Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 83

Shen Zekai, “……”

Raven, “……”

Meng Xuexiao, “……”

Wait, weren’t you just running around asking who Yao Huai was? How are you claiming the name now…?

Raven was the first to realize what was happening. After all, he had fabricated the initial information about Yao Huai.

But still!

To think that all those titles—”close to Meng Xuexiao,” “envied by Zhuoyue, Huai Sui, and even Raven himself”—had been so easily… claimed by the Main Body.

The Main Body… was its skin always this thick?!

Don’t you have your own name?!

In that moment, Raven couldn’t decide whether to blame himself for loading so many titles onto the name “Yao Huai,” allowing the Silver-Haired Man to seize such an easy advantage, or to attribute it to the Main Body’s sheer shamelessness.

He opened his mouth, ready to fire off a few sarcastic remarks, but a voice cut him off—

“You’re not Yao Huai.”

Tch, that kid Shen Zekai spoke up? He’s got some guts, I’ll give him that.

Raven whistled, his hostility toward Shen Zekai slightly dissipating.

In light of this newfound camaraderie, he decided that after they’d humbled the Main Body, he’d resort to slightly more honorable methods to claim Shen Zekai’s bed.

Raven’s gaze furtively swept toward the bed once more.

This was the one thing he wouldn’t compromise on.

But what he saw startled him.

They had been fighting over the bed because it was directly opposite Meng Xuexiao, less than three steps away.

Precisely because of this proximity, Raven’s glance landed squarely on Meng Xuexiao’s face, and then…

He noticed the young man’s mouth, which hadn’t quite closed yet.

Raven, “……”

Wait a minute… that line just now… it wasn’t Shen Zekai who said it, but Meng Xuexiao?

The intense sense of camaraderie he’d felt moments ago vanished as if doused with a bucket of cold water.

Oh my God, how could he just blurt that out? That’s practically begging for trouble… If the Main Body suddenly loses his temper—

“I am Yao Huai.”

The cold voice echoed through the room.

Raven’s nerves tightened.

See? See? Just as I thought—

He subtly shifted closer to Meng Xuexiao, ready to react if the Main Body lashed out.

Raven had made this movement countless times before, but this time he abruptly bumped into someone’s shoulder.

Looking up, he saw it was Shen Zekai.

…At some point, Shen Zekai had also taken a step forward, positioning himself like a guardian deity in front of Meng Xuexiao. Neither had anticipated the other’s movement, resulting in the collision.

Shen Zekai and Raven glared at each other before refocusing their attention on the Main Body.

It was only then that they suddenly realized something:

Wait, the Main Body repeated what he said earlier… Is he actually embarrassed and angry?

At that moment, Meng Xuexiao’s mood mirrored Shen Zekai and Raven’s, but his surprise stemmed from something else entirely.

So…

This Silver-Haired Man is really Yao Huai? The Original Work’s protagonist’s teacher?!

Meng Xuexiao had considered this possibility before, but… the two were nothing alike!

One was a reincarnation of a God, radiating a divine aura and embodying the hope of the world the Original Work’s Protagonist yearned for. The other, though equally noble and elegant, possessed an unmistakable air of extraordinary refinement, yet for some reason… always carried a hidden cruelty beneath his refined exterior, a primal savagery lurking beneath his flesh and bone.

The contrast was jarring, truly jarring.

This compelled Meng Xuexiao to double-check, “You… you’re really…?”

The man turned his gaze to meet Meng Xuexiao’s eyes. This time, his pupils seemed less inorganic, resembling instead a silvery-white pearl, its smooth surface reflecting Meng Xuexiao’s image with a warm, gentle glow.

“I am.”

The same unwavering certainty as before, as if this name were truly innate to his very being.

Since the man was so certain… then… fine.

After all… it was just a name. Arguing over it seemed pointless.

Meng Xuexiao was about to nod in agreement when the Silver-Haired Man’s gaze suddenly intensified, its presence bearing down on him with an inexplicable weight.

