Chapter 12

Li Yixin opened the chapter. The protagonist team had been invited to the crown prince’s banquet.

Roy, with his golden hair slicked back and dressed in a white suit, looked like a refined young master from the upper district. The tall Kyle had discarded his beast-hide armor in favor of formal attire.

Lu Qi bounced about in a small red dress. Pei Xi had finally changed out of the work jacket that countless readers had complained about. A sharp suit made him appear noble and handsome.

The group changed into new outfits and squeezed into a black luxury car. The moment the chapter began, the scrolling comments were filled with praise.

【Aaaah Roy looks like a pretty calico cat】

【Finally Pei Xi got new clothes. I am taking screenshots】

【Lu Qi’s fluffy dress really shows the author’s straight-male aesthetic】

【Kyle is still buff and dependable】

【Author, give Pei Xi slicked-back hair too】

At this point, the comments had no idea what awaited them. Li Yixin continued scrolling nervously.

“This is a car. It is my first time riding one.”

“The crown prince actually sent a legendary car to pick us up. He does not seem that bad.”

“You two idiots. Cars are not that rare in the upper district.”

The teammates chatted noisily. Pei Xi wore a helpless yet indulgent smile.

This vehicle was a product developed five hundred years ago, before the descent of the Aberrant Realms and before humanity awakened abilities. It was a pure product of industry.

After the arrival of the Aberrant Realms, such purely industrial creations became rare. The Aberrant Realms brought not only disaster but also immense resources, including aberrant beasts, plants, ores, and crystals. These could enhance ability users or be used in invention and production.

Pei Xi had grown up in factories in the lower district. Most factories produced equipment and weapons for ability users, while only a few manufactured civilian goods.

Moreover, civilian production depended heavily on materials from the Aberrant Realms.

Seated in the car, Pei Xi’s smile faded. He lowered his head and toyed with the rectangular device in his hand. This was called a phone, issued by the Ability Competition Association. It was apparently a communication tool commonly used in the upper district.

After receiving it, he studied it carefully and discovered that its components were produced in the factory where he once worked, processed from the common mineral known as sound stone found in Aberrant Realms.

Long-term exposure to sound stone caused tinnitus, and in severe cases, deafness. Once processed, the sound stone in phones no longer posed such risks and instead enabled long-distance voice transmission.

Ordinary citizens bore the consequences, while the benefits were enjoyed by the nobles and powerful of the upper district.

Seeing this panel of Pei Xi’s lonely expression, Li Yixin felt a sharp pang in her chest. Damn those celestial dragons.

But when she scrolled to the scene where the team entered the banquet and Sykes appeared on the second floor, she screamed again now for the celestial dragon. The crown prince was undeniably handsome.

Golden hair and golden eyes, unrestrained and flamboyant. His posture of surveying all things from above compelled submission. He was precisely the type adored by someone who worshipped strength like her.

Opening the comments, she saw that everyone had fallen victim to the crown prince’s beauty.

【The crown prince finally appears. He is even more handsome】

【Xi-Sy is about to explode again】

【Sy-Xi is the true beauty CP】

【Sykes. A man among men】

“Thank you all for taking the time to attend.”

Sykes’s noble and imposing face filled an entire horizontal panel, his expression enigmatic, as though brewing something intriguing.

“For the third stage of the competition, Ye Zheng will join the Royal Ability Academy team. Let us cheer for our Saintess.”

Li Yixin froze. Who was Ye Zheng? The Saintess had only been briefly mentioned during the church’s introduction.

She continued scrolling. Another breathtaking beauty appeared beside Sykes, stealing her breath.

The black-haired, black-eyed girl stood in stark contrast to the crown prince. If he was a blazing sun, she was a cold and distant moon, untouched by his radiance.

On the next page, Pei Xi gazed toward the second floor. The usually calm and composed youth wore a dazed expression, his blue eyes rippling with unfamiliar emotion.

Li Yixin’s heart sank. She desperately clung to the thought that Pei Xi was reacting to Sykes. But the following lines shattered her hope. Complex thoughts surged within the youth’s mind.

【The moment I saw her, I knew. She is the mysterious church figure who saved me.】

【So her name is Ye Zheng. Just as gentle and beautiful as the rumors claim.】

【But why is she standing there, beside that person?】

【For some reason, I feel that something is wrong. She should be standing by my side.】

Li Yixin felt as though the author had struck her senseless.

No matter how one looked at it, this was love at first sight. The author had sold it far too directly. The two had not even exchanged words, yet Pei Xi was already emotionally invested. This was character collapse.

No wonder the forums had erupted.

✧✧✧✧✧

『Are you out of your mind? You accepted invitations from both the protagonist and antagonist factions at the same time. How are you planning to manage this?』

Ye Zheng lounged in the waiting room, scrolling through forum posts while responding casually.

“According to insider information, the third stage of the competition does not require direct confrontation between teams. It still focuses on Aberrant Realms.”

“Substitute members are not required to participate in every match. The team will arrange appearances based on circumstances.”

『You truly know how to make trouble for yourself. If you had followed my plan, you could have easily avoided the death ending.』

“More screen time helps accumulate popularity.”

“And more importantly…”

Though unconvinced, the system had to admit that this host was more perceptive than expected. Current popularity values exceeded its predictions. Perhaps Ye Zheng’s appearance carried some deeper intention.

“And more importantly, agreeing to Sykes was the only way to save that man’s life at the time.”

The system froze. It took a moment before it even remembered who that man was.

『Hey. That man was completely insignificant. If he wanted to climb up to Sykes, he should have been prepared to die. Why did you need to save a nobody?』

Ye Zheng frowned. “Why would you think that? People in this world accept Sykes’s tyranny as normal because they have grown numb under authoritarian rule.”

“They instinctively defend powerful authority to seek protection. I understand them. But as the church’s Saintess, I cannot agree.”

“With the countless innocents he has devoured in his hunting grounds, killing Sykes on the spot would be the only way not to disgrace the title of Saintess. Unfortunately, I do not possess such power.”

Ye Zheng spoke calmly of assassinating the future emperor, words that were nothing short of treason. The system felt its understanding of Ye Zheng overturn once more.

『Wait. Since when does a Saintess handle executions?』

『You are supposed to be a gentle, healing-type female lead. Killing the antagonist is the male lead’s job. You are not actually planning to kill Sykes, are you?』

Ye Zheng lowered her head, scrolled through the phone twice, and asked casually, “By the way, what does OOC mean? The forums keep arguing about it.”

『OOC means acting out of character, causing character collapse. Stop changing the subject.』

“Oh. They are arguing that Pei Xi appears to have fallen in love at first sight with the new character, which they say is OOC and a serious flaw.”

“Someone even erased me from the panel. Is this some special technology from your higher-dimensional world?”

『They just Photoshopped you out.』

The system could not help but read the forums along with her.

『Get ready. hardcore beauty CP fans are going to latch onto you forever.』

Ye Zheng tilted her head slightly. As expected of a higher-dimensional world. The vocabulary was remarkably rich.

What exactly was “Beauty CP,” anyway?

[T/N - Useless Trivia, the chinese term/slang 美帝 that I translated as Beauty Cp (danmei/gay) but it's literal translation is American imperialism (cold war era term), God Bless America Raaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅]