Lin Luo himself wasn't afraid of the Bookstore's Ego Drawing Diary, because the other party didn't know his true identity; currently, he was a "young girl," and they would never imagine this girl could be a man, much less involved with him.

Of course, if the other party learned his real name, things would become extremely dangerous. Although people like CC and Misaka couldn't read his thoughts, this was due to the superior-subordinate relationship between Contractor and Host—like how a Level 99 demon must show deference to the Demon Lord, yet a Level 1 hero, though far inferior, can still swing a sword at the Demon Lord.

Furthermore, the mind-reading methods used by CC and Misaka were akin to telepathy. Lin Luo's Book of Contracts naturally possessed a certain barrier that rendered him immune to this kind of power. But the Bookstore wasn't like that; her method was forced mind-reading, not needing to access Lin Luo's brain at all, but rather directly manifesting his thoughts in the Ego Drawing Diary. In that case, his mental barrier was completely useless.

To be honest, the Ego Drawing Diary's mind-reading was truly bizarre; Lin Luo suspected even the Creator couldn't block this power. For instance, Fate in this world feared no one but considered the Bookstore a grave threat, repeatedly trying to "resolve" her beforehand. This showed how highly he rated the Bookstore.

And Little SABER, although SABER is a class, not a name, on the Book of Contracts her name is Little SABER. Even the Book of Contracts has acknowledged this as her name. Thus, regardless of whether her prototype was the King of Knights, or what her original name was, all the other nonsense is irrelevant... The moment the Book of Contracts acknowledged her, her name became SABER.

It's just like Fate; his real name is Tattion, but he acknowledged his name as Fate, and thus the Ego Drawing Diary's power would affect the name Fate... Little SABER is the same logic. As for the name Artoria, since her prototype is the King of Knights, it should also be effective.

Precisely because he knew this, when Lin Luo reacted, his first instinct was to recall Little SABER and then try to snatch the Ego Drawing Diary from the Bookstore. He now somewhat understood Fate's feelings; such a heaven-defying item was practically... cheating.

"You won't succeed."

The moment Lin Luo moved, the other four reacted instantly. They were certainly not going to let Lin Luo destroy the information they had worked hard to obtain, and they attacked him simultaneously.

Negi's magic, Kufi's Chinese martial arts, and Nagase Kaede's ninjutsu—the three launched their attacks almost at the same time, completely blocking Lin Luo's path from three directions. What put even more pressure on him was Ryugu Manami. The coins this girl flipped were more deadly than cannons; they could be used for long-range, close-range, scattering, or continuous fire. While the power might not match Railgun's, her unpredictable and varied attack patterns were maddeningly difficult to defend against.

If they were pure enemies, facing such an assault, Lin Luo could simply incinerate it all with Black Flame. But since he didn't intend to harm them, neither Black Flame nor Atomic Disintegration could be used. The Level 5 electricity could only be employed as biological current stimulation; otherwise, if used superficially, these experienced individuals might link it to Mikoto, leading to suspicion falling on himself.

This left him only with the close-quarters combat taught by Evan and the magic taught by Rin. Relying solely on this combat power made escaping the full-force encirclement of these four rather difficult. So, the tactic he could employ here was...

Mist Incarnation.

Tenfold Speed Biological Current.

Using both abilities simultaneously, while surprising the group with Mist Incarnation, he instantly boosted the biological current within his body to ten times its normal speed. Then, using Mist Incarnation as a decoy, in that sub-half-second gap, he burst out of the melee and rushed towards Miyazaki Asuka.

"Damn it!" Because Mist Incarnation lost Lin Luo's control, it merely served as a target, being eliminated by the four within a second of appearing. But by then, Lin Luo had already broken through. Their complexions immediately changed drastically.

"Don't move, or I don't know what will happen to this young lady." Lin Luo hadn't precisely calculated how fast the tenfold speed biological current could push him, but at that instant, he had indeed surpassed the speed of sound. Before the four could react, he had already captured the Bookstore.

One hand pressed onto the Ego Drawing Diary, while the other wrapped around the girl's neck, resting on her shoulder. Facing the four panicked expressions, Lin Luo revealed a triumphant smile. "First, you use this young lady to lure me into your trap, and then the four of you surround me. While I'm cornered, you use her familiar's item to probe my secrets. I have to admit, your plan was quite perfect; I even want to give you a good commendation. But..."

Lin Luo's tone suddenly shifted. "...the only thing you failed to account for was the enemy's strength. If the enemy's strength is far superior to yours, it's enough to shatter your perfect plan, just like now. You... have been checkmated."

"Teacher Negi, wuwu..." The Bookstore was so frightened she dared not move, on the verge of tears.

"That's despicable! Let Asuka-san go immediately!" Negi shouted, but with the Bookstore held hostage, he dared not act rashly.

"Teacher Negi, calm down first. She carries no killing intent; she likely won't harm Asuka." Ryugu Manami spoke softly. Having fought on battlefields since childhood, she was the most adept at discerning killing intent in a fighter, so she wasn't overly worried in her heart. Of course, in terms of the battlefield situation, they had indeed lost.

