Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

”I didn’t expect you to enjoy yourself so much, Mr. Fang Zheng...”

Walking into the classroom and seeing the scene before her, Celestia was left speechless. She had originally thought that staying in a place like the classroom would make Fang Zheng very uncomfortable. To bridge the gap between them, she had even gone out of her way to bring some dessert from the cafeteria. But when Celestia arrived at the classroom...

What is this?

Gazing at the classroom, even Celestia was at a loss for words.

The whole classroom had been completely transformed by Fang Zheng. The desks were arranged into two rows, with a longer one forming an L-shape. After being covered with a tablecloth, it felt like a bar counter. Not to mention, there was also a coffee machine, a water dispenser, fruit, and wine glasses on top...

On the other side, there was a dining table made up of four smaller tables, and the chairs were neatly lined up against the wall. In the corner, there was a screen and a comfortable, soft bed. If it weren’t for the steel plates nailed to the walls being somewhat unsightly, it would basically look like a modern, minimalist, 1LDK-style, fully furnished personal room.

Why does it feel more luxurious than my dorm?

Looking at Fang Zheng and then at the dessert in her hand, Celestia suddenly felt like the cake didn’t taste as sweet anymore...

”Where did you get all this stuff?”

Looking at the three-tier refrigerator in the corner, the floor lamp, and the plush, comfortable sofa, Celestia was puzzled. Could it be that he really dismantled the school to live like this?

”I’m a mage, carrying a little something with me is quite normal. When you’re out, you shouldn’t let yourself suffer, right?”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng placed a cup on the table.

”Want something to drink?”

”Juice is fine, thank you.”

Celestia only hesitated for a moment before quickly returning to her usual elegant smile and giving her answer.

Hearing Celestia’s response, Fang Zheng glanced at her, then took a can of juice from the fridge and poured it into the cup. Celestia picked up the cup and took a sip as if she were tasting wine, then showed a slightly surprised expression.

”This juice is really good... I’ve never had juice like this before...”

”Of course, you can’t buy this stuff here.”

Fang Zheng wasn’t fazed by Celestia’s admiration. Most of what he carried with him now, both food and useful items, were all products from the game world. This world focused heavily on entertainment, so its technology was highly advanced in this area. Things like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were all incredibly comfortable, even the street vendor juices.

Although the juice Fang Zheng took out looked like ordinary canned juice, it was actually made with a unique extraction technique from the game world, keeping the original fruit flavor while enhancing the taste of the juice itself. Such a product, if placed on Earth, would easily overshadow Pepsi and Coke.

”Alright, Miss Celestia, what brings you to me?”

Fang Zheng wasn’t interested in lingering on the topic of juice, he folded his hands with a smile and focused on Celestia in front of him.

”I hope to make a deal with you, Mr. Fang Zheng.”

”A deal?”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow.

”How interesting. What kind of deal?”

”I hope Mr. Fang Zheng can protect me.”

At this point, Celestia became more serious.

”I think Mr. Fang Zheng might also realize that not everyone among these people will believe what you say. Among them, someone might take risks and do something dangerous.”

”Of course, I’m aware that some people have a hard head.”

Fang Zheng wasn’t concerned by Celestia’s reminder. It’s the prisoner’s dilemma, completely normal. In fact, Fang Zheng thought some of them might even think he was in cahoots with the Black and White Bear, just putting on a play for them.

It’s like the story of ”The Northwind and the Sun.” In this story, the Northwind and the Sun bet on who could make a passerby take off their clothes. The Northwind blew fiercely, but people wrapped themselves tighter. On the other hand, the Sun emitted warm sunlight, and under its glow, passersby took off their clothes one by one.

Simply put, although their methods differed, the goal was the same.

Considering that, the Black and White Bear could very well be the Northwind, while Fang Zheng was the Sun. Though they appeared to be at odds, their underlying goals might indeed align... such a possibility isn’t out of the question.

”Although I’m not opposed to living here, I’m worried that the culprit may target me. After all, generally speaking, someone as weak as me could easily become a target.”

