Chapter 1: The Forest Stage Neo-Tide Academy—an institution so large and dazzling it looked like a patch of light had decided to anchor itself on Earth, and in the late afternoon sun, it gleamed like a shrine of ambitions barely held together by protocols and mana-infused reputation shields. Students bustled between hovering lecture halls and rune-lined paths of synthetic wood, the air thick with vaporized spirit incense and the chatter of endless dreams. And in the center of its most serene quadrant—the Windborne Grove—a quiet confrontation brewed beneath the red canopy of imported ember-maples. Leo Xu stood at the grove's edge, the scarlet leaves framing his face like an ancient portrait unwillingly reanimated by tragedy. His wide eyes blinked slowly, absorbing the scene before him with the stunned disbelief of a man who had trained himself to expect heartbreak, yet still hadn’t mastered the art of surviving it. Across from him stood Bella Zhao—beautiful in that effortlessly cruel

Chapter 3: The First Target The din of the bar pressed in from every direction, filled with clinking glass, laughter spiked with psychic energy, and synth music so intense it triggered faint vibrations through the floor tiles. Leo Xu leaned against the cracked leather of the booth seat, raising a half-empty glass to his lips, trying to ignore the burn of cheap mana-infused bourbon. Then came the voice. Not through speakers. Not from any friend nearby. It echoed straight through the core of his mind. [The Ultimate Bootlicker System has been activated. Please select your first target for pursuit as soon as possible.] He blinked. Had he just imagined that? The chaos of the bar around him offered no clues. Everyone was drinking, dancing, flirting under the neon glow. He glanced to his three roommates—still laughing, completely unaware. It was definitely internal. Deep internal. Psychic-level internal. Then came the display: a retinal panel suddenly overlaid his vision, crisp and im

Chapter 5: The River and the Stars Leo Xu and Luo Peng returned to the booth at the far corner of the rooftop lounge, where the neon halo of KIMI’s ambient lights painted shadows across the sleek marble table. Bai Zheli, his dark-rimmed glasses catching the soft flicker from a nearby LED strip, glanced up curiously, his fingers still fiddling with a coaster soaked from the condensation of his mocktail. “Brother Leo, where did you wander off to?” he asked, arching an eyebrow with a mix of intrigue and disbelief. “You two were gone for ages.” Leo Xu, ever so composed, pulled out his seat with a deliberate grace and let his gaze drift casually toward the table diagonally across from them. He didn’t say much, but the corner of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly, the expression unreadable in the dim lighting. “Ran into a few friends,” he replied flatly, settling back into his seat. “Had a few drinks.” “Friends?” Dorm leader Li Shao leaned forward slightly, his suspicion practica

Chapter 7: Gossip "Enough, enough. That’s more than enough already." Inside a quiet private room near the university’s fourth cafeteria, Jiang Chen finally set the menu aside after Luo Peng waved the waiter away. “We’ll start with these,” Luo Peng said, his tone exasperated. “If it’s not enough, we’ll order more.” Bai Zheli leaned back without saying a word. He still hadn’t come to terms with the transformation of the once down-bad simp into today’s casual big spender. It was surreal. Brother Chen, of all people, had turned into a walking money tree. Money gained without effort truly burned the fastest. “Jiang Chen… that six thousand—are you seriously saying Li Shuru just handed it to you for nothing?” Li Shao finally asked, voice low, tone skeptical. “What else would it be?” Jiang Chen replied calmly, his lips curling into a carefree smile. As absurd as it sounded, none of them could come up with a better explanation. What reason did Li Shuru have to give him that kind of mo

Chapter 9: Among a Hundred Thousand Faces The freshly transferred credits had barely had a chance to breathe in Leo Xu’s account before they evaporated into thin air, snatched away by a whim dressed as a strategy. Yet, despite the financial hit, Leo’s heart remained unshaken. There was an ancient proverb that echoed in his mind: if you wish to lure the wolf, then you must be willing to sacrifice the lamb. To him, this wasn’t just money—it was an investment into a future painted in the hues of one woman’s smile: Amber Lin’s best friend, Bella Zhao. That was the gambit. Inside Dorm 301B, the air buzzed with quiet anticipation. Three pairs of eyes—those belonging to Bai Zheli, Luo Peng, and Li Shao—were already fastened on the door when Leo strolled in, a composed grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He gave a nonchalant 'OK' sign with his hand, as if he’d just closed a million-dollar deal rather than emptied his account. “Everything is moving forward, precisely according to pla