Chapter 56: Redirection Loops

The cool morning air swept across the pedestrian walkway as Leo walked slowly toward the university campus. His mind was still completely locked in the situation he is in and trying to shake off the mental exhaustion from the last few days.

As he approached the outer boundary walls of the commercial district near the university plaza, a sudden flash of vibrant purple hair in a narrow alcove caught his dark eyes.

Leo stopped dead in his path. The exceptionally beautiful, tall young woman from yesterday’s hallway clash was currently leaning against a brick wall, her sharp profile shifting nervously as she kept peeking around the corner, actively trying to hide from the main street.

Leo walked forward smoothly, stepping into her space. "Hey. What exactly are you doing back here?"

The woman violently flinched, her body jerking in absolute shock as she was caught completely off guard. She aggressively wiped the panic off her face, raising her chin to force her signature egoist, high-and-mighty demeanor. She cleared her throat softly, adjusting a pair of neat, clear-framed glasses resting on her nose. "I... I am doing absolutely nothing of your concern. I am simply finding a way to the university."

Leo stared down at her for a long three seconds. Today, she wasn't wearing that ridiculous, ultra-sexy royal evening gown. Instead, she was dressed in normal formal clothes, a crisp white button-up blouse and a neat skirt that perfectly hugged her body. Leo let out a relaxed, quiet rumble of a laugh. "Well, you're looking in the completely wrong direction. I'm heading to the campus right now anyway. Follow me, I'll help you get there."

The woman hesitated, her face painting itself in a highly subtle pink flush before she offered an elegant, formal nod. "Very well. Lead the way."

They started walking side-by-side down the sidewalk, the atmosphere remarkably quiet as they moved toward the faculty gates. But the exact second they stepped onto the main university ground pavement, a familiar double blur of motion aggressively closed the distance.

"Leo~! I missed you so much!"

Chloe sprinted straight through the student crowd, aggressively throwing her arms around his left bicep and pulling his broad shoulder against her full curves. Her eyes carried a deeply happy, infatuated glow as she pouted cutely up at his jawline. "Leo... did you miss me as well?"

Before Leo could even form a single syllable to reply, Stella stepped up smoothly from his other side, a highly mischievous, teasing grin flashing across her face. She winked at Chloe playfully. "Eeeh? Miss you? Not at all, Chloe! Leo would like to have a private time with me instead!"

"What did you just say?!" Chloe instantly erupted, her yandere energy flaring up to absolute maximum levels as she violently stamped her foot. "Get away from him right now!"

As the two girls aggressively launched into their loud, chaotic domestic bickering, the purple-haired woman stood just a step away, looking at the loud interaction with a quiet look. Without saying a word to Leo, she turned on her heel and slowly, quietly walked away from the commotion, disappearing down the main lobby corridor.

Leo let out a grounded sigh, looking at the woman leaving. But as his eyes drifted back toward the outer entrance gate lines of the university, his posture suddenly went completely rigid.

Standing right beside the iron pillars of the main campus gate were three tall, heavily built men wearing identical, sharp black suits and dark sunglasses. They stood perfectly still, their eyes scanning the university grounds with absolute, calculating precision, looking exactly like private investigators trying to find someone.

Who the hell are they? Leo thought, his brow furrowing deeply as a heavy sense of trouble filled his mind.

.....

A short while later, the morning lecture initialized inside the classroom.

Professor Genevieve stood at the front of the chalkboard, her figure moving with strict authority as she tapped her clipboard to command the room. "Attention, everyone. Quiet down. We have a new student transferring into our humanities stream starting from this morning. Please welcome your new classmate."

The heavy wooden classroom door swung inward.

"Welcome, Eleanor Wright," Genevieve announced smoothly.

Leo’s dark eyes violently contracted, a sudden shockwave hitting his brain layers. Eleanor Wright? The exact name from the system box notification aggressively detonated in his thoughts.

He watched as the same tall, exceptionally beautiful purple-haired woman walked gracefully into the room, her clear glasses catching the overhead lights. The entire classroom went dead silent as every single male student stared at her model-tier physical body.

Down in the front row, both Gideon and Soren leaned back, their jaws dropping as they whispered in pure admiration. "Whoa... look at her, man. She literally looks like a professional supermodel."

Leo didn't hear them. His mind was running through the status box information. Eleanor... 0% affection. The system target is standing right in front of me.

Eleanor offered the class a brief, highly sophisticated and egoist nod of greeting. Professor Genevieve gestured toward the seats. "Please take an open seat, Miss Wright."

