It was three in the morning on July 21st in Roppongi, Minato City, Tokyo.
The rain poured down in torrents. One or two passersby still hurried down the street in their raincoats before ducking into a brightly lit izakaya, letting out sighs of relief beneath the eaves as if they had found a safe harbor.
At this very mont, Black Cocoon was hanging upside down just beneath the izakaya's ceiling, quietly observing the people around him.
He was hungry right now. Very hungry. But in the middle of the night, with this wretched weather, he couldn't order takeout back at the hotel, so he had no choice but to forage for food outside.
Unfortunately, glancing around, the guests in the izakaya were exclusively drinking alcohol. As a minor, he couldn't drink, and besides, alcohol wouldn't fill his stomach anyway.
Thus, he wrapped a restraining band around a notebook, used a pencil to write a ssage, and stealthily placed the notebook on the counter.
[A Stray Cat: I want to drink hot milk. (Cat want milk) (Milk is very, very good) (Please help a poor stray kitty passing by, thank you ow, thank you ow)]
Below the text was a drawing of a little black cat licking its paw alongside a heart.
The store manager, his soaked pant legs rolled up, returned from outside carrying ingredients. He glanced at the notebook on the counter, then turned his head to look around. He didn't see any pranksters, and he certainly didn't see a cat.
Black Cocoon hung upside down in midair, expressionless, quietly watching the man across the counter.
"Is soone filming for Twitter or YouTube..." the manager muttered to himself. "Young people these days sure know how to play around. Well, if the video goes viral, it might be good advertising for my shop."
Muttering to himself, the manager tucked the notebook into a cabinet, scratched his head, and casually pulled a carton of milk from the refrigerator. He popped it into the microwave to heat it up, then lowered his head to read the newspaper.
A short while later, the manager turned his head and found the microwave empty. Stuck to the top of the microwave was a colorful sticky note: [Love from "Black Cocoon" — Next ti a custor passes by, I'll use my restraining bands to drag them in for you.]
A few minutes later, at the Roppongi Grand Hotel. Ji Minghuan controlled Host Body One, Black Cocoon, and dropped into the hotel room. He retracted the restraining bands covering his entire body, lowered his head, and let out a long sigh.
"There really are more good people in this world," he murmured.
After standing in a daze for a mont, Ji Minghuan lifted his head. He twisted open the hot milk carton with his hands while using his dripping wet restraining bands to shut the window. The wind and rain no longer battered against the glass. He tipped his head back and chugged the milk, letting out a satisfied breath before casually tossing the empty carton into the trash bin.
Then, like an old lady with failing legs, he staggered forward. Spreading his arms wide, he pitched forward into a spread-eagle dive and collapsed onto the bed with a heavy thud, burying his chin deep into the pillow.
'So exhausting. I can finally catch a break,' he thought. 'This family of five... aside from , who isn't even human, and a certain soone who went to the grave early, none of the others bring
any peace of mind. Seriously, if you put those three together, do they even share a single working brain? Especially that guy who wet his pants. I stopped wetting my pants in kindergarten. He's so much older than , isn't he embarrassed?'
Ji Minghuan was working himself to the bone worrying about this family.
Based on their actual performance, he often felt like he was the real father of this family. The terrifying clock tower guy was the eldest son, the big blue rat was the second son, and the refrigerator demon was the youngest daughter.
'Speaking of which, Little Sister can't possibly stay with Ke Qirui forever...' he mused. 'She needs to hurry back. I can't wait to see her get a mixed double beatdown from Old Man and Big Brother.'
After grumbling internally for a bit, Ji Minghuan rolled over on the bed and pulled up Host Body One's main quest panel.
Under the dim, yellowish light of the bedside lamp, red and black text crawled across his vision like ants.
[System Prompt: Three main quests are currently in the 'Completed' state. Please claim your rewards promptly.]
He raised his palm and slapped the panel hard, like he was smacking a malfunctioning slot machine. A series of cheerful, pleasant reward chis rang out in rapid succession.
