"..."
As the eerie green ring fell into his hand, a chill surfaced while more information flooded into Yan Huan's mind.
[To reduce the risk of exposure, this ring has a delayed activation function.]
[After touching a Modifier Host with this ring, you can choose immediate activation or delayed activation.]
[The maximum delayed activation time is 30 minutes. After exceeding the time limit, you will need to touch the Modifier Host with the ring again.]
[1. The timer begins when the silencing effect is activated; 2. This ring cannot be seen by Modifier Hosts or other mortals.]
Yan Huan blinked and tightened his grip on the ring slightly. Raising his eyes to look at the demon before him, his heart could not help but tremble.
'This is definitely a good item, but giving away something this good right at the start...'
This made Yan Huan suspect that the other goods sold by this demon would likely come at a steep price.
So, he blinked and proceeded to ask,
"What about the rest of the items for sale? Can you show them to me?"
"Hehehe~"
The black-robed demon let out a sinister chuckle, and two glowing orbs radiating a faint, eerie light emerged from within its robes.
[Five Elements Demon Eye]
[Price: Payment of at least one of your five internal organs]
[Twice a day, lasting 15 minutes each time. Allows your line of sight to reach locations obscured by physical matter at will.]
[Additionally, depending on the organ paid, your Demon Eye will gain an extra specific ability targeting a certain Modifier.]
"..."
Reading the text floating above, Yan Huan could not help but gulp.
He then turned his head to look at the other item the demon was selling.
[Incomplete Finger Amulet]
[Price: Kiss Ye Shiyu, and then within five minutes of kissing her, French kiss another member of the opposite sex for thirty seconds right in front of her.]
[When wearing the Finger Amulet, you will be completely immune to the effects of other Modifiers, and any Modifier Fragments obtained from any source will be doubled.]
[However, regardless of whether you are wearing the amulet or not, Ye Shiyu's Modifier will possess an undiminishing 100% Resistance penetration against you.]
"..."
Yan Huan stared at the two faint lights floating before his eyes, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
Clearly, neither of these options was anything good; both were lose-lose situations.
'Especially the second one. If I pay that price, I will definitely be ruthlessly controlled by Ye Shiyu and completely enter a Battle Defeat CG.'
'The price for this thing was custom-designed just for me, wasn't it?!'
'The bad news is: the items sold by the demon are a huge scam, and if I do not buy anything for a certain period, I will be forcefully hit with a debuff.'
'The good news is: it gave me a pretty decent first-time gift pack right at the start. Also, not only can the shop inventory be refreshed once a week, but I only need to make at least one purchase every two weeks.'
'How should I put it...'
'It has its pros and cons. At least it is better than a teleportation magic that might send me straight into some desolate wasteland, right?'
Yan Huan comforted himself inwardly.
He did not choose to refresh the goods in the Demon's Shop right now, deciding instead to return to reality first.
As this thought surfaced, the surrounding ocean of darkness began to shrink back toward the demon bit by bit.
Simultaneously, the demon's damp, distorted voice echoed out.
"Recite 'Demon's Shop' three times in your heart to enter once more..."
"Hehehe..."
After withdrawing from the demon's shop, Yan Huan stared blankly at the emerald ring that had appeared in his hand.
With a mere thought, the ring vanished without a trace in a bizarre manner.
Calling out to it again in his mind, the ring instantly reappeared in his palm.
"It's that magical?"
"Meow?"
Beside him, Myau-chan looked curiously at the ring in his hand. Just as it was about to look up and ask about it, Yan Huan excitedly scooped it up into a tight hug.
"Myau-chan, you're finally of some use this time! Not bad. If you bless me with good luck a few more times, you'll soon be able to wash away the title of useless kitty!"
"Meow?!"
Cradled in Yan Huan's arms, Myau-chan was still completely baffled, having no idea what kind of role it had played in all this.
'Well, whatever. Since Yan Huan already praised me, that means I really am useful, meow!'
Thinking this, it justifiably put on a proud expression.
'Even though I did absolutely nothing, I still worked hard.jpg'
"Alright, the regular Sunday program is over. Time to sleep."
"Meow~"
And so, another week went by.
Monday, noon.
The lingering aftermath of the rainy days had not yet passed, leaving behind broken ruins of dark clouds in the sky outside the window.
