Chapter 355

Instead of returning to the table, Yuki lay lazily on the bed, looking at the diary in his hand.

That's right, this is the diary he saw when he first transmigrated. He 'wasted' nearly ten years of his life for those three blood-red words.

He wavered countless times, thinking it was a side effect of the soul transfer and that he was experiencing hallucinations. In fact, he did waver in the end, learning a set of worthless skills, intending to return to a normal life after ascertaining Mai Sakurajima's condition.

Then I came to the Reincarnation Game, and those times suddenly took on extraordinary meaning.

Honestly, without ten years of preparation, he would have been 100% unable to survive the Bloodthirsty Red Moon. That kind of extreme difficulty was designed to kill me. It was precisely because I surpassed normal people and could not be considered an ordinary newcomer that I had a chance to survive.

Thinking of this, Yuki trembled all over, feeling a sense of irony that he was living in someone else's script, and that his desperate struggles and hard work were just a joke.

If one were an emotional person, their worldview would have collapsed by now. But because Yuki's greatest gain from those ten years was calmness and rationality, even when faced with such a situation, he would still think based on clues and evidence.

A pre-arranged script? No, that's highly unlikely.

From the Living Corpse under the Crimson Moon to the Witch God, no enemy has any tendency to spare you by chance. You can't try that; you can't just stick your head out and let someone chop it off, then expect a miracle at the moment the knife touches your neck and you inexplicably come back to life.

Each time, he used all his strength, accumulating countless corpses, step by step, to get to where he is now.

"Future Diary are the future's interference in the past. The more they align with reality, the further back in time they are, and the more directly they relate to the user, the more likely they are to be realized."

Yuki's habit of deducing abilities is impossible to describe in the concrete way that is in novels. Even he himself can only intervene in a specific event that is bound to happen.

"Think about it, what things are inevitable and then subject to manipulation?"

Yuki frowned, his gaze completely lost in his memories. After a few seconds, he sat up abruptly.

Yes, I remember now.

The first thing was the strange phenomenon that occurred when I left the Ancient Castle to unlock my special ability. I was wondering why Hayasaka and Senpai got their abilities directly, while I only had an option to 'unlock'.

This is a warning, because from the moment the features were unlocked, the storyline of Bloodthirsty Red Moon became like a runaway horse, completely out of control.

The principle of high risk, high reward was broken. After killing the Tyrant, Yuki wondered why there was no reward. Looking back now, he finally has the answer.

The moment the feature was unlocked, the Wheel of Destiny started, triggering the Reincarnation Game's defense mechanism. To prevent me from safely surviving the Bloodthirsty Red Moon with my harvest, it changed the dungeon rewards.

In other words, if I hadn't unlocked the special features and revealed my true nature, would things have been much simpler?

An unbelievable answer. Yuki pondered along the chain and realized that it really would be simpler without special characteristics.

Hesitation is Defeat. This applies to Thomas, but it's not very helpful in clearing dungeons. Getting the normal rewards like the Tyrant, or even just a couple more upgrade points, would make clearing dungeons much easier.

Even Li Dan's inexplicable hostility was related to the game; he still can't understand why that person wanted to kill him.

Knowing the answer now is of little use; the key point is that choosing to unlock the feature was Yuki inevitably made based on the information and assumptions available at the time.

"Is he warning me? So the Future Diary can't really be scripted, making me instinctively choose to refuse?"

"A similar thing happened during settlement. They said the Reincarnation Game wanted to kill me, so why was I given the option to untrack them? So that was their doing?"

"In that sense, the one that truly bears the mark of a script is the Calamity of Blood. That time I came closest to death, but it was precisely because I took a gamble that I was able to arrive at the Outpost ahead of time, thus gaining an advantage in every step."

Yuki to himself, connecting many things together, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Fear and self-doubt solve nothing; only rational analysis can provide the answer. Combining this with the descriptions in his Future Diary, he roughly understood.

Unlocking the special abilities and getting through the first dungeon were inevitable, which is why the Future Diary was effective. It was 'Taiyi' helping me in secret, but He couldn't interfere with my choices.

All choices were based on judgments made in the context of the situation at the time. You could say this thing provided opportunities for choice, but then again, should we thank it?

"Without him, I wouldn't have encountered all this mess. Wait, will I even join the Reincarnation Game? Without ten years of preparation, my survival rate as an ordinary newbie isn't high, especially since I've never even killed a chicken before."

"But the timeline is wrong too. The Future Diary is about writing about the past in the future. Could it be that its timeline is different from mine?"

"The future is the past, and the past is the future. Only the strong have the right to control time."

"So, is Taiyi in the future or the past? Does he even exist within me? This doesn't make sense. If he doesn't exist, why would I be being targeted?"

Yuki covered his head, almost going crazy. When he thought about it deeply, even the basic concept of 'time' was in turmoil.

