On the evening of July 23rd, five minutes after the bank incident, near a residential building in the Guyimai Block.
Maintaining a transparent state, Black Cocoon stood perfectly still atop a streetlamp.
With the full moon hanging high in the sky, he silently observed the brightly lit residential building while bathed in the clear moonlight.
Only after using his Restraining Band Senses to confirm that Su Zimai was the sole person at ho did he finally take a leap, safely slipping into the room through an open window.
He took a deep breath and casually closed the window behind him.
The restraining bands covering his body fell away, spilling onto the floor like a black tide with a heavy rustle. For a mont, his body felt significantly lighter.
He grasped his shoulder, tilted his head, and stretched his stiff neck. Honestly, he suspected his cervical spine would not hold up if he kept hanging upside down for extended periods in the future.
"Am I going to get cervical spondylosis at such a young age?"
Ji Minghuan collapsed onto the bed, absentmindedly pondering as he controlled his restraining bands to undress himself.
'If what Tong Zizhu said is true, then was Mom really an Exorcist in the past?'
'She also ntioned that Mom was a Tier 3 Exorcist. No wonder Su Zimai has such high talent, she inherited it from her... But if Mom was truly that powerful, why was she so casually crushed by Rainbow Wing? Was it to protect Big Brother and my sister?'
In Host Body One's mories, Gu Wenyu and Gu Zhuo'an were not at ho when their mother died five years ago.
At that ti, his old man was taking Gu Wenyu to the supermarket to buy ice cream. After rushing back ho, they found their residence reduced to a pile of blazing ruins.
Gu Qiye and Su Zimai were both unconscious. Rescue workers placed them on stretchers and loaded them into ambulances.
Watching that scene unfold, the twelve-year-old Gu Wenyu stood frozen in place. He slowly released his grip on the plastic bag he was holding, letting it drop to the ground with a soft thud.
To summarize, Gu Wenyu never witnessed the scene of Su Ying's death with his own eyes, so there was no way to verify the string of anomalies surrounding his mother.
'Forget it...' Ji Minghuan shook his head, pulling back his chaotic thoughts. 'Regardless, Tong Zizhu is a mber of the White Raven Brigade after all. I will just have Host Body Two slowly make contact with her moving forward.'
While his mind wandered, the black restraining bands had already tucked his mask and trench coat away into the wardrobe.
He rested his arms behind his head, closed his eyes, and cycled through the different perspectives in his mind.
The ti over in Venice was seven hours behind Lijing, so it was still afternoon there.
After Xia Pingzhou killed the twin demons that resembled Blue Arc, he had the Queen Stone Statue carry his body, evading all the monitors along the way to return inside the hotel to rest.
anwhile, the ti in the Whalegarden was about the sa as in Lijing. The night was already deep.
Ever since the old butler died, Xize'er had not eaten or drunk anything for an entire day. He was now sleeping soundly on his side. With nothing to do, Yagubalu had no choice but to lay inside the crystal ball and sleep as well.
'Tomorrow, Xize'er will go to spectate the Royal Court Squad's exhibition match. I need to observe their strength while simultaneously guiding Xize'er to ask the Queen about the Legendary Whale's next landing location. This will prepare
for my eting with the Leader the day after tomorrow.'
Having formulated his plan, Ji Minghuan was just about to close his eyes and rest when he suddenly heard a knock on the door, followed by Su Zimai's lukewarm voice.
"Big Brother, are you asleep?"
He sat up quite reluctantly, got out of bed, and turned the handle to open the door. He rolled his eyes, staring blankly at Su Zimai standing outside.
She was wearing a white nightgown, her beautiful hair cascading loosely down her back. Seeing her hesitate for a long ti without speaking, Ji Minghuan shrugged helplessly and took the initiative to ask.
"What do you need
for?"
"I..." Su Zimai hid her hands behind her back and looked up at him, her tone carrying a hint of hesitation. "I might have to leave for a while in a few days."
Looking at her expression, Ji Minghuan asked without thinking, "Oh, are you going out on another mission?"
As he spoke, he subtly flicked his finger while she wasn't paying attention, pulling up Host Body One's mission panel.
[Main Mission 3 (Phase 4): This mission will refresh in 3 days (July 26th).]
'Is what she plans to do connected to the main mission?' he wondered.
"Yes, a very important mission," Su Zimai murmured.
"An important mission?"
Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows, muttering as he lifted his head and stared suspiciously at his younger sister's serious expression.
