Inside a bank located on Hongyue Comrcial Street, the Restraining Band Avatar created by Black Cocoon hung upside down from the ceiling.
At this mont, the restraining bands on the avatar's face had already peeled away.
Maintaining Su Zimai's appearance and voice, Black Cocoon slowly opened his mouth and asked Su Ying:
"Mom... is it really you?"
Amidst the dead silence, the wail of police sirens echoed outside the bank. Long before, right after Su Ying had subdued the robbers, the bank staff had scread and sprinted out of the building without looking back. Now, only scattered corpses remained on the floor.
Staring at the young girl's face before her—a face that looked incredibly similar to her own—Su Ying stared blankly for a mont.
Then, she pondered aloud, "No way, could it be... you really are her child?"
"Her?" Black Cocoon tilted his head. "So you're saying you aren't actually my mom?"
Su Ying shook her head. "No. I've been looking for her for a long ti. That's why I've been using her na during my operations; I just wanted to see if I could catch her attention."
Resting one hand on her hip, she lowered her eyes and said, "Su Ying used to be a mber of the Exorcist Association. Then she suddenly quit and vanished as if she evaporated from the face of the earth. Finding her is very difficult..."
"Besides, she kept a very low profile in the Association. She always used aliases and fake identities when collaborating with others. Only a handful of people knew her real na was Su Ying, and I am one of them."
Black Cocoon narrowed his eyes. "What is your relationship with her?"
"I was a street urchin, and she took
in for a while." Su Ying looked up at Black Cocoon. "From what you're saying, she eventually started a family?"
"Yes," Black Cocoon nodded. "You knew about that too?"
Su Ying muttered to herself, "I only heard vague rumors about it from people in the Association, but none of them were certain because no one truly knew Su Ying."
"So also said she was already dead, killed in an accident, and that she left behind a few children... but I always felt that couldn't be true, so I searched for her for a very, very long ti... However, the last person in the Association who knew her is already dead, killed during a demon hunting operation."
At this point, Su Ying shrugged. "I originally wanted to find that person to verify if Su Ying had actually died... But in the end, learning of that person's death, the matter was left unsettled."
Black Cocoon lowered his eyes slightly, thinking to himself, 'What she says might be true. Even Hacker couldn't uncover the background of the na Su Ying, which shows that the authorities manipulated the records of Gu Qiye's family.'
'Furthermore, Su Ying's accidental death back then was downplayed by the authorities, and her face never even appeared in any newspapers or news reports.'
'Under these circumstances, if an old friend of my mom was really looking for her, finding out she was dead would indeed be quite difficult... Thinking about it this way, it's not strange at all that this imposter was kept in the dark.'
"Uh..." Black Cocoon said as his face silently reverted, covering itself with a layer of restraining bands. "So, you joined the White Raven Brigade just to find her?"
"Yes." Su Ying put her mask back on. "I didn't expect to run into you just one day after joining the Brigade."
She paused. "So... she really is dead? Just like the rumors said?"
"Before I tell you about all that, I demand that you show your true face first," Black Cocoon said. "Otherwise, I have no way of trusting you, Miss."
Hearing this, Su Ying silently withdrew her Celestial Drive, and the mask on her face vanished. She brushed aside the hair near her forehead, revealing a completely different face—the visage of a young girl around seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Take off your human skin mask," Black Cocoon said faintly.
"Oh, you managed to see through that?"
"I was just taking a wild guess. It seems you really are wearing a human skin mask."
"Consider yourself lucky."
As she spoke, Su Ying tore off the skin mask, revealing an androgynous yet delicate face. Her slender eyebrows were slightly arched, and her aura carried a subtle sense of alienation, exuding a wild flavor akin to a stray cat on the street.
She shook her head, her hair swaying with the motion. "Now can you tell
Su Ying's whereabouts?"
"Tell
your na. Don't lie, I have the ability to detect falsehoods," Black Cocoon demanded.
She replied, "My na is Tong Zizhu, and I go by the codena Wild Kitten. Before this, I was a rogue Exorcist, unaffiliated with any organization. Usually, I hunt demons or capture wanted criminals to exchange for bounties with the Exorcist Association."
"Hmm... You don't sound like you're lying, Wild Kitten."
"What exactly happened to Su Ying?" Tong Zizhu tilted her head, enunciating every word clearly.
Black Cocoon scratched his chin. "Let's make a deal... I'll give you this information, and in return, you do
a favor in the future."
"Of course," Tong Zizhu said coolly.
Right at that mont, Black Cocoon pulled up his exclusive cultivation system and glanced at the new na that had appeared on it.
