Chapter 23: I Don’t Want To Go To That Godforsaken Place
“Huh? Suddenly, you want to show me around? To the ‘City of the Living’?”
“What the heck are you talking about? Just by the name, I know that’s not a place humans should tread.”
“I say, is it okay to bring a human like me to a place like that? Will I really not get eaten?”
Zombies and walking cadavers, the first impression is ‘biting and gnawing’, the second impression is ‘attacking humans’, and the third impression is ‘transmitting infectious diseases’… they’re definitely not good impressions.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, with me here, you’ll be fine~” Li Nai confidently patted her chest and guaranteed it.
If it really turns out to be as safe as Li Nai said, that would be fine. Since there’s no danger to my life, I can just treat it like a haunted house at an amusement park. I can accept a process of being scared but ultimately unharmed.
But when Li Nai says this, why does it feel so unreliable? This guy is completely untrustworthy. I’d better clarify things, otherwise, if I get tricked, I won’t even have a place to complain.
“So, does that mean, as long as you’re here, those zombies and walking cadavers won’t attack me?”
“Too bad, my influence isn’t that great yet~ Maybe the ones on the outskirts will even bite me, ahaha~”
“Okay, I’ve decided to go home. See you tomorrow, classmate Li Nai.” I put the broom back in the locker and, without another word, picked up my schoolbag and headed for the door.
“Wait, wait! Didn’t I say I’d take you to see it? Don’t go home!” Li Nai immediately rushed over and grabbed my wrist, stopping me from leaving.
“Who wants to go to a place where I might just die! And even if I don’t go home, I have to attend the evening study session. How can I have time to go with you to a place that’s no different from the underworld!” I shook my arm with great disgust, trying to get her to let go, but she had no intention of releasing me. She even hugged my arm entirely, holding me back with all her might. Their strength is astonishing, it’s too much. It completely subverts my impression of girls. How can they be associated with the word ‘fragile’? It’s not that I need to protect them; rather, I’ve become the one being protected. It really makes me feel complicated. It’s not that I’m a weakling, it’s that they are too formidable.
“We can skip evening study sessions, and my place is completely different from the underworld! It’s not a chaotic faction, but an orderly one! And everyone is a good corpse, they won’t bite randomly!”
You’re telling me that a place where skeletons and zombies live belongs to an orderly faction? What the heck is a ‘good corpse’? Can I assume that any corpse that isn’t hideous is a good corpse?
“I don’t believe you! You just said they’d bite you too, and now you’re saying they won’t bite randomly. What’s the real story! If I die, will you take responsibility!”
“That situation will never happen. I swear on my heart and brain, you absolutely won’t die. At most, you’ll just become a zombie.”
At most? What the heck! That’s the worst possible outcome! Besides, zombies are beings that have already given up their hearts and brains, right? Your promise is worthless. And rather than turning into a brainless zombie, I’d rather just die!
“Let me go! You brainless zombie!” A zombie is much smarter than this. Even if it’s not smart, it’s not brainless!
Li Nai pretended to cry while snuggling closer. Her hands around my arm weren’t enough, so she suddenly jumped onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, holding me like a koala. No matter how much I shook, I couldn’t get rid of her. Finally, I said helplessly.
“Hah… Men and women shouldn’t get too close. Can you get down first? Can’t we talk things out properly…”
“Wow! What’s with that reaction! Normally, when a guy is hugged by a female, shouldn’t he have a lewd smile and laugh ‘guh heh heh!’? But Juncheng, you look disgusted. I’m so hurt!” You’re talking about a pervert…
“Your body is too cold, like an ice block, so of course, I’ll feel uncomfortable.” If it were the height of summer, it might be nice to hug, but it’s too early for that. It’s only May, and it’s already dusk. It’s not hot at all; it’s even a bit cold.
“Ah, speaking of which, zombies don’t have the ability to regulate body temperature. But this is actually quite good! You won’t feel hot even in the hottest summer!” That actually sounds pretty good, as I can’t stand summer. I have a naturally hot constitution, and I can’t stand it even more when the weather is hot.
