Without any context, a random sentence, although Qiao Bai had doubts in his mind, he still translated it.
Maekawa Yumi was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
Does it matter whether one is an Esper or not?
Those who can appear here are either newly awakened or not very powerful Espers.
Who wouldn't want to attend an Esper Academy if they could?
Ordinary people and Espers are from two different worlds.
She keenly sensed that the stunningly handsome boy before her wanted to confirm something through her words.
"What's wrong with her?"
Qi Yuan's unusual question didn't just catch Maekawa Yumi's attention, but also that of the others accompanying them.
With a shift in their thoughts, they immediately realized.
This girl had a high chance of having her mindset distorted by contamination.
"Why should we help you? Dealing with the monster first can help more people."
Soon, someone spoke up probing, and Qiao Bai, upon hearing this, also understood.
The girl's demeanor was hysterical, and their rejection seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"But we asked for your help, didn't we? If asked for help, you should respond, right?"
"What should happen to those who don't respond?"
"Not friendly enough, need to undergo modification."
As soon as these words came out, the girls around her all took a few steps back.
The girl who uttered those words was also stunned, staring in disbelief with wide eyes.
"How could I..."
Qi Yuan analyzed the intelligence in his mind.
Without any specific targeting, the monster had already been able to subtly contaminate and distort the mindsets of Espers through its domain. Its strength seemed stronger than what was shown in the information.
Thinking of this, he reminded everyone: "Be mindful of your thought patterns."
With a living example before them, the others dared not be careless.
The contaminated girl also fell into doubt, not wanting to be abandoned, but now whatever she proposed would be met with rejection and suspicion.
Then Qi Yuan added: "If we need to observe her symptoms and changes, then we'll take her along."
The person in charge of logistics in the team nodded, asking Qiao Bai to explain the situation to her.
If she was willing to be observed, they would take her with them.
The girl nodded vigorously, having no better choice.
After dealing with this little episode, the group headed towards the dormitory building.
It was almost the agreed-upon time.
...
On the other side,
Near an entrance of Xiaosaka City,
The Dragon Country personnel had already cleared an entire building and heavily guarded a certain office building.
A suit-clad Dragon Country man approached the muscular man dressed as a superhero, holding a stopwatch facing Johnson.
"Mr. Johnson, it's about time."
Johnson looked up and met the stopwatch, which showed they had been in Xiaosaka City for forty-five minutes.
Only five minutes left...
"Got it."
He downed the rest of the cola in one gulp, crushing the can into a ball with one hand and tossing it into the trash bin.
The can bounced off the edge of the bin...
"Dammit!"
Another miss, Johnson cried out in anguish while clenching his fist.
A strange force enveloped the soda can.
It changed its trajectory midair and successfully went into the trash bin.
"Mr. Johnson, don't forget the camera."
Their company's partnership with Johnson helped promote his reputation as the Dragon Country's superhero, with fans all over the globe.
Although the footage captured this time couldn't be shared with fans, it would still serve as good research material.
Johnson waved at him from behind, holding a pinhole camera in his hand.
Ten minutes before the agreed time between the five countries, he used his Esper domain to tear open the connection between the monster's domain and reality, entering the monster's domain.
As soon as Johnson stepped into the monster's domain, he heard the sound of a massive battle.
Johnson immediately realized that the other three countries had formed a smaller alliance behind Dragon Country's back.
The reason they were ten minutes early was that Dragon Country had formed a similar smaller alliance behind their Dragon Country's back.
The justification was based on the information they had gathered – Qi Yuan from the Dark Nine, had unfathomable power and an incredibly short battle duration, so there was a small chance that they might not even get a grasp of the monster before it was defeated.
Dragon Country had already gathered enough information from the Shen City incident and, if their strength permitted, they were highly likely to pull such a move.
And Dragon Country's eagerness to organize other countries to support Sakura Island was suspicious.
In that case, they would have made a trip for nothing.
When dividing the spoils, one sentence like "the monster was killed by our Dragon Country" would allow them to take the lion's share as a matter of course.
By then, they wouldn't get much in spoils or information, and they would have even helped Dragon Country.
The four countries would essentially become laughingstocks.
But Johnson never expected that there were others wary of their Dragon Country.
His strength was evident; there was no way he could defeat the monster immediately.
So the answer was clear – they didn't trust Dragon Country, which was why they wouldn't act according to the time set by Dragon Country.
"Damn it!"
He cursed under his breath and rushed towards the battlefield.
On the way, Johnson encountered the Armored Man also heading to the battlefield. The two giants exchanged glances.
It was obvious which two countries had formed the smaller alliance.
...
A thick blackish-purple mist lingered in the monster's domain, like a curtain obscuring the situation within.
"Boom—"
A cursed energy slammed into a shield, emitting a deafening roar.
Saint Jeanna stood on a giant war chariot, the clash happening right above her head, yet she remained unafraid.
Behind her were countless Holy Knights.
The Holy Knights' bodies were masses of warmly glowing nothingness, with only their war horses and antiquated armor appearing real.
Within the area covered by the Holy Knights was a battlefield.
Saint Jeanna waved her flag, and they obeyed her command, firing a volley of arrows into the sky.
Countless golden-glowing arrows, unlike ordinary arrows, did not follow a parabolic trajectory but shot straight up towards the monster above.
The monster hovered in mid-air, appearing as an indistinguishable youth figure from the outside.
At first glance, it wore a black hooded robe, its body composed of floating lines of text with a hollow interior filled with blackish-purple mist swirling and churning within.
Upon closer inspection, the black hooded robe itself was also made of densely packed lines of text, just like its body.
Two blackish-purple flames flickered where its eyes should be.
Facing the volley of arrows, it didn't move its body.
Instead, the mist within extended outward, causing the text forming its outline to swell and distort...
Soon, it transformed into a spherical object, with countless lines of text encircling the blackish-purple misty sphere like rings around a planet.
The surrounding blackish-purple mist dispersed, condensing into a sturdy shield protecting the center.
As the mist scattered, the empty small town came into view.
The two figures on the ground, the Priest and Saint Jeanna, were also revealed.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
