In the early hours of July 21st, the sky was just beginning to brighten.
The cries of seagulls drifted in from the horizon as the first rays of dawn spilled from the sky, tearing through the dark curtain that enveloped Tokyo Bay and shining into the empty Loft.
Xia Pingzhou's eyelids fluttered as he slowly woke up on the Mattress laid out on the floor.
Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the familiar sight of late-sumr Tokyo. The sky above was a brilliant azure, and the continuous blaring of car horns echoed from the Rainbow Bridge stretching across Tokyo Bay.
He took a deep breath, rubbed his forehead, and groggily turned his head on the pillow to look around.
Ayase Origami was nowhere to be seen in the Loft. However, he noticed that a thin blanket had been draped over him since last night—she must have been the one who covered him.
"How rare... Even a cold-natured young lady like her knows how to care for others," Ji Minghuan murmured, sitting up and stifling a yawn, tears of fatigue welling in the corners of his eyes.
He stared blankly at the blanket for a mont, thinking to himself, 'I thought she'd be furious with ... I knocked her out last night right when she was about to hiss at Zhou Jiuya. Did she really not hold it against ?'
The next mont, a black-and-white panel suddenly popped up in his vision.
[Due to increased renown, the codena for this ga character has been updated.]
[The current codena for Host Body Two is: "White Raven Brigade mber No. 12: 'Chess Player'."]
"Now why did that happen?" Ji Minghuan tilted his head in confusion. "Most of the bodyguards at last night's Auction ended up dead. Who could have possibly spread my na?"
He scratched his ssy hair, pondering the matter with genuine puzzlent.
'It couldn't possibly be the people from the Ghost Train Gang... Ke Qirui knows that Xia Pingzhou and Black Cocoon are working together. From her perspective, she should have easily noticed that I intentionally decided to Go Easy, letting Black Cocoon rescue Su Zimai.'
'Since she has no reason to leak my information to the Association or the Yakuza, it looks like... I must have been caught by the security caras at the Auction venue. A place like that was bound to be riddled with hidden micro-caras.'
Having reached this conclusion, Ji Minghuan stopped obsessing over the origin of his new nickna. Instead, he pulled up the character panel for Host Body Two and efficiently distributed his attribute points.
[The "Spirit" attribute of your Host Body Two, "Xia Pingzhou," has changed: Grade B
→ Grade B
(The power of your "Chess Pieces" will increase accordingly.)]
[Current attributes for Host Body Two: Strength: Grade D; Speed: Grade B ; Spirit: Grade B
]
[You currently possess "3" skill points. Would you like to develop the character's skill tree imdiately?]
Ji Minghuan expressionlessly tapped the prompt box, and Xia Pingzhou's character tree instantly sprang into view.
On the black-and-white tree, three gnarled branches of varying lengths caught his eye. They looked like a demon's hand reaching desperately from Hell toward the sky.
[Branch One (Swarm): Recruit Soldiers (Learned) → Soldier Training (Learned) → Craft Rook (Learned) → Cavalry Training (Pending) → Unknown → ...]
[Branch Two (Valor): Chess Piece Evolution (Learned) → Secondary Chess Piece Evolution (Condition: A cumulative total of "10" skill points must be spent on other branches before this skill can be learned) (Learning this skill costs "2" skill points) → Unknown → ...]
[Branch Three (Soul): Demon Hunter (Costs "1" skill point to learn) → Unknown → ...]
Without hesitation, he reached out and long-pressed the "Cavalry Training" icon. The text reflected in the young man's pupils shifted from dim to bright, finally blooming into a radiant black-and-white luster.
[Consud "1" skill point. Successfully learned the Branch "Swarm" skill—"Cavalry Training" (Train one of your Soldiers into "Cavalry," mounting them on a warhorse and equipping them with a lance. When Cavalry is present, the combat prowess of all other Soldiers is significantly increased).]
Ji Minghuan considered this. 'The Cavalry must represent the "Knight" in International Chess, and the Bishop is the "Elephant." Looks like I've practically assembled the complete set of International Chess pieces.'
