By the time lunch rolled around, I was done.
Not just academically done. I mean emotionally microwaved, socially stir-fried, and mentally deep-fried.
Between suspecting Rakesh of being an undercover banana assassin and side-eyeing every hallway monitor like they were ex-mafia, I hadn't paid attention in a single class. My brain was too busy screaming "ELIMINATE 100 UNDERWORLD VILLAINS!" on a loop like some deranged alarm clock.
I slumped into my chair in the cafeteria, my lunch tray holding a sad, slightly wobbly pudding cup and rice that looked like it had trust issues. I was mid-sigh when the system decided to ruin my meal.
DING! Potential Villain Detected.
My spoon paused mid-air.
"Don't do this to me," I whispered. "Not during pudding."
Profile Match: 68% — Threat Level: Moderate. Location: Chemistry Lab 2.
I looked up. Across the cafeteria, sitting alone, was none other than Tanishka Rao — the infamous top student of Class 11-B. The girl with a perfect GPA, terrifying lab precision, and a reputation for making the biology teacher cry once a semester.
Nobody messed with her. Rumor had it she once corrected a teacher mid-lecture using actual molecular models made out of erasers and paperclips. The teacher apologized.
And now the system thought she was a potential underworld villain?
"Yeah, right," I muttered, standing up anyway.
Because I'm an idiot.
---
Chemistry Lab 2 was quiet. Too quiet.
It smelled like bleach and stress. Rows of neatly labeled chemical containers sat like tiny soldiers, silently judging me for walking in without a lab coat or any adult supervision.
Tanishka stood at the front table, her back to me. A bunsen burner flickered gently beside her, and she was mixing some suspicious-looking blue liquid into a vial with the kind of focus you'd expect from someone building a time machine or a home-cooked bomb.
I cleared my throat. "Uh… hi?"
She didn't turn. Just said, "You shouldn't be in here."
"Right," I said. "Sorry. I was just, um… checking something."
"Are you lost?"
Kinda. Existentially, yes.
The system popped up again: "Observe carefully. Suspicious activity detected."
I leaned forward slowly… and that's when I noticed something really odd.
Next to her experiment tray was a worn leather-bound notebook — the kind you'd find in a 1940s spy movie. It was half-open, and I caught a glimpse of something… weird.
Not formulas.
Maps. Names. Red underlines.
Was that… my name?
My actual name. "Chiku Ahay." In big, red ink.
I audibly squeaked. Like a rubber duck stepped on by a bear.
Tanishka snapped her head toward me, eyes narrowing. "Were you spying on me?"
"No! I was… admiring your… graph?"
She stepped forward.
I stepped back.
The system exploded in my face:
ALERT: Quest Updated — First Underworld Villain Engaged. Objective: Survive.
"WHAAAT?!"
Tanishka pulled off her safety gloves with terrifying calmness. "I knew someone was watching me. Tell your 'people' they'll never find it."
I blinked. "My people? Lady, I barely have friends."
She opened a drawer. My survival instincts screamed that she was going to pull out a katana or a neurotoxin or — aah never mind it was just a pencil.
A very sharp pencil.
She walked toward me. I backed into a lab table. Glass clinked. A beaker fell.
And then—
BOOM!
—The bunsen burner flared up and a puff of green smoke exploded into the air. I screamed. She screamed. The fire alarm screamed.
The sprinklers came on.
Water rained down. My shirt clung to me like plastic wrap. Tanishka glared at me like I'd ruined the secret formula for life.
Footsteps thundered in. Teachers yelling. Chaos.
And me? I just stood there, soaked and shaking, while the system chirped:
"Villain Status: Confirmed. Tanishka Rao is Operative #34 of the Underworld Academic Syndicate. Quest Progress: 1/100."
I had so many questions.
But mostly I just wanted dry socks.
To be continued.