It was the early morning of July 21st.
A second ago, Ji Minghuan's consciousness was still hovering above Tokyo Bay.
He and Ayase Origami stood one after another on the railing of the Rainbow Bridge.
They completely ignored the shrill whistles of the traffic police and the honking of passing cars behind them, simply continuing to walk forward along the railing.
They looked like two children skipping happily along a crosswalk, leaving all the noise of the world far behind.
The boundless sea breeze brushed against their silhouettes.
As they turned their heads to gaze at the distant shadow of Mount Fuji on the horizon, they discussed which country to visit next.
"England or Ice Island? Or maybe France? What about Norway?" Ji Minghuan suggested.
Ayase Origami's sleek hair was swept up by the sea breeze, the sleeves of her Kimono fluttering wildly. Without looking back, she replied, "We will go wherever you want to go."
The very next second, just as Ji Minghuan was about to answer, he suddenly heard a strange knocking sound.
The sudden, loud rapping at a door overlapped with the continuous roar of the ocean waves.
Ji Minghuan turned to look around. His eyes were t with the glittering waters of Tokyo Bay under the sunlight. 'It is impossible for soone to be knocking on a door right by the sea,' he thought. 'That would feel entirely too much like the absurdity of The Truman Show.'
Focusing his mind, he synced his consciousness to Host Body One, Gu Wenyu.
Inside the Roppongi Grand Hotel.
Ji Minghuan lazily rolled across the pristine white bed, tumbling off the edge while tangled in the blankets. Then, wriggling like a maggot, he rolled across the carpet toward the door, securely wrapped in the white quilt.
Raising a hand, he extended his Restraining Bands from his cuff and pressed down on the door handle with a "Click."
The door swung open. He peeked with one eye, wanting to see exactly who was disturbing his peaceful slumber so early in the morning.
However, the figure that entered his sight gave him quite a shock.
Indeed... it was Gu Qiye.
Ji Minghuan poked his head out from the blankets, sizing Gu Qiye up with curiosity.
His Big Brother was wearing the exact sa outfit today: a Blue Arc fan T-shirt and casual pants.
Even his posture was identical. He was leaning against the hallway wall with crossed arms, looking down at his Mobile Phone. However, Ji Minghuan felt like he was staring at a ghost.
"Disembowelnt" could hardly even begin to describe the injuries Gu Qiye had suffered at the Auction House last night. With wounds that severe, reason dictated that he should be lying in Tokyo's best hospital for at least two or three days before even considering getting out of bed.
He never expected that after just one night, his older brother would already be so Lively and Energetic. His complexion looked quite decent, giving off an aura of complete tranquility.
'As expected of a Near-Calamity Tier...' Ji Minghuan thought to himself. 'This regenerative ability is absolutely absurd.'
'But then again, Big Brother has official association certification for having Calamity-Tier potential,' he continued to muse. 'It is no surprise that his self-healing is stronger than a regular Near-Calamity Tier.'
Of course, it was also possible that the dical care provided by the Japan Exorcist Association was just that exceptional. After all, Ji Minghuan had personally delivered Gu Qiye to the association the night before.
Gu Qiye glanced up from his Mobile Phone, his gaze landing on his younger brother, who was lying on the floor and studying him with one open eye. He stared in montary surprise before asking, "Why are you lying on the carpet? Tell
you did not sleep down there all night."
"I am not fully awake yet," Ji Minghuan grumbled. "We primary schoolers just enjoy expressing our rebellion against the world through absurd performance art."
As he spoke, he untangled himself from the blanket and slowly climbed to his feet, rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes.
Gu Qiye smiled and reminded him, "You are a high schooler, not a primary school student."
"A high schooler who gets scared senseless is worse than a primary school student," Ji Minghuan retorted cryptically. Then, looking rather listless, he asked, "So, what do you need from this high schooler?"
"Let us return ho today. I booked the plane tickets last night; we leave at noon," Gu Qiye said.
"Then let's go."
"Right, also, could you ssage Su Zimai on WeChat and ask her sothing?"
"Ask what?"