[Learning permission for the next skill in Branch "Swarm" has been unlocked: "King of Puppets" (Grants your King piece the ability to move. When the "King" is on the field, the "Morale" of your "Soldiers" and "Cavalry" will increase—a slight boost to attribute values).]
"Oho... The King is finally no longer a cripple who can only stand idly by and take a beating. Co forth, my King of Puppets!"
Ji Minghuan's eyes lit up slightly. Without a second thought, he raised his hand and long-pressed the "King of Puppets" icon.
[Consud "1" skill point. Successfully learned the Branch "Swarm" skill—"King of Puppets".]
[Learning permission for the next skill in Branch "Swarm" has been unlocked: "King's Flash" (Upon learning, unlocks the final Authority of the King).]
[Learning this skill requires the consumption of "3" skill points.]
"The final Authority... what kind of ability could that be?" Ji Minghuan scratched his chin and muttered, "Can't afford it, though. Host Body Two only has one skill point left."
With that in mind, he could only shift his index finger to long-press the skill on the final branch.
[Consud "1" skill point. Successfully learned the Branch "Soul" skill—"Demon Hunter" (When you kill a Demon, you have a chance to obtain a "Single-Use Demon Chess Piece" of the sa type).]
[Learning permission for the next skill in Branch "Soul" has been unlocked: "Man-Demon Bridge" (Learning this skill requires "2" skill points).]
"Man-Demon Bridge?" Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and tapped the detailed description page for the skill.
[Man-Demon Bridge: Temporarily fuse one of your International Chess Pieces with a Demon Chess Piece. (Fusion duration depends on your "Spirit" attribute; the higher the Spirit attribute, the longer the fusion lasts.)]
[Note: Once the maximum fusion duration is reached, the fused piece will split back into two.]
"Oh? Fusing a Demon chess piece with an International Chess piece? Does that an I can use it to strengthen the Queen piece? Like, fusing a fire demon with the Queen to create a 'Hellfire Queen' or sothing like that."
Ji Minghuan muttered to himself with keen interest.
The corners of his lips curled up into an excited grin. Theoretically, this skill could be used to develop an infinite number of combinations. Fusing a Demon with a Bishop, or a Demon with a King, or a Soldier...
Moreover, the effects would vary depending on the Demon used for the fusion.
All he needed to do was have Host Body Two spend so ti hunting down Demons. Relying on the "Demon Hunter" effect to gather a vast stockpile of single-use Demon chess pieces, he could experint, sort out nurous powerful fusion combinations, and flawlessly apply them in actual combat.
However, the prompt box that popped up next was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, instantly cooling his excitent.
[Your current amount of skill points: 0.]
"Alright then... I'm pretty much done here anyway."
Having allocated all of the host body's points, Ji Minghuan lay tiredly back down on the Mattress, closed his eyes, and caught a short nap. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes, sluggishly pushed the blanket aside to get up, slipped into his slippers by the bed, and went to the washroom to freshen up.
After smoothing down his ssy bedhead, he controlled Xia Pingzhou and headed downstairs.
Looking up, he saw Ayase Origami sitting quietly by the counter of the cafe.
She wasn't sitting in her usual booth reading her collection of Haiku. Instead, she perched on a wooden stool behind the counter, staring at an eyeglass case placed before her.
The case was open, revealing a sowhat worn pair of reading glasses.
The glasses bore obvious signs of repair; it looked like they had been patched up and used for many years. Their owner must have treasured them deeply, otherwise, it wouldn't make sense why they hadn't been replaced.
The Kimono Girl lowered her gaze, silently looking at the reading glasses.
A mont later, amidst the cries of seagulls outside, she finally broke the silence.
"Takikage once said..."
"Said what?" Xia Pingzhou asked.
"He said that he only ever wanted to be an ordinary butler... He only joined the Brigade because of ," she murmured. "If I had chosen to stay with him at the Ayase family ho back then, what would things be like now?"
