Chapter 2: The Greek God in Charge
“Wow, seriously? Zhou Bin’s face got painted without him even realizing it?”
“Of course! You heard his shrieks, right? It was hilarious; I bet the entire teaching building heard it! I wonder which incredible genius did it and how they managed it.”
“Word is that it happened while he was napping during lunch, using one of those color-changing pens. Wasn’t President Yan in that classroom too?”
The corridor was buzzing with noise after the exam, which was the last subject of the spring semester’s entrance exam. It was like a spring coiled tight, about to release its energy. Now, with that incident of Zhou Bin’s face being painted, the atmosphere was even more vibrant.
Meanwhile, the witness to the whole affair, Yan Huan, quietly grabbed his bag and slipped away just as the exam ended, making his way to a rarely occupied high-level empty classroom.
“Click.”
With a swift turn, he closed the door, isolating himself from the clamor below. He casually tossed his bag onto a nearby chair and plopped down.
Taking a deep breath, he glanced around the empty classroom and tentatively spoke up,
“Just now, the one who was talking in my head… are you there? No matter if you’re a system or some cheat ability, you should at least introduce the situation to me, right?”
“Meow~”
As if in response, a melodious cat’s meow suddenly echoed in the empty room.
Shifting slightly, Yan Huan turned to see a fluffy black cat tilting its head, perched beside the teacher’s desk, its piercing emerald eyes staring right at him.
A stray cat that sneaked in?
In that split second, the black cat hopped lightly, first leaping onto the front desk chair, then making a graceful jump onto the desk right in front of Yan Huan.
The black cat spun around, licked its paw, and settled down elegantly before Yan Huan.
At the same time, the familiar voice in his mind rang out,
“Hello, Yan Huan.”
How delightful! A black cat that talks in my head brings an air of fantasy.
Having just experienced the wonderful incident with Bai Yi, Yan Huan was surprisingly receptive and leaned closer to meet the cat’s rounded face with his own,
“What are you? And what was that just now?”
“I am the deity of this world. As for just now… allow me to explain the current situation.”
The black cat looked up at him adorably, and the voice continued,
“In brief, this world is under invasion, and I need your assistance.”
Yan Huan was taken aback by the cat’s serious tone.
“The aliens really are attacking?”
“No, it’s another world’s fantastical powers that are invading the world you live in.”
The black cat shook its head, and a phantom glow burst forth before Yan Huan’s eyes.
First, a shadow of a clawed crab appeared, seemingly a deity from some other world, then it vanished, revealing more information about that other world,
【World Number of Invasion Powers: 114514, Definition: A Female-Oriented Fantasy World, Name: Cruel Meat X Training】
“Stop, stop!”
Before any more dangerous terms could pop up, Yan Huan quickly waved his hand, dispersing the light and making the text fade away like smoke.
He inhaled deeply, suddenly recalling the strange sounds that had come from Bai Yi earlier.
He seemed to suddenly remember something about Bai Yi’s ability to be ignored no matter what he did.
【Indifference】.
No wonder it sounded so familiar!
At that moment, countless dirty memories suddenly surged forth in Yan Huan’s mind.
Oh wow, it’s definitely the Greek God of Lust who’s come knocking!
The black cat let out another cute “Meow,” speaking into his mind,
“The invading powers have caused abnormal incidents in this originally normal world, ultimately giving rise to five very dangerous 【Modifiers】, and what Bai Yi had was one of them. They incubate within the female recipients blessed with luck, gradually growing stronger by feeding on their desires, ultimately throwing the world line into chaos and utterly ruining your life.”
Yan Huan blinked, wanting to say, “What does this have to do with my life?”
But he abruptly remembered how Bai Yi had just inexplicably painted his face and mentioned something about “there’s still time,” and he bit his tongue.
Moreover, if he had such an “Indifference” ability that could break the rules of reality, he wouldn’t just be doodling on Zhou Bin’s face.
Putting himself in Bai Yi’s shoes, he didn’t think she would keep playing harmless pranks forever.
Considering Bai Yi’s words, she probably had just gotten her Modifier not long ago and was still in the stage of trial and error, so her antics could be considered somewhat restrained.
But, given time—
The black cat blinked its bejeweled green eyes as if seeing through his current confusion and frustration, licking its fur while explaining,
“In the past several years, due to your disciplined hard work, you now possess unimaginable handsome looks, a super bright mind, and excellent social connections. You are the only traveler in this world, the only being I can communicate with. In other words, luck is also on your side, perfectly satisfying the desires from that world.”
Yeah, looking back, even though he started as an orphan without an impressive family background, Yan Huan maintained a disciplined life.
