Riko recalled the question One-Pun had just asked and lowered her head to look at something that looked like a watch on her wrist. She immediately sighed in a helpless manner, grumbling, "E-Class Hero. Ranked 321. Ahhh, I'm going crazy soon!"
Following that, she looked pitifully at her bald teacher and said petulantly, "Teacher One-Pun~ Help me capture a S–Class calamity fiend and let me get the last hit. Please, pretty please~"
One-Pun said in a serious manner, "Don't do that. It's sickening."
"Tch!" Riko's face immediately turned gloomy as she said hatefully, "Others don't even have the chance to see me act coy. Teacher One-Pun, you really don't know the blessings you have. Tch! You deserve being single your whole life."
One-Pun rubbed his round and shiny bald head in silence. He turned to look at the two children who were still crying.
Riko followed One-Pun's gaze and instantly saw Shi Xiaobai. At first glance, she determined that Shi Xiaobai was not a Psionite. Secondly, she determined that Shi Xiaobai had no serious injuries.
"Wasn't he just given a fright by a calamity fiend? He isn't seriously injured, so is it necessary to cry so sadly? Tsk, I hate such cowardly and crybaby boys the most." Riko, who was in a bad mood, was never one to mince her words.
"That child is very brave." One-Pun, who had his back facing Riko, said. When he said those words, his expression was no longer a dull one, but of a rare seriousness.
Unfortunately, Riko did not get to see One-Pun's expression. She retracted her gaze and said, "Let's go. We came out here to look for people, not to comfort a coward. Those people from [Creation] have apparently found a Psyker. While for us, [Annihilation], we have yet to even obtain a rookie with an A-Class evaluation."
One-Pun acknowledged her words as he continued staring at the two children not far away.
Riko stamped her feet and said angrily. "Hurry up, you big baldy teacher! As a member of [Annihilation], [Annihilation]'s honor is our honor. We cannot lose to [Creation] even if it's the annual recruitment in terms of quality! We have to find a rookie that can completely outdo [Creation]!"
Riko noticed One-Pun ignoring her as she said with a sigh, "[Creation] has got a Psyker this year, while we don't even have one. On this trip out, we have to find a rookie Psyker. Although Psykers were one in a million and would be snatched by various organizations the moment they were awakened, finding one that has slipped through the net is even harder than winning the lottery. I will absolutely not give up easily!"
As Riko spoke, she thought of something that suddenly got her very emotional. "Heavens, why is my life so miserable? Why must I make a bet with that devious bitch!? I absolutely can't lose! Psyker, oh Psyker, if you were to appear in front of me, I'll give you my first kiss!"
At this moment, One-Pun turned around with an extremely strange expression.
"What's wrong?" Riko looked at One-Pun's expression with an ominous feeling.
"That child." One-Pun pointed to Shi Xiaobai who was not far away.
"Ya?" Riko was puzzled.
"He is the Psyker you want." One-Pun explained.
Riko was instantly dumbfounded.
......
......
Shi Xiaobai was crying his heart out. As a thirteen-year-old, he had led a peaceful, carefree but boring life in the other world called Earth.
Having suddenly crossed over to this different world with a similar level of technology, but with a completely different culture, he was initially filled with excitement. Especially when he had learned of the existence of Heroes and calamity fiends from passers-by, making him long for the future.
However, the short experience of less than an hour had made him suffer a torment that felt as long as a century.
He was initially determined to save Little Fatso from the beginning because of the A-level reward, as well as the guilt in his heart. After all, his lies had given Little Fatso false courage.
The second time he chose to save Little Fatso again was because he did not realize that the choices he faced could result in time resetting. He had thought of the first death to be a dream.
And for his third choice, he had struggled for a long time in his heart. His rationality had told him that he should choose [Escape], but the soccer ball that hit the calamity fiend told him of a reality that—when he encountered danger—Little Fatso did not choose to escape. In addition to the information of knowing that a Hero would arrive, as well as acknowledging that he could repeat it all again in the event of death, Shi Xiaobai, who lacked courage, chose [Save Little Fatso] with great difficulty.
