Meanwhile, in the teaching building of A City University No. 3.
Xu Wenxing listened to the professor’s monotonous roll call, his heart pounding as he prayed silently for his roommate, Lu Ren.
Heaven and earth as his witness, his roommate Lu Ren was out doing serious business, not oversleeping and skipping class.
‘Don’t call Brother Ren’s name, don’t call Brother Ren’s name, don’t call Brother Ren’s name…’
Although he knew this was just a personal fantasy, Xu Wenxing still hoped the professor would transform into the Saint of Strategy and Martial Arts and let Lu Ren off the hook once more.
But no matter how Xu Wenxing fantasized, the way the professor looked at him told the whole story.
Even though he was calling names on the stage, the professor wasn’t looking at the students below, but only at the empty seat next to him.
Clearly, the professor intended to make an example out of someone this time.
Realizing this, Xu Wenxing sighed in his heart, planning to notify Lu Ren of this unfortunate news as soon as he returned so he could be mentally prepared.
“…Xu Wenxing.”
“Uh, here!”
Hearing the professor call his name, Xu Wenxing trembled and immediately responded, his heart incredibly tense.
The professor nodded slightly to Xu Wenxing and continued.
“Mm, next, Lu Ren.”
No one responded.
The atmosphere in the classroom instantly became deathly silent.
The professor raised an eyebrow slightly, scanned the students below, coughed, and shook his head with a face full of regret.
Just as Xu Wenxing was about to speak up and find an excuse for his roommate, the Class Monitor sitting in the middle suddenly said something Xu Wenxing never expected.
“Professor, there isn’t a student named Lu Ren in our class, is there? Did you bring the roster for a different class by mistake?”
Hearing this, Xu Wenxing froze. He hadn’t expected the usually introverted Class Monitor to make up an excuse for his roommate.
Although the excuse was quite bizarre—treating his roommate like a student from another class—it was at least an effort, so it wasn’t bad.
“Oh, right. We really don’t have a student named Lu Ren in our class. I must have remembered incorrectly.”
…Eh?
Xu Wenxing blinked, looking at the professor on the stage with utter disbelief as he uttered such strange words.
Was this a joke?
Brother Ren’s grades weren’t bad, he hadn’t caused any trouble for the school, and his enrollment hadn’t been revoked. How could there be no such person in the class?
To use such a clumsy excuse… it seemed everyone was a good person.
Xu Wenxing scratched his head and looked at the students around him, wanting to see a hint of suppressed laughter on their faces.
As long as there was a smile on their faces, it would prove that his theory was true.
‘Everyone is just playing this joke so Lu Ren doesn’t lose his participation points, right?’
Despite Xu Wenxing finding a relatively reasonable explanation for what was happening, the behavior of the students and the teacher in the classroom was mercilessly telling the truth.
Aside from him, everyone’s faces were devoid of joy or sorrow, showing no reaction at all to the name “Lu Ren.”
It was as if he were an off-brand milk tea shop that had gone out of business at light speed after opening; everyone seemed to no longer remember who his roommate was.
Xu Wenxing suddenly felt his temples throb with pain.
He slapped his face, trying to remain calm, and took out his mobile phone.
He opened the chat software, attempting to search for any trace of his roommate in the class group.
On the first day of school, the entire class had joined the group chat organized by the class monitor.
If everyone was just playing a very professional joke, then Brother Ren should still be in the group.
‘Please, don’t play this damn joke.’
Xu Wenxing bit his lip, longing to see the profile picture he had seen countless times before appear in the class group.
Even though he saw that the number of people in the group chat was already down by one person, he still stubbornly checked the group members’ avatars and searched for Lu Ren’s information, trying to find his roommate.
As long as he could find a trace of Lu Ren in the group chat, or find Lu Ren’s past messages, then everything everyone just said would just be a slightly excessive prank.
‘The professor and the monitor are just joking. How could they not remember Lu Ren? They’ve clearly dealt with Brother Ren before.’
‘How could something like this happen…?’
Xu Wenxing scrolled through the screen. Looking at the group chat information he had already seen dozens of times, he felt fear for the first time.