He desperately wanted to know the answer, but there was no way he could have one. This feeling of anticipation mixed with fear was unbearable, because it involved Yuki's most fundamental desire:

He struggled desperately to take control of his Destiny, but now he didn't know who was in control of his Destiny, or whether he was even in control of his Destiny!

Amidst the jumbled thoughts, Yuki could only be certain of one thing:

The reason why Zhou was able to find himself is because he used the Future Diary, which originally belonged to me; the causal relationship couldn't be stronger.

If this thing falls into the hands of the Judge, it can strip away all pretense in a second.

Knock knock knock.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Yuki, his hair disheveled, turned around, his red eyes gleaming coldly. Before he could speak, Mai Sakurajima had already walked in.

She wore a school uniform, black stockings, and a smile on her face, even though the man in front of her was somewhat unfamiliar.

Even under the Crimson Moon, that pig-headed man never looked at me like that, as if he wished I would disappear immediately.

Mai Sakurajima was actually taken aback for a moment, but she didn't get angry. Instead, her smile became even gentler as she locked the door and walked to the bedside.

"Have you run into a problem?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you, and you can't help." Yuki's tone was cold and somewhat impatient. "Mai Sakurajima, go and rest. Let me think about it some more; maybe I can come up with some hypotheses."

"Would hypotheticals solve the problem?" The girl walked to the bedside, looking down at Yuki, her purple eyes filled with tenderness.

"No, at least not now, but this matter must have a result." Yuki was still deep in thought with his head down when he suddenly felt a pair of warm hands touch his cheeks and lift his head up.

Mai Sakurajima's face was very close; her fair skin and flowing black hair created a striking contrast, and her eyes held not only gentleness but also a touch of determination.

"Useless assumptions only cause unnecessary trouble; that's what you taught me."

"But this Taiyi..."

Yuki gritted his teeth, about to make a fuss, when the girl suddenly pulled him into her arms.

The two sides were not comparable in strength, but Mai Sakurajima seemed to have surpassed Monster IV and become an epic player. Yuki's face stepped into the center of the peak, his muscles tense, and he had no strength left to resist.

"It's the same. No matter what secrets you have, they're all the same to me." Mai Sakurajima leaned forward, the man's breath seeping through her school uniform and touching her skin. This sensation made her blush slightly, so she simply hugged Yuki's head and stroked it repeatedly.

"In my heart, no matter how powerful the enemy is, you will overcome them; no matter how difficult the situation, you will always be full of confidence, like the sunshine, illuminating my way forward in this dark game. It seems that what I crave has long surpassed a sense of security."

His nostrils were filled with a delicate fragrance, and his face felt warm to the touch. Yuki felt as if he had been given a sedative, and his muscles relaxed uncontrollably.

"Senior, I might be a reincarnated powerful figure, or possessed by him. I'm not even sure if he'll replace me." Yuki's face was hidden in his breasts, and his voice was somewhat muffled.

"I noticed it a long time ago. You've been acting strange ever since you came back." Mai Sakurajima wrinkled her nose, offering no weak words of comfort or grand pronouncements like "I'm here for you." Instead, she pulled Yuki out of her arms, cupped his face, and looked directly into his red eyes.

"You've been thinking about this for so long, do you have any clues?"

A truly intelligent woman doesn't just offer comfort; she guides her loved one.

For some reason, this thought flashed through Yuki's mind. His face was being held in his hands, and his pupils reflected his senior's gentle gaze. He felt as if he had broken free of his constraints and was summarizing all the recent analyses from an outsider's perspective.

"No, at least there's no indication of that right now. No one or any force is deliberately manipulating things."

"Tell me why?" Mai Sakurajima asked softly.

"First, every choice I've made so far has been based on my judgment at the time; if it were deliberately manipulated, it would actually be safer. Second, my personality hasn't changed at all, and my memories haven't become confused."

"Third, the interference so far has been focused on protecting key nodes, which in a sense has facilitated things; fourth, the Judge used causal tools on Hayasaka, but the tracing was ineffective, which proves that you have no direct relationship with 'Taiyi.' If I had become Taiyi, even if it was only a tiny bit, I would definitely be able to find clues."

The logic became clear again, and the expressions became more vivid.

Logically speaking, Yuki is gradually getting closer to the truth. Just like the resurrection of the Witch God, Taiyi's traces will become more and more prominent, eventually replacing him imperceptibly.

No matter how hard Yuki thought about it, he couldn't find any similar clues, so what puzzled him most was, what exactly was Taiyi trying to do?

Mai Sakurajima listened quietly, her smile growing gentler. She loved Yuki's rigorous logic; empty slogans were useless, only reasoned arguments could put people at ease.

"Would you like me to provide some conclusive evidence?"

Mai Sakurajima's sudden words left Yuki bewildered.

