Chapter Five: Mandy

Chapter 5: Mandy

Being called out by name online is never a good thing. There is a peculiar chill when someone behind a mask on the internet instantly sees through your identity. Lin Nian didn’t know who the “Kendo Enthusiast” on QQ was, but since they could call out his name so directly, it had to be someone connected to someone he knew, or perhaps someone he was personally acquainted with.

“I am. Who are you?” Lin Nian thought for a moment and decided to see what the other party wanted. If it was trouble, he could just brush it off.

“It hasn’t been easy finding you,” the Kendo Enthusiast sighed.

“You’re looking for me? What do you want?” Lin Nian asked.

“Nothing much, just want to meet you.”

“No time.” After replying, Lin Nian moved his mouse toward the option to remove the friend. He never entertained strangers who immediately asked to meet.

“Don’t rush to delete me. I really have business with you,” the Kendo Enthusiast said.

Lin Nian paused, instinctively moving his mouse away.

“You had a demonstration match at the youth center’s kendo hall this morning, right? I was there, the one with golden hair,” the Kendo Enthusiast added.

Lin Nian recalled that after the demonstration match this morning, he did see a blonde foreign girl in the kendo hall. She was the only foreigner among the parents and children on the sidelines, quite memorable.

“Remember now? I even took a photo of you.” The Kendo Enthusiast sent a picture online. Lin Nian opened it to find a photo of himself with his coach from that morning, both wearing protective gear and holding their masks, smiling brightly.

“That foreigner is you? Your Chinese is so good. Are you studying here or is someone helping you type?” Lin Nian was surprised. The typing speed rivaled his own.

“I’m attending university abroad. Our school requires Chinese as a compulsory subject. The ‘Chinese Campus’ program has been implemented for many years,” the Kendo Enthusiast explained. “If you’re interested in my university, I can introduce you.”

“No interest. Just tell me what you want. You got my name from the coach, right?” Lin Nian skipped the topic directly.

“I heard from the youth center coach that you’re a kendo prodigy. Are you free lately? How about a sparring match?” the Kendo Enthusiast asked.

Lin Nian hesitated, then typed back, “No time. If you want to spar, find the coach. His rank is higher than mine.”

“But he still lost to you. Why would I challenge a defeated player instead of a master?” the other replied.

“Correction, the coach didn’t lose to me this morning; it was just a demonstration match,” Lin Nian said. “If there’s nothing else, I have to go. I’ve been busy lately and don’t have much time.”

“Busy eating hotpot or playing CS?” The Kendo Enthusiast suddenly asked.

Lin Nian was about to close the chat window but paused, his face showing doubt. He stood up and glanced around. The internet café was smoky, filled with unfamiliar faces.

“Stop looking for me. I’m not at your internet café; the environment is terrible,” the Kendo Enthusiast’s words pulled Lin Nian’s attention back.

“Was there a virus in that photo you sent?” Lin Nian asked.

“No.”

“Then how do you know what I did before?”

“Guess.”

Lin Nian felt inexplicably uneasy and looked around again. There was no sign of a blonde foreign girl in the internet café, and if he remembered correctly, the girl he saw this morning was exceptionally beautiful. If she frequented such a small internet café, she should have attracted much attention—he wouldn’t have missed it.

“Lin Nian, if I’m not mistaken, you’re a sophomore now, right? Have you decided what university to apply to?” the Kendo Enthusiast changed the subject.

“What’s that got to do with you?” Lin Nian typed back. “What exactly do you want? If you don’t say, I’m deleting you.”

“I really don’t want anything other than to meet you,” the Kendo Enthusiast said.

“I don’t have time to meet random people,” Lin Nian replied. He didn’t think his future would ever involve a foreign girl. The Kendo Enthusiast then sent a crying yellow bean emoji.

“The world is always full of chaos and messy people. You think you can avoid it by turning away?” the Kendo Enthusiast said softly.

Damn, how did he sense that tone through the screen? Lin Nian was stunned for a moment before typing, “You want to meet me?”

“Yes, can we set a time?” the Kendo Enthusiast asked.

“Okay, but just to meet—no kendo sparring,” Lin Nian replied. He was genuinely curious about this mysterious foreign friend.

“Great!” The Kendo Enthusiast sent a big yellow bean grinning widely, clearly pleased. It seemed the sparring was just a pretense.

“When and where? I’ll decide,” Lin Nian said, adding a precaution. Over the years, he had made some enemies—mostly young people—but the worst were those who didn’t understand boundaries. Better to be careful.

“No, I have to pick the place; time doesn’t matter,” the Kendo Enthusiast refused. Lin Nian was about to reject outright when the other added, “I heard your local dish called ‘hotpot’ is delicious, a local specialty. Isn’t your class having a get-together? Why not meet then?”

Lin Nian was almost certain his computer was infected with a virus. How else could this person have seen his recent group chat messages? He hadn’t even accepted the friend request until after that, nor had he reopened the group chat.

“What do you mean? And why would an outsider like you come to our class gathering?” Lin Nian frowned as he typed.

“I can pretend to be your girlfriend,” the Kendo Enthusiast said. “Bringing a girlfriend to a gathering isn’t unusual, right?”

Lin Nian again moved his mouse toward deleting the friend.

“Don’t delete me! Let’s talk properly. No hotpot then, how about coffee? I know a new café that’s great. You pick the time; I’ll pay,” the Kendo Enthusiast quickly messaged.

Lin Nian was sure now—his computer was definitely compromised. He didn’t know when it started, but everything he did on this machine was being monitored. The other’s ability was almost supernatural.

