On the sixth day back at school, the skills class content finally upgraded from basic training to theoretical overview.
Chen Lan didn't use training blades or weighted vests again. Instead, she activated the holographic projection, a title slowly rotating in the classroom's center:
Overview of the Nine Divine Authority Systems and the Nine Major Godhead Lineages
"Not asking you to believe in gods." Her first sentence shattered the drowsy atmosphere in the classroom, "It's asking you to understand—where do adaptoid abilities come from?"
The projection unfurled, nine spheres of light suspended in midair, each containing surging different symbols and colors.
"The Nine Divine Authorities are projections of Rift Zone rules onto human civilization's history." Chen Lan's pointer tapped the first sphere, "First Authority—Space. Representative figure: Founder of the Administration's Strategic Academy, first generation of the Shen clan's spatial markers."
Shen clan? My heart skipped a beat.
"Space Authority wielders can fold, slice, lock coordinates, treat the three-dimensional world like origami. The disadvantage: space itself has repulsive properties. When adaptoids enter a Rift Zone core, they're judged as 'foreign objects' by the rules, so spatial types cannot enter the Rift Zone's deepest parts."
Whispers rippled through the classroom. Li Ming whispered, "Sounds so useless, the strongest ability users can't fight the final boss?"
"That's why other Authorities are needed." Chen Lan's pointer moved to the second sphere, "Second Authority—Protection. Representative figure: The Special Forces Rift Zone Defense Class, first generation of Shield Wardens."
"Protection Authority isn't about tanking hits, it's 'judgment override.' You say this blade can kill me, I say it can't—the rules listen to me. The disadvantage: the larger the defense range, the faster sync rate rises, because you're using your own humanity to resist the Rift Zone's malice."
I stared at that sphere, Tang Lan's shield automatically surfaced in my mind. Her shield isn't deployed—it "exists." She stands there, the battle line is there.
"Third Authority—Deconstruction." Chen Lan continued, "Representative figure: Administration Logistics Maintenance Department, first generation of Interferers."
"Deconstruction isn't destruction, it's 'rule vulnerability exploitation.' Making Rule A's logic attack Rule B, making time flow attack spatial stability. The disadvantage: requires extremely high technical skill from the user. One miscalculation, and the rules tear you apart first."
Zhou Fang's face surfaced in my mind. He has light in his eyes when disassembling equipment—not love for machinery, but love for that "finding bugs" thrill.
"Fourth Authority—Deduction." Chen Lan's voice lowered, "Representative figure: The founder of Rule Analysis major, the Gu clan's first generation of Modelers."
"Deduction isn't fortune-telling, it's 'exhaustively enumerating reality's possibilities.' Treat the Rift Zone like a math problem, calculate every variable, including human hearts. The disadvantage: once encountering a true variable—" she paused, her gaze sweeping past me, "the entire model collapses."
Gu Yan's tablet, Jin's Chaos zone, that eternally inaccurate 0% prediction rate. Not that he's weak—I'm too much of a variable.
"Fifth Authority—Narrative." Chen Lan finally struck my heart, "Representative figure: Original Sect founder, first generation of Rule Rewriters."
The classroom instantly fell silent.
"Narrative Authority is most dangerous, also rarest. Using symbols to interfere with reality, turning abstract concepts into executable commands. The advantage: theoretically omnipotent. The disadvantage: each time you write, you get 'written' into the Rift Zone one fraction more, until you become the rules entirely."
She didn't look at me, but the entire class was looking at me.
Because in my pocket, I was holding that HB pencil.
"Teacher." I raised my hand, "This first generation rule rewriter, what happened to him later?"
" became part of the Rift Zone." She said, "Or rather, he voluntarily became an anchor, nailing himself to the Rift Zone core, exchanging himself for the Administration's thirty years of stability."
"Can he still return?"
"Cannot." She answered decisively, "Once an anchor is set, existence is fixed. He can't return, but his story is still being spread by the Original Sect."
"So the Original Sect worships him?"
"Not worship." She gave a cold smile, "They want to 'write' him back, using the blood of countless adaptoids to rewrite the rules and resurrect him."
My palms sweated, the pencil burning hot in my pocket.
"Sixth Authority—War." Chen Lan's pointer moved to the sixth sphere, this one blood-red, "Representative figure: Original Sect's chief apostle, Scarlet."
The entire class gasped.
This name, even ordinary students knew. The Scarlet Christmas—three intelligence stations turned on each other overnight, the Administration lost thirty agents in one night, Chen Lan's voice carried uncontrollable chill, "She's not an adaptoid, she's an 'erosion adaptoid.'"
"Her ability is simple—attack only, no defense. Because she believes the best defense is tearing you apart before you can act."
The projection expanded, showing a blurry video. In the frame, a red-cloaked girl stood at a Rift Zone center, surrounded by Administration agents. She didn't move, but as she raised her hand, something like space being torn appeared around her, beginning to devour, tearing those people apart with exceptional cruelty.
