Chapter 19: United Front
“That road… While I’ve somewhat accepted you as one of my own, that doesn’t mean I agreed to you following me around, does it?”
I was truly at a loss for words with Ji Zhibai, who was trailing behind me after class, acting like we were old friends.
“A younger brother should follow behind his older brother. That’s how you gain prestige. It’s just a shame that I’m only your right hand now. You’ll need another left hand for Brother Jun’s left and right to be complete.”
“Isn’t this the most cliché type of villain role, where they bring two lackeys and show off in front of the protagonist, only to get slapped in the face?”
“Hahaha, what handsome villain would do that? Only ugly villains get slapped. Someone as handsome as me would never have their face slapped.”
“Every time you mention how handsome you are, I feel an urge to slap your face.”
“Huh? Brother Jun? No! Brother Jun!”
What the heck are you yelling about? Do you really think I’d do anything to you?
I thought Ji Zhibai would be a mature and steady person. But after getting to know him, I realized he was as frivolous as his appearance suggested.
Talking to him every time was like talking to the zombie Li Nai of the past, making my head throb.
“Ah, that’s enough joking. Of course, I’m not interested in following you home, unless Brother Jun, you have two cute younger sisters.”
“I’m warning you, if you make a move on my younger sisters, I’ll make you wish you were dead.”
“Huh? Brother Jun, do you really have sisters? Ah, this is awkward… Sorry, *cough*, I have a big mouth. Can I take it back?”
Is this guy pretending to be stupid?
Didn’t he find out I had sisters after doing some research, and then deliberately bring it up?
…I can’t see through him.
I can’t see through this person.
People who are all smiles on the surface can hide their true feelings very well.
However, I can’t act one way and think another.
Speaking of which, getting so worked up about sisters… Brother Jun, you’re a sister complex, aren’t you?
“I’m not a sister complex, I just care about my sisters.”
“Usually, that’s called a sister complex. I know you care about your sisters, but if you’re overprotective, and they end up liking you, isn’t that a bad thing?”
SF Novel
Tsk, that point is as sharp as zombie Li Nai’s… The most infuriating thing is that I can’t find a reason to refute him.
In any case, I’m not following Brother Jun home. Even if I offered to warm your bed, you wouldn’t agree, would you?
“Are you deliberately trying to disgust me?”
“Yeah, I find it disgusting myself. Of course, if you really want me to, I don’t mind dressing up as a woman to warm your bed, as long as you don’t mind your sisters misunderstanding.”
This guy definitely knew I had sisters beforehand.
He deliberately brought it up to observe my reaction. Now that he knows the importance of my sisters to me, he gains a strong point against me.
Alright, using tactics in the open. There’s nothing I can do about it. This move is brilliant.
“Stop the nonsense. Why are you following me?”
“To take Brother Jun to meet another Master of Destiny.”
“Another Master of Destiny?”
There’s another Master of Destiny?
“That’s right. There are three Masters of Destiny in the Northeast Asian branch: you, me, and a girl.”
Another Master of Destiny?
And she’s a woman?
Weren’t all Masters of Destiny male?
“Why do you have to take me to her?”
“Because we’ll form a united front from now on. If we’re all fighting separately when the enemy attacks, won’t we be defeated one by one? And most importantly… I’ll have no power to resist!”
“Wait, wait, what are you talking about? I can’t quite understand… What do you mean ‘give others a chance’? Who are these ‘others’? And why are we three forming a united front?”
All I heard from Xiao An was that Masters of Destiny were enemies who fought over destiny. I never heard about different factions.
“Huh? Brother Jun, you don’t know? Grabbing destiny is, to put it bluntly, a war between the branches of the Organization.”
“Huh? What does this have to do with the Organization? SF Light Novel”
No, wait, it’s not entirely unrelated.
Wasn’t it the Organization that orchestrated the zombie crisis years ago to awaken Li Nai as the Witch of Calamity?
“The Organization controls the entire hidden world. They will naturally intervene in things like collecting destiny to change the world. As soon as a Master of Destiny appears, they are controlled by the Organization in that region.”
…The Organization is controlling Masters of Destiny…
This is different from what Xiao An and I speculated earlier. We thought Masters of Destiny were summoned… but perhaps Ji Zhibai doesn’t know about that.
“Of course, once a Master of Destiny is identified, they lose their freedom. Being able to move around freely like Brother Jun is extremely rare. It’s either because you’re too strong, or you have connections. Well, for Brother Jun, it should be the former.”
I also considered the possibility of the latter.
