Chapter 159. Heartfelt Intentions.

So, does this mean you want Tsukino and Chiya to have to make a choice?

Upon hearing Aurora's words, Wang Ma Xiaoji felt not the slightest bit of panic, but rather an unbelievable calm. He himself found this slightly strange.

After all, it would be impossible for Wang Ma Xiaoji to be completely unaffected by his personal experience of death. It was an experience that could truly be described as a psychological trauma. Even now, if asked to recall and recount every detail of his time at the Talent Prison Academy, he might not be able to do so perfectly, but if asked to describe his experiences and feelings before his death…

That memory is still vivid in my mind.

Wang Ma Xiaoji considers himself the kind of person who values ​​life. However, having made that decision at that time… he doesn't regret it. But, if it were up to him to die again… who would want to die again?

However, the feeling of being manipulated by a puppet is also unpleasant.

It was just as hateful as being forced into that game of mutual destruction back then.

Whether it's the former or the latter, it's like or is a game, and he's a player who's been forced to participate in the game... Ah, thinking about it this way, has he been having bad luck lately? He even died once and then got dragged into this kind of thing.

However, even during his imprisonment, not everything he encountered along the way was bad. But the bonds he forged in that environment…

Ah, I seem to be thinking a bit too far ahead.

At this moment, Wang Ma Xiaoji only realized that... even though Aurora said something that was likely an attempt to lure Tsukino and Chiya into doing something that could affect his life, he didn't have any additional reaction.

It's not that he has truly taken death lightly or has no fear of it.

He wasn't scared at all, simply because...

It was simply because he subconsciously felt that there was no possibility that "Tsukino and Chiya would hurt him".

...Is that so?

When exactly did it begin? Did I unknowingly come to trust that person to this extent?

Wang Ma Xiaoji has done things he's completely trusted before. The only people he could truly trust... barring unforeseen circumstances, were his members of Dice from his original world. And in unforeseen circumstances...

If we're talking about the most recent instance of someone entrusting everything to another, wasn't it just before his death?

And now, has he given away his trust again? Clearly, this world now is the same as when he was imprisoned, not the kind of environment that Wangma Xiaoji would like.

Having suddenly been resurrected, Ouma Kokichi awakens in this world and regains his normal consciousness. The first people he encounters are Tsukino and Chiya. Soon, when he realizes that this world is no longer the one he originally knew, how could he not feel even a trace of loneliness and fear?

However, Ouma Shokichi hid everything very well. Moreover, he wasn't the type to wallow in negative emotions. So, never one to sit idly by, Ouma Shokichi quickly began investigating this world after his physical condition had almost fully recovered. Because of the familiar title "Ultimate," which connected him to his original world, he paid attention to Hope's Peak, which was very famous in this world. At the same time, due to the mark on his body, he also started noticing supernatural and strange events…

A complete collapse? Impossible!

On the surface, Ouma Kokichi was confident that even Tsukino and Chiya, who had spent a lot of time together before, wouldn't notice anything wrong... although, similarly, the information he could glean from Tsukino and Chiya's faces was very limited. But isn't that what makes Tsukino so interesting?

Although Ouma Shoki once said that such a blank expression that doesn't react to jokes is very boring, Tsukino and Chiya are not the kind of people whose inner world is as rigid and boring as their expression. On the contrary, it's quite the opposite. So even his flawless expression became interesting, making Ouma Shoki want to see what he would have to do to make that face change.

Looking back now, Ouma Kokichi feels he can suddenly understand how Yashiki Kazuo felt during the Death Mark incident.

At that time, Yashiki Kazuo lost his past memories. At such a moment, he met a doll who was kind and friendly, though it seemed strange because it was not human... So much so that after the doll's true identity was exposed and Yashiki Kazuo successfully sealed the doll, he still did some things that might have made the doll's resentment dissipate and let it sleep peacefully.

Of course, this is definitely related to the fact that Yashiki Kazuo is essentially an excessively gentle person. Speaking of gentleness... Ohma Kokichi thought of the scene when they encountered the strange creature in the preparatory school building, and Tsukino and Chiya held the strange creature's hand without changing their expressions.

Perhaps Kazuo Kozuki is also a very gentle person.

This was something that Ohma Kokichi vaguely glimpsed from Tsukino and Chiya at that time. However, given the circumstances, it wasn't unreasonable to explain it as "a method used to resolve the strange occurrences"... But in any case, Tsukino and Chiya were very interesting people, and playing the game of guessing the secrets behind them was quite fun.

Wang Ma Xiaoji realized that he might have been paying too much attention to that person without realizing it.

Tsukino and Chiya were the first people he met in this strange world after escaping death, and the first to help him integrate. They brought him back and offered a helping hand—that's an undeniable fact. And because of something strange, they were both bound to the same boat…

Even now, after seeing parts of Tsukino and Chiya's past, Ohma Kokichi still finds him very interesting.

Wang Ma Xiaoji wasn't some slow-witted fool, and given that Yueye and Qianye made no attempt to hide anything, he was quite aware of their thoughts.

not to mention……

Wang Ma Xiaoji recalled a conversation he had with Tsukino and Chiya one day. It was after the strange incident at the old school building had ended… but—

There's no point in thinking about these things now. To put it more realistically, you might be facing death at any moment, and you're still thinking about these things?

Kazuo Kozuki was the same... Wasn't it for the same reason that he didn't make things completely clear at this time?

Hesitation, avoidance, confusion, rejection, or acceptance? Under other circumstances, perhaps… but honestly, in the current situation, these don't seem to be the primary considerations. Besides, even if we came to a conclusion right now, it wouldn't make any difference… and besides, neither Kozuki nor anyone else are here!

Moreover, isn't my current situation seemingly entirely at the mercy of the puppet?

But now... judging from Aurora's performance, isn't it almost the end? He shouldn't be the kind of character who doesn't get to see the ending twice in a row, right?

Oh dear... I hope the rest of the story and its ending won't be too boring.

Although his mind was filled with thoughts like "This is really bad" and "Wait, was it threatening me with death just now?", Wangma Xiaoji still didn't feel any sense of crisis. He simply waited calmly and patiently for what would happen next.

After uttering those words, the doll vanished. Having witnessed countless supernatural powers, Ohma Kokichi was unfazed by this development, showing no interest or amusement whatsoever. As Aurora departed, the environment around Ohma Kokichi began to change constantly, like a revolving lantern flashing through fragments... but even if it was a revolving lantern, it belonged to Tsukino and Chiya.

There are scenes of Tsukino and Chiya cuddling and petting a fat tanuki, scenes of Tsukino and Chiya learning combat skills from Serizawa Chieda, scenes of Tsukino and Chiya reading in the study, and scenes of Tsukino and Chiya visiting the Inakami Detective Agency...

These scenes flashed by in an instant, but Wang Ma Xiaoji could still quickly discern their content. It was because of this that he had the leisure to think about other things. Because for the time being, besides watching these fleeting images and thinking about random things, he couldn't do anything else.

Then, finally, the image froze. The environment around Ouma Kokichi had changed.

"So this is it," the purple-haired boy said without any surprise. "It's been a while. The last time I was here was before I died!"

This is... Talent Prison Academy.

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Author's Note: Several chapters ago, many people asked: "Does he know you're pursuing him?"

Qianye: I know, ovo