“Saori Saiyonji?!”
“Yes, due to security and some special reasons, this wedding is not open to the public. Only celebrities from all walks of life and… special Espers are invited.”
Watanabe Hitomi pointed at the invitation. “Cai Hua specifically applied for three spots for you.”
“Let us… attend a wedding of that kind of VIP?”
Kazama Yin pointed at his own nose, looking incredulous. “With all due respect, Senpai, are you trying to make us atone by serving as meat shields for security?”
“Idiot Kazama! How could that be!” Kagegaya Tsubaki glared at him.
“Of course not.”
Watanabe Hitomi shook her head, her tone turning subtle. “Mr. Saiyonji… is a very generous man who loves lively occasions. He thinks highly of young, promising Espers.”
“For this wedding, not only do the invited guests not have to give monetary gifts…”
She paused, observing the three’s expressions, then slowly dropped the bombshell: “In addition, every attending guest will receive an expensive party favor and a thick… red envelope.”
“If they are ‘Awakened Students’ or young people with potential, Mr. Saiyonji will also give an extra ‘scholarship’ as an investment in the future.”
The air froze in that instant.
“W-We don’t have to give gifts?” Kagegaya Tsubaki’s voice trembled.
“And we get money?” Kazama Yin’s eyes instantly turned into dollar signs.
“A… a scholarship?” Even Hanyu Suoluo, who (reluctantly) treated money like dirt, found his Adam’s apple bobbing involuntarily.
For these three high school students, all suffering from varying degrees of financial distress, the word “money” had a more immediate impact than “justice.”
“Watanabe Senpai!”
Kagegaya Tsubaki suddenly grabbed Watanabe Hitomi’s hand, her crimson eyes sparkling with sincerity. “We truly feel your apology! If we refused this heavy heartfelt gift, it would be an insult to you!”
“Exactly!” Kazama Yin also put on a righteous face. “To prevent Senpai from continuing to blame herself, we’ve decided we must attend this wedding!”
“Even if it means crossing a mountain of swords and a sea of flames…” Hanyu Suoluo adjusted a pair of glasses he wasn’t actually wearing, adding, “Since there’s a scholarship, that’s respect for knowledge.”
Looking at these three juniors who had switched faces in an instant, Watanabe Hitomi was stunned for a moment, then broke into a relieved smile.
“Great, then I can rest easy.”
She clapped her hands. “Heal up well. I’ll take care of the formal wear. After all, for that kind of occasion, you can’t bring shame to the Mutual Aid Society.”
“Yes, Senpai!”
The three chorused, voices loud and clear, not at all like they were injured.
After Watanabe Hitomi left, the atmosphere in the hospital room instantly heated up.
“A wedding for Saori Saiyonji… I heard his fiancée is his childhood friend?” Kagegaya Tsubaki held the invitation, gossiping. “So romantic…”
“Romantic, my foot. The focus is the red envelope, the red envelope!”
Kazama Yin was already fantasizing about buying a good blade with the money.
Only Hanyu Suoluo stared thoughtfully at the intricate patterns on the invitation.
“Saori Saiyonji… if I remember correctly, rumors say he’s also an old acquaintance of Yuki Asahi Senpai.”
“Since it’s his wedding, then…”
He murmured softly, “That legendary ‘Missy,’ or Senpai Yuki… might they show up there too?”
Underground Temple, Old Edogawa Drainage Canal Ruins.
“Failed? Failed again?”
A furious roar echoed through the empty underground space, shaking dust from the ceiling.
Feng He Shi’s huge, bloated body paced back and forth in the center of the hall. With every step, the ground seemed to tremble.
Before him knelt several trembling members of the Mutual Aid Society.
“Those three brats… just high schoolers!”
Feng He Shi grabbed a rusty iron pipe from the ground, easily twisted it into a pretzel, and tossed it aside. “You ambushed those three, and couldn’t even kill them? Instead, they killed you?”
“And the squad sent to intercept the other two kids—you can’t even find their bodies, just a pool of blood!”
“G-Great One, please calm down!”
The thug kneeling in front kowtowed frantically, voice tearful. “According to the brothers who came back alive, they ran into a tough nut in Minato Ward. That kid named Hanyu suddenly erupted with astonishing power… and on the other side, it seems an unidentified expert intervened…”
“Excuses! All excuses!”
Feng He Shi stopped abruptly, his murky eyes fixed on the speaking thug.
“The Leader entrusted me with such an important task, and what do you get? A bunch of worthless trash who can’t even bring the appetizers!”
Suddenly, the huge crack on his abdomen opened wide, revealing rows of densely packed fangs and squirming pink flesh walls.
Green saliva dripped from the corner of that “mouth,” hitting the ground with a sizzling corrosive sound.
“Since you failed the mission, you lot… have no reason to exist.”
“N-No! Please, Great One! I’m still useful! I—”
The thug tried to scramble backward in terror, but Feng He Shi was astonishingly fast.
Schlorp—
A giant hand stitched from seven or eight arms shot out, like grabbing a chicken, lifting the thug into the air.
“As punishment, become a part of my body… Though trash like you isn’t even fit to be nourishment.”
