Boss was mighty

Lin Yi's pupils kept dilating, and his furiously working brain briefly crashed.

In that moment of blankness, he felt countless streams of icy air burst from his scalp, almost making his hair stand on end.

Tomatoes... were hearts?

He felt his perception twist for an instant. In that brief moment, he sensed an intense danger and abruptly pulled himself together!

The heart had indeed turned back into a tomato, but the pale hand remained.

He could hear the hand's owner giving a sinister "heh heh heh" behind him, a strained, hoarse laugh much like that of the old witch coaxing Snow X into eating a poisoned apple.

Ignore it! Ignore it! Ignore it!

No, that wasn't right. He had already seen it. He couldn't just ignore it now!

It should be...

Don't respond!

Don't respond, even if it kills you!

He clenched his teeth and silently shuffled sideways, carefully probing the nonslip rubber flooring with his feet as though using a white cane, lest he accidentally catch a chair leg and trip.

But the thing behind him slowly moved along with him, clinging like a festering infection in his bones.

A chill shot through Lin Yi's heart, and an intense sense of foreboding enveloped him. At this rate, he probably wouldn't be able to leave.

Fuck... when it rains, it really fucking pours!

He drew a deep breath and mapped out an escape route in his head.

Then... as though possessed, he unleashed his power of bizarre tricks, executing that classic move from Kun Boxing: a back-to-the-basket play followed by a spinning Iron Mountain Lean, instantly followed by a bent-kneed, ground-hugging Step Back and a feinting duck...

That smooth little combo let him slip beneath the other party's arm before they could react.

He even fucking got past another bench!

That actually worked?! I'm fucking going from hater to fan!

Shocked and delighted, Lin Yi spotted the Swimsuit Recycling Bin ahead the very next instant with his hawk-sharp gaze.

But the instant he slipped past, he caught sight of what the other party wore on their lower body out of the corner of his eye...

A white chef's uniform, black leather shoes, and... an eerily green apron!

The Green Apron Chef?!

A huge "?!" exploded over Lin Yi's forehead, and that brief distraction made him stumble abruptly. Despite the nonslip rubber flooring beneath him, he lost his balance and pitched forward.

In that tiny span of time, the green-aproned chef began lunging at him, crossing several meters at a ghostly speed and rapidly closing the distance!

He was considerably faster than the Green Apron Chef in the Student Dining Hall!

Mother... fucker?!

Lin Yi seemed to hear a sharp rush of air.

Under the crushing pressure of death, all five of his senses became extraordinarily keen, and his physical capabilities seemed to improve as though undergoing a transformation.

His fall suddenly slowed in his perception. His eyes began to fill with blood, gradually becoming bloodshot...

"Hff-"

His throat shifted slightly, producing a low growl.

"Hff, hff, hff-"

He clenched his teeth, faint wisps of scorching white steam escaping between them and through his nostrils.

An astonishing burst of power surged from his core, twisting his falling body and forcibly shifting his center of gravity.

With both arms still hugging his towel and swimsuit, his entire body shifted out of its imminent fall.

He still fell, but before he did, he used his briefly raised center of gravity and the powerful, slingshot-like burst from his legs to launch his entire body like a bullet!

His body shot forward for a stretch as though magnetically levitating five centimeters above the nonslip rubber flooring, then slammed into the Swimsuit Recycling Bin.

Clang~~!!

The powerful impact dented the Swimsuit Recycling Bin, and an aching, numbing pain immediately spread from Lin Yi's back throughout his body.

Not yet!

Seeing the Green Apron Chef rush toward him like a ghost, looking ready to treat him to a big tomato, he scrambled up without pausing for breath and tossed his towel and swimsuit inside.

Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, ripped the waterproof card holder from his arm, and threw that in too.

Though the waterproof card holder wasn't swimwear, it was also one of the things from the locker, and something he had "taken off."

The notice clearly stated:

[Before leaving, place all swimwear you have taken off in the Swimsuit Return.]

That was why Lin Yi had decided before leaving to put everything from the locker except his own clothes into the Recycling Bin!

Having tossed everything in at lightning speed, he sprinted out of the swimming area!