"Ask if she wants to head back with us," Gu Qiye said with a shrug. "It is not good to always rely on others to look after her. If she wants to stay at a friend's place once we get back, that is fine, but her own family should at least cover her plane ticket."
Ji Minghuan froze.
Tilting his head, he leaned against the doorfra and said in an exasperated tone, "So you already knew she was in Japan... You should have said sothing sooner. What was the point of
putting on an act in front of you?"
"Just good luck. I ran into her and her teacher while getting barbecue earlier," Gu Qiye replied mildly. "That was when I realized the two of you were conspiring to hide the truth from . If not for that stroke of luck, I might still be in the dark."
Ji Minghuan raised his hands in surrender. "I must formally declare that Little Sister threatened
into doing it. I strongly advise against taking your anger out on ."
"I know. That is just how she is. If you disagreed, she would have thrown a massive tantrum."
"Right? Exactly!"
As he spoke, Ji Minghuan shifted his gaze away, suddenly recalling the sight of Su Zimai's red, teary eyes back in the Bookstore.
'A younger sister is a Magical Creature that is even more miraculous than an actual Magical Creature,' he thought to himself. 'But as expected, give her a good beating and all the mystery goes right out the window.'
While the two of them were chatting, Gu Zhuo'an strolled over from the end of the corridor, wearing a light jacket with his hands tucked in his pockets.
He stopped, resting one hand on his hip, and slowly lifted his head to look at them. He rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully before asking, "Are we leaving?"
Gu Qiye fell silent for a mont before nodding. He turned to Gu Zhuo'an, instantly switching his tone. "Yes... our flight is at noon. We will head to the airport to wait after breakfast."
At that mont, for so inexplicable reason, a mory flashed through his mind—the pitch-black silhouette that had darted past his eyes when he was on the brink of death at the Auction House last night...
He had lost so much blood at the ti that he was nearly blind. Even though his vision had been blurry, the people from the Exorcist Association later ntioned that the reinforcents were very likely:
Ghost Bell.
They had also revealed that factions within the Japanese yakuza might be acquainted with Ghost Bell, though those individuals refused to disclose their true identities.
After all, Ghost Bell was an internationally wanted Criminal. Any underworld syndicate actively admitting collusion with him would undoubtedly invite catastrophe. As long as they denied it, official investigations would yield nothing.
In the end, there was no way to confirm if the rumor was true or false. Even now, Gu Qiye could not be absolutely certain if the person who saved him last night was actually Ghost Bell...
If it truly was him, then everything was simply too Incomprehensible. A super-Criminal who had repeatedly defeated him had actually intervened to save him in such a dire situation?
Even if it was a commission from the yakuza, would soone like Ghost Bell really go against his own nature to do such a thing?
That morning, upon waking up in his hospital bed, Gu Qiye tossed and turned, utterly perplexed. Ultimately, he had turned his head to gaze out the window at the sky, which was as clear as washed glass. In that instant, a wave of relief washed over him.
'As long as I am alive, that is enough...' That was his only thought at the ti.
He wanted to see his family first. After assuring the Exorcist Association staff and proving that his body was completely fine, he stripped off his hospital gown. Refusing the car they had prepared for him, he sprinted all the way back to the hotel like a bolt of lightning.
"Go wash up, and then we will leave," Gu Qiye said, stepping forward to pat Gu Wenyu on the shoulder.
"Okay."
"What did Su Zimai say?"
"She said we should go on ahead."
By the afternoon of that very day, the three mbers of the Gu family boarded a plane at the Tokyo airport.
Sitting in the cabin, Ji Minghuan rested his chin on his hand, spearing pieces of fruit with a fork as he watched the sea of clouds outside the window.
To be entirely honest, after acting as the faceless ninja version of Black Cocoon for so long, Ji Minghuan was starting to miss his cumberso mask and trench coat.
At the very least, wearing them stopped him from looking so much like a Big Fluttering Moth, restoring a basic level of human dignity.
At this mont, his Host Body Two had already accompanied Ayase Origami onto the smuggling ship arranged by Hacker. Their final destination was set for Venice.