However, he was afraid the entire time. If he were to fail a third time, would he still have the courage to pick [Save Little Fatso] a fourth time?
"I would have escaped, I would definitely have chosen escape. I, Shi Xiaobai am already a mortal."
Just having these thoughts made Shi Xiaobai cry incessantly, only until a fiery voice rang in his head.
"Absolute Choice completed. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining an 'A-level reward'—'Psy awakening'."
Shi Xiaobai immediately felt completely relaxed. The terrifying nightmare was finally over. Although he did not know what it meant by 'Psy awakening', he knew that an A-level reward couldn't be too bad.
For some reason, the relaxed Shi Xiaobai felt like crying even more. Hence, he hugged Little Fatso and cried. He cried incessantly as if he was running all the tears in his lifetime dry.
Suddenly, Shi Xiaobai noticed that the bald hero and the invincible girl were walking towards him from a short distance away.
"Badump! Badump! Badump!"
Shi Xiaobai felt his heartbeat race, as the invincible girl was a person who had easily sliced Sahadun into a million pieces.
“If I can learn a move or two from her, I, Shi Xiaobai might also become a Hero!”
With this thought in mind, despite not done with his crying, Shi Xiaobai raised his finger and pointed towards the girl walking towards him, proclaiming loudly, "Girl, hurry up and sign a contract with This King!"
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Chapter7 Girl, Your King is here
His face was clearly still covered in tears, yet he had deliberately said the words "Girl, hurry up and sign a contract with This King!" in a dignified voice that was unable to hide his sniffling. That solemn yet sacred expression made Riko involuntarily stop in her footsteps. She even began to ponder over the meaning of this line.
At this moment, Shi Xiaobai said again, "Sign a blood contract with This King and become a servant of The King, and you will obtain a millionth of This King's power."
Seeing Shi Xiaobai say such absurd words with such a serious face made Riko both annoyed and amused when she realized what had happened. You even address yourself as This King? You are clearly a cowardly crybaby. With this thought in mind, she gave him a derisive look.
Shi Xiaobai raised his hand to wipe his tears and said seriously, "This King broke through the confines of the void and arrived in this world, and had unfortunately exhausted all of This King's cultivation. Now, although This King is of a mortal body, one day This King will reign supreme. Girl, don't let this godsent opportunity slip by!"
Riko rolled her eyes as her impression of Shi Xiaobai added the word idiot above coward and crybaby. With Riko's temper, if she were to encounter such an idiot, she would usually have cursed with a "screw off", but it had to be that such an idiot was a one-in-a-million Psyker. He was destined to be a genius crazily vied for by various organizations. Furthermore, it was key to winning her bet.
Fuck, this world is so unfair, isn't it?
Riko cursed in her heart and pretended not to hear what Shi Xiaobai had said. She began introducing herself. "Cough, my name is Riko Minamiya. This person beside me is Teacher One-Pun. We come from [Gaia]. We..."
"Wait!" Shi Xiaobai said in excitement. "The [Gaia] that you speak of, is it the Goddess of this Earth sitting beneath This King, Gaia?"
"What? You don't even know what [Gaia] is?" Riko's reaction to Shi Xiaobai was even more intense. She said in disbelief, "I'm surprised to know that there is someone on this planet that doesn't know of our [Gaia]! Are you really not a person of this world?"
Shi Xiaobai immediately said with a sneer, "Heh heh, Girl, you've finally touched the Door of Truth."
Seeing that their conversation was straying off-topic, One-Pun coughed and said, "[Gaia] is a global Hero organization."
"Hero organization!" When Shi Xiaobai heard the word "Hero", his eyes lit up, but he quickly lowered his head in rumination. He muttered to himself, "Since it's a Hero organization, then wouldn't [Gaia] be a rival of This King? No, it might even be an archenemy!"
When Riko heard this, she was instantly greatly disappointed. So this idiot had been taken in by other organizations. Indeed, even if he was an idiot, he was still a Psyker after all. There would still be plenty of people who would fight over him.
"This King's Xiaobai's Hero Squad may currently only have two members, but it will eventually stand at the peak of this world. If [Gaia] dares to hinder This King, then don't blame This King for turning against you!" Shi Xiaobai looked up in high-spirits.