He never mentioned these things, not Hiyori, and the senior student probably isn't good at analyzing things either.

"You say."

Mai Sakurajima suddenly raised her right leg, which was covered by black stockings, and thrust it forward between Yuki's legs, her fair face turning completely red.

"I don't believe that 'Taiyi' is a pig-headed boy!"

Oh no, I forgot to control the recoil.

Yuki taken aback. This was indeed a crucial clue, so after realizing that he had a problem, he immediately went to bother his senior.

How could Khorne's champion, a being whom even the Witch God feared so Lost Ones, possibly be restless and consumed by lust?

Besides, he hadn't thought about it at all. If Taiyi really wanted to possess someone, he couldn't possibly be unable to control even this basic instinct.

"That can only mean that senior's black stockings are beyond epic level, a true Abyss Grade- level item!"

Abyss Grade? What a pig's head.

Hearing the familiar flirtatious words, Mai Sakurajima's face turned completely red. She bit her lip and gently pushed the man, who could withstand the Witch God Thunder, onto the bed.

Ah?

Yuki simply lay down, looking up at the sky. He could see a rosy face, black hair hanging down, and two fair arms pressed against his face. Looking down further, he could vaguely see a cleavage at the neckline of his school uniform, not too deep, but not so deep that it needed to be squeezed.

"Senior, I can't handle your direct approach."

"Shut up, you pig-headed idiot." Her purple eyes were full of seductive charm, Mai Sakurajima breathed hot air as she buried her face in him.

"Just kiss me."

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The clock chimed crisply in the living room. The coffee on the table had long since gone cold. Hayasaka Ai sat upright, staring blankly at the clock.

"Hayasaka ~ Hayasaka ~~"

A familiar voice called out from deep within the room, but the maid did not answer. After a while, Kaguya entered the living room, drying her wet black hair.

"You were right here, and I even asked you to help me blow-dry my hair. Hey, why are you staring at me like that?"

Kaguya was baffled. Her maid was staring at her with a helpless and frustrated look, so she simply looked around.

"Has Yuki not returned yet? Where did Mai Sakurajima- senpai run off to again?"

She called out the name quite smoothly, which made Hayasaka sigh deeply, rub his forehead, and think to himself, "Idiot."

"Miss, do you think I should dye my hair?"

"Huh? If you want to disguise yourself, just use the Fool's Mask. Didn't you just level up to level 4?"

"I think blonde hair is a bit unlucky."

"That's strange." Kaguya walked over in her pajamas and sat elegantly on the sofa. "Hayasaka, you're acting a bit odd today. What happened?"

"It's not surprising at all, everything was in my plan, but for some reason, I still feel very unwilling." Hayasaka Ai played with the blonde hair by her ear, her face flashing with a mixture of reason and frustration.

If you don't do the first thing, how can I do the fifteenth?

Yes, my standoff with Mai Sakurajima will only benefit others. Not to mention those further away, Hiyori and Frieren are potential threats, uh, including Miss herself, she just hasn't realized it yet.

This is a rational plan; progress needs someone to drive it so that actions can be planned with 'fairness' in mind. But emotionally—

I'm so unwilling to accept this!!

Hayasaka Ai wanted to get back to bed immediately, right now, and then wrap herself in the blanket and roll around frantically, feeling truly depressed and like her heart was bleeding.

In the few minutes it took to make coffee, Mai Sakurajima seized the initiative. They couldn't very well go in together and start a battle with the already troublesome Yuki.

"Hayasaka, you're really acting strange. Did that bastard and Mai Sakurajima have some kind of trouble?" Kaguya waved her hand in front of the maid's face, her expression serious.

She stood firmly on Hayasaka's side; this small faction was unbreakable, and when it came to the maids' interests, even their way of addressing her changed.

"Miss, are you hoping I'll cause trouble?"

"Uh..." Kaguya was speechless for a moment; among the group, she was the most awkward.

Hayasaka wanted to nod, which was what she hoped for, but she also wanted to shake her head, because that way Hayasaka would belong to her.

"This... I..."

"Alright, alright, you have no idea how to comfort people. Actually, I have a suggestion to resolve your awkwardness." Hayasaka Ai revealed a mysterious smile, leaned her head over, and as she muttered something, Kaguya's face suddenly turned bright red.

"Insolence! Shameless!" Kaguya jumped up, stomping her feet with her eyes closed. "What are you thinking? What dowry? Even if there is one, it should be you providing it as part of my dowry!"

"Okay, I have no problem." The maid's azure eyes held a hint of amusement.

"Pah, pah, pah! I was just saying it offhand. You stay here, I'm going to find Frieren!"

Kaguya stormed off, cursing and swearing, as if she were running away. She slammed the door shut, and Hiyori's laughter and complaints could be faintly heard from behind.