novelraw Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
"Last night Ye Shiyu tried to open your bedroom door, meow."
At the sound of Meow-chan's voice, Yan Huan's toothbrush stilled. He widened his eyes, mouth full of foam, and turned toward the small cat sitting primly on his bed.
"When?"
"After you'd fallen asleep. Very late."
Meow-chan swivelled toward the door, rising on its hind legs and miming a paw-and-head motion, as though re-enacting the scene. "The handle jiggled, but the door was locked, so she couldn't get in."
...
Someone standing outside your room in the dead of night, trying to slip in while you're asleep—what do you think she planned to do?
Seriously, sis? That's terrifying.
Yan Huan spat out the foam, rinsed his mouth, and splashed water on his face. He reached for yesterday's shirt, then thought better of it; the thing had spent two days clinging to his skin and felt gross after yesterday's errands. He should've waited for Auntie Chen to finish drying his clean clothes before showering and turning in. Now he'd have to head downstairs to grab something fresh.
He checked his phone—5:50 a.m. Earlier than usual. The hallway was silent, the dawn light so weak it barely filtered through the living-room gauze curtains. Good; everyone else was still asleep.
Bare-chested, he padded downstairs with the empty milk cup from last night, aiming for the laundry room. Opposite it sat the kitchen, the water purifier just outside the doorway. He rinsed the cup, filled it, and downed a glass of lukewarm water. One morning glass and the whole body came back to life.
He set the cup in the dish rack and stepped into the laundry room.
Where had Auntie Chen hung the dried clothes? He scanned the suspended garments, hunting for the new shirt he'd bought yesterday.
Just then another figure appeared at the kitchen doorway, water cup in hand. Ye Shiyu had come down for an early refill. Hearing the rustle of fabric, she glanced toward the laundry room.
In the cool morning light she watched Yan Huan—shirtless, searching, oblivious—until her eyes slowly widened. Her phone lit up in her hand.
Found it.
He pulled the new beige shirt off its hanger; the fabric felt soft and clean. He slipped it on, debating whether to toss the dirty shirt straight into the washer. One item felt wasteful, so he left it and turned to go.
At the doorway stood Ye Shiyu, cup in hand, motionless as a ghost.
Crap!?
Yan Huan's face twitched toward a curse, but Perfect Expression Management kicked in. He forced a smile. "Morning, Shiyu-sis. Up early today?"
"Mm-hmm."
Her features returned to normal, yet her voice sounded oddly stilted. She'd drunk too much water last night after that strange video, and at six a.m. her bladder had insisted she get up. Even now her mouth felt dry, her skin hot; sleep had been patchy at best. Then she'd come downstairs—and stumbled upon Yan Huan half-dressed.
Her fingers trembled around the cup. She took another sip, eyes flicking—barely perceptible—over the outline of his new beige shirt, as though recalling whatever she'd seen before the shirt went on.
Yan Huan stepped out of the laundry room, still smiling. "Want breakfast? I can throw something together."
"No need."
"Alright. I'll head out for a bit. Be back before noon."
"Okay."
If she'd wanted to eat he'd have cooked, but since she didn't, he'd grab something outside. He swapped shoes at the door, phone in hand, eager to avoid any private moment that might give her a chance to hypnotize him. Moments later he was gone.
Ye Shiyu watched him leave, then drained her cup.
Early-spring mornings were chilly. Yan Huan inhaled sharply, set off at a light jog, and headed for the gate.
"Where are you going? Morning workout?"
A black cat had appeared beside him, matching his stride.
Yan Huan didn't slow, adjusting his breathing as he answered. "Aquarium. First I need breakfast, then the six-thirty bus."
He scanned the high-end estate; none of the shops opened this early. He'd have to go further out. A quick map search pointed him to a Longguo breakfast stall just beyond the compound wall. In Linmen, only Longguo-run joints opened before dawn.
Pork buns and pumpkin porridge later, the stall began to fill. Meow-chan sat beside him, licking its paw.
"What are we doing at the aquarium?"
