Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi walked to the center of the room, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

“Starting today, I will be here every afternoon from three to five.” His voice was calm. “Nominally, I will be your ‘mentor,’ but in reality, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t violate the academy’s basic rules.”

He paused, looking over the four people.

"Feel free to ask me any questions. You can also ask what you'd like to learn. If there's nothing else, you're free to arrange your time as you wish."

The room remained quiet.

A few seconds later, Koharu quietly raised her head, moved closer to Hifumi, and asked in a low voice, "Hifumi-senpai, do you know the teacher? Your reaction just now was so strange..."

Hifumi's body stiffened.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to explain.

Are you suggesting we say, "We robbed a bank together"?

She eventually just nodded, then shook her head.

"I guess we know each other... but we're not very close..."

That was a vague statement.

Hanako turned her head, glanced at Hifumi, and then at Lin Yi.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

Unlike the others, Hanako is the only true "academic genius" among the four.

Her reason for coming to the tutoring center was simple—she saw through the hypocrisy and rigidity within Trinity College and didn't want to deal with those young ladies wearing masks, so she deliberately controlled her grades and "sinked" here.

She felt more comfortable at the tutoring center.

However, Hanako can sense that the atmosphere at the academy has changed a lot recently.

With the sudden collapse of the Caesar Company, the tension between the Tea Party, the Sisters' Order, and the Knights of Salvation seems to have eased somewhat, and even the always eccentric Mika Sanzō has become quieter lately.

These changes are all good things for Hanako.

The stagnant waters of Trinity have finally begun to flow.

Change brings opportunity.

Hanako's gaze returned to Lin Yi.

This suddenly appearing "mentor" is probably one of the sources of change.

The person who can elicit that kind of expression from Hifumi is definitely not simple.

And Shirazu Azusa...

Hanako glanced at the blue-haired girl out of the corner of her eye.

Shirasu Azusa was the most "normal" one in the cram school.

Excellent academic performance, disciplined, and serious attitude.

But it is precisely this “normality” that seems abnormal in a tutoring center full of “problem students.”

Furthermore, Hanako noticed that Shirasu Azusa would occasionally reveal a... empty look in her eyes.

It was as if my soul had left my body and was looking at some distant place.

Hanako had seen that look in the eyes of people who had experienced major trauma.

There must be a secret hidden in Bai Zhouzi.

Hifumi stood up, still holding the doll, her face slightly flushed.

"Um... teacher," she whispered, "about what happened last time..."

Lin Yi knew what she was talking about.

The black market, Kaiser Permanente, and those "robbery" experiences.

A few seconds later, Koharu quietly raised her head and grabbed Hifumi's arm.

"Hifumi! What's going on?! Is there some secret between you and the teacher? Tell me!"

"N-nothing!" Hifumi tried to break free.

"There's definitely something going on!" Xiaochun persisted. "You two absolutely know each other! And it's not just an ordinary acquaintance!"

Hanako turned around and sat down on the sofa.

“I’m curious too,” she said with a smile. “There aren’t many people who can make Hifumi lose her composure like this.”

Hifumi looked at the two of them, then at Shirasu Azusa, who was still wiping her guns and seemed uninterested in everything, and sighed.

"It's really nothing... I just ran into him by chance outside before, and he helped me once."

This is half true and half false.

"Outside?" Xiaochun's eyes lit up. "Could it be at the black market? I heard that Hifumi-senpai often goes to the black market to buy dolls!"

"Almost, about the same..." Hifumi said vaguely.

Hanako rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

“He doesn’t look like someone from Trinity,” she said. “His demeanor is completely different. And to be directly appointed as a ‘mentor’ by the college, he must have considerable authority.”

She paused, then looked at Hifumi and whispered.

“Hifumi-san, if I were you, I would try to get along with him. In this academy, having another powerful ally is never a bad thing.”

Hifumi paused for a moment, then nodded.

"I...I know."

In the corner, Bai Zhouzi stopped what he was doing.

She looked up at Lin Yi on the podium.

Arius's task for her was to infiltrate Trinity, gather intelligence, and await further instructions.

