Mature Fantasy Power Invasion

Chapter 12

"Last night, Ye Shiyu came over and tried to open the door, meow."

In the morning, upon hearing Meow-chan's voice, Yan Huan paused slightly while brushing his teeth.

His eyes widened as he turned his foamy mouth toward the little cat sitting primly in the bedroom and said in surprise,

"When?"

"After you fell asleep—really late last night."

Meow-chan turned its head toward the door, stood on its hind legs, and mimicked the moment by moving its front paws and head up and down, as if reenacting the scene.

"The doorknob suddenly moved, but since you locked the door, she couldn't open it."

Yan Huan froze. The thought of someone trying his doorknob while he was asleep chilled him to the bone.

Late at night, someone had tried to open his door while he slept—what would she have done if she had gotten in?

'No way. Sis, that’s way too creepy!'

Yan Huan opened his mouth, then remained silent for a moment. He turned to spit out the foam, rinsed with the clear water in the cup, and splashed his face.

He was about to put on his shirt, but it hadn’t been changed in two days, and he’d been out running around all of yesterday. It felt sticky, and after showering, he really didn’t want to wear it again.

If only he had waited for Aunt Chen to finish drying the clothes before heading up to shower and sleep—now he had no choice but to go downstairs to fetch the dried laundry.

He sighed in resignation.

He glanced at his phone—it was 5:50 a.m., earlier than usual.

He opened the door. It was quiet outside. The faint morning light barely filtered through the mesh curtains in the living room.

Everyone else still seemed to be asleep.

Relaxing a little, he walked out bare-chested, carrying the empty glass that had held milk the night before, and headed downstairs to the laundry room to find some clothes.

The laundry room was directly across from the kitchen. The water purifier stood at the kitchen entrance. He rinsed the glass in the sink, then filled it with water and drank.

A cup of warm water in the morning—it really felt like coming back to life.

After finishing, he washed the cup again and placed it in the dish rack nearby before turning toward the laundry room.

Where had Aunt Chen placed the clothes after drying them?

He looked up and scanned the hanging clothes, searching for the ones he had bought just yesterday.

Just then, another figure holding a cup walked over to the purifier.

As she was about to get water, Ye Shiyu subconsciously turned toward the laundry room upon hearing rustling sounds inside.

In the cold light of dawn, she spotted Yan Huan's bare back as he searched for clothes, and her eyes gradually widened.

The phone in her hand suddenly lit up.

Found it.

Yan Huan picked up a beige shirt he’d bought yesterday. The fabric felt nice, so he decided to put it on.

After changing into the clean shirt, he considered bringing his dirty one down for washing—but running the machine for just one shirt seemed wasteful. He gave up and prepared to leave.

As he turned around, he spotted Ye Shiyu standing ghost-like at the doorway, holding a cup of water. Who knew how long she had been there?

'What the hell?!'

His expression changed instantly, and just as he was about to curse, his Perfect Expression Control skill kicked in.

Yan Huan forced a smile and greeted her,

"Shiyu-sis, you're up early today too?"

"Mm-hmm."

Ye Shiyu’s expression gradually returned to normal, but her voice came out oddly stiff.

Last night, after watching that strange video, she’d drunk a lot of water and had to get up around six to deal with it.

Even so, she still felt parched and uncomfortably warm all over, unable to sleep well.

And now, coming down for a drink, she just happened to bump into Yan Huan changing clothes.

Her hand trembled slightly as she unconsciously took another sip of water.

Her gaze lingered subtly on the contours of his beige shirt, possibly because she had seen something earlier—before the shirt was on—that had caught her attention.

Yan Huan gave a faint smile, walked out of the laundry room, and asked,

"Shiyu-sis, want some breakfast? I’ll make it."

"No need."

"Alright then. I’m heading out for a bit—I’ll be back before noon."

"Mm."

He had planned to cook if she wanted to eat, but since she declined, he’d just grab something outside.

