"Oh, dear, why are you in such a hurry?"
Just moments before, Huai Shi, with a mischievous smile, had extended his hand and removed his own head from his neck, revealing the Raven sitting inside.
She blinked at Huai Shi with a smug look. "School life is quite nice; I'm even thinking of transferring here to take classes."
"Come on, sis, just replace me for half a day, and don't cause me any trouble," Huai Shi pleaded with a bitter smile, examining her current appearance. "What's all this about?"
"Just simple Alchemy."
The Raven whistled. "Thank goodness Uncle Fang helped me find the oldest plastic model in all of Xinhai. With a little modification, after installing a power system and an illusory shell, I just covered it with the recorded data of your appearance, and it was all set."
While saying this, she laughed cheerily. "Don't forget what my real body is now."
Event Branch.
In fact, the face she was currently wearing and all the skin revealed outside of the clothes were drawn with a feather pen that she had transformed from herself.
Thanks to the detailed records about Huai Shi in the Book of Fate, a simple overlay was all that was needed.
Although there was no Source Fluctuation, as long as it wasn't attached too closely, ordinary people couldn't spot any major issues.
"What about the performance coming up?" Huai Shi asked. "I remember you can't play the cello, right?"
"Who can't fake it a little?"
The Raven, managing the model like piloting a Gundam, lifted her clothes, revealing the hollowed belly and a tape recorder stuffed inside it.
With just a slight movement of her hands, melodious cello music flowed out of the tape recorder.
"Besides, to make up for the lack of effect, I've also prepared a little secret device, so rest assured," she said, picking up Huai Shi's cello and proudly waving it at him.
But Huai Shi felt like there was something off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Soon, they heard the resounding music coming from the direction of the Auditorium—it was the theme from the opening micro-film "Peppa Pig Hero."
"Alright, you don't have any time to waste; the performance has already started."
The Raven pointed to the backpack in the corner of the music room. "When I head out and wander backstage for a bit, you get dressed up, leave from here, travel for ten minutes, work for ten minutes, and then take another ten minutes to come back. If you're lucky and I haven't taken your place yet, you might be able to go on stage and play the cello yourself."
Huai Shi looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure there won't be a problem?"
"Don't worry, would your sister ever deceive you?"
The Raven patted her chest, chuckling happily, and Huai Shi's unease grew even stronger.
But indeed, there wasn't much time left.
He dared not waste any more and, tipping his head back, drained the Potions the Raven handed to him, one after another. He felt a mixture of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors bursting from within, while his face began to quickly soften and contort, his height increasing inch by inch.
In the end, he had grown fifteen centimeters taller, and the features of his face had almost completely vanished.
Luckily, he had changed into a loose-fitting outfit ahead of time; otherwise, he would have looked ridiculously comical.
He pulled a heavy coat that the Raven had prepared out of the backpack and draped it over himself, then pulled up the stretchable collar around his neck, fitting it over his face, and finally donned sunglasses and a hood.
Even his hands were hidden in cut-resistant gloves.
He looked incredibly professional.
"I'll be right back."
Huai Shi grabbed his backpack and climbed straight out the window. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody was looking, he bypassed the surveillance cameras and sprinted toward Wanli Plaza.
Soon, his figure vanished atop the rooftops, out of sight.
"Seems like he hasn't quite caught on yet," the Raven cheerfully watched him leave, then looked down at the head cradled in her arms and couldn't resist whistling again. "I have a feeling I could do a lot of things with this face. After all, time was short."
Ten minutes later, Huai Shi stood atop a roof, gasping for breath. He looked back but couldn't see the school anymore.
On his way, he deeply appreciated the benefits of the Yin Soul Saint Mark.
As he ran with all his might, all he could see were the scenes around him swiftly moving past, lightning-fast. By the Power of The Sorrow of Index, he dashed among the towering buildings.
The grey-white coat was almost the same color as the cement. From a distance, it didn't catch the eye at all.
Combined with the city-wide surveillance distribution map Raven had given him, no one noticed that Huai Shi had already arrived atop the building opposite Wanli Plaza, ready to execute his criminal plan.
But how could she be so familiar with the city's entire video surveillance?!
Huai Shi scratched his chin and checked his watch. He still had twenty minutes.
Ten minutes for the job, ten minutes for the retreat.
Theoretically, it should be enough.
The Raven, afraid that he wouldn't have experience for his first crime, had devised several backup plans and contingencies for every step. She was practically guiding him by hand on how to become a crime boss. How should I put it... it's quite a thrill.
The plan was flawless.
Now, only the most critical step remained.
Huai Shi lay at the edge of the high-rise, looking down at the bustling traffic below.
The vault was right in the center of Wanli Great Building.
To avoid leaving any trace in the surveillance, he couldn't approach from below. The security measures in the hotel above were also thoroughly comprehensive, so as a newbie, he didn't have the luxury of stealth.
So, there was only one option left.