzled look appearing on his face.

What main topic?

Something about Kochou Kanae's world?

Hoshino Ai: "Ichiri and I now know why tagging you was ineffective these past two days."

Hoshino Ai: "So now, could Lord Chen Mu, who calls himself an ordinary person, explain what you said before going offline last time?"

Hoshino Ai: "Why did you say it wasn't advisable for me to date recently? Why was I confessed to right after you said that?"

Hoshino Ai: "I don't think an ordinary person can foresee the future, especially across worlds!"

Chen Mu: "Huh? Someone confessed to you? Kamiki Hikaru?"

Hoshino Ai: "You're pretending! You're still pretending! You can't even be bothered to respect my intelligence while pretending—you even named the person who confessed to me!"

There Was No Worst, Only Worse

Hearing that, Chen Mu could not help laughing again.

What did she mean, he could not even be bothered to respect her intelligence?

Ai was way too amusing, wasn't she?

Chen Mu could practically already see her adorable expression.

Chen Mu: "Don't say that. I really didn't know it would be such a coincidence. It was just an accident."

Gotoh Hitori: "Umm... speaking of which, I also have to thank Mr. Chen Mu. Because of Mr. Chen Mu, I finally found my own band too!"

Bocchi the Rock! World.

Blushing, Gotoh Hitori spoke in the group with a little excitement.

Hoshino Ai: "Eh, eh, eh? @Gotoh Hitori, don't tell me you listened to Lord Chen Mu too, brought your guitar to school, and found a band there?"

Gotoh Hitori: "Umm... th-that wasn't it. Well, um, I guess it was a coincidence? One day after school, when I was carrying my guitar home, a girl stopped me. Then, for all sorts of reasons, I found a band. And, and, it's a really great band."

Gotoh Hitori: "So I'm really grateful to Mr. Chen Mu. Mr. Chen Mu was the one who made me take that first step."

Hearing this,

Kochou Kanae and Tokisaki Kurumi were both somewhat astonished.

After all, once was a coincidence, but how could twice possibly be a coincidence?

And such bizarre ones at that?

Most importantly,

Kochou Kanae had also vaguely sensed how well Chen Mu understood them.

Hoshino Ai: "So Ichiri was the same as me. I didn't know that before... All right, let's see how you explain this now, Lord Chen Mu!"

Chen Mu: "What is there to explain? Given Ichiri's situation, anyone would probably think she should bring her guitar to school so she could find a band."

Chen Mu chuckled. Then, without waiting for the others to press further, his tone shifted as he spoke directly.

Chen Mu: "However, I did indeed know and understand all of you before entering the Chat Group."

Hoshino Ai: "Eh, eh, eh?!!"

Hoshino Ai cried out in shock.

How was that possible? They were people from different worlds.

Since Hoshino Ai had asked, Chen Mu felt there was no need to hide it.

He did not think there was anything worth hiding. If he did not say it now, the flaws he exposed would only grow more numerous over time, so he simply chose to tell them the truth.

Chen Mu: "The reason I know all of you is that I learned about you through certain novels, manga, anime, and games..."

Hoshino Ai: "!!!"

Kochou Kanae: "!!!"

Gotoh Hitori: "!!!"

Tokisaki Kurumi: "!!!"

At that moment,

everyone was shaken.

How could that be?

But it did explain why Chen Mu knew and understood them.

Kochou Kanae: "So... we are actually characters in storybooks?"

As Kochou Kanae said this, an indescribably subtle feeling rose in her heart.

She was not the only one.

The others felt the same way.

After all, anyone who learned that they were originally an anime character would find it hard to remain calm.

Chen Mu: "You shouldn't put it that way. Rather than calling you fictional characters, I prefer to see it as an exchange of information between worlds."

Chen Mu: "For example, you receive information from another country through television or the internet. You learn something happening thousands of miles away, but does that affect them? Can you change or do anything to them?"

Chen Mu: "The exchange of information between worlds is something similar, only more advanced. You may obtain information about another world, but everyone in this world neither will nor has the ability to influence people in another world."

Chen Mu: "The future has never been set in stone. No one's future is certain. Even the slightest disturbance can affect the future. Any so-called ending is, at most, merely one possibility among countless futures."

Hoshino Ai: "...As expected of a researcher. You're actually trying to explain this to us scientifically."

Gotoh Hitori: "But after hearing that, I really do feel much better..."

Kochou Kanae: "Yes, I have to say, Mr. Chen Mu really is gentle."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "So does that mean Lord Chen Mu knows and understands all of us?!!"

Chen Mu: "More or less, Miss Kurumi, who calls herself an ordinary person."

Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."

Hoshino Ai: "Anyway, can you tell me why you said I shouldn't date recently? Lord Chen Mu @Chen Mu."

Chen Mu: "Well, it's not that you shouldn't date recently. It's that you shouldn't date Kamiki Hikaru."

Hoshino Ai: "Eh, eh, eh? You mean specifically one person? Why?"

Chen Mu: "Because Kamiki Hikaru is a scumbag. If you date him, he'll get you pregnant and then abandon you. After you give birth, he'll even have someone kill you."

Hoshino Ai: "Eh, eh, eh?!!"

Hoshino Ai: "I get pregnant and then get killed? Am I really that miserable?!!"

Chen Mu: "Yes. In the anime, you didn't even survive one episode."

Hoshino Ai: "???"

Not surviving even one episode?

Hoshino Ai's eyes widened, and she nearly coughed up blood.