The cool Saitama night breeze blew gently, swaying the golden blonde hair of the universe's most feared assassin.
Yami stood frozen on the balcony, her crimson eyes locked onto Jay with maximum vigilance. Her muscles were completely tense. Her right hand instinctively twitched, almost transforming into a blade, but she forced herself to hold it back.
"You know my past," Yami said quietly, her voice as cold as ice but carrying a faint tremor of panic.
"Who exactly are you, Jay Oosuki?"
Jay casually took a sip from his canned coffee.
"I already told you. I'm just a high schooler. But regarding you... I know everything, Eve."
At the sound of her true name, Yami's eyes widened in absolute shock.
"I know you were created from the DNA of a genius scientist named Tearju Lunatique," Jay continued, his voice softening, devoid of any threatening intent.
"I also know you were raised in a cold research facility, forced to become a biological weapon, and ultimately... Tearju left you behind."
Yami lowered her head. Her golden bangs shadowed her eyes, hiding the profound pain she had buried deep within her heart for years.
"She abandoned me. She thought I was a monster, so she ran away."
"That is a massive lie implanted by the organization that funded you," Jay cut her off firmly.
Yami snapped her head up, stunned.
Jay set his coffee can on the railing and looked directly into her eyes.
"Tearju never abandoned you, Yami. The executives realized that Tearju was starting to love you like a real daughter. She refused to let them turn you into a weapon. Fearing she would sabotage the project, they forcefully exiled her and put a massive bounty on her head."
Yami's world stopped spinning. The resentment and emptiness that had fueled her for years was built on a fabricated illusion.
"Right now, she is on the run," Jay said gently. "She is hopping from one rundown planet to another, constantly hunted by mercenaries. And the only reason she keeps fighting to survive... is because she is desperately searching the galaxy for you, Eve. Even though she has absolutely no clues about your whereabouts."
"She... she didn't throw me away?" Yami's voice broke. The impenetrable walls of the stoic assassin completely shattered. Tears welled up in her crimson eyes. The mother she thought hated her was actually suffering, desperately looking for her out there in the cold universe.
"She never did," Jay smiled softly. He extended his large hand toward her.
"So, Yami. What do you want to do now?"
Yami looked at the massive hand in front of her. For the first time, she didn't look like a lethal weapon of mass destruction. She just looked like a lost little girl who missed her mother.
"I... I want to see her," Yami whispered, a tear finally escaping her eye.
Jay's smile widened. "Good choice. Take my hand."
In the dark, rusted corridors of an abandoned mining facility on the edge of the galaxy, a woman with messy, long blonde hair was running for her life. Her white lab coat was stained with dirt, and her glasses were slightly cracked.
She clutched a small, heavily encrypted data pad to her chest. Displayed on the cracked screen was a grainy photo of a little blonde girl inside a stasis tube.
*Clang!*
Tearju Lunatique tripped over an exposed pipe, her natural clumsiness striking at the absolute worst possible moment. She hit the cold metal floor hard, scraping her knee.
"Agh!" Tearju winced, trying to scramble backward as heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Five massive, heavily armored alien mercenaries stepped out of the shadows, aiming their plasma rifles directly at her head.
"End of the line, Dr. Lunatique," the mercenary leader growled, clicking his weapon's safety off.
"The organization put a fortune on your head. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Tearju closed her eyes, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. She hugged the data pad tightly to her chest.
I'm sorry, Eve... In the end I couldn't find you... I'm so sorry...
Suddenly, the space in front of Tearju violently distorted.
A pitch-black portal spiraled open. Two figures stepped out of the void.
Tearju opened her eyes and gasped. Standing between her and the mercenaries was a towering human male dressed in casual clothes. He carried no weapons, yet his mere presence made the entire facility tremble.
"Who the hell are you?! Get out of the way!" the mercenary leader yelled, aiming his plasma rifle at Jay.
Jay let out a long, exhausted sigh. He didn't want to deal with blood today.
"Leave," Jay commanded quietly.