"Looking for some Mickey Mouse–level gadget that'll help with the Modifier."
"...?"
They finished eating and caught the first bus. Linmen transit was strict about pets—normally you needed a crate or carrier. But Meow-chan wasn't an ordinary cat; it turned invisible to everyone except Yan Huan and hopped aboard unnoticed.
The bus was nearly empty. Yan Huan took a seat by the window, put on his Bluetooth headset, and petted the cat while the city slid past. Half an hour later the automated voice in his earbud chimed: disembark. He pulled the buds free just as the bus loudspeaker announced, "Aquarium stop—next!"
The bus was filling up. He glanced over and found himself eye-to-eye with a girl whose cheeks were faintly flushed, phone in hand.
"Excuse me."
"O-oh, sure."
It was barely seven-thirty. Yesterday's bustling mall wouldn't open until ten, but the aquarium gates swung at eight—so he wasn't ridiculously early, especially with a feline assistant.
Off the bus, Yan Huan asked, "Meow-chan, can you sniff out whatever Shiyu-sis lost?"
The cat tilted its head in an "are you kidding me" expression.
"You're a cat. I read that if your own cat's missing, you give its toy to a stray; the stray can track it down."
"..."
Meow-chan sighed, lifted its nose, and trotted toward the mall. "There's still a faint trace of her scent this way."
The mall? Not inside the aquarium?
Yan Huan jogged after the cat to the plaza where the mall and aquarium met—the exit side of the aquarium. From here he could see yesterday's gift stand where Ye Shiyu had bought her keychain.
Meow-chan sniffed along the edge of a flowerbed, then froze and let out a short mew.
"Here?"
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow and pushed aside the grass.
Nestled among the damp blades lay a crystal-blue jellyfish pendant. A sticker on the side read "Ye Shiyu." It was the exact keychain she'd lost.
"...No way. How did it end up here? She never came near this spot yesterday."
He lifted the keychain—and something stranger happened. The moment it left the grass, the pendant gave a tiny but unmistakable tug, as though magnetized toward a specific direction.
"What the—?"
He stared at Meow-chan. The cat sniffed the pendant once more.
"Ye Shiyu's scent is almost gone. Another woman's scent is strong."
"Another woman?"
"This keychain is beginning to take on that woman's shape."
Yan Huan frowned; the keychain had finally gone still in his hand, not even a tremor left.
Meow-chan chose that moment to look up.
"The woman's scent has completely vanished."
Yan Huan weighed the supernatural silence, met the cat's eyes, and blurted,
"A Modifier?"
"Did you two meet anyone yesterday?"
Who?
A blond girl with a wicked grin flashed across his memory.
No way...
He opened his mouth, then turned to Meow-chan.
"If one Modifier's host meets another, does the effect still work?"
"No idea, but it looks like it might."
Realizing the hosts weren't on the same side—in fact, they could end up at each other's throats—Yan Huan's face went grimmer, not lighter.
Convincing each host to abandon their Modifier voluntarily was already the only way to fix things.
Yet if you knew the other person had a cheat too, why would you give yours up first?
So the one-by-one plan was dead; now he had to make them all quit at once.
Even worse, any rivalry would make the Modifiers grow explosively.
A bug-level cheat that normally needed ten percent of its power to solve real-world problems might need a hundred percent—or more—once hosts started fighting.
The slow-feeding hunger would turn ravenous.
He didn't need Meow-chan to spell it out: competitiveness, the need to win, the urge to wipe each other out—terrifying words.
Great. The Holy Grail War was coming to Linmen.
Those overpowered Modifiers were the Servants, the hosts were the Masters... and Yan Huan himself was probably the blasted Grail.
Shibal.
"Let the first Linmen Holy Grail War begin!"
With the look of a man out of options, Yan Huan scratched Meow-chan behind the ears.
"Saber Meow-chan, you and your Master go find a cave and hide for the rest of your lives."
