Who exactly were you?
What had you done before?
This question might be simple for most people, but for Shido Makoto, it was somewhat complicated.
He was a transmigrator—just that alone was extraordinary—and his life before the transmigration could be called eventful.
His original name was Fang Sicheng.
He was born in Yanjing Province, an orphan from childhood, raised by an old crippled man.
The old man was a craftsman, but Shido Makoto had no interest in that.
He was withdrawn by nature, preferring to spend his time alone with books since childhood.
The old man indulged him and didn’t force him to learn; instead, he scraped together what he earned from his craftsmanship to put Shido Makoto through university.
After that, the old man passed away.
Before leaving, the old man told Shido Makoto to work on his temperament and make more friends.
Shido Makoto listened.
In the years that followed, he wandered across the country.
He slept under bridges, in train stations, worked assembly lines, mixed concrete on construction sites.
Private detective, supermarket cashier, bartender, corporate employee—he experienced all sorts of professions and, as the old man had advised, tried to make friends.
When he had money, he learned to indulge in excess like others; when he didn’t, he could survive on instant noodles for a month without issue.
Those friends came and went.
He learned when to offer cigarettes at the right moment, learned to down cheap baijiu in one gulp at dinner tables, learned to twitch the corner of his mouth when the crowd laughed.
He even had a girlfriend in name, a waitress at the same restaurant—round-faced, loved to smile, said he was “a good person even if you don’t talk much.” They watched a few movies together, ate barbecue a few times at a noisy night market.
Two months later, the girl, with tears in her eyes, said:
“Fang Sicheng, I think you’re a good person, but…
I can never walk into your heart.
The way you look at me is just like looking at tables and chairs.”
He didn’t argue.
He silently paid for the last meal, put her on the bus back to her dorm, and returned to his solitary life.
He seemed to have mastered the surface rules of human interaction, but he could never understand the viscous emotions beneath those rules, nor could he generate a true desire for connection.
Later, he continued to drift from place to place, city to city, days passing one after another, with his only remaining hobby being watching anime and novels.
Only then could he experience that inexplicable emotion.
He thought his life trajectory would continue like this, until the day of his transmigration.
When he opened his eyes again, he was being held in the arms of a strange couple.
Then came the unexpected deaths of his adoptive parents, adoption into the Kasugano family, followed by accidents befalling the Kasugano couple as well, leaving him and Sora to depend on each other.
It was these experiences that allowed him to truly understand how emotional bonds between people are forged.
He thought he would live out an unremarkable life in this other world, following the normal course.
Then he entered the Cycle Game.
Unlike others, Shido Makoto’s first reaction was excitement.
He felt a strong emotional surge he hadn’t experienced in a long time—excitement, tension, and even…
fear.
Like an old black-and-white photograph being painted with color again, for the first time he felt the meaning of life.
…It’s a long story to tell, but remembering it only takes a moment.
Shido Makoto leaned against the door, hands in his pockets, and said flatly:
“Me?
Just an unlucky person like you who got caught up in something inexplicable.”
This answer clearly didn’t satisfy Shirogane Kei.
“Normal people don’t keep their eyes open when a companion dies,” Shirogane Kei spoke quickly, as if using this tone to hide her own anxiety.
She paused, then said: “You don’t seem like this is your first time experiencing something like this.”
Shido Makoto suddenly felt like laughing:
“I don’t know why you think that, but this really is my first time encountering something like this.” He then changed the subject: “Speaking of which, I’m a bit curious about you.” He looked her up and down: “You’re Shirogane Miyuki’s sister, aren’t you?”
Shirogane Miyuki from Shuchiin Academy, the student council president of the high school division, the male protagonist from the anime The Genius Miyuki Shirogane Wants Love.
Shido Makoto had watched quite a bit of anime in his past life, including this one, which was why he recognized Shirogane Kei when entering the dungeon. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
However, after hearing this name, Shirogane Kei showed no surprise at being identified; instead, she looked utterly confused.
“Shirogane Miyuki?
Who?
I don’t know him,” she frowned prettily.
“Also, my father only has one daughter—me.
I don’t have an older brother.”
This time, it was Shido Makoto’s turn to be stunned.
No Shirogane Miyuki?
This world didn’t have that commoner genius who climbed to student council president through effort and ultimately got the girl?
He instinctively recalled—since transmigrating here, he’d been focused on searching for supernatural information and hadn’t really paid attention to who the student council president of Shuchiin Academy was.
But…
if there’s no Shirogane Miyuki, what’s the situation with Kaguya Shinomiya now?
This thought only flashed through his mind for an instant.
Whether or not Shirogane Miyuki existed had absolutely nothing to do with whether he could survive 72 hours.
“Alright, seems I’ve confused you with someone else,” Shido Makoto said naturally, smoothly moving past the topic.
His reaction caught Shirogane Kei off guard.
She felt like she’d thrown a punch that landed on cotton.