Just then, the spare phone hidden in his pocket emitted a notification chi. He paused, suddenly rembering that he had forgotten to stash Black Cocoon's phone at the bottom of the wardrobe.
If Big Brother or his old man were standing in front of him, he absolutely wouldn't dare pull out his spare phone and risk raising suspicions. But it didn't matter with a harmless creature like Su Zimai.
Thus, he unlocked the phone screen right in front of her and glanced at the received ssage.
[Ke Qirui: Tell Xia Pingzhou that we found "Red Traffic Light".]
'Huh... Could the important mission Su Zimai just ntioned be referring to this exact thing?'
Ji Minghuan pondered blankly before his fingers flew across the keyboard, rapidly typing out a reply.
[Black Cocoon: You better not be joking with , Miss Ke.]
[Ke Qirui: I'm not joking. Based on a series of clues we uncovered, we estimate that "Red Traffic Light" will be heading to London next.]
[Black Cocoon: London... I see. I will inform Mr. Xia Pingzhou. Thank you for the intelligence.]
[Ke Qirui: You are welco. We are in a cooperative relationship, after all.]
[Black Cocoon: Will the Ghost Train Gang be mobilizing in full force this ti? Capturing Red Traffic Light would be no small achievent.]
[Ke Qirui: Of course.]
[Black Cocoon: That little girl who peed her pants in fear is no exception, I assu.]
[Ke Qirui: She is a genius; she just needs ti to hone her skills.]
[Black Cocoon: I understand. If it is convenient, would you be willing to give
a lift using the Train Demon when the ti cos? Once I am in London, I can certainly provide you all with a lot of assistance.]
[Ke Qirui: Oh? Are you serious? Be careful not to get beaten up by us.]
[Black Cocoon: I am completely serious. I strongly suggest you bring
along, or else sothing entirely unexpected might occur.]
[Ke Qirui: Hmm... Considering you saved Little Mai once before, I suppose I will bring you along this ti.]
[Black Cocoon: Very well. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Ke. We will be in touch when the ti arrives.]
Ji Minghuan typed quickly into the text box and hit send, then looked back up at Su Zimai. Though he appeared to be staring at her, he was actually mulling over the text on his interface panel.
[Main Mission 3 (Phase 4): This mission will refresh in 3 days (July 26th).]
'I see,' he thought. 'So the fourth phase of this main mission is actually to cooperate with the Ghost Train Gang to capture Red Traffic Light in London?'
Su Zimai had been left hanging by the door for quite a while now. Wearing a cold expression, she asked in a displeased tone,
"Who is it? Is replying to their ssage more important than your own sister? Don't tell
you secretly got a girlfriend."
Ji Minghuan slipped the phone back into his pocket and retorted, "I'm the one who wants to ask you. Is your mission really that critical? You've only been ho for a couple of days." "It's very important," Su Zimai declared. "I have to get revenge on soone who pisses
off."
'Revenge?'
Ji Minghuan's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly recalled how Xia Pingzhou had terrified Su Zimai to the point of wetting herself at the auction.
He tilted his head, thinking in sheer bewildernt, 'Don't tell
she wants to exact revenge against my Host Body Two. She can't be serious...'
Ke Qirui probably also knew that, during the Brigade's disbandnt, as long as Black Cocoon passed this intelligence on to Xia Pingzhou, Xia Pingzhou would more than likely rush to London. He would definitely want to see his forr teammate who had gone mad for no reason—the evil Exorcist, "Red Traffic Light".
And naturally, upon learning from Ke Qirui that Xia Pingzhou would be involved, Su Zimai could not resist the urge to throw a heavy punch at the guy who had completely humiliated her.
He fell silent for a mont. Under normal circumstances, he might have entertained the idea of letting Host Body Two play along with his sister, even going easy on her so she could vent her anger by beating him up.
But the situation this ti was completely different:
—The Salvation Society would be bringing a few of the children detained at their base to capture Red Traffic Light, using the opportunity to test the children's combat capabilities.
Intervening at such a critical juncture would be incredibly dangerous. Su Zimai might actually end up dead this ti. After all, the "Salvation Society" was on a completely different level compared to the White Raven Brigade.
Even Rainbow Wing and Lake Hunt were probably no match for the Salvation Society.
'However... since the Salvation Society is still playing the good guys in front of my true self, they probably won't attack the mbers of the Exorcist Association directly.'
'Taking that into consideration, Su Zimai should be safe, right?'
'But will everything really go as smoothly as I think? Even if she survives, what if she gets captured and taken to the Salvation Society's base?'
