Chapter 123: The Chūnibyō Syndrome

The bullets astonishingly did not penetrate the two girls’ bodies; instead, they ricocheted back immediately. The rapid gunfire exploded right in front of the two girls, and those frenzied people were suddenly caught in the crossfire.

Especially the young man—within an instant, he was riddled with bullet holes all over his body. Yang Fan quickly grasped the principle: the space where the two girls stood might not be the same as the space before him. The bullets struck just ahead of them but actually entered another dimension.

This was spatial folding, followed by a rebound. Now, everyone was seriously wounded. Bullets flew chaotically, but Yang Fan clearly noticed that those who were aggressive or harboring ill intentions were the first to be struck—each bullet hitting them squarely in the head.

Panic erupted instantly. In barely a minute, out of more than four hundred people, about two-thirds were dead. There were only a few dozen bullets, yet it seemed the two girls controlled them effortlessly. Hidden in the shadows, Yang Fan’s admiration for the girls’ abilities grew.

With such spatial powers, they were practically invincible from birth, and their formidable skills were terrifying. For a moment, Yang Fan was at a loss about what to do next.

After the carnage, Xiaolin pointed at the fallen and asked, “What happened to them? Why is there red liquid on them? Why did they all collapse? Why... why...?”

“I don’t know... Let’s go. Next time, don’t use your powers recklessly; who knows what else you might cause,” Xiaoli replied after a brief pause. Both girls were naturally dull-witted.

With that, the two turned and left without a second glance. Yang Fan was stunned. What was going on? Could it be that Li Qiang lost two buses because these two girls casually manipulated space like this?

If that were true, then the girls probably had no backing or organization behind them. Reflecting on his past life, if the girls had really done this before, some survivors might have wandered off and gotten lost in the stormy night, making it impossible for Li Qiang to find them.

Thus, they became separated, and Li Qiang probably didn’t care much, fearing to stir up trouble he shouldn’t mess with. If Yang Fan’s assumption was correct, these two girls had no affiliations, so perhaps he could recruit them—not necessarily as subordinates, but as partners, two powerful allies.

With this thought, Yang Fan suddenly stood up and called out to the girls, “Wait...”

But the girls ignored him and continued on their way. He could have appeared beside them easily but feared that their dullness might lead them to misunderstand his intentions and attack him if he spoke too soon. That would be disastrous.

Calling out was the best approach. To those with dull perceptions, the world is entirely different from what ordinary people see. In their spacetime, everything moved half a beat slower. So, Yang Fan followed them quietly, not speaking.

After more than twenty seconds, the girls finally noticed and looked at him, asking, “What is it?”

A few meters outside, they looked at Yang Fan with confusion. Xiaolin said, “Are you trying to kill us too?”

Yang Fan’s face changed instantly. He quickly waved his hands and his mind raced. Then he recalled the girls’ personalities—slightly delusional, what some call “chuunibyou,” meaning they believed themselves to live in another world. Simply put, they dreamed so much they couldn’t distinguish reality from fantasy.

Everyone has a bit of this “chuunibyou” trait, including Yang Fan, but it usually fades with age. As children, we all imagined Santa Claus or believed heroes like Ultraman or the Magic Calabash Brothers would save us in danger.

These are manifestations of chuunibyou, and thirteen or fourteen-year-olds often exhibit it more strongly. So, Yang Fan had a sudden clever idea. Taking a deep breath, he adopted a serious expression and said, “I am a future warrior from the planet Myc. I come from the future. My profession is a Sacred Demon Martial Artist, representing justice and light. I have come here to fight evil. I sense you also possess special energy. Dear ladies, would you be willing to join me in saving the world?”

Yang Fan felt deeply embarrassed inside after saying this. Such a line might fool a three-year-old, but these girls would surely see through it—and that would be humiliating. Fortunately, no one else was around; otherwise, even if the girls didn’t expose him, he’d still be mortified.

Twenty seconds later, their expressions suddenly changed. Xiaoli jumped back, eyes wide with tension, and said, “Are you evil forces trying to deceive us? People from planet Myc all have identification numbers. What’s yours?”

“That’s right. Tell us your number now. We’ll check through the wireless star network. If you’re a fake Myc hero, we’ll punish you severely, banishing you forever into infinite space!”

Yang Fan was speechless. Indeed, chuunibyou kids were the most annoying and baffling. At the same time, he grew nervous. He knew their methods—though they sounded silly, who knew how powerful they truly were? Eternal exile into boundless space sounded terrifying.

If they really cast him into endless space, he’d be doomed.

Nervously, Yang Fan blurted out, “******8820—that’s my number. Please verify it quickly.”

He appeared calm but was extremely anxious, already preparing to flee. Given the girls’ slow reactions, escape seemed possible. And if not, he had the “Divine Might” skill, granting five seconds of invincibility—enough to block any attack.

With that in mind, Yang Fan revealed his contact information for KDJ and宅急送.

The two girls stared blankly for twenty seconds. Then, the elder sister Xiaoli placed her hands on her head, muttering, “Connecting satellite... connecting star network... connecting cosmic regional net... 1%... 2%…”

Xiaolin nervously watched Yang Fan, as if ready to unleash her powers at any moment. Truly, chuunibyou girls were hard to handle.

After a while, Xiaoli suddenly spoke like a robot, “Connection successful. Querying Myc planet, Sacred Demon Martial Artist, ID ******8820... beep beep beep, information found... beep beep beep, verification successful... beep beep beep... What further assistance is required?”

Xiaolin shook her head, “No, thank you!” Xiaoli nodded and then trembled, opening her eyes again with a dazed look, asking her sister, “What’s wrong? Is he really a hero from Myc? Was the information verified?”

“Yes, sister, he’s a hero!” The younger one dropped her guard and looked at Yang Fan, then told her sister. Immediately, Xiaoli’s expression brightened, full of vigor. “Hero, thank you for coming. The world needs you. What can we do to assist you?”

Yang Fan watched this unfold in disbelief. Even acting couldn’t be this fake—how could they suddenly go from weak and confused to spirited and respectful? He began to regret involving two chuunibyou girls, worried they might cause trouble.

But then he decided not to dwell on the future. After all, he had already achieved his goal.

Glancing again at the two girls—one respectful, the other confused—he was sure they were now somewhat under his influence. Everything seemed strange, absurd... (to be continued)