Jay unleashed exactly 0.001% of his demon lord haki (from rimuru), combined with a localized burst of absolute gravity. He didn't even move a muscle. Instantly, the plasma rifles in the mercenaries' hands were crushed into fine metallic dust by sheer gravitational pressure.
Simultaneously, the primordial, suffocating weight of death crashed into the aliens' minds. Their survival instincts completely broke. They dropped to their knees, screaming in absolute terror, crying like children before they scrambled to their feet and sprinted back to their ship as fast as their legs could carry them.
Tearju stared at the scene, her jaw dropping in disbelief.
Jay turned around and looked down at the genius scientist. Because he had bypassed the need to step outside his house by using a space-time portal, Jay had forgotten to put on his mask and sunglasses.
Under the dim, flickering lights of the abandoned station, his perfectly sculpted, god-like face, his sharp jawline, and his deep, mesmerizing eyes were completely exposed.
"Are you alright, Dr. Lunatique?" Jay asked, his deep, masculine voice echoing in the quiet corridor as he extended a hand toward her.
Tearju looked up. Her brain completely stopped functioning.
A massive blush exploded across her face, turning her cheeks a deep shade of crimson. Her natural shyness and social awkwardness went into absolute overdrive. She completely forgot she was in a life-or-death situation just five seconds ago.
*Oh my god... w-why is he so incredibly handsome?!* Tearju's mind screamed in absolute panic as she stared at his broad chest and flawless face.
"I-I-I... y-yes... I mean, t-thank you... uuuu..."
Tearju stuttered uncontrollably, completely incapable of making eye contact. She timidly reached out and took his large, warm hand, allowing him to pull her up. Her knees felt weak just standing so close to him, and she immediately tried to hide the lower half of her flushed face behind her dirty lab coat.
Before her flustered panic could go any further, a small figure stepped out from behind Jay's tall frame.
Tearju froze. The blush vanished from her face, replaced by pure, overwhelming emotion. Her eyes widened as she looked at the little blonde girl standing before her.
"Eve..." Tearju whispered, her voice cracking instantly.
Yami stared at the woman. There was no hatred in Tearju's eyes. There was only profound guilt, unconditional love, and endless longing.
"My... my name is Konjiki no Yami now," Yami said quietly, her voice trembling.
Tearju didn't care about the name. She lunged forward, dropping to her knees, and pulled Yami into a desperate, bone-crushing hug.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I left you behind..." Tearju sobbed uncontrollably, burying her face into Yami's shoulder.
"I looked everywhere for you... I'm so sorry, Eve..."
Yami stood still for a second. Slowly, her small arms wrapped around Tearju's back. She buried her face into Tearju's dirty lab coat, and for the first time in her life, the Golden Darkness cried loudly in her mother's arms.
Jay stood off to the side, smiling softly at the heartwarming reunion.
After giving them a few minutes, Jay teleported both of them straight into the massive, luxurious living room of his Saitama estate.
Tearju sat on the edge of the expensive leather sofa, still holding onto Yami's hand as if she was terrified the girl would disappear again. She looked around the massive mansion in absolute awe, but every time her eyes landed on Jay, she instantly looked away, her face burning red.
"So... y-you saved my life... b-brought me back to my daughter... and you are the Boss of the m-most powerful corporation on this planet?" Tearju squeaked, nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt. She was so painfully shy around him she could barely string a sentence together.
"Pretty much," Jay nodded, leaning back against the opposite sofa.
"Since you have a massive bounty on your head, staying on Earth is your best option. Specifically, this prefecture is under my absolute protection. No mercenary in the universe will ever dare to step foot in Saitama. You're welcome to live here with us, Tearju-san."
"R-Really?! Are you sure? I-I'm very clumsy... I might break things..." Tearju mumbled, looking down at her shoes, her heart pounding out of her chest. Living in the same house as a man this ridiculously attractive felt like a different kind of danger to her weak heart.
"It's fine. We have plenty of room," Jay smiled warmly.