Xia Pingzhou stayed silent for a mont. He walked over, pulled up a chair to sit opposite her, and said, clearly Disapproving:
"In all likelihood, you would have attended the Auction as a Guest of the Yakuza and been killed by mbers of the Brigade."
He paused. "Though to be fair, for a young lady of your status, soone probably would have attended in your place."
"Who all died?"
"Only Takikage and Lan Duo Duo. The other mbers survived."
"I see."
Seeing Ayase Origami fall silent, Xia Pingzhou didn't press the matter further. He simply turned his head out of habit and glanced at the cafe's Kitchen. Normally, at this ti of day, Oda Takikage would have already prepared breakfast for the two of them.
"A certain Kitten scratched its owner from behind last night," the Kimono Girl suddenly remarked after a long silence.
"If I hadn't knocked you out, even more people would have died," Xia Pingzhou replied expressionlessly. "If you want revenge, now isn't the ti. Revenge is extrely difficult. It requires careful planning and waiting for the right opportunity; a single misstep, and all your previous efforts will be wasted."
'After all, I'm waiting to take my own revenge on the Ripper. How could I not be experienced?' he thought to himself.
"It's fine this way."
"To be honest, I thought you'd bla ."
"Lan Duo Duo and Takikage are already dead. I didn't want you and Jack to die too, or else I would have nothing left..." The Kimono Girl paused. "So... it's fine."
Xia Pingzhou pondered for a mont before asking nonchalantly, "And what if you woke up to find that we were all dead?"
Ayase Origami fell silent for a while. She tilted her head and shot him an indifferent look.
"I'm hissing at you, Kitten."
"Anyway, since this incident escalated to such a degree, we've completely infuriated the eight great Yakuza families of Japan," Xia Pingzhou pointed out. "This affair caused a nationwide sensation last night. You can turn on any Television right now and see the news reports. So of those bodyguards were quite famous... especially 'Sakura Bud'. She's a highly popular Transgressor in Japan with a massive public following."
He paused. "Right now, the Yakuza are mobilizing all their forces across Japan to hunt us down. We can't stay in Tokyo anymore. It's only a matter of ti before they find Oda Takikage's cafe. Hacker said he's arranged a smuggling boat for us, so we can leave Tokyo by sea."
"I know," Ayase Origami replied, her face expressionless. "We'll leave as soon as we finish packing. The Brigade is temporarily disbanding. Until the next operation begins, you're free to act on your own."
"When will the next operation be?"
"I don't know. We wait for the Captain's orders." Ayase Origami shook her head and asked softly, "Are you going to be by yourself?"
"Doesn't matter to . I don't have anything to do after we disband anyway."
"I suddenly want to change into so new clothes." Ayase Origami looked up from the eyeglass case. "Do you want to accompany
to go clothes shopping?"
"Let's skip the malls in Tokyo. We can do that after we take the boat out of Japan; otherwise, we'll easily get caught." Xia Pingzhou thought for a mont before adding, "I've only ever seen you wear the sa Kimono. I've always wondered if that Kimono held so special aning for you. Like, perhaps your late mother left it to you?"
"I was just too lazy to choose different outfits, so I bought identical ones and filled my closet with them."
"Oh."
Ayase Origami lowered her eyes and slipped the eyeglass case into the sleeve of her Kimono. "Let's go."
"Yeah."
The two rose from the counter, taking one last look at the cafe that was about to be abandoned to the dust, and made their way toward the Wooden Door. The Wind Chi tied to the entrance swayed in the morning breeze, ringing with a crisp, clear sound.
"Xia Pingzhou."
The young woman's cool, quiet voice was carried by the morning breeze from beside him, gently rustling Xia Pingzhou's black hair.
He froze for a mont, wondering if he had misheard.
This was the first ti he had ever heard that na co from her mouth. In the past, she had always called him "Kitten" or "Newbie." Mildly surprised, he turned his head to look at Ayase Origami beside him.
In a daze, he saw the Kimono Girl's pale face bathed in the sunlight shining over from Tokyo Bay, obscuring her expression.
"Xia Pingzhou," she said softly. "Don't die."
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