But recently, the directives have become more specific, including eliminating the presence of certain hostile forces.

Bai Zhouzi's fingers tightened slightly.

She doesn't like killing.

But Arius trained her and gave her a reason to exist.

She cannot betray him.

but……

Bai Zhouzi's mind flashed back to Lin Yi's appearance just now.

Calm, composed, as if everything was under control.

That kind of aura was unlike anyone she had ever met.

"Assess the level of threat"...

Bai Zhouzi took a deep breath and reassembled the disassembled firearms.

The movements were fluid and executed in one smooth motion.

The sound of metal parts clashing was particularly clear in the classroom.

Seeing Bai Zhouzi's unusual behavior, Lin Yi opened the terminal in his hand and brought up Bai Zhouzi's complete file.

This time, he used the black card access granted by Kirito Nagisa to directly access the internal database of Trinity's security department.

More information is emerging.

Bai Zhouzi, female, 16 years old.

Place of birth: Kiwatos Border School District 7 (now abandoned)

Parents: Kenichi Shirasu (mercenary, confirmed dead), Reiko (medic, confirmed dead)
Cause of death: Seven years ago, during a border conflict, the family was attacked by unidentified armed forces, and only Bai Zhouzi survived.

Guardian: Distant cousin (record missing)
Entrance exam scores: Theory 67 points, Practical test 98 points, Overall rating A.

Social record: almost zero. Aside from necessary classes, I spend most of my time alone after enrollment.

Abnormal behavior record:

On the third day of school, I was caught on camera going to the outskirts of the old campus alone late at night, staying for half an hour before returning.

During my second week at school, I consulted a large number of books about the history of the Ariane branch campus in the library.

One month after enrolling, I had a brief encounter with an unidentified person from outside the school (the surveillance footage was blurry and unrecognizable).

Recently, communication records show encrypted signals being exchanged, and the source cannot be traced.

Lin Yi closed the file.

Bai Zhouzi's identity is almost certain.

Arius's spy.

But her condition...

Lin Yi had met many spies.

Some are fanatical believers, some are ruthless killers, and some are cunning schemers.

But Shirazuchi is different.

There was no fanaticism, no coldness, and no calculation in her eyes.

There was only one feeling: exhaustion and confusion.

Just then, the terminal received an encrypted message.

From: Lily Garden Saint Ya.

The message was simple: "Bai Zhouzi is the key. Observe her, but don't alert her. There's an even bigger fish behind her." Trinity Central District, atop the clock tower.

The black mist and the outline of the picture frame slowly coalesced in the afterglow of the setting sun, like ink droplets falling into water and receding in the opposite direction.

Black-clad men and Gorkunda stood on the railing at the edge of the clock tower, a hundred meters above the ground. The evening breeze ruffled their clothes, but could not disperse the thick, head-shaped fog, nor could it disturb the black and white photograph in the frame that was always turned away.

"Aren't you going to inform Beatrice?"

Gorkunda’s voice drifted out from the mist around his neck, carrying his distinctive, ethereal tone that seemed to come from the backstage of a distant theater.

He held the gilded photo frame in both hands; the figure in the frame turned slightly to the side, as if listening.

The black-clad figure turned towards the cluster of buildings in the northwest corner of Trinity, the edges of the mist drifting away in wisps, only to gather again under the pull of some force.

Why should we notify her?

The voice in black resembled that of a well-educated gentleman stating an obvious fact.

"It was an exception for her to become a member of the Secret Society. The corruption of the Abyss requires resilience, a balance between reason and madness, and aptitude."

What does Beatrice have? Only paranoia.

Gorkunda's picture frame swayed gently, as if nodding in agreement.

"Does she think we don't know she's using the resources of the Synoptic Church to support Arios? Does she really see me as a philanthropist? Or does she think the members of the Synoptic Church are all fools corrupted by the Abyss and have lost their judgment?"

“The master hated her,” Gorkunda said, his voice carrying the disdain that an artist might have for a poor imitator. “He said Beatrice’s plan was as crude as a child’s doodle on a masterpiece with crayons, lacking both beauty and logic, and only filled with childish destructiveness.”

