Volume Six: What She Lost · What I Gained, Chapter 541: The Players of the Circus (Three)

I silently picked up a can of drink, thought for a moment, and then decided not to drink it. Although I was confident in my self-healing abilities, what if it contained ingredients I didn't know about that inhibited my self-healing?

The little girl named Sick Spider, whom Ye brought, was intently weaving silver threads, probably some kind of web for scouting enemies. It seems that although she looks young, she is quite reliable, perhaps even more so than Ye himself.

As for Si Nan Ying, she seems to have gone out excitedly to hold a handshake event; let's just ignore her.

"Hey Haoyue, if we capture the Extra Weapon alive, how do we extract information about Yu He?"

"Leave it to me then—provided that Yu He provides them with valuable intelligence, but I don't think Yu He will do that."

"What if Yu He the murder weapons in the Extra Weapon? After all, they are a group of dangerous individuals who are difficult to control. If I were Yu He, I would probably place a truly trustworthy person in a leadership position among them."

"As expected of my beloved Xiao Ye, she thinks exactly the same way I do~"

"Hey, don't sneak my hand under your crotch, I have something important to do."

"It'll be alright for a little while, right?"

These two guys...

The two, one with black hair and the other with white hair, were snuggling together again. Even though it was the Qipao Woman who had stuck to them, couldn't Ye just do something about it?

"Hey, you two, stop fooling around. We're in a dangerous situation right now where you could die without even knowing how."

"That's precisely why we should enjoy life while we can! You don't even understand that? No wonder you're a lifelong spinster, you rascal!"

"You're the one who's a lifelong virgin."

"You're not a virgin anymore?"

"... So what if it is?"

Ugh, so annoying! She's leading me on like this again!

"Ye! Don't just stand there, quickly use your ability to sense Blood Energy to locate that Su Mengli!"

"I do remember her Blood Energy, but she's always... um?"

Ye suddenly frowned.

"No... wait... what are you saying, Xiao Wu? When did I become able to sense Blood Energy?"

"Isn't this one of your inherent abilities? You... wait?"

Wait.

Can Ye sense Blood Energy?

Didn't she always rely on her instincts for locating enemies? She'd spot an enemy and shoot or punch them... wait, what?

Wait, aren't punches, kicks, and gunshots all Xiao Wu's fighting styles? But she is...

Ye... Xiao Wu... Ye... Yeh?

Is she Ye or Xiao Wu...? No, no, she must be Ye!

Because I am Xiao Wu!

I looked at her and found that she was also looking at me with surprise, her beautifully shaped white eyebrows furrowed together.

Was she, like me, caught in a sudden sense of unease?

But... there's clearly nothing... nothing to doubt, right?

This is the time to --

"Hey! Cheongsam-Haoyue--no, I should call you-tsk anyway, Qipao Woman! And you now--"

However, she was also looking at us with surprise, her gaze shifting back and forth between me and Ye—or rather, Xiao Wu.

"That's weird... wait a minute? Two Xiao Ye... no, two Saki--delinquent girls? Eh? Wait a minute, who's who?"

Her eyes blinked repeatedly, seemingly completely confused as well.

And the Sick Spider also got involved.

"Ye... you delinquent girl..."

The Sick Spider pointed at me first, then at her.

"No, it should be... the delinquent girl... Ye?"

He paused, then pointed at her first, then at me.

"..." "..."

The Qipao Woman and the little girl both fell silent, exchanged a glance, and then—

"Enemy attack!!!"

A flash of light appeared beneath Haoyue's feet from the runes, and she burst through the door of the lounge at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, simultaneously shouting, "Don't follow me rashly! Protect yourselves!"

"Uh, but--"

"--I'm counting on you!"

Haoyue's last sentence was addressed to the Sick Spider. She knew that the Sick Spider would never openly use its abilities in order to protect itself, but there was nothing she could do.

Clearly, "she" and I had unknowingly fallen into a relationship.

"Damn it... damn it... damn it!!!"

Haoyue roared angrily, while constantly regretting and blaming herself.

Why? Why did it take so long to realize something was wrong? It was wrong from the very beginning!

He had been getting intimate with that damned delinquent girl the whole time, mistaking her for Xiao Ye without realizing anything was wrong! Moreover, the delinquent girl's every move and even her tone of voice were exactly like Xiao Ye's, while Xiao Ye was leaning against the wall with a sour face, just like the usual delinquent girl!

Those who didn't know better might think they were playing a twisted game of "role-playing" each other, right? But this is no game at all! This time, the enemy's ability clearly has the characteristic of "erasing the incongruity caused by sudden changes," to the point that no one, including themselves, noticed it!

In any case, let's exclude Xiao Ye and the delinquent girl from our fighting force for now. That spider is also hesitant and timid because it's afraid of being exposed, so only I can break this ability and rescue Xiao Wu!

... Uh? Rescue Xiao Wu?

No, it should be "rescue Xiao Ye"...

Xiao Ye?

No, the person I should be saving is...

It is clearly her, but who is it?

It must be that person named Xiao Ye, right? She has a commanding beauty, slightly disheveled long white hair, a small but beautifully shaped bust, and a pair of stunningly beautiful legs...

... Is this what Xiao Ye looks like?

But something doesn't seem right.

Stop thinking about it!!!

Haoyue yelled at herself, forcibly cutting off her thoughts; she couldn't think any further!

