My daily life in various anime crossovers can't possibly be this sci-fi.

"After the training camp ended, Dr. Briet questioned me in detail, especially about the strange dreams I had. He seemed very eager to get some new information out of me... Could my selection be related to those encrypted memories? Who knows?"

……

"Thursday."

"Today we finally began learning formal spells and techniques. The titles of the cultivation manuals we three Earth students studied were like those of ordinary academic textbooks, completely different from the 'startup-style' cultivation manuals that the Chosen Ones studied. This afternoon, the two groups had a sparring match, and the results and process were often quite bizarre: although I was able to gain the upper hand in the early stages of the match, once the Chosen Ones fell into a seemingly hopeless situation, their strength would increase abnormally, allowing them to easily turn the tide and win."

"In a duel, I struck a chosen one head-on with two grenades. Without Dr. Briette's protection, the lethal damage didn't bring me victory; instead, it inexplicably awakened some kind of talent in that chosen one..."

"...As expected of the chosen ones, they are simply invincible."

"Dr. Breit encouraged us not to be discouraged: because losing to the chosen one is normal. The fact that the three of us were not unilaterally crushed is enough to show that our strength is already strong enough and our learning has been quite solid."

……

"Friday."

"Although I've only experienced this genuine 'cramming' learning method for five days so far, I'm certain that I've learned more in those five days than I would in two months in the past. I seem to adapt very well to this teaching method that directly inputs information into my brain; I can basically learn it on the spot. However, the professor said that only simple basic knowledge can be learned in this way. If you want to further improve your level, you must acquire new knowledge through a lot of practical operation and experience summarization."

"I've discovered that researching various magical artifacts and equipment isn't as tedious as I've imagined. Perhaps it's because I've acquired a vast amount of knowledge, but now I find myself doing these things with a certain ease. For modern civilization, productivity is more important than combat power, so this is definitely a good sign. If things continue like this for another two months, I'll surely become a completely new person."

"The doctor seems to have become slightly less concerned about my dreams, and I no longer receive the contents of those strange memories myself."

"Tomorrow is Saturday, and it's October 1st. So it seems like I can finally 'relax' for two days."

Jiang Jinghua turned off his phone, put it back in his pocket, and sat calmly in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.

Jiang Jinghua's home is now a veritable non-combustible garbage dump: in the dining room, the corner next to the dining table is piled with boxes of various parts and bags of various metal and non-metal materials, just like a garbage dump. A glass cabinet used to store various rare and precious materials (mainly from the biological laboratory of the foundation) has been squeezed into the gap between the computer desk and the bookshelf. The room has not been cleaned properly for a week. Not only is there a lot of dust on the floor, but there is also a faint, subtle smell of organic matter and gunpowder in the air.

Jiang Jinghua's home was not big to begin with, and after the addition of many training-related facilities provided by the school, it became even more cramped.

However, while at first glance it might look like the dorm room of a disheveled engineering student, a closer look reveals it's actually more like the hideout of a vicious terrorist. Modified AR-15s, AK-74s, and even the psionic-breathing "G-12K 'Bluebird'" pistol, along with various types of ammunition, are neatly arranged in a messy corner. Rockets, concussion knives, and spears with muzzle-mounted caps capable of generating thousands of degrees of heat are piled up like junk next to a cabinet. As a member of the world's dark side, Jiang Jinghua has now received direct authorization from the United Nations and the Foundation, granting him the legal right to possess and use various items that are considered deadly weapons or even divine weapons by ordinary people... After all, if a biological or chemical crisis were to break out in Tokyo one day, Jiang Jinghua might just have to shed some blood for human civilization.

Looking at the countless powerful weapons displayed around him, Jiang Jinghua suddenly realized a problem:

He no longer has any reason to call himself an "ordinary person".

Are you kidding me?! Just a few hours ago, he destroyed a medium tank being used as a target with a psionic man-portable missile! What ordinary person could do something like that?

In fact, he should have realized it long ago: having the dual identities of a Chinese time traveler and a Japanese high school student, he never had the possibility of living a mediocre life from the very beginning.

What will my future be like?

what

Chapter 81, Section 81: The title was swallowed by Honoka again.

Saturday morning.

Intensive training can cause considerable fatigue and damage to the human brain. Therefore, according to the school's regulations, trainees should strictly control high-intensity mental activity and the use of magic during holidays. Thus, Jiang Jinghua is currently happy to follow the rules, wandering aimlessly through the streets of Tokyo without thinking.

It's already October, and the last vestiges of summer's power have been swept away. The sun, which used to blatantly radiate dazzling light, has completely lost its ability to make people break out in a sweat.

Today, Jiang Jinghua was dressed in all black as usual: a black hooded jacket, black pants, and black sneakers. After all, black has always been his favorite color.