[Current progress—Cultivation Mission 3: Form cooperative relationships with a total of 10 superhumans (Current progress: 5/10. Superhumans with whom cooperative relationships have been ford: Transgressor Blue Arc, Exorcist Su Zimai, Exorcist Ke Qirui, Supercriminal Ghost Bell, Exorcist Tong Zizhu.)]
Staring at the na Tong Zizhu, dark lines ford on Black Cocoon's forehead.
"...Fuck!" he cursed, a rare occurrence for him.
He might not trust others, but would the system he created with his own supernatural ability lie to him?
'Alright, it looks like this girl really isn't Host Body One's mother,' Black Cocoon thought to himself. 'But this is also a good thing. If my mom had actually co back to life, my entire plan would be completely derailed.'
He had already steeled his resolve to place righteousness above family ties, calculating ten thousand tis in his mind how to kick his mom back into her coffin.
Unfortunately, the person in front of him was just an imposter, so the touching scene of a loving mother and a filial son failed to play out.
'Actually, from the very beginning, I felt the chances of her being my mom were extrely slim,' Black Cocoon reasoned. 'After all, my system interface never generated a task like [Investigate the secrets hidden by Mother Su Ying]. It's just that this person was too suspicious, which shook my judgnt.'
'Speaking of which, does this person nad Tong Zizhu really just want to use the na Su Ying to find my mom?'
'What a pity... She's looking for a dead woman.'
With these thoughts in mind, Black Cocoon closed the system interface and controlled his Restraining Band Avatar to speak:
"Didn't you know already? Su Ying is dead. That's not a rumor; it's the truth."
"She's dead?"
"That's right, dead to the point that not even ashes remain. When you have free ti, you can visit her grave at Lijing's Fifth Cetery. While you're at it, just like in the movies, you can drink half a bottle of alcohol and romantically pour the rest over her grave, calling it sharing a drink with the dead. I'm sure she won't jump out of her coffin to kick your ass."
Black Cocoon patted his chest, his heart still beating rapidly.
He sighed. "To be honest, Miss, you successfully scared . You almost made
think she had risen from the dead."
"I still don't believe she's dead," Tong Zizhu said blankly. "Besides, aren't you her daughter? Why are you speaking with that kind of tone? Normally, one would be heartbroken when ntioning their deceased mother."
"I might be, and I might not be."
"It seems there's no point in believing your words. I refuse to believe Su Ying would die so easily. She used to be a Tier 3 Exorcist! Even if she had been retired for a long ti... she wouldn't have died in such a careless manner."
Black Cocoon spread his hands. "Believe what you want."
He paused. "However... regardless of whether you are Su Ying or not, I have so questions to ask you."
As soon as his voice fell, the Restraining Band Avatar abruptly shot a restraining band toward Tong Zizhu. Imdiately after, with a sharp 'Clang,' silver blades popped out along the edges of the band.
The blades carved a cold, sharp arc in midair, aiming straight for Tong Zizhu's throat.
However, in that split second, the cat mask materialized on Tong Zizhu's face. Her figure suddenly distorted and stretched amidst a flurry of static noise before completely vanishing.
In an instant, she blinked right in front of the Restraining Band Avatar.
"Perfect. I also want to catch you and thoroughly interrogate you about her." As she spoke, Tong Zizhu thrust her arms forward like venomous snakes, attempting to throttle Black Cocoon's neck.
To make it easier to capture and interrogate her later, Black Cocoon had to ensure he didn't endanger her life. Thus, he commanded the Restraining Band Avatar to retract its blades at that very mont.
Imdiately afterward, the avatar unleashed the skill [Restraining Belt Maelstrom].
Within a tenth of a second, thousands of restraining bands spun at high speeds around the avatar's body, forming a pitch-black storm.
Tong Zizhu paused slightly before her figure once again distorted and stretched in a blur. In an instant, she drifted past the restraining band storm like a phantom, reappearing not far behind Black Cocoon.
After the brief exchange of blows, the restraining band suspending Black Cocoon from the ceiling snapped. He flipped backward in midair and slowly landed on the ground.
At the sa ti, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached from the long street outside.
Black Cocoon cast a sideways glance, only to see a squad of police officers storming into the bank with their pistols drawn. They raised their weapons, roaring "Don't move!" while aiming at the two figures, their fingers resting heavily on the triggers.
"Pass a ssage to your Leader for ..." Black Cocoon glanced at the police, then back at Tong Zizhu. "On July 25th, we et alone at Lijing Third High School. I have crucial information to convey to him. He will definitely be very interested in this intelligence."
