My name is Levi, and I work in anime.

Ultimately, due to the huge investment, the small output, and the excessive risks, it was shut down and became an ordinary pharmaceutical company. I just don't know if this is how things develop in this world.

"I don't really understand what a protective umbrella is. I only know that they are a very large multinational corporation and a leader in the pharmaceutical industry."

After careful recollection, the older female teacher realized she had no knowledge of pharmaceutical companies: "This medicine is a new painkiller launched by Umbrella last month. It is said to be very effective. No matter how serious the wound or illness, it will stop the pain after taking it. The price is also not expensive. I just bought it yesterday."

A bottle contains 200 tablets, which is quite impressive, although it's not as good as the American kind where they're sold by the pound.

"Don't eat it for now," Li Wei said firmly.

Since you're unsure if it's safe, stay away from it. If something happens to Hiratsuka-nee, you'll have nowhere to turn to cry.

The boy casually slipped the Umbrella Corporation painkiller into his pocket, intending to take it home and study it. He lacked the necessary research equipment here, so analyzing it would likely be a difficult task.

By the way, when you get home, be sure to do some research; all of this company's drugs must be sealed up.

"Oh."

The older, marriage-hungry female teacher looks incredibly obedient, and in these aspects, she listens to Li Wei quite well.

"As compensation, Hiratsuka-nee, I'll give you a massage."

"Do you know how to massage?"

The older female teacher, eager to get married, instinctively wanted to ask that question, but before she could even utter a word, she was pushed directly onto the sofa.

As Li Wei moved his hands, the words he was about to say were suddenly blocked in his mouth, and he could only let out a comfortable groan before he was completely paralyzed.

This is Hiratsuka-nee's first time giving a massage, so she should be gentler.

Li Wei shook his head, covered the sleeping Hiratsuka Shizuka with the coat hanging on the hanger, and quietly left, then closed the door.

After leaving home, I sent a text message to Kazusa to let her know I was safe and that I would be home a little later.

The reason for arriving in this world line is still unclear, so we must be prepared to stay here for a long time. Taking a couple of laps around the school to familiarize ourselves with the environment is the right thing to do.

Fortunately, Zongwu High School doesn't have a large area; it only has a few simple teaching buildings. After walking around the campus map a few times, I quickly figured out the layout.

It was getting late, and most students were heading home to enjoy their time after school. After confirming that there was nothing he needed to be careful about, Li Wei felt it was about time to go home.

It was at this moment that another familiar person cornered him in the corridor.

"Touma, why didn't you come to the kendo club today?"

The murderous girl, with her beautiful long purple hair, stunning figure, and sharp, capable demeanor, and carrying a bamboo sword on her back, asked with concern.

Saeko's address caught Li Wei off guard for a moment before he realized she was calling him Touma.

"Um, Professor Hiratsuka asked me to go to his office for something, and I just came out now."

"You and your cousin are really close." Very good, in this world, Saeko and Hiratsuka are also relatives.

Seeing Li Wei looking so energetic, Saeko visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Since you're alright, I'm relieved."

"So, a lot of people have had accidents lately?" The boy immediately realized the hidden information in the other person's words.

"It can't be said that something happened; it can only be said that many people were not feeling well and took sick leave."

The two sides had a good relationship, and Saeko had no intention of hiding anything: "Recently, many club members have been in a bad mood, and they are obviously more irritable and easily angered than usual. Yesterday, a senior even broke three of the ribs of a junior."

Is this some kind of Etajima Navy? Senior student, give junior student a boost of energy!

"There was a bloody incident at the school the day before yesterday. It seems that Mr. Fujito Koichi and his student had a conflict. In a moment of impulse, the other student pounced on him and bit him, almost biting Mr. Fujito to death on the spot."

This name seems familiar. He tried to get into Baihuang Academy through connections, but was discovered and sent back to his hometown.

"There are more and more reports of bloody conflicts in the news. It feels like everyone is very hostile. Someone could die in an instant."

"I see." Li Wei felt as if he had grasped some very important information, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it for the moment.

