The fastest way to bond with a new roommate was to share a meal together near the campus gate.
Wen Nian had already bought lunch earlier, so their dinner plans were pushed to after evening classes.
A chicken hotpot joint near the university — the perfect spot.
"I'm serious, I've never seen anyone who looks so much like they stepped right out of a manga," Wen Nian said, staring at You Ling as she shoveled rice into her mouth. "If you told me you were a manga character come to life, I'd believe it."
You Ling was far more reserved, masking her awkwardness behind a smile. "When you say that, I don't even know how to respond. You're literally the first person in my entire life who's ever complimented me like this."
"I'm the only person with that kind of taste?" Wen Nian said in disbelief.
Right, just you — because I only became a manga character not long ago.
You Ling sighed internally. Her new roommate seemed easy to get along with — she didn't pry into other people's personal matters like where they lived or their family situations, but the moment manga came up, she could go on forever.
"You really don't read manga?" Wen Nian asked again.
You Ling's eyes drifted to the upper right, one hand propping up her chin. "I guess I do, a little. Not much."
"What kind of characters do you like?" Wen Nian looked ready to start pitching recommendations.
You Ling's eyes shifted again. She had a new idea and began fishing for information. "I like the kind that are, you know, really powerful." Afraid Wen Nian might take it the wrong way, she even added a qualifier. "The strongest type."
Wen Nian clapped her hands together. "I get it — you're into the overpowered ones." Then, sure enough, she launched into her pitch. "That manga I mentioned — the one with the character who looks just like you — its newest character is exactly like that. Readers are saying he completely broke the power scale because he's just too strong."
"And his name is beautiful too — Bi Xi. Like a gemstone." Wen Nian hit the brakes. "Wait, I think it actually is a type of gemstone."
You Ling's ears flushed slightly. She coughed once, pretending not to care, though her gaze was clearly wandering. "Do you think... that character could blow up in popularity?"
At this question, Wen Nian actually calmed down and began analyzing without a shred of bias. "Becoming a trending topic in the manga probably wouldn't be hard, but taking first place in popularity or breaking out of the fandom to go viral — that would be really difficult. For anyone to blow up, the manga's protagonist, You Shuo, would have to blow up first. The protagonist You Shuo is just too compelling — as long as the manga artist doesn't sabotage things, he could hold the number one popularity spot from start to finish."
"..." The flush vanished from You Ling's ears in an instant. Her wandering gaze dropped straight down, and she lowered her head, eyes gleaming with quiet menace.
Dear brother, why do you have to be so damn popular? Did heaven send you here specifically to destroy me?
On that note, You Ling couldn't help asking the System: [I know I need to build hype and collect energy, but that only extends my revival by a few hours or days at a time. Is there a permanent solution?]
As things stood, she couldn't see any end to the grind of collecting Popularity Points. It was as if the System had dangled a carrot and she was the donkey chasing it. Or like the System was an evil capitalist, making sure You Ling constantly needed to top up her revival timer — she'd earn a bit, burn through it just as fast, and then have to dutifully slave away for it all over again.
Like working under the table. The shady kind.
The System proved it was not an evil capitalist: [At the end of each manga volume, there is a Popularity Vote Ranking. Each manga reader may use their subscription account to cast one vote. The Host need only place first in the Popularity Vote Ranking once to achieve permanent revival.]
One vote per volume. Just one first-place finish for permanent revival.
It sounded easy enough. In practice, it was anything but.
[So I'm still going to get crushed by You Shuo?] You Ling asked without hope. [Can I alter the manga to make You Shuo's character collapse?]
System: [The Host cannot freely alter a manga work of a higher dimension than herself. No matter what the Host does, as long as it deviates from the story's logic, the real-world manga artist may choose to ignore or independently modify it.]
In short, the pen was in someone else's hands. They held the final say over the work.
You Ling sighed. Fine — her brother was the biggest obstacle on her path to permanent revival.
The rest of the meal was tasteless. Steam rose from the central pot and fogged the glass windows. You Ling turned to look — outside, the sky had already darkened.
Night had fallen. A dark, moonless night with howling wind — perfect for murder and arson. If an assassin was coming, they should be arriving right about now.
"Head back first tonight," You Ling said. "I have something to take care of." She glanced at Wen Nian — a thoroughbred ordinary person. No need to drag her into this.
"Sure thing!" Wen Nian replied. She'd clearly had a great time at dinner — her satisfaction with her heaven-sent roommate was written all over her face.
You Ling and Wen Nian parted ways at the restaurant entrance. You Ling checked her bearings and began walking toward the alley where she had died the day before.
She was fishing.
【Quick Blade】 had killed her in a remote, deserted spot the first time, which meant they didn't want to cause a scene. You Ling was giving 【Jiao Tu】 this opportunity — she deliberately left the campus and the crowds. As long as he wanted her dead, there was no way he'd pass this up.
Cars came and went along the road, streetlights glowing, dotting the night. You Ling walked in the shadows close to the wall, figuring that if she didn't get a bite, she'd just go chat with You Shuo as Bi Xi.
Just as she was thinking this, her phone rang. The caller ID showed You Shuo.
