The dormitory was approximately 30 square meters, with two 1.5-meter beds placed against the left and right walls, leaving a wide aisle leading directly to the bathroom.
The original owner, spoiled by his father from a young age, was arrogant and believed nobles were inherently superior. Sharing a room with Ludwig, a commoner, was practically a violation of his noble air.
Most of the time, he disdained speaking to Ludwig.
But occasionally, if he were in a foul mood or simply found Ludwig an eyesore, he would hurl insults, spewing malicious words full of contempt.
Ludwig, with his cold demeanor, had no family or friends and didn’t enjoy socializing. He largely ignored the original owner, treating him as though he didn’t exist.
His lack of response, however, led the original owner to believe Ludwig feared him, which encouraged his cruelty even further. If not for Ludwig being an S-rank warrior whom the original owner knew he couldn’t beat, the bullying would likely have escalated into physical violence.
In a way, the original owner’s eventual demise wasn’t entirely unjust.
Xia Yan stepped into the dormitory. The room was quiet. The sound of his leather shoes clicking on the floor reverberated through the space, a sharp contrast to Ludwig, who didn’t even spare him a glance, remaining engrossed in a rare, physical book—a relic in the interstellar age.
This body’s health was excellent, and Xia Yan had superb vision. Xia Yan could faintly make out the book’s cover. The title, written in a complex script bearing a faint resemblance to traditional Chinese characters, seemed to read Compendium of Medicinal Cuisine.
Xia Yan froze for a moment.
Seriously? This world’s protagonist gong is this competitive? Not only must he excel in combat and strategy, but he must also be a master chef?!
He sighed internally before sitting at the original owner’s desk. As he casually sifted through the belongings left behind, he devised a strategy.
The desk held a leather-bound notebook, a semi-transparent crystal cup, a meticulously crafted miniature mech model, and a few other odds and ends.
Perhaps due to his mistrust of sharing a room with Ludwig, the original owner owned very little. Xia Yan quickly finished inspecting the items.
Outside, the scarlet glow of the sunset faded, giving way to nightfall. Pretending to be thirsty, Xia Yan picked up the crystal cup to drink, discreetly observing the entire room.
The dormitory was neatly divided between two halves.
Ludwig’s side was immaculate—his bed was perfectly made, with the blanket folded into a precise square. The bedsheet was pulled taut without a single wrinkle. His desk held a small potted plant of an indiscernible species, six or seven borrowed books from the library, and a silver desk lamp.
The books covered topics ranging from military tactics to culinary guides, an astonishing breadth of topics that left Xia Yan speechless.
In contrast, the original owner’s side reflected his noble upbringing and aversion to mundane chores. The blanket was loosely thrown over the bed, with one rebellious corner dangling off the edge like it was staging a jailbreak.
The disparity was glaring.
After surveying the room, Xia Yan had no idea where to start criticizing. Holding the water cup, he slowly walked back to his desk. Halfway there, inspiration struck.
Wait a minute, he’s just a cannon fodder character!
Does a cannon fodder need a legitimate reason to bully the protagonist? Absolutely not!
Don’t hesitate—just do it.
Xia Yan’s eyes lit up, and he abruptly turned, striding purposefully toward Ludwig. Raising the cup, he prepared to pour the water all over him.
—But the book was innocent; damaging school property wasn’t his intention.
Unexpectedly, Ludwig seemed prepared for this. The moment Xia Yan moved, Ludwig shot to his feet and advanced aggressively, countering immediately.
Ludwig stood at an imposing 1.92 meters, with broad shoulders, long legs, and a muscular frame honed by years of surviving in harsh environments. As an S-rank warrior who had fought and killed on the battlefield, his presence radiated a lethal aura that seemed to carry the stench of blood.
The sudden, overwhelming pressure froze Xia Yan on the spot.
In the world of top-tier combat, even a hesitation of two or three seconds could be fatal.
Ludwig intercepted Xia Yan’s hand holding the cup and pressed it downward. Gravity took over, and the warm water poured directly onto Xia Yan’s lower face and neck.