"No need to pass it on... I am right here." As the voice faded, a crow suddenly swooped down from a corner of the bank, landing swiftly behind Black Cocoon.
The crow instantly dissolved into a flurry of scattering black feathers. In its place, a man wearing a black trench coat materialized in the center of the downpour, pressing a Playing Card against Black Cocoon's neck.
"Don't move, or I will slice your neck open," he said calmly.
Black Cocoon lowered his eyes to look at the Playing Card resting against his throat, then used his peripheral vision to glance at Qi Yuanli standing behind him, eting his profoundly deep gaze.
"Mr. Leader, if I fail to show up on July 25th, then our eting will be postponed for another two days."
Black Cocoon shrugged. His tone remained leisurely and unhurried, not at all resembling soone with a blade pressed against their neck.
However, despite his seemingly indifferent tone, only Black Cocoon himself knew that whether he could successfully secure a private eting with the Leader next would indirectly determine the fates of several people.
On August 1st, Li Qingping would take Xize'er and leave the Whalegarden.
At that ti, the Legendary Whale would definitely make landfall at so port in so city of so country. And when that mont arrived, the First Prince and Second Prince would most likely refuse to let Xize'er leave.
Therefore, to protect Xize'er, Li Qingping was bound to wage a fierce battle against the forces of the two princes.
Yet, with just Li Qingping alone, even coupled with the strength of Host Body Three, Yagubalu, they probably still wouldn't be a match for them.
But as long as he learned the Legendary Whale's landing location from Xize'er, Ji Minghuan could have Black Cocoon pass this intelligence to the Leader of the White Raven Brigade.
Then, the Leader would bring his mbers to ambush the spot where the Legendary Whale stopped. The mont the whale's mouth opened, they would flood in and invade the interior of the Whalegarden.
By doing this, the combat strength on their side would beco visibly formidable.
So the problem now was: how could he find out which city the Legendary Whale would stop at when the ti ca?
If the whale's landing location couldn't even be confird, then the idea of cooperating with the Brigade was nothing more than nonsense. They wouldn't even be able to find the entrance to the Whalegarden, let alone unleash this pack of mad dogs from the Brigade inside to wreak havoc.
The reason the Whalegarden had existed peacefully for so many years, free from external interference, was precisely because the Legendary Whale wandered the vast oceans day and night, its whereabouts completely unpredictable.
Finding it could only be described as relying entirely on sheer luck. Anyone coveting the treasures within the Whalegarden first had to consider one massive problem:
—How on earth were they supposed to find this damn whale?
Therefore, Ji Minghuan had to get Xize'er to quickly extract the location of the Legendary Whale's next landing from the Queen's mouth.
Otherwise... Xize'er and Li Qingping would most likely both perish on the spot.
And his Host Body Three wouldn't escape death either, causing his grand ambition of devouring the Legendary Whale to crumble halfway.
'Sigh... After all this running around, this entire family still relies completely on Black Cocoon to hold it together. Every single host body needs Black Cocoon to pull strings for them; otherwise, they would have dropped dead ages ago. Yet, when the dust settles, the other bodies snatch the MVP titles, making Black Cocoon look like a freeloader being carried to victory.'
With these thoughts in mind, Black Cocoon commanded the Restraining Band Avatar to take a step backward, deliberately allowing Qi Yuanli's Playing Card to slice off the avatar's head.
Under Tong Zizhu's stunned gaze, the Restraining Band Avatar's severed head tumbled toward the bank's floor, emitting a faint voice in midair:
"Well then, Mr. Leader, I have already told you the ti and place of our eting. Whether you are willing to co and see
or not is entirely up to you."
As the final words echoed, both the body and head of the Restraining Band Avatar dissolved into searing hot steam, dissipating with a loud hiss.
Watching this scene, Qi Yuanli remained silent. Blank-faced, he thought, 'Suppressing supernatural abilities, stealing abilities, blades, distributing power... He actually possesses the power to create clones as well?'
Tong Zizhu stared blankly for a second before realization belatedly struck her: the Black Cocoon she had been tangling with for so long was rely an avatar.
She had been played.
"Just what kind of background... does this guy have?" she muttered softly to herself, resting one hand on her hip.
Right at that mont, the leading police officer at the bank's entrance made his decision and pulled the trigger on them.
Amidst the deafening gunfire, a flock of crows flooded the bank, engulfing the figures of Tong Zizhu and Qi Yuanli. By the ti the murder of crows dispersed, the two had vanished without a trace.
The police officers looked around in bewildernt. Dead silence hung over the bank, and aside from the corpses, not a single living soul remained.
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