"Beep—"
The countdown reached zero, and its alert rang out in Yu Xiaogang's mind right on time. The sound was like Death's summons, shattering the last shred of hope he had clung to.
In that instant, Yu Xiaogang's body became like a machine wound with a spring. A tremendous force, utterly beyond his control, seized his legs.
His body, which had been frozen in place, suddenly spun around. He raised his right leg high and kicked viciously at the office's heavy redwood door.
"Bang!"
With a deafening crash, the redwood door was kicked open by the brute force and slammed against the wall, sending an ear-splitting echo through the hall.
Yu Xiaogang shot out of the office in a comically exaggerated sprint.
His arms swung wildly at his sides, and his legs moved so fast they seemed to leave afterimages. He looked just like a duck with its tail on fire.
"Ah—no! Stop! Make it stop!"
As Yu Xiaogang ran frantically, desperate screams poured from his mouth.
He tried with all his might to make his hands grab the walls or pillars along the corridor, but the system's forced command kept them clamped over his face.
His ten fingers dug tightly into his face, trying to hide his features. He knew all too well where he was headed. If anyone recognized him, the reputation he'd spent his whole life building would be ruined.
"Ding! Warning, host. Covering your face during mission execution is prohibited. This will be considered deliberate slacking!"
The system's cold, mechanical voice rang out again in his mind.
Immediately afterward, a faint current traveled along his nerves and into his hands.
Yu Xiaogang's hands went numb. His fingers involuntarily sprang away from his face, exposing every inch of his expression, twisted with terror and humiliation.
The system's forced commands left him unable to stop. His legs stamped across the corridor's flagstones as if fitted with Wind-Fire Wheels.
He was even faster than when he used the Soul Power of a twenty-ninth-level Soul Grandmaster to sprint at full speed. A gale sprang up in his wake, tossing the potted plants along the corridor this way and that.
It was the end of classes, and the corridors were packed with students and instructors coming and going.
When they heard the commotion and turned around, they were all stunned.
A young instructor carrying hot tea was discussing lesson progress with a colleague when he saw a figure come hurtling toward him. His hand jerked, spilling scalding tea all over the floor, and the cup hit the ground with a crack and shattered.
"Th-that guy... Is he in such a hurry to reincarnate?" A senior boy stared wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
"Wait, look at that face. Isn't that Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, the man the dean personally welcomed just now?" An observant girl pointed at the fleeing figure, her voice full of disbelief.
"How can that be? The Grandmaster was acting like a sage just now, walking at a leisurely pace. Why's he running through campus like a stray dog with its tail stepped on? He's completely forgotten his dignity!"
The crowd erupted at once. Everyone stopped in their tracks, gaping at Yu Xiaogang's wretched figure as he ran away.
They couldn't possibly connect the lunatic screaming as he sprinted before them with the renowned, erudite, unfathomable master of Martial Soul Theory.
Su Yu walked out of the office at an unhurried pace, holding Tang Wu's hand and accompanied by Xiao Wu.
Watching Yu Xiaogang's retreating figure disappear into the distance, he curled his lips into a mocking sneer.
This was what happened when the system took control. Once the underlying mission logic had been rewritten by the Conceptual Eraser, even a lofty transmigrator could only become a puppet, dancing to the rules' strings.
"Brother Yu, what's wrong with him?" Tang Wu gripped Su Yu's hand tightly, her big eyes full of confusion.
Just moments ago, that man in the office had looked terrifying, as if he wanted to devour someone. How had he turned into such a mess in the blink of an eye?
"Maybe he suddenly remembered something incredibly urgent." Su Yu's tone was calm as he held Tang Wu's hand and followed Yu Xiaogang without hurrying.
Xiao Wu walked alongside them, watching Yu Xiaogang's ridiculous running form. At last, she couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Ha ha ha! I'm dying! Did the old geezer take the wrong medicine?" Xiao Wu doubled over laughing, the rabbit ears atop her head twitching with every giggle. "Look at those legs pumping! He's running faster than any Wind Baboon I've ever seen! He was just putting on airs like some sage beyond the mortal world, and now he's showing his true colors!"
Xiao Wu's bright laughter echoed down the corridor, drawing curious glances from the students around them.
But she didn't care in the slightest. Right now, she just felt absolutely delighted.
Up ahead, Yu Xiaogang kept sprinting.
His heart bled as he begged the damned system in his mind, "System, sir! I'm begging you! I'll do anything you want! Send me to kill a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, make me challenge Spirit Hall alone, or even make me eat shit! Just release your control and give me another mission! If I go to the women's bathhouse, I'll be disgraced for the rest of my life!"
Yu Xiaogang's voice was choked with tears. He was truly terrified.
However, the system gave no response.
Directly ahead of him, a dark red System Panel displayed a huge red arrow pointing straight toward the women-only section in the southeast corner of the academy.
The arrow hung over him like a blade poised to sever his head, mercilessly guiding him toward the abyss.
He watched helplessly as the forbidden area marked "Men Keep Out" drew closer and closer. His heart pounded wildly against his chest, nearly leaping into his throat.
"No! Stop! The girls' dormitory is up ahead!" Yu Xiaogang roared inside his mind.
The female students along his route were gathered in groups of two or three, chatting. Suddenly, they saw a close-cropped man with a savage expression and bloodshot eyes sprinting toward them, charging straight for the women's bathhouse behind them. They all turned pale with fright.
"Ah! There's a pervert!"
A girl in a short skirt screamed. She even dropped the books in her hands before turning to run.
"Help! A lecher's broken into the girls' area!"
The girls shrieked and scattered in all directions like a flock of startled birds.
Their gazes were full of fear and disgust.
Hearing their curses, Yu Xiaogang was so humiliated he wanted to find a crack in the ground and burrow inside.
He wanted to close his eyes and shut out the scene, but the system's forced command held his eyelids wide open, forcing him to take in every contemptuous look around him.
As he sprinted, the shoe on Yu Xiaogang's right foot went flying with a whoosh, landing in the grass beside the path.
Now he wore a shoe on only one foot, while his other foot, clad in a white sock, struck the rough flagstones. Each step sent a piercing pain through him.
His once-neatly combed close-cropped hair was now a windblown mess. Several longer strands stuck to his forehead with sweat, making him look utterly disheveled.
But he couldn't stop. Under the system's control, his legs kept carrying him forward without tiring.
Up ahead, the gate bearing a pink symbol and the words "Women's Bathhouse" was already within arm's reach.
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