?
The military academy uniforms were made of durable, thick fabric that didn’t let water seep through, ensuring every inch of the young man’s skin was securely covered.
However, his naturally full, crimson lips, now adorned with water droplets, exuded a subtle, sensual allure.
His features appeared unexpectedly delicate, especially now, with his usual overbearing demeanor replaced by a hint of bewilderment.
Ludwig glanced at him for a few seconds before discreetly looking away. Part of his sleeve had also gotten wet from blocking the water cup, and droplets were now steadily dripping onto the floor.
“What were you trying to do?” Ludwig asked, his tone calm and unassuming.
Xia Yan: “…”
Recently, Xia Yan Gardner’s hostility toward him had grown increasingly apparent. Naturally, Ludwig had been on guard the moment Xia Yan approached him.
Still, he hadn’t expected this… just a cup of water?
What could water possibly accomplish?
Lowering his head, he sniffed his sleeve. It was faint and odorless—just plain water, no poison.
Xia Yan wiped his face with the back of his hand, drying off the water completely. Although there had been a deviation in the bullying scene, he still needed to see it through to the end.
“Ludwig, you knocked over my water cup,” he accused shamelessly.
Ludwig’s expression remained impassive. He neither denied that Xia Yan had started the provocation nor made any attempt to claim the moral high ground. Instead, he simply nodded and readily admitted it.
After all, based on the facts, he had indeed knocked over the cup.
Whether the noble young master intended to use this as an excuse to trouble him was another matter. Regardless, the accusation could be made, but whether Ludwig would take it seriously was up to him.
Xia Yan hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. Momentarily stunned, he quickly regained his composure, raised his chin, and frowned, adopting a disdainful expression.
“Because of you, the entire dormitory is filthy. I expect the floor to be spotless when I come out of the shower,” he demanded haughtily.
[Daily Task: Bully Ludwig. (1/1)]
The task was complete, and a trace of subtle joy flickered across Xia Yan’s expression.
Considering that even the protagonist had his pride, it would be humiliating for a cannon fodder like him to see Ludwig cleaning the floor.
Feigning irritation, Xia Yan tugged at his damp collar, inadvertently revealing a small patch of fair skin. In the dimly lit dormitory, it seemed to glow faintly white.
Oblivious to his own actions, he also loosened his damp tie and carelessly tossed it onto the desk, leaving his neckline more open than before.
Ludwig caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye but quickly averted his gaze. It wasn’t until Xia Yan grabbed his pajamas and entered the bathroom that Ludwig’s normally expressionless, machine-like face showed a flicker of genuine confusion.
All this fuss—just to make him clean the dormitory?
Ludwig walked to the corner of the room and activated the household robot. About a meter tall, with a round head and body, the cheerful little robot glided over on its wheels and enthusiastically began cleaning the water off the floor.
If one listened closely, they could even hear the robot humming its own tune: “Clean, clean, clean!”
The small robot was swift and nimble. Its hands—or rather, its wheels—worked efficiently, leaving the dormitory spotless in just a few minutes.
After finishing its task, the robot obediently returned to its corner and entered standby mode.
Ludwig stood there for a moment, staring blankly into space, his gaze unfocused. After several seconds, he finally sat back in his chair and resumed reading.
However, the book he had been so engrossed in earlier now failed to capture his attention. His ears kept straying toward the sound of running water in the bathroom.
Realizing his distraction, Ludwig frowned slightly.
Today, Xia Yan was acting strange, making him feel strange too.
After some thought, he decided to take his book to the library and stay there until it closed.
Ludwig’s life was simple and pure: to live and to live as he pleased.
He was content with his current life and had no desire to change it. If he couldn’t figure something out, then there was no point dwelling on it. The best course of action was to avoid the source of his irritation entirely.
When Xia Yan emerged from the bathroom, he found the floor spotless, and the protagonist gong nowhere to be seen.
Given the mutual disdain between the original owner and Ludwig, it was normal for the protagonist gong to avoid staying in the dorm.