The Silver-Haired Man stared at him without blinking, the gentle, pearl-like warmth vanishing instantly. His pupils gradually transformed into diamond shapes, like those of a cold-blooded reptile…

Meng Xuexiao, “……”

See? The beast’s cruelty is showing!

I knew it! This man has absolutely nothing in common with the Protagonist’s teacher…

But why did his expression suddenly change like that…?

Could it be that he thinks I don’t believe him, that I don’t acknowledge the name Yao Huai?!

Meng Xuexiao couldn’t help but hiss. This is a huge misunderstanding!

It’s just a name! Why take it so seriously? It’s as if he’d kill anyone who dared deny he’s Yao Huai.

Such intense hostility…

Helpless, Meng Xuexiao could only soothe him like a child, softening his voice. “Okay, okay, you are, you are.”

At his words, the Silver-Haired Man’s diamond-shaped pupils began to round, almost reverting to human-like irises. But just as they were about to fully transform, they snapped back into their bestial form.

Meng Xuexiao, back to square one, “???”

Unexpectedly, this time no murderous sharpness surged through him. Instead, a sense of… grievance? gradually rose from the depths of his heart.

That sour, astringent feeling—was that grievance…?

This was too sudden, too unlike his usual emotions.

Could it be… again?

Meng Xuexiao glanced at the Silver-Haired Man. The man’s upturned eyes still held a hint of sharpness, his imposing presence undeniable.

Could that feeling of grievance truly have originated from the man’s heart?!

It didn’t seem possible!

Was this real?

But the moment Meng Xuexiao’s gaze met the Silver-Haired Man’s, it was as if a switch had been flipped. The feeling of grievance intensified.

Meng Xuexiao, “……”

So this really was the Silver-Haired Man’s emotion…

Had the man suddenly reverted from round pupils to beast eyes because he found Meng Xuexiao’s tone too perfunctory?

How to put it… this man was damnably perceptive.

Meng Xuexiao felt a strange mix of amusement and exasperation.

He had always regarded the Silver-Haired Man as a dangerous figure. But ever since he began sensing the man’s emotions, one jaw-dropping revelation had followed another…

Meng Xuexiao felt a whole range of emotions from the Silver-Haired Man that seemed almost impossible to associate with him.

Moreover, he had even been playing a trivia game with the Silver-Haired Man just moments ago…

Just like two kindergarteners…

If this continued, Meng Xuexiao genuinely felt he might… stop being afraid of him altogether.

Even now, he couldn’t tell if this was some kind of slow-boiling frog situation…

But for now… never mind.

Meng Xuexiao cleared his throat, then adopted his most serious demeanor, as solemn as the Military Academy’s principal awarding a medal to an outstanding cadet.

“Mm, I know it now, Yao Huai! Your name!”

Silence. A long, drawn-out silence.

Lost in the silence, Meng Xuexiao couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

This… didn’t seem right.

Could the man still think he wasn’t being serious enough?

But in the next moment, Meng Xuexiao heard—

“Mm.”

A simple monosyllable that might sound dismissive to others.

But Meng Xuexiao clearly saw a flicker of light in the Silver-Haired Man’s silvery-white eyes.

Was he… happy?

Over just a name?

…

At the Federal Military Department headquarters, thousands of miles away, Marshal Wu, the Federation’s supreme commander, was reviewing the Military Department’s latest training plan in his office. But in the next moment, the entire office began to shake violently. The Marshal’s hand slipped, accidentally clicking the delete button, and the training plan vanished instantly.

Before he could hit the undo button, a flustered recruit outside exclaimed in surprise, “What a huge commotion! Is this an earthquake?!”

Marshal Wu couldn’t help but press his throbbing temples. Just as he was about to speak, another voice cut in ahead of him, “Shut up and quickly pinpoint the source of the tremors. If my calculations are correct, it should be coming from the east.”

The speaker was a young man who had been standing behind him the entire time.

Exceptional judgment, coupled with decisive action.

Marshal Wu’s eyes filled with pride and satisfaction.

Having no sons of his own, he had personally designated his nephew, Wu Zian, as his heir. Now, Wu Zian spent most of his time at the Military Department, only returning to the Federation Military Academy for major exams.

