"What do you think those stars in the sky are?" Armin asked softly, gazing upward.
"They're individual suns," Chen Si replied calmly.
"Suns? What are suns?" Armin asked curiously.
"Beyond the Walls there are oceans, volcanic lava, vast plains, and glaciers. But have you ever considered that there might be new worlds in the sky as well?" Chen Si said casually.
He knew how shocking such information would be. He was only planting a seed for Armin—one that he would dig up himself someday.
"A world in the sky…" Armin murmured.
"Beyond the sky is what's called the universe," Chen Si said.
"Someday we'll reach the universe too, Armin! We'll see an endless ocean filled with salt—and a universe filled with countless stars!" Eren declared with shining determination.
Chen Si couldn't help but laugh softly. He had no idea that decades later, Paradis might produce someone like an "Armin-strong."
The Next Day – Gate of Wall Rose
"It's the main force of the Survey Corps! Commander Erwin, please drive the Titans out!"
"Look! That's Captain Levi! I heard his combat strength alone rivals an entire brigade! (Survey Corps brigade strength: 150 soldiers.)"
"Cheh. So noisy." Levi paid little attention to the crowds lining the streets. The only people he acknowledged were Erwin—and the woman standing beside him.
"My, my, Levi. A little public performance is necessary," said a charming woman with long, slightly curled hair flowing to her waist. As she spoke, she blew a kiss toward the crowd.
Levi's sharp, dead-fish eyes softened ever so slightly.
"That's right, Levi," said the woman with a high ponytail and glasses—Hange Zoë—while enthusiastically waving at the onlookers. "These people are our bread and butter. Our funding depends on them."
"It's Miss Chris Winyaad! She blew me a kiss!" a burly man exclaimed dreamily.
"Nonsense! Miss Winyaad was smiling at me!" a thin man protested excitedly.
"What did you say?!" The burly man grabbed the other by the collar.
"It's completely different from five years ago," Eren said with emotion. "People are full of expectations for the Survey Corps now."
"Yeah. Some of the veterans are really popular," Armin added.
"Wh–what the hell… Who is that…? What the hell is going on…?" Chen Si stared in disbelief at the seductive woman standing beside Levi.
Who is she? Petra? Impossible. Who is this? What the hell is happening?
That woman is wearing black stockings.
Do people in this era even know what black stockings are? And those stockings clearly look modern.
Chen Si's eyes fixed on the lettering printed along her leg.
Balenciaga.
His mind raced wildly, trying to process the shock.
He arrived at a conclusion he didn't want to accept:
There was another transmigrator in this world besides him.
"Brother, what are you looking at?" Mikasa asked, her smile gentle—but faintly edged with danger.
"Chris Winyaad truly lives up to her reputation as a charming woman. Even Top Graduate Chen Si can't resist," teased the so-called "foolish couple," Hanna chimed in.
"N-no, that's not it," Chen Si hurried to explain under the pressure of Mikasa's rising aura. "I just don't remember hearing about this female soldier before. I was curious."
"I've heard she joined the Survey Corps at the same time as Captain Levi," Armin explained. "Apparently, when she was once surrounded by five Titans, she killed them all. She's a true elite."
"Why has no one ever mentioned her to me?" Chen Si scratched his head irritably. How had he missed something this important?
"Eh? Chen Si, you're always the first to know anything about the Survey Corps. Every time new information comes out, you're sleeping right next to us," Eren said in confusion.
That's because I relied on spoilers, Chen Si sighed inwardly. How was I supposed to know there'd be a transmigrator I knew nothing about?
"There hasn't been much fighting in the last five years. That pretty senior is dressed up so nicely—maybe the battles haven't been intense. Maybe the Colossal Titan won't show up this time," Franz said foolishly.
"Yeah, that's right," Hanna agreed sweetly.
"What nonsense are you idiots talking about?!" Eren snapped.
"We're not some perfectly matched couple!" Hanna waved her hands shyly.
"You're the impatient one, Eren!" Franz said bashfully.
Eren trembled with frustration.
Armin smiled awkwardly, playing peacemaker.
"Hey, you lot," Hannes approached with a familiar Garrison soldier.
"I heard you graduated yesterday—and ranked at the top. Chen Si even became top of the class. That's quite impressive," Hannes said.
"Hm? Where's Chen Si?"
He noticed Chen Si still staring toward the Survey Corps. Following his gaze, Hannes immediately understood.
Ah. So the boy's reached that age.
"Hey, Chen Si. You're top of the class now—you can't have such shallow ambitions, staring only at pretty faces," Hannes laughed, ruffling his hair.
Struggling in embarrassment—and under Mikasa's increasingly dangerous stare—Chen Si retreated from the crowd.
At the same time, while Chen Si was observing the woman, she was observing him.
Their eyes met.
The woman's lips curled upward as she threw him a flirtatious wink.
She had noticed him long ago. From the moment she entered the city, she had been observing the trio of protagonists.
And the unfamiliar young man standing closely beside them—someone she didn't recognize—could only be like her.
Another transmigrator.
Chen Si had to admit—Chris Winyaad was undeniably beautiful. Her features were refined, her hairstyle modern and stylish. Her figure was striking—curved in all the right places. Generous. Very generous. And those black stockings only emphasized it.
For now, he couldn't tell whether she was friend or foe. Nor did he know how much she knew of the plot. Since she stood close to Levi, she likely wasn't an enemy—at least not immediately.
Chen Si frowned deeply.
He had been too complacent.
At the very start of the next battle, he needed to personally kill a Titan to rapidly increase his own strength. He couldn't guarantee that other transmigrators didn't possess special abilities as well.
Because of his assumptions, he had always believed he was unique.
Now he worried even more:
What if there were more than just the two of them?
What if there were many?
His plans shifted immediately. He would no longer leisurely follow the original storyline.
First, he had to determine the level of threat posed by other transmigrators.
Depending on that—
He would either befriend them…
Or eliminate them.
A faint killing intent flickered in Chen Si's eyes.
He couldn't gamble.
He had to prepare for every possibility.
After all—
Were all the people who had watched Attack on Titan truly good people?