“I hate her too,” the man in black said calmly. “Gorkonda, do you remember why we accepted her?”

“Because she came into contact with traces of ‘color’,” Gorkunda replied. “She is one of the few survivors and has retained some of her memories. This is a valuable sample for studying the activity patterns and erosive properties of ‘color’.”

“Sample.” The man in black repeated the word, the outline of his misty head slightly distorted in the evening breeze. “Samples should stay in petri dishes, to be observed and to be experimented on, not to jump out and point fingers, trying to interfere with the real research with her ridiculous script.”

He turned to Gorkonda, who, despite not having eyes, could feel the "gaze".

“Arios is able to keep running entirely thanks to the funding provided by the Secret Society. Without us, she couldn’t even support those students.” The man in black spoke with sarcasm. “Does she really think she can overthrow an academy with just a whim of hatred? The rules of Givotos are far more complex than she imagines.”

The framed picture of Gorkunda shook again.

This time, the figure in the photo frame turned completely around—although the face was still not clearly visible, it was clear that it was the silhouette of a woman wearing a classic long dress.

She raised her hand and tapped lightly on the "glass" of the picture frame, making a knocking sound that only Gorkunda could hear.

“My ‘lady’ said that Beatrice’s style of doing things reminded her of those hysterical heroines in third-rate operas.” Gorkunda relayed the meaning of the figure in the photo frame, “Drama needs tension, but tension is not the same as losing control. An actor who cannot even control his own emotions does not deserve to stand on the stage.”

The man in black, shrouded in black mist, tilted his head slightly forward, as if agreeing with the assessment.

“So, why notify her?” he asked again, but this time he answered himself. “Let her continue her performance, continue her struggle, continue floundering in the deep waters of Trinity. What we need to observe is ‘color,’ the ‘halo system,’ the operating logic of this distorted world of Kivotos. Beatrice? She’s just a variable in the experiment, a background noise.”

“But the person’s target is her,” Gorkunda pointed out. “Now he’s come to Trinity as a tutor in the remedial department—where Shirasu Azusa is, one of Arius’s most successful infiltrators. You and I both know what that means.”

The man in black remained silent.

The mist swirled around his head, as if his brain was working at high speed.

“This means Beatrice’s plan is nearing its end.” He finally spoke, his voice colder than before. “She’s preparing to introduce ‘color’ into this farce as well.”

“That’s dangerous,” Gorkunda said. “Dangerous for all of us.”

“So there’s no need to notify her,” the man in black decided. “Let her test the limits. If she survives, it means she still has value. If she dies…”

He paused, and a soft chuckle came from the mist.

"That's just the natural selection of experimental samples."

Gorkunda's picture frame remained unmoved; he knew what Black's decision meant—the long-standing differences within the Number Secrets had finally surfaced.

Beatrice was never a true companion; she was merely a tool, an object of observation.

Now that this tool is starting to backfire and is trying to exploit its manipulator, being abandoned is the only outcome.

"Will the master agree?" Gorkunda asked.

“He’s already made his stance clear through his actions,” Blackie said. “Otherwise, why do you think he didn’t come? He’d rather be fiddling with those twisted sculptures in his studio than participate in this observation. Not because he’s not interested, but because… he doesn’t want to get involved in Beatrice’s mess.”

The two fell into a brief silence.

The lights of Trinity College below the clock tower gradually come on, and students carrying books move between the corridors for evening classes. In the distance, the windows of the library emit a warm yellow light.

“So, what’s next…” Gorkunda was about to say something.

Two hands were gently patted on their shoulders.

It feels cold to the touch and lacks the elasticity of flesh and blood.

Both the man in black and Gorkunda froze simultaneously.

They turned around and saw four dark figures that had appeared behind them at some unknown time.

The Shadow Legion soldiers didn't speak, but simply raised their arms and made a "please" gesture—directing towards the old library.

The mist around Gorkunda's neck rippled, and he let out a barely audible sigh.