“And you can eat when you want, sleep when you want, no need to study, no need to work, no need to queue, no need to squeeze onto buses, and definitely no need to pay a mortgage. You can live however you want, doing as you please. Juncheng, think about it, isn’t that much freer than being human!” I suddenly felt like being a zombie might not be bad. I must be sick.
“In short, there are many benefits to becoming a zombie! So… Juncheng, you should become a zombie too~ Come on, let me bite you nicely~” Li Nai jumped off my back, spun my shoulders, and flipped me over like a coin. Then she stretched out her arms, opened her mouth wide, and tilted her head towards me. If she weren’t drooling, I would have thought she was going to kiss me.
“Whoa! Don’t come near me! Your drool is all over the place! Close your mouth!”
“Ahhh~~ Wuahhh~~ Oh oh oh oh~” “He’s suddenly acting like a legitimate zombie at this moment!” Fearing I’d get her saliva on me, I pressed one hand against her forehead and the other arm against her neck, preventing her from getting close. However, the strength of a mere human couldn’t match a zombie. Li Nai gradually gained the upper hand. Seeing that she was about to touch me, I quickly looked up and shouted nervously.
“Hey, hey, you’re not serious, are you! Are you really going to bite me?!”
“Of course, I’m serious! Otherwise, why would I ruin my ladylike image and chase you, drooling? I told you, becoming a zombie is convenient, and it’s not easy to die. I’m doing this for your own good~ As long as you become a zombie, you can go to the Underworld.”
Get out of here! Even if you do, I won’t feed myself to you! The price of becoming a zombie just to visit the City of the Living is too high! But Li Nai didn’t seem to be joking. Looking at her title, it had changed from green (friendly) to blue (believable).
Hey, I don’t want to become a zombie! Although Li Nai looks no different from an ordinary person, that’s because she’s an awakened zombie. What if I can’t awaken after becoming a zombie? Wouldn’t I completely lose my intelligence? No, this must be avoided. My pride won’t allow me to become an idiot like Li Nai, drooling.
Tsk, then there’s no other way. I’ll have to use my second ability. Since I can’t control it well yet, Principal Nana helped me set up an ability switch. I rotated my tongue clockwise. When it rotated more than ninety degrees, it activated the switch. After activation, all the words I spoke would have an effect.
“[Li Nai! Sit!]”
Suddenly, Li Nai, who was less than five centimeters away from me, seemed to be pressed down by something and plopped onto the ground. She was in a cross-legged position, hunched forward, with her hands supporting her on the ground. She looked like she was struggling.
“Ugh, this is… I suddenly feel so heavy.”
This is my second ability, ‘Linguistic Pressure’, which is to exert different forms of mental pressure through my words. Shouting “[Li Nai]” designates the target, and shouting “[Sit!]” dictates the magnitude and direction of the pressure. If I were to say “[Kneel!]” or “[Crawl!]”, the mental pressure should be even greater. The target can also be set as “[Everyone]” or a specific group of beings. Since I can also see their titles, setting a target is not a problem.
This is essentially a binding spell. Although the Yata no Kagami allows me to see everyone’s true name, the trick of reciting their true name only works on demons. It doesn’t have much effect on others. So, I expanded its scope, making my words themselves carry pressure. Of course, at first, I wanted to achieve ‘Mental Domination’, but Nana said that kind of ability is too profound, and it’s easy to fail if the difference in spiritual power isn’t significant enough. So, in the end, it was set as mental pressure. However, Nana did say that if my spiritual power continues to grow, I might one day achieve ‘Mental Domination’. Well, I don’t have any high expectations.
“But this level of pressure… I can overcome it with willpower!”
Oh oh! She’s actually standing… no, squatting up! And I can see her panties… Wait? What a strange pattern, it’s a skull! Are those pirate panties! I originally wanted to say “[Crawl!]” to apply more mental pressure, but then I thought better of it. After all, I wouldn’t be able to admire her panties then.
