Chapter 413: Natalie
When John exited his dorm room, he was shocked to find the sky was already pitch black.
He had been so lost in his coding and the Handshake process that he hadn’t realised how many hours had slipped away. He didn’t dwell on it, however, and headed directly toward the RBM base with one goal in mind. Yet he was destined to do something else there!
The moment John drew closer to the club gate, he was surprised to see a sea of students gathered in front of the entrance. They weren’t alone; his entire circle of friends was there, led by Ricky, and even Cissel stood among them.
Seeing her sent a brief, sharp pang of conflict through his heart, but he didn’t halt his steps. The realisation that the two were no longer together was a reality that would last forever. He made up his mind back in his dorm, and he would stick to it. He had to find a way to live in this new world where she was simply a friend and an asset on his side, nothing more.
"John is here!"
Luke’s voice rang out, cutting through the low murmur of the crowd. Even in the gloom of the night, Luke had recognised his friend’s silhouette instantly. The moment his name was called, the dozens of students turned in unison. They stared at him with wide, wary eyes, as if they were observing a dangerous, legendary beast emerging from the woods.
"What’s going on here? What’s the cause of all this fuss?" John asked, his voice calm and steady as he walked through the crowd.
The students instinctively parted for him, creating a wide berth that allowed him to walk comfortably toward the gate. To them, he wasn’t just a first-year anymore; he was the man who had stepped on Galbert’s back.
"They want to join our club," Ben said, his tone dripping with annoyance. He crossed his arms over his chest. "We told them it’s invite-only, but they refused to leave. They insisted on speaking with you directly."
"They want to join our club?" John feigned a look of mild surprise, though he had known this influx was inevitable. The performance his club had demonstrated, combined with his public declaration regarding the Formal Team, had been like dropping a boulder into a still pond. The ripples were now turning into waves. "What makes them think they are even eligible to join?"
He came to a stop in front of his friends, surveying the different faces in the crowd. He didn’t show stress or anger; instead, he looked at the gathered elites with a gaze of profound indifference, as if their presence was merely a minor administrative hurdle.
"Ahem."
A female student, appearing a couple of years older than John, stepped forward from the front rank. "I’m Natalie. A fourth-year student from the Media Department," she said. She paused, letting the weight of her words and her stunning looks settle over the area.
Natalie didn’t look like a typical student. To John, she looked like a high-profile actress from Earth, someone accustomed to the red carpet and the flashing bulbs of cameras.
He had previously thought Elena was the peak of self-grooming and style in the academy, but Natalie shattered that perception. She was like a shining star in the middle of the darkness, her confidence radiating even brighter than her physical beauty.
"Media Department... Interesting," John said. He couldn’t help but steal a short, reflexive glance at Cissel, but she remained nonchalant. She looked at the stunning beauty in front of her as if she were looking at a piece of furniture. "And what makes you think a Media student belongs in the RBM Club?"
"First," Natalie began, her eyes sharp and observant. She didn’t know the specifics of what had transpired between John and Cissel, but she was a veteran of social dynamics. She had instantly spotted the brief, loaded glance John had cast toward the other girl. She sensed a profound tension—a rift.
In that split second, Natalie realised John wasn’t "taken." She saw a golden opportunity being presented to her on a silver platter, and she would be a fool to let such a chance slip through her fingers. She had come prepared with a long, rehearsed speech about club logistics, but she discarded it instantly. She decided to improvise, playing to her strengths.
"You beat the Black Ares Club, and they were an academy-wide organisation," Natalie said, her voice melodic yet firm. "That means the RBM Club has inherited their status. You aren’t just a Military Department club anymore; you can officially accept students from every department in the academy."
"That much is easy to guess," John said, a calm smile touching his lips. "But it still doesn’t tell me why I should invite you in."
"That is a tricky question, however..." Natalie’s face beamed with a bright, calculated smile. "Something tells me you won’t be satisfied with just being a star within these walls. Something tells me you aim for something much bigger, something far greater than student politics, and like any great dream, you’ll need the right people to help you achieve it, right?"
John remained silent. He couldn’t tell if she was speaking out of pure imagination or if she had pieced together the rumours of his recent exploits. Regardless, his silence was the only permission Natalie needed to continue her performance.
"For me, I can’t help you in a fight. Honestly, I get drowsy at the mere sight of blood—even if it’s just a paper cut, hehehe."
Her admission drew looks of surprise from the crowd. Even Elena raised an eyebrow, shifting her gaze toward Cissel as if she were silently screaming a warning. It was the look of a friend warning another that a shark was entering the pond, and if Cissel didn’t hurry up and build a dam around the hole she had created in her life, she was going to lose everything.
Noticing Elena’s gaze, Cissel only raised her chin slightly, her expression as cold as ever. Elena sighed inwardly. Even with a girl as dangerous and charismatic as Natalie standing in front of John, Cissel was still fixated on her delusional memories.
"And yet," Natalie purposely paused for a few seconds, ensuring her words carried the maximum impact, "I can fight on a different front entirely. I can be your media front, your public figure, your voice in the ears of the masses.
I don’t know how far your dreams reach, John, but even if you intend to reach the heavens themselves, I’ll be there by your side. I will do my absolute best to aid your ambitions, using every resource at my disposal."