Love, Gun, Cupid

Teacher Yang rolled her eyes at him: "That's so uncultured. My name comes from the ancient poem 'Willow Catkins', specifically the line 'Not vying for lushness or vying for red, it flies freely across the sunny field like misty snow.'"

What kind of flower is Yanghua?

The female PhD explained, "Willow catkins are not flowers, but rather willow fluff. The ancients imbued them with a certain imagery, considering them to be flowers that resemble flowers. But in my view, willow fluff is just willow fluff, drifting in the wind, without roots or duckweed. What right does it have to be considered a flower, mingling in someone else's garden?"

"But I think willow catkins also have a certain artistic conception... except for people with allergic rhinitis."

"What's your name?" Teacher Yang asked.

"My surname is Lin, which needs no explanation. The character Jia in the middle is said to have been decided by my elders. For example, all my male relatives in this generation have this character in the middle. As for De, it is because my parents hoped that I would be a virtuous person."

Lin Jiade sighed: "A name carries the most vague blessings that parents have for their children. Unfortunately, I am not a virtuous person. I... am a lecher."

“Yeah, you’ve hooked up with so many girls,” Teacher Yang said, leaning against Lin Jiade and putting her arm around his. “You’re pretty good at it now, aren’t you?”

Lin Jiade turned into a crying cat: "No, half a virgin."

"Pfft!" Teacher Yang couldn't help but exclaim, "You have erectile dysfunction?"

"My girlfriend and I made a promise that I would wait for her until then."

"What strange agreement? As a teacher, I don't believe in such things at all. Isn't the relationship between men and women just about men having desires for women and women having desires for men?"

But I'm so envious. I envy other people's fairytale-like love. Even if it's made up, I'd still love to read it because I don't know what it feels like to fall in love with someone.

At first, everyone was single, and when the lights were off, they would talk about which boy was tall and handsome, which boy was older, and which boy was considerate and caring. It was all just young girls fantasizing.

Everyone studies, watches dramas, listens to their idols sing, and turns off the lights to discuss their future jobs and boyfriends, all expressing how happy they are to be single.

But while I was in graduate school, one by one they suddenly started dating, meeting each other's parents, posting e-invitations on social media, and then a year or two later they were having wedding banquets, leaving me the only one still single.

Lin Jiade could easily imagine the conversation heading in that direction, so he asked, "Teacher Yang, don't you plan to find someone?"

The woman was silent for a moment, then said, "I was very insecure until I was 26."

"Ok?"

Teacher Yang unbuttoned her shirt and pulled down her hoodie collar and thermal underwear. Lin Jiade was caught off guard and saw the shallow cleavage on her chest and the scars winding along it.

"enough."

Lin Jiade grabbed Ms. Yang's hands, pushed her clothes back into place, buttoned them up for her, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Before graduation, my roommates and I planned a trip, and in the middle of it, we were in a traffic accident."

Fortunately, only one person on the bus was seriously injured; unfortunately, that person was me. The others only suffered scratches, minor injuries, and bruises, while I was left with an ugly scar on my body.

I was told the result at the hospital. At that time, I only felt the joy of surviving a disaster. You see, it's already a blessing to survive a traffic accident with all four limbs intact...

After being discharged from the hospital, when I changed my clothes and saw how ugly I looked, I couldn't help but scream and smash the mirror. Then, nightmares began to visit me that night.

I dreamt I became a monster, hideously ugly, slaughtering lives, and then was defeated by a hero… Ugly people can't be allies of justice; ugly people only deserve to be monsters. Who cares about Quasimodo?

Ms. Yang took a deep breath, slammed her fist against the wall, and said, "With a body like this, who would want to spend the rest of their life with me?"

"With modern medical technology so advanced, and with so many good men in the world, you're sure to find one..."

“Good men are rare, and they are often already taken,” Ms. Yang sighed. “I don’t feel so bad now, because scars are something you get used to after seeing them a lot.”

"That's it."

"Moreover, starting last year, its area suddenly began to shrink. In just one year, the area covered by the scar has been reduced by half. In addition, I've reached this age, so I've regained the courage to look for a marriage partner among the men I know."

Why does a scar suddenly shrink?

"I also went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor said it might be related to my lifestyle and the skincare products I usually use... Whatever, it's a good thing that this thing is shrinking, it wasted my youth."

I might be a little short and have a small bust, but I'm excellent in every other way. Finding a boyfriend will be a piece of cake. I'll date while I'm studying, get married as soon as I get my PhD and a job, and then quickly have a baby—one is enough, actually I don't really like kids.

Teacher Yang grinned foolishly, contemplating her ideal life; her carefully constructed image in Lin Jiade's mind had crumbled. After a few seconds of daydreaming, Teacher Yang said, "I think I've said a lot of things I shouldn't have."

