Chapter 1

The days around me are always the same. For me, every day consists of nothing more than waking up, going to school, listening to the teacher's rambling while holding a textbook, going home after school, doing homework, reviewing and previewing, sleeping, and then repeating it all the next day.

Oh, right, please don't compare me to those kids who never play games, always ace their exams, don't even have a love life, and can't even make a close friend, who are seen as perfect by teachers and parents but are considered nothing more than Buddhist monks by their peers... Sorry, even the Buddhist monks of today are more fashionable than this guy. I'm just an ordinary first-year high school student. I can't be like the leader who can make the whole world follow his whims, nor can I be like Touma, who can still get a girl with his right hand even after being in ten car accidents and being wrapped up like a mummy. And most importantly—I'm not a girl, so the possibility of signing a contract with a strange white cat-like creature to become a magical girl and change my fate is out of the question.

I hate these monotonous days that repeat endlessly, making me think of the answer to 10 divided by 3, which is frustratingly repetitive. I hate them from the bottom of my heart. But there's no way around it—this is life, this is reality. Unless you take the initiative to change it, it won't change. So, after a month of aimlessly drifting, I decisively joined a club called the Network Research Club based on my interests.

I sincerely thank the President of the Tang Empire for promoting an educational system that encourages student autonomy, and I also sincerely thank Hui Ming High School, a regular school among many, for not solely pursuing high admission rates and opposing the empire's top leader. This is why a club that, when you hear its name, makes you think of a few boys with thick glasses sitting in a dim room in front of glowing computer screens, playing League of Legends and losing three games in a row, could be established and is even one of the earliest clubs in the school.

Regardless of which senior had the sudden idea to create this club, I can only say that the name they came up with is incredibly bold and over-the-top—clearly challenging the teachers: "We're playing online games, come and check if you dare."

As it turned out, I was being too superficial and naive.

The school bell rang, dispelling the lingering sleepiness from my drowsy body. It was early October, and the summer heat had mostly dissipated, making it a perfect time to take a nap in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to skip class and sleep on the rooftop in the sun, which is something only the protagonists in anime, games, and novels would do. As an ordinary person like me, I could only settle for napping on the desks in the classroom.

Well, since I'm in the last row, as long as I'm not too excessive, the teacher will probably pretend not to see me.

"Hey, Yang Yi, wake up." Someone was shaking my shoulder, ruining my plan to continue lying on the desk. "There's club activity today, get up quickly."

The person shaking me was a thin guy with slightly curly hair and glasses with a moderate prescription, named Liu Tao. He is my classmate and also a good friend who joined the Network Research Club with me.

Yeah, the last part is just his one-sided wish, I have no intention of acknowledging it.

"Alright, alright, let's go." I quickly packed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Are you planning to search for those ghostly and mysterious things online again today? Why don't you play a game occasionally?"

"No interest!"

He answered immediately.

Liu Tao's interest is in collecting various ancient myths and legends, whether they are about gods, other races, or artifacts with incredible power. Generally, in various fantasy works, a character like him should be a disheveled sage who never leaves the moldy library. But times have changed, and when faced with a mountain of ancient texts and a sleek, compact computer, I think any great sage would choose the latter...

I really don't know why he chose to join the Network Research Club. Could it be just because of the free internet? Better not to say it out loud.

Regardless of personal interests, Liu Tao and I are the first friends we made in high school, and we get along quite well. He likes to search for things that seem like urban legends to me, while I enjoy playing an online game that he considers a waste of time. I wonder how we managed to communicate and form this strange partnership?

Maybe it was due to the influence of Senior Lan Yu.

The second-year senior is the club president, with a frail constitution and a very gentle personality. I heard she is the daughter of a wealthy family, and I once saw her arrive at school in a high-end, luxurious car whose name I couldn't even remember, so the rumors are probably true. But that doesn't matter to me; to me, Senior Lan Yu is just a regular, somewhat clumsy and naturally silly girl who often comes up with all sorts of bizarre ideas that leave people speechless but can't even walk on flat ground without tripping.

When I opened the door to the club room and saw Senior Lan Yu sitting on the floor in a standard duck-sitting position next to the filing cabinet, surrounded by scattered papers, I became even more convinced of this—despite the fact that her beauty, delicate and frail figure, prominent family background, and gentle, elegant demeanor make her a school idol envied by girls and adored by boys, she is a headache for Liu Tao and me.

Naturally silly girls are indeed cute, but after making a mess, they won't clean it up themselves.

"Let me guess." I walked into the room and put my bag on my chair, already used to the scene. "Senior, you were preparing for the club report at the student council meeting, forgot where the materials were, and started rummaging through the filing cabinet. Then you suddenly felt dizzy due to anemia, and when you came to, you were in this state, right?"

"Ugh." Senior Lan Yu, ignoring her silky black hair, puffed out her cheeks and glared at me, "Yang Yi is mean."

"Stop calling me that!" Senior Lan Yu's voice was as clear and pleasant as a mountain stream, but I still felt the urge to flip the table and roar. This damn nickname made me suffer through a miserable childhood, "I have nothing to do with that guy who can openly cheat and kick a soccer ball in a way that defies all laws of physics and makes all the physicists and anatomists go crazy!"

She continued to look up at me with innocent, pure eyes.

"Ah, alright, alright, I get it." I sighed heavily, resigned, and walked over to her, extending my hand, "I'll help you clean up, okay? Liu Tao, come help too... Damn, you're fast!"

My good friend (self-proclaimed) Liu Tao was already lying on the bed by the wall, wearing a helmet and in a connected state.

Yes, that is the legendary virtual projection device that allows users to experience the internet as if they were really there, a godsend for netizens. The internet today can finally provide a virtual experience, but the number of people who have the hardware to match, such as this device, is not many—there are only a few hundred thousand sets worldwide, including those owned by military forces of various countries—our club has three of them.

What kind of background does Senior Lan Yu have...

Holding my hand, Senior Lan Yu stood up without looking up and hit her head hard on the open filing cabinet door, immediately bursting into tears and crouching down to protect her head.

In short, she is definitely naturally silly.

I decided not to continue exploring Senior Lan Yu's background, quickly tidied up the files, and neatly placed them on the long wooden table in the center of the room for the meeting: "Senior, if you don't have any activities planned for today, I'll log in and play a game."

Every time she proposes a club activity, the content is so outlandish that it leaves me in awe. To ensure my brain cells don't die from overwork, I had to take action before she spoke—right now, I envied Liu Tao, who was lying on the bed, sleeping like a dead pig, and had already escaped without a sound.

"Um, yes, today I'm busy preparing the report, so there are no activities." After standing up and patting her skirt, Senior Lan Yu placed her left hand on her right arm and gently tapped her lips with her right index finger, thinking, "So, Yang Yi, have fun."

"…Senior, can we discuss this? Can we change the way you call me?"

At this moment, I felt like ten thousand grass mud horses were galloping through my mind. Since she is a senior and a frail girl, I couldn't flip the table and go berserk in front of her, so I had to take a roundabout approach. Although I'm not good at lying, fooling a naturally silly girl like Senior Lan Yu should be easy.

Once again, I was too superficial.

"Then, how about 'Little Yang Yi'?"

I'm sorry, I was wrong, I won't do it again. Tears streaming down my face, I suddenly remembered a term called "natural black" and shook my head vigorously: "No need, Senior, just call me as you did before."

After saying that, I ran to the bed next to Liu Tao, put on the helmet, and logged into the network.