From a certain perspective, Celestia’s concern was reasonable. Among this group of students, many are not fighters. But to count, as the Ultimate Gambler, she clearly was one. In terms of combat strength, apart from Fang Zheng, the strongest among them was the ”Ultimate Martial Fighter” Sakura Oogami, followed by the ”Ultimate Murderous Fiend” Genocider Syo, and the ”Ultimate Biker Gang Leader” Oowada.

Although the combat strength of others isn’t easy to estimate, generally, the women aside from Sakura Oogami are at a disadvantage. On the men’s side, Makoto Naegi and Fujisaki both are quite weak in terms of combat.

”In that case, why don’t you go find Sakura Oogami?”

Squinting his eyes, Fang Zheng asked Celestia.

”You are both women, and Sakura Oogami wouldn’t leave a comrade helpless. With her guarding you, wouldn’t that be even better?”

Though it seems she looks like a two-meter Great Han from Fist of the North Star, covered in scars.

”I’m not worried about Daigo hurting me.”

Celestia’s smile remained unchanged.

”But I’m afraid that if Daigo were to die, I could very well be accused of murder. But Mr. Fang Zheng is different. With your status, even if you were killed, it wouldn’t benefit us in any way. Besides, Mr. Fang Zheng’s strength is formidable, whether facing a frontal attack or being ambushed, I believe you can handle it. Therefore, if I could receive your protection, it would increase my chances of survival.”

”How interesting.”

Listening to this, Fang Zheng nodded. Indeed, the student handbook states that ”you must kill a classmate without getting caught to graduate,” but Fang Zheng doesn’t count as a student here, so killing him wouldn’t break any rules, and thus doesn’t concern graduation matters.

Moreover, compared to the straightforward power of Sakura Oogami, the mystique and power brought by a mage were obviously more valued by Celestia. As the ”Ultimate Gambler,” Celestia was a thinker, and thinkers generally look down on those who just use brute force. Perhaps in Celestia’s eyes, Sakura Oogami was one of those ”easy to dodge an open attack, hard to guard against a covert one” types. Even if not worried about a frontal kill, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t poison her or something.

”Earlier, you said this is a deal. If I am to protect your safety, then since it’s a deal, what will you offer?”

”That would be...”

Celestia stood up with a smile, looking at Fang Zheng.

”Myself.”

”Oh?”

”As implied by the words, I will dedicate myself to you, however you wish, Mr. Fang Zheng. You can consider this the necessary offering for a weak girl struggling to survive.”

”I see.”

Fang Zheng didn’t seem particularly surprised by Celestia’s proposal.

”But this deal should come with risks for you, right? If I really were in cahoots with the Black and White Bear, then it’s very probable that after toying with you, I’ll discard or even kill you. Have you considered this possibility?”

”Of course, which is why this is a gamble.”

”A gamble?”

”Yes, I’m the Ultimate Gambler, so Mr. Fang Zheng, this time I’ve put everything I have on the line in this gamble. If I lose, as you said, I’ll lose everything, even my life. But if I win, I have a feeling that I might achieve unprecedented gains.”

”Interesting.”

Fang Zheng grinned, showing a hint of a smile. In the game, he really appreciated the character Celestia, and now she seems even more interesting than in the game.

”Since it’s such an important wager, I think we both should have some preparation and setup beforehand.”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng’s fingers moved deftly, and then a ring appeared in his hand. Fang Zheng flicked his hand, and the ring flew towards Celestia, landing in her hand.

”What is this?”

”You can think of it as a magic artifact. When worn on your finger, it will protect you by granting immunity from one lethal strike. Simply put, it’s like giving you an extra life, and it will also notify me if you’re in danger. Just use it.”

”It’s indeed a beautiful ring.”

Looking at the ring embedded with a red gemstone in her hand, Celestia then wore it on her ring finger and proudly displayed it to Fang Zheng.

”Thank you for the ring, Mr. Fang Zheng.”

”You’re welcome.”

Watching Celestia leave the classroom, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes with a meaningful smile.

Hopefully, we will have more opportunities to cooperate.

In the following days, the events unfolded almost exactly as Fang Zheng had seen in the game, with some minor differences. For example, Fujisaki was currently researching the door-opening program structure at the iron gate, while Sakura Oogami was responsible for protecting him. Others searched different parts of the first level for clues or hidden passages.