Suddenly, Yami stepped directly in front of Tearju, shielding her from Jay's view.
The little blonde assassin narrowed her crimson eyes, glaring daggers at the shadow dictator of the world.
"Don't look at her like that, you lustful wolf," Yami hissed protectively.
Jay blinked, completely taken aback. "Huh? Look at her like what?"
"I know exactly what you are thinking," Yami accused, crossing her arms defensively in front of her flustered, naive mother.
"You already have two fiancées that I know of. Princess Lala, and another one you mentioned. And now you are trying to use your excessive wealth and face to devour Tearju. I won't let you eat her."
"E-E-Eat me?!" Tearju squeaked, her imagination completely short-circuiting as steam practically erupted from her ears. She hid behind Yami's small frame, clutching her daughter's shoulders.
Jay sat frozen on the sofa, his brain struggling to process the sudden accusation.
Lustful wolf?! Jay's internal monologue screamed in sheer bewilderment.
I literally just saved her life and offered her a free place to stay! I didn't even say anything remotely suggestive! What did I do wrong?!
He looked at Yami's deeply suspicious glare and Tearju's terrified, blushing face.
Jay let out a long, heavy, defeated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had absolutely zero ulterior motives tonight, yet his mere existence was causing a massive misunderstanding.
Suffering from success, Jay thought, staring blankly at the ceiling.
It's too hard being this handsome. But i like this kind of problem.
After finally settling Tearju into one of the many luxurious guest rooms, Jay retreated to his master bedroom.
He threw himself onto his king-sized bed, letting out a long sigh. The day had been utterly exhausting. Between acting as a pack-mule, wiping civilian memories, exposing the Black Organization to Ran, and reuniting an intergalactic assassin with her mother, his social battery was completely drained.
Jay lazily waved his hand in the air. A translucent blue holographic screen materialized above him.
"Let's see what our resident 'Protagonist' is up to," Jay muttered, a mischievous smirk forming on his lips.
"System, open Ye Chen's personal interface and show me his latest Diary Entry."
The screen flickered, displaying a digital journal that Ye Chen was currently writing in his run-down apartment. Because Jay was the absolute administrator and the true creator of Ye Chen's
"System," he had full access to the transmigrator's deepest, most delusional thoughts.
Jay began to read, and almost instantly, he had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud.
[Ye Chen' Diary - Day 2]
Host: Ye Chen
I am extremely confused. What happened to the heroines? Why did their attitudes change so drastically? Yesterday, when I first transferred and met them, they were just a bit uncomfortable, acting like typical strangers. I thought it was just natural awkwardness. But today? Today they were looking at me with pure coldness and absolute disgust.
Utaha Kasumigaoka walked right past me in the hallway. I gave her my signature, confident half-smile, but she completely ignored me. She looked at me like I was a piece of trash on the side of the road. Then there was Eriri Spencer Sawamura. I stood near the art room, observing her with a deep, profound gaze, but she just slammed the door in my face with a look of pure revulsion.
Even Megumi Kato was a failure. I intentionally bumped into her on the stairs, preparing to catch her waist and deliver a smooth line, but she somehow slipped past my grasp like a ghost and just walked away without a word.
Why? Do they not sense my superiority?
No, that's impossible. I am the destined protagonist of this world. The only logical explanation is that they are simply playing hard to get! Yes, that must be it. My aura is probably too overwhelming for ordinary high school girls to handle right now. They are definitely captivated by my presence, but they are hiding it to maintain their pride. Once I show off my true heaven-defying talents, they will undoubtedly fall into my embrace.
Still, I am extremely annoyed. This crossover world is incredibly inefficient! Why are the heroines scattered all over Japan? Toyogasaki only has three of them! In a proper crossover fanfiction novel! all the heroines should be conveniently gathered in one single class for me to conquer. Having to travel to different schools just to build my harem is a waste of my precious time.
[System Notification: Ding! Host has survived Day 2. Distributing Daily Reward...]
[Reward Acquired: Character Card - Liu Mao Xing (Chuuka Ichiban!)]