The truth of the matter is like a veil covering one's face, which can never be lifted no matter what; one can only vaguely see a outline.

Since you can't figure it out right now, then you can think about it slowly.

"Um..." Saeko hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Is there anything else?" The boy looked at the girl strangely.

"No, it's nothing." The murderous girl shook her head, her mood slightly disappointed.

After leaving the request that "contact me immediately if there is any danger, no, you must contact me," and receiving an affirmative answer from Saeko under her somewhat curious gaze, Li Wei felt a little relieved.

After a smooth journey home, I greeted Sister Yaozi and went straight to my bedroom to search online for information about the Umbrella Corporation in this world.

The result was pretty much exactly what Hiratsuka-san had said. From every angle, it was a very professional and standard pharmaceutical company. The negative news was nothing more than shareholder power struggles or expired drugs, which was completely different from the company I had in mind that didn't treat people like human beings.

Did you really think too much?

Li Wei was a little unsure, so he shut down his computer, lay on his bed, and pondered, his gaze wandering aimlessly.

Then, it stopped on a peculiar device on the cabinet that looked particularly conspicuous and out of place with the surrounding decorations.

"This looks like it was sent by Makise Kurisu?"

Li Wei recalled the name of the device; it seemed to be called the Worldline Rate of Change Detector.

Why did he come here with me, and how should I use him?

This inability to find a solution made the boy feel extremely uncomfortable.

Chapter 6 The Calm Before the Storm

The next day happened to be a weekend day off.

Because her mother was about to leave for abroad, Kazusa dragged Li Wei to the supermarket to buy some supplies they would need for living together.

It was called shopping, but it was really just strolling around. The Touma family rarely cooked, after all, it would be too much of a waste to use a pianist's hands for frying and cooking.

Li Wei didn't mind cooking, but he had to give up due to the unanimous opposition of the mother and daughter.

So the brother and sister (?) who have a very good relationship are happily strolling around the street, enjoying the saleswoman's compliments that they are a perfect match.

"Vegetables, fruits, drinks, and medicine."

Along the way, the boy filled his shopping cart with all sorts of supplies that Li Wei thought were worth buying. He looked at the medicine in his hand, which also had the Umbrella Corporation label printed on it, shook his head, and put it back.

Umbrella in this world is much larger than I imagined, and its sign can be seen from almost anywhere.

Even without any evidence, Li Wei still subconsciously rejected the company, just like seeing a stack of plates crawling on by cockroaches—even after they've been washed, he still wanted to stay away from them.

The supermarket was unusually crowded today, especially the meat section, which was packed with people and bustling with noise. News reports have also indicated that meat sales have increased by 30% this month.

After buying almost everything I wanted, all that was left was the desserts that Kazusa loved.

"Chocolate?" The girl with long, straight black hair looked at the gift box the boy handed her with surprise.

"Hmm, Kazusa likes this, right?"

"Idiot, didn't I tell you to call me 'sister' in public?"

The loyal girl glared at Li Wei, feigning embarrassment and annoyance. She took the boy's chocolate, noticed he had another one in his hand, and tried to take it, but couldn't budge it after pulling twice.

Touma Kazusa: "???"

“This is for my mom,” Li Wei replied earnestly.

As someone who has long cared for both sides, I have considerable authority on how to treat everyone equally; these are all lessons learned through bloodshed.

So I always buy several of the same thing to avoid problems.

However, things didn't seem to go as he had expected.

As for how to address someone, it felt a little awkward at first to call Yaozi "Mom," but I got used to it over time. It has to be said that people are really adaptable.

"..."

After a two-second silence, Kazusa said in a tone that seemed to have come to know Levi anew, "You're going to give Mom chocolates?"

"Any questions?"

After gazing at her beloved younger brother for a while, Kazusa seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Have you forgotten what day tomorrow is?"

"Tomorrow isn't July 7th... Oh, it's Qixi Festival." Li Wei suddenly realized.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar and abandoned the lunar calendar. Traditional festivals that were previously celebrated using the lunar calendar are now observed according to the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Japanese New Year is January 1st.

