Chapter 18

The next day, Randy still woke up early.

As he was going downstairs, he noticed Carrie lingering at the front door, but after staying for a brief moment, she left on her bike alone.

Last night, Randy had heard the argument next door, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Carrie was still very close to her mother at this point, after all, she was her only blood relative.

Randy was just waiting for when Carrie's powers would awaken. At that point, he would let Margaret know and watch them act out a "mother-daughter love" scene.

In addition, Chris also sent over some new information.

She seemed really interested in the situation with Carrie's bullying, as she had sent a plan early in the morning that she had thought over the entire night.

Randy didn't care much about it and brought up a different request.

"Start flirting with Rick, Zade, and the others. This needs to be done as soon as possible. They should get the message by mid-morning."

Chris replied with an "OK."

Randy didn't bother any further. After finishing his breakfast, he began his breathing exercises.

Although his current physical talent was limited, the breathing exercises didn't significantly enhance his strength.

But they did help alleviate muscle fatigue, making it easier for him to carry out his plans for the day.

Randy first rode his bike to the beach to check on the state of the lotus seeds.

One of the bodies had been completely drained, and after knocking it a few times, it quickly crumbled into dust, leaving no trace of a human form—more like decayed wood scattered by the wind.

The other two wouldn't last more than two days.

Everything was falling into place seamlessly.

...

At school, Chris spent the entire class in a daze.

She was still thinking about Randy's first request and planning her next move.

"Who's this Rick guy anyway? I don't even know him!"

However, she was an expert at flirting.

Her best friend, Susie, noticed something odd about Chris's behavior that day.

"Chris, did you find Billy yet? Tommy told me yesterday..."

"Don't even mention him!"

Chris's expression darkened immediately. She still firmly believed that because of Billy, she had been targeted by Randy, this creep.

But worried that her sudden mood shift might raise Susie's suspicions, Chris forced herself to explain.

"That idiot hasn't messaged me in forever, and just thinking about him pisses me off!"

Susie, concerned, asked, "Should we report this to the police?"

"No."

Chris quickly waved her off. "That guy's probably high again. If we report him, he's likely going to end up in rehab."

After saying this, Chris suddenly felt annoyed with Susie, and without waiting for her response, she stood up to leave.

"I don't feel well. I'm going to rest for a bit."

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried out of the classroom.

As soon as she stepped into the hallway, she ran into Tommy from the next classroom over.

Chris didn't hesitate to greet him.

"Hey, Tommy."

"Hey, Chris."

Tommy nodded politely, then asked about his girlfriend. "Where's Susie? Isn't she usually with you? You two are practically inseparable."

"Let's not talk about that right now, Tommy. Can you point out Rick, Zade, and Mol—or Mo..."

"Rick, Zade, and Mol, I think you mean."

Tommy was curious about Chris's sudden question but still pointed them out.

"Those three goofing around over there."

Chris glanced at the trio—one with curly hair, one with a buzz cut, and one with long hair. Just ordinary high school boys, really. She wondered why Randy specifically wanted her to approach these three.

Could it be that Randy had a good relationship with these guys before, and that's why he wanted her to flirt with them?

That was the only guess she could make, so she memorized their faces.

"Alright, got it. Thanks."

She quickly walked away, finding a spot to keep an eye on them.

It didn't take long for an opportunity to arise.

The three of them, arm in arm, walked out of the classroom and headed toward the stairwell, seemingly to get some drinks.

Chris quickly adjusted her clothes, making her figure look more appealing, and hurried toward them.

"Got any plans for the weekend?"

"I was thinking about asking... Never mind, she'd definitely say no."

"Then I guess we'll just play video games at home."

Chris overheard their conversation. They were clearly just a group of socially awkward nerds.

This made her feel that her task was going to be easy.

As soon as Rick opened his can of soda, she pretended to lose her balance and stumbled into him.

"Ah."

Rick, who wasn't very tall and was especially skinny, was easily knocked over by Chris. His frail body, which seemed constantly weak, crumpled to the ground.

"Who—who doesn't watch where they're going..."

When Rick realized what had happened, feeling like his waist was about to break, he was ready to curse, but the moment he saw Chris's face, the words got stuck in his throat.

Chris was frustrated too. She had only planned to start a conversation but hadn't expected him to be so fragile.

Still, she kept her composure and immediately helped him up.

"Sorry, I didn't see you. I suddenly got dizzy. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, and I knocked over your drink too."

Chris flicked her hair and adjusted her chest slightly. She had deliberately aimed for the drink, so now there was a wet spot on her chest, making her look even more tempting.

"No, it's fine."

Rick lay on the ground, dumbfounded. He looked at his wet hands and remembered that just moments ago, they had touched the goddess herself, but there was no sensation left behind.

What a pity!

"I'll buy you another one."

Chris, enthusiastic as ever, went to the vending machine. Her long, tan legs stretched out above Rick, giving him a perfect view.

His nose felt hot, and when he glanced up, he was greeted with a beautiful scene that made his head spin and his heart race.

This was too good to be true.

"Here, this is for your spilled drink."

Chris handed him a new soda, bending down with a smile.

"N-no, it's really okay."

Rick swallowed nervously, unwilling to get up and too scared to do so.

Chris suppressed her disgust, gave a shy smile, and turned to the other two.

She needed to quickly win over these three losers; otherwise, if too many people gathered and saw her associating with them, her reputation would take a hit!

Feigning surprise, she pointed at the long-haired guy.

"Ah, you're Mol, right?"

"Yes, yes."

Mol, who had been envious of his friend's lucky encounter, was now in shock as the goddess spoke to him.

"I know you! You're really good at video games, right? I love games too. I hope we can hang out sometime and play together."

Chris quickly recited her lines based on their earlier conversation.

Even this left Mol momentarily speechless.

"Sure, yeah."

Then, Chris turned her attention to the last one, Zade with the buzz cut.

Without saying much, she simply bit her lip and gave him a hungry, seductive look, while subtly adjusting her top.

Zade visibly swallowed hard.

Now that she'd left an impression on all three of them, the flirting was done. All that remained was to wait for Randy's next instructions.