[Kiana: Just a measly gay! I'm not scared!]
Levi was furious.
As the saying goes, "When a common man is enraged, blood will spill within five steps."
Levi's whole body was full of strength, roughly equivalent to three common men.
And in that case, it wouldn't just be five steps.
Three common men would at least be fifteen steps.
Bang!
"..."
Levi looked down at the pistol on his waist that had misfired. His lips parted slightly, his expression blank.
Before he could react, bright red blood flowed out from the wound.
It followed his thigh and streamed toward the lower part of the room.
At the same time, a sharp pain spread up his leg.
The anger and confusion on Levi's face instantly collapsed into the mask of pure agony.
His whole face twisted into the shape of a chrysanthemum from the pain.
And the blood flowing out seemed to be joking with him.
It flowed perfectly to a spot fifteen steps away from the door.
Exactly fifteen steps.
Tearing open the fabric around the wound and seeing the blood continuously seeping out, Levi wanted to touch it but didn't dare.
He was afraid that if he touched it, the pain would get even worse.
———
At this time, in the group chat, after watching Levi stay silent for a long while, Kiana rubbed her chin.
'Could my words have hit him too hard?'
Did she poke his weak spot?
Impossible. He wasn't a real gay.
'Could it be…?!'
Kiana's eyes widened.
"Forget it, better ask him about that weird voice first."
Thinking she had struck Levi's sore spot and hit him too hard, Kiana awkwardly apologized in the group chat.
[Kiana: Um… maybe I was a little harsh just now.]
[Elysia: ? Did Levi bribe you again?]
Seeing Kiana's newest message, the first thing Elysia thought of was exactly that.
Kiana immediately refuted her.
[Kiana: That's called a stereotype! Am I the kind of person who takes bribes?!]
Elysia carefully recalled every detail of her interactions with Kiana.
Then decisively nodded.
[Yes!]
Kiana not taking bribes was like Teresa voluntarily giving employees extra benefits, absolutely impossible.
Not to mention that Elysia had personally witnessed it.
Right now, the chat group's only administrator, Group Leader Kiana's officially appointed lackey, Levi,
He got promoted through pure bribery, didn't he?
[Kiana & Levi: Watch out or we'll sue you for slander!]
The two said in unison.
Then Levi added, [You pink fat lady, be careful or I won't help you anymore.]
'Not helping me anymore?!'
Seeing that message, Elysia was instantly terrified, completely ignoring the phrase "pink fat lady."
She immediately slid to her knees in the group chat.
[Elysia: I'm sorry! I'm guilty! I shouldn't have slandered the two lords!]
[No worries! To know your mistake and correct it is the greatest virtue!]
Seeing Elysia's sincere attitude, Levi nodded in satisfaction.
Kiana, however, complained: [Do you not have your own reaction images?]
Levi continued in the group chat: [See that? That's the best kind of group member. Unlike some people who think about rebellion every day.]
He acted as if Elysia were the model, the ideal group member.
[Lumine: ???]
[Lumine: What, I can't have ambition?]
[Levi: You can!]
[Ding! "Administrator" Levi has muted "Group Member" Lumine for one minute!]
———
"This is the price!"
In his room, Levi glanced at his leg, which was still gushing blood, and his expression was calm.
"My body feels no weakness… I can still chat."
Aside from his face being pale, almost like when he was suffering from Honkai disease,
"Why… why is there so much ketchup?" A voice came from outside.
Qingque looked at the red liquid flowing out of Levi's room and thought it was spilled ketchup.
She didn't take it seriously.
After all, who could bleed this much?
"Levi, I'm coming in. You're not doing anything bad in there, right?"
Qingque pushed open the unlocked door, originally planning to share the good news that Fu Xuan had demoted her to manage the archive.
But upon seeing the scene inside, her desire to share completely vanished.
"You…"
She glanced at Levi's leg propped on the table. Dark red blood was dripping down the table leg.
Qingque lowered her head and looked at the red liquid at her feet.
'So it wasn't ketchup after all…'
"No! You're already like this and you're not going to Alchemy Commission?!"
"No problem."
Levi casually waved his hand. "Life and death are fated. Today, I want to see whether this mere superficial wound drives me into despair, or whether my powerful vitality turns death into life!"
'Superficial wound?'
Qingque stared at his still-bleeding wound. "How is this a superficial wound?!"
She rushed forward, grabbed a piece of clothing from his things, wrapped it tightly around his leg to stop the bleeding.
Then she carried him and prepared to take him to Alchemy Commission.
But after just a few steps, barely out the door, Qingque stopped, panting heavily.
"Let's talk about this."
"..."
"You walk yourself."
"Actually..."
"Don't talk. Just go to Alchemy Commission Department obediently!"
Qingque, focused on helping him, hurried out and didn't notice the red glow flickering in the corner of the room.
Like flames burning.
———
[A While Later]
Kiana asked in the group: [Stop dawdling! Hurry up and tell me what that voice was! Was it your prank?]
She still felt the prank explanation made more sense.
Otherwise why would Levi never answer directly?
Kiana waited in the group for a long time without seeing Levi respond.
This made her almost certain: the voice was his doing.
Levi didn't reply in words, he simply uploaded a photo.
[Ding! "Administrator" Levi has uploaded a photo!]
———
In a room of the Alchemy Commission Department, several doctors were gathered around Levi's outstretched leg, holding precision tools to remove the bullet lodged in it.
Under anesthesia, Levi couldn't feel pain, his eyes empty as he surfed the group chat.
[Levi: You injure me, slander me as gay, and you still want me to answer your question?]
[Today I'll let you know, the world is not as beautiful as you think!]
Levi let out a villain-like chuckle, then a wave of pain surged from his leg.
"Hiss! The anesthetic wore off! It wore off!"
A shot that would normally numb an outlander for several hours had lost effect before the surgery was even finished.
Seeing Levi's expression twist in agony, all the doctors turned to the one slacking off in the corner.
When that doctor saw Levi's expression, his own face mirrored it.
Great. The hard-won job at Alchemy Commission Department, gone.
———
[Group Chat]
[Kiana: You say I slandered you, fine. But you shot yourself, what's that got to do with me?!]
She could never have expected: sitting at home doing nothing, and disaster fell from the sky.
[Levi: Your gun didn't have a safety, who am I supposed to blame if not you?!]
He also never expected that Kiana's sidearm had been modified, without a safety.
Fortunately the muzzle was pointed at his thigh. If it had pointed at something it shouldn't have…
Not to mention being seen afterward by Qingque.
If she saw that scene... his life would be over.
Qingque, "From now on, we'll call each other sisters."
Levi, "..."
———
At the same time, in St. Freya Academy, inside Teresa's office, "Grandpa…"