After all, I learned from Zi’ai that the old man is one of the highest-ranking members of the Organization.
“So, the Organization’s branches have recruited these Masters of Destiny, and the ‘number grabbing game’ where Masters of Destiny compete for destiny has become a struggle between the branches.”
“Are the Organization’s internal conflicts unchecked? Isn’t there a supreme decision-making body called Pandora?”
Hearing me say that name, Ji Zhibai looked surprised and said,
“Huh? Brother Jun, you know about Pandora? This is something very few people within the Organization know.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and said speechlessly,
“Don’t you know about it too…?”
“Ahaha, that’s because I’m well-informed. Actually, I have a nickname: ‘Pandora of the Hidden World’!”
“Less nonsense, what’s going on?”
“Oh… Actually, the conflicts between branches arise from disagreements within Pandora, the supreme decision-making body. Some believe this war over destiny can fundamentally change the world, while others think it will cause more chaos and disrupt the existing balance… Everyone sticks to their own ideas, and that’s how it became like this.”
Ji Zhibai spread his hands, speaking indifferently as if it had nothing to do with him.
“Humans are hopelessly foolish. That’s why conflicts arise everywhere, and the Organization is no exception.”
SF Light Novel
“There’s no helping it. Humans are inherently contradictory beings.
So, we break through in contradiction, and advance in a spiral through repetition… This is what D told us.
“But in the end, it’s people like me who suffer…”
“Not necessarily. The Organization’s objective is to maintain balance, so they wouldn’t actively do anything to disrupt it, would they?”
“Brother Jun, the Organization wasn’t originally founded to maintain balance…”
“Oh? How so?”
“Masters of Destiny can be male or female, but a Witch of Calamity must always be female. Brother Jun, have you ever wondered why?”
Ji Zhibai didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked a seemingly unrelated question out of the blue.
But I really didn’t know why a Witch of Calamity had to be—…
“Well, it’s called a Witch of Calamity, so it’s normal, right?”
Ji Zhibai shook his head and wagged his finger, saying with a smarmy expression,
“That’s not a reason. Let me tell you. The Organization’s supreme decision-making body is called Pandora, and you should know what Pandora’s Box is, Brother Jun. Even if you haven’t studied Greek mythology, you can learn about it through various anime and games.”
“Oh, it’s that box that contained endless disasters and the light of hope, right?”
“Exactly, and the person who opened it was an unfortunate woman named Pandora.”
You’re right, she really does seem rather unlucky.
It’s not something to be happy about being famous in such a way.
“Pandora’s Box, which means ‘source of all evils’. Opening Pandora’s Box signifies ‘causing all sorts of misfortune’. Brother Jun, your destiny seems to… be related to calamity.”
“What’s the connection between these two?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I know that unfortunate woman Pandora must be related to the Witch of Calamity. She should be the ‘original Witch of Calamity’.”
“Huh? ‘
“The fairy tale says she was the first woman. That’s obviously nonsense. Everyone knows now that humans evolved from apes.”
Wait, wait, was there really a person named Pandora?
Isn’t that a fairy tale…
Uh, it probably doesn’t have much persuasive power to say that now. SF Light Novel
After all, I’ve met several real gods. What else is there to say? SF Light Novel
“And the Organization’s supreme decision-making body is called Pandora. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?”
“…Does that mean the people who founded the Organization initially aimed for this ‘number grab game’ with destiny as the stake?”
“Exactly, that’s what it is.”
To be connected to the Organization from its very roots is truly troublesome.
“In short, after all this talk, what I’m trying to say is that the relationship between the Organization’s branches is not good, and each branch has its own Master of Destiny. Therefore, as the Masters of Destiny of the Northeast Asian branch, we naturally need to unite, right? Oh, it looks like we’ve arrived.”
Unbeknownst to me, Ji Zhibai had brought me to our destination while we were talking.
It wasn’t some mysterious meeting place, not even in the hidden world. In fact, I was very familiar with this place.
I looked up at the dilapidated sign I had seen countless times since I was a child and had never changed, and sighed,
“Ha, isn’t this Chunyu Hospital?”
“Huh? Brother Jun, you know this place?”
“It would be strange if I didn’t.”
My father is a doctor at this hospital. I’ve been here so many times.
“So, the third Master of Destiny is here?”
Ji Zhibai nodded and said,
“Yes, her name is Lou Ling.”
Lou Ling? Isn’t that the girl who replaced Li Nai in our class?
She’s a Master of Destiny?
The unexpected proximity made me curious.
What kind of person is this girl named Lou Ling?