I'm starting to get a better idea of the enemy's abilities. Names... names! When I think of "Ye," an image of a rebellious white-haired woman appears; when I think of "Xiao Wu," an image of a beautiful pink-haired woman appears. At first, it feels a little incongruous, but after a few seconds, that incongruity disappears completely! It's as if the white-haired woman was originally named "Ye," and the pink-haired woman was originally named "Xiao Wu"!

At this time--

"Hey~ Isn't this Miss Haoyue? What are you doing in such a hurry?"

"!?"

Just as Haoyue passed through a cross-shaped passageway, a clear and melodious voice suddenly came from the right. Turning her head, she saw Su Mengli and her idol teammates!

"Let me guess... did you notice something was off? Amazing, amazing~~Oni-chan's 'renaming' should have automatically smoothed out the awkwardness, but you actually managed to--"

"Moon Wheel Slash!!"

"--Eeya!"

The orange light slash swept past, narrowly missing Su Mengli's scalp before striking the passage behind her, leaving a long, narrow gash.

"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't a surprise attack, is it? Normally you're supposed to listen to the whole thing first—"

"Stop talking nonsense! Deactivate your abilities! Or just die!"

The new runes on the sword locked onto the somewhat panicked Su Mengli, while her opponent remained hidden behind her equally flustered idol teammates. Was she trying to use them as human shields? Did she really think I was some kind of delinquent who would fall for that?

"Die!"

A sharp blade of light slashed horizontally, leaving no blind spots! Haoyue could almost see the girls being cut in half at the waist, but—

Boom!!!

The light blade was blocked.

It wasn't Su Mengli who was targeted, but one of her teammates.

"... ah?"

"Well done, Number 4! That cyborg woman can be quite useful sometimes!"

What happened next far exceeded Haoyue's common sense.

Led by "Number 4", all the girls except Su Mengli suddenly changed their forms.

The outer artificial skin rotted away in the blink of an eye, revealing the metal armor underneath; the arms below the elbows completely exploded, replaced by a jumble of sharp weapons and tube-like objects; the scalp was completely ripped off, revealing a metallic head shaped exactly like a human skull, but with eyes that were red dots that swelled and contracted, and numbers marked on the forehead.

What are these...?

Who am I? Who am I? Who am I!

Xiao Wu —or rather, the being originally called "Xiao Wu"—frantically scratched her hair like a madwoman. An extremely strange feeling filled her entire body, as if every cell in her body no longer belonged to her!

I... I am...

Urahara Mai Ryu's daughter underwent grueling training from a young age, and then...

Then... then... at age six, I started attending the community primary school and achieved excellent grades...

After that... he went to the Central United Academy, where life wasn't great, and he even became Scavengers...

I got into a science and engineering university after the college entrance exam, and now I have new roommates and club activities...

No, no, no! It's all wrong, wrong from beginning to end!! It's all a mess!!!

I'm not Ye at all! I... I'm... Xiao Wu? Is my real name "Xiao Wu"? Then what is "Ye"?

A flood of unfamiliar things flowed into her body, and she felt something similar flowing out of her body towards someone else—information, the fundamental information that constituted their very existence! All sorts of unfamiliar things surfaced in her mind, scenes she had never seen before: a road sign reading "XX Middle School," a kind-looking strange woman bringing food, a scruffy-bearded strange man, unfamiliar houses, unfamiliar means of transportation—

What exactly is this?

These are her memories!

I—or rather, the being originally named "Ye"—exerted all my energy to maintain my identity, only to find it was all in vain! A beautiful, unfamiliar woman, a blood-soaked training ground, grueling special training, the Central United Academy without friends—this wasn't what I experienced! It was what originally belonged to her! Her memories flowed in, completely merging with mine! And this merging of memories was just the beginning; more things began to become confused!

My senses... it's my senses! My vision is a jumbled mess, the same scene in the lounge is being cut off from two different angles, and my throbbing brain is receiving the pain that "she" is feeling. The double pain is intensifying the confusion!

Memories are completely mixed up, like a lump of noodles and a lump of vermicelli forcibly kneaded together! Then there's personality—no! I don't even know if I have a personality anymore. The questions I'm thinking about are all jumbled up too. My thoughts flow towards her, her thoughts flow towards me, ultimately becoming a blurry mess! What have I become? Who have I become? Who am I? Who is Xiao Wu? And Ye? What exactly is the difference between my existence and hers?

But... no matter what... I've clearly fallen victim to the enemy... but when exactly...?!

My thinking was cut off here. I wanted to know "when and where I was attacked," but in the blink of an eye, the thought of "how to deal with it" flowed in. Different ideas and different directions of thinking collided and then disappeared. Now I can't even do the most basic thinking!

With each conflict, the boundary between "me" and "her" became increasingly blurred. I could no longer distinguish what kind of existence "I" was. The limit of this blurring of the boundaries between the two individuals was the complete assimilation into a chaotic state.

She awoke in the shadows.

I can clearly hear what's happening above me.

Ah, I see. It's time for me to do my part—that's what she thought.

Then,

"Shadow Domain, unfold..."

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Oh my god... I have midterms this Saturday, I need to find time to meet with my professor at the old campus on Sunday, and I have to submit a PowerPoint presentation and a paper in English on Tuesday... I feel like I'm going to explode...