Kisaragi's Long-Strange Collection Notes

Hungry, very hungry, extremely hungry.

After seeing the roast chicken, Chen Meimei became increasingly hungry. Her stomach was growling, and her mouth was involuntarily watering.

He swallowed hard.

Within ten seconds, Chen Meimei couldn't help but step forward and approach the roast chicken, tearing off a chicken leg and putting it in her mouth.

Her slender, porcelain-like fingers pressed down on him.

"You can't eat it, or you'll turn into a roasted chicken."

Chen Meimei did not lose her mind; her brain was very clear.

But at this moment, his body was like someone who had been thirsty in the desert for a week and suddenly got a bottle of water. Even knowing that it was poisonous, reason could hardly stop his body from craving water.

Before his reason could continue to fight against his body's instincts, the chicken leg was snatched away by Qinghua and thrown away.

"No~~" Chen Meimei felt as if she had seen someone smash a priceless treasure, and her heart ached so much that she couldn't breathe.

Even after losing a drumstick, the roast chicken continues to release its aroma bombs, and it gets even more fragrant.

"Qinghua, why are you with a human, and he's alright?" the one-legged roast chicken said.

Qinghua's words were concise and to the point: "He is Chen Meimei, who has a special ability that allows me to control my own power."

The roast chicken jumped up: "What?! How could a mere human possibly do that?!"

Qinghua ignored the roast chicken's question: "You're one of my only two good friends, want to join us?"

"Huh? Me too? I want to join!"

Qinghua turned her head: "Meow, what do you need to do?"

Chen Meimei was still struggling with his appetite. He looked at the roast chicken, his self-control was at its maximum, on the verge of losing control, and his eyes were almost bloodshot.

"Roast chicken, what's your name? I need your full name."

My full name is Pineapple Roasted Chicken.

"Okay, pineapple roasted chicken, would you like to come to my house and become...my food forever!" At the end, Chen Meimei couldn't hold back any longer and pounced on the roasted chicken.

Pineapple Roasted Chicken looked at Chen Meimei, who was getting closer and closer, and then at its good friend Qinghua, who had an encouraging look on her face.

"Um, I'm willing."

Chen Meimei's frantic hand had already touched the pineapple roasted chicken, feeling the wonderful layer of oil on the skin.

With that "yes," his appetite vanished instantly.

He was still hungry, and the aroma of roast chicken still wafted through his mouth, but he had regained control of his body.

He loosened the pineapple roasted chicken.

[The Moon's Invitation] is complete. Time's up, goodbye.

"Oh, goodbye. And thank you, Xiaoshuang."

The fog and darkness in the corridor dissipated, revealing a white light.

Today, the sun shines like a silvery silver.

Pineapple Roasted Chicken followed Chen Meimei and Qinghua into Room 1803.

The door closed.

"I can really control my power now! By the way, Chen Meimei, you're such a good person, I'll allow you to call me Bobo, just like Qinghua."

"Okay, Bobo, could you please stay a little further away from me? It's so early in the morning, and even without any special abilities, you smell so good that I still want to eat you."

"This is easy, blue and white porcelain, let's play with it~"

The pineapple roasted chicken made a big leap; it seemed to have very nimble legs and jumped very high.

Blue and white porcelain is its old friend, and they are very in sync, so it immediately throws out a handkerchief that is at hand.

The fabric vitrified in mid-air, transforming into a simple porcelain plate that landed on the dining table, while the pineapple roasted chicken fell into the plate from mid-air.

Chen Meimei looked at the two strange creatures with a puzzled expression.

"Come on, Chen Meimei, I've already packed myself up, come and eat me."

Chen Meimei shook her head: "I won't eat it, I don't want to turn into roast chicken."

"Don't worry, now I can not only control my appetite, but I've also shut down my ability to turn people into roast chicken."

"That won't do either. If I eat you, you'll become crippled..."

Before Chen Meimei could finish speaking, he noticed that the chicken leg he had torn off earlier had grown back.

"Heh heh, you've noticed, haven't you? I'm amazing. I can make an endless amount of pineapple roasted chicken. You could eat it for a lifetime and still not finish it."

Qinghua quietly said, "Don't be shy, it really enjoys being eaten."

"Then, I won't stand on ceremony."

In the living room.

At the dining table.

The atmosphere was both harmonious and eerie.

Chen Meimei tore off another chicken leg, and stuffed it into her mouth along with the sweet pineapple.

The crispy roast chicken and the juicy pineapple—the taste is simply amazing.

"BoBo, as the head of the family, on behalf of the organization, I welcome you to our warm and welcoming family."

The pineapple being eaten twisted its crispy neck and said, "Thank you. From now on, just tell me what flavor you want to eat. Sweet, sour, salty, or spicy, I can make it for you."

After Chen Meimei finished eating the pineapple, the broken bones that had been spat out on the table climbed up on their own and re-integrated into the pineapple's body.

In the blink of an eye, a chicken carcass was transformed back into a complete pineapple roasted chicken.

"Very good, thirteen minutes is just enough time for recovery." Qinghua put away the porcelain plate that held the pineapple.

The porcelain plate turned back into a towel, and the oil stains on the plate were automatically absorbed by the towel.

"I have an important class today and I have to go to school. You all stay home and behave yourselves, and don't destroy the house."

"understood."

"Who would want to destroy the house? I'm already a mature pineapple roasted chicken. Humph, you mere Chen Meimei, this pineapple is going to sleep."

Bobo, the roast chicken with a pineapple on its back, chose the large iron pot in the kitchen as its bed.

Chen Meimei left the room and walked into the dimly lit stairwell.

