Hua Ye’s sudden collapse came out of nowhere, leaving no clue as to how it happened.
Luckily, when she fainted, she was incredibly fortunate—unconsciously, she leaned against the polished full-length mirror and crumpled to the floor in a rather ungraceful pose, without getting hurt.
The midday sun made a small arc, and time slipped into dusk.
She slowly regained consciousness on the slightly cool wooden floor.
“Ah bah ah bah ah bah…”
After waking up, Hua Ye stared blankly, her squinted eyes fixed on her reflection in the mirror.
She babbled like that for a while before slowly recovering her ability to speak, as if remembering how to form words.
“Ah bah… ah bah… ah… Really… it’s really not a dream?”
A sense of bewilderment welled up inside her.
According to common sense in Kivotos, the halo above her head was a manifestation of her spirit, merely reflecting her mental and physical state.
There was no reason to faint just from touching it.
If anything, changes to the body and mind should come first, and only then would the halo change.
Her sudden fainting was utterly inexplicable.
Part of her felt panic and caution, while another part felt a stifling sense of restraint.
Hua Ye struggled to her feet, casually brushed off her Federal Student Council uniform, and instinctively glanced at the mirror.
Good.
Today’s posture was just as perfect.
Even though it was a small rest at the end of the month, she couldn’t lose her elegance and composure!
‘Buzhihuo Huaye thought so.’
“Wait, what am I thinking?”
Hua Ye snapped awake immediately, shaking her head vigorously to toss out those strange thoughts.
Her physical condition seemed healthy, but those mental activities just now didn’t feel like her at all.
Could this body be synchronizing with her consciousness?
And her halo hadn’t changed, either?
Hua Ye instinctively squinted, nervously observing the shape of her halo in the mirror.
To her relief, that simple and noble golden ring still shone, surrounded by its four silent crosses as always.
Good, good.
It wasn’t that terrifying halo fragmentation disease she’d seen lately in Momotalk comics.
She patted her flat chest, yawning like she’d just woken up.
The next moment, her whole body froze stiff.
…When had she ever read any Momotalk comics?
Her mind was in chaos, overwhelmed by too much information to process.
She sighed wearily, walked to her bed as usual, and gazed down at the bustling cityscape of Kivotos from the massive floor-to-ceiling window that was almost too large for the room.
Her room was rented, deliberately chosen on a high floor near the Federal Student Council building, all for the purpose of being like that superhuman Federal Student Council President—
“What am I even thinking?! Who is the Federal Student Council President?!”
Hua Ye crouched miserably by the window, irritably messing up her neatly combed hair.
Ever since waking up, she’d been influenced by some strange instinct, repeatedly making gestures that didn’t match her vague previous life.
Could it be that the original owner of this body hadn’t left?
Or was her soul merging with theirs?
Whatever the case, Hua Ye just grabbed her light pink hair, staring bitterly at the world outside.
The sky was an incredible blue, with a super-sized blue halo hanging right in the center.
She paused, a weird feeling rising inside her.
“Should the sky look like this?”
She muttered to herself, the confusion pressing down even the frustration of her own self-doubt.
She reached out a hand, wanting to touch that naively blue sky, but it was blocked by a layer of colorless glass.
The orange sunset cast a hazy veil over most of the Kivotos Central District, and through the gaps, lights from various shops flickered on one by one, illuminating half the world.
An indescribable sensation surged from her heart.
She crouched quietly at the foot of the bed, tilting her head to stare at the world outside the window.
“It’s so beautiful…”
A clumsy compliment slipped from her lips.
…
Anyway, after a bout of chaos, Hua Ye—or rather, Buzhihuo Huaye, having found her full name on the student ID card hidden under her pillow—finally calmed down.
What a mess.
She grumbled to herself, carefully tidying up the plush toy she’d just wrinkled.
That silly chicken was still sticking out its tongue with that stupid grin, its eyes staring in two different directions.
How dumb.
She stared at the life-sized plush, feeling a bit of girlish guilt while fiercely thinking about her own matters.
“No matter what! This is the second round of my life! I, I absolutely must rest and enjoy myself to the fullest!”
That was the only wish she finally settled on.
Yet even with that firm conviction, she felt a strong resistance and disgust deep inside toward this little wish, like an allergy to stupidity.
But she still suppressed that disgust.
Probably because the original her was a pretty hardworking and ambitious kid.
Suddenly switching goals to leisure and fun really was off-putting.
For now, she could only admit that the original Buzhihuo Huaye and herself were the same person.
Otherwise, the guilt of occupying someone else’s body would be unbearable.
Time to go out.
First, after all that frantic confusion, her stomach couldn’t take it anymore and started growling miserably.
Second, Hua Ye realized she probably wasn’t just an ordinary student, and she urgently needed more information.
—From the student ID, she not only found her full name but, more importantly, discovered she was someone quite remarkable.
The student ID read:
—”Federal Student Council, Defense Office Director, Buzhihuo Huaye.”
Defense Office Director?
Who?
Me?
Never mind how someone who looked barely under 18 got into the Federal Student Council, which clearly functioned as the central government, or why such a government organization didn’t hire an adult for this position.
First, she couldn’t understand how someone who looked as soft as a little lamb could climb to such a position, especially one clearly requiring violence like “Defense Office Director”…
Could it be that I’m the type of office worker specializing in paperwork?
So I rose through the ranks, and Defense Office was just a stepping stone?
Am I really a political prodigy?
But is it okay for a minor to hold office?
While lost in random thoughts, she skillfully took off her slippers and placed them on the shoe rack, then grabbed her favorite pure white high heels.
She carefully slipped her white-stockinged feet into them, adjusted the tightness, stood up, and casually straightened her uniform.
She checked her outfit in the mirror, confirmed everything was in order, opened the door, and walked out.
Then, a moment later, she patted the pocket on her chest.
Inside, it was hard, cold, oddly shaped, and heavy.
As if realizing something, she froze, then slowly, like a robot, reached her hand into that heavy pocket, cautiously feeling that strange “little toy.”
“What… is this?”
No way, no way?
Could the reason Hua Ye became Defense Office Director be… that?
She gently gripped the toy’s cold handle, tentatively pressed something like a button next to a part that looked like a ring.
Click—the toy ejected a rectangular object from its handle.
Hua Ye stiffly pulled this innocent little toy out of her chest pocket.
—A coldly glinting pistol was now in plain sight, though the magazine wasn’t inserted yet.
She carefully transferred the gun to her other hand, then pinched out the rectangular object she’d just felt from the pocket.
—A fully loaded pistol magazine.
Staring at the gun and bullets in her hands, Hua Ye instinctively knew: if these two little toys were combined, it would definitely be a functional, live-firing weapon.
Mle.1935 Browning Automatic Pistol, a full-sized combat pistol with a double-stack magazine, chambering 9×19mm Parabellum rounds.
Those bullets could usually be bought at convenience stores, with a 20% discount on Sundays.
The pistol’s accessories were similar, though custom orders from Millennium or other companies would have a better feel.
Of course, Trinity’s were also fine, but Gehenna’s were a no-go because their craftsmanship was too rough.
“What the hell is all this?!!”
Buzhihuo Huaye let out a piercing shriek at the realization that she was probably a crazy woman who went out on Sundays to buy ammo and gun accessories.