Studying was never a problem; in his previous life, he excelled in academics. If not for his body being weak and leading to his untimely death, he wouldn’t have had to start over.
So he began working out early in this life to build a solid foundation.
He consistently exercised daily, not only achieving a healthy body but also somehow keeping all his hair, defying the curse of “baldness equals strength”!
But, could it be that because of this, he was targeted by those so-called invading powers?
A shiver ran down Yan Huan’s spine, and in an instant, countless images from various artistic works emblazoned with desire symbols flooded his mind.
Outstanding and aloof beauties, gentle and kind neighborhood sisters, proud and stunning young ladies…
Such attractive women, who probably did nothing and were inadvertently influenced by bizarre props and corrupted; some even directly faced degradation.
Um, no, it’s possible they did indeed engage in inappropriate behavior, getting vengeance from those with that power, severely harmed in various ways.
In any case, right now, he was somewhat the former in a gender swap!
His expression stiffened slightly, realizing that all his hard work over the years had become the reason he was now embroiled in danger, he felt a profound sense of, “Why do good people have to live under the gun?”
At this moment, Yan Huan wasn’t feeling so great. He leaned back in his chair, feeling a bit disheartened.
He couldn’t help but ask: six-year-old Yan Huan, why did you make that birthday wish?
But soon, he straightened up a bit.
“Wait, why do you need my help? Aren’t you a deity? Can’t you directly get rid of these Modifiers?”
Upon hearing this, the black cat looked at Yan Huan with a helpless expression, almost asking,
“Are you serious, relying on me, a cat?”
Thankfully, the black cat earnestly explained,
“I lack the ability to directly intervene in the world; other deities from different worlds don’t possess this ability either. That’s why Modifiers choose hosts from within the world.”
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow as if he had grasped onto a blind spot, stroking his chin while looking at the black cat,
“So, you can give me a similar Modifier, right?”
“Correct, but the effect of what I can give you is quite different from the evil Modifiers they possess. I can only grant you two simple things.”
The black cat raised its left paw in admiration of Yan Huan’s clear-mindedness and introduced,
“First, I can grant you 【Resistance to the effects of Modifiers】, meaning that no matter what Modifier it is, their effects will only partially apply to you. However, this resistance isn’t invincible; the effects of the Modifiers will grow stronger as they feast on desires, and your resistance will gradually diminish until it completely fails. By then, you’ll probably be entirely done for.”
Then, lowering its left paw, the black cat raised its right paw,
“Secondly, I can randomly provide you with 【One permanent reward per week】, with various abilities, attributes, and skills, typically one chosen from three options.
These rewards may gain strength from absorbing the power of Modifiers while dealing with them, and the abilities granted won’t disappear even after you manage to resolve all five Modifiers, acting as your compensation for helping restore the world line to normal.”
Yan Huan squinted, not getting swayed by the cat’s grand promises but instead asked for more detailed information,
“Resolve the Modifiers? What does that entail?”
The black cat lowered its raised paw and resumed its sitting position, then spoke to Yan Huan one word at a time, quite seriously,
“The only method to resolve a Modifier is: 【Make the host of the Modifier willingly give it up】.
“Also, please remember, under no circumstances can you 【expose your knowledge of the Modifiers’ existence】. Once a host realizes you can perceive the Modifiers, the desire called ‘overcoming insecurity’ will grow exponentially in their heart, ultimately turning the Modifiers into fully functional entities, rendering your resistance ineffective, and then it’s all over!”
Got it, got it, can’t reveal the cheat abilities.
Thinking carefully, it’s as if you were endowed with the Indifference ability and then attempted to do something bad to the school beauty—only to be dramatically discovered by the whole class!
In a deadly silence, you watch as they lift their phones to capture your state of undress.
That would not just be a little movie for venting; that would be pure horror!
Yan Huan forced a bitter smile, mumbling,
“So, I need to make them willingly give up their Modifiers without exposing my knowledge? You might as well let me die. If I had Bai Yi’s kind of Modifier, I’d never even think of giving it up, okay?”
“…”
The black cat blinked its cute big eyes, not knowing how to comfort Yan Huan since the truth was undeniable.
He loved watching Japanese anime, but finding himself in such a scenario felt far from ideal, especially when he was cast in the role of the victim!
After a long silence, Yan Huan gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and sat up straight, looking at the black cat in front of him, extending his hand,
“Give it to me.”
“…What?”
“The random ability for this week! Today is Friday, so I shouldn’t have to wait until next week, right?”
“…”
The black cat flicked its tail, somewhat impressed by his adaptability.