Lin Jiade waved his hand: "Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing. I won't take what I said after drinking to heart."

"Really? Drinking has this advantage? You don't have to take responsibility for what you say." Teacher Yang scratched her head. "Lin Jiade, how about dating me with marriage in mind?"

"?!"

"It was just a joke after drinking. I'm a teacher and you're a student. If we get together, society will criticize us behind our backs. I'll lose my job, and you'll be the subject of gossip."

Teacher Yang slowly squatted down along the wall, buried her head in her arms, and said in a choked voice, "Please let me be alone for a while, please."

Because TES lost, this chapter is still owed. I've finally made up for the missed chapters, yay!

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Unbalanced Moon

Lin Jiade left Teacher Yang behind. He was feeling gloomy, but seeing the atmosphere in the living room stirred up by alcohol, he forced a smile and sat on the sofa to watch them play.

Jasmine was the first to leave to learn from Diao, and Ice Cave, who was already in poor health, also returned to her room. Hehuan took Teacher Yang away. She didn't ask anything, but before leaving, she gave Lin Jiade a deep look.

Xuanling took Ditao back, Weiying went to play games, and Lin Jiade cleaned up the dishes by himself, sighing at the sink. Then, a warm touch spread along his side.

Having been "attacked" by Hehuan once before, Lin Jiade didn't react much. He looked up and saw Hehuan staring straight at him. Her half-closed collar almost revealed the view of her chest, and the allure was hidden between her slightly parted red lips.

“Miss Dujuan, please stop teasing me.” He said helplessly, “Hehuan is not the kind of person who would seduce others; she is very reserved.”

"Hehuan" transformed back and said, "I was just making a reasonable deduction about how your respected senior will act in the future."

Lin Jiade shook his head: "Impossible. Hehuan is not that kind of person. She knows how to love herself and be reserved. She rarely does anything frivolous and values ​​friendship. Even when she is in trouble, she is very elegant."

"Then it proves you don't understand her. Think about what kind of circle she grew up in, think about how she can be friends with Kapok. She is selfless and has no desires, like a saint, a good teacher and friend, helping you grow, helping you achieve your love, and then she retires and becomes a silent outsider."

Do you think this is possible?

“I know that Senior Sister Hehuan is investing in me, and I will do my best to repay her. In the worst-case scenario, I am prepared to support her for the rest of my life,” Lin Jiade said.

"What if she repays you with a classic offer like offering herself in marriage?" Du Juan asked.

“If Jasmine and Gladiolus agree… well, we should also consider Kapok’s opinion,” Lin Jiade replied.

"What if she doesn't love you, but has other motives? For example, getting close to me and Jianlan to clear things up for our family, or wanting to cultivate an exceptionally talented offspring to be grafted onto your branch, using your resources to revive the family?"

Lin Jiade stopped washing the dishes and hesitated, saying, "I probably won't agree. I want to live with someone who loves me. We can talk about interests, but I don't want to be in a relationship where we're not in love. There are already so many people who like me. How can I have the energy to take care of someone who doesn't love me?"

"And what about me?" Du Juan pointed to herself.

"The same goes for you. Only when you stop teasing me will I consider how to spend the rest of my life with you."

Du Juan suddenly said seriously, "Lin Jiade, even if I love you with all my heart, we cannot spend the rest of our lives together. Your silent rejection of your teacher's confession is my reason."

"Are lifespans different? But there are still differences. If I want to extend my lifespan, I only need to ask Gladiolus to turn me into a necromancer. Then I can live for a very, very long time before I die from self-denial."

But Teacher Yang is different. Even if she starts learning Diao Chaofan's power now, how long can she persist and become a necromancer like me?

Her mortal body meant that living with me meant risking injury, and not just any injury, but one that was...undignified.

What do her parents think? Their daughter is choosing to marry a philandering man who's having affairs with several women at the same time, and he's even her student... She's right, this is something that will be condemned by society.

Her feelings for me now are like the suspension bridge effect—just a fleeting passion. Once the incident is over, her memory is erased, and we'll go back to our original relationship. I'll just be the protagonist in her dreams.

"What about the ice cave?"

Lin Jiade chuckled: "An ice cave? That's even more impossible."

The heart pattern in Du Juan's eyes deepened in color. She patted Lin Jiade on the shoulder and said, "I'm just reminding you that she's a genuine girl inside and out now. If you don't correct your perception in time, you'll suffer in the future."

Lin Jiade looked wary: "So you're saying you're going to play matchmaker for me again?"

“If I don’t tell, I’ll reap the benefits when things go wrong; if I do tell, you’ll suspect I’m influencing your behavior. Either way, I’ll be a bad woman in your eyes.”

"It's your own fault for keeping lying to me."