Black, though seemingly plain, is the epitome of all other colors; black has always been associated with one of humanity's oldest and most vivid emotions—fear. Therefore, dark colors, especially black itself, have long been seen as symbols of power and the unknown. Black signifies the power to crush everything, coldness and order, collectivism and sacrifice, grandeur and mystery.

Otherwise, why do you think special agents from departments like the Executive Office, the FBI, MI6, and S.H.I.E.L.D. all wear black uniforms? Try asking them to change all their clothes into pink ones with grass-green spots.

Jiang Jinghua never believed that simple love and ideals could solve problems: the reason why humanity is able to stay away from war today is not because of the efforts of anti-war organizations and democrats, but because of the interdependent modern economic system, the terrifying nuclear deterrence, and the supervision of the Foundation, the largest violent organization in all mankind.

Often, what you need to reason with others isn't a more correct argument, but a bigger fist.

After all, who can guarantee that they are definitely more correct than others?

For some reason, Jiang Jinghua, lost in thought, found himself wandering near Akihabara once again.

……

Honestly, he could hardly believe that such a scene was happening on an electronics street: the crowds were as exaggerated as those at a Beijing train station during the Spring Festival!

Girls dressed in all sorts of colorful clothes nimbly weaved through the crowd, handing out flyers as thick as a novel in just a few minutes; the clamor of voices and the sounds of various promotional videos playing on the big screen created a lively atmosphere, making this electronics street feel as bustling as a vegetable market.

Has the popularity of school idols in Japan reached this level?

Oh wait. Jiang Jinghua suddenly remembered something. It wasn't just Love Live that started on October 1st; there was also the Autumn Comic Market. The otaku in Akihabara now might not be there to support their idols; they're more likely there to buy doujinshi.

However, on the other hand, those kinds of conventions filled with adult content don't really concern me. Although [DATA EXPUNGED] is legal in Japan, it's also subject to strict regulation. Leaving aside online distribution, the idea of ​​openly allowing minors into offline venues is clearly impossible in Japan today.

Then let's wander around somewhere else for a bit.

Having experienced countless crowds in China in his previous life, Jiang Jinghua didn't find the scene before him particularly annoying. In fact, compared to the Great Wall during the National Day holiday, the area was practically deserted.

"Om-"

The phone vibrated in his pocket. Although Jiang Jinghua hadn't turned off the ringer, it was completely inaudible in the current situation.

"Hello?" Jiang Jinghua asked, turning on speakerphone.

"Hey, um," came Honoka Kousaka from the other end of the phone, "walk forward about twenty meters."

"what happened?"

"I told you to leave, so just leave!"

Although Jiang Jinghua was completely baffled, he still took a few steps forward.

"Okay, please turn right now!"

Jiang Jinghua turned to the right as she instructed. What he saw was a tightly closed glass door, behind which was a milky-white roller shutter. A heart-shaped sign on the doorknob read, "We're very sorry! We're closed today!" It didn't look like anyone would be inside.

However, although the roller shutter was closed, the windows near it were not blocked. Jiang Jinghua could see inside...it looked somewhat familiar?

Just then, the tightly closed roller shutter door was suddenly yanked shut by someone.

"Clang! Clang!" Standing behind the door was Honoka Kousaka, with her usual sweet smile. "Surprise!"

Simply seeing Honoka Kousaka wouldn't have been enough to cause Jiang Jinghua's mind to temporarily freeze like it is now. The culprit was actually the clothes she was wearing.

A jet-black background with pure white lace, a design with a strong Gothic feel...

Indeed, Honoka Kousaka is currently dressed in a maid outfit and standing in front of Jiang Jinghua.

Jiang Jinghua suddenly remembered where this place was: it was the coffee shop where Minami Kotori used to work, and the uniform Honoka was wearing now was exactly the same as Minami Kotori's.

As for why such tightly wrapped clothing has such a captivating charm, Jiang Jinghua could find a whole host of arguments to support his claim: from the pure aesthetic features and visual impact of the clothing's style, to the inherent male desire for conquest, control, order and unity, and the tendency to objectify women, etc., he could easily write a two-thousand-word essay on it.

However, he has completely lost the ability to spout such nonsense. All he can do now is stand there blankly, staring at the girl in front of him in a daze.

The last time he saw a live maid was a few weeks ago, when he unexpectedly ran into Minami Kotori at the store. At that time, he wasn't even acquainted with anyone from μ's.

But now, after spending some time with them in another dimension, regardless of what they themselves think, Jiang Jinghua now undoubtedly regards them as important friends.

Therefore, the impact he is experiencing now is on a completely different level compared to before.

"Jinghua-kun, what's wrong with you?" Honoka asked. "Why are you staring at me like that? It's scary."