At the door, he changed into his shoes. To avoid being alone with her—and the risk of falling under hypnosis—he grabbed his phone and quickly left.

Ye Shiyu watched him go and finished the water in her cup.

The early spring morning air was cold. Yan Huan took a deep breath and jogged toward the edge of the residential complex.

"Where are you going? Morning jog?"

A black cat had appeared behind him at some point, keeping pace with him.

Without turning his head, Yan Huan adjusted his breathing and shook his head.

"To the aquarium. Gonna grab some breakfast first, then take the bus over. The first bus is at 6:30."

Scanning his surroundings, he realized that in this upscale neighborhood, no breakfast shops were open this early—he’d have to go further out.

Using a map app to check bus routes, Yan Huan quickly found a shop outside the complex that sold Longguo-style breakfast.

In Linmen, only shops run by Longguo natives opened this early.

Eating meat buns and pumpkin porridge, he noticed more and more people arriving at the shop.

Meow-chan sat next to Yan Huan licking its paw and asked,

"Why are we going to the aquarium?"

"To find Mickey Mouse tools that can help fix the modifier."

"?"

After breakfast, Yan Huan boarded the bus with Meow-chan. Linmen buses had strict rules about small animals—usually requiring cages or pet carriers.

But Meow-chan wasn’t an ordinary cat. Once they boarded, it became invisible to everyone except Yan Huan, so they got on without any trouble.

The first bus wasn’t too crowded. Yan Huan casually chose an empty seat, leaned against the window with his Bluetooth earpiece in, and gently petted the cat.

After a bumpy ride lasting several dozen minutes, he opened his eyes again when the earpiece played the stop announcement.

He took off the Bluetooth earpiece just as the bus's internal speakers echoed the same message,

"[Aquarium stop—arrived.]"

There were already quite a few people around. As he turned his head, he made eye contact with a girl holding a phone, her face slightly flushed.

"!"

Yan Huan blinked and said politely,

"Excuse me."

"Oh, sure."

It was just a little after seven. The mall that had been bustling yesterday now seemed especially quiet—it wouldn’t open until ten.

But the aquarium would open at eight, so it wasn’t too early. Plus, he had brought a little helper.

After getting off the bus, Yan Huan said to Meow-chan,

"Meow-chan, can you smell the scent of what Ye Shiyu lost?"

Meow-chan looked up at him with a 'are you serious?' expression.

"Aren’t you a cat? I heard if a pet cat goes missing, you can give its toy to a stray, and the stray can help find it."

"..."

Meow-chan sighed, then sniffed the air and darted off toward the mall.

"There’s still a trace of her scent over here."

The mall?

Not inside the aquarium?

Yan Huan jogged with Meow-chan to the plaza where the mall and aquarium intersected.

This happened to be near the aquarium’s exit area—from here, he could even see the gift shop where Ye Shiyu had bought the keychain yesterday.

Meow-chan paused by a bush, sniffed around, then suddenly turned and let out a *meow* toward Yan Huan.

"Here?"

Yan Huan raised his eyebrows, walked over, and parted the bushes.

Strangely, lying tangled in the wet grass was a blue, crystal-shaped jellyfish pendant.

The name label reading "Ye Shiyu" confirmed it—it was the one she had lost yesterday.

"No way. Why’s it here? She clearly didn’t come near this area yesterday."

Yan Huan picked up the keychain—and then something even stranger happened.

The moment he touched it, the keychain, now free from the bush’s obstruction, gave a faint tremble, almost as if pointing in a direction it wanted to go.

"What the hell?"

Yan Huan widened his eyes and looked at Meow-chan, who sniffed the keychain and said,

"Ye Shiyu’s scent is already very faint—there’s a much stronger scent from another woman."

"Another woman?"

"This keychain is starting to look more and more like that woman's."

"?"

Yan Huan furrowed his brows. The keychain in his hand slowly stopped trembling, eventually becoming completely still.