The jellyfish keychain—icy after a night outside—rested in his palm, and his heart felt just as cold.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Linmen Aquarium. Through advanced marine-simulation technology, we present a rich variety of sea life..."
The loudspeaker crackled; the aquarium would open soon.
Yesterday's gift shop had just rolled up its shutters, a clerk already sweeping the entrance.
Yan Huan twirled the jellyfish pendant, thought for a second, and walked over.
"Welcome, customer!"
The clerk sounded startled—after all, the aquarium itself hadn't opened yet.
Yan Huan nodded, swept his gaze across the shelves, and spotted a small gift box labeled "Jellyfish."
He blinked, grabbed the box and a matching jellyfish plush, and said,
"I'll take these. Could you bag them?"
"Cash, card, or—"
"Plane."
Yan "Holy Grail" Huan lifted his phone and paid the first expense of the Linmen Holy Grail War.
––––––
"So you're telling me you've been hearing voices in your head?"
In a sun-flooded living room on a high floor of a luxury apartment in Jinghe District, a woman in a light knit coat arched an eyebrow.
She looked at the blond girl doing bicep curls by the window—A'ruiya Spencer.
Spencer nodded, every rep a struggle against the heavy dumbbells.
"Yeah, and it keeps spouting weird stuff."
The woman jotted in her notebook:
Suspected obsession with adult material.
"Anything else? Trouble sleeping? Loss of appetite? Irritability?"
Spencer set the weights down, rubbed her chin.
"Well, maybe a bit less appetite lately. Sleep's fine."
The psychologist glanced at the coffee table buried under bags of gourmet chips and chocolate.
Point taken.
She wrote: Appetite excellent, exercises regularly, normal sleep.
"When do you hear the voice most? Certain times of day? During particular activities?"
Just then, an illusory interface slammed into Spencer's mind.
[Plunder Mode effect has ended. Gained 0.1 Plunder Energy.]
[Current Plunder Energy: 0.1]
[Accumulate more to unlock Plunder Power. As your energy rises, you will receive the following buffs:]
[Your attraction toward the target of plunder will gradually increase.]
[The victim's will to resist will gradually weaken.]
[Your physique, resistance, and charisma will gradually improve.]
Spencer's mouth opened—she almost shouted, "Right now! I hear it now!"
But the dumbbells suddenly felt lighter.
She blinked, tried another curl—definitely easier, as if her strength had spiked.
Unreal.
She stared at the floating text as it twisted into a final line:
[Use it without restraint.]
Her surprise morphed into a hungry grin.
"Miss Spencer?"
The psychologist flinched as Spencer dropped the dumbbells with a metallic crash.
"You can relax. My mom owns the whole building; the floor below is empty."
"I see. I just wanted to ask—"
"No need. I'm fine."
"Miss Spencer—"
Spencer's face chilled.
"I said I'm fine. Tell my mom whatever you need. I'll even show up at school tomorrow—exactly what you're paid to ensure, right?"
The psychologist closed her notebook, exhaled, and stood.
"Understood. I'll take my leave. Contact me any time if anything changes."
"Mm-hmm."
Without looking back, Spencer gazed through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city awakening in the morning light.
Beyond the high-rise balcony, the sea glimmered faintly at the horizon.
Excitement sparked in her eyes, a strange flame growing brighter.
Click.
The door shut behind the psychologist.
Spencer couldn't hold it in any longer; she bounced up and down, fists clenched.
"Heh-heh!"
Clunk!
In mid-leap she forgot the dumbbell she'd left out. Her bare foot slammed right into it.
"Argh!"
Her small face scrunched in pain; she dropped to her knees, clutching her big toe.
"Ow—ow—ow!"
She curled up, rolling across the floor, tears threatening to spill.
Outside, bright sunlight had crested the horizon and flooded her huge room, falling across the living-room coffee table behind her.
There, among scattered snacks and a game controller, lay an envelope.
It read:
Yuanyue International High-School
Letter of Admission
Dear Aria Spencer,
After careful review by the school committee and the academic office, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for the coming spring semester.