"A high school student leaped several meters into the air! Has the sports world found its new ruler?"
"Humanity's explosive potential in moments of crisis has been proven once again, and it all began with an ordinary motorcycle taxi driver who toiled day and night for his family."
"The hidden world confirmed! Those anime about high school students saving the world weren't just shooting in the dark!"
"Spiritual energy revival is already showing its first signs! The first agility-type superhuman has appeared at Xinxi No. 1 High School!"
"Xinxi Special Pet Park opens today! Half-price tickets on opening day! See the world's only humanoid kitty, 'Zhang Zhaomu,' for just 88 yuan! Spend 1,888 yuan on a VIP membership and enjoy up-close petting privileges!"
"..."
Countless thoughts ran rampant through his mind. Zhang Zhaomu realized he had reached a turning point in his life.
"How can my ordinary high school life end just like this!"
He fought to control his right leg, which had yet to leave the ground, twisting it against the motion. His center of gravity instantly went off balance, and his body, which should have sprung into the air, pitched toward the ground instead.
Then [Cat]'s instincts made him swiftly twist his posture, regain his balance, and step forward to steady himself.
Everything happened in a flash of lightning. In fact, to anyone watching, Zhang Zhaomu had merely stumbled out of nowhere.
The strange tint faded from the world, and those deafening yet incredibly clear noises vanished as well. Drenched in cold sweat, Zhang Zhaomu cautiously surveyed his surroundings.
Aside from one or two passersby who happened to notice his stumble and couldn't suppress a smile, everything was normal.
"...Good thing I reacted fast."
Though quick reactions were also one of the abilities that came with [Cat].
"And I was talking about muddling through a whole week. I nearly announced my own social death the moment I stepped outside."
Zhang Zhaomu still felt a little shaken. For some inexplicable reason, his body had acquired Catman's abilities again.
When he'd actively tried them out, his physical abilities had clearly been perfectly normal... Was it because of an external stimulus?
A term suddenly surfaced in Zhang Zhaomu's mind-stress response.
Had being startled by the sound of the motorcycle starting triggered [Cat]'s instinctive stress response? And in that instant, Zhang Zhaomu had noticed more details: not just his greatly enhanced jumping ability, but also his altered vision, his acute hearing...
It was practically like turning into a giant cat.
"So a stress response triggers the abilities uncontrollably? But... cats are naturally very prone to stress responses."
And the street was a chaotic jumble of people and vehicles. Without a doubt, even though the walk to school only took a few minutes, he risked having a stress response at any moment.
Zhang Zhaomu looked around, then ducked into an alley without hesitation.
"I'd better take another route."
As soon as he entered the alley, an inexplicable sense of ease welled up inside him. It even made Zhang Zhaomu want to grab the security bars on either side and leap back and forth between the walls.
But with some experience under his belt, Zhang Zhaomu forcibly suppressed the urge, merely kicking an empty can as he made his way through the alley with light steps.
A perimeter wall stood at the end.
A stretch of the broken glass that should have covered the top of the wall was missing, and a crooked tree trunk extended out from inside.
This was a popular wall-climbing spot at Xinxi No. 1 High School. Boarding students who wanted to sneak out for an all-night gaming session usually came this way.
It was Zhang Zhaomu's first time climbing the wall. After all, he was a day student. If he wanted to spend the night at an internet café, he could simply walk out the door; there was no need for all this trouble.
He looked up at the height of the wall, then at the stone block deliberately left beside it, yet an eagerness to try rose in his heart. This time, he didn't suppress the feeling, and that sensation of the world slowing down returned.
With the attentiveness that came from his [Refined] persona, Zhang Zhaomu looked both ways and confirmed that no one was watching. Then he jumped lightly and landed atop the wall.
With another leap, he was already in the school's little grove.
The sensation of the world slowing down faded, but the happiness inside him grew even stronger. It wasn't just the joy of doing what he wanted that came with the [Cat] persona; there was also that plain, unadorned thrill of realizing he was actually this badass.
"Following [Cat]'s instincts is another way to trigger the abilities."
Zhang Zhaomu reached another conclusion.
"Maybe I could secretly sew myself a skintight one-piece costume later, wear it out to run wild when I've got nothing to do, and lend a hand of justice if I run into evildoers or something..."
Zhang Zhaomu crushed the thought as soon as it appeared. Xinxi County wasn't New York, much less Gotham. There was no room here for a masked pervert in a skintight suit fighting violence with violence!
The consequence of imitating a failed MAN might be becoming a MAN who worked a prison sewing machine.
"No, if I keep dawdling here and get caught, I'll probably win myself a one-day tour of the dean's office."
With that thought, Zhang Zhaomu crept out of the grove. Classes had already begun, leaving the campus rather deserted. With his heart in his throat, he reached the door of Humanities Class Nine and glanced inside.
Chen Yongchao stood at the podium, explaining the central idea of a prose piece.
"Maybe I should wait until this period ends before coming back?"
The slacker's impulse to flee surfaced instinctively, but his hand had already risen and knocked on the door.
"May I come in?"
Interrupted, Chen Yongchao turned to look.
His face was expressionless, his tone calm. "Your lordship has finally arrived. I thought you'd decided to give up on school altogether."
Zhang Zhaomu absolutely refused to believe that level of sarcasm hadn't taken decades of tireless practice, day and night.
But this reaction made his skin crawl even more than a direct scolding would have, and a thought couldn't help rising in Zhang Zhaomu's mind.
I really want to scratch him! A mere homeroom teacher dares speak to me in that tone?
No, I should be properly admitting my mistake right now!
Zhang Zhaomu was just about to explain when Chen Yongchao waved a hand, cutting him off.
"Go sit down first. Don't hold up everyone's lesson. Come see me in the office after class."
"Yes, sir."
Under the entire class's gaze, Zhang Zhaomu threaded his way between the desks and returned to the back row.
His first reaction wasn't shame, but... discomfort.
Why do I have to squeeze into a classroom with so many people? Why do I have to sit here obediently?
[Cat]'s instincts began tormenting Zhang Zhaomu. To keep himself from suddenly jumping up and putting on a display of madness in front of the entire class, he could only try his hardest to find something else to distract himself.
After a few minutes on his phone, his attention was already wandering. The novels that normally made him forget food and sleep now felt utterly dull, and he didn't even want to open a game.
He batted the pen on his desk back and forth, but the pen was too lifeless. If only the thing could fight back.
Just then, a lock of hair fluttering in the breeze from the window caught Zhang Zhaomu's attention.
His gaze followed the erratically drifting strands until he finally couldn't hold back any longer and reached out to grab them.
"Ah~"
A soft cry reached his ears.
His deskmate's face, which usually remained turned toward the books on the desk, turned toward him with a trace of alarm.