[Main Quest 1 (Phase 4) Completed — Help the Transgressor 'Blue Arc' survive the auction operation.]
[Rewards Earned: 1 Division Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point]
[Main Quest 2 (Phase 2) Completed — Establish a cooperative relationship with the super criminal 'Ghost Bell' to expand your interpersonal network among villainous superhumans.]
[Rewards Earned: 1 Division Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point]
[Main Quest 3 (Phase 3) Completed — Cooperate with the Exorcists 'Ke Qirui' and 'Su Zimai' to ensure their survival during the auction operation.]
[Rewards Earned: 1 Division Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point]
[System Prompt: All three main quests have been refreshed to their next phase.]
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and briefly skimd the new tasks.
[Main Quest 1 (Phase 5): Help the Transgressor 'Blue Arc' infiltrate the United Nations organization 'Rainbow Wing'.]
[Main Quest 2 (Phase 3): Help the super criminal 'Ghost Bell' find clues regarding the mbers of Rainbow Wing.]
[Main Quest 3 (Phase 4): This quest will refresh in 5 days.]
[Main Quest 4 (Phase 2): Establish a cooperative relationship with the Vice-Captain of the Royal Court Squad, 'Red Dragon', to expand your interpersonal network within Whalegarden.]
'Thank goodness it didn't give
another auction task, or I'd be suffocating,' he thought. 'Little Sister's main quest will refresh in five days, which is July 26th... I'll treat it as a vacation for Host Body One. I should be able to relax for the next few days.'
'Besides, I still need to create Host Body Three, which should help lighten my burden.'
Thinking of this, Ji Minghuan brought up his attribute panel and swiftly distributed his three newly acquired attribute points.
[Ga Character One 'Black Cocoon' — 'Spirit' attribute changed: Rank C → Rank C
(↑1 point) (The 'Toughness' of your Restraining Bands will also increase, making them harder to sever.)]
[Ga Character One 'Black Cocoon' — 'Strength' attribute changed: Rank B
→ Rank B
(↑1 point) (The 'Strength' of your Restraining Bands will also increase.)]
[Ga Character One 'Black Cocoon' — 'Speed' attribute changed: Rank B
→ Rank A (↑1 point) (The movent speed of your 'Restraining Bands' will also increase.)]
[Current Character Attributes: Strength: Rank B
; Speed: Rank A ; Spirit: Rank C ]
'It was about ti to raise the Spirit attribute,' he mused. 'Otherwise, the restraining bands would snap from a simple tug, rendering all that strength and speed useless... Co to think of it, my stats have gotten this high without
even noticing. Once I invest in so new skills, I should at least be considered at the peak of the Dragon-tier.'
Ji Minghuan muttered to himself softly as he opened Host Body One's character skill tree.
[Branch One (Hidden): Restraining Band Senses (Learned) → Restraining Band True Words (Learned) → Restraining Band Invisibility (Learned) → Restraining Band Trap (Learned) → Restraining Band Avatar (Learned) → Avatar Enhancent (Unlearned, requires 3 Skill Points to unlock)...]
[Branch Two (Berserk): Restraining Band Extension (Learned) → Restraining Band Blades (Unlearned) → Unknown → Unknown...]
[Branch Three (Somber Night): Restraining Band Detection (Learned) → Restraining Band Suppression (Learned) → Ability Theft (Learned) → Capacity Expansion (Unlearned) → Unknown]
[Current Skill Points available: 3]
"This skill tree system is really unfriendly to indecisive people."
Ji Minghuan mumbled softly while lying on his stomach, glancing at the 'Unlearned' skills across the three respective branches.
[(Hidden) Avatar Enhancent: Allows your Restraining Band Avatar to inherit seventy percent of the True Self's attributes.]
[(Berserk) Restraining Band Blades: Upon activation, coats the edges of your restraining bands with sharp black blades.]
[(Somber Night) Capacity Expansion: Allows you to simultaneously store two different stolen supernatural abilities within your restraining bands, and increases the maximum retention ti to 48 hours.]
