"Of course I remember! I’m done with everything! I’ll be right back!"

The moment I hung up, I quickly bid farewell to Lei Meow Meow and the others, turning down their dinner invitation. Then, I grabbed Xiao Lei and rushed out of Lose Moonlit in a hurry.

Not far from the bar, at a nearby café, Haitang and Tangerine were waiting inside. With them were two girls wearing Biyang Girls Academy uniforms.

One was a girl with seaweed-like messy hair, seemingly in charge of equipment, busy tinkering with her laptop.

The other, a twin-braided girl, was casually playing with Tangerine, radiating an oddly soothing aura.

"Took you long enough! What the hell happened in there?"

"It’s a bit complicated to explain in detail, but long story short, Lei Laohu’s team disbanded. His parents caught him, so he won’t be able to stir up trouble anymore."

Everything I said was technically true, though I did omit a few details—sorry, Haitang, but some things are better left unsaid.

"His mom had an informant in his gang. Even if the cops didn’t intervene, and even if you guys hadn’t made a move, it was only a matter of time before he got caught."

"So after all that effort, I don’t even get to fight him once?"

Wait, was that your goal all along? I had no idea what Lei Meow Meow’s current combat level was, but… probably best not to test it.

"More importantly, I’ve got a bigger problem—I forgot I promised my dad we’d have dinner together. He’s been waiting at home with a full meal!"

"Oh, then you should change out of those clothes first… Wait, what’s with that look? Don’t tell me you actually want to go back like this?"

Honestly… I did consider it, just to save time. But yeah, no. As generous as Haitang was, she had no reason to gift me an outfit.

So, I changed quickly and then sprinted home, burning Flash and Ghost¹ like a pro.

By the time I got back, it was a little past 8 PM.

Xiao Lei, having stuffed herself with fried shrimp and chicken back at the bar, wasn’t hungry at all. She casually parted with me before climbing onto the windowsill, stepping across the air conditioning unit, and flipping straight into my bedroom.

I watched her execute this whole maneuver so smoothly that it barely required effort.

…Maybe I should install burglar bars.

I stepped inside and saw my dad, wearing a loose tank top, sitting silently at the dining table.

Three dishes and a soup. Fish soup, too. From the looks of it, everything had gone cold—probably not very tasty anymore.

"Daaad~ Your son is home~"

I wasn’t trying to be obnoxious—it was just that the tension in the room was thick. I figured I should lighten the mood.

Didn’t work.

Dad barely looked up before sinking deeper into his gloom. His shadowed expression seemed to darken. "Son… do you think I’ve been a terrible father?"

"Who told you that? I’ve seen worse."

Like a certain Lei guy, for example.

"So you’re saying I am a failure…"

I didn’t deny it. I just looked away.

I mean… the fact that he couldn’t even look me in the eye kind of said it all. Sugarcoating it would’ve just felt fake.

"Come on, don’t be so pessimistic. I’m in the wrong today. How about I make a meal for you another day as an apology?"

I suddenly thought back to Lei Meow Meow’s family reunion.

Deep down, I envied that moment.

I wondered what my mom was doing now. Did she ever remember that she once had a son?

"Anyway, let’s eat. I’m starving."

After dinner and washing the dishes, I sat on the couch with my dad for the first time in a long while.

He didn’t play any of his galgames today.

We just slouched on the sofa, feet propped up on the coffee table, saying nothing—silently watching a grand, long-running local TV series—the evening news.

Strangely enough, this felt… surprisingly father-son-like.

Later, before heading upstairs, I grabbed some snacks and cola for Xiao Lei, just in case she got hungry at night.

The moment I opened the door, I was hit with the lingering scent of freshly showered shampoo and body wash.

Then, I looked at Xiao Lei—

And inhaled sharply.

Because what I saw made me question whether the world was on the brink of some apocalyptic disaster.

Xiao Lei was at my desk.

Studying.

"What’s with that look?! Is it really that shocking that I’m studying?!"

"It’s terrifying! Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should rest early."

