Time seemed to stretch endlessly in that moment, every frame slowing to a crawl.
In livestreams around the world, billions of viewers' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
They stared fixedly at the young man from Dragon Country on their screens.
Dead silence.
The whole world fell silent.
The next second, every livestream chat exploded as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped!
"He's insane! This guy from Dragon Country has completely lost his mind!"
"FUCK! What is this? Performance art before death? Is he trying to humiliate an SSS-Class Anomaly this way?"
"A new way to kill yourself? Before you die, you have to tease the executioner who's about to kill you?"
In Eagle Country's livestream, the host's face twitched uncontrollably. At last, he burst into a deranged laugh, clutching his stomach as tears streamed down his face.
"Oh my God! I have to take back what I said about him earlier! He's not a pet dog—he's a genius! The ultimate clown, willing to risk his life to entertain us all! Let's give him the warmest round of applause!"
Meanwhile, in Dragon Country's livestream,
the last few comments disappeared too.
Everyone silently closed their eyes or simply looked away.
They couldn't bear to watch, and couldn't bring themselves to keep watching.
What a humiliating yet tragic sight.
And yet.
One second passed.
The bloody scene they had expected—the young man's head flying into the air—never came.
Two seconds passed.
The scene they had expected, of his body turning to ash and scattering in the wind, still never came.
Every Dragon Country viewer who had closed their eyes sensed the eerie silence.
Trembling, they slowly opened their eyes.
And then they saw a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
In the middle of the field,
School Belle Anomaly Xia Yao, who had been marching toward Chu He to claim his life,
had stopped dead less than three meters away from him.
For the first time, an emotion appeared on her exquisite face.
Bewilderment.
Confusion.
She tilted her head slightly. Her lifeless eyes, like abysses that swallowed all light, remained fixed on Chu He's puckered lips.
She looked like a child seeing a fascinating new toy for the first time—adorable, yet utterly bewildered.
Then,
under the horrified gazes of billions of people across 192 countries,
something even more unbelievable happened.
Xia Yao's lips, which had been pressed tightly together, their color a cold, pale white, began to pucker upward slightly, beyond her control.
Her movements were so clumsy, as if she were a marionette trying to imitate a human.
The next instant!
No one had time to think!
An irresistible, domineering force suddenly shoved them toward each other!
Chu He felt an immense force strike from behind. His body lurched forward, completely beyond his control, as the beautiful face before him rapidly grew larger!
"Smack!"
A soft sound.
Clear as day, it traveled through the livestream equipment to every corner of the world.
Cold, soft, with a hint of strawberry sweetness.
That was Chu He's only thought.
The sensation was nothing like the lips of a living person. It was more like pressing against an icy popsicle.
Chu He's lips
met those of the SSS-Class School Belle Anomaly,
perfectly sealed against hers.
The world fell silent.
Time stopped.
Space froze.
Every livestream chat went instantly blank, completely cleared.
Everyone who had been laughing, commentating, sighing, or despairing fell silent.
Their mouths hung open, their eyes were wide as saucers, and their minds went utterly blank, crashing completely.
The image seemed frozen in place.
But the real storm had only just begun to brew.
The terrifying being hailed as "the embodiment of rules" and "a walking execution order"—
Xia Yao, who could erase a life from existence itself with just three seconds of eye contact—
on her cold, smooth, jade-like cheeks,
a heart-stirring blush suddenly bloomed without warning!
The red spread visibly from her cheeks to her small, delicate earlobes.
Then down to her long, slender, fair neck, as graceful as a swan's.
It was as if a master painter had used a stroke of cinnabar to breathe a human soul and warmth into this stunning ice sculpture!
That kiss seemed to unlock something sealed deep within her soul for countless centuries.
Her lifeless eyes, capable of swallowing light, trembled violently. Her long eyelashes fluttered like startled butterfly wings, stirring up a tiny storm.
The abyssal emptiness within them shattered completely beneath that kiss!
Deep in her eyes, a faint light of bewilderment flickered to life. It was soon replaced by incomprehension, and then began to flash wildly, as if processing an immense flood of information.
In the end, all the light was swallowed by an overwhelming shyness so intense it seemed capable of melting even her!
After that intense shyness, a more primal, more instinctive possessiveness began to stir.
Their lips parted.
Chu He felt the cool, soft touch withdraw. A faint, cold fragrance still lingered at the tip of his nose.
Xia Yao recoiled half a step as if she'd been shocked.
She lowered her head deeply. Her smooth black hair fell like a waterfall, hiding most of her flushed face so that no one could see her expression.
But everyone could clearly see
her small hands, clenched tightly around the hem of her uniform skirt.
They were trembling violently.
That tiny gesture laid bare the violent turmoil churning inside her, like a tsunami!
The other players on the field, who had narrowly escaped death, didn't dare breathe. You could hear a pin drop.
"W-what is going on? Cheating! He must have cheated!"
"What about the rule? The one that says, 'Do not maintain eye contact for more than three seconds'? Why didn't he die?"
"Are we even facing the same SSS-Class Anomaly? Why did he break the rule and not die—and even... even kiss her?!"
As everyone looked on in confusion, Xia Yao slowly raised her head.
Her eyes still held that startling blush, along with deep embarrassment, as she coldly swept her gaze across the field.
Every player in her line of sight fell silent, lowering their heads in fear, afraid they'd be the first victim of her mood swings.
Until they understood what was happening, no one dared gamble with their life again!
At last, Xia Yao's gaze returned to Chu He.
The shyness in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by unprecedented heat, dominance, and an overwhelming possessiveness.
She parted her lips.
A hoarse, halting voice rang in everyone's ears, deep in every soul.
It seemed she hadn't spoken in a very, very long time. Her words came out in stutters.
"You..."
"...are mine."
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