At that moment, Meow-chan looked up at him and said,

"The scent of that woman has completely vanished."

"."

Feeling the strange phenomenon in his hand, Yan Huan exchanged a glance with Meow-chan and suddenly asked,

"Modifier?"

"Did you meet anyone yesterday? Anyone at all?"

As he tried to recall, the image of a grinning, golden-haired white girl suddenly crashed into his mind.

'No way.'

Yan Huan opened his mouth and quickly asked Meow-chan,

"Would the effect of a modifier work on the host of another modifier?"

"I'm not entirely sure either. But judging by what we're seeing... maybe it could."

"."

Realizing there were no factions among modifiers—and that they could even interfere with one another—Yan Huan's expression grew more serious instead of easing.

He had a strong sense that, rather than canceling each other out, this would only make resolving the modifier issue more complicated.

"'Make them willingly give up the modifier themselves'—that’s the condition to resolve a modifier."

'But if you knew someone else had a cheat and wasn’t giving it up, would you give up yours?'

What could have been handled one by one now required Yan Huan to convince all of them to abandon their modifiers at the same time!

Worse still, even if the hosts ended up fighting each other, it would only cause the modifiers to grow at an abnormal rate.

If a bug-level modifier only needed 10% of its power to solve real-life problems, then a war between modifiers might push them to use 100%—or even more.

That would also intensify their originally slow-growing desires. Even without Meow-chan saying it, Yan Huan could already imagine it.

'Desire to win.' 'Competitive urge.' 'Possessiveness.'

Just hearing those words—doesn't it send chills down your spine?

"Damn, are we about to have a Holy Grail War in Linmen?!"

"Those overpowered modifiers are basically Heroic Spirits, and the hosts are the Masters!"

(*) Note: "Holy Grail War" and "Heroic Spirits" reference the Fate anime/game series, where powerful beings fight under human masters.

"And wouldn't you know it—Yan Huan is probably the Holy Grail itself!!"

"Shit."

"I hereby declare—the First Linmen Holy Grail War begins!"

Yan Huan looked at Meow-chan beside him with a deadpan expression. He rubbed its head and sighed.

"Saber Meow-chan, let’s just hide away and live a quiet life together with your Master."

(*) Note: "Saber" refers to a class of summoned warriors in the Fate series, often seen as the strongest.

"?"

Holding the jellyfish keychain, now icy cold from spending the night outside, his heart also felt cold and hollow.

"Dear visitors, welcome to the Haishang Linmen Aquarium tourist area. Our facility uses professional marine ecological simulations to present a rich variety of marine life to you."

The aquarium’s broadcast began to play. Yan Huan stood up, realizing the facility was about to open.

The gift shop that had opened yesterday also raised its shutters. A staff member stepped out with a broom to sweep the entrance.

Yan Huan pinched the jellyfish pendant thoughtfully, then walked toward the shop.

"Welcome, customer!"

The staff's greeting was a bit rushed, clearly not expecting anyone this early—not even the aquarium had officially opened yet.

Yan Huan gave a small nod, casually scanned the store, and then seemed to notice a small gift box.

Faint lettering on the gift box read: "Jellyfish."

He blinked, considered for a moment, then took the gift box and also picked up a jellyfish-shaped plush doll.

"I’ll take these. Could I get a bag, please?"

"No problem—cash, bank card, or..."

"Phone."

Yan "Holy Grail" Huan raised his phone and made his first purchase since the start of the Linmen Holy Grail War.

"You’re saying... you’re hearing voices? Like someone talking inside your head?"

In Linmen, inside a high-end apartment in the Jinghe District, a woman in a slightly thin knitted jacket raised her eyebrows.

She looked at the golden-haired girl standing by the windowsill, lifting dumbbells while hugging herself.

That girl was none other than Aruiya Spencer—the same one who had clashed with Ye Shiyu the day before.

Spencer gave a small nod. The dumbbells appeared quite heavy for her, as each lift seemed to strain her.

