Cicadas might just be the most rock-and-roll creatures on the planet.
They spend the vast majority of their lives lurking in the pitch-black underground, stockpiling energy, only to finally break through the soil and climb into the branches. And the one thing they do with their remaining time is scream with every ounce of their life force:
I wanna breed! I wanna mate! Come breed with me! Come mate with me!
After achieving the grand culmination of life, they die of exhaustion, leaving behind nothing but empty shells for the height of summer.
The blistering sun, the deafening wall of sound, the absolute euphoria, and the inevitable demise... This life cycle itself is the epitome of a reckless, tragic, yet magnificent rock-and-roll spirit.
And Fuli? He outright skipped the first day of the Wardance's opening ceremony.
It wasn't until dusk on the second day that he finally dragged his slightly exhausted—yet oddly exhilarated—body back to the Hyperion's camp, absolutely glowing with post-coital radiance.
This pissed off Yunli to no end. She was so furious she was half a second away from hoisting her greatsword to smash his head in. They had agreed to meet up yesterday to discuss team details and tactical arrangements, yet this guy had completely ghosted her!
Now, you might be wondering: what does this have to do with cicadas?
The connection lies in how Fuli spent the day he flaked.
Let's rewind the clock to late night, the day before yesterday.
At that time, Fuli barely had time to let out a miserable shriek before he was unceremoniously abducted into a ghost mansion by the notoriously abstinent Sword Champion, Jingliu, who was in a rare state of dead-drunk intoxication.
Thus, the battle officially commenced.
During the first half of the night, Fuli felt like he was dealing with an untamable, wild stallion. The only problem was, he wasn't a master tamer—he was a prisoner undergoing medieval torture.
As the victim himself later described with lingering trauma: "With the way Master Jingliu was aggressively 'interrogating' me, I didn't just confess to everything I knew—I was ready to frame two innocent bystanders just to make it stop!"
The terrifying prowess of someone who had broken the S-Rank ceiling was fully on display. After all, this was the same ruthless woman who dared to infiltrate the Luofu alone to assassinate the Grand Sequence Shuhu. Without absolute confidence, how could she pull off such a dangerous stunt?
Consequently, the first few hours consisted entirely of the weak, pitiful, and helpless Little Li getting unilaterally ravaged by the Sword Champion.
The excessive alcohol loosened her mental restraints. Her Mara-Struck condition—which she had actively suppressed ever since arriving on the Luofu—naturally flared up, dyeing her crazed eyes a bloody crimson.
"You can't escape. Every breath you take is under my control..."
"We have to take this slowly, so you'll forever remember who carved themselves into the very depths of your soul~"
"Guess where I'm going next? If you guess right... I'll reward you with ten extra minutes to catch your breath."
"I just suffered for you, so now it's your turn to enjoy the pain, hahahahaha!!!"
Her yandere-like, maniacal laughter echoed through the empty mansion.
It wasn't until the second half of the night that the situation shifted, and the roles of attacker and defender reversed.
The reason for this turnaround wasn't particularly complicated.
First, after engaging in high-intensity "combat" for half the night, Jingliu's stamina began to visibly drop. The main culprit was the sheer volume of alcohol—she had downed over a dozen tons of Fuli Type-II Secret Brew. Combined with the emotional toll of bidding farewell to Baiheng, her physical condition was severely compromised.
Second, after finally catching his breath, Fuli realized a crucial detail: Wait a minute! We're literally engaging in extremely close-quarters contact right now!
In that case—
Star Saint Path, activate!
Partial Expansion Jutsu, deploy!
Deliverer of Divine Revelation—Ultimate Crit Rate locked at 100%!
Lan's Form—shifting seamlessly from gentle breezes to ferocious gales, moving as swift as lightning!
Setsuna Blade: Binding Form · Rain of Four Lights—suppressing the target's internal energy flow!
Overlord's Barricade—massively expanding attack range, extending the "weapon's" reach far beyond its physical limits!
At last, Fuli transformed into the ultimate horse tamer.
Using a fluid, fiercely overbearing chain of "sword techniques," he mercilessly broke in the wild stallion known as the Flawless Flying Light! Piercing Halberd! Heaven Piercer! Heaven's Connection! Cleaving the Great Wilderness!
Struck by such a heavy blow, the wild mare was initially quite indignant, attempting to swing her blade in a counterattack.
