The restraining bands slowly receded from Black Cocoon's face. His features were exposed to the damp, freezing air, simultaneously coming into clear view for Ghost Bell:
— Without a doubt, it was the face of Gu Zhuo'an's daughter, "Su Zimai."
"Little... Mai?"
At this mont, Ghost Bell stood frozen in place, almost instinctively and hoarsely calling out his daughter's na.
His deep voice was drowned out by the torrential rain. The force Ghost Bell applied to his tal gloves slowly released.
The rain poured down even harder, as if trying to subrge the entire city. A flash of lightning flickered, illuminating the two figures on the dim floor.
The daylight-like brilliance fell upon Black Cocoon's face, helping Ghost Bell confirm once again that what he saw was no illusion.
"No... Little Mai."
Belatedly, Ghost Bell's scarlet pupils abruptly contracted—at this mont, the surging killing intent in his eyes completely faded. In its place, shock, panic, and astonishnt poured out in an instant.
As if he had accidentally touched a branding iron, he withdrew his right hand from Black Cocoon's neck in terror.
"No... how is this possible?"
He shook his head, his shoulders slumping weakly as he slowly took two steps back.
His contracted pupils still reflected the appearance beneath Black Cocoon's mask: Su Zimai's expression was cold yet stubborn, carrying an unyielding pride.
Her lips were still stained with blood, but her eyes looked at him as if he were a pitiful creature.
Ghost Bell's body swayed like a kite with a snapped string. He staggered backward, his feet dragging against the floor.
He shook his head and roared hoarsely, "No, no!... No—!"
Gazing at Su Zimai's face, which was slightly twisted in pain, the fear and self-bla in Ghost Bell's heart completely exploded at this mont. His thoughts were running wild.
'Did I hurt my own daughter with my own hands?'
'I thought I was protecting my family, but... why is it her?'
'Why, Little Mai?'
'Why do I, every single ti... make the sa mistake again like this?'
Those painful mories were dragged out of his mind once more: the blood-stained half-face beneath Blue Arc's mask; the streak of blood at the corner of Su Zimai's mouth.
Ghost Bell retreated as he thought, as if trying to escape the bloody reality before his eyes.
He wanted to put more distance between himself and his daughter, but there was nowhere left to go. His back slowly pressed against a thick pillar.
Leaning against the pillar, Gu Zhuo'an slowly lowered his head. The crimson glow in his pupils flickered erratically, like the static on a broken television screen.
"Little Mai, what have I done..." he muttered hoarsely, clutching his forehead.
Ghost Bell trembled all over. Recalling the image of slamming his daughter against the wall and viciously choking her neck, he gritted his teeth and let out a tortured howl.
Wearing Su Zimai's face, Black Cocoon slowly picked himself up from the crater in the wall.
He adjusted the throat of the restraining band avatar, letting out a voice that was clear and lodious like a young girl's, yet slightly hoarse:
"You're really ruthless, Old Man. Is this how you treat your own daughter?"
His body, wrapped in restraining bands, stepped forward one pace at a ti, looking grotesque and broken under the flashes of lightning.
But that face was so real, the pupils filled with indignation and sorrow.
After a long silence, Ghost Bell slowly fell to his knees. His head drooped, and the light in his eyes dimd.
He asked, emphasizing every word:
"Little Mai, why... did it have to be you?"
"Yeah... why is it ?" Su Zimai sneered. "Abandoning your daughter for two years, completely indifferent toward your sons. Is it possible that I had to put on a mask just to wake you up, to let you know exactly what you've done to your own family?"
"I was wrong. I was really wrong."
Ghost Bell repeatedly muttered to himself. Even though his voice was heavily modified by the mask to sound tallic, the weakness and pleading within could still be heard.
He lowered his voice, speaking exhaustedly:
"Little Mai, let's go ho. I'm begging you... co ho with ."
"Ho?" Su Zimai remained expressionless. "If my brother is dead, do we even have a ho to return to?"
Pausing, she aggressively interrogated, "Without a mother, and now without a brother, is this family still a family?"
Ghost Bell stated with absolute certainty, "He will not die."
"Right. Then cooperate with , Old Man. Let's go save my brother together," Su Zimai stumbled toward Ghost Bell and whispered, "Co with ... save him."
Yet at this very mont, gazing at Su Zimai's face, Gu Zhuo'an suddenly recalled sothing: that day, Black Cocoon had disguised himself as a mber of that yakuza family to infiltrate the bar.
And when Gu Zhuo'an left the bar, he found that man in the floral shirt strung up under a billboard.
— Black Cocoon possessed a disguise ability.
This thought crashed into Gu Zhuo'an's heart like a speeding truck. Amidst the screeching brakes, the front bumper smashed all his distress and confusion into dust.
He had been tricked.
Thinking of this, Ghost Bell abruptly jerked his head up, narrowing his blood-red eyes:
"You tricked ... You have a disguise ability." "Uh... actually, I really am Su Zimai. If you don't believe , want
to recite Mom's birthday for you?" Black Cocoon said lightly, his tone suddenly reverting to its usual playfulness.
"You dared to trick ?" Ghost Bell's voice turned absolutely freezing.
"Oh, my god, is there really a need to yell so loudly? It was just a little joke to help foster our bond..."