The decision was made because Blood Progenitor, Andrew, and White Wolf were apparently heading to the sa city for a vacation.
He also happened to hear that Venice was teeming with Demons. Since Xia Pingzhou had yet to form a contract with a second Demon, everything seed to be lining up perfectly. Not only were there plenty of mobs to farm, but he would also have top-tier experts leading the way.
Thus, Host Body Two was on a boat, Host Body One was on a plane, and Ji Minghuan's True Self was lying motionless in a pitch-black Confinent Room.
With all three of his bodies currently idle, Ji Minghuan finally had the free ti to do sothing extrely important:
Create his third ga character.
The reason he had to choose the timing so carefully was that during the character creation process, his consciousness would temporarily sever all ties with the outside world. He would be completely unable to control any of his bodies.
If he picked the wrong mont, it could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings or even spark a massive disaster.
"Well then... let us hope I draw a good lot this ti," he murmured.
Praying silently, Ji Minghuan clicked the gear icon in the lower-right corner of his vision. He pulled up the system interface, flipped to the final page, and found the most prominent option, highlighted in bold red and black text: [Create Ga Character].
[Consu 9 Division Points to create a brand-new ga character in the real world?]
Ji Minghuan glanced at the Division Point requirent and imdiately selected the option directly below the prompt: [Yes].
His vision instantly went completely black. The perspectives from his True Self and both of his ga characters vanished without a trace.
[Entering "Ga Character Creation" phase.]
That was the last sound he heard.
[You have loaded into the "Ga Character Creation Space." During character creation, your consciousness will not be able to link to your True Self or your ga characters. If you need to log out in an ergency, please click the exclamation mark in the upper-right corner of your vision.]
The mont he opened his eyes, Ji Minghuan was reunited with his "index finger mouse," which he had not used in quite so ti.
Following that, a panel with a background woven in red and black slowly materialized from the darkness. It looked exactly like the user interface of an RPG ga.
At the center of the panel, a line of pixelated text was displayed:
[Begin the creation of the "Third Ga Character" imdiately?]
Without a second thought, Ji Minghuan dragged his index finger mouse and clicked the [Yes] option below.
[A dice roll will now comnce. Please choose a random number between "1" and "6".]
Six options then populated at the bottom of the screen: "1," "2," "3," "4," "5," and "6."
"This again... will I stumble into so dumb luck this ti?"
Ji Minghuan tilted his head and, relying purely on intuition, clicked option [5]. [Number "5" has been selected.]
A red and black die suddenly appeared in the darkness, each of its faces engraved with a number. The die shot upward, tumbling through the air before plumting downward. It hit the ground with a sharp clatter, bounced two or three tis, and slowly rolled to a stop.
The face pointing upward displayed a blood-red number: "6."
[We regret to inform you that you have lost this dice-guessing ga.]
"Sore loser?"
Ji Minghuan furrowed his non-existent brow.
[Notice: Two "Rare Characters" have appeared in the generated "Character" profiles.]
"All is forgiven."
Ji Minghuan smoothed out his non-existent brow.
[Then, please select one of the following two "Identity Profiles". This will serve as your third ga character, Making a Grand Entrance onto the stage known as the "Real World".]
[Character Profile 1]
[Na: Naless Individual (Rare Character)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 20]
[Race: Caucasian]
[Class: Anecdote Envoy (One of the three major supernatural races. Capable of obtaining "Anecdote Fragnts" from hidden mystical realms worldwide, and using the diverse fragnt powers stored within the "Anecdote Catalog" for combat.)]
[Base Attributes: Strength: C
; Speed: C
; Spirit: C
]
[Initial Rating: C
]
[Background: You are a power-hungry follower of the "Black Death Cult". The infamous and evil Anecdote Envoy, Bernardo Edward, serves as the cult's leader. Bernardo is the wielder of the Generation-tier Anomaly, "Black Death". However, heavily corrupted by the Anecdote Fragnts of the "Black Death," Bernardo has less than a few years left to live.
If you manage to beco Bernardo's final disciple, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will inherit the Generation-tier Anomaly fragnt, "Black Death," directly from him and beco the next leader of the cult.