"If I fail my retake, it’s not just about cram school—it’s straight-up repeating a grade! I’m not that thick-skinned! And I’d like to think I’m at least smarter than Zhao Zhao Mode. Maybe I can actually focus like this…"

From my perspective, though, Xiao Lei and Zhao Zhao had basically no difference intelligence-wise.

Same brain, after all.

I grabbed a foldable floor table, rolled up my floor mattress, and set everything up on the carpet.

"Well, since I need to erase Lei Luo’s name at midnight anyway, I guess I’ll tutor you for now."

I wasn’t a top student, but I’d always been comfortably in the upper-middle ranks. Teaching a failing friend should be… fine? Probably?

"But before that, I’ve got something important to do."

I picked up the marker pen and traced over Lei Meow Meow’s name for the first time in reality.

I was nervous. Marker pens were permanent—once marked, there was no turning back.

As I finished, the name slowly glowed golden.

A sign that the assessment has passed.

To the Notebook, even though Lei Meow Meow was rich, she was still classified as unlucky.

"Even if you’ve completed July’s quota, you still need to keep tracking Uncle Feng’s case."

"Of course! I’m a responsible person! I’m gonna shower now—sort out the questions you don’t understand, and I’ll help you when I’m back."

…And when I came back, Xiao Lei handed me the entire workbook.

"Ehehe… Turns out I don’t understand any of it."

I realized I had just accepted a 10-star difficulty task.

After finally erasing Lei Luo’s name and collapsing onto the mattress, I felt dead.

Teaching Xiao Lei was way more exhausting than doing the problems myself.

Even more exhausting than shopping all day.

The moment my head hit the pillow, I drifted off.

And woke up.

Inside an old-fashioned police station office.

A bulletin board on the wall.

This was probably a dream.

"Thirty seconds. This newbie’s body is in pretty good shape."

"Alright, Master, enough with the Infinity Terror² references."

A white-haired loli, dressed in a neatly fitted vest and grayish-white dress shirt, sat cross-legged on a desk that was way too big for her.

This room—it was the safe house from The Evil Within 2, where protagonist Sebastian took refuge.

Which meant… this was technically a dream.

I had serious suspicions that Master Halliluya secretly played my PS4 when I wasn’t home.

"Well then, Chang Kai girlie, congratulations on completing your first month’s assessment ahead of schedule."

"Just lucky. The unlucky guy walked right into my hands."

"Actually, I’m here to fulfill my promise."

Master stood up, spread her tiny arms, and looked down at me.

"Come. Hug this old man!"

…That phrasing was incredibly unappealing.

Seeing me hesitate, she suddenly lunged into my arms instead.

"Ohohoho~ Chang Kai girl, these assets of yours are ridiculously oversized… If they existed in reality, how many men would drown?"

No one’s drowning! Why did I feel like I was the one getting taken advantage of here?!

"M-Master?!"

"I’ve been waiting forever for you to finish this task… Just let me have this! No need to hold back!"

"Ack—stop rubbing against me!"

I never expected this kind of loli granny!

That said, her hair was incredibly soft and silky to the touch…

Gain something, lose something—that’s the principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy.

She nestled comfortably in my embrace, looking completely at peace.

"Master, aside from the hug, weren’t you supposed to give me a reward too?"

"Ah, well, since you finished faster than I expected… I haven’t prepared it yet. It’ll take some time, but I guarantee it’ll be worth it."

"I see… I’m so talented it’s a problem~"

"Don’t get cocky. This is only the first month. If the Heavenly Principles think that you’re getting too full of yourself, they might increase your difficulty."

Are the Heavenly Principles that petty?!

After chatting about various random topics, I slowly drifted off again within my dream.

The next morning, Xiao Lei and I headed to Old Feng’s place…

And found a huge problem.

He was gone.

The street food cart was still there, but his beddings, clothes—everything that was movable—was gone.

Even the framed crayon drawing that Xiao Lei had mentioned before was missing.

This was bad.

All my leads on Old Feng had suddenly disappeared.

The moment I had just let my guard down, it was back up again.