“AAAAHHH—HELP—!!”
Amid the blood-curdling screams, Feng He Shi stuffed the struggling thug directly into the gaping maw on his belly.
Crunch! Crunch!
The other members turned pale, pressing their foreheads to the ground, terrified of being eaten next.
Feng He Shi belched, and the mouth on his belly slowly closed, reverting to an ugly scar.
He licked his lips with satisfaction, his cold gaze sweeping over the survivors.
“Anyone else want to report ‘bad news’?”
No one dared speak; they even held their breath.
In that suffocating silence, a small, trembling figure crawled out from the shadows behind.
“G-Great One…”
“I-I have an important report! About… about Yuki Asahi!”
Feng He Shi squinted, snorting coldly. “If it’s nonsense, you’ll die even worse than that one.”
“N-No way!”
The Rat Man shakily pulled a crumpled photocopy of the invitation from his chest, raising it above his head.
“This was obtained at great risk by our mole inside the People’s Coalition Party.”
The Rat Man swallowed hard and spoke quickly. “The Leader of the People’s Coalition Party, that guy Saori Saiyonji, is getting married next week! The bride is his childhood friend, Ren Kirishima.”
“A wedding?”
Feng He Shi curled his lip disdainfully. “What does some pretty-boy politician’s marriage have to do with me? I’m not throwing in a red envelope.”
“N-No, Great One!”
The Rat Man hurriedly explained. “The key is the guest list! Though the list is confidential, our mole overheard Saiyonji confirming with someone privately that his ‘most important best friend’ will definitely attend.”
“And that best friend… is Yuki Asahi!”
At that name, a savage light suddenly blazed in Feng He Shi’s normally murky eyes.
He snatched the photocopy, which bore delicate gold-embossed patterns and the names of the new couple, exuding an air of happiness and sweetness.
“Yuki Asahi… will be at the wedding?”
Feng He Shi muttered to himself, a cruel and twisted grin slowly spreading across his face.
“Saori Saiyonji… that politician who’s been pushing the Superpower Regulation Act, Yuki Asahi’s close ally…”
“Heh… heh heh heh…”
A low chuckle rolled from Feng He Shi’s throat, growing arrogant and insane, making the entire underground temple vibrate.
“Excellent… how excellent!”
He suddenly tore the photocopy of the invitation into shreds, as if shredding some symbol of beauty.
“The Leader said we must make Yuki Asahi suffer, make him despair, cut hope to pieces before his eyes.”
“Attacking those three students was a good idea, but how can it compare to a grand, bloody wedding?”
The red light in Feng He Shi’s eyes grew stronger, as if he could already see that hellish scene.
“Imagine… at that solemn, sacred moment, when everyone is immersed in happiness and joy…”
“Blood staining the white wedding dress, screams drowning out the wedding march, the bride’s and groom’s heads rolling to Yuki Asahi’s feet…”
“What a beautiful picture! What a delightful despair!”
Feng He Shi trembled with excitement, his stitched seams quivering. He could almost smell the intoxicating scent of fear.
“Besides, that kind of occasion will definitely gather the new government’s key figures and so-called upper-crust elites.”
“If I can cause a huge ruckus there, I can not only drive Yuki Asahi insane but also slap the face of this hypocritical peaceful society! Let them know the fury of us ‘Inferior Race’ is unstoppable!”
“But… Great One.”
The Rat Man cautiously reminded him. “Saiyonji is a party leader. The wedding security will be tight, and Yuki Asahi will be there too…”
“Besides, the Leader said he’ll deal with Yuki Asahi personally…”
“Tight? Personally?”
Feng He Shi sneered contemptuously. Then he turned and looked into the deeper darkness behind him.
“Those useless underlings couldn’t get the job done. This time…”
“I’ll go myself.”
He extended that huge, malformed hand and clenched it into a fist in the air.
“I’ll give them a ‘grand gift’ they’ll never forget.”
“Go, gather all the remaining ‘half-finished’ ones. Even those nearly out-of-control trash—doesn’t matter.”
Feng He Shi turned his head, revealing a demonic grin.
“A wedding can’t be without ‘fireworks,’ right?”
“I’ll turn this wedding into Tokyo’s worst nightmare.”
He flatly ignored the Leader’s order about “dealing with Yuki Asahi personally.”
Going rogue is a Japanese tradition; one must savor it.
“A wedding? That kid’s all grown up now.”
At the Saitama Warehouse, Mizuki Hoshi touched the fading bruise around his eye and sighed.
After all, they had been teammates once.
“My suggestion is to take him away before the wedding.” Hattori Koji, eyes red and swollen, spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Either way, it’s a bit cruel to the bride.”
Beiye shrugged. “How about taking the bride back too? Let the couple reunite in the Vision World, and DRG can host a wedding for them.”
“Some dark joke vibe…” Mizuki Hoshi muttered.
Sasaki pondered for a long time, then stood up. “Saori Saiyonji has been under tight Esper surveillance lately, making him hard to approach. Let’s see if there’s a variable on the wedding day.”
“Wedding… that day?”
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