Unfortunately, the Sword Champion, using her own body as a blade, couldn't handle the absurd buffs stacked upon her opponent. Not only did she gradually turn docile under the relentless barrage of "slashes," but even her Mara-Struck curse was completely suppressed by the power of the Key of Corruption.
Too bad there was no rule in the world that said apologizing meant taking half the punishment.
Running on pure adrenaline and spite, Fuli used a masterful Divine Departure to shatter her hastily erected sword-qi defenses, mercilessly following up with consecutive attacks! The Plasma Shadow danced up and down, the sound of crossing blades echoing continuously throughout the mansion, ultimately unlocking an epic, history-making achievement:
Defeating an S-Rank limit-breaker with a mere Critical-class body!
By the time he regained his senses, two whole days and nights had quietly slipped by, causing him to perfectly miss the Wardance's entire opening ceremony.
(The author hereby solemnly promises that the aforementioned processes were completely legitimate, reasonable, and filled with the academic spirit of swordsmanship instruction and training.)
At least, that was the official story both parties gave after the fact, righteously debunking whatever wild rumors had started floating around.
As for the bizarre sounds passersby allegedly heard echoing from the mansion—things like, "You... traitorous disciple!", "Bullying your master... Master was wrong~", or what could only be described as "ethereal, xian-filled squeals"—they staunchly denied it all. Fake News. The masses needed to keep their eyes peeled and not believe those Fictionologists from the Enigmata.
However, for Fuli, the most regretful part was waking up to find that the familiar, cool figure wasn't lying beside him.
Clearly, Jingliu, possessing superior physical stats, had woken up first and chosen to slip away quietly.
Upon realizing his free swordsmanship sparring partner had genuinely bailed, the boy looked up at the ceiling and wailed:
"Master Jingliu, don't leave! So what if you engaged in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat with your disciple for two days straight? That doesn't mean we can't keep sparring in the future!"
Sigh, what an ugly meta-slave.
---||---
Heartbreak aside, what happened was ultimately an accident. Life had to go on.
For instance, right now—
"Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard! Starting us off with a massive negative score is bad enough, but you actually dared to skip out on our agreement?!"
Inside the reception room of the Hyperion's camp, Yunli was furious, pounding her small fists against his chest. Instead of stopping her, a doting smile surfaced on Fuli's face, as if he were dealing with a hissing kitten.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault," he confessed gently. "But it's not like I decided the team groupings. That was the Matrix of Prescience's arrangement."
"You! I! You! Hmph!"
Faced with a deadbeat teammate who was utterly immune to scolding, the treasured Yunli stomped her foot in frustration. She crossed her arms and turned her head away, leaving him to stare at the back of a head that screamed, I'm very angry.
"Alright, alright, don't be mad."
Fuli reached out and gently poked the girl's cute cheek, which was puffed up like an angry pufferfish. After "deflating" her, he leaned close to her ear and whispered in a mysterious tone, "I'll tell you a secret. I just reported a high-ranking executive of World Serpent to the two Generals."
"Really?!"
Yunli whipped her head back around, her eyes—previously narrowed in anger—now wide as saucers.
As the granddaughter of General Huaiyan, she naturally knew the true purpose behind the Wardance. Compared to exposing a high-ranking executive, a few points didn't matter at all.
"Of course it's true," the boy said with certainty. "The Alliance is about to organize a raid on her and her affiliated corporations. To avoid alerting the snake in the grass, the points for this achievement won't show up on our personal panels just yet... but once the arrest operation concludes, bumping us up by twenty or thirty thousand points in one go will be a piece of cake."
"I see..."
The artisan maiden nodded thoughtfully, her anger dissipating significantly, replaced by a hint of admiration. She patted Fuli's shoulder. "You're pretty capable, huh! Looks like this lady will have to work even harder, I can't let you show me up!"
"We're on the same team now. What's the difference between me being capable and you being capable?"
"Heh, smooth talker." Yunli scoffed lightly, though the corners of her mouth couldn't help but tick upward. "Alright, considering you're somewhat useful, I'll leave the team naming rights to you!"
Like many competitive team games, the Matrix of Prescience only provided a randomized initial name for participants. The first name change was free; any subsequent changes would cost precious points.
"I've already got it figured out." Fuli's expression turned dead serious. "Our team name will be... Come, Sweet Misery!"
"Come... Sweet Misery?"
