"I..."

Charlotte, gun pressed to his head, frantically waved his tiny hands. The dark muzzle looked ready to fire any second.

Su Han was the Fool's only truly uncontrollable student—and its most injurious. He had no doubt she'd execute him on the spot.

Su Han wasn't bloodthirsty by nature. She hurt people only for Lin Zhong's sake, striking anyone who threatened him even slightly. Freya was her system-given title, the mythic goddess of beauty and war.

But students preferred another name...

Bloodthirsty Freya.

Once she decided to kill, only Lin Zhong could stop her—not the school president or security.

"You took my Lin Zhong to that dangerous place, didn't you?"

Su Han's face stayed blank. Her gun hand tensed. He knew she'd pull the trigger if he admitted it.

"Let's go. Too many eyes."

Lin Zhong pressed down the rifle. A crowd had already gathered. He hated being gawked at.

"I..."

Charlotte choked on fear. Su Han's seriousness hit him harder than being surrounded by Deep Divers—this despair was deeper.

"Go back? Let this danger-bringer live?"

Su Han's face darkened. She swung the rifle, slamming Charlotte away.

Next, she pulled a small trigger-grenade. Pin yanked, she hurled it straight at him.

Is she insane? Everyone wondered—but they were already sprinting away.

Charlotte wanted to run too. Pain flared from the Dungeon Instance exhaustion. His trembling legs refused to lift him off the ground.

He watched the grenade fly. Despair flooded him.

That blast would shred him—and scatter shrapnel into the student crowd.

Freeze.

Ice mist swallowed the grenade. Its hue deepened. Mid-flight, it crashed down, shattering into icy fragments.

"Let's go."

Lin Zhong whispered softly into her ear.

He hated being treated like a circus monkey. He wasn't heartless either—he'd dragged Charlotte into this. Letting him die would haunt him.

Frost crept over Su Han's rifle, halting just before her fingers.

"Bang!"

Lin Zhong pressed lightly. The automatic rifle crumbled into ice shards, clattering to the floor.

"Come on."

He gently took Su Han's small hand, rubbing it against his cheek.

Her anger melted at his touch, though her pout remained. That pout was absurdly cute—students nearby felt their hearts soften.

Yes, her power terrified everyone. Her nature was dangerously volatile. Yet that lovely face and pouting cheeks charmed all onlookers, even the girls.

Sadly, she'd never belong to any of them. The guys' resentment toward Lin Zhong burned hotter.

Watching Lin Zhong and Su Han's hands locked tightly, everyone felt force-fed dog food.

Pity no black-robed figures with torches and F-marked hoods appeared. He'd have loved burning this lovey-dovey pair alive.

You control ice? Fire beats ice—burn you to ashes!

.........

"What's this?"

Back in the dorm, the door opened to a woman already inside.

A beautiful twenty-something in a sleek suit. She adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, expression stern.

"Three hundred thousand bounty. I told you: no Dungeon Instances. I can fix your credits."

This was Ning Bixuan—the school president. And Lin Zhong and Su Han's...

foster mother.

"A multi-player S-rank Instance? What if you got hurt?"

Ning Bixuan pulled Lin Zhong close, stripping off his hoodie to stroke his skin.

His skin was unnaturally pale—whiter than any European's, almost sickly. Women envied that porcelain glow.

But it came at a cost: such delicate skin couldn't face sunlight long without sunscreen.

Those crimson eyes were striking, yes—but painfully light-sensitive. A birthright flaw.

That this frail body even entered the Fool was a miracle.

"Get your filthy hands off him, old hag."

Su Han seized Ning Bixuan's wrist. Her radiant smile radiated terror—even Lin Zhong flinched.

"You let go first, brat."

Ning Bixuan didn't fear the school's most dangerous student. Bloodthirsty Freya's name chilled others.

But beauty disarms fear. Imagine a horror game: a grotesque ghost jumps out—scary. A pretty girl jumps out—cute, right?

Bloodthirsty Freya made even top students wary. Only two dared face her head-on.

Lin Zhong. And their foster mother, Ning Bixuan.

"Oh? His body check is my wife-duty. Retire already, granny. Oops—forgot you're a loveless spinster."

Su Han sneered, hugging Lin Zhong's arm tight against her chest.

"A kid calling her brother 'husband' judges her mother?"

"You're not our real mom. Our marriage was arranged young. None of your business, hag."

"Brat."

So loud.

Lin Zhong swayed between them, voice drowned out.

Wife vs. mom fighting—where to hide? Urgent help needed.