Screams were silently devoured by the void, plasma seemed erased from reality by an eraser, leaving only "holes of existence" on the ground—where those people once stood, not even dust remained.
"Her divine authority talent is 'weaponized causality.'" Chen Lan said, "Turning the concept of 'war' into substance. Where she stands becomes a battlefield, and everyone on the battlefield is her sacrifice."
"That Scarlet Christmas, she alone, without moving, just raising her hand, turned three intelligence stations into her slaughterhouse."
"The Administration didn't catch her?"
"Caught once." Chen Lan said, "At age 18, she infiltrated Administration headquarters—not to steal, but to deliver something."
The class bell rang, Chen Lan kept me behind.
"Lin Jin." She said, "You asked about the first generation of the Narrative Authority, why?"
"Curiosity."
"Not curiosity." She stared at me, "Empathy. You think you'll become him."
I didn't speak, tacitly agreeing.
"You won't." She said with absolute certainty, "He wrote rules, sacrificing himself to illuminate others. You write rules, pulling others along to survive together."
"Is there a difference?"
"There is." She handed me a file, "This is the historical record of the Nine Divine Authority Systems. Look at the last page."
I opened it to handwritten commentary, sharp handwriting:
[Narrative Authority's greatest weakness is loneliness]
[But B-07 Squad's greatest strength is never letting anyone be lonely]
Signature: Shen Xingyao.
"She wrote it?" I was stunned.
"In her 18th year, her thesis at the Strategic Academy." Chen Lan said, "At that time, her mentor was a student of the first generation of the Narrative Authority."
"So she knew from the start..."
"Right." Chen Lan said, "She knew you would come, knew you would use a pencil, knew you would ask these questions. That's why she let you join B-07, because only a squad can pull you out of 'loneliness.'"
"What about Scarlet?"
"Scarlet has no teammates." Chen Lan said, "She only has her father—Original Sect leader, Erosion. Erosion taught her to devour, to betray, to weaponize all feelings."
"So that's why she's so strong?"
"That's why she's so weak." Chen Lan said, "So strong no one dares approach, so weak no one dares embrace."
21:00, Administration briefing room.
I repeated the divine authority lineage Chen Lan taught, focusing on Scarlet's abilities.
"War Authority, weaponized causality." Gu Yan's model immediately began running, "As we predicted, her ability is 'concept materialization.' She turns the concept of 'war' into her domain."
"How do we fight?" Tang Lan asked, "In her domain, will our skills turn on our own?"
"They will." Shen Xingyao said, "So to fight her, one person must go."
"Who?"
"Lin Jin." She looked at me, "Your pencil is the only weapon that can rewrite 'concepts.' Only you can change the concept of 'war' to 'peace.'"
"Me?"
"Right." She said, "But rewriting concepts will push sync rate above 60%. You might not come back."
"Then..."
"So I won't let you go." She said, "We change plans."
She pulled up a new plan: "Use space sovereignty to cut her domain into isolated islands. Tang Lan is responsible for tanking the first wave of attacks, Zhou Fang interferes with her causality lock, Gu Yan calculates her movement trajectory, Lin Jin—"
"I write her story." I finished, "Write her as a poor soul no one embraces."
Shen Xingyao froze for a second, then the folder landed precisely on my head.
"No underestimating the enemy." She said, "Scarlet can hear your words, she'll be enraged."
"Enrage is better." I said, "An enraged War Authority has more openings."
"Who taught you that?"
"Chen Lan." I told the truth, "She said Scarlet's greatest weakness is no one dares embrace her."
"She lied to you." Gu Yan said, "In my model, Scarlet's anger index directly correlates with combat power. The angrier she gets, the stronger her causality weapon."
"Then how do we make her laugh?"
"Tell jokes." Zhou Fang said, "I've studied her files, she has a low laugh threshold."
"What jokes?"
"Jokes about you." Shen Xingyao said, "She's very interested in your story. You tell jokes, she'll laugh."
"Then?"
"Then I'll use the seventeenth mark to lock her laughter." She said, "With laughter locked, she can't laugh. Unable to laugh, she'll rage. Enraged, she'll..."
"Reveal an opening." I finished.
"Right." She said, "But that opening lasts only one second."
"Enough?"
"Enough." She said, "One second is enough for you to write three words."
"Which three words?"
She didn't speak, just used her fingertip to write three words on my palm:
[I'm here]
The letters were ice-cold, like a scalpel.
"What does it mean?"
"It means." She said, "Let Scarlet know she's not alone. Someone dares embrace her, even if only conceptually."
"Can this defeat her?"
"No." She said, "But it can make her hesitate. Hesitate 0.1 seconds, and my blade can rest on her neck."
"Then?"
"Then, you assign her homework." Shen Xingyao said, "Derivative Training Set 14, one wrong answer, solitary confinement."
I smiled, uglier than crying.
"Captain Shen." I said, "You're truly unfathomable."
"Fathomable, and you should graduate." She turned to leave, her cloak drawing an arc, "Continue school tomorrow, fifth period of skills class, second half of Divine Authorities. Listen well—Scarlet's story isn't finished."