Eleanor moved forward with absolute, high-society etiquette, her heels clicking across the floorboards as she walked straight up the stairs. She bypassed three empty rows, moved directly into Leo's line, and sat down right on the next bench immediately beside his seat. She turned her head slightly, her sharp eyes casting a brief, lingering glance straight into his dark gaze before she opened her notebook.

Leo sat back, his fingers tightening against his desk. Is this just a bizarre coincidence... or is the system driving her directly to me?

.....

By the time the final afternoon bell rang, the long university day had officially come to a close.

Inside the central lobby lounge, the standard group of beautiful women gathered around Leo to wave their hands and trade sweet, blushing goodbye remarks before heading down their ways. Nicole gave him a cute, final tsundere pout, while Chloe and Cynthia offered warm smiles, leaving the building in heavy rows.

Soon, the wide plaza cleared, leaving only Leo and Stella standing near the concrete pillar.

Stella walked over slowly, her silver-white hair casting a shadow as her goofy mask vanished completely, replaced by a soft, serious expression. She looked up into his dark eyes, her voice gentle and sincere. "Leo... you don't need to keep ignoring me. I completely understand that all of this lore and the alien threat might be entirely too much for your mind to handle right now. But... please remember, there is absolutely no one else who can help us. Just think about it."

She offered a quiet nod, turning around to walk down the sidewalk block, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

.....

Leo let out a long, heavy sigh and started his lonely walk down the shadow-lined pedestrian path leading away from the faculty grounds. The golden light of the setting sun was just beginning to fade into evening twilight.

PITTER-PATTER!

The sudden, rapid sound of frantic footsteps sprinting up from the darkness behind him caused Leo to turn his head sharply.

Before he could look behind, Eleanor violently flew out from the shadow. Her face was completely pale, her breathing rapid, and her egoist composure entirely shattered. Moving with a sudden desperation, her slender, soft hands aggressively grabbed Leo's large hand, her fingers locking tightly around his as she forcefully yanked him straight forward into a sprint.

"What the hell—Eleanor?!" Leo gasped out in absolute shock, his feet instantly moving to keep balance as she dragged him along. "What is happening right now?!"

"Shut your mouth and just run!" Eleanor panted out frantically, her clear glasses slipping slightly as her chest heaved under her blouse. "There are people... trying to catch me, they are right behind us!"

Leo aggressively glanced back over his broad shoulder while maintaining the high-speed run. Fifty yards back down the avenue lane, the exact same three men in black suits were sprinting through the shadows.

He aggressively reversed the grip, his large, powerful fingers wrapping securely around Eleanor’s small wrist to take complete control of the sprint. "Stop looking back! Just follow my lead and stick close to my body!"

Leo yanked her frame smoothly, violently veering off the main avenue and diving straight into a narrow, dark, and concrete alleyway cut between two massive buildings.

They sprinted deep into the shadow, turning two rapid corners before ducking flat behind a large rows of industrial storage crates, locking themselves into absolute, breathless silence.

A moment later, the heavy sound of leather shoes echoed near the mouth of the alley. The three black-suit men stopped, looking around the empty brick lane in total frustration. One of them pulled out a sleek mobile phone, his voice gravelly. "Boss, we lost her. She vanished near the central avenue." They turned on their heels, their footsteps rapidly fading away into the main street.

Leo and Eleanor were standing pressed completely flush against each other, their wet skin and clothes colliding heavily inside the narrow hiding space. Both of them were gasping for oxygen, their chests heaving in perfect synchronization.

Eleanor looked up through her glasses, her sharp eyes locked dead onto Leo’s handsome, focused face from mere inches away. Seeing his tall, broad-shouldered body actively protecting her body, an absolute, blush violently painted itself across her cheeks. The physical intimacy and his attractive profile made her heart hammer wildly against her ribs, her tsundere pride completely melting as she breathlessly clutched his shirt sleeves.

Leo leaned his head down, his deep voice dropping into an intense, quiet whisper right against her lips. "Alright. They're gone. Now tell me what the hell is that all about? Who are those black-suit people chasing you?"

Eleanor let out a soft, helpless whimper, her entire mature body going completely soft and trembling inside his space. She looked down at his chest, her voice dropping into a vulnerable, begging whisper as she clutched his hand tighter. "I... I will explain everything to you later, Leo. I swear. But right now... I cannot return to my own apartment residence. They will find me."

She looked straight back up into his eyes, her violet eyes heavy with a sudden, intense pleading look as she dropped the final blow to his sanity. "Please... can I please stay at your house just for tonight? I have nowhere else to go."

Leo stared down at her blushing face in absolute, reality-shattering shock.