"It looks like we'll have to go there."

The black-clad, misty head turned to one of the shadowy soldiers, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

"Lead the way."

The man in black spoke, his tone devoid of emotion.

Four shadowy soldiers turned and disappeared into the shadows cast by the clock tower.

Blackie and Gorkunda exchanged a glance, then followed.

The cram school classroom.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze from the window, and the light that had just focused on the direction of the clock tower in the depths of his pupils quickly dissipated.

According to Hifumi, Koharu, and Shirasu Azusa, the teacher simply looked up at the darkening sky outside the window, as if checking the time.

Only Urawa Hanako, who was sitting by the window, noticed that detail—Lin Yi's pupils contracted and focused noticeably for a moment, a reaction when he spotted a specific target.

What did he see?
Hanako thought casually, her fingers tapping lightly on the table.

But she quickly dismissed the question.

Who cares? It's none of my business anyway.

She came to the tutoring center to escape the hypocritical social interactions and boring classes at Trinity College, not to cause herself trouble.

Thinking this, Hanako yawned and reached out to unbutton her uniform jacket.

One, two.

Her coat slipped off her shoulders, revealing a black camisole and her delicate collarbones.

She didn't care that there were other people in the classroom. She threw her coat on the chair next to her, then adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable in the chair.

"Hanako-kun!"

Xiaochun Xiajiang was the first to react. Her cheeks flushed red instantly, her eyes widened, and she dropped the pen on the table.

"What are you doing! Put your clothes on quickly! The teacher is still here!"

Hifumi was also stunned. She was holding the Perolo doll in her arms. She looked at Hanako, then at Lin Yi, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Bai Zhouzi glanced up briefly before lowering her head again to continue wiping the gun parts in her hands, as if the events unfolding before her were less important than the firing pin in her hand.

Lin Yi stepped down from the podium.

He walked to Hanako's table, stretched out his finger, and tapped the tabletop twice, neither too hard nor too softly.

"Inappropriate attire is strictly prohibited in the classroom."

His voice was calm, without blame or surprise, simply stating a rule.

Hanako raised her head and met Lin Yi's gaze.

She tried to find something in those eyes—embarrassment, evasion, or at least a flicker of emotion.

But she was disappointed. Lin Yi's eyes were calm and indifferent, as if he were looking at an ordinary piece of furniture, an object with no special significance.

This complete indifference, ironically, made Hanako feel a strange...disappointment.

She pursed her lips, reached for her coat, and put it back on, buttoning it up slowly and reluctantly.

"So many rules," she muttered softly.

Lin Yi did not respond to this. He walked back to the podium and took out a stack of test papers from the folder he carried with him.

"Since this is the first instructional lesson, let's do a simple test first to understand everyone's level."

Lin Yi took out the test papers and prepared to divide them into four sets to distribute. He picked up one of the test papers and quickly glanced through the questions.

His brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze swept back and forth across the paper, as if to confirm that he hadn't misread it.

Question 1: Let set A = {x | x - 5x + 6 = 0}, B = {x | x + px + q = 0}, and if A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3} and A ∩ B = {2}, find the values ​​of real numbers p and q.

Question 2: Prove that the function f(x) = sin(1/x) is discontinuous at x = 0.

Question 3: Let the sequence {an} satisfy a=1, a=√(1+a). Prove that {an} converges and find its limit.

Question 4: Suppose that random variable X follows a Poisson distribution with parameter λ, and Y = |X - λ|, find E(Y).

……

Lin Yi flipped through the pages one by one, his expression growing increasingly subtle.

Is this definitely a test paper?
Discrete mathematics, real analysis, and probability theory—these are all topics that would be considered professional courses in universities. But now, they've appeared on a test paper for "tutoring students."

What is Kirito Nagisa planning?
Lin Yi handed out the test papers and looked at the four students below the stage.

"The test papers have been handed out. You have one hour. Do as much as you can, don't feel pressured."

Although his tone remained unchanged, he had begun to reassess the true level of these "problem students" in his mind. (End of Chapter)