Ren Yi took advantage of the main force's departure to wander around the camp. Besides getting some fresh air, he had a more important goal.
"WhatAreYouLookingAt" had said she would sneak into the group leaving the city, but she hadn't appeared yet.
Ren Yi didn't have any ill will toward this classmate, but judging by her various risky actions, he felt she wasn't just here to "mooch a meal."
Hinting at each other through the forum was too inefficient. It would be best to make brief contact and add her as a friend to prevent their plans from clashing again.
Currently, Gawain was the only one stuck to him like glue, which was as few people as he could hope for.
In any case, classmate "WhatAreYouLookingAt," please show up quickly.
Ren Yi sent out the "let's talk" signal as much as possible.
Sure enough, after standing outside for only a short while, there was movement.
It was just that the person who arrived was a bit different from what Ren Yi had imagined.
Ren Yi slowly looked up, staring at the massive shadow that suddenly loomed over him. His brain stalled for a moment.
What is this thing? A wall? An otherworldly gorilla? A mutant beastkin?
Standing before him was a giant of a man, at least two and a half meters tall. His arms were as thick as Ren Yi's waist, with bulging muscles so defined they looked like carved blocks of stone, and veins crawling over them like earthworms. The visual impact was overwhelming.
Ren Yi looked up slightly, but his gaze only reached the man's chest. Of course, he didn't intend to make eye contact with this "iron tower" who was likely his dear classmate.
But even without looking at his face, Ren Yi could feel two scorching gazes, like powerful lasers, locked firmly onto him.
So, it turns out that "double-door refrigerators" really do exist in this world.
Ren Yi had seen plenty of irrationally shaped Anomalies, but this was the first time he had seen someone whose build was so rational yet hinted at a touch of the irrational.
He remembered that physical-enhancement type Espers in this world usually looked normal. Was this man just born this way?
For a moment, Ren Yi doubted his judgment. He had always assumed "WhatAreYouLookingAt" was a female classmate.
While Anomalies themselves might not care about gender, because the Alliance raised them like humans, they generally had a "self-identified gender."
"What are you doing, Tarol?" Gawain asked nearby, his tone icy.
The double-door refrigerator named Tarol ignored Gawain. He lowered his head toward Ren Yi and spoke with a muffled sound like a tolling bell.
"I'm here to see our Son of God, of course. Lord Son of God, what are you looking at?"
Ren Yi: "..."
He was wrong. He had fallen into a stereotype. He needed to reflect deeply on his bias.
Clearly, this Tarol was the new body of his classmate "WhatAreYouLookingAt." Moreover, they had obviously learned their lesson and led with the secret code.
Gawain turned to look at Ren Yi, only to find the Son of God had already turned his head away.
He was staring at the distant sky with an expression so profound it seemed he could see through the very fabric of heaven and earth, as if pondering the survival of the Holy City and the future of humanity, without glancing this way at all.
Gawain frowned and barked at Tarol, "Tarol, stand down! I don't care if you spend every day looking for people to wrestle in the ring, but the Son of God is not someone you can provoke!"
Wrestling?
Images of wrestling matches from TV flashed through Ren Yi's mind. He remembered that before a match started, both sides would always glare at each other for a long time.
In that case, taking over this muscular powerhouse wouldn't have been difficult for his classmate "WhatAreYouLookingAt."
Ren Yi sighed, still gazing into the distance, not giving the two behind him a second look.
"Gawain, let him come. We are all children of our God, connected by blood. He will not harm me."
Tarol—or rather, "WhatAreYouLookingAt"—curled his lip and jerked his chin at Gawain.
"Did you hear that, Sir Knight? The Son of God is just like me; he crawled his way out of the piles of mutant beast corpses outside the city. We share the same blood. We're not like you high-and-mighty big shots."
This lady... or gentleman... was hinting that "we're on the same side."
Given the unique nature of "WhatAreYouLookingAt's" ability, Ren Yi couldn't be sure if they were a man dressed as a woman before or a woman dressed as a man now.
Nearby, Gawain was choked up by "WhatAreYouLookingAt's" words and was momentarily speechless.
Under Gawain's anxious gaze, Ren Yi turned around, patted his shoulder to reassure him, and faced "WhatAreYouLookingAt."
Of course, he still didn't look the person in the eyes.
"Hello, Tarol. Is something the matter?"
Ren Yi reached out, making a gesture to shake hands.
The priority was to make contact and add them as a friend on the Anomaly Web.
But "WhatAreYouLookingAt" took a half-step back, avoiding his hand, and stubbornly pressed the question.
"Lord Son of God, you haven't answered my question yet. What were you looking at just now?"
Ren Yi fell silent again.
Classmate, aren't you being a bit too obsessed with this secret code?
Did they want to fight? Were they trying to trigger some rule?
He quickly went through the possibilities in his head.
First, they were both newly awakened cubs; it was almost impossible for them to have reached C-rank in such a short time, so they couldn't have a second rule.
The rule for "WhatAreYouLookingAt" was already clear: "Prolonged eye contact allows for Possession." It had nothing to do with dialogue.
Then what was the point of this persistence? Did they have an Anomaly Artifact that could be triggered through dialogue?
But if they really had one, why didn't they use it when they attacked me before? A rule triggered by a single line of dialogue would be much easier than prolonged eye contact.
Was it some kind of one-time energy crystal? That didn't make sense either...
Before him, "WhatAreYouLookingAt" was also undergoing a fierce mental brainstorm.
The logic behind its obsession with the code was simple.
Its ability allowed it to return control to the original owner of the body before the soul was completely digested.
Who knew if this "Son of God" was in a similar situation?
What if the other party's ability was something like inserting a second personality into the Son of God's head?
If the person in front of it right now was the real Son of God's personality, wouldn't it be exposed if it gave the wrong hints?
The two of them fought a battle of wits against the air for a few seconds until Ren Yi finally compromised.
He judged repeatedly that there was no reason for this classmate to attack him before they had even had one formal exchange.
"Fine... what if I am looking at you?" Ren Yi said, his tone helpless.
Tarol's eyes instantly lit up. He stepped forward quickly, grabbed Ren Yi's hand, and squeezed out an exaggerated smile.
"Hehehe, I knew you'd remember me, Lord Son of God."
Immediately after, he turned and gave Gawain a provocative smile. "See that, big shot? You don't understand the slang we little people use, do you?"
At that moment, a "ding" sounded simultaneously in the consciousness of Ren Yi and "WhatAreYouLookingAt."
【You have become friends with 【WhatAreYouLookingAt】.】
【You have become friends with 【Slime Flight Edition】.】
On the surface, the two maintained the harmonious posture of "Son of God and believer," but in the Anomaly Web chat box, things instantly became lively.
【Classmate WhatAreYouLookingAt, you actually dared to come... no, you're finally here?】
Rate on N.U.
