The two girls beamed at the praise, their laughter as clear as silver bells. One hurried to straighten Chu He's slightly rumpled collar, while the other brought him warm water. Both were full of concern, as if competing to prove who was more thoughtful.
The air in the bedroom gradually grew warm and peaceful.
The three chatted casually, talking about everything from each other's little habits to their hopes for the future. The atmosphere was harmonious.
After who knew how long, a faint glow appeared in the sky outside the window. On the luxurious bed, three figures nestled quietly together, with only their soft, even breathing to be heard.
The bedroom was utterly still.
Chu He leaned against the soft headboard. Xia Yao slept soundly on his left, while Kachi rested lightly against his shoulder on his right.
The two SSS-class beings, powerful enough to make the world tremble, were as docile as kittens now. Peaceful smiles graced their lovely faces, and their hair fell softly beside their cheeks. Their usual lofty divinity had faded, replaced by a calm, approachable warmth that stirred the heart.
"Come to think of it, I've always been curious." Chu He's fingers tapped the headboard unconsciously.
"Could you tell me about your currency? Yesterday was the first time I'd seen anyone here use money."
Kachi gave a lazy hum, her voice thick with sleep and languid with the feeling of just waking up.
"Before your Blue Star was connected to our world, things here were pretty primitive. Just like in your history books, people bartered, and whoever had the strongest fist made the rules."
She seemed to be gathering her thoughts. After a pause, she continued.
"But things changed later. The 'Master' seemed to take a great interest in human civilization, especially Dragon Country's."
"So nowadays, the main way people trade here is almost exactly the same as in your world."
"Scan-to-pay and electronic currency. It's much more convenient than before."
Kachi even added, "And a lot of your well-developed laws were adopted directly, too."
"You'll see when you go out tomorrow. The world outside is a lot more... normal than you'd expect."
"I have to admit, you humans may be weak, but your creativity really is astonishing." Xia Yao opened her eyes too, her voice carrying genuine admiration.
"Of course."
Chu He smiled and reached out to pinch the tip of her small, pert nose.
"By the way, how old are you two this year?"
"We're both eighteen," Xia Yao replied succinctly.
But Kachi lifted her head and corrected her. "Hey, Yao Yao, you have to be clear about that."
"We're eighteen by the standards here."
"One of our years is about a thousand days on your Blue Star."
Chu He froze.
He did the math in his head, and his expression instantly turned strange.
Over a thousand days...
Converted, that meant...
He looked down at the two beside him: one a cool, beautiful young woman, the other a petite and adorable little girl. He asked tentatively:
"So I'm actually being kept company by two ladies in their fifties?"
"Ladies?"
Xia Yao tilted her head. Her simple thought process clearly hadn't picked up on the deeper insult in that word.
Kachi, however, instantly bristled!
She suddenly reached out and gave Chu He's arm a light smack, her touch full of playful indignation.
"You're the old man! You old geezer!"
"How long do you humans even live? You'll be so old you can't walk in the blink of an eye!" she retorted angrily, her cheeks puffing up like a pufferfish.
"Hahaha!"
Chu He burst out laughing at how adorable she looked and drew both girls closer.
"All right, all right, my mistake."
"You two are eternally youthful, peerlessly beautiful, invincible fairy sisters. Happy now?"
Only then did Kachi give a satisfied little huff and lean back against his shoulder.
The smile gradually faded from Chu He's face, and his gaze grew deep.
Electronic currency, a social system modeled on human civilization, and the "Master," who had never shown itself but seemed to watch everything with great interest...
This bizarre world was far more complicated than he had imagined.
And... far more interesting, too.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, a piercing, shrill assembly bell suddenly tore through the campus's deathly silence like a blade.
The moment it rang, nearly all the survivors leaped out of bed. Exhaustion and fear from a sleepless night left their faces pale and their eyes sunken.
With trembling hands, they dressed as quickly as they could, every face filled with dread and despair at the unknown.
Meanwhile, in the principal's bedroom,
Chu He slowly opened his eyes to a gentle voice calling him.
On his left was Xia Yao, sleeping peacefully, her long black hair spread out like ink.
On his right, Kachi leaned against him like a lazy kitten, her short silver hair soft and smooth.
"Mmm... So noisy..."
Kachi mumbled in displeasure and snuggled closer to Chu He, trying to block out the noise that way.
Chu He smiled, then lightly touched his lips to each girl's smooth, full forehead.
"Time to get up, my two little sleepyheads. We have to go to the assembly."
When Chu He appeared on the sports field at an unhurried pace, everyone's gaze seemed to be pulled toward him by an invisible magnet.
The entire field fell silent in an instant.
The atmosphere was unnerving.
The elites from all over the world stood there in disarray, looking exhausted and dispirited, unable to hide the fear in their eyes.
Chu He looked at them, and they looked back at him.
As a human, Chu He knew all too well how dangerous the past two days had been. Simply surviving until now was an impressive feat.
And if he hadn't had his cheat, he probably would have been exactly what the elites from all those countries had said: cannon fodder, dead on the first day.
He still had one major question, though: why had a weak, frail college student like him been chosen?
In previous years, they had generally selected the more powerful elites from each country, just like the other nations did.
Just then, a crisp sound, like shattering glass, rang out through the entire space.
Buzz—!
A visible, intangible barrier covering the school dissolved rapidly, like a sugar cube dropped into water. It broke apart and finally vanished into nothingness.
The outside world was revealed to everyone without a veil.
At that moment, everyone gasped in shock, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
What they saw was not the ruins they had imagined, nor some gloomy, blood-red purgatory.
It was a... city!
An incredibly prosperous modern metropolis, more fantastical and surreal than any city on Blue Star!
Skyscrapers soared into the clouds, their glass curtain walls familiar, but their rooftops crowned with the upturned eaves and elaborate brackets of traditional Eastern architecture, all glowing with eerie neon lights.
On a giant screen in the distance, a beautiful news anchor was reporting the news. But the corners of her mouth stretched to an inhuman degree.
Traffic flowed, and people came and went.
Most of the pedestrians on the street wore ordinary clothes, but every so often, you might see a man in a suit whose neck could turn a full 360 degrees.
A cute girl in a Lolita dress skipped along the sidewalk just outside the sports field, but her shadow trailed eight long, spiderlike legs.
Familiar.
Yet utterly strange.
Bustling.
Yet permeated with an indescribable eeriness.
"Welcome to Myriad Phenomena City!"
Before you continue