This is on the condition that you can survive within the Black Death Cult long enough to witness the day Bernardo is entirely consud by the Anecdote Fragnt's backlash.
Of course, you could also choose to lay low within the Black Death Cult, waiting for a chance to assassinate Bernardo and forcefully seize the "Black Death" fragnt from his grasp.]
[This ga character has two available "Main Growth Paths" to choose from:
Main Path 1: Plague Spreader;
Main Path 2: Renegade.]
'That feels incredibly underwhelming...' Ji Minghuan thought. 'It all revolves around a single Generation-tier Anomaly. Even if I get my hands on this Anecdote Fragnt called "Black Death," then what?'
He let out a faint sigh. "And the main issue is that I want to enter Whalegarden as quickly as possible, but this character's natural alignnt puts him in direct opposition to Whalegarden. Even if I tried to infiltrate Whalegarden as an Undercover Agent, it would take far too much ti."
At that thought, Ji Minghuan shifted his gaze, looking at the second panel in the darkness.
.
[Character Profile 2]
[Na: Yagubalu (Rare Character)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: ???]
[Species Type: Shark]
[Species Na: Eternal Abyss Shark]
[Supernatural Category: Magical Creature]
Ji Minghuan froze for a second. "What the hell is this... Have I already been stripped of my humanity?"
[Base Attributes: Strength: D; Speed: D; Spirit: S]
[Additional Note: This character's attributes will fluctuate as it shifts into different body sizes.]
[Initial Rating: C]
[Background:
The "Eternal Abyss Shark" is a creature residing in the deepest oceanic abysses. They were once the undisputed kings of the sea.
Every Eternal Abyss Shark can grow stronger by devouring "Anecdote Fragnts."
Thus, scavenging and consuming Anecdote Fragnts scattered across the ocean beca the mandatory path of growth for every Eternal Abyss Shark.
However, the Eternal Abyss Sharks did not dominate the oceans for long before their natural enemy, the "Legendary Whale," appeared.
The Legendary Whale is a two-hundred-ter-long, ochre-red leviathan. It is said that every Legendary Whale contains a bizarre, sprawling world within its body that completely belies its external size—so vast it could even be called an entirely new continent.
Following thousands of years of warfare, only a single "Legendary Whale" remains in the world.
Simultaneously, you are the very last juvenile "Eternal Abyss Shark" remaining in existence.
To seek vengeance against the last Legendary Whale in the world, "Chikanao," you investigated and discovered that a race of humans known as "Anecdote Envoys" currently resides within its body.
Among these Anecdote Envoys is a royal family holding absolute authority over the others. They are known as the "Whalegarden Court."
The King and Queen of the Whalegarden Court have birthed three princes, and "Xize'er" is the youngest among them, the Third Prince.
On the day of Xize'er's twelfth birthday, the King gifted him a crystal ball.
Sealed inside this crystal ball was a peculiar species of shark dragged up from the ocean's depths—the "Nobe Shark." In its juvenile form, this shark is only the size of an adult human's palm, and it never grows any larger.
Therefore, it could be comfortably kept as a pet within the crystal ball.
And you... the final "Eternal Abyss Shark" in existence. To sneak into the belly of the Legendary Whale, you shrank your body countless tis over, disguising yourself as a palm-sized "Nobe Shark." You manufactured a coincidental encounter, deliberately allowing the King's servants to capture you, thereby infiltrating a tiny crystal ball.
Finally, presented as a birthday gift, you were delivered by the King to the Third Prince's side.
From here on out, you will spend a considerable amount of ti inside that crystal ball. Masquerading as the Third Prince's beloved pet—an utterly unremarkable "Nobe Shark"—you will continually scrutinize the world of Whalegarden, waiting to discover a flaw in their defenses.
During this period, you can gorge yourself on the Anecdote Fragnts within Whalegarden to grow stronger, ceaselessly accumulating power... while you wait for the perfect mont to strike.