The moment she picked up, You Shuo's voice came through: "How's dorm life? How's your new roommate? Has anyone been giving you trouble?"
You Ling took note — sure enough, You Shuo was putting on that sweet voice of his.
She looked down at her feet, stepping one by one on the shadows cast by the streetlights. "I just got to the dorm — I haven't even spent a night there yet. How would I know what dorm life is like? My new roommate's really nice, really enthusiastic. We're planning to go to the study hall together tonight. She said she really envies me for having such an outstanding, handsome older brother."
You Shuo, why are you so popular? Give me one good reason. You Ling was brimming with resentment.
If it were anyone else standing in her way, she'd have dealt with them and been done with it. But it just had to be You Shuo.
Oblivious to what You Ling was thinking, You Shuo said with concern, "Don't study too late. Get back to the dorm early — things haven't been very safe lately."
"Mm, I know." Of course she knew it wasn't safe. She also knew exactly why.
She watched the mouth of the alley draw closer, her pace quickening as she walked over her own shadow. "Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up."
A faint glimmer of light flashed from within the pitch-black alley. She paused at its entrance, turned as if curious, and took a step inside.
"Nothing else." You Shuo's voice trailed off. "If anything happens, you have to tell me—"
BANG.
"...Lingling?" You Shuo asked.
You Ling looked down. Her chest was a mangled, bloody mess — an ability user, then. They hadn't used a physical weapon. They'd struck directly with their ability.
A clean, decisive technique. Perfect for a one-hit kill.
Deep in the alley, the ability user stood with his palm raised, its center aimed squarely at her. From that very palm, just moments before, a beam of light had burst forth and punched straight through You Ling's chest.
Her knees went soft. Blood seeped from the corner of You Ling's mouth. She gripped her phone, speaking without the slightest rush: "It's nothing — my roommate's calling for me. I'll hang up first."
In the moment before she ended the call, she smiled. "Go take care of your stuff. Don't worry about me."
You Ling hung up.
...
What was so hard about killing an ordinary person, for an ability user?
That was exactly what 【Railgun】 had thought when he received the assignment. The only complication was the possible appearance of the A-rank ability user 【Yanmo】, but he had 【Yanmo】's schedule in hand, so avoiding him would be simple.
The only hiccup was that his initial intel had placed the target at Xinsheng Estate in Jinli District. He'd spent the whole day pinning down 【Yanmo】's exact home address, only to find the place empty — the target wasn't home.
He reported the problem to 【Jiao Tu】, and 【Jiao Tu】 quickly replied: "The target has relocated. She's now staying at Jinli University."
【Railgun】 felt like someone was jerking him around, but he couldn't figure out who.
So 【Railgun】 started investigating at Jinli University. All his intel said was that the target was in the medical department — her specific major, course schedule, and dorm room number were all unknown.
But fortunately, the target had no idea she was being watched and had left the campus on her own, walking right under 【Railgun】's nose.
As he took the shot, 【Railgun】 was thinking that while the process had been somewhat roundabout, the result was far too easy — easier than he'd even imagined. He didn't even need to worry about the A-rank ability user 【Yanmo】 discovering what had happened and rushing to the scene.
Not only had the target voluntarily left the protective umbrella of 【Yanmo】, she'd actively made the whole thing simpler.
She hadn't even told 【Yanmo】 she'd been attacked — inexplicably, she'd reported that everything was fine.
Why? Sibling love?
【Railgun】 scoffed. The target was just an ordinary female student. With injuries like that, she'd be completely dead within seconds.
He pulled out his phone and dialed 【Jiao Tu】's number. After three rings, 【Jiao Tu】's synthesized electronic voice came through: "Make it quick."
Whether from electromagnetic interference or something else, the streetlight gave a SCREECH and went dark, plunging the entire area into blackness.
"Mission complete," 【Railgun】 said. In the darkness, his eyelid twitched. He thought he saw something black flowing across the ground. "Target neutralized outside Jinli Univer—"
"No — wait!" His voice cracked instantly.
The target was smiling at him.
Even though a chunk of her chest had been blown clean through, her face still wore that same eerie smile.
As if what stood before him was not a person, but—
A monster.
Black sludge flowed and crawled up the target's body before his very eyes — gathering, piling, surging upward until the rising mass reached an inhuman height.
【Railgun】 stumbled back one step, then two. His pupils dilated, his body trembling beyond his control. And reflected in those widened pupils was the face revealed as the black sludge receded.
Cascading black hair merged with the darkness, as though the shell used for disguise had been shed entirely.
Red tasseled fringes swayed gently, and those emerald-green eyes gleamed in the darkness like a predator on the hunt.
"My, how rude," the monster said.
"What happened? Answer me!" 【Jiao Tu】 seemed to sense something was wrong, barking from the other end of the line. "Don't leave a sentence half-finished!"
But 【Railgun】 was past the point of responding. The demon smiled at him, its mouth splitting wide like a python flicking its forked tongue. Those razor-sharp talons pierced into his cheek, and the demon lowered its head, emerald light flowing through its downcast eyes.
"— Bi Xi!!!"