"Whether I'm lying or not, why don't you ask the one above you?"

Lin Jiade looked up and realized that the snow had stopped sometime earlier. Above the night sky, the full moon shone brightly, illuminating his world... No, the snow was still falling, the wind was still blowing, and the cloudless night sky and the faceless moon existed only in his field of vision.

"Why does the moon favor me?" he asked.

"That's a question you should ask the moon,"

Du Juan leaned on Lin Jiade's shoulder, her hair slipping into his ear, sharing the same moon through his vision. The night was as still as water, and the outline of the full moon gradually magnified in their eyes.

The same scene came into Ragnar's view: in the city of Fuxing, where "time does not exist," time is forever frozen between 0:00 and 4:00 AM, and the city's scenery repeats itself repeatedly during these four hours.

Until the 15th of each month, when it is closest to the real-world city of Revival, the Greeks who cannot obtain it are restless, and the favored guardians of the holy land are emboldened. Their long and futile battles bring a brief period of liveliness to the city.

After failing to stop Lin Jiade, the black cat, or rather Iphigenia, returned here and asked, "No wonder you were able to command those monsters created by our organization (the Greeks) to break into the real world."

Because the moon here is still a full moon, and the guardians of the holy land are accustomed to thinking that today is not a full moon, since it is not the night of the full moon on the 15th, they do not need to take precautions.

So when the moon shows abnormalities, monsters flood through the undefended holy land like a tide, becoming beings that can freely travel between reality and this place.

The key to achieving this is the unusual full moon here... Why?

Ragnar replied gently, “As I told you before, although this is a sacred place, there are no fallen celestial observers here. Rather, it is the result of a plurality of celestial observers leaving behind some of their authority here.”

Iphigenia tried to say, "So, it is the moon's authority that is at work?"

"In my view, there are at least three celestial observers' powers within this holy site: the powers the Greeks used to create monsters, which house the power of calamity and resentment; and the powers the city openly used to create those guardians of the holy site, which house the powers of protection and war."

The moon governs when the two sides go to war and maintains the balance of the Holy Land. That's why, for so many years, the Greeks and the guardians of the Holy Land have never been able to fulfill their wish of filling the Holy Land with their flesh and time.

Now, the moon is out of balance.

In the first round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester City. The results will be determined by the majority of readers' choices: Tottenham wins, Manchester City wins, or both teams draw. If the prediction is correct, an extra chapter will be added.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Pedophilia

Before Iphigenia could ask, Ragnar shook his head: "Don't ask me why. I've only grasped the moon's imbalance, but how could I possibly understand the moon's thoughts?"

"Everyone is looking up at the same moon, so why is it that only Mr. Sigurdsson has grasped it?" Iphigenia's voice was very calm. "I suppose it's because Mr. Sigurdsson has been paying attention to the moon all along."

Ragnar looked at her. Although Iphigenia was a monster, after living in human society for several years, she had developed the same intelligence as humans.

"Since this cannot be said, please tell me, why are you capturing so many ordinary humans?" Iphigenia asked.

Ragnar explained, “To be precise, it’s the middle-class families in the City of Revival. The Greeks need new materials to create more of your brothers and sisters, and I have a plan, so the plundering of ordinary humans in the City of Revival is still the result of our cooperation.”

In terms of quality alone, those with military, business, and espionage backgrounds are better, but it's not easy to take them down. For example, the Greeks have been trying to kill the magic researcher with the registered ID "Hehuan." Judging from her strength, it would be easy, but in practice, the success rate is less than 10%.

Even if we succeed, we, especially I, must consider the Empire's retaliation. In fact, some peripheral investigations against me have already begun, even without direct evidence that I was involved.

From the perspective of the imperial response, the safest choice is undoubtedly the ordinary people at the bottom of society. They are numerous and talkative, and are the main force of online public opinion. It is easy to silence them online or in real life. A few deaths will not attract attention. However, their unhealthy lifestyles have worn down their bodies, making their average quality very poor. Capturing them would only be a waste of resources.

Then there's the middle class. Targeting them offers a certain level of quality assurance. Their work and lifestyles are also unhealthy, but based on their shared identity within the same social circle, they enjoy going to the gym, taking care of themselves, and adhering to the concept of nutrition and health.

At the same time, capturing them eliminates the risk of fierce imperial retaliation; the powerful and wealthy don't care about them, while the lower classes will gloat over their misfortune. They can only band together, but a sophisticated self-interest prevails within their circles, making cooperation difficult.

“No wonder you arrested the people living in Yang Xuemeng’s neighborhood.” Iphigenia suddenly realized, “The environment there is isolated, and people only interact with each other out of politeness. You secretly sent people to arrest them one by one, and they didn’t even realize it.”