Riko took two seconds to react. She deeply felt like she had been toyed with, but Shi Xiaobai's serious look made her unsure. It was like someone throwing a rock at you, saying that it was a bomb. It looked unbelievably stupid, but the expression on the person's face was so serious, as if the rock was truly a bomb.
Riko lost the tiny bit of patience she had in her as her temper flared. She reached out her arm to grab Shi Xiaobai's collar. She angrily said, "I am inviting you to join [Gaia], are you joining or not?"
Shi Xiaobai was stunned for a moment before silently raising his head to meet Riko's bright eyes. They stared at each other for a long time.
Riko suddenly thought of her offering first kiss in jest. Of course, she would not uphold such a casual remark. She was a person who would even disavow anything that had to do with a bet if she lost, what more a joke the person involved did not know? But at this moment, while she looked into Shi Xiaobai's eyes that were as bright as the stars, she felt a strange feeling of discomfort in her heart.
Suddenly, Shi Xiaobai asked softly, "Does joining [Gaia] mean becoming a Hero?"
Caught by surprise, Riko loosened her hand and said carefully, "In theory, yes. Although as a rookie, you will have to go through a period of training and tests to become an official member of [Gaia], but as a Psyker, it shouldn't be a big problem for you. The passing rate of becoming an official member of [Gaia] in the 'Hero's Trial' has been over 90% over the years. Cough, as long as you put in some effort, the probability of becoming a 'Hero' is very high."
Riko added on in her heart, "But Heroes are separated into classes. An idiot like you would at best be one of the bottom few amongst F-Class Heroes."
Shi Xiaobai fell silent after hearing this because he couldn't understand what she had just said. However, that was not the point. Shi Xiaobai had already made up his mind, as he asked, "After joining [Gaia], can This King...Can I also be capable of defeating a calamity fiend like the one before?"
Riko could clearly see the thirst in Shi Xiaobai's eyes that made one's heart ache.
"This fool is pretty cute when he isn't being an idiot,” Riko thought in her heart. With an expression of having been defeated by him, she sneered, "Che, for that F-Class calamity fiend that can't be any more trashy than utter trash, anyone in [Gaia] will be able to take care of it easily."
Although she had embellished her words with some exaggeration, Sahadun was indeed very weak for Riko. In front of One-Pun, it could only flee in fright.
"So the thing I once thought of as the physical form of despair is so weak... ...It's so weak that I can't help but despair..."
This thought appeared in Shi Xiaobai's head. As he lowered his head in silence, he whispered a moment later. "I will join [Gaia]. I want to become a Hero."
His voice was soft, so very soft, and seemed to sound somewhat nasal.
The look in Riko's eyes gradually softened. Although he was an idiot, he was still a child. As an elder sister, she decided to be gentler to him in the future.
"Wahahaha!"
Shi Xiaobai suddenly looked up and roared with laughter. "There will come a day when This King will let this world's [Gaia] become a subject of This King! Laugh and be excited, girl. Your King is here!"
Riko could not hold back any longer, as she punched Shi Xiaobai in the head relentlessly.
"Ouch!" Shi Xiaobai immediately cried out in pain and took a few steps back. He bellowed, "To think that you are attempting to smash This King's Invisible Crown to bits. Girl, don't tell me you are an enemy sent by the Organization of Darkness?"
"Enemy your ass. Stand still for me!"
......
As dusk faded away, darkness fell. Shi Xiaobai rubbed his forehead in pain, while Riko looked incensed not far away from him.
"Big Brother, I'm going home." Little Fatso said with his soccer ball in hand.
"We have to leave too." Teacher One-Pun reminded.
Shi Xiaobai nodded and walked towards Little Fatso. Seeing the rotund face that had been wiped dry of tears, but still had snot hanging by his nose, Shi Xiaobai said solemnly, "Name. Tell This King your name, young Demon King!"
Little Fatso used the back of his hand to wipe his snot and whispered, "Zhu Zhu..."
Shi Xiaobai gave Little Fatso a deep glance and then said solemnly, "Piggy*, remember, you are the second member of Xiaobai's Hero Squad, always!"