This simplistic and crude one-size-fits-all approach has also brought many problems, the most common being that the moon is not full at all on August 15th of the Gregorian calendar.

For busy teenagers, there's simply no time to calculate the date. They often only remember it's Qixi Festival when they open their lockers and find them full of chocolates.

"Fine, you're an idiot anyway." Kazusa sighed, adopting the air of an older sister: "I'm still very magnanimous. Mom is so outstanding, isn't it normal for me to like her? It's not worth getting angry with Mom."

Really? You didn't say that when you stabbed me in my timeline.

However, it's heartening to see that Kazusa and Yoko have gotten along much better.

Their eyes met, revealing the deep bond between the siblings.

However, even in such a harmonious atmosphere, something always seems to spoil the mood.

"ah--!"

A scream came from the crowd not far away. Immediately afterwards, the throng began to shove and push, as if something strange had happened, and a violent incident seemed imminent.

Seeing this, Li Wei immediately pulled Kazusa to a safe location, then turned and walked towards the place where the commotion had broken out.

"Wait a moment, I'll take care of it soon."

“Avi, you…”

The loyal girl instinctively tried to grab him, but he was too fast and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Then, I saw the scene before me.

A middle-aged man sat on the ground, looking lost and disoriented. A corpse lay in a pool of blood beside him. Judging from the traces at the scene and the wounds on both sides, it was clear that a fight had broken out between the two and resulted in a murder.

The only unusual thing was that there were no marks of a sharp weapon on the deceased's body, only the most basic tearing and teeth marks. The fatal wound was in the throat, and it appeared that the throat had been bitten off while the victim was still alive.

What kind of deep-seated hatred is this?

Confucius said, "Sleeping on straw and using a dry pillow, refusing to serve in office, and not sharing the world with others." If one encounters such a person in the marketplace or court, and instead of turning back to fight, then the enmity is only this great.

"You killed him?" Li Wei looked at the man who had calmed down, but whose eyes were still bloodshot.

"No, he just stepped on my foot, and I couldn't control my temper for a moment. When I came to my senses, I don't know how I ended up like this."

The other person seemed to have collapsed, covering their head and bursting into tears. If you ignored the bits of human flesh on their teeth, anyone would just mistake them for an ordinary office worker.

Not long after, with the arrival of the police, the body and the murderer were taken into police cars, and the ground was cleaned up spotlessly. The speed at which the cleaning was done was astounding.

I don't know why they're so skilled; they must have washed the floor countless times behind the scenes.

There's so much pressure in society these days; even a small dispute can lead to someone's death.

Aren't the Japanese famously averse to causing trouble for others and prone to suicide at the slightest provocation?

Li Wei was somewhat moved.

……

So, the next day was school day.

Generally speaking, people aren't in a very high mood on Mondays. After all, there are always about thirty days a month when people don't want to go to school or work, which is quite normal.

However, today is an exception, after all, it's Qixi Festival, and the whole school is filled with the sweet and sour smell of love.

As a well-known older, unmarried female teacher at the school, Hiratsuka Shizuka was in a very bad mood today. Even though she was resting on the sofa in her office and handed over the task of grading homework to Li Wei, she could not heal the wounds in her heart.

“Avi, I’ve only received obligatory chocolates for three years in a row. The only time I received one between a man and a woman was because the deliveryman delivered it to the wrong address.”

“Style, style, style”.

"You said it's just Qixi Festival, what's so great about it? Even if I don't have a boyfriend, I won't be sad or upset."

"Mhm."

"I can change gas cylinders and carry water bottles myself. Even thugs tremble when they see me on the street at night, so couples can all go to hell!"

"Xing Xingxing".

Judging from her appearance, it seemed she was about to join the FFF group and take to the streets to inflict Joan of Arc torture on couples. This made Li Wei look at the package in his hand, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should take out the chocolates inside and give them to Hiratsuka-nee.

Although Xiaojing has always been a loser, to put it bluntly, what if some clueless guy actually confesses his feelings? Then she'll have nowhere to cry.

She had originally planned to give it to him immediately, but now that she had said that, she seemed a little embarrassed.