*** Earth, Qilin's home.
Su Bai looked at the question, blinked, then turned to look at Little Snow, floating beside him.
It was obvious that, in his current state, he couldn't answer a question like this.
He'd have to rely on Little Snow after all.
The light patterns across the surface of the little snowball flickered, as though it had let out a very human sigh.
Then the Diary interface updated—Detective "Little Snow" and the sleeping "Su Bai" once again "made their joint appearance."
[Today's question is: What is Super Seminary about?]
[Little Snow says the person who asked this question is obviously an "old fox." Lingxi isn't quite that quick-witted, so she was probably just the one carrying out the request. The ones really asking behind the scenes are most likely Keisha and Hexi.]
Merlo Heavenly Court.
Lingxi was close to tears.
What did she mean, "Lingxi isn't quite that quick-witted"?! It was bad enough to say that about Sister Azhui, but why was she getting caught in the crossfire too...
Sob...
Unlike the woebegone Lingxi, Keisha and Hexi, standing beside her, had gone dark in the face.
"Old fox"...?
But... Little Snow really did know them well...
[Little Snow says Super Seminary is an anime from my original world. It tells the story of Earth being invaded by alien civilizations.]
[Then a group of young people with Super Genes awakened their powers, became warriors, and protected Earth.]
"Yeah, that's what it looks like on the surface."
[The early members of the Protagonist Group are: Galaxy Power Ge Xiaolun, Nuo Star God of War Liu Chuang, De Star Spear Zhao Xin, Light of the Sun Leina, Space-time Gene Du Qiangwei, Shenhe Sniper Qilin, and Nuo Star Dagger Rui Mengmeng...]
Rui Mengmeng, resting in her dorm, abruptly sat up when she read that.
"Eh? M-me?!"
"What are Super Genes? And what is a Nuo Star Dagger...?"
The Diary's contents had genuinely stunned her.
No way...
Was the "Rui Mengmeng" mentioned in the Diary really her?
She was just an ordinary girl who'd moved from the countryside to the city to work. Her family was of modest means—or, really, struggling. She even had to work hard during the holidays to save up for college tuition.
Saving Earth...?
What did that have to do with her?!
Meanwhile, Qilin was just as astonished.
But unlike Rui Mengmeng, who was surprised to see herself mentioned—
Qilin was shocked that Liu Chuang, that scumbag, was on the list too!
Little Snow had once mentioned Liu Chuang to Su Bai, and Su Bai had told her about it: she had a Super Gene to begin with, though it was relatively weak.
Given her loyalty to her country and her sense of responsibility, Qilin wasn't all that surprised to find herself among the "Protagonist Group."
But...
"Why is that scumbag in there too?!"
"And... I actually accepted him?! I became comrades-in-arms with a scumbag like that?!!"
"Are you kidding me!!!"
It was obvious. Now that they knew their world was the setting of an "anime" about fighting off an alien invasion...
There was no need to explain what the term "Protagonist Group" meant.
They were bound to be "partners" who trusted one another and shared life and death.
Qilin's breathing grew slightly ragged with anger.
What kind of person was Liu Chuang?
A street thug, a bully who preyed on the weak, a lowlife she'd personally arrested and hauled to the station more than once for fighting!
Her colleague Sheng'an had stopped him from collecting "protection money," so that bastard had brought his men and broken his leg!
Sheng'an was the family breadwinner. When he went down, his entire family was nearly ruined.
If her colleagues hadn't taken turns helping them out, Qilin couldn't imagine how that family would have gotten by.
And what about Liu Chuang, that scumbag? He hadn't suffered a thing! There were even people in high places who kept protecting him. They were practically encouraging his evil ways!
That was what Qilin found hardest to understand, what chilled her most.
Why did good people suffer while evil people lived carefree?
Someone like him... would become her comrade? Fight beside her? Even be included in the "Protagonist Group"?
Absurd!
The more Qilin thought about it, the angrier she became. Her fist clenched unconsciously, her nails almost digging into her palm.
[The Protagonist Group belongs to Super Seminary—here, "Super Seminary" refers to the organization founded by the Space Principal and shaped over tens of thousands of years.]
[After several rises and falls, it is now ostensibly "led" by the warmonger Dukao.]
[Besides Super Seminary, the universe's other major powers include the Angel Civilization, which follows the Justice Order, and the Demon Civilization, which pursues freedom and degeneracy.]
[The Lieyang Civilization follows the principle "If you can win, it's the Heavenly Way; if you can't, then it's Peace and Prosperity," along with the professional fall guy and old fox—the Netherworld Civilization.]
Merlo Heavenly Court, Keisha and Hexi exchanged a look, their expressions odd.
"A professional fall guy and old fox..." Hexi raised an eyebrow. "That's... quite an accurate assessment."
"Super Seminary..." Keisha's attention was elsewhere.
"Heh. When I saw the 'name' of our world earlier, I had my suspicions."
"Now, it's confirmed."
Hearing that, Hexi smiled softly too.
"Hehe. 'Protagonist'... What a title. I'm not sure what to make of it."
[The story begins with Galaxy Power and Nuo Star God of War getting into a fight. As they lay dying, their Super Genes activate, and they're invited to join Super Seminary.]
[Huh? Oh, I see.]
—Hm?
Seeing the sudden change in style, this passage clearly written in a different voice, all the women reading the Diary more or less guessed:
Little Snow was talking to Su Bai.
[Little Snow says her urge to rant about this has finally become impossible to suppress.]
[Let me rant on her behalf—]
The women couldn't help laughing.
[Let's set aside Ge Xiaolun, the protagonist. Liu Chuang, an important supporting character with one of the Three God-making Genes, the "Nuo Star God of War"...]
[Can you believe it? Someone like him is a complete scumbag!]
[That's right, a scumbag, a street thug, a bully who preys on the weak!]
[He was always getting hauled to the station for causing trouble, and he even dared to assault police officers!]
[And what happened after he assaulted the police?]
[Not a damn thing!]
[His good son, the warmonger Dukao, protected him.]
[Every time he got in trouble, nothing happened to him. What was Liu Chuang supposed to think? You could say he was deliberately being led into crime.]
[Don't give me that: "Hey, he turned over a new leaf later and became a true warrior who protected Earth."]
["Liu Chuang wasn't bad at heart. He only ended up like that because no one guided him. It's all Dukao's fault."]
[When it comes to people like this, I just ***]
Merlo Heavenly Court.
"Heh."
Keisha let out a soft laugh, her tone impossible to read.
"Warmonger...?"
She repeated the word, her voice calm to the point of indifference.
"Heh. That really does suit his usual style."
Hexi raised an eyebrow too.
"Mm. He knew the other man was the Nuo Star God of War, yet he didn't do a thing. He just 'left him to his own devices.' Well... not quite."
"He even helped him get away with it and cleaned up after him."
The two of them saw right through Dukao's actions at a glance.
Simply put, Dukao didn't care.
That's right. He simply didn't care.
Before you continue