"Well, don't worry too much. If I intended to kill you, I wouldn't go through such trouble now," Lin Luo shrugged with a smile, then took the Ego Drawing Diary from the Bookstore's hand. "Now, let me see just how capable the Bookstore's ability truly is."

Saying that, Lin Luo brought the Ego Drawing Diary close to his eyes, and his expression instantly froze. Written upon it were: "The drumsticks from the Castle in the Sky were too delicious, I really want to eat them! The wings were also very tasty. Honestly, MASTER summoned me over without a word, and there are no delicious drumsticks or wings here! I want to go back... Oh right, I also really dislike this gloomy woman; she won't let go of me! I curse her to never marry!"

Seeing this line of text, Lin Luo nearly burst out laughing. Little SABER, it's so great that you're a nine!

It seemed capturing the Bookstore was unnecessary. Although she obtained Little SABER's inner thoughts, what meaning did this content hold? Lin Luo no longer wanted to destroy this information. How could he not share something so amusing? Sharing joy is better than keeping it to oneself.

"Hey, didn't you really want to know? Here, look now," Lin Luo presented the Ego Drawing Diary to the Bookstore. The young girl, who had been full of unease, immediately showed a stunned expression upon seeing the contents.

"Gloomy... never marry... Gloomy... never marry..." The Bookstore repeated those two phrases through streaming tears, clearly having fallen victim to Little SABER's curse. Combat power: -20.

"What is going on?" The four opposite looked utterly bewildered, unable to understand what the Bookstore had seen that struck her so hard.

"It looks like you all want to see it too. Here you go then." Lin Luo glanced at the four and tossed the Ego Drawing Diary over.

Negi instantly caught it, and the other three leaned over to look. Without surprise, when they saw the contents, all four faces twisted awkwardly. "This, this is..."

"That's wonderful, Teacher Negi, wouldn't you agree?" Lin Luo asked them, fighting back a smile.

"..." No reply possible; this situation was completely absurd.

However, at this moment, Ryugu Manami suddenly spoke, looking at Lin Luo with suspicion in her eyes: "Who exactly are you? Asuka became Negi's provisional familiar only two days ago; very few people know this, and even we only recently heard about the abilities of her familiar's item. But judging by your reaction just now, you seem very familiar with it. Who are you?"

Hearing this, Negi also realized, "That's right, she called Asuka-san 'Bookstore' just now. Asuka-san isn't good at communicating with others, and besides the members of 3-A, Negi, and Teacher Lin Luo, probably no one else knows that nickname."

"So, she must be someone we are familiar with," Nagase Kaede remarked.

"That can certainly be assumed," Ryugu Manami nodded, analyzing. "During the recent fight, she didn't reveal the slightest hint of killing intent, and her attacks were measured, none aimed at our vital points. Given the strength she displayed, if she truly intended to kill, at least one or two of us would have been severely injured."

"Eh? What is everyone talking about? Does Manami mean: this person is one of our classmates?" The only one who hadn't caught up was the simpleton Kufi, whose head was full of question marks.

Ryugu Manami didn't mind and replied, "Most likely, yes. But the problem is, I am familiar with almost all the students in 3-A, except for Misaka-san who just transferred, Teacher Lin Luo, and Teacher Izayoi."

"Eh? Could she be one of those three?" Negi was stunned. Although he had guessed something, he hadn't managed to narrow the suspects down this much.

"Although I say that..." Ryugu Manami frowned, "Misaka-san was with the class representatives before we arrived, so she can be excluded. Teacher Izayoi is busy helping Chao with experimental research, so she can also be excluded. The only one without an alibi is Teacher Lin Luo, but..."

"But Teacher Lin Luo is a man," Kufi could understand that statement.

Nagase Kaede nodded. "In the Ninjutsu I study, there are techniques to alter one's appearance, but changing gender... Teacher Negi, is there any magic that can change gender?"

"Absolutely not; how could there be such magic?" Negi shook his head repeatedly.

"So that's the problem. If all three are excluded, we return to square one," Ryugu Manami concluded.

"..." Honestly, listening to their discussion, Lin Luo was quite startled. As Evangeline said, the students of 2-A could not be underestimated. Although they were simpletons in terms of common sense, they were frighteningly sharp in matters outside common sense. They had managed to deduce the culprit so accurately from mere snippets of information. If he hadn't transformed into a flat-chested girl, he probably would have been exposed by now.

Indeed, the heavens of this world are fair; what is lost in one aspect is compensated in another. Common sense simpleton, genius outside of common sense—that's probably the case.

"Haha, if you want to know my true identity, why don't you try defeating me?" Lin Luo forced a casual smile.

"Indeed. If we capture you, we can ask everything clearly. It's been a while since I used my full strength; let's try today," Ryugu Manami's eyes suddenly showed a dangerous glint.

"That won't do; your classmate is still in my hands," Lin Luo smiled, pointing to the girl in his arms. Since he was playing the villain, he had to play it as realistically as possible. "If you attack carelessly, I don't know what I might do."