Xia Yan felt a twinge of guilt over bullying his classmate—not that he had actually succeeded—but if he didn’t play the bully now, how would the protagonist gong muster the fury to obliterate him in the future?
It was a matter of cause and effect. His eventual demise was simply karma.
With the task involving the protagonist gong completed, his next focus was the protagonist shou.
The protagonist shou, Ian Hyde, had grown up on a remote garbage planet—a lawless, chaotic place where the Empire and Federation exiled criminals. Basic necessities like food, water, and shelter were scarce.
Children born to criminals were treated as criminals themselves.
Ian Hyde’s mental strength was tested and rated at S-class at twelve years old. A man who was a space pirate took him in as a foster son. However, “foster son” was merely a euphemism—he was treated as a tool.
While raising him, the man discovered that Ian’s greatest strength wasn’t combat but mecha engineering. Despite his young age, Ian’s designs had already earned the pirate crew tens of billions of interstellar credits.
Fearful of Ian leaving them, the crew exploited him relentlessly.
But Ian, a survivor of the garbage planet, was no passive victim. At just five or six years old, he’d managed to stay alive with his tiny, fragile hands until being adopted at twelve.
The pirates, who mistook a vibrant, venomous snake for a delicate flower, eventually paid the price.
At nineteen, Ian executed a meticulously planned rebellion, killing his foster father and taking control of the pirate crew, becoming the new leader.
The original owner, constantly seeking to compensate for his pseudo-S-class deficiencies, was always looking for powerful mechas.
Ian Hyde’s earlier mecha designs caught his eye for their novelty, and he had his forces spend significant resources tracking Ian’s holographic network account.
The original owner offered an astronomical sum to commission a custom mecha from Ian.
But Ian, who had no shortage of money, ignored him entirely. Desperate to achieve his goal, the original owner decides to pursue Ian romantically, believing that if he wins Ian’s heart, Ian will willingly give him anything.
And now… the original owner had already confessed to Ian yesterday. Ian had been surprised and said he needed time to think it over.
Xia Yan’s current objective was to successfully start a relationship with the protagonist shou—and then deceive him into handing over his mecha designs.
Holographic World.
Towering skyscrapers reached into the clouds, interstellar vehicles zoomed across the sky, and peculiar, diverse crowds filled the streets. As Xia Yan entered, he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sights and sounds.
Due to the strict regulations at the military academy, everyone was limited to a single intelligent brain (AI assistant) and a single holographic account, making it impossible to create secondary accounts using an extra AI.
In order to approach Ian Hyde, the original owner had reluctantly deleted the account he had used for over a decade and created a new one. To conceal his identity, he had also modified his appearance.
The royal family’s signature golden eyes were changed to a deep, pure black. His hair was adjusted to a darker shade of light brown, and his facial features were altered as much as possible.
Well… The original owner’s aristocratic pride prevented him from making himself unattractive. In the end, his features still bore a 50% resemblance to his real appearance—providing the protagonist shou with strong evidence to eventually uncover his true identity.
Out of curiosity, Xia Yan logged into the holographic world earlier than usual today, but the protagonist shou hadn’t arrived yet. After some thought, he decided to practice with mechas.
Even though he had absorbed the original owner’s memories, it felt more like watching a movie—a bystander’s perspective, devoid of emotional connection.
During regular interactions, he could reference those memories to avoid slipping up.
However, in a mecha battle, a single second could change the tide of the fight. There was no time to think—everything relied on instinct.
The best approach was to train himself.
Besides… what man didn’t dream of piloting a mecha? It’s a freaking mecha!
The original owner had competed in mech tournaments in the holographic world, even reaching the highest levels. As a complete novice, Xia Yan feared getting obliterated in advanced matches.
He registered a small account for mecha battles and decided to start from beginner-level matches.
First match: Bronze League.
Xia Yan’s opponent stared at his mecha, which stumbled and wobbled awkwardly as it moved. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the opponent burst into laughter.
“Where’d this noob come from? Go back home and drink your milk!”