A rule surfaced in his mind-Gymnasium Rules, rule 11:

[If you see a chef wearing a green apron inside the Gymnasium, inform an Athlete Student or Gym Teacher immediately. If you notice him moving toward you at high speed, immediately run toward the nearest Athlete Student or Gym Teacher and call loudly for help.]

He rushed out of the Swimming Hall, intending to seek help from the Athlete Students in the Gymnasium.

But when he emerged from the Swimming Hall, he froze!

There were no Athlete Students anywhere nearby inside the Gymnasium. Only a few scattered people remained playing basketball on the distant basketball courts.

They were so far away that he couldn't even tell whether they wore the Athlete Students' blue-and-white sportswear or ordinary students' own clothes!

"Don't run... tomatoes... have some tomatoes..."

Hearing that eerie Call intermittently behind him, his hair stood on end. At that critical moment, his thoughts spun rapidly, and then... he turned his gaze toward the entrance to the Women's Locker Room.

["Unless you have absolutely no other choice, I'll break your legs if you dare come in."]

The words Boss had spoken when she first arrived at the swimming area surfaced in his mind, and he charged straight inside without another thought!

Wasn't this precisely a time when he had no fucking choice?

Boss was Boss, all right. She had anticipated this situation!

But he was still a little afraid of stumbling upon something awkward, so the instant he charged in, he shouted, "Boss, save me! Something nasty is chasing me-"

Before he finished-

"Whoosh-"

An agile figure shot straight out of the women's changing room, sweeping past him with a fierce rush of air!

He barely registered a little of it. The phantom image of a blue-and-white bath towel lingered in his vision, and a unique, delicate fragrance lingered in his nose...

Immediately afterward, a bang rang out behind him.

It sounded like metal and stone colliding, and the powerful shock wave struck with enough force for even his hair to feel it...

"Boss...?!" He instinctively started turning to look.

"Don't look. Wait inside the women's changing room until I tell you to come out." Boss's cool, forceful voice brooked no argument, like a pair of invisible hands holding Lin Yi's neck and preventing him from turning his gaze.

"Y-yes, ma'am." Lin Yi quickened his steps, passed around a hazy corner, and entered the Women's Locker Room.

Sure enough, everyone in the Women's Locker Room had left too. He thought that perhaps he and Boss were the last two people in the Swimming Hall.

But that thought only surfaced briefly before he began worrying about Boss.

Boss seemed to have gone straight into a fight with the Green Apron Chef...

But... apart from that first loud, dull collision, there didn't seem to be any other sounds outside.

He glanced at his watch.

16:08.

He had started showering at 15:53. Showering, drying off, changing... he had thought it would be quick, but somehow he had dawdled away over ten minutes.

Still... if he included the time spent evading the Green Apron Chef, it did seem understandable.

Come to think of it... the Cafeteria should already be serving dinner by now...

He tried his best not to think about Boss and the Green Apron Chef.

But before 16:10, footsteps sounded behind him-the unmistakable squelching of bare feet on wet nonslip rubber flooring.

They were human footsteps.

"Boss...?" he ventured.

He felt it was Boss, because no premonition of danger arose in his subconscious.

A poised figure swept past him, carrying a fragrant breeze.

"Go wait by the entrance."

Boss spoke coolly.

"What about that green-aproned chef?" Lin Yi asked quietly.

"Killed him." Boss slowly turned and frowned. "Wait outside. If I have to say it a third time, I'll let my foot do the talking."

Lin Yi instinctively glanced at her feet...

He suddenly realized that Boss was currently wrapped in nothing but a blue-and-white bath towel. Through its slit, he could vaguely see a long, partly exposed leg dotted with water...

He noticed that water droplets still clung to Boss's hair and arms too...

Had Boss... just now... still been showering...?

Did she need that long...?

"Oh?" Boss raised an eyebrow and lifted one bare foot slightly.

"Boss, you're mighty! I'll go wait outside right now!" Lin Yi blurted out, then hastily turned and fled the women's changing room.

That kick seemed to have instantly killed a Green Apron Chef.

And she had been barefoot...

He certainly couldn't endure a kick like that.

