Lovely Little Sister

"I feel like that legendary glowing red-tier item is right before my eyes."

Returning from the laboratory, Ye Chuan slipped back into the classroom during lunch break. Plopping into his seat, he began piecing together the clues he'd gathered.

The academy was conducting some kind of immortality experiment—and it had succeeded.

[Growth]

[Eternal Life]

Immortality!

That stone plaque at the school gate had been hinting at it all along. When Ye Chuan first saw it, he'd assumed "Growth" simply represented the academy nurturing students.

Turns out you had to read it backward.

"So the remaining mysteries are why the immortality experiment makes people increasingly... strange, and what exactly the test subject is, right?"

"Hmm..." Ye Chuan tilted his head, staring fixedly at the teacher lecturing at the podium.

The teacher grew visibly unsettled under his gaze, clearly unnerved yet clueless about why Ye Chuan was watching him so intently.

Why would immortality make people strange?

Ye Chuan couldn't figure it out, but one thing was obvious—the teacher had already turned into a monster. Was "strangeness" the price of immortality? Becoming a freakish abomination?

Was that it?

Something still felt off, though the answer seemed tantalizingly close.

As for the test subject...

"Could the test subject mentioned in the logs actually be my sister?" The possibility crossed Ye Chuan's mind, though he couldn't be sure—the subject could be any of those monsters.

Wait. If there was one thing that made his sister unique...

His gaze drifted to the eerily expressionless, doll-like students before snapping back into focus.

"Right. If these are what students of the Silent Ones Academy are supposed to look like, then my sister standing out like a normal person is suspicious. And even though she's not a teacher, she's still a monster."

His sister was special.

She seemed to know far too much, and even the headmaster left her alone.

"If that's the case, she's my only lead this afternoon." Having a clear objective steadied him—no more fumbling in the dark.

No need to rush now.

A target was good.

As Ye Chuan calmly waited for school to end so he could confront his sister, the barrage of floating comments grew increasingly frenzied, their numbers swelling—

[Wait, he found logs in the lab? Wasn’t it supposed to be the headmaster’s key?]

[This route’s diverging. Is he actually gonna clear this with high marks?]

[Yo, anyone else wondering where he got that weapon? Banned items! Since when are missiles allowed?!]

[Maybe a rare innate trait for carrying gear? Unlikely, but possible.]

[No shot at high marks. Not with [that thing] in the basement—impossible to clear.]

[True. [Silent Ones Academy] is a special case. Surviving seven days is the only way.]

......

Afternoon classes ended.

Ye Chuan packed up leisurely, lingering at his desk until a voice called from the doorway: "Brother~"

He turned to see his white-haired sister standing there.

Relief washed over her doll-like face when she noticed Ye Chuan still in the classroom. She patted her modest chest. "You didn’t break your promise, Brother~"

"Yeah." Ye Chuan walked over and ruffled her hair.

Soft, yet unnervingly slick with mucus.

He ignored the odd texture, smiling at her adorable demeanor. "Let’s go home."

"Okay!" She immediately clung to his arm.

The sensation gave him pause.

...Are those Lai Lai real? Or just clusters of eyeball-studded flesh?

"Brother?" She blinked at his hesitation.

"Never mind."

At the school gate, Ye Chuan glanced once more at the crimson-inscribed stone plaque. The characters for [Growth] now felt bitterly ironic—this was supposed to be a place of nurturing.

The streets were deserted except for a lone bus parked at the stop, as if waiting for him to board before springing to life.

"Can we skip the bus today?" The question caught his sister off guard.

"Brother?"

"It’s not far. Let’s walk?" He kept his tone light.

"Walk...?" Her hesitation was palpable.

"Just this once?"

"...Fine. But no detours!"

"Deal."

Her smile returned, radiant. "Then let’s go."

Evening sunlight draped over them as they walked, warm yet eerie in the lifeless streets.

His sister nuzzled against his arm like any affectionate girl, but her grip felt desperate—clinging to borrowed warmth.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"You’re a monster, aren’t you?"

Her entire body stiffened. The look she gave him was almost grotesque before she forced a laugh. "Brother, what nonsense is this?"

"Brother~ Is this a joke?"

Ye Chuan pressed on. "You’ve noticed, right? My awareness is... different. That’s why—"

"Stop!" She clutched her chest, voice breaking. "Don’t say it! I’m not a monster!"

"Brother... Let’s just go home. Please? I’m your sister."

"What’s my name?" Ye Chuan asked.

"You’re Brother."

"I don’t know yours either." His voice stayed calm. "We’re both playing roles here. I’m just acting as your brother."

Her face froze. In Ye Chuan’s eyes, she remained unchanged—but to an outsider, she’d have morphed into a five-meter-tall monstrosity of pulsating flesh, countless eyes quivering, tentacles writhing violently.

The surroundings darkened, bathed in blood-red haze.

"Brother..."

"But this doesn’t feel bad." His quiet admission halted her transformation.

"Brother?" Confusion laced her voice.

"Let me explain." He rubbed his temples, as if wrestling with memories.

"I... had a family once. Parents, a sister. They died in an accident."

"Having a cute sister like you now... it’s nice."

A pause.

"My point is—"

"Even if you’re a monster, it’s fine."

"Real or fake, you’re my adorable sister. That’s enough, isn’t it?"

He extended his hand, smiling.