"Wait... what?"
Ye chen's quickly continue writing his diary
A cooking character card? I am a supreme transmigrator destined to stand at the apex of the multiverse, and the System gives me a chef?! I wanted the bloodline of a True Dragon or a chaotic cultivation technique! What am I supposed to do with a glowing cooking card?
Hold on. Let me think.
This is a crossover anime world. That means Totsuki Culinary Academy exists! The elite school filled with arrogant, high-class young misses who look down on commoners! If I have the abilities of Liu Mao Xing—the God of Cooking himself, the pinnacle of Chinese culinary arts—I can absolutely crush their pride! I will serve them food so divine their clothes will literally explode!
Yes! This is perfect! I will conquer the culinary world! Wait for me, Erina wife! Alice wife! Hisako wife! Tadokoro Megumi wife! You will all be conquered by my supreme cooking and become my devoted harem members!
Jie jie jie! The heavens are truly on my side!
Ye chen closed the diary
"System! Fuse this character card with me immediately! Give me the absolute culinary mastery of Liu Mao Xing!"
[System Notification: Command Accepted. Initiating Fusion...]
[Fusion Complete. Current Synchronization Rate: 0.01%]
"...What?" Ye Chen's jaw drop
"0.01%?! System, what is the meaning of this?! Where are my heaven-defying knife skills?! Where is my glowing golden fried rice?! I don't feel any different! I don't even have his memories!"
[System Reply: Host is currently too weak and inexperienced to handle the absolute culinary Dao of Liu Mao Xing. Host only possesses the basic knowledge of identifying vegetables. To increase the synchronization rate, Host must complete fundamental training.]
[Mission 1: Perfectly dice 10,000 onions without shedding a single tear.]
[Reward: +0.5% Synchronization Rate.]
[Mission 2: Wash 50,000 times 100 kg grains of rice individually.]
[Reward: +1% Synchronization Rate.]
[Time limit: 5 days]
[Penalty: if host didnt finsh both of the mission during time limit liu mao xing character card will reset to zero percent and host cooking expirience will go to zero again.]
"Are you f*ing kidding me?! 10,000 onions?! Wash rice individually?! I am the destined protagonist! I don't do grunt work! I demand instant mastery! Trash System! You useless, garbage System! Give me my power right now!"
POV: 3rd Person
Jay clutched his stomach, rolling around on his bed as tears of pure, unadulterated laughter streamed down his face.
"He actually typed 'Jie jie jie' in his diary! Oh my god, he's a walking cliché!" Jay wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Washing 50,000 grains of rice individually... I am a genius. Have fun in the kitchen, Mr. Protagonist."
Jay had intentionally designed the "System" to be a massive, tedious grind. He wasn't just going to hand absolute power to a delusional, arrogant teenager. If Ye Chen wanted to conquer Totsuki, he was going to have to suffer through the most agonizing, realistic culinary training imaginable.
After calming down his laughter, Jay swiped his hand, closing the diary interface.
He then opened the [NSAA - Encrypted Neural Network], specifically the private group chat he had created for the heroines.
The chat was incredibly active. Jay grabbed a bag of chips from his spatial inventory, ready to enjoy the drama.
[Anti-Transmigrator Alliance Chat Group]
A/N: i make it different name so it's easy to remember
[Kasumigaoka Utaha]: I feel physically ill. That new transfer student, Ye Chen... he is exactly as the Boss described. No, he's actually worse.
[Sawamura Spencer Eriri]: Right?! He is so creepy! I was trying to paint in the art room after school, and I suddenly felt someone staring at me. I looked outside, and he was just standing by the window, giving me this disgusting, arrogant smirk like he owned me! I slammed the window and the blinds right in his face!
[Kato Megumi]: He bumped into me on the stairs today.
[Kasumigaoka Utaha]: Megumi! Are you okay?! Did he touch you?!
[Kato Megumi]: I'm fine. I dodged him. But he leaned against the wall, ran his hand through his hair, and actually said out loud: "Interesting woman... you've caught my eye. Not bad."