At that moment, Wu Zian—the young man standing behind him—wore a military uniform. He had grown noticeably taller since his days at the Military Academy, and a hint of arrogance still lingered in his eyes.

“I’m leaving the investigation to you, Zian.”

Wu Zian was remarkably efficient. He quickly organized the panicky recruits, and within half an hour, a report was on Marshal Wu’s desk.

Marshal Wu’s headache returned as he stared at the seismic source photo attached to the report’s central section. “This…”

“Isn’t it just an ordinary statue?” Wu Zian said, casually dragging the report closer by a corner to glance at it. “Oh, right. Considering the recent tremors, it must be an ordinary statue capable of triggering earthquakes.”

Marshal Wu’s hand trembled. “You can’t just say things like that!”

“Do you even know who this statue depicts?”

“A man,” Wu Zian replied, frowning. “Quite ordinary-looking. You could lose him in a crowd.”

Marshal Wu, “……”

The man who remained calm in the face of even the greatest dangers sighed deeply. After glancing around to ensure no soldiers were watching, he lowered his voice and said, “This is a God. Legend has it he was born alongside the world’s consciousness itself.”

Although the first requirement for entering the Federation Military Academy was materialism—no belief in gods or Buddhas—a flicker of reverence still crossed Wu Zian’s eyes when the legendary deity was mentioned.

“But he truly is ordinary,” Wu Zian insisted, unrepentant.

At the same moment, his fingers, encased in black leather gloves, tightened slightly, creasing the report in his hand with a deep fold.

In truth, Wu Zian possessed a basic sense of aesthetics. He knew that, by normal standards, the man in the statue would be considered exceptionally handsome, with his long, silvery-white hair and matching eyes that seemed to originate from a higher-dimensional realm.

Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to like this man. In fact… he felt a strong sense of repulsion.

It was as if this being had been born… to steal something from him.

At this thought, Wu Zian couldn’t help but scoff.

How ridiculous! What could this guy possibly steal from me?

For some reason, Wu Zian suddenly recalled an incident from long ago: when Meng Xuexiao had been swallowed whole by a Giant Ape right before his eyes.

Afterward, he led his team on several search missions, but each time they returned empty-handed.

So much time had passed… Yet the memory remained so vivid. He had thought… he could forget.

Damn it… Clearly, the world wouldn’t stop turning just because someone was gone.

In the end, Wu Zian could only shake his head, forcibly suppressing the complex emotions churning within him. But the malice in his heart refused to be subdued. “If this statue is the source of the tremors, then let’s just dismantle it and be done with it.”

Marshal Wu stared at him in silence.

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Wu Zian had become much more composed since joining the Alliance military, so why was he suddenly acting so impulsively at this critical moment…?

Finally, Marshal Wu explained, “This isn’t just an ordinary statue. To put it in the words of the older generation, it’s intimately connected to that God. In a way, it even reflects the God’s current state.”

“Oh,” Wu Zian replied dryly, clearly not paying attention. “So now that it’s started shaking, does that mean the God is… breathing more out than in?”

As if finally unable to endure Wu Zian’s repeated slanders against the God, Marshal Wu slammed his hand on the table. “That’s not how it works! If the God had fallen, the statue would undoubtedly show signs of damage. But there’s no such evidence.”

“This situation actually resembles…”

Marshal Wu stared at the statue’s photograph, lost in thought, yet unable to voice his inner suspicions.

It seemed more like the God had encountered some event that caused a massive emotional upheaval.

But could such a thing even be possible?

If he remembered correctly, this God was renowned for his cold indifference…

Just then, Wu Zian suddenly spoke up. This time, he didn’t continue his slander. Instead, he pointed to the stone tablet at the statue’s feet in the photograph.

“Were there always words on this tablet?”

Marshal Wu paused, then leaned in for a closer look. To his surprise, the once-blank tablet now bore two characters:

“Yao Huai.”

The characters were exquisitely written, each stroke carrying force and flamboyance, as if… flaunting a newly acquired gift.