The Pseudo-Human Academy: Starting with a Bricklayer Personality

If Hongxia hadn't been standing there, he would have wanted to immediately entangle her.

Even if that part loses its sensation and control, it will not affect its combat effectiveness in the slightest.

"This is it." Xu Feng picked up the spindle, and the silver-gray thread slid gently along his fingertips, cool and smooth, with a strange resilience.

Looking at the dazzling array of strange artifacts in the warehouse, Hongxia lightly twirled the hem of her clothes with her fingertips, unsure of which one to choose.

"This one is fine, it looks like it suits you best."

Xu Feng rubbed his chin and made up his mind. He took the red rope bell from the shelf, squatted down slightly, and tied the red rope bell to Hong Xia's slender and fair ankle.

The red string wrapped around her skin, its cool touch brushing against her skin. A thin blush spread across Hongxia's cheeks, and her ear tips felt slightly hot.

She never imagined that Captain Xu would personally put the cursed device on her.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Red string bell

Category: Rule-based Tricks

Soul-summoning and Ghost-binding: A light shake of the bell will cause monsters within a hundred meters to appear, accompanied by a rapid ringing sound.

It can temporarily stop the monsters in the surrounding area, and the duration of the stop depends on the strength of the user.

Once activated, it will attract the attention of the monsters and draw their attacks.

Warning of the Netherworld: When there is a ghost nearby, the bell will vibrate slightly, and the user will feel a stinging pain. The more urgent the sound and the louder the bell, the higher the threat level of the ghost, depending on the user's strength.

…………

Xu Feng was slightly astonished as he looked at the image that had surfaced in his mind. He had originally just picked out a red rope bell for Hong Xia because he thought it looked nice, but he never expected that the bell would have two functions.

That's interesting. A monster-attracting cage and a monster radar?

It seems to suit this girl's two personalities quite well. I'll keep Hongxia by my side from now on and let her ring the bell to summon monsters.

After selecting the artifacts, Xu Feng checked into a five-star hotel. To be honest, he had never experienced the prosperity of Yanjing before.

Looking at the bustling traffic outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Xu Feng decided to spend a few days enjoying himself in Yanjing.

Anyway, it'll probably be the end of the month before we can enter the next dungeon.

There is plenty of time.

Xu Feng watched as Hong Xia changed into an ancient-style robe, her delicate feet adorned with red ropes and bells, her shy demeanor was incredibly pleasing to the eye.

Hongxia felt uneasy. Captain Xu had brought her to a hotel room; was he planning to do *that*?

Xu Feng gave Hong Xia a gentle and refined smile:

"I'm planning to take you to have a good two-day trip in Yanjing. This presidential suite has two bedrooms, you can sleep in that one!"

"Oh... okay." Hongxia nodded somewhat disappointedly.

Immediately, Xu Feng summoned Li Hua Qin.

When Xu Feng saw the tiny Li Hua Qin appear with her adorable little face, he picked her up and kissed her.

"My love, I miss you so much."

Li Hua Qin tilted her head slightly, noticing the somewhat confused look on her face, but she still replied with a blank expression:

"Long time no see, my love, I miss you so much."

At this moment, the picture frame floated out of the God-Chosen Space, and the ghost bride, Mingyue, crawled out from within, softly calling out:

"My husband."

As Hongxia watched this scene, she suddenly felt like a third wheel, arriving at the worst possible time.

Xu Feng looked at Li Hua Qin, the ghost bride Ming Yue, and Hong Xia, and stroked his chin in thought:

"Now that everyone's here, how about we play a thrilling game of Three Kingdoms Kill?"

"Huh?" Hongxia was dumbfounded.

Li Huaqin also tilted his head slightly, looking somewhat puzzled.

The ghost bride, Mingyue, covered her mouth and chuckled softly:

"My husband is so humorous!"

The rules of the Three Kingdoms Kill game are very simple, and Xu Feng quickly taught the girls how to play.

Yes, Xu Feng spent a lot of money to book a presidential suite and played Three Kingdoms Kill with Xiao Qin, Hong Xia, and Ming Yue all day long.

Nothing happened, but something did happen that would not pass the review.

As night fell, Xu Feng lay in bed, embraced by Li Hua and Qin on his left and Ming Yue on his right, looking every bit the winner in life as he drifted into a sweet dream.

Hongxia curled up alone on the bed in another room. The huge room was empty, making her seem like an out-of-place outsider.

Her left and right hemispheres began to fight each other, leaving her feeling extremely confused.

"Sister, be brave, okay? If you like her, just go for it!"

"But..." Hongxia's nose tingled, and she sighed deeply. Xu Feng's image shone even brighter in her heart. She felt timid even when she reached out to touch that light.

Does someone with blood on her hands really deserve the happiness she longs for?

Hongxia saw a glimpse of her former self: slumped in a wheelchair, so thin she was unrecognizable, bearing no resemblance to a young girl.

Born with a serious illness, she never had a healthy body.

He was cared for all day long, and after being plagued by complications, even swallowing became a luxury. He could only eke out a living through his esophagus, and his days were filled with confusion and torment.

But it was precisely because of this that she became a chosen one, fell into the chosen dungeon, and met a group of people who were extremely gentle.

None of her teammates ever mentioned giving up. Even in the most dangerous dungeons, they did their best to protect and care for her.

She could only sit in her wheelchair and watch helplessly as those figures fell one by one, without even the strength to lend a helping hand.

The image of the day of reckoning was etched into her very bones; the girl, with her last ounce of strength, pushed her towards the path of life, a smile playing on her lips, and uttered only three words:

"Live on..."

That was her first chosen instance, and in the end, she was the only one who survived.

Hongxia always felt that her hands were stained with the blood of her teammates, and her heart was filled with an inescapable guilt.

Why was it her, the most useless person who dragged everyone down, who survived?

The rewards for completing the dungeon automatically made a choice for her, who was unable to move:

[Recover to good health.]

The moment she stepped out of the instance, she finally stood up from her wheelchair, her hunched back straightened, and her thin figure slowly matured, gradually taking on the appearance of a young girl.

However, years of severe malnutrition have left her still thin, and even her chest has not developed properly.

The physical pain has disappeared, but the wound in my heart remains forever, becoming a shadow etched into my bones.

Every time she closed her eyes, the gruesome images of her teammates' deaths would vividly appear before her. She always felt that she was full of sins and didn't deserve to live in this world.

She tried to commit suicide, but when her fingertips touched the cold blade, the girl's last smile and the words "live on" would always flash into her mind, making it impossible for her to bring herself to do it.

Hongxia felt like a rat in a gutter, only able to hide in a corner and secretly spy on other people's happiness, without even having the courage to take a step forward.

Her mother named her Hongxia after learning that she had a rare disease.

Her mother always hoped that she could be like the girls in anime, cheerful and sunny, as radiant and full of vitality as summer flowers.

But she ultimately failed to live up to her mother's expectations; happiness was nothing more than an unattainable luxury for her.

Their father abandoned them when they were children, leaving their mother to support the large family alone, caring for her sick and frail daughter day and night.

Years of hard work and anxiety took a toll on my mother's health, and she developed uremia. As a result, the family has accumulated countless debts due to her illness and my mother's illness.

Even though life was so hard, her mother never frowned in front of her. She would always hold her hand and gently rub her hair with a smile.

"Hongxia, smile more. Girls who smile a lot are lucky."

That smile was gentle, yet it was like a fine needle, gently pricking Hongxia's heart, making her feel breathless with pain.