She panted and said,

"Yeah, and it's always saying weird stuff."

The woman blinked and quietly jotted something down in her notebook.

"Suspected addiction to erotic content."

Then she asked again,

"Besides that, have you felt any discomfort? Sleeping okay? Appetite? Mood swings?"

Spencer put the dumbbells down, touched her chin thoughtfully, then said,

"My appetite’s probably dropped a bit—I’ve been eating less. But my sleep’s been okay."

The woman raised her eyebrows again and looked at the coffee table, which was piled high with snack bags—expensive chips, chocolates, and more.

No need to ask further.

The woman wrote in her notebook,

"Appetite good, exercises regularly, normal sleep."

"So, when do you usually hear the voice? At specific times? While doing something in particular?"

"When, huh..."

As Spencer pondered, a blurry interface suddenly surged into her mind.

[Loot Mode effect has ended. This session's gain: Loot Energy +0.1]

[Current Loot Energy: 0.1]

[Accumulate Loot Energy to gain the Power of Loot. As your Loot Energy increases, you will gain the following benefits:]

[Your allure to loot targets will gradually increase.]

[The resistance intent of victims will gradually decrease.]

[Your physique, resistance, and charm will gradually increase.]

Spencer opened her mouth, about to shout out to the visiting psychiatrist,

"Right now! I’m hearing the voice!"

But just then, the dumbbell that had felt heavy suddenly became lighter in her hands.

She blinked, thinking it was a trick of the mind, and tried lifting it again with deliberate muscle control.

But it wasn't an illusion—she could genuinely feel the difference, like her strength had increased slightly.

'This...'

Spencer stared at the phantom text in disbelief as it distorted and condensed into a single sentence:

[Feel free to use it without hesitation.]

Reading those words, her initial confusion slowly gave way to a spark of excitement.

"Miss Spencer?"

Just as the psychiatrist spoke in confusion, Spencer threw the dumbbell to the ground with a loud *clang*.

The woman flinched at the sound. She looked down, about to speak, but Spencer sneered and said,

"Don’t worry. This whole building belongs to my mom—no one lives downstairs."

"Yes, I understand. I just wanted to ask—"

"No need to ask. I’m fine now."

"Miss Spencer—"

Spencer’s face suddenly went cold. She looked straight at the psychiatrist and said,

"I said I’m fine. Just tell my mom that. I’ll start going to school like normal. Isn’t that your job?"

The psychiatrist opened her mouth, then sighed and closed her notebook.

She slowly stood, bowed slightly, and said,

"Understood. Then I’ll take my leave. If Miss Spencer has any problems, feel free to contact me anytime."

"Mhm. Got it."

Spencer didn’t even look at her. She turned to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling window at the city slowly waking in the morning light.

Haishang Linmen.

From her high-rise apartment, Spencer could faintly see the distant edge of the ocean.

Her eyes gleamed with excitement, as if some strange fire had begun to ignite within her.

*Click*

The door closed behind her—it was the psychiatrist, having just left.

Spencer could no longer hold it in. She clenched her fists and began hopping around in excitement.

"Hehe."

*Bang!*

While hopping, she forgot the dumbbells were still on the floor and accidentally kicked one barefoot.

*Hiss!!*

Her face twisted in pain as she dropped to her knees, clutching her big toe in agony.

"Oww... oww..."

Hugging herself, she rolled around on the floor, tears threatening to spill from the pain.

Outside the window, the bright morning sunlight had fully risen over the horizon and flooded her spacious room.

It lit up the coffee table in the living room behind her, where a letter lay casually beside some snacks and a game controller.

Written on the envelope was:

"Yuanyue International High School Admission Notice"

"Dear Aruiya Spencer, after careful review by the school committee and the academic affairs office, we are pleased to inform you that you have been approved for admission for the upcoming spring semester."

[End of this chapter]

(*) Note for line 213: "Yuanyue" may be a fictional or culturally specific school name; it has been left untranslated for authenticity.