Chewing on the meaning, Yunli pondered for a moment. "Misery refers to suffering, hardship, and toil. 'Come, sweet' sounds like a poetic invocation, carrying a deep sense of lament and beckoning."
She continued, "Combining the two, literally it reads as 'Come to me, agony!' But by extension, it implies a complex state of mind—one that isn't afraid to face and endure hardship, while attempting to seek meaning, connection, and ultimately liberation within that very suffering."
She sighed in admiration. "To embed so much profound meaning into a simple team name... It seems you really aren't like what the trending tabloid gossip says. I thought your absence yesterday meant you dragged some beautiful woman into a corner to hook up."
"Ah, well..."
Normally, faced with such baseless slander, Fuli would immediately and righteously refute it. But this time, his eyes darted around shiftily, looking completely guilty.
And it was fine until he looked around. The moment he did, he felt daggers at his back.
Kiana: Stare—
Bronya: Stare—
Mei: Stare—
Kallen: Stare—
The jars of jealousy had tipped over once again!
The girls weren't stupid. They naturally picked up on Fuli's obvious—and seemingly unprompted—doting attitude toward Yunli. The problem was, it made sense for the original trio to be jealous, but...
"Sister Kallen, why are you joining in the fun?!"
"Sure enough, people always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze," the floating saintess complained sarcastically. "The older sister is the easiest to offend, so the moment my ungrateful little brother gets surrounded, he fires his first shot at me."
"Slander! Absolute slander!" Fuli declared righteously. "I asked you first because we siblings are the closest! Whenever something happens, you're the first person I think of!"
Close? Try 'negative distance contact' in his dreams.
"And what about Bronya?" Bronya joined the fray. "Are you saying Bronya carries less weight in your heart than Angela?"
It had been a while! The trio's weird nickname for Kallen had resurfaced!
Fuli was sweating buckets.
"It's mostly... mostly because you're in your 'Little Duck' form right now. You're shorter than everyone else, and since you're sitting in a chair, I didn't see you right away."
"Haha! Tiny Bronya!"
This excuse instantly amused Kiana, who grabbed her stomach and laughed non-stop.
That is, until the petite Bronya before her suddenly transformed. As if the evolution theme Brave Heart was playing in the background, the absolute peak of pure seduction—Silverwing: N-EX—made a flashy return.
Her silvery-white hair draped casually over her shoulders and the back of her chair, with a few playful strands resting against her delicate collarbones and slipping into the collar of her black professional suit. The tailored OL jacket hung open, revealing a light-colored blouse beneath. With the top two buttons casually undone, a hint of smooth skin and the soft, heavy curve of her cleavage were subtly on display.
"Tch!"
The white-haired Tuna immediately grew unhappy again. She puffed her cheeks, simultaneously relieved that Bronya hadn't been placed on Fuli's team, yet secretly annoyed that she hadn't managed to get on his team either.
Indeed, apart from Mei—who had stayed locally and didn't register for the competition—the remaining three from the Hyperion had all been placed in completely different teams.
This was partly why Yunli had been so annoyed earlier. As a perk for participants, those who attended yesterday's opening ceremony were allowed to learn the identity of one of their teammates in advance.
For example, Kiana's first teammate was Topaz. At this very moment, the IPC Director was touring the weapon exhibition hall in the next room, enthusiastically guided by the little fairy Kallen, who was fully prepared to empty the woman's wallet. Judging by Topaz's fascinated expression as she fondled the merchandise, she was already hooked.
Meanwhile, Yunli had been informed that Team Come, Sweet Misery's third member was a woman codenamed "Wind Violet," supposedly the chief nurse of a minor faction known as the Gloaming Courtyard. Due to special circumstances, she couldn't rendezvous just yet, but she had sent a message promising to arrive as soon as possible.
As for Bronya's teammate...
"Captain! Long time no see!" a highly energetic voice rang out.
Carrying an ancient-looking longsword on her back, Yuya marched briskly over and stood at attention next to the mature Bronya.
"Why is she here?" Kiana pointed accusingly.
"Anti-Entropy was also invited," Bronya sighed. "It's perfectly normal for their subordinate members to sign up."
Yuya: Anti-Entropy member, blonde-haired, golden-eyed beautiful girl, an old "friend" of the Hyperion crew, and Cocolia's fiercely loyal subordinate.