She’d originally thought that exposing the other person’s identity, or at least casting doubt on their origins, would give her the initiative in the conversation.
She hadn’t expected the other person not to care at all.
This attitude of indifference to everything around him left her feeling powerless.
The room fell silent again.
It was Shirogane Kei who broke the silence first.
She took a deep breath and revealed her true purpose.
She changed how she addressed him, and her tone softened:
“Senpai, what do you think about what the Programmer said?”
Senpai?
Shido Makoto raised an eyebrow.
Considering the other was a middle schooler and he was older, the honorific was reasonable enough.
“My opinion is simple: from now on, keep your distance from him.”
Shirogane Kei’s eyes lit up.
She knew it—this guy must have also seen the problem.
“You also think he’s lying?”
“Does it matter whether he’s lying?” Shido Makoto countered.
“A person who chooses to wait alone in a safe area when a teammate’s life and death are uncertain—do you really expect him to pull you up at a critical moment?
He won’t pull you.
He’ll probably push you instead.”
Shido Makoto’s words were ruthless and pragmatic.
Shirogane Kei thought back to the argument at lunch, the Programmer’s talk of risk and reward—now it sent chills down her spine.
Shido Makoto continued: “Regardless of whether Wrench’s death has any direct relation to him, he’s already put himself on the opposite side of us.
The thing a team fears most is not a powerful enemy, but a scheming teammate.
Now our four-person team has effectively split into three plus one.
He’s an unknown variable, so all we can do is keep our distance from him and treat him like we treat those vengeful ghosts—with caution.”
Shirogane Kei nodded firmly.
Shido Makoto’s analysis aligned perfectly with her own thoughts.
This was also why she’d risked coming to find Shido Makoto.
In this place where survival was uncertain, she needed an ally who was trustworthy and powerful enough, and this senpai was the only choice.
“I understand.”
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Shido Makoto paused in thought.
He looked at the girl before him—clearly terrified, yet still trying hard to maintain composure.
He decided to share some of his deductions with her. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“Sit.” He gestured to the empty space beside the bed.
Shirogane Kei sat down as instructed, her body straight like a serious student listening to a lecture.
“I have some theories about this dungeon’s rules.
Would you like to hear them?” Shido Makoto also sat down, maintaining half a meter of distance between them.
Shirogane Kei immediately nodded.
“Do you remember what happened when we first arrived here?” Shido Makoto asked.
Shirogane Kei tilted her head, confused.
Shido Makoto, seeing she didn’t understand, continued: “Do you remember that actually, when we first entered the dungeon, someone already screamed?
Before dinner time, both Wrench and Xiao Hui cried out loudly—why didn’t it trigger the rule?
And this morning, the Programmer was so scared he knocked over a chair and shrieked; the sound was definitely no quieter than Wrench’s exclamation, yet he was fine too.”
Shirogane Kei was taken aback.
She really hadn’t considered this question.
The situation had been too chaotic then; all her attention was on the “no sound” outcome, completely ignoring these details in the process.
Shido Makoto held up one finger: “The only explanation is that Rule One’s requirement to stay quiet has a limited effective range.
It only activates in the dining hall, or more precisely, only near those puppet-like people does it produce an instant-death effect.”
Shirogane Kei’s mouth opened slightly, her expression one of sudden realization.
“Then there’s Rule Three,” Shido Makoto continued.
“Artist picked up that diary on the second floor today, but she was fine, and that diary is undoubtedly the female maid Lina’s personal property.
This suggests this rule also has limitations.
Either the maid’s room is a safe zone where the rule is ineffective, or that diary is recognized as a clue and can be safely handled by us.
I’m more inclined to believe it’s both.”
“So…
if we figure out the activation conditions and range of each rule, we can gain more freedom of action while ensuring our safety?” Shirogane Kei’s breathing became slightly rapid.
“You could say that,” Shido Makoto said, looking at her approvingly.
“Of course, these are still just my theories,” he added.
“Until we get complete confirmation, we still need to stay cautious.
But at least we have a new line of thinking, right?”
Shirogane Kei nodded emphatically.
In that moment, much of the panic born from Wrench’s death and the team’s fracturing was dispelled.
As long as the reasoning was sound, there was hope to survive.
She looked at the boy before her, only a year or two older than herself, and for the first time felt something called reassurance in her heart.
“Thank you, senpai,” she said sincerely.
“Thank you for telling me all this.”
“Don’t mention it,” Shido Makoto’s expression remained unchanged.
“I’m just adding a little more chips for us to survive.”
“It’s getting late—almost dinner time,” Shido Makoto glanced at his black phone, which displayed the time as [18:45].
“Follow me at dinner, and don’t get too close to the Programmer.”
“Okay.”
Shirogane Kei stood up and walked to the door, placing her hand on the handle.
She looked back at Shido Makoto, her expression complex, and said:
“Senpai, please…
please make sure you survive.”
Having said that, she pulled open the door and quickly left.
____
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