'Black Cocoon's actual body isn't that strong right now anyway, so enhancing the avatar is pointless. I'm better off distributing these three points across the other branches,' he thought. With that in mind, Ji Minghuan raised his finger and long-pressed the skill icon for 'Restraining Band Blades'.
[Consud 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the 'Berserk' branch skill — 'Restraining Band Blades'.] [The next skill in the 'Berserk' branch is now available for unlocking — 'Restraining Belt Maelstrom' (Using yourself as the center, spin a massive amount of restraining bands at high speeds, generating a storm-like torrent around your body. The area of effect is determined by your 'Restraining Band Extension' level.)]
[Note: 'Restraining Belt Maelstrom' can be activated even when subjected to crowd control effects.]
[Current Skill Points remaining: 2]
Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows. 'If I activate Restraining Band Blades first and then use this Restraining Belt Maelstrom, wouldn't that create a deadly close-range area-of-effect attack? Plus, this thing can be cast while immobilized. I can pretend to be trapped, lure the enemy close, and then give them a nasty surprise.'
[Consud 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the 'Berserk' branch skill — 'Restraining Belt Maelstrom'.]
[The next skill in the 'Berserk' branch is now available for unlocking — 'Restraining Band Chainsaw' (Temporarily enhances your Restraining Band Blades, causing them to spin rapidly around the bands like chainsaw teeth. Requires 2 Skill Points.)]
[Current Skill Points remaining: 1]
"Looks like I have no choice but to put it into the last branch."
[Consud 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the 'Somber Night' branch skill — 'Capacity Expansion'.]
[The next skill in the 'Somber Night' branch is now available for unlocking — 'Ability Overload': Amplifies the power of a stolen supernatural ability. (Requires 2 Skill Points.)]
[Current Skill Points remaining: 0]
'With this, Black Cocoon's combat prowess has spiked again. I'll have to find Tun Yin another day to test it out in real combat.'
Pillowing one arm behind his head, he lowered his gaze and materialized a restraining band from his sleeve.
His eyes sharpened as he activated 'Restraining Band Blades'.
With a sharp, tallic hum, the edges of the pitch-black restraining bands were instantly plated with a layer of silver-white blades. The intertwining silver and black looked like liquid rcury blending with splashed ink, strikingly vivid under the light.
As for the 'Restraining Belt Maelstrom' skill, he didn't dare test it in the hotel room. It was the equivalent of an unstoppable 'super armor' move in a fighting ga—once you hit the command, it automatically unleashed its full sequence. If his bands ended up shredding the entire bed right in front of him, he'd have no one but himself to bla.
'Old Man and Big Brother probably won't be coming back tonight...'
Pressing a restraining band against the wall, Ji Minghuan peeked into the two empty adjoining rooms. Satisfied, he withdrew the bands back into his sleeves and flicked off the bedside lamp.
Amidst the rhythmic drumming of the rain, he slowly closed his eyes and synchronized his consciousness with Host Body Two, Xia Pingzhou.
anwhile, in another corner of Tokyo, the mbers of the White Raven Brigade left the Mirror World auction house and retreated through the wooden door created by Robert, arriving at the abandoned building near the Amamiya Building.
Lan Duo Duo was dead, leaving the team's healer position temporarily vacant. Fortunately, the self-healing abilities of superhumans and Exorcists were incredibly potent; even destroyed internal organs could rapidly regenerate.
As long as limbs weren't severed, most other injuries only required basic bandaging.
Despite this, the mont Ji Minghuan saw the half-human, half-ghostly faces of An Lunsi and Jack the Ripper, his stomach churned violently. He seriously thought he was going to throw up his dinner.
Unable to bear the sight, he had Xia Pingzhou summon his Queen golem to accelerate the healing of their facial wounds. Blue Arc had quite literally peeled half the flesh off their faces, leaving bone exposed in a way that belonged in a B-list horror movie.
As for their other injuries, Ji Minghuan couldn't be bothered. He couldn't see them anyway, so they could heal on their own ti.
Looking at the holy, fatherly aura radiating from the Queen golem, the few mbers who were still in the mood cast surprised glances his way, remarking that it was completely overpowered for his Celestial Drive to actually possess healing abilities on top of everything else.