Wait, no—not a deputy anymore. She was currently the vice-captain of the subordinate Taketori Assault Squad.
Back in Nagazora City, Cocolia had been sanctioned by the conservative faction led by Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, temporarily stripping her of her executive privileges over the super-AI Femirins.
The main Belobog carrier strike group was busy holding joint military drills in the Whale Sea, which was why the then B-Rank Yuya had been entrusted with such heavy responsibilities. Now that the Third Eruption was over and those restrictions had been lifted, the girl had naturally been restored to her original post, going back to being a simple-minded grunt.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you're even still alive," Fuli remarked.
He had quite a deep impression of this girl. She first joined Schicksal as a Valkyrie, only for her artificial Stigmata awakening to grant her nothing but a friendly face. Later, she defected to Cocolia's camp, voluntarily becoming a guinea pig on Dr. Mobius's operating table.
Although that modification experiment was deemed a failure, as long as the nano-core implanted inside her wasn't destroyed and was supplied with enough energy, she could regenerate at terrifying speeds regardless of the damage taken.
Back then, Fuli had literally minced her into cubes no larger than a centimeter, yet it wasn't long before she was bouncing around as energetic as ever. Utterly absurd.
But his most vivid memory of her was undoubtedly the fact that she had pasted photos of Cocolia in a swimsuit all over the doors of her vehicle.
I wonder when that vixen's vile true nature will finally be exposed to her subordinates, the boy thought cursedly.
"Oh, right!" Yuya raised her hand as if remembering something, announcing with immense pride, "After that, I participated in Dr. Mobius's latest biological modification project, and I didn't die again! Hehe! I'm an A-Rank combatant now!"
She didn't hold any grudges against the Hyperion crew—even though they had killed her once. Firstly, Bronya was here. Secondly, they had been serving different masters at the time, and Cocolia hadn't issued any new extermination orders against them. As a lowly grunt, she knew her place.
"Tch."
If Yuya hadn't brought it up, it would have been fine, but the moment she mentioned her rank, Bronya visibly soured. Among the group present, she was the only one still bottlenecked at the peak of A-Rank. Handling weaker Critical-level foes wasn't an issue, but she hadn't achieved a true qualitative breakthrough yet.
Fuli suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Yunli looking at him with an incredibly bizarre expression.
The artisan maiden pointed out the window, her tone delicate. "I just noticed... you folks on the Hyperion have some pretty unique fetishes, don't you?"
"What fetishes?" The boy followed her gaze out the window. "Holy shit!"
Beneath the towering chassis of the Azure Dragon Soaring Sea Mech-God, the Death Knight was still dangling in midair, tied up like a caterpillar in an incredibly professional—and utterly humiliating—shibari bind, swaying gently in the breeze.
As if sensing her master's (?) gaze, the previously sluggish knight suddenly grew wildly excited, wiggling and thrashing about with muffled "Mmph! Mmph!" sounds, desperately trying to launch herself in his direction.
SLAM!
Fuli violently slammed the window shut, his neck turning back around with terrifying stiffness. "Why... is she still here? Didn't we let her go ages ago?"
"We did let her go. Lady Incelesin (i forgot her name again) even came to collect her."
Ever since becoming the Herrscher of Thunder, Mei rarely found herself speechless, yet even she wore a look of utter helplessness and exasperated amusement. With a wave of her hand, an invisible energy field expanded, soundproofing the conversation from Yuya—the only outsider and uninformed party in the room.
Mei sighed. "The problem is, no matter how many times she gets dragged away, she dutifully reappears right in that exact spot the very next day. Fortunately, she possesses the foresight to set up stealth and high-tier warding barriers to avoid causing a massive public disturbance. After failing to stop her multiple times, we had no choice but to just let her hang there."
As she finished speaking, the young woman's gaze drifted pointedly toward Fuli, her voice carrying a trace of deeply buried resentment.
If a certain someone hadn't spent the last few days locked in a ghost mansion fooling around with Jingliu, if he had bothered to come home even once, he would have definitely run into this stubborn Death Knight.
Fuli let out an awkward, hollow laugh. He immediately puffed out his chest and made a solemn oath. "From now on! From now on, I will definitely come home to sleep!"
Mei raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Absolutely!"
After all, Jingliu's afterimage—no, the Sword Champion herself—had already left. Without her there to provide further "swordsmanship training," there was naturally no point in him running back to an empty mansion.