Oval patches of light faintly seeped through the gaps in the clouds. The prelude to a sunny day that had not quite arrived felt thick and stifling, evoking no joy upon seeing it, only adding to one's sighs.
"The weather is really terrible..."
Yan Huan stared at the sky for a long time before finally offering this assessment.
He stood in a corner on the edge of Far Moon Academy, inside a circular room constructed entirely of glass.
He was surrounded by various types of green plants. Beside the freshly turned soil on the ground sat numerous potted plants bearing name tags and dates.
Holding a watering can, Yan Huan looked at a half-dead pink flower in front of him with a depressed expression.
Hung on the pot of the Chinese rose was its owner and name:
"47th Term, Class 1-A, Yan Huan, Chinese Rose."
"..."
Just as Yan Huan hefted the watering can, planning to give this drooping rose a little more water, faint calls echoed from outside the glass greenhouse.
"Miss Spencer! Are you nearby?"
"Please come out, stop hiding!"
"Miss Spencer!"
Yan Huan glanced outside through the gaps in the foliage and faintly saw several men in black suits, wearing the Jinshi Group emblem on their chests, calling out as they searched.
He ignored them, simply turning his head to continue watering the plant.
But as he turned his head, a pair of clear, sky-blue eyes suddenly crashed into his line of sight.
Yan Huan blinked. Just as he was about to speak, the owner of those eyes revealed a panicked expression and hurriedly reached out to cover his mouth.
"Smack!"
Fortunately, Yan Huan easily reached out and caught her incoming right hand, stopping it dead in its tracks.
Of course, it was Spencer.
"Shh!!"
Failing to cover Yan Huan's mouth did not stop a frantic Spencer from pressing her index finger to her own lips and shushing him madly.
After confirming that Yan Huan would not make a sound and expose her, she carefully peeked outside.
Then she pressed Yan Huan down into a crouch, hiding among a cluster of green plants.
"Miss Spencer..."
Outside, as the men's shouts gradually faded into the distance, Spencer finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're finally gone. So annoying..."
Yan Huan glanced at her and could not help but ask,
"Did your family find out you were buying doujinshi?"
"Hah? Of course not!"
Spencer instinctively wanted to retort, but as she spoke, her tone softened a bit.
"They were sent by my family to evaluate my academics or something. Anyway, it's just in case I get expelled from here, so they can help me find another school or whatever..."
"What, aren't you confident in winning the Club War?"
Hearing Yan Huan say this, Spencer scoffed disdainfully. Crossing her arms and turning her nose up, she said,
"I said 'in case'! Do you not understand what 'in case' means?!"
"Right, right, in case. I thought you had lost your nerve because you lost to Ou Wen in that race earlier."
At Yan Huan's words, Spencer's expression suddenly grew a bit guilty.
Because only eight specific clubs remained to compete for the championship in the second round, the rules would change.
The probability of events related to each club's specific activities would increase, to roughly sixty percent.
And among the unrelated events, there were quite a few track and field events.
Coupled with the fact that the Doujinshi Society's own club activities could not pass censorship, the odds of drawing an event related to track and field were extremely high.
When she raced Ou Wen before, Spencer truly had run with all her might, but she still failed to outrun him.
If Spencer could not outrun the president of the Track and Field Club, the other members of the Doujinshi Society would certainly be no match for those professionally trained members of the Track and Field Club.
This meant that, assuming they did not continue to plunder others, it would indeed be very difficult for their Doujinshi Society to beat the Track and Field Club.
Just as this thought arose, Spencer glanced at Yan Huan beside her, remembering the words he had spoken previously.
"..."
After a second of silence, she clenched her fists, revealed her signature canine teeth, and smiled confidently.
"It doesn't matter! An Le has already drawn up a special training plan for us! Once we master those track and field techniques... we'll win!"
"..."
'Stop raising death flags, alright?'
'Usually, the person who says something like that enters their revolving lantern in the very next panel, and is then sliced in half and drops dead.'
'However...'
'This girl actually hasn't thought about seizing points from others to win?'
Seeing her silly smile, Yan Huan could not help but feel a bit surprised.
Thus, he earnestly said to her,
"Good luck."
"Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"
Squatting beside him, Spencer wiggled a little closer to Yan Huan. Looking at the watering can in his hand, she felt a bit curious.
"Watering flowers."
"Watering flowers?"
"Yeah."
