If this were a game, Bai Qian felt like a tarot card would pop up in front of him—The Devil—and beside it, ten stars that were supposed to be blank.
One star had already been filled in.
"Shut up."
Once Sirin had calmed down, she tossed out a random excuse and kicked everyone out.
Bai Qian rubbed his temples. His head was still buzzing with aftershocks from that "righteous group beating."
Right before they left the Palace, he remembered that last scene— the Herrscher of Thunder's expression.
The way her violet eyes were full of grievance. Her lips had moved several times, like she wanted to demand fairness about idols and待遇—why Sirin didn't have to become an idol, but she did—only for reality to shove those words straight back down her throat.
"Don't forget. Let me out."
That was her final shred of pride.
"So that's it?"
Herta was rubbing her own temples too, her violet eyes slanting at him. "You really think those words worked on her? I don't buy emotional nonsense."
Bai Qian bounced up from the chair, rolling his stiff neck until it cracked.
He ignored Herta's venom. She was all bite and no real malice.
"For chunibyo terminal-stage Herrschers, logic is useless. If you want them to cooperate, you have to hit the heart." He shrugged. "And look—super effective."
A soft rustling came from the side.
Raiden Mei still looked a little pale. Facing the Herrscher of Thunder in her own inner world, then going over to Kiana's place to play "comforting big sister," had drained her hard. But her eyes were bright—light, like someone who had finally put down a thousand-pound weight.
"Kiana, how are you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Bai Qian turned to Kiana.
Kiana was still half in a daze. She blinked, something rippling like ocean light in her clear blue eyes.
"I don't know… but I feel like I can do anything now."
She lifted her hand and stared at her palm.
Then, instinctively, she looked at the person who made her feel safest.
"Bai Qian… did something change about me?"
The moment her gaze met his, Bai Qian froze too.
Because he saw it.
On that familiar, dopey face—her left eye was still a clear, sky-blue.
But her right eye… the blue had faded.
It was gold now.
That fast? He'd thought Sirin would need at least half an hour to cool off.
"Wow! Kiana! Your eye!"
Before Bai Qian could say anything, Toyokawa Sakiko—who'd been shrinking in the corner trying her absolute best to become invisible—blurted it out.
"My eye? What's wrong with my eye?"
Kiana touched her right eyelid in confusion, then turned toward the TV's black screen.
In the reflection, a girl with one blue eye and one gold eye stared back at herself, slack-jawed.
It was her.
And it wasn't.
"Th-this…"
Kiana pointed at her own eye, her finger trembling.
"Congrats."
Bai Qian walked over and patted her head like an exhausted dad, messing up her already-messy braids even more. "Looks like you're basically a Herrscher now. Even if it's just one eye—means that brat finally agreed to pay rent."
He was obviously talking about Sirin opening up part of her authority.
Kiana's body reacted faster than her brain. Excitement surged up like fizzy soda and shot straight into her skull.
She didn't need to understand "authority" or "Herrscher."
She only knew one thing:
She got stronger.
And she didn't lose herself.
That survivor's joy—that feeling that fate was finally in her own hands—instantly tossed all restraint and embarrassment into the trash.
"BAI QIAN!!!"
With a cheer loud enough to lift the roof, a white blur launched into him like a cannonball.
"Ghk—! Are you trying to assassinate the captain and inherit my Phantom Thieves?!"
Bai Qian felt his ribs creak in protest.
This pufferfish already had freakish strength. This tackle hit like a Honkai beast wearing human skin.
He stumbled backward, slammed into the console behind him, and barely managed to stay upright.
The girl in his arms had no intention of letting go. She locked both arms around his waist, buried her head in his chest, and rubbed against him like a puppy that had finally found a meaty bone—like a cat begging for pats.
"Thank you, thank you! Anyway—thank you!"
"Look, look! Isn't this color super cool?! Do I have that—what's it called—Persona? No, wait, Herrscher power now?!"
She leaned in like she was showing off a treasure, almost nose-to-nose with him.
She was so excited her breathing had turned quick and shallow, her chest heaving—soft pressure pushing into his chest—
Bai Qian stared into that mismatched gaze. Deep inside that gold, he almost swore he could see a reflection of the Imaginary Space.
"Anyway, I just feel so pumped right now!"
She hopped off him and swung a fist, the air whistling.
"Once we go beat that Cocolia flat, I can really protect Mei for real! Right, boss?!"
"Yeah," Bai Qian said, dead tired. "But right now I seriously need rest."
Sakiko waved weakly from the sofa, utterly drained. "Maybe think about how normal people feel sometimes? I'm not a Phantom Thief or a Valkyrie. Mental fatigue stacks too, desuwa."
She looked like she'd worked a 24-hour convenience store shift, then been dragged into a marathon.
She picked up her phone, tapped a few times, and her eyes suddenly lit up. She gestured for everyone to look at the group chat.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Payday— I mean, points—just dropped.
