Chapter 3: Trapped mouse
The latch clicked shut.
Neil stood tall the moment it did. Shoulders squared, eyes cold behind his glasses. No celebration. No relief.
His gaze dropped to the lower hem of his uniform.
[ System Reminder: Crimson Qi tracking array — active. Audio transmission: Stable. Target ’Lilith Vespera’ is monitoring the feed. ]
His lips moved into a microscopic smirk.
A normal disciple would have panicked. Torn the uniform off. Tried to scrub the Qi away.
All of which would have told Lilith immediately that her toy was hiding something.
To a dormant Mastermind Core, an enemy’s surveillance wasn’t a threat.
It was a stage. And Lilith had just handed him the microphone.
She heard Celine blackmailing me. His thoughts ran cold and precise. If I act like I’m plotting with Celine, Lilith skins me alive. If I act completely loyal to Lilith, she gets suspicious. I need to give her exactly what a possessive stalker wants — genuine, helpless reliance wrapped in fear.
Neil let his knees buckle slightly, sinking onto the creaking wooden cot. He buried his face in his hands, making sure the rustle of fabric carried clearly to the array.
"What do I do...?" His voice cracked at exactly the right pitch. "Lady Celine... she’ll destroy my family if I don’t spy on her. One word from the Disciplinary Hall, and my home... my sister..."
A hollow laugh. A desperate sob hitching in his throat.
"But how can I betray Lady Lilith?" He dropped his voice to something soft and reverent and terrified all at once. "Everyone in the outer court calls her a monster. When her sword-Qi flares, I feel like my chest will burst. But... she’s the only one who didn’t look at me like dirt. That day in the eastern courtyard, when the senior disciples tried to break my remaining meridians — her arrival saved my life. Even if she looks at me like a toy... a toy is still worth something to her."
Silence. Heavy. Deliberate.
"I can’t spy on her. I won’t." His tone hardened with fragile, reckless resolve. "I’ll feed Lady Celine false information. I’ll make up stories about the Vespera clan’s movements. If Celine finds out, she’ll kill me... but at least Lady Lilith won’t think I betrayed her. If I die... as long as the silver reaches home..."
[ System Note: Absolute masterpiece. If there was an Oscar for ’Best Performance by a Janitor under Yandere Surveillance,’ Host would sweep every category. The audacity to manipulate a homicidal stalker with a fake monologue is genuinely breathtaking. ]
Shut up and monitor her response.
[ System Status: Target ’Lilith Vespera’ — emotional fluctuation detected. Crimson Qi array spike: significant. Heart rate increase: 42%. Diagnostic: She is currently gripping her sword hilt hard enough to crack it, murmuring "my sweet, loyal little thing... nobody will touch you." Manipulative Trap: 100% Successful. ]
Neil smiled behind his palms.
Win number one. He’d just turned a surveillance breach into a shield. Lilith wouldn’t move against him now — she’d protect him from Celine, positioning herself as his only savior.
The Inner Court of Akuto Academy was a different world.
Where the Outer Court smelled of soot and damp stone, the Inner Court tasted like crisp mountain air — dense, pure spiritual energy pressing against the skin like sunlight. Giant floating pagodas hovered overhead on iron chains. White jade pathways radiated warmth underfoot.
Neil walked through it with his head down, pushing a heavy wooden cart. To the silk-robed elite passing by, he was completely invisible. A featureless ghost with a mop.
His system, however, was running at full capacity.
[ Residual Qi Detected: High-Grade Flame Element — left by an Inner Disciple three hours ago. Absorption efficiency: 14%. ]
[ Residual Qi Detected: Sword-Intent residue on eastern pillar. Storing frequency... ]
Every surface he cleaned quietly gave something back. The stray spiritual mist left behind by training geniuses seeped into his palms with each wipe. His fractured Dantian — usually a cold, dead void — began to register the faintest warmth. Broken meridians stitching themselves back together, one microscopic thread at a time.
By noon he had his weekly wages — three low-grade spiritual silver pieces. Pocket change to an inner disciple. Life, to Neil.
He walked to the automated courier station at the cliff’s edge. Giant spirit-hawks perched on iron posts, each one carrying small lockboxes to the towns beyond the mountain range.
Neil placed two of the three silver pieces into a small velvet pouch. Alongside them, a cheap brass bracelet from a street vendor — no Qi, no magic, just polished smooth and shiny.
"Destination: Greenfall Village. Recipient: Nina Harlan," he told the attendant. No acting in his voice. Just flat, quiet, and real.
The attendant tossed the pouch into an iron box without looking up. "Next."
Neil watched the hawk take off from the ledge, soaring through the mist toward the distant valley. His eyes softened for exactly one second.