"Yea!"
Little Fatso nodded his head vigorously.
*Zhu Zhu (朱竹)’s name is a homonym to pig (猪, zhu)
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Chapter8 I Can Only Rely on You
That night, Shi Xiaobai accompanied Riko and One-Pun to a huge villa. It was said to be a residence Riko had bought in this city. After having a simple meal, Shi Xiaobai went back to his room to sleep. During this period of time, Riko did not mention much regarding [Gaia]. She only said that she would bring him to their headquarters, Gaia Base, tomorrow.
Shi Xiaobai fell asleep soon after going to bed, but was woken up by Riko with a kick in the morning. While he was having his breakfast in a drowsy state, he saw a helicopter land in an empty spot in front of the villa.
By the time Shi Xiaobai gathered his thoughts, he realized he was sitting in the helicopter. Riko was sitting across him, but One-Pun had already disappeared.
"Where's Uncle Baldy?" Shi Xiaobai asked as he caught sight of the white clouds amidst the blue sky outside the window before he began humming, "Puny world, shiver before This King's feet!"
Riko rolled her eyes and snapped, "Teacher One-Pun left early because he has something going on. In a while, when we reach Gaia Base, don't you keep saying 'This King'. Not everyone possesses a temperament as mild as mine."
Shi Xiaobai had his reservations regarding Riko's remarks about her mild temperament, but he was still afraid of being violently beaten up, so he whispered, "This King..”
"What?" Riko cast a murderous look at him.
"Tch!" Shi Xiaobai imitated Riko's tone, but immediately suffered a beating. As he covered his head, he said in a wronged manner, "Enough, enough, This Emperor will not claim to be This King in the future...Ouch!"
Moments later, Shi Xiaobai, who had finally succumbed to Riko's authoritative power after enduring several beatings, said in a melancholy timbre, "Girl, you must be a demoness sent by the God of Darkness.."
"Hmph!" Riko waved her fist as her face brimmed with a smile. She never expected bullying Shi Xiaobai would be such a pleasant thing.
......
The helicopter flew all morning before it descended at noon. From the helicopter, Shi Xiaobai was able to see Gaia Base in its entirety.
High-rise steel buildings loomed like cold mountains, reflecting the sun's blinding ligh
t. Iron-paved roads crisscrossed and differed from the silver-surfaced high-rise buildings. The roads were built with black steel, and looked like black, bottomless rivers from the sky.
"Welcome to Gaia Base—Steel City." Riko playfully winked at him.
Shi Xiaobai sneered, "This will be the first fief This King will own in this world. Using it to be the base of Xiaobai's Hero Squad would barely qualify...Ouch!"
Pulling back her fist, Riko began to space out as she looked at the approaching steel ground.
After disembarking the helicopter, Shi Xiaobai treaded cautiously on the steel surface. He realized that while it was sturdy and solid to the touch, it had a degree of flexibility. Furthermore, the ground was not hot as he had expected, instead, a sense of coldness seemed to linger above the ground. After bouncing and walking on the steel surface a few times, he realized it produced very little sound.
"The ground is produced from the shells of the Astral Calamity Beast, 'Astral Steel Giant Beetles'. It possesses a hardness above ordinary metals, and its heat dissipation and noise reduction attributes are extremely good." Riko involuntarily explained to Shi Xiaobai when she found him looking at everything with awe.
Shi Xiaobai was secretly astonished as he quietly took note of what Riko said.
As the two of them walked, they encountered a number of people who were driving past them. Many of them stopped to greet Riko with a "Miss Riko" and would also give Shi Xiaobai a complicated look before driving away.
"I am quite famous in Steel City." Riko raised her eyebrows while glancing at Shi Xiaobai.
Shi Xiaobai sneered in response. He felt animosity as well as mockery from the looks he was given.
After walking for a long while, Riko finally stopped in her footsteps. She pointed to a tall building in front and said, "We're here."
Shi Xiaobai looked over and realized this building was shorter than the other buildings. However, the compound’s boundary was clearly wider. A middle-aged man dressed in a suit stood by the entrance.
Absolute Choice 1 Page 4