The existence of his roommate seemed to have been erased by something, disappearing completely.
If Xu Wenxing didn’t have Lu Ren as a friend on his own contact list, he would truly suspect whether his classmates were crazy or if he was the one who had gone mad.
“…Alright, everyone is here. Now, let’s officially begin the lesson.”
“In these two classes, we are going to cover an important point of knowledge. I hope everyone can stay sharp and not get distracted.”
“It is indeed tiring to have class at 8:00 AM, but I hope everyone can hold on and relax after the class is over.”
While Xu Wenxing was lost in thought, the professor had finished checking the class attendance, nodded slightly to all the students, and began the formal lecture.
Xu Wenxing looked at his phone, then at the professor on the stage and the students around him, and suddenly fell into silence.
A deep sense of powerlessness welled up from within his body, completely consuming his mental defenses.
He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head, enduring the nausea and discomfort as he sat in his chair like a puppet, passing those long 4 hours.
During that time, he tried to talk to other students about Lu Ren, asking if they had any memories of him.
But unfortunately, everyone’s answer was the same.
The students all said they didn’t remember a classmate named Lu Ren, let alone a roommate who attended class with him.
Usually, Xu Wenxing always came to class alone and left alone. What roommate was there?
As for the dormitory situation, Xu Wenxing was the only student in the university this year who had two beds to sleep in, and the other students in the class were extremely envious.
Xu Wenxing fell into silence once again.
Xu Wenxing spent these two classes in a daze, feeling uneasy all over.
As soon as the bell rang, he didn’t want to wait even 30 seconds.
The moment the professor said class was over, he immediately rushed out of the classroom and headed straight for his dormitory.
A journey that usually took quite a while was completed in just a few minutes.
Panting heavily and enduring the dryness in his throat, Xu Wenxing threw open the door and rushed in, his eyes instantly darting toward the other side of the room.
“Xu Wenxing, can you not be so restless? Do you know you gave me a fright?”
Pandora, who was lying in front of the computer desk, trembled and turned to look at Xu Wenxing, complaining dissatisfiedly about how aggressive he was when opening the door.
But Xu Wenxing didn’t even want to explain. He rushed over, grabbed Pandora’s paws, and asked urgently.
“Pandora, do you still remember who my roommate is? Do you remember the name of the transformation user of Magical Girl Scorching Flame!?”
“Of course. Isn’t it Lu Ren? What’s wrong?”
Hearing this, Pandora turned away dismissively, not even bothering to look, and casually said Lu Ren’s name.
Upon hearing those words, the heavy stone pressing down on Xu Wenxing’s heart finally landed.
He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled a long breath, then began to tell Pandora about his encounter this morning.
“Pandora, do you know? Something strange happened during my class this morning. The students and the teacher seemed to have forgotten who Lu Ren was…”
As Xu Wenxing detailed the situation at the time, he looked at the other with expectant eyes, hoping to hear an explanation from Pandora’s mouth.
But Pandora only waved a paw casually and replied.
“Don’t bother me with such small things. It’s no big deal.”
“But, but…”
“Listen carefully, this is the price Blazing Flame willingly paid, and no one can stop it.”
Pandora looked calmly into Xu Wenxing’s eyes.
“Furthermore, the fact that she could exchange such a trivial price for powerful strength makes her a very lucky Magic Girl.”
“Don’t be ridiculous… where is the happiness in this!?”
Xu Wenxing’s body trembled slightly as he immediately retorted against Pandora.
Pandora glanced at him, didn’t reply, and turned back to continue watching the news program that wasn’t finished.
The atmosphere in the dormitory instantly dropped to the freezing point.
In such a terrible atmosphere, Xu Wenxing’s mobile phone rang at an inopportune time.
Suppresing the frustration in his heart, he grabbed the phone, originally intending to hang up directly.
But when he saw the phone number clearly, he fell silent for a few seconds. Forcing himself to remain calm, he answered the call and spoke.
“Hello, may I ask why the Monster Response Department is looking for me?”