Chapter 19: New Members Join

Bang bang bang 

"Open up! Open the door, now!"

"Hey! You in there! Open up already!"

"Stupid yellow monkey!"

…

A string of pounding fists and even kicks on the door jolted Kevin Cross awake. His brows furrowed as angry voices filtered in from outside, and a flicker of fury sparked in his eyes. He, Kevin Cross, was a law-abiding citizen he'd never done anything wrong. So who were these people pounding on his door?

As he made his way to the door, Kevin's mind worked at lightning speed, combing through every memory left by the body's original owner. Still, he couldn't find a single reason why anyone would come looking for trouble. There had been no major conflicts, no lingering grudges. Nothing.

But the relentless kicking forced his hand. If he didn't open the door soon, it probably wouldn't survive the next round.

When Kevin finally opened it, what met his eyes was a group of Black men.

Yes. All of them. Black.

And among them, he recognized two familiar faces the very same ones who'd tried to intimidate him at school when he went to withdraw his enrollment. That attempt had ended with Kevin turning the tables on them, giving them a taste of their own medicine.

"So it really is a damn yellow monkey."

"Hah! Not a bad place. Looks nice."

"Furniture's pretty new too."

"Everything in here's ours now."

"Hand over the cash, yellow monkey. Your parents' insurance money "

These men weren't even pretending to be polite. Then again, why would they? They'd already forced their way to his doorstep. Courtesy clearly wasn't in their vocabulary.

Judging by how coordinated they were, Kevin figured they'd done their homework. They knew everything about his situation: his parents were dead, he was just a student, he'd already dropped out of school, had no ties with the neighbors. Good-looking, sure, but reportedly timid and weak. As for the incident where he beat up the two thugs? No one had taken that seriously. An Asian kid fighting back in America? Laughable. Here, Asians were the ones getting bullied, never the other way around.

Even the fact that Kevin's parents had participated in Black rights protests once upon a time? That meant nothing to them. Asians standing up for Black people? Please. To them, it was crocodile tears. Hypocrisy. If an Asian got beaten or killed well, they had it coming.

From their perspective, Kevin was the perfect target. Orphaned. Probably holding onto an insurance payout. And even if there wasn't one? Asians were notorious savers. Whatever his parents left behind would have landed in Kevin's hands. All they had to do was come and take it.

And so, here they were.

Five or six of them, pushing their way inside like they owned the place, demanding his money and even eyeing the house itself like squatters ready to move in.

Kevin let out a sigh. So this was what it meant to be Asian abroad stripped of basic rights. Whether Black or white, everyone saw you as prey.

He watched as they started trampling through his clean, orderly home, ready to leave it in shambles. In his eyes, three black tomoe began to spin. His hands moved in a rapid blur of gestures. In the next instant, every one of them froze where they stood, rigid and unblinking.

Their eyes widened in horror, but their mouths remained tightly shut. They couldn't even scream.

One simple illusion Genjutsu was all it took to neutralize them.

Now came the real question: what to do with them? Just let them go? That felt far too lenient. Kill them? He had the powers now he'd even fought Kakashi but taking a life? He hadn't done that before. As much as he loathed these scumbags and thought the world would be better without them, actually doing it… was another story.

He hesitated then shook his head.

"No… screw it. They can die."

He cast another illusion, this time stripping them of motor control. Like marionettes on invisible strings, they stumbled out of his home, lurching into the street like puppets.

Soon, these five or six thugs would gather at a busy intersection. They'd ignore the red light, step into the road, and get obliterated by a passing semi-truck then shredded beneath its tires.

But none of that had anything to do with Kevin.

"Ninjutsu really is damn convenient," he muttered.

Against ordinary people, Genjutsu was virtually unstoppable.

[System Notification]

"I'm Not a Killer has joined the chat group!"

"Spider Girl has joined the chat group!"

The chat interface pulsed with two new messages. Kevin's eyes lit up.

More members? More girls? Was his harem about to expand again?

Kevin Cross: Welcome to my harem, newcomers!

I'm Not a Killer: "Harem?"

In a Kendo practice room across a distant world, a girl sitting seiza-style opened her eyes mid-meditation, confusion flickering in her gaze.

Spider Girl: "Huh? What's this? A chat group? Is this a special skill? But I didn't see this show up during my last level-up…"

Elsewhere in another world, a small white spider blinked its many red eyes and tilted its head in curiosity. She opened her skill menu, trying to locate anything labeled "chat group," but no such skill existed.

Kevin Cross: "Check the announcement. I've posted one."

I'm Not a Killer: "Announcement?"

Both newcomers tapped the tab, reading the system bulletin.

Spider Girl: "A harem chat group? This… feels like something straight out of a light novel. But hey, the group chat premise is fresh. I read a ton of light novels before reincarnating, but I've never seen one with a chat group mechanic like this."

I'm Not a Killer: "If you want to be my boyfriend, you'll have to be strong enough to overpower me. As for the harem part? That's asking a bit much."

Kevin Cross: "This is my harem chat group. If you've joined, then you're part of the harem. That's non-negotiable."

Uchiha Izumi: "That's right, newbies. It's the group leader's chat, and his power increases with every harem member that joins."

Spider Girl: "Wait, hold on! I was a girl before, sure, but now… now I'm just wait. Don't tell me the group leader's into spiders too?! That's so pervy!!"

I'm Not a Killer: "Spider?"

Spider Girl: "Yup."

Moments later, she sent a picture: eight gleaming scarlet eyes and a white, platter-sized spider body filled the screen.