In a den where every girl wanted to chain him and every faction wanted to use him as fuel, that village was the only clean thing left.
[ System Note: Host’s emotional core is showing vulnerability. Statistically, a mastermind with emotional attachment is 78% more likely to make a fatal error. However... the system acknowledges the brass bracelet was a nice touch. Very cinematic. ]
If I don’t have something worth protecting, there’s no point playing this game, Neil replied internally, turning away from the cliff.
Back to work. I need more Qi.
Two hours later — the Grand Library of Hidden Treatises. The deepest section his bronze pass could reach. Old parchment and ancient ink thick in the air.
He was mopping near a secluded alcove when Cold Observation fired without warning.
[ Alert: Spatial pressure shifting. Zero emotional resonance in vicinity. A perfect predator approaches. ]
Neil kept his rhythm. Kept his eyes down. But his peripheral vision caught the hem of a dark blue robe — simple, almost austere, worn by someone whose presence made that simplicity feel like a deliberate choice.
Long raven-black hair in a loose ponytail.
Eyes like ancient, bottomless lakes — no anger, no warmth, completely empty.
A massive leather-bound logbook in her hands.
Kaede. Head of the Crimson Lotus Faction — the third power in the academy, and the most dangerous kind. Lilith ruled through terror. Celine ruled through law. Kaede ruled through information, and she never needed to raise her voice to do it.
She didn’t speak. She stood five paces away and watched him mop.
Neil stumbled slightly, bowing low as he passed. "E-Excuse me, Senior Sister. Just cleaning the dust."
"Stop."
One word. Not loud. But it had a frequency that settled under the skin.
Neil froze, trembling on cue. "Y-Yes, Senior?"
Kaede stepped closer. Her empty eyes tracked the floor behind his feet.
"The moisture on the jade tile dries three seconds faster where your left foot presses," she said, voice flat as a ledger entry. "A normal outer court janitor carries weight on his heels — exhaustion. You carry yours on the balls of your feet in a 60-40 distribution.
That is the Shadow-Gait stance. Used to minimize sound and suppress Qi leakage."
Neil’s heart stayed steady. His mind shifted into maximum war-footing.
She didn’t miss acting. She deduced past it.
"I — I don’t know what that means, Senior Sister!" He squeezed the mop handle until his knuckles went white. "My legs just hurt from the cold floors!"
Kaede stepped closer until her face was inches from his. She didn’t smell like perfume. Old books and cold steel.
"Your pulse is at exactly 68 beats per minute despite the trembling," she said quietly. "You are not afraid. You are simulating fear. Your performance is flawless to a human eye, Neil Harlan." A pause. "But data doesn’t lie."
The submissive stutter died in Neil’s throat.
Playing dumb in front of this specific girl would only confirm her analysis. She wasn’t a yandere driven by obsession. She was a machine running on logic.
"And what does the data say you should do with this information, Senior Sister Kaede?"
His voice came out flat, smooth, and completely calm.
Kaede blinked once. No surprise.
"Lilith wants to possess you. Celine wants to use you." She closed the logbook with a soft thud. "And you are playing both of them while quietly absorbing the Inner Court’s residual Qi to repair a Dantian that shouldn’t be repairable."
She leaned in, dark hair falling over her shoulder, trapping him against the library pillar.
"A mouse doesn’t survive a den of villains without a greater predator backing it. I won’t report you, Neil." Her voice didn’t change pitch once. "Instead, I’m going to write you into my ledger. From today, your mind belongs to the Crimson Lotus."
She raised her hand. A small glowing crystal recording matrix sat between her fingers.
"And if you refuse — I broadcast your real voice directly to Lilith and Celine in ten seconds."
[ MAXIMUM ALERT: Target ’Kaede’ has locked spatial coordinates. Countdown to exposure: 9... 8... 7... ]
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A Quick, Real Talk From Haesu (Please Read!)
Hey guys, as an author, I want to keep this completely real with you. You all know how the Webnovel system works—for any new story to survive, grow, and climb the ranks, three things are absolutely vital: Collections, Power Stones, and Comments.
Right now, Neil is trapped in a deadly three-way deadlock with Lilith, Celine, and now Kaede. I have the entire master plan ready for Chapter 4, and the pacing is only going to get faster and tighter from here. But to keep this train running at rocket speed, I need your energy.
When you [Add to Collection], it tells the algorithm this book is worth showing to others. When you drop your [Power Stones], it acts as literal fuel for my writing brain. And your paragraph comments? That’s what keeps me motivated past midnight.
If you genuinely want to see how Neil outsmarts a girl who thinks entirely in pure logic, smash those buttons right now and let’s blow up the trending charts together!
Drop your theories below: How should Neil break Kaede’s countdown? Let’s talk in the comments!
— Haesu
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