"Ah...ah, I'm sorry, I, that..." Jiang Jinghua didn't know how to explain.

"Okay, I got it, that's the effect I wanted." Honoka pulled Jiang Jinghua into the cafe and then lowered the curtain again. "It's cute, isn't it?"

“Then…that’s for sure,” Jiang Jinghua said. “By the way, you…you’re working here too? So, you found out about Qinli?”

“It’s not ‘you,’ it’s ‘you all,’” Honoka pointed to the other side of the cafe.

Jiang Jinghua discovered that the other eight people had also gathered here.

"Ah, ahaha..." Minami Kotori, who was also dressed in a maid outfit, greeted him with difficulty, "Y-you, hello, Jinghua-kun."

“We just got back from another dimension yesterday,” Nozomi said. “Based on Eri’s idea, we decided to use this café as a base to launch our promotional campaign. So, during this temporary closure, we all decided to come here to practice our café work skills.”

what

Section 82, Chapter 82: Jiang Jinghua on Idols

That said, in a sense, their idea of ​​using maid cafe jobs as a form of advertising to attract otaku is similar to Jiang Jinghua's own.

"We originally only planned to practice our part-time job skills here, but since we happened to see you through the window, we thought we'd bring you over to talk about some publicity stuff," Honoka said with a smile.

...With so many people on the street, how could they spot someone like me at a glance?

"While you might not be able to help with the music itself..." Maki Nishikino said bluntly, "you should have a lot of good ideas about how to do promotion and management, right?"

"That's very kind of you to compliment me." Jiang Jinghua smiled. "Perfect, even if you hadn't run into me this time, I would have talked to you about this sooner or later."

At this moment, the coffee shop manager came out and, after understanding the situation, generously allowed Jiang Jinghua to stay in the shop and talk to everyone in detail.

There wasn't a table in the coffee shop that could seat ten people at the same time, so they found a four-person table and divided themselves into two groups of five, each occupying half of the table.

"Before I go into the details of my plan, I'd like to ask you all a question first." Jiang Jinghua's expression turned serious. "What do you think an idol really is?"

"An idol is someone who brings smiles to everyone!" Honoka said with a beaming smile.

"An idol...an idol is dazzling and cute, likable, and eye-catching..." Koizumi Hanayo's eyes shone, and she stammered a little due to her excitement.

"If we're talking about idols, shouldn't we consider them a type of pop singer?" Eri pondered.

Everyone started talking at once, each offering their own definition of an idol.

"Ahem." Jiang Jinghua cleared his throat. "I don't dare to call myself an authority in the idol industry. In fact, I'm just someone who probably doesn't even qualify as an amateur. So, the definition of 'idol' that I can give is just my personal understanding. In my opinion, an idol is actually 'someone who is worshipped'."

All nine people listened attentively.

“Please note my wording: I just said people who are ‘worshipped,’ not people who are ‘worshipped because they have some extraordinary qualities.’” Jiang Jinghua held up a finger. “In the primitive era before civilization developed and flourished, the idols worshipped by the tribal people did not really have the ability to summon wind and rain. In fact, they were just a pile of ordinary clay figures, but because they were ‘worshipped,’ they could be called ‘idols.’”

"Musicians provide music to society, writers provide novels, and animators provide animation, but idols provide themselves as their 'product' to society."

"Whether it's your songs or your dances, they are just one aspect of your existence. As idols, what you need to offer to society is not just this one aspect, but your whole being... or rather, the more glamorous parts of your whole being."

As Jiang Jinghua spoke, his eyes gradually turned cold. He placed his hands on the table, interlocking his fingers, and his overall demeanor underwent a noticeable change.

"...And those 'glamorous' parts I mentioned earlier, if we use a more formal term, are what we call 'persona'. What idols provide to society is their 'persona'. Whether it's songs, dances, or anything else, in the final analysis, it's just one aspect of the 'persona', albeit a crucial one."

"The key difference between a successful singer and a successful idol lies in whether their success stems from their songs or their overall persona."

“I understand…” Nishikino Maki nodded. “So, you plan to use ACG… no, or rather, to use a ‘literary,’ ‘abstract,’ ‘ideal’ image to create the ‘personas’ of the nine of us?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m aiming for!” Jiang Jinghua stood up. “Everyone, compared to those school idols on the market, you have three decisive advantages: First, the songs you perform have far exceeded the level of normal high school students. In fact, with my limited appreciation, your songs are comparable to professional assembly-line songs in the industry.”

“But even more important is your personalities. Even without any exaggeration, their distinctiveness is unbelievable!” Jiang Jinghua slammed his fist on the table. “What’s more, you even have faces that are almost identical to the fold-out color pages on the covers of light novels!”