"Chen Xi, you'll die in the most horrible way three days from now."
"I know." Chen Xi remained composed. "Wu Xin will strip off my skin and continue living as me, right?"
Lin Yue applauded her. "You're really calm. Just as I'd expect from you, the future Succubus Queen."
?
What kind of title was that?
Lin Yue had no idea how much the title she'd casually made up to sound convincing had shocked Chen Xi. She continued speaking.
"Following my instructions is the only way you'll survive out of all the possible choices." The girl folded her arms, looking as if she already had Chen Xi right where she wanted her.
The black-haired girl stepped forward and raised an eyebrow. "I refuse."
"You..." Lin Yue, who'd been so confident just a moment ago, was suddenly at a loss for words.
How could she refuse?! Had she been too aggressive?
The blonde girl seemed calm on the surface, but cold sweat was already trickling down her back. If their attempt to join forces failed, she'd have to waste another chance to regress.
[Erosion: 36%]
After her last regression, the progress of that negative curse had surged by nearly 20%.
Watching Lin Yue still pretend to be calm, Chen Xi felt a little pleased.
That scared you, huh? That'll teach you to make up names at random.
Seeing Lin Yue drenched in cold sweat, Chen Xi decided that was enough and spoke up. "You're too weak."
"Following your instructions is out of the question. The most we can do is form an alliance."
"That's why you deliberately brought me here, isn't it?" Chen Xi's gaze turned assertive, nearly driving Lin Yue into a corner.
"The fact that Wu Xin has planted threads in you, too."
Hearing this, Lin Yue actually relaxed. She'd been worried Chen Xi wouldn't even agree to work together.
"Yes." The blonde girl answered reluctantly.
"What form do your prophecies take?" Seeing the girl back down, Chen Xi began playing along.
Lin Yue replied with an air of solemnity. "Images of the future flash through my mind from time to time."
"During class just now, I saw you dying at Wu Xin's hands."
Chen Xi nodded. "Anything else?"
Thinking Wu Xin might be listening in, Lin Yue spread her hands. "That's all."
She'd have to tell Chen Xi the crucial details when the time was right.
"That's really disappointing."
Hearing this, Lin Yue was about to retort when she realized Chen Xi hadn't said it.
The two of them turned toward the sound. Threads danced wildly as Wu Xin emerged from among them, transforming before their eyes.
"I was actually a little tempted to change who I possessed."
She stared at Lin Yue and shook her head slightly. "Disappointing. Disappointing."
Seeing her use that ability, Chen Xi thought uneasily that Wu Xin probably hadn't shown her full strength during their last battle.
Ignoring the bitch who'd suddenly appeared, Lin Yue turned back and continued:
"She won't act until you reach First Rank. And she'll have to defeat you in a setting similar to a stage play, so you don't need to worry about her ambushing you."
At that, Wu Xin's previously playful expression darkened.
Now that the other party knew she had the power of prophecy, there was no need to keep up the emotional act.
Chen Xi's eyes lit up as she listened.
Just as expected of the original heroine. She could still pry out such important information even with death looming over her.
Seeing that both of them were treating her as if she didn't exist, Wu Xin sneered.
Rather than waste her breath, she turned into threads and left the equipment room.
A momentary victory in an argument meant nothing. The cries of agony before death would be the best revenge.
"Let's go, too." Lin Yue unlocked the door and took a deep breath of fresh air.
Although she'd regressed to the same point in time, this loop was still slightly different from the last.
In the previous loop, there had been half a class left until the end of the lesson. This time, when she woke up, only the last few minutes of class remained.
As a result, before the two of them had even left the school building, raindrops had already begun to fall from the sky.
At the entrance beneath the school building, a gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of earth to Lin Yue's nose.
The enormous school building was empty. Only the two of them remained, standing beneath the eaves to shelter from the rain.
"It's raining. Did you bring an umbrella?" Lin Yue asked, though she already knew the answer.
Chen Xi didn't reply. She simply took out an umbrella.
Lin Yue moved to stand beside her without hesitation. "Do you mind if we squeeze together?"
"If I say I do, can you conjure up an umbrella?"
"Obviously not."
Chen Xi opened the umbrella, and Lin Yue immediately squeezed in front of her.
Because of their difference in height, Chen Xi could barely hold the umbrella high enough to keep her arm from touching Lin Yue's head.
The two of them moved through the rain in sync, wriggling along like caterpillars for several meters.
Seeing that Lin Yue had no intention of speaking, Chen Xi couldn't help asking, "Why did you choose this spot?"
As for when the Rain Lord would appear, they still had plenty of time.
In the previous loop, they'd chatted in the noodle shop for a full half hour before the Rain Calamity began, so there was no need to worry. They could waste time however they liked and still make it.
"There's no particular reason." Lin Yue kept wriggling along.
"If I had to say, maybe it makes it easier for me to prophesy?"
Chen Xi was amused by her nonsense. "What does one have to do with the other?"
Lin Yue pondered. "Maybe it's like honey and bread."
As she spoke, she suddenly linked arms with the black-haired girl.
"You..." Startled by the move, Chen Xi instinctively shook her left arm.
"What does that have to do with prophecy?" she asked sternly.
Chen Xi lowered her eyes, but in the end, she didn't pull away.
Lin Yue held tightly to her left wrist and quietly pressed closer. "It's more important than what I said just now. It's like milk and bread."
"Chen Xi, you don't want me to fail my prophecy over something this trivial and end up dying at Wu Xin's hands, do you?"
Hearing her make that declaration, Chen Xi said nothing more.
She was afraid that if they kept arguing, Lin Yue would come out with some ridiculous excuse about how they had to get even closer for her prophecy to work.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're really forward with people?" She gave Lin Yue a subtle hint.
Only then did Lin Yue realize that Chen Xi's memories had been wiped clean. Her behavior really had come across as too abrupt.
"I..." She unconsciously loosened her grip on Chen Xi's wrist.
The rain grew heavier. To keep their shoes from getting soaked and clammy, Lin Yue secretly used shadowy tentacles to circle the space beneath their feet.
Noticing her little trick, Chen Xi stopped teasing her.
"Enough about that. Prophet, tell me what we should do next."
Before you continue