[Sawamura Spencer Eriri]: ...Ew.
[NEXUS]: LMAO. You guys handled him perfectly. Just keep giving him the cold shoulder. Oh, and I have some bad news for the Totsuki Academy girls. He just got a 'Cooking System'.
[Nakiri Erina]: A Cooking System? What is that supposed to mean? Does a machine cook for him?
[NEXUS]: No. It means he believes he is going to become the greatest chef in the world to conquer Totsuki Academy. Specifically, he just wrote in his diary that he plans to make you, Alice, Hisako, and Megumi Tadokoro his "devoted wives" by blowing off your clothes with his food.
[Nakiri Erina]: WHAT UTTER INSOLENCE! THAT DISGUSTING PLEBEIAN DARES TO SPEAK MY NAME IN SUCH A VULGAR MANNER?! HE WANTS TO MAKE ME HIS WIFE WITH HIS PEASANT COOKING?!
[Nakiri Alice]: Ahahaha! Erina is so mad! But wait... he said my name too?! Ugh, suddenly I feel like taking three showers. That is incredibly creepy.
[Arato Hisako]: I will never let that delusional commoner anywhere near Erina-sama! If he steps foot in Totsuki, I will have security throw him into the garbage disposal!
[Tadokoro Megumi]: H-He knows my name too?! What do I do?! I'm scared! Please don't let him find me! T_T
[Sato Miwako]: This kid sounds completely unhinged. Can I just arrest him now? Premeditated stalking? Harassment? I can bring a squad car to his apartment right now.
[Ishiki Rinna]: We can't do that, Sato-senpai. Technically, being a delusional creep in a private diary isn't a crime yet. We need actual evidence of him breaking the law before the police can step in.
[Suzuki Sonoko]: Man, this guy is pathetic. Thinking he can conquer the world just because a voice in his head told him so. Utaha was right, he really is just a primate.
[Mouri Ran]: Don't let him push you around, Kato-san! If he ever tries to touch you or corner you, just give him a solid karate chop to the neck! That usually works!
[Shinomiya Kaguya]: How incredibly pathetic. A man who relies on a 'System' to win women's hearts instead of his own merits, intellect, or status is the lowest of the low. He is nothing but a parasite.
[Fujiwara Chika]: Eh? A cooking system? Does that mean he can make really good ramen?! Wait, no, he's a creep! I won't be bribed by food! Probably!
[Hayasaka Ai]: President, please refrain from engaging too deeply with this vulgar topic. And Fujiwara-san, please do not eat food from suspicious men under any circumstances.
[NEXUS]: Don't worry, girls. As for the Totsuki girls, I already rigged his 'System'. Right now, he has a 0.01% sync rate. He has a mission to dice 10,000 onions to get stronger and there is time limit if he doesn't his sync will reseted to zero percent.
[Nakiri Erina]: ...10,000 onions?
[Nakiri Erina]: Hmph. Fitting for a peasant. Let him cry his eyes out in a filthy kitchen. If that delusional commoner ever dares to challenge me, I will utterly humiliate him. I will make him regret the day he ever picked up a kitchen knife. "Erina wife"... ugh, I need to wash my eyes with bleach.
[NEXUS Jay]: Keep up the good work, everyone. Maintain the 'Ice Queen' act. Let him keep thinking you're just 'playing hard to get'. The psychological damage he's taking right now is absolute cinema.
Jay closed the chat interface, an incredibly satisfied smile on his face. He checked the status of Mai and Ai, noting that they had just left their respective sets and had read the messages without replying, too exhausted from work but fully aware of the clown Ye Chen doing today.
Ye Chen thought he was the hunter, the destined protagonist surrounded by clueless beauties. But in reality, he was nothing more than a clown dancing on a stage, completely unaware that the audience was laughing at him, not with him.
"Sleep tight, Ye Chen," Jay whispered, leaning back onto his pillows. "Because tomorrow, you have a lot things to do."