Perfect. Since I’ve tested my second ability, I might as well test my third ability. Li Nai, unwilling to admit defeat, was still resisting my mental pressure, slowly rising from her squatting position like a weightlifter. And I covered my mouth with my left hand. This gesture of covering my mouth isn’t the ability’s switch; it’s just a distraction to hide the actual switch. The real switch is pressing my lips together, with my teeth against my lips.
Immediately afterward, Li Nai involuntarily spoke, “I’m a brainless zombie! …Ugh? Ooh! My butt feels sore…”
Li Nai suddenly said something demeaning about herself. Once she relaxed, she fell to the ground again due to the mental pressure. “What was that just now? My mouth wouldn’t obey! That’s so strange, could the virus have invaded my brain again?” It seems she still doesn’t understand what happened. “But if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be able to speak at all? And I clearly just said something demeaning about myself… I would definitely never say something like that about myself, so someone must have made me say it! Juncheng, it was you!”
“Do I even need to infer that… It’s just you and me in the classroom, so of course, I made you say that… Alright, you can [get up] now.”
“Oh oh, it’s not heavy anymore!” This guy is really an idiot.
“What was that just now? What was that just now? Was it your ability, Juncheng!”
“That’s right, this is my ability, ‘Targeted Ventriloquism’. I can influence others with my spiritual power, making them say the words I want them to say.” This ability was actually designed for situations where I might be captured and have my mouth gagged, unable to speak. Since the second ability is activated by my spoken words, if I can’t speak, I naturally can’t use it. What should I do in that situation? What I thought of was ‘speaking through someone else’s mouth’, or ‘making excuses’. And so, this strange ability was born.
The three new abilities I’ve gained are, in essence, not very powerful. They could even be considered quite peculiar. However, by using these three abilities in conjunction, I can handle various situations: using ‘Thought Acceleration’ to dodge attacks and think of countermeasures, ‘Linguistic Pressure’ to restrict the opponent, and if I can’t speak, I can use ‘Targeted Ventriloquism’ to speak through someone else’s mouth. This is the basic strategy I’ve constructed. I’ve never thought of myself as suddenly becoming an expert. Abilities obtained through such convenient means are unlikely to be very powerful. Besides, I also asked Nana. She said that the abilities conferred by the Magic Circle are limited. They might be effective against weaker opponents, but they’re not very useful against truly powerful ones. To put it in MOBA game terms, I’m not a character who can take on five enemies at once; I’m a support.
But that’s enough. I can not only fully utilize my excess spiritual power but also use it in conjunction with the manifestation of titles. At least I won’t be as helpless as before when I encounter unexpected situations. I’ll stall for as long as possible. If I can’t fight, can’t I run? My goal is to gain as much time to escape as possible!
However, this seems a bit… mundane… And not cool enough… I’ve read so many shonen manga. I did fantasize about having powerful, mainstream abilities… like flames, or lightning, aren’t they cool, awesome, and flashy? My current abilities aren’t cool at all. ‘Extra Second’, ‘Mouth Pressure’, ‘Excuse Making’… Sigh, what kind of abilities are these?
However, the person in front of me seems to really like my abilities.
“Oh oh! This ability is so interesting! I’ve never seen such a strange ability before! It can make others say what you want them to say, this is simply the best ability for playing pranks!” Li Nai’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me, then… she hugged my thigh. “Hey, hey~ Teach me this ability, okay! Okay~?”
Why is she suddenly so interested? I really can’t understand Li Nai’s thought process. Girls are already hard enough to understand, and Li Nai is a unique one among them, like an Alien Creature.
“Juncheng, are you still not done cleaning? Let’s clean up together… Juncheng?” Suddenly, I remembered that I had promised to go home with Ruansui earlier… Ruansui looked at me and Li Nai, who was hugging my thigh with her face in a rather awkward position, and her eyes slowly widened. “Could it be… something I couldn’t even achieve… is being snatched away by another woman…” Don’t suddenly start a H-scene! And there’s no way anything ambiguous could happen with Li Nai! Nothing has happened this time, I swear! I’m truly wronged!