The half-dead Sakiko suddenly smiled.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Looks like because the Herrscher of Thunder's persona got, uh, physically persuaded, the core trigger for the Third Eruption was judged as resolved.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Next we just have to deal with Cocolia!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]:1200 points desuwa!!!
[Rin Tohsaka]: Don't spend it all on gacha boxes.
[Rin Tohsaka]: People who suddenly get a fortune always start wasting it.
Bai Qian glanced at the chat group's quest panel.
A notification popped up—quest settlement.
To Sakiko, who was still living off discounted convenience-store sandwiches, 1200 points was an absurd fortune.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: So that means… only Cocolia's left… and Bronya too.
[Dragon Sis Is Dragon]: The Bronya from your manga—who leaves Nagazora with Kiana and Mei?
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Yup. She's definitely noticed Mei getting involved with a bunch of weirdos by now.
[Pointy-Hat Lady]: The system says we can't leave until the side quest is done… this counts as a side quest? …Whatever, we're already here.
[Rin Tohsaka]: We're literally in the same room, less than ten meters apart. Do we really need to chat in the group?
Bai Qian put his phone away. His inner gambler started twitching.
1200 points. Enough to gacha like a king.
Heh. Heh heh heh.
I'm gonna pull boxes.
Mei didn't know what they were doing. After thinking for a moment, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing a pale forearm.
"Everyone's probably hungry, right?"
She looked around.
Kiana was nodding hard. Sakiko looked like she'd melted into furniture. Rin looked lost in thought. Talulah had a serious face but was clearly steadying her breath. Bai Qian—silent, eyes darting like a raccoon spotting snacks. And Herta and Melina looked… basically unbothered.
"There are guest rooms on the second floor," Mei said, pointing upstairs. "Clean bedding in the closet. No one lives there, but I've aired it out. It shouldn't smell."
Then, gently: "Go wash your faces and rest a bit. I'll make food. The fridge has ingredients. It won't be fancy, but it'll fill you up."
Even now, she could think this carefully.
Maybe this was what people meant by Yamato nadeshiko.
Even if the world was ending—people still had to eat. Still had to sleep. Clothes still had to be washed.
The upstairs hallway had dark wooden floors.
"I've already cleaned the rooms," Mei said, standing at the top of the stairs, absently twirling a lock of hair by her ear. "Bai Qian… if you need anything, you can come to me… thank you. For everything you did."
"No problem," he said. "Just a small favor."
He pushed open a door.
The room was small—only a single bed and an old desk.
He shut the door and flopped onto the bed.
The mattress gave a dull, offended groan as the springs pressed against his back.
He pulled out his phone. The screen lit up, harsh in the dim room. The battery icon still read 100%.
It seemed like after installing the chat group, the phone wouldn't die.
Good.
"BANG—!"
A loud crash came from the room across the hall.
Not like someone tripping—more like someone so excited they'd kicked the bedframe or slammed a cabinet.
Then came a scream so sharp it cut through two wooden doors and the hallway, even cracking at the end:
"I HIT!!!"
Bai Qian's hand twitched. His phone almost fell onto his face.
He knew that voice.
Ten minutes ago, its owner had been collapsed on the sofa like a salted fish drained dry by capitalism.
"Toyokawa Sakiko?"
Bai Qian rolled over, staring at his phone.
The chat group interface was scrolling like it was possessed.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: I hit! I hit! I hit!!! I actually hit!!!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: This is proof my suffering is over! I knew it—this is the turning point of my life!!
An entire waterfall of exclamation marks.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: ?
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Your boss give you a perfect-attendance bonus?
[Rin Tohsaka]: I knew it… I can already see the gambler's future unfolding.
[Wants Campus Springtime With Mei]: Huh? What did Sakiko hit?
The noise from across the hall quieted a bit—probably consistent with frantic typing.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Not attendance! Ten thousand times better!!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: I just tried the gacha box feature—points were free anyway, so I thought I'd pull a few for fun…
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Stop trying to make your boss laugh. If you wanna pull, pull proudly!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Fourth pull! GOLD LIGHT!! It was totally gold!!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: And these two look like a set!
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: image.jpg
Bai Qian tapped the two images.
The first showed a ring-shaped brand with a faint flame flickering inside it, paired with a dried-out, ash-gray humanoid icon.
Item Name: Ashen One / Dark Souls III Undead Physique
Type: Passive Authority
Description: A curse and blessing from Dark Souls III. The bearer gains a form of life beyond common sense.
Effect: Death is not the end. Upon death, the bearer resurrects at the nearest bonfire or safe point.
Cost: Each death-and-resurrection causes the bearer to lose part of their current "souls," automatically converted in this world into all liquid assets / cash / savings under the bearer's name. If the bearer dies again before retrieving the loss, it becomes permanently lost.
Special: As an Ashen One, you can train with Gundyr. Death during training does not consume souls. After defeating Gundyr, you can explore the world of Dark Souls III.
Bai Qian's eyebrow jumped.
Then he opened the second image.
A short-handled weapon—dirty, rusty, the blade slightly curved. The grip was wrapped in black cloth. It radiated bad vibes.