At that thought, Ji Minghuan raised his eyes and asked in a feigned casual tone,
"So you're saying you're running away from ho again?"
"No... I actually plan to sit down and have a proper talk with them this ti," Su Zimai said, shaking her head. "But I definitely won't be able to convince them without your help, especially Big Brother. He's way too stubborn."
"Isn't that too much of a hassle? Do you even need to care about what they think? Why don't you just pull a magic trick and fly over to Ke Qirui's house on a dove?"
"No."
"Why not?" Ji Minghuan suddenly scoffed. "You're acting as if you would obediently stay ho if they told you not to go. Do you really think I don't know your personality?"
Su Zimai froze for a second, then frowned and muttered, "You're right. Even if they don't let
go, I will still go."
"See?" Ji Minghuan remained expressionless. "Why bother with this unnecessary step and waste my ti?"
Su Zimai hung her head, pondering for a mont. "But asking them is still better than not asking at all, right?"
A brief silence fell between the two of them. After a long while, Ji Minghuan suddenly took a deep breath, his drooping bangs concealing his eyes.
"Then have you ever considered..."
"Considered what?"
"Considered asking
too."
Ji Minghuan paused. "Aren't I your brother too? Why are you only thinking about what Big Brother and the old man think? Do you really believe I'm just obligated to support you unconditionally?"
Su Zimai was mildly taken aback. She slowly lifted her head, eting Gu Wenyu's gaze.
Growing up, she had never once seen Gu Wenyu get angry. This brother of hers always looked as if he didn't care about anything in the world. But right now, she could hear from his tone that he seed genuinely upset.
His face icy, Ji Minghuan asked, enunciating every word clearly, "Tell
honestly, did that incident in Tokyo have anything to do with you?"
As he spoke, he opened his phone's browser and searched for the real-ti trending topics. "The news about that auction has blown up all over the internet. The timing perfectly overlaps with our trip to Japan. I heard that nearly all the guests and bodyguards were wiped out."
"I had nothing to do with—"
Ji Minghuan cut her off. "You want to claim you had nothing to do with it?"
"Why are you suddenly so fierce? Did I provoke you?"
"Didn't you tell
just the night before last that these things are incredibly dangerous, and that you might suddenly vanish completely one day?"
"And?"
"And..." Ji Minghuan shifted his gaze away. "Wouldn't I be worried about you? Am I not your family too?"
Su Zimai stood stunned for a long ti. She stared blankly at Gu Wenyu's profile, lowering her eyes before looking back up.
Her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't manage to utter a single word.
"If I don't let you go, will you still go?" After a mont of silence, Ji Minghuan asked.
"Yes, I will," Su Zimai replied. "I need to beco stronger, climb higher, and make a real na for myself among the Exorcists. I have to find out the truth about Mom. That's why I can't afford to let any opportunity slip by."
"Oh. Suit yourself, then."
Dropping that cold remark, Ji Minghuan shut the door, leaving Su Zimai standing all alone out in the hallway.
He lay back down on the bed, resting his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling in complete silence.
"Why am I actually a bit angry... How inexplicable," he mumbled softly a mont later.
After a long while, hearing her footsteps gradually fade away down the hall, he finally allowed his eyelids to slowly droop shut.
"Restricted-tier Superpowered Individual, Number 1002—'Ji Minghuan', the Tutor is visiting. Please prepare yourself for interrogation imdiately."
The cold, chanical voice washed down from the ceiling alongside the icy fluorescent lights, violently jolting Ji Minghuan out of his deep slumber.
His eyes snapped open. He let out a long yawn before turning his head to look toward the entrance.
The heavily layered tal doors slid open, and the Tutor slowly walked in, hopping up to sit on the edge of the table.
He clasped his hands together and looked at Ji Minghuan with a warm smile. "How was your sleep?"
"It was alright." Ji Minghuan sat up from the bed and stretched lazily. "Having a television really makes sleeping a lot more pleasant."
He got out of bed and took a seat across from the Tutor.
The Tutor rested his chin on his clasped hands. Raising his eyes from behind his glasses, he stared unblinkingly at Ji Minghuan.
He spoke, "Ji Minghuan, we have located the whereabouts of 'Red Traffic Light'."
Ji Minghuan feigned surprise. "The berserk Exorcist you ntioned before?"
"Correct. He is your target for this mission."
"Oh? And where is he?"
"London, England."
The Tutor paused. eting Ji Minghuan's gaze, he slightly reined in his smile and said,
"Three days from now, you will travel to London to represent our Salvation Society on your first-ever external mission."
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