Yan Huan glanced at the surrounding plants and explained,
"This used to be the greenhouse for the Gardening Club. Unfortunately, since the last few senior female students from the previous term graduated, no one else has joined the club."
"So this place was returned to the school and turned into a public area. Normally, it's our Student Council that takes care of it."
Curious, Spencer turned her head to inspect the name tags on the plants around them. Taking a quick glance, she saw that, sure enough, many were left behind by seniors who had already graduated.
There were also quite a few belonging to students currently still in the school. Among them all, the most inconspicuous was actually the listless Chinese rose in front of Yan Huan.
Spencer turned back and asked Yan Huan innocently,
"How come the flowers everyone else grows are all pretty, but yours is half-dead?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan's face instantly darkened, and he shot back,
"Other people clear 'Angry Little Pigs' in elementary school. How come you're still stuck in the middle levels in high school?"
Upon hearing this, Spencer's small face flushed red, and she flailed her arms, explaining,
"I-I've cleared it... cleared it before! It's just that... I changed my phone, so the save file... is gone. Yeah, that's it!"
"Heh."
Yan Huan could not be bothered to roast her little face that had "Lying" written all over it. He merely turned to look at the Chinese rose in front of him.
Unlike the stubborn Spencer, he admitted it:
He really was not good at growing this flower.
But it wasn't because his technique was bad or that he didn't put his heart into it. It was mainly that this Chinese rose seemed to have a grudge against him.
He had tried growing it several times, but no matter what he did, it always had this terrible "I want to die" look to it.
He had even video-called the graduated senior female student from the Gardening Club to get remote guidance.
The result was the same. No matter how he nurtured it, it remained limp and listless, never living for very long, which left even the highly experienced senior completely baffled.
Seeing the depressed expression on Yan Huan's face, Spencer could not stop smiling.
It seemed that because Yan Huan had nagged her earlier, seeing him hit a wall or fail at something made her incredibly happy, prompting her to mock him.
"Yan Huan, I didn't expect you couldn't even handle such a simple little thing. Tsk, tsk~"
"Heh, you do it then if you're so capable."
At his words, Spencer's smile froze slightly.
She had absolutely no experience growing potted plants.
The way she kept herself alive was by eating potato chips and other junk food. It wasn't like she could water the plant with cola and feed it chips, right?
But a dummy like Spencer would always be stubborn to the end.
She put her hands on her hips, her smile both confident and carrying an irrepressible hint of reluctance, displaying a contradictory sort of cuteness.
"Hmph, I'll do it then! Believe it or not, I can definitely fix up this... what's it called?"
"Chinese rose." "Right, I can definitely nurture this Chinese rose back to health!!"
"Heh."
Yan Huan smiled dismissively. He would rather believe that this girl would give up her Modifier right now than believe she could successfully grow a Chinese rose.
"Rustle~"
Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the plants behind them.
Squatting beside Yan Huan, Spencer's ears twitched. She immediately turned her head and shouted in that direction,
"Who's there?! Come out!!"
The next second, following her shout, two figures squeezed out from the bushes.
The first to catch the eye was Yurianna, who was clutching a new camera.
Behind her followed a shy-looking girl wearing a school uniform styled as a long black skirt.
The girl's small face was somewhat pale, and she had obvious bags under her eyes, appearing to be in rather low spirits.
"I-It's me, classmate Spencer!"
Just a second after taking a glance, in Spencer's eyes, Yurianna and her companion instantly distorted into two little pigs, one black and one white.
"Huh?"
Hearing the voice, Yan Huan also turned his head.
He also saw the girl following behind Yurianna, noticing the qilin-head-shaped school ID pinned to the chest of her uniform.
Clearly, she was not a student of Far Moon.
Rather, she was from another highly renowned, top-tier aristocratic school in Linmen:
Shuurei Academy.
Withdrawing his gaze, Yan Huan looked at Yurianna and asked,
"Yurianna, who is this?"
"Hello, President Yan Huan. I am Jiang Nuannuan from Shuurei Academy."
Looking at Yan Huan's face, the girl blushed slightly and shyly introduced herself first.
"Hehe, Nuannuan is my middle school classmate and my good bestie."
"..."
There were a bit too many things to point out; for a moment, Yan Huan did not quite know how to react.
For example, why was Jiang Nuannuan not attending classes on a Monday, and instead sneaking into Far Moon Academy?