Immediately, three illusory golden spheres popped up in front of Yan Huan like magic, swirling and bursting forth with text.
【Ability: Perfect Expression Management — Expressions are supposed to be windows to your emotions, but right now, they turn into your ever-changing masks.】
【Skill: Catching Blades with Bare Hands — You can’t catch if there’s more than one knife, unless you have four hands!】
【Skill: 100% Successful Backflip — Hey, wanna come to my place and see my backflip?】
Yan Huan’s face darkened as he squeezed the fat face of the black cat, questioning,
“What on earth are these? What good is this for resolving Modifiers?!”
The cat gave an innocent look, causing Yan Huan’s head to buzz,
“This isn’t my decision! I told you, it’s random, random!”
“Just wait, if they ever finish with me, you’ll be next!”
As Yan Huan vented his feelings by pinching the cat, a sudden knocking on the empty classroom’s door interrupted them.
“Click, click, click.”
Yan Huan’s body froze, turning his head alongside the black cat to look at the door.
The doorknob turned, and the door gradually swung open, revealing a boy dressed in a gray Far Moon school uniform with black-framed glasses.
Seeing it was a boy, both Yan Huan and the black cat let out a sigh of relief, even better that Yan Huan recognized him.
This was their student council’s accountant and technical support, Ya Qiao Mu.
He had thick hair, a slightly long fringe, and appeared a bit pale, his reflective glasses framing anxious eyes beneath them,
“President, why aren’t you answering messages? Everyone’s been @ mentioning you in the group, and you haven’t taken your phone—what are you doing all alone here? If it weren’t for the people from your exam room telling me you were upstairs, I would never have found you. Cat? Where did that come from?”
As he spoke, Ya Qiao Mu got distracted by the pudgy black cat in Yan Huan’s hands. Yan Huan shot it a glare and chose one of the three illusory golden spheres that seemed somewhat useful,
【Ability: Perfect Expression Management】
In an instant, his facial muscles felt like they had been reconfigured, becoming exceptionally nimble.
It was as if the buttons controlling his expressions had suddenly jumped from 61 keys to 107, exploding with a multitude of notes, and not only that, the perfect control over every aspect made Yan Huan feel extraordinarily novel.
His facial muscles moved from top to bottom, finally turning into an apologetic smile as he held up the black cat and said,
“This stray cat? Just picked it up! Isn’t it cute?”
“Meow~”
“It really is adorable! Do you have a name? But is a stray really this fat?”
“Meow!”
“I’m thinking of naming it Meow-chan.”
“Meow?”
“Meow-chan, what a lovely name… Wait! President, this isn’t the time to talk about this! Hurry and check your phone! You Anli Na is about to go crazy waiting!”
Hearing this, Yan Huan hugged the black cat tightly and pulled out his smartphone, which had been switched to flight mode because of the exam.
As soon as he connected to the school network, a series of rapid notification sounds erupted like unexpected explosions.
There was a popular social app called “Plane” that included online payments, friend circles, and more; Yan Huan often thought of it as a foreign version of WeChat.
“Ding ding ding~”
“Far Moon Student Council General Management Group (5)”
Secretary – You Anli Na: “Have you seen the President? I’m really worried!”
Accountant – Ya Qiao Mu: “None of us seem to be in the same exam room as him, but since he just finished the exam, he should still be at school…”
Secretary – You Anli Na: “Exactly because he might still be at school that I’m worried! Quickly, help me contact the President; the principal is looking for him!”
Vice President – Sakura Kyoko: “The President isn’t in the Student Council Office.”
Accountant – Ya Qiao Mu: “Ah, can’t even reach him by phone… he’s probably too busy having a secret meeting with some girl, so he has no time to check his phone.”
Vice President – Sakura Kyoko: “Ya Qiao, please don’t casually joke about fellow students’ private lives.”
Accountant – Ya Qiao Mu: “I’m sorry, I’m wrong, Vice President.”
Vice President Sakura Kyoko is still as stern and serious as ever.
A flood of messages scrolled by and were too lengthy to read, plus several other student council groups were trying to contact him. Yan Huan simply set down his phone and asked Ya Qiao Mu directly,
“It’s too long to read. The principal is looking for me; what’s going on?”
Ya Qiao Mu took a deep breath and said to Yan Huan,
“Well, the principal said your mother has come to school to find you, and you should hurry over!”
Mother?
Yan Huan’s hold on the cat wavered slightly, and he froze like a statue.
It’s one thing for parents to visit their children at school, but the problem is…
His parents had died in a plane crash shortly after he crossed over, and he grew up in an orphanage!
Out of the blue, where did this “mother” come from?!
