"Of course, haven't I told you already? The rules inside the barrier are decided by the host. She can do whatever she wants. As long as she's inside the barrier, she can even become powerful enough to pin you down with one hand..."

Yan Huan interrupted with an expressionless face,

"...what about outside the barrier?"

"That won't work."

Little Thumb flicked its tongue and yawned, saying,

"No matter how powerful she is inside the barrier, it's all fake, not real. Once she steps out, she'll be exposed as she truly is..."

"..."

Won't work?

But the problem is, Sakuragi was outside most of the time today, it's impossible she was in the barrier.

Yet Yan Huan had witnessed with his own eyes that her physique had indeed improved significantly.

How could this be?

Could it be that Little Thumb was lying, hiding something?

Or could it be...

She achieved it some other way?

Yan Huan pondered deeply for quite a while but came up with no answers, then lay back into An Le's arms with a headache.

An Le pursed her lips, initially intending to lower her head to meet Yan Huan's gaze.

However, due to her well-developed body, she couldn't see Yan Huan's face.

Seeing this, An Le puffed her cheeks with a bit of frustration. Then she bent her body and buried Yan Huan's face in her embrace.

"Mm!"

Yan Huan groaned slightly, then his body instantly went rigid, remaining motionless...

But his breathing was still strong, like a stormy inhale.

Feeling the forceful breath from that place, An Le's face turned even redder, and she retreated a bit as if slaughtered and defeated, finally seeing Yan Huan's eyes.

In his eyes, there was clarity, still lost in thought, not drowning in beauty...

"What is Xiao Huan thinking about?"

"I was wondering, was the Sakuragi we met today her true self or another personality..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Eh?"

"If it was her true self, why would both of us find it strange?"

Yan Huan sat up, resting his chin in his hand in puzzlement,

"But if it was a personality, how could she move outside the barrier?"

At this moment, An Le, pondering deeply, was also suddenly reminded of something, glancing at Little Thumb,

"Right, Little Thumb, didn't you mention earlier about Vice President Sakuragi's replicas having some changes if they exceeded five?"

"Uh, I didn't expect you to remember that..."

Little Thumb's coiled body stiffened slightly, then revealed a bit of a guilty expression.

It seemed that even Little Thumb didn't expect An Le's memory to be so good, to still remember this matter.

"Well, it's nothing much, just that if they exceed five, it means her modifier has already evolved to a second stage...

"Either there are just five, or countless will appear... so that's why I told you to run if you see more than five..."

As it spoke, Little Thumb seemed to think of something, its eyes dimming slightly.

Immediately, it added two more points,

"Also, the specific functions of each modifier may slightly change depending on the host.

"And the gods might have hidden some functions from me, just like that Tentacle Purgatory you released earlier, which I knew nothing about...

"So, what Yan Huan proposed isn't impossible either..."

Its snake eyes blinked slightly, flicking its tongue at Yan Huan and An Le with a chuckle,

"The Sakuragi Hitomi you saw today might really be a personality capable of escaping the barrier and seizing the nest..."

...

...

"Quick... run..."

At this moment, in a deep space.

Countless structures floating like a kaleidoscope, eventually forming a maze-like corridor in a certain place.

A Sakuragi with several arrows stuck in her body leaned against the wall, weakly looking at a tiny Sakuragi floating before her, barely the size of a palm.

The Sakuragi pierced by arrows had a distant expression, even though her body was scarred, her expression remained unchanged, seemingly unaffected by pain.

Just like the Sakuragi before she met Yan Huan and joined the student council, so indifferent, so cold.

This was precisely, the icy Sakuragi representing the "past".

And floating in front of her was the tiny Sakuragi symbolizing Sakuragi Hitomi's "conscience".

She leaned pitifully against the icy Sakuragi's cheek, tears streaming down as she cried,

"No... no, I can't abandon you! Wuwei Sakuragi, Good Taste Sakuragi have already been killed by [her], you're all I've got..."

Looking at the tiny Sakuragi crying miserably before her, the icy Sakuragi sighed, lowering her head,

"She's already... ha... killed Sickly Sakuragi, even outside the barrier, she's terrifyingly strong, let alone inside..."

"I can't stall her for long, if you don't run now, be ready to die with me."

Hearing these words, the tiny Sakuragi trembled even more intensely,

"Sob... sob, but... where can I run to?! She already knows the location of my barrier, I can't go back... and only she can leave the barrier and walk in reality..."

"Even if you don't know where to run, you have to run!"

But before she finished speaking, the icy Sakuragi gritted her teeth and grabbed the tiny fairy-like Sakuragi before her, saying word by word,

"The disappearance of 'laziness' and 'lust' won't affect much! The death of 'sickliness' will only make her stronger...

"Even if 'past' is reduced to dust, it doesn't matter... but you!

"You... Hitomi's conscience and kindness... absolutely cannot be killed by her! Otherwise... who knows what more terrifying things she will do!"

The tiny Sakuragi was so shocked by the icy Sakuragi's words that she was speechless, only able to gaze blankly at the icy Sakuragi who was also shedding tears, her eye corners glistening with pearl-like drops.