Lin Luo adopted the expression of someone holding all the cards with a hostage in hand.

"No, Ryugu-san, Asuka-san is still here..." Negi said worriedly. More than capturing the culprit, he cared more about the safety of his student.

But before he could finish, Ryugu Manami cut him off. "It's fine, Teacher Negi. Although I still can't guess her identity or motive, one thing is certain: although this person is our enemy, she absolutely will not harm Asuka. Therefore, we can attack without restraint. Moreover, because she dares not harm Asuka, she will be tied down, which creates an opportunity for us."

With that, she pulled out two handguns from her person and pointed them at Lin Luo. "Don't worry; my bullets are specially made. Even if Asuka is accidentally grazed, her life won't be in danger—at most, a few broken bones and a week of unconsciousness."

"That's still very dangerous, Ryugu-san!" Negi was almost driven mad.

"Haha, Manami is truly cruel," Nagase Kaede laughed.

"But for Manami, merely a few broken bones and a week of unconsciousness is already quite merciful," Kufi roared with laughter.

"Don't you all stand there talking about dangerous things!" Negi nearly stamped his foot at the indifferent attitudes of the three, pulling and tugging at Ryugu Manami to stop her from firing.

"Hey, hey, you guys stop your internal conflict!" Seeing this, Lin Luo was somewhat speechless. "Right now, the most important thing for you is how to take back the hostage in my hand and knock me down. Is it really appropriate for you to be fighting amongst yourselves?"

"We are not having an internal conflict; it's just that Teacher Negi is still too naive," Ryugu Manami stated flatly, then suddenly charged forward, bang bang bang bang, firing four shots in one movement.

With her current strength, even without unleashing her demon form, she was still much stronger than Negi. Getting rid of Negi's entanglement wouldn't be difficult.

"Whoa, you really start shooting immediately," Lin Luo's expression shifted slightly as he quickly pulled back the girl in his embrace and retreated.

"Ryugu-san!" Negi was terrified because he noticed one of the bullets was aimed directly at Miyazaki Asuka.

But Ryugu Manami just smiled. "Teacher Negi, you saw it just now, didn't you? She dodged the bullet I aimed at Asuka too. If she only needed a hostage, wouldn't an unconscious hostage be better?"

"Ah, this..." Negi had nothing to say.

"It seems Manami's guess was correct; this person won't harm Asuka, so we can attack without hesitation," Nagase Kaede narrowed her eyes, appearing ready to charge forward.

"This doesn't seem right. You are the side of justice; isn't doing this despicable?" Lin Luo was practically speechless. The hostage's companions were using the hostage against the enemy—these people were the villains! If they had attacked the Bookstore without hesitation, he would surely lose while protecting her and fighting simultaneously.

"Fine, as you say, I truly won't harm this girl, but..." With the situation as it was, Lin Luo could only use his trump card. He grabbed the Bookstore's uniform and smiled wickedly, "If you dare to attack recklessly, I will strip this girl naked!"

"Eh, why do that?" Negi was embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter; we are all women anyway, fighting nude is fine," Ryugu Manami remained indifferent.

"I'm not a woman!" Negi protested loudly.

Nagase Kaede chuckled, "Teacher Negi is still a child; he doesn't count as a man."

"You guys really are... Forget it, I'll give her back to you." The ridiculous conversation from this group was starting to become unbearable for Lin Luo. Before they could attack, he suddenly threw the girl in his arms towards them, then rapidly retreated backward. "Let's call it a day for now."

Negi caught the girl smoothly. Before Lin Luo could leave, he hastily asked, "Wait a moment. You clearly don't harm students, but you attack students at night. What is your objective?"

"Objective?" Lin Luo hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Hmm, actually, I am searching for familiars."

"Searching for familiars?"

"I am a magician too; I need partners. But I don't want ordinary ones. The Bookstore's mind-reading ability was a very suitable candidate, but since she has already become your familiar, that's impossible..." Lin Luo said casually, but as he spoke, he suddenly had an idea. "Right, have you contracted with Asuna yet?"

"Uh, that... not yet," Negi answered instinctively.

Lin Luo immediately smiled, "Not yet? Then I'll target Asuna. Her magic nullification is also a very good ability. Since she hasn't become your familiar yet, I'll take her."

"Impossible! I won't let you attack Asuna-san!" Negi stated firmly.

"Then try to protect her. I'm set on having Asuna," With that, Lin Luo's figure was already far away, leaving behind only one sentence: "I really like girls with twin tails. Once she becomes my familiar, I can do this and that to her..."

"..." Although Negi didn't understand the implications of some of Lin Luo's words, one thing was certain: he absolutely could not let Asuna become that guy's familiar.

P.S.: The word count has exceeded the click limit. Students reading on D-Tie, even if you don't subscribe or recommend, please click a few times at least. It only takes a minute of your time daily. With your support, you can read with peace of mind, and I can gain a bit more motivation. Reading pirated copies is never good. V