By the way, Fang Zheng also asked Naegi to go to the shop again to find the gashapon machine—but alas, still nothing.

Seems like the IF line is hopeless.

After that, the Black and White Bear did not appear in front of everyone anymore, clearly not wanting to be casually chopped down by Fang Zheng once more. However, it continued to communicate with others through broadcast and television. Just like in Fang Zheng’s memory of the plot, after realizing everyone was noticeably neglecting work and not intending to kill each other, Black and White Bear arranged for them to watch a tape in the audiovisual room. Although Fang Zheng wasn’t sure what they watched, it was evident that when they emerged, their expressions were slightly unpleasant and complex.

Then, the next day......

”Ding dong, bing bong.”

As Fang Zheng got up to brush his teeth and wash his face in the morning, suddenly the broadcast sounded, followed by the annoying voice of Black and White Bear in his ears.

”Attention, a body has been discovered, a body has been discovered!”

”......Huh.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders, then washed his face and walked out of the classroom to the residential area where everyone else was. Currently, a crowd had already gathered at the door of a certain room.

”What’s going on?”

At this time, Fang Zheng also walked over and asked. Upon hearing his query, everyone remained silent, silently making way for him. Fang Zheng walked into the room, looked forward, and saw— a person lying dead on the floor, surrounded by... pink blood scattered around.

Wait a minute, people’s blood in this world is actually pink?!

Isn’t this for the sake of harmony?

Looking at the pink bloodstain beside the corpse before him, Fang Zheng twitched his mouth but fell silent. In the game, whether in cut scenes or death scenes, any bleeding was depicted with pink blood. For a long time, many players thought this was simply for the sake of harmony.

Now it seems...... Damn, it’s actually realism?

But most importantly...... the person who died isn’t Sayaka Maizono?

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng quietly glanced at the crowds, seeing a pale and bloodless Sayaka Maizono. In the original game flow, the first corpse discovered should have been hers. Instead, laying on the ground now was the Ultimate fat nerd Yamada Hifumi.

Hmm, he indeed became ”dead” fat nerd now.

Soon enough, Black and White Bear’s voice echoed again, with content similar to that in the game. It boiled down to ”the culprit is among you,” ”everyone needs to investigate clues and then start the Class Judge. If you fail to identify the real culprit, then everyone except for the culprit will be executed......”

The words rendered everyone pale and drenched in sweat.

”We need to start the investigation immediately!”

”No matter what, we’ve got to find the clues.”

Watching others scatter intending to search for clues, Fang Zheng waved his hand.

”There’s no need for that.”

”...... huh?”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, everyone was stunned. Then Kirigiri furrowed her brows.

”What do you mean by that? Are you the culprit?”

”If I were the culprit, you all would already be dead.”

Fang Zheng silently retorted to Kirigiri, then withdrew his gaze.

”Looking for clues is too troublesome; we can simply watch the playback.”

”But...... weren’t all the cameras smashed by Fang Zheng-kun? And there aren’t any cameras in the personal rooms...”

At this time, the crossdresser Little Angel Fujisaki also curiously spoke up.

”No need for cameras, time will tell us the answer.”

Afterward, Fang Zheng looked at everyone.

”What was the time of Yamada Hifumi’s death?”

”One in the morning.”

Celestia provided the answer.

”Good.”

Fang Zheng nodded and snapped his fingers.

The next moment, the scene before everyone’s eyes changed accordingly. The room, originally disordered due to a fight, instantly returned to its original state, and Yamada Hifumi, who was supposed to be dead, was sitting on the sofa now, shaking his chunky body and humming a song while browsing a magazine.

Witnessing this scene, everyone was stunned.

”Wha-what is this?!?”

The biker gang member screamed in surprise, unable to comprehend.

”This is what happened at half past midnight last night.”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng silently glanced around at the crowd of onlookers with varied expressions.

”There’s no need to find clues or deduce anything. We only need to rewind the time here to last night to know exactly what happened.”

Upon saying this, Fang Zheng smiled slightly.

”Some might think their method of murder is flawless and won’t be discovered, but regrettably...... time records everything.”