Watching Lin Yi flee in panic, Boss couldn't help narrowing her eyes and murmuring:

"He was clearly drained dry. How could he still be like this...?"

She turned and entered the Shower Area. Before long, running water sounded amid rising mist...

May 7, X023, 16:20, Swimming Hall exit.

Boss emerged from the women's changing room in loose blue-and-white sportswear and white sneakers, carrying a large black backpack.

Tilting her head slightly, she held a blue-and-white towel in both hands and dried the glossy black hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall.

"Sorry for the wait," she said evenly.

Ten whole minutes. That was a little long... Lin Yi grumbled inwardly, but hurriedly said, "Oh, not long, not long. Not long at all."

As he spoke, Lin Yi withdrew the gaze he had been sweeping around the area.

He hadn't found even a trace of that Green Apron Chef's "corpse."

"Stop looking. I cleaned everything up," Boss said. "If you really want to find him, he'll come looking for you again sooner or later."

"Uh..." Lin Yi shuddered, goosebumps rising on his arms. "I don't, I don't. I wouldn't dare."

A faint smile curved Boss's lips. Then she said, "Come on. I'll see you out of the Gymnasium."

"It's mealtime. Finish eating before the sun sets, then go stay in your classroom."

"Oh... thank you, Boss." Lin Yi stopped thinking about the Green Apron Chef and hurried after Boss toward the Gymnasium's main entrance.

"I remember you said you only entered the school yesterday evening," Boss suddenly asked, then added, "17:53?"

"Uh... yes." Lin Yi was a little surprised that Boss had even remembered the time.

Boss looked thoughtful. "Fog rose over the Campus yesterday evening, and there was a heavy rain at night... did you reach the Teaching Building before it rained?"

"Yes." Lin Yi nodded.

"You met a Security Guard?"

Lin Yi paused briefly, then hurriedly said, "Yes..."

"As I thought..." Boss nodded slightly. "Without a Security Guard, with your 'intuition,' you probably wouldn't have ended up at the Teaching Building..."

Lin Yi froze at her words, but immediately recalled how he had accidentally wandered onto that nonexistent road on his way to the Gymnasium, and understood what Boss meant.

But from what she was saying... was Abnormal Weather... similar to the sea breeze?

Or even more terrifying?

He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, "Right, Boss. Before I reached the Teaching Building, I think... a few raindrops landed on my face."

As he spoke, he watched Boss's face, studying her expression.

But Boss remained perfectly calm. "I guessed as much."

"Other than that, did you encounter anything strange in the fog?"

"Boss... didn't you not want to know before?" Lin Yi quietly checked again. "Are you sure... this is something you 'can know'?"

Boss gave him a sidelong glance. "If I ask, tell me."

"But speak a little slower. I might interrupt you at any moment."

"Okay, Boss." Lin Yi nodded, then began, "I met the Green Apron Chef in the fog..."

Boss's steps faltered slightly. Then a rare trace of surprise appeared in her long, narrow eyes. "You ran into Green Hat as soon as you entered the school?"

"Green Hat...?" The corner of Lin Yi's eye twitched. Green Hat it was, then...

"Yes... he even asked if I wanted Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta."

"He asks everyone that." Boss remained composed. "But I'm curious. He actually didn't attack you outright... the Security Guard was nearby when you encountered him, wasn't he?"

Lin Yi said, "Yes... when we saw the Security Guard, he seemed to be leading the blue-aproned chefs. That green-aproned chef was mixed in among the chefs in white."

"At that hour, they should have been 'delivering meals'..." Boss looked thoughtful. "The Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta wasn't for you. Encountering you was probably a coincidence..."

"It looks like... some class's Head Teacher accepted that serving of Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta. I wonder whether they ate it."

"Speaking of that..." Lin Yi timidly raised his hand. "I think I know who accepted that Tomato Meat Sauce Pasta."

As he said this, he could clearly feel the corner of Boss's mouth twitch slightly.

Boss looked at him with a strange expression, her eyes seeming to say-

How did you manage to run into every fucking thing?

In the end, through hard work and determination, I managed to pull the update time back from past 23:00 every day to just after midnight... boohoo, I'm far too conscientious...