Ji Minghuan didn't bother responding to the other mbers. Instead, he lifted the unconscious Ayase Origami from the ground, hoisted her onto his back, and turned to Robert, asking him to use his supernatural ability to send them back to Oda Takikage's cafe.
Robert nodded.
A mont later, Ji Minghuan passed through the final wooden door and finally returned to the familiar interior of the cafe. Turning his head, he noticed Oda Takikage's apron still hanging on a hook in the kitchen.
He tilted his head slightly, glancing at Ayase Origami slumped over his shoulder. 'If I hadn't ordered the Queen golem to knock the young miss out back then, the Brigade would probably be down by at least half its mbers right now... Losing only two people is already the best-case scenario.'
'Speaking of which, while the Brigade is disbanded, the commander will probably have to go looking for two new mbers. I wonder if I could have Black Cocoon volunteer... No, no, no, forget it. Black Cocoon has already made an enemy of the Brigade once; there's no way the commander would ever trust him.'
'If the White Raven Brigade wants to take revenge on Lake Hunt, at least half the mbers need to reach the Calamity-tier in a short amount of ti. Right now, it looks like only a few have any hope of doing that... Unless the commander manages to recruit two new Calamity-tier mbers, though the chances of that happening are practically zero.'
Just as he was pondering this, the mobile phone in his pocket let out a sudden chi.
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow. Freeing up one hand, he pulled out the phone to find a text ssage from Hacker.
[Hacker: Newbie, after we fence the auctioned goods, I'll send your cut to your bank account, but only half. I'll give you the other half in cash.]
[Xia Pingzhou: Can't you just hack straight into the bank? That way you'd have as much money as you wanted.]
[Hacker: Ugh, I've done that way too many tis in the past. Those people know my thods like the back of their hands now, and if I hack in, I'll be discovered in no ti. The authorities also frequently use intentional loopholes as traps. It's annoying as hell. Do you want to get hunted down?]
[Xia Pingzhou: Fine. I just hope the money you send
is clean.]
[Hacker: Obviously it's clean. I'm battle-hardened, bro. You'll understand when you get to my age.]
[Xia Pingzhou: Brat.]
Ji Minghuan pocketed the phone and climbed the creaky, old spiral staircase, carrying Ayase Origami up to the second floor. He gently laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers over her.
He then took a seat on the mattress laid out on the floor.
Letting out a deep breath, he looked at Ayase Origami's sleeping face. On this stormy night, not a sliver of moonlight bled through the thick, layered cumulonimbus clouds, casting a dark pall over her features.
Recalling the expression Ayase Origami had shown at the auction house not too long ago, he finally realized that this girl—usually as pale and emotionally detached as a porcelain doll—could actually react so intensely when soone close to her was in danger.
This made Ji Minghuan even more curious. A month from now, when Host Body Two slaughtered Jack the Ripper, what kind of expression would Ayase Origami show Xia Pingzhou then?
He shrugged and sat cross-legged on the floor mattress, pulling up Host Body Two's main quest panel.
[One main quest has currently been completed. Please claim your rewards promptly.]
Raising his hand, he tapped the only illuminated task. A black-and-white prompt box popped up.
[Main Quest 1 (Phase 2) Completed: Join the White Raven Brigade in the July 21st robbery of the 'Tokyo Underground Auction' and survive the operation.]
[Rewards Earned: 3 Skill Points, 1 Attribute Point, 1 Division Point]
[Main Quest 1 (Phase 3): This quest will refresh in 10 days.]
[System Prompt: Total number of Division Points currently held: 11. Conditions to create the next host body have been t. Would you like to imdiately begin creating the next ga character?]
'I'll wait until tomorrow morning to create Host Body Three. I'm way too exhausted today...' Thinking this, Ji Minghuan controlled Xia Pingzhou to lie down and shut his eyes.
Listening to the rhythmic patter of the rain and the girl's steady breathing, he soon drifted into a deep sleep.
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