In the end, you will swallow the last "Legendary Whale" in the world, taking the entirety of Whalegarden down into your gullet along with it. In doing so, you will exact vengeance for the Eternal Abyss Shark clan and put an end to a millennium-spanning war for oceanic supremacy.
Or... you can choose to abandon your racial grudge, becoming a mighty general of Whalegarden and fighting alongside the royal Anecdote Envoys to protect this bizarre and fantastical world.]
[This ga character has two available "Main Growth Paths" to choose from:
Main Path 1: Whale Hunter;
Main Path 2: Guardian of the Miniature Garden.]
After reading through the background description, Ji Minghuan was profoundly stunned. He muttered, "Uh... so basically, if I pick this 'Eternal Abyss Shark,' my main quest is to eat the Legendary Whale?"
For a fleeting second, he recalled the titanic, battleship-like red whale he had witnessed the day he followed Li Qingping. 'If I really have to eat the Legendary Whale, just how impossibly massive will this shark need to get?' he thought.
'Is that not a bit too ridiculous?'
However, setting aside the grandiose promises painted by the system and looking purely at the panel's attributes, this shark nad "Yagubalu" had incredibly pathetic starting stats. It was far, far weaker than Ji Minghuan's first two ga characters.
Of course... that was very likely due to the shark still being in its juvenile phase.
Generally speaking, ga characters like this scaled exponentially, growing stronger and stronger in the late ga while being ludicrously underpowered early on.
"Then again, if I actually manage to eat the Legendary Whale, would every Anecdote Envoy in the world not be chasing
down with weapons drawn?"
As his thoughts landed there, instead of feeling any panic, Ji Minghuan actually found himself rather intrigued.
The corners of his lips quirked upward into a smirk. "When you look at it that way, it actually sounds pretty fun. Plus, this gives
the perfect cover to lurk beside the Third Prince and figure out exactly what kind of nonsense that brainless idiot Li Qingping is plotting within Whalegarden."
Without any further hesitation, Ji Minghuan swept his index finger mouse through the darkness, long-pressing onto the character profile.
Gradually, radiant light coated every inch of his fingertip's skin, followed quickly by the text on the profile shifting from dim to brilliant.
Finally, a blinding burst of interwoven black and blue light flared outward, mimicking the oppressive hues of the deepest ocean abysses.
[You have selected Character Profile 2: "Yagubalu." He will serve as your third ga character, Making a Grand Entrance into the Real World.]
[Please choose a "Main Growth Path" between "Whale Hunter" and "Guardian of the Miniature Garden."]
Sliding his index finger mouse, Ji Minghuan blankly clicked on "Whale Hunter."
The reason was painstakingly obvious: if he chose the second path, "Guardian of the Miniature Garden," his main quest would inevitably shift from "Devour the Legendary Whale" to "Protect the Legendary Whale." The growth ceiling instantly felt drastically lower, as though he were tumbling straight from the position of the ultimate villain boss down to being nothing more than a guard dog for the Anecdote Envoys.
In that case, he might as well just swallow Whalegarden whole... That way, Li Qingping would be set free, too.
Seeing how much Li Qingping despised the world of the Anecdote Envoys, Ji Minghuan could absolutely use this opportunity to give him a little helping hand. By transforming into a massive shark and gobbling up the Envoys' world, Li Qingping would be free of all his worries.
It was a win-win for absolutely everyone involved. Why on earth would he not do it?
The Anecdote Envoys would definitely appreciate his painstaking efforts. Rather than remaining frogs in a well, they could finally leave the whale's belly and witness the broader world outside.
Of course, if those Anecdote Envoys ended up being digested by the shark right alongside it, then he would pretend he never said that.
[You have selected this character's Main Growth Path 1: "Whale Hunter," and generated a unique character cultivation system.]
[Please wait a mont. Currently generating your third ga character, "Yagubalu," in the real world, and making his existence "logical"...]
[Logging into "Whalegarden" shortly... Entering the final countdown.]
[3...]
[2...]
[1...]
The mont the countdown hit zero, Ji Minghuan's vision was swallowed completely by a sudden, blinding flash of light.
Reviews
All reviews (0)