These past few days, I've been going up and down the stairs every day. After getting used to it, I'm not as resistant as I was at the beginning.

Today is the second day of the week.

The seventh day is the day of the graduation exam, a day with no tomorrow. The classes we have to attend at this time must be very important.

This was supposedly the last class.

If we don't count yesterday's after-school tutoring, it should also be Chen Meimei's first class.

I passed by "Old Li's Fruit Stand" downstairs.

In this world, shops close early and open early as well.

A fruit stand that actually opens for business at 7:30 in the morning.

"Good morning, Uncle Li."

"Oh, it's Chen Meimei! I heard you're taking your graduation exams soon?"

"Yes, right here in this [dayless] world."

"Here, these two hooked fruits are for you. Study hard, and be sure to come and support my business next week!"

"Thanks, Uncle Li." Chen Meimei accepted the two fruits without any hesitation.

This gift isn't light; two hook-shaped fruits weigh almost a pound. These imported fruits take 10 hours to ripen to produce a pound.

Come next week. Only those who have passed the exam will be able to come next week.

I arrived at school, found classroom 606 where class was held, at 8:20.

606 is a large classroom. The class starts at nine o'clock, and it's already half full, with an estimated hundred people.

This was the first time Chen Meimei had met so many classmates.

Strange clothes, brightly colored hair and eyes, some even brought weapons to class.

"Chen Meimei, over here," Liu Bo called out. There was an empty seat to his left, seemingly reserved for Chen Meimei.

"Liu Bo, are there really that many graduates?"

"There are more than 30 students in our class, and there are 6 graduating classes, so there should be a total of 200 people."

"These are the previous figures," the tall man sitting to Liu Bo's right interjected. "As far as I know, more than 400 people took the exam this year."

Liu Bo became interested: "Where did 200 people come from out of thin air? How come I didn't know? Oh right, Chen Meimei, this is Aotian, my neighbor and friend, not from our class."

Aotian? Such a cool name?

"Hello, Aotian, is this your real name?"

"Hello, yes, my surname is Ao and my given name is Tian."

"Disrespectful, disrespectful."

"Alright, Aotian, hurry up and tell me what's going on with the 400 people?" Liu Bo changed the subject.

"Your poultry business is so big and has such a wide network, how come you didn't receive any news?"

What else could it be? The new era is under pressure.

Those who had previously skipped exams and chosen to graduate were approached one by one by powerful figures who offered benefits, even resorting to coercion and deception, to lure them in.

"Is the situation that serious? Is our Sixiang City so weak that we need to go to this extent?"

"If only we knew who was stronger. There's no ranking among the hundred cities; everyone's playing the 'mystery' game. Unless a fight breaks out, we won't know who's stronger."

"Well, no matter what, it's always good to be prepared. Besides, if we don't do it, other cities will. In times of crisis, how can those in power remain inactive?"

"That's good too. With 200 more people, even at 5%, we'll have at least 10 more [mystery people] this year."

Why didn't you say that 180 more people would die?

"Forget it, it's not up to us to decide. We don't even know if we can come back. Why worry so much?"

Chen Meimei listened for a long time, waiting for the two to finish their conversation before she finally had a chance to interject:

What does "playing [mystery]" mean?

Ao Tian looked over curiously.

"What are you looking at? Chen Meimei has amnesia. Let me explain to him."

Chen Meimei, everyone has different abilities, and [mystery] is the yardstick for quantifying our power.

Our school's entrance requirement is [mysteriously] 0.5.

First graders [mysterious] 0.5, second graders 0.6, third graders 0.7, and so on, with sixth graders at 0.9.

Normally there is only one decimal place, but our graduating class is special. We have been accumulating 0.9 for a long time. It is a special [mysterious] 0.99, which means that we are only one step away from breaking through.

Each integer digit in the mystery level represents a significant hurdle. Battles across these integer digits involve rank suppression; those of higher rank are strengthened by half, while those of lower rank are weakened by half. A round trip results in a fourfold difference.

Chen Meimei frowned slightly. The amount of information was too much for him to grasp all at once, and he needed to memorize and understand it simultaneously.

Liu Bo paused slightly:

Let me give you an example.

The difference between someone with a mystery score of 1.99 and someone with 1.9 or 1.8 is minimal; the only difference is that the former has begun to attempt a breakthrough.

The difference between someone with a mystery level of 2 and someone with a mystery level of 1.99 is not 0.1 or 0.01, but more than four times.

However, if you cross two major stages, such as between someone with a rank of 1.99 and someone with a rank of 3, the rank suppression will reach a terrifying 10*10, or a hundredfold.

With an example, Chen Meimei immediately understood.

"What if it spans three major stages?"

"Crossing three levels? That's not just a matter of numerical multiplication; the abilities of those in lower ranks might even become ineffective."

"Oh, I see." Chen Meimei suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, why do I feel like it didn't get four times stronger from 0.99 to 1?"

Liu Bo rolled his eyes at him:

"You think that's bullshit. Below level 1, everyone's abilities are just in their infancy. They know what an ability is, but they can't use it fully; they can only use a small part of it."

The process from 0.99 to 1 is not a fourfold increase, but a qualitative change from nothing to something, from an ordinary person to an extraordinary one.

Only after completing the graduation exam can our [mystery] break through to level 1.

Chen Meimei expressed her dissatisfaction: "Why do I have to take the graduation exam before I can break through? Maybe I have a special talent."

Ao Tian had been listening for a while, and finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself. It's like this, [mysterious] the method to go from 0.99 to 1 is simple and unique, it's not about learning or training."

"What method?"

"To have a face-to-face encounter with something bizarre on your own, survive, and not go insane."