“Oh, by the way, were you asking about Kassel Academy in your class group just now?” the Kendo Enthusiast asked.

“Yes,” Lin Nian admitted straightforwardly.

“Did you see my avatar?”

“Yes, a tree.”

“No, that’s the school emblem,” the Kendo Enthusiast explained. “I’m from Kassel Academy—the person you wanted to ask about. We’ve been looking for you, Lin Nian.”

Lin Nian’s hand trembled in front of the computer; the text he typed suddenly appended a long string of garbled English characters.

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Evening, Regent Hotel, eighth floor, executive suite.

The blonde girl sat cross-legged on a wool carpet, her posture eerily resembling a Taoist priest from Mount Wudang. But she wasn’t cultivating immortality. In her arms was a laptop logged into QQ under the username “Kendo Enthusiast.”

Her QQ friend list had only one contact: “Flying to the Blue Sky,” whose avatar was now gray—either invisible or offline.

The blonde girl switched screens. A video window popped up showing another computer screen playing the season’s hit show, Detective Di Renjie. She pursed her lips and closed the window, no longer monitoring the small internet café across the city.

“Mandy, how’s it going? Did he agree?” The door to the executive suite burst open. A small old man hurried in, clutching a thick file.

“Probably not, Professor Manstein. He’s very wary. I barely managed to arrange a meeting with him tomorrow,” Mandy said, shaking her head on the wool carpet.

“You mean I flew all this way with a confidentiality agreement and a preliminary admission letter, and you haven’t even met him?” Professor Manstein’s eyes widened in disillusionment. “I’m very busy. After this trip, I have to rush back to handle equipment department issues at school. Gudrian, who’s on duty today, said a group of students stole several boxes of Friga bullets! That’s a serious violation of school rules!”

“They’re really planning a free day of gun battles next semester?” Mandy’s spirits lifted at the news.

“Don’t forget you’re one of those unruly kids too,” Professor Manstein shot her a glare. Mandy could only stick out her tongue awkwardly.

After complaining, Professor Manstein gave the sitting Mandy a strange look. “What are you doing? Yoga?”

“No, in Chinese culture, this is called cultivating immortality. This is a posture I just learned called ‘Five Hearts Facing Heaven,’” Mandy said, showing her soles while placing her hands in a lotus on her knees, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“I’m beginning to doubt sending you on this mission was a good call. Maybe I should have sent someone else. Anyone else would probably be more reliable,” Manstein said, staring at the blonde girl meditating. He took a deep breath, feeling slightly dizzy.

“Don’t say that. This mission will earn me extra credits; I want to pile up scholarships,” Mandy immediately sat up straight. “I haven’t been idle these past few days. I’ve investigated his typical behavior at school and secretly had Norma hack his computer. From observing his words and with the school’s background info, I’ve basically figured out his personality.”

“Tell me,” Professor Manstein raised an eyebrow.

“Lacking love. Extremely lacking,” Mandy said. “This leads to paranoia, isolation, and insecurity. He doesn’t easily trust anyone except his sister, who came out of the orphanage with him.”

“Another troubled kid. Do you think it’s because of the ‘Blood’s Sorrow’ or his background and experiences?” Manstein stroked his chin, looking worried.

“Probably both. The academy’s first contact was his orphanage director, trying to approach him through people he knows. But his sister is distant toward that director and doesn’t seem to trust the plan to admit him. However, I’ve already subtly revealed online that I’m from Kassel Academy. Tomorrow’s initial meeting should go well. To finalize things, we’ll probably need to talk with his sister. Legally, she’s his guardian here, so Professor, you’ll have to step in. I’m just a student without authority or school representation.”

“This matter must be rushed. His bloodline is estimated to be ‘Grade A.’ Even without activating his spiritual sight bloodline, his uniqueness is showing in daily life. For such a student, we must quickly help him understand the messy ‘truths’ of this world, or he’ll cause trouble sooner or later,” Manstein frowned.

“He hasn’t activated his bloodline yet?” Mandy was surprised. “I thought he had already gone through spiritual activation.”

“Why do you think that? Have you met him?” Manstein looked at Mandy with interest.

“I saw him this morning at the youth center but didn’t reveal myself,” Mandy said after a moment. “During his kendo demonstration, he showed extraordinary reaction and speed. I even watched him play games under Norma’s surveillance. I was ready to have Norma help me enter with cheats to spar with him, but after seeing his ridiculous reflexes and speed, I gave up. I thought he was a half-blood who had already activated his bloodline and drew the academy’s attention!”

“No, he hasn’t activated his bloodline yet. Once activated, his exceptional traits will be even stronger. That’s why the principal directly estimated him as ‘Grade A.’ He’s too outstanding, with huge potential and talent!” Manstein said confidently.

“The principal personally reviewed his file to estimate his bloodline?” Mandy was amazed again. “Won’t this guy turn out to be another Caesar Gattuso?”

“He could surpass the latter because he’ll be my student. My students are the elite of the elite. Compared to that playboy, he’ll be far better!” Manstein snorted coldly, clearly displeased at the mention of Caesar Gattuso.

“I’m your student too, Professor Manstein. Why am I not elite?” Mandy’s eyes were full of grievance.

“Depends on the person,” Manstein surveyed Mandy up and down. “Tomorrow, meet him and invite his sister here to discuss preliminary admission. Don’t mess it up, or the higher-ups will go mad.”

“I’ll complete the mission,” Mandy saluted uneasily, her expression serious.