You have entered the City of Eternal Night

From the moment Bai Long started leaving class on time every day, the class monitor would always come to him helplessly to complain.

And what she got was always Bai Long’s sincere three standard answers.

“Sorry.”

“I forgot.”

“I’ll be there today.”

As for whether Bai Long actually went to the appointment or not…

Guess why every time she came to him, she got those same three sentences?

Watching the class monitor walk away with a pained expression, Bai Long leisurely pulled a manga from his desk and continued his relaxing break.

“Bro Bai!”

He had barely flipped two pages when the chubby kid at the desk in front turned around, his round face full of excitement, eyes sparkling as he stared at the manga in Bai Long’s hand.

“Is that the latest volume?”

Without lifting his head, his eyes still on the manga, Bai Long casually replied, “Yeah, I’ll give it to you when I’m done.”

“Thanks, Bro Bai!”

The chubby kid instantly beamed, his eyes narrowing into slits, two deep dimples appearing on his plump cheeks, looking adorably naive.

After all, people in this world were generally good-looking.

Even a chubby kid like him was kind of cute, not annoying.

Tsk, that’s not right.

Calling him “chubby kid” when they were friends was rude.

Sang Linya.

That was his name.

The reason he and Sang Linya had become friends was actually simple.

You should remember that in Bai Long’s first month at this school, in order to completely shake off those three hot girls who kept bothering him, he had deliberately put together a super “itabag.”

Calling it an itabag was just a bunch of stickers and badges stuck onto it.

But even though the characters on it looked great, for him who had only been here a month, it was purely a tool.

He was interested in the characters, but he hadn’t actually watched any of those anime.

However, when Sang Linya, who sat in front, saw his itabag, his eyes lit up instantly.

He immediately leaned in, his voice trembling with excitement.

“So you’re into…”

Good grief, that opening line almost gave Bai Long, the old-timer, a heart attack.

He thought for a second he had zoned out and gone back.

Later, after confirming that Sang Linya was just a fellow anime fan like himself, Bai Long finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Over the next few days, the two occasionally chatted about the anime characters on the bag.

Bai Long discovered not only that they shared common interests, but also that Sang Linya was just as invisible in the class as he was.

After a while, they naturally became friends.

Sang Linya had a soft, gentle personality.

His temper was incredible.

Even when other classmates made fun of his weight, he would just blush, scratch his head, and laugh stupidly.

He never argued or got angry.

The people who teased him found it boring since he didn’t react, so gradually they stopped bothering him.

In this world where everyone was generally good-looking, with his round figure, Sang Linya’s looks were about the same as Bai Long’s.

Definitely an outsider, a background character.

Oh no, strictly speaking, unless this world was “Accel World,” he was absolutely a standard background character, no doubt about it.

That’s good.

I’m sticking with you as a friend.

…

Soon, it was time to leave school for the day.

Bai Long swiftly stuffed the manga he had just finished into Sang Linya’s backpack, patted him on the back as a signal.

Before the teacher on the podium could react, he shouted loudly, “Goodbye, teacher!” and then, as if used to it, climbed onto the nearby window.

He slid rapidly down the exterior drainpipe, and as soon as his soles hit the ground, he dashed toward the school gate like an arrow leaving the bow.

Back on the familiar path home, Bai Long slowed his pace and let out a long breath.

Great.

Today went smoothly.

The fourth month was also wrapped up perfectly.

This month, no problems.

Not like the first few months, where it seemed like one trouble came every month.

Could it be that this world had finally let him off, planning to let him laze around peacefully until he grew old?

Yay, ordinary is good, ordinary is the best, ordinary… huh?

Suddenly, Bai Long felt something was wrong.

He stopped short, realizing belatedly that it was eerily quiet around him.

The sounds of students leaving school and traffic that he had vaguely heard were now completely gone.

The street that had been lively was now empty, not a single pedestrian in sight.

Most of the shops on both sides had their rolling doors tightly shut, as if they had been closed for a long time.

Even the usually busiest café was closed now.

Of course, not all shops were closed.

The 24-hour convenience store at the corner was still open, lights on, but no one was inside.

The entire city, at this moment, was like an abandoned ghost town.

What made his heart sink even more was the sky.

It was wrong.

It was summer.

He had clearly left school at dismissal time.

Normally, the sky should still be bright at this hour.

But now, it was already pitch black.

Bai Long slowly raised his head and looked up.

There, a blood-red moon hung high in the sky.

“Halo!”

With this shout, a blood-colored halo instantly appeared above his head.

The next second, a mechanical yet clear voice rang in his mind.

[Master, you have entered Eternal Night City – Chuanjiu.]

Bai Long: “???”

As everyone knew, Bai Long was a very calm person.

Years of being a spy had trained him to maintain his composure even when Mount Tai collapsed before him.

He had thought that he was no longer someone easily shaken.

But now, he was shaken.

Totally shaken.

Though he didn’t want to admit it deep down, this sudden change had really hit him hard.

Over the past few months, while enjoying his rare retirement and lazing around life, he had never let his guard down.

He stayed tense, keeping a sharp eye on any anomalies around him.

He had to admit, he had been having a lot of fun.

Relying on the wit honed from his spy career, he had dodged pothole after pothole that might have dragged him into weird plots, successfully maintaining the peaceful daily life he wanted.

This feeling was addictive.

But who would have thought that even after doing all that, he would still be forcefully dragged into this bizarre situation?

And in such a sudden way.

He looked up at the pitch-black sky, his emotions mixed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just let out a silent sigh.

Forget it.

Look on the bright side.

It’s already like this.

Could it get any worse?

“BOOM!!!!”

Just then, a deafening explosion erupted not far away, shattering the dead silence of the empty city.

Bai Long: “???”

Seriously, dude?

…

Two streets away from Bai Long.

The street there was slightly run-down, the road full of potholes, but the marks of damage looked fresh.

Two figures stood facing each other in the middle of the road, their auras tense, looking like they were about to fight.

The air around them seemed to solidify.

One of them was a girl in a loose black-and-white coat, zipped all the way up to the top, hiding most of her face in the coat’s shadow.

Only a pair of emerald eyes were visible, glinting coldly in the dim eternal night.

Her black-and-white twin tails hung loosely behind her, swaying gently in the breeze.

In each hand, she held a gleaming throwing knife, her fingers gripping the hilts tightly, her posture alert.

Across from her stood a person in a black robe.

The torn hem of the robe fluttered in the night wind, as if it would be torn apart at any moment.

The black-robed figure held an ancient greatsword in his hand.

The blade was thick and heavy, exuding the dignity of ages.

It weighed heavily in his grip, and his aura alone was enough to intimidate.

His eyes were deeply sunken, his sockets like two dark pits, swallowed by endless darkness and madness.

They seemed to hide countless mysteries, and just one look at them sent chills down the spine.

The two stood silently facing each other, without any extra movement, but an invisible pressure kept spreading and building in the air.

A fierce battle was about to break out.