Black Cocoon covered his ears and shook his head, then let out a deep sigh. He simply dropped the act, straightening his posture and no longer walking in a half-kneeling crouch.
He even stamped his feet forcefully on the ground, instantly becoming lively and energetic.
Black Cocoon looked up, eting Ghost Bell's eyes directly, and said tepidly:
"You know, all you had to do was say the word 'cooperate,' and I would have barely scraped by and completed my main quest. But why didn't you just say it? Why did you have to figure it out at this exact mont? Is it really that hard for you to say one word?"
Black Cocoon's tone was like a little boy whose prank had been exposed—disappointed, unreasonable, and angry from embarrassnt. He put his hands on his hips and continued his complaints:
"If you were willing to just spit out the word 'cooperate,' wouldn't it be a win-win for everyone?"
"How is it a win?" Ghost Bell slowly stood up from the pillar.
"How is it a win? You even have to ask? For you... you would've gained another daughter, making you the happy father of twin girls and two fine sons. As for , I would've completed my main quest, dusted off my hands, and walked away."
Speaking up to here, Black Cocoon kept his hands on his hips, lowered his head, and sighed deeply. "Sigh, but now... because of your stupid actions, everything is ruined."
After saying that, Black Cocoon drooped his head dejectedly and once again changed the face of the restraining band avatar.
He revealed the appearance of his true self, spread his hands, and said in a relaxed tone, "Alright, good Daddy. I'm not actually Su Zimai, I am Gu Wenyu."
"You still want to trick ?"
Ghost Bell slowly rose from the ground, staring coldly at the face of Gu Wenyu on Black Cocoon.
His fury was completely ignited, as if he were being mocked like a clown. First, Black Cocoon pretended to be his daughter, and now that he was exposed, he was trying to pass himself off as his second son.
"Co on, I really am Gu Wenyu..."
Black Cocoon tilted his head slightly, pointing at his own face, and said in an innocent tone, "Look at this face, look at my little expressions. Could anyone else fake it this well?"
The restraining band avatar wore the authentic face of Gu Wenyu, without a single detail changed.
However, because he forgot to alter the details of his throat, he still spoke with Su Zimai's voice—Gu Wenyu's face paired with Su Zimai's pitch was incomparably bizarre.
Like a fucking artificial human.
Ghost Bell burned with anger.
In the next second, accompanied by the ringing of a powerful bell, ti seed to stop at that exact mont.
When Black Cocoon regained his senses, his pupils shrank slightly. He found himself slamd against a wall over thirty-three feet away, while Ghost Bell was strangling his neck, those mad eyes re inches away.
'An ability to Stop Ti?' Black Cocoon thought. 'No... did he Slow Down Ti Flow?'
Ghost Bell declared, "You're done."
"Alright, I'm actually Gu Qiye." Saying this, Black Cocoon shifted his form and transford into the appearance of Gu Qiye.
He mocked, "I could also be your deceased wife, Su Ying... Co on, if she saw that you were having a fling with the bar proprietress, she'd jump out of her coffin and kick your ass, my good Old Man."
To prevent himself from being further deceived by Black Cocoon's face, Ghost Bell raised his hand and ripped the face right off.
Ghost Bell looked down at his right hand. Resting on his tal glove was not a human face, but rather a clump of restraining bands shriveling up like a dead snake.
Seeing this scene, Ghost Bell finally understood. The Black Cocoon standing here was rely an avatar... a decoy.
He slowly raised his head, examining Black Cocoon's face once more.
At this very mont, Black Cocoon's face was already a terrifying void, an alien monstrosity ford from knotted restraining bands:
Black Cocoon broke into a wide grin. Restraining bands continually slipped down from his face, like tears of black.
He said, "I knew it, but I thought I could still fool you, Mr. Ghost Bell... You really have no sense of humor. Can the atmosphere between us not be so... tense and strained?"
Ghost Bell stared at this ugly, inhuman face and emphasized every single word:
"No matter what your purpose is for approaching us, I am warning you... if you dare to do anything harmful to my sons and daughters, then no matter where your true self is, I will find you and tear you in half."
Hearing this, the corners of Black Cocoon's mouth curled even higher, stretching almost all the way to both sides of his cheeks.
He spoke eerily, "Oh, I will definitely welco you when the ti cos. I think... you will really like what's under my mask. You will absolutely... love it. Love it so much that you'll want to rip your own heart to pieces."
As soon as he finished speaking, his head was violently slamd into the wall by a hand. Countless cracks caved inward across his body, every single restraining band heating up and wailing.
Before long, this bizarre body gradually began to disintegrate, turning into patches of scorching gas that slowly evaporated away.
The world was completely silent, yet the fury in Ghost Bell's heart had not faded. He panted deeply, staring at the hole in the wall, as if gazing at the gaping void in his own heart.
Ghost Bell slowly took off the breathing mask on his face. Gu Zhuo'an withdrew his gaze from the craters on the wall and looked down at the fragnts of the restraining bands drooping on the floor.
Amidst the deathly still floor, an infuriated roar echoed out.
Outside the window, the torrential rain was still falling. The entire city of Tokyo whimpered under the thunder. The Japanese characters on the neon signs flickered on and off, while passersby wearing raincoats ca and went.
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