Item Name: Damp Little Scythe
Type: Weapon
Description: A small armament infused with dark power. Unremarkable at first glance, yet in the right hands it becomes disgustingly "sticky," clinging to targets with relentless persistence.
Weapon Art: Shatterstep — a rapid sliding dodge that helps you slip away from attacks and find an enemy's rear blind spot.
Note:Your sun has set.I'm sick of etiquette.Turns out you were with me all along…
You think this is a multiple-choice question?
Evil is my name.
Take this weapon and you'll awaken your past-life memories, little knight.
[Image: Your sun has set]
Bai Qian's blood ran cold.
How could this even be in the pool?!
He vividly remembered the days of Dark Souls PvP, getting trapped by scythe nonsense—animation canceling into a marathon until his soul left his body.
He sat up, thumbs flying.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: …
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: What? Isn't it amazing?! Revive! It's REVIVE! With this I never have to worry about dying again!
From the other room came hyperactive footfalls—Sakiko pacing in circles in that tiny space.
Bai Qian sighed.
This girl had been hypnotized by two words: "good stuff" and "revive."
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Sakiko… read the "Cost" section again.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Especially the part in parentheses.
The chat fell into dead silence.
The excited footsteps across the hall—like someone had slapped pause—stopped instantly.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
"…Huh?"
A trembling syllable seeped through the wall.
And then— a shriek even more tragic than her "I HIT!"
"HOW CAN THIS BE?! MY MONEY!!!!"
Bai Qian tossed his phone back onto the bed, flopped down again, and laced his fingers behind his head.
Just imagine it: Sakiko gets hit by a truck while delivering food, revives at home, pats her pockets—
…and her paycheck is gone, her card balance is zero.
Bai Qian couldn't help it. He laughed.
In that moment, she'd genuinely feel like dying under the wheels would've been kinder.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Can I refund…
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: I don't want revive anymore, I want my points back… or can I sell this scythe for money?
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Boss! Bai Qian! Save me!!
Bai Qian stared at that oddly pitiful username.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: No refunds. Ever.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: But hey—on the bright side, that scythe suits you.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Fast, dirty, and it can slide. Next time a boss delays your pay, Shatterstep behind him and "talk it out."
[Dragon Sis Is Dragon]: As long as you don't die, you won't drop money.
[Legendary Fire-Resistant King]: This gives me a weirdly familiar sense of déjà vu.
[Phantom Thieves Boss]: Hang in there, wage slave.
From the neighboring room, her resentment—my money… my money…—felt like it was seeping through the wall.
Bai Qian lay there, listening as her screaming turned into furious muttering, and the corners of his mouth kept creeping up.
Sure, he'd basically stabbed her with the logic of "as long as you don't die you won't lose money," but honestly…
That feeling—having points in your hand—really did make your heart itch.
Like walking past a lottery booth. You weren't going to buy anything, but then you saw the guy ahead win five bucks… and suddenly you wanted to scratch a couple too.
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: …But when I swung it a few times, it actually felt really natural?
[AAA Customer Service Sakiko]: Can a scythe cut vegetables? Will the rust give someone tetanus?
[Wants Campus Springtime With Mei]: Probably? I'll ask Mei how to remove rust…
Messages kept popping.
Bai Qian's finger drifted away from the text box. He tapped the three bars in the top-right corner of the chat group interface.
The shop UI was simple—cheap, like a mobile gacha game—but the number displayed under it was painfully real.
His points balance: 1200.
"Fifty-point trash-bin box… yeah no. I'm not pulling used tissues or some weird potion."
He scrolled down.
Besides the 50-point basic box and the 100-point upgraded box, maybe because it sensed he had points, a limited-time special had appeared.
[Curated · Otherworld Relic Box]
Price: 300 points
Description: Removes most meaningless household garbage (half-eaten sandwiches, worn socks, etc.). This pool mainly contains unique items, equipment, or skill fragments from various worlds.
Pity System: None. Pull if you want.
Note:Luck doesn't change with virtue. Spending doesn't change fate.
The phrase "removes household garbage" felt like a personal attack on the sandwich he'd once pulled.
Three hundred points meant—even for him—only four pulls.
If he whiffed all four, he'd be left staring at 0 points like an idiot.
But gamblers never cared about failure rates.
"I just saved the world. My luck can't be worse than Customer Service, right?"
Bai Qian mentally planted a flag.
He sat up straight and even rubbed his hands together like he was about to perform a sacred ritual.
His finger hovered over the purchase button.
"Alright. Let's see what kind of nonsense this trash system's about to hand me."
No hesitation—he tapped.
The screen changed.
A meteor streaked across darkness, dragging a long tail as it slammed toward the center of the screen.
The animation was—shockingly—better than some so-called AAA games.
Bai Qian squinted on reflex.
The meteor was originally blue, but the instant it crossed the judgment line, the color shifted.
"Bzzz—"
The phone vibrated once.
And then—
The light exploded, flooding the dim room and painting Bai Qian's slightly stunned face in gold.
GOLD.
-------
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