The library was thick with the scent of old paper and the quiet hum of students preparing for midterms. I had just turned back to my terminal, my mind calculating pips and currency fluctuations, when the heavy oak doors at the front of the library swung open with a force that drew every eye in the room.
The atmosphere in the library didn't just chill; it solidified. The girl standing at the entrance was an impossible friction against the mundane reality of Rokehurst High.
She didn't look like she belonged in a Kansas high school; she looked like she'd stepped off a runway in Seoul or Shanghai. She had porcelain skin, sharp, intelligent eyes, and an air of detached elegance that immediately silenced the whispers.
[ TARGET IDENTIFIED: CHEN YUE ]
[ STATUS: TRANSFER STUDENT / UNKNOWN ORIGIN ]
[ LUST LEVEL: 0% (CALCULATING) ]
She scanned the room with a clinical gaze, her eyes lingering on me for a fraction of a second longer than anyone else. But before she could move, a shadow eclipsed her path.
It was Brad, the school's star linebacker and the unofficial "enforcer" of the social hierarchy. He'd been stewing in the back of the library, watching my new suit and my interaction with Rishie with a growing, jealous heat. To him, I was a plumber who had forgotten his place.
"Hey, new girl," Brad drawled, blocking her way. "You look lost. Why don't you come sit with someone who actually runs this school instead of looking at the charity cases?" He jerked a thumb toward me, a cruel smirk on his face.
Chen Yue didn't flinch. She didn't even look at him. She looked through him. "Move," she said, her voice like cracking ice.
The library went dead silent.
Brad's face turned a violent shade of red.
"What did you say to me? Do you have any idea who my father is?"
I stood up slowly, the Intellect-driven analysis of the situation unfolding in my vision like a combat grid. I saw Brad's center of gravity—too high. I saw his tension—concentrated in his right shoulder. He was about to lash out.
"He's asking if you know his father, Chen Yue," I said, my voice projecting with a new, resonant authority. "Probably because he needs help remembering himself. It's a common symptom of being a redundant asset."
A few students gasped. Brad spun around, his eyes bulging. "Chaycer! I'm going to break every bone in your pathetic, suited body!"
He lunged. In the past, I would have scrambled or taken the hit. But the System had already processed his trajectory.
[ PASSIVE SKILL ACTIVATED: COMBAT ANALYTICS (LEVEL 1) ]
[ OPTIMAL RESPONSE: DEFLECT AND DISARM ]
As Brad's massive fist swung toward my jaw, I didn't move my head. I moved my hand. With a precision that felt like clockwork, I caught his wrist, using his own momentum to pivot his weight.
With a sharp crack of his joints, Brad let out a strangled yelp. I didn't stop. I stepped into his personal space, my face inches from his.
"Brad," I whispered, loud enough for the front row to hear. "You spend four hours a day at the gym but zero hours on your posture. Your left knee is already failing from an old injury you're hiding from the scouts. If you swing at me again, I won't just embarrass you. I'll end your career."
I let go. Brad stumbled back, clutching his wrist, his breathing ragged. He looked around the room, seeing the shock and the burgeoning laughter on the faces of his peers. The "Titan" of Rokehurst had just been dismantled by a "plumber" with one hand.
[ LUST ESSENCE HARVESTED FROM COLLECTIVE SHOCK: +40 LP ]
[ REPUTATION UPDATE: 'UNTOUCHABLE' STATUS INCREASING ]
Chen Yue watched the entire exchange with a faint, unreadable smile. She walked past the whimpering Brad and stopped in front of my desk.
"Lucas Chaycer," she said, her voice a melodic hum. "I was told this town was boring. I see I was misinformed."
Rishie, still sitting at her desk, watched the exchange with a mixture of horror and fascination. Her eyes moved from me to Chen Yue, the "su-side" shock I'd helped her with now completely forgotten in the face of this new, high-stakes drama.
I sat back down, smoothing the lapels of my jacket. "Welcome to Rokehurst, Chen Yue. Try not to trip over the local trash."
The library erupted into frantic whispering. Brad retreated to the shadows, his face burning, while Chen Yue sat at the table directly across from me. The power dynamic of the school hadn't just shifted; it had been demolished and rebuilt in my image.
The behemoth was no longer just a thought in a hospital bed. He was here, and he was taking names.