Or, for instance, what were the two of them doing sneaking around here with a camera?
"What are you two doing here?"
Unexpectedly, it was Spencer beside him who acted as Yan Huan's mouthpiece, asking the question out loud.
Hearing Spencer's question, Yurianna chuckled. Crossing her arms, she declared,
"Since you asked so sincerely..."
Saying so, she paused slightly and glanced at Jiang Nuannuan beside her.
Jiang Nuannuan realized something, and her face turned even redder.
But after a second of hesitation, she spoke as if throwing caution to the wind,
"T-Then we'll mercifully tell you..."
"Hah?"
Spencer looked at the two girls before her, then glanced at Yan Huan beside her, pointing at them as she said,
"Are they idiots?"
"...You have the nerve to call others that?!"
Yan Huan glared at Spencer, and she indignantly glared right back.
It was Yurianna who chuckled and said to Yan Huan,
"Actually, we're here to take refuge."
"...Why is everyone here to take refuge? Are you guys going to be expelled too?"
"No! Nuannuan is here to help me uncover the truth about who the President really likes! And just now, we found crucial evidence!"
Yurianna looked at Yan Huan, whose cheek was twitching slightly, and whispered,
"Actually, President, you like Senior Ye Shiyu, right?"
"..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan wished he could immediately use a Fire Punch on this idiot Yurianna.
Spencer blinked and looked at Yan Huan beside her.
"President, just tell us, is it true or not?"
The next second, Yan Huan and Spencer spoke at the exact same time.
"No."
"Yes!"
Yan Huan turned his head to look at Spencer again, and she tacitly looked over as well, making a funny face at him.
"More importantly than that, what exactly made you think I like Sister Shiyu?"
"Because we just found crucial evidence!!"
Yurianna raised her index finger and smiled at Yan Huan, saying,
"Right now, Senior Ye is probably plotting to confess her feelings to the President!"
"Confess her feelings?"
Yan Huan blinked, and Jiang Nuannuan beside him nodded, explaining,
"Mostly, it was because just now, we saw Senior Ye Shiyu looking very conflicted..."
"Her face was a little red, and she was holding a plushie—Yurianna said it was a plushie with your name written on it, President—counting on her fingers and muttering to herself the whole time..."
Spencer stroked her chin; a dummy analyzing the situation more seriously than anyone else.
"Muttering to herself?"
"Yeah. One moment she was saying things like 'I'll go find Xiao Huan and give it a try', and the next she was saying 'No, Mama won't agree'."
Yurianna's eyes lit up slightly, gleaming with the light of gossip.
"Aha! The forbidden love between a sworn older sister and younger brother!! Parental obstruction! The grudges and passions of wealthy families... Hehe, I can already smell the sour stench of romance, President~"
"..."
Everyone was analyzing it logically, but only Yan Huan swallowed hard, realizing that things were taking a turn for the worse.
'This does not seem like the forbidden love of wealthy siblings at all...'
'This is the fucking countdown to a hypnotic death knell!!'
Yan Huan's expression stiffened, and he could not help but ask,
"Did she say anything else?"
"Eh? As expected, even the President's heart gets struck by love!"
Yurianna smiled knowingly, tapping her chin and shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, while we were eavesdropping, she noticed someone was listening in!"
"Yeah, at that time... at that time, Senior Ye Shiyu's expression was so scary! Thankfully, she didn't see our faces..."
Jiang Nuannuan said.
Hearing this, Yurianna waved her hand dismissively and said,
"Oh please, it's completely normal to feel shy after your secret crush and planned confession get found out."
"..."
'Shy, my ass.'
'Believe it or not, at that moment, she definitely wanted to murder both of you.'
'Good thing your bodies understood the desire to survive better than your souls did, and you ran away right then and there.'
'If you two hadn't run, you probably would have been ruthlessly controlled by Ye Shiyu right on the spot.'
'But...'
'Why is Ye Shiyu relapsing again?'
'Auntie Ye's suppression—no, Heavenly Emperor Ye's suppression—was clearly still effective; otherwise, Yurianna wouldn't have overheard her sounding so conflicted.'
'So, is it possible that some new variable has arisen, spurring the rise of her desire?'
Yan Huan did not know, but he inevitably recalled the incident from that day when she had inexplicably declared war on Spencer.
"Tap, tap... tap..."
Just as Yan Huan was brainstorming, the faint sound of footsteps drifted from outside the greenhouse.
"Whoosh~"
To emphasize once again: the weather today was terrible.
Because of this, fierce winds howled outside, the sound of them battering against the greenhouse glass exceptionally piercing.
It carried the heavy, oppressive feeling of an impending storm threatening to tear down the building.
Yan Huan blinked, Spencer's expression shifted slightly, and Jiang Nuannuan's face also turned pale...
Only Yurianna, that idiot, was still giggling foolishly.
Yan Huan raised his eyes and looked outside, once again faintly spotting a tall, aloof figure through the gaps in the plants.
It was none other than Ye Shiyu.
Jiang Nuannuan looked outside and quickly reached over to cover Yurianna's mouth, stopping her from making a sound.
Spencer felt the malicious chill radiating from outside the room, but she wasn't afraid in the slightest. Instead, her fighting spirit flared.
Annoyed, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to stand up, looking exactly like someone who was indifferent to life and death, ready to fight anyone who disagrees.
Yan Huan shot her a glance and hastily reached out, trying to cover her mouth.
But this time, it was Spencer's turn to effortlessly grab Yan Huan's palm.
"Heh~"
She giggled. Yan Huan had no choice but to speechlessly shush her as a warning.
"Shh~"
Outside the greenhouse, Ye Shiyu gripped her mobile phone. Her shadow on the ground looked as terrifying as a Grim Reaper wielding a scythe.
Expressionless, she surveyed her surroundings, murmuring faintly,
"Where did they run off to..."
"..."
However, apart from the sound of the wind, there was no response whatsoever.
She could not help but glance at her mobile phone again. On the screen, the Tuner App interface was perfectly clear.
[The task to intercept Spencer is complete.]
[Congratulations on receiving the following reward: Unlocked a special type of Hypnosis ability.]
[Special Hypnosis Ability: Forced Hypnosis]
[Once a week, lasting 20 minutes each time. The method of use is identical to conventional Hypnosis, but it can only be unleashed through your own phone screen.]
[Causes the hypnotized target's mind to remain normal, but strips them of physical control. Their body will unconditionally obey your commands.]
[After the effect ends, the target's memory of that period will completely vanish, and they will receive a rationalized correction for the missing memory.]
Looking at the newly added Hypnosis ability, Ye Shiyu felt a slight stir in her heart.
She could not help but imagine: if Xiao Huan were to watch with a clear mind as she took possession of him bit by bit, what kind of expression would he make?
'He would definitely be sad. He would definitely be angry, right?'
'But if I make him feel good, would he slowly submit and reveal an even more obscene expression?'
'And more importantly, after the effect ends, he will forget absolutely everything.'
'Simply...'
'...too convenient.'
And what was even more tempting was another interface that had popped up on the Tuner App.
[Task Subject: Yan Huan]
[Use the special Hypnosis ability on Yan Huan. Success is achieved by making him say the word 'good' while his consciousness remains clear.]
[Upon success, you will receive an exceptionally generous additional reward.]
"..."
As the saying goes, "A weapon in hand breeds murderous intent."
With such a convenient tool in hand, and a task that provided entirely positive feedback...
Anyone who could remain unmoved would practically be a saint.
Regardless, Ye Shiyu was completely incapable of doing so.
But she truly was hesitating.
She remembered what her mother had told her that day. She knew what the right thing to do was, but...
She just couldn't resist.
It was like knowing perfectly well that your body could no longer handle another round of 'self-care', yet the moment you saw a lewd picture or a certain mysterious string of code posted by a group member, your Little Head would still seize control over your big head.
And yet, afterward, when entering sage mode, you would be filled with boundless regret.
Desire was, in truth, humanity's greatest enemy.
"..."
Gripping her phone, Ye Shiyu gazed up at the gloomy sky and could not help but murmur,
"What should I do, Mother..."
"Xiao Huan..."
Outside, Ye Shiyu's murmurs drifted clearly into the greenhouse.
Jiang Nuannuan was so terrified she dared not move. Yurianna, meanwhile, was still secretly snickering as she watched Yan Huan.
Yan Huan remained expressionless, but Spencer beside him blinked and looked his way.
Yan Huan also looked at her, staring into her sky-blue eyes.
"..."