'Are there reinforcents stronger than
among the guests?' Blue Arc thought. 'I hope the auction organizers aren't feeding us false intelligence just to trick us into taking this mission with peace of mind.'
Silence filled the villa's hall. The crashing waves washed over the shore, and seagulls flew in, bringing the morning sunlight with them.
"Let's wrap it up for today," Sakura Bud said. "Miss Ke, Mr. Blue Arc, we can discuss the specific defensive arrangents for the auction when you return tomorrow."
She paused. "There are still five days until the auction begins. We have plenty of ti to prepare."
"Alright." Ke Qirui smiled faintly, wrapping an arm around Su Zimai's shoulders and pulling her close. "My little sister and I haven't had breakfast yet anyway."
"I'll be taking my leave first, then," Blue Arc said.
Ke Qirui turned her head to look at him. "You are quite interesting, Mr. Blue Arc. You were the last to arrive, yet you are the most eager to leave."
"Tokyo is a wonderful place. There is a lot of great food, and there are still many dishes I haven't tried yet."
With that, Blue Arc walked toward the villa's exit.
"If it weren't for the fact that you can't take off your mask, I would have loved to invite you to join us for breakfast."
Ke Qirui watched him leave.
Without looking back, Blue Arc waved at her. He leaned forward slightly, and his figure transford into a streak of deep blue lightning that darted toward the torii-style exit. He vanished under the astonished gazes of the bodyguards, leaving only lingering strands of electric arcs crackling in the air.
Since his older brother had already left, Ji Minghuan had no reason to stay. However, he lingered on the second floor for a short while, hoping to glean so confidential information.
He leaned against the mahogany railing, thinking to himself, 'If the bigshot guest Sakura Bud ntioned is from the Salvation Society, I could just kidnap a random bodyguard over the next few days and have a Restraining Band Avatar take their place to enter the auction. That might be a good way to flush them out.'
Before long, Ke Qirui departed with the three mbers of the Ghost Train Gang, leaving only Sakura Bud and the others in the villa's living room.
Haihara Ritsu stood with one hand behind his back, adjusted his round-rimd glasses, and offered a sheepish smile.
"These Chinese folks certainly speak rather bluntly."
Fuyuyama Nobunaga crossed his arms over his sword hilt and said coldly, "If it weren't out of respect for Miss Sakura Bud, I would have already fought that Xu Sanyan."
Sakura Bud shook her head. "No matter what their personalities are like, they are our comrades who will live and die together with us from here on out. We must treat them with caution. Starting a conflict at this crucial juncture is not good for us. Besides, they are external reinforcents hired by the Transgressor Association."
"What do you think of them, Miss Sakura Bud?" asked Kyomori, who was dressed in Onmyoji attire. His voice was soft and feminine, hissing like a snake.
"Seeing is believing. Blue Arc is much stronger than I imagined."
Sakura Bud spoke as she raised her eyes to look at the faint electric arcs still lingering in the air outside the villa. "The last ti I saw him was a year ago, and he has grown significantly stronger since then."
"It seems... it is only a matter of ti before Blue Arc reaches the Calamity-Tier," Kyomori remarked with a sigh.
"Yes, everyone can see that Blue Arc is aiming to beco a mber of Rainbow Wing." Sakura Bud paused. "But I am still more concerned about that other person."
"Black Cocoon?"
Haihara Ritsu quietly uttered the na.
"Black Cocoon" was a figure who left people completely baffled. So thought he was just an attention-seeking clown, while others believed he was a performance artist.
Still, others felt he was hiding his true depths, orchestrating a massive conspiracy in the shadows where every eccentric action held an ulterior motive...
"Exactly. The timing of Black Cocoon's arrival in Japan is too coincidental; there must be a reason," Sakura Bud mused. "Even though Blue Arc denied it, I still believe there is a cooperative relationship between him and Black Cocoon. I just don't know whether this partnership will ultimately be good or bad for us."
"You suspect... Blue Arc is being blackmailed by Black Cocoon?" Kyomori snapped open his folding fan, covering the lower half of his face.
"It's possible." Sakura Bud nodded.
"Can we still trust Blue Arc, then?" Kyomori asked.
"We will take things one step at a ti." Leaving those words behind, Sakura Bud turned and walked out of the villa. The other three didn't linger either.
Before long, the hall was completely empty.
Only the second floor of the villa remained occupied, where a large, transparent Big Fluttering Moth leaned against the railing, dozing off.
Ji Minghuan's eyelids drooped as he let out a yawn. "I suppose I could consider establishing a cooperative relationship with this Sakura Bud, too. It would be a good way to grind the Cultivation Mission progress." He shrugged. "Though... I have a feeling these people won't even survive this auction. I wonder if dead collaborators still count toward the progress bar."
With that thought, he used his restraining bands to latch onto the nearby windowsill and launched himself out the window.
In mid-air, the rushing sea breeze fluttered against his restraining bands. Through his Restraining Band Senses, the crystal-clear surface of the ocean reflected directly into his pupils.
Under the sunlight, the horizon sparkled brilliantly, with one or two silhouettes of sails swaying at the edge of the sea.
Since he wasn't sure if his older brother would return to the Roppongi Grand Hotel imdiately after taking off Blue Arc's Suit, Ji Minghuan didn't dare dawdle outside and hurried straight back.
He slipped through the familiar floor-to-ceiling window, used his restraining bands to close it and draw the curtains, and then slowly retracted the restraining bands covering him from head to toe, revealing a lean body.
Seeing that he was still wearing pajamas, Ji Minghuan used his restraining bands to rummage through his suitcase for so clothes to change into.
Just then, his mobile phone chid with a notification.
Ji Minghuan zipped up his trousers while using his restraining bands to pick up the mobile phone. He tilted his head and glanced at the ssage popping up on the screen.
[Gu Qiye: Do you want to go out for breakfast?]
"So the reason my brother rushed back from there was to grab breakfast with ?" Ji Minghuan let out a dry chuckle.
He stretched his neck, retracting the restraining bands that were adjusting his sleeves into his body. He couldn't help but think that Mr. Blue Arc simply cared entirely too much about his family...
Was this what they called a Family Hero?
Gu Qiye was probably feeling guilty. He had been busy all day yesterday, leaving his younger brother all alone in the hotel. Feeling bad about it, he had been thinking about finding a chance to properly spend ti with him today, which was why he showed up outside Gu Wenyu's door so early in the morning.
Thinking about this, Ji Minghuan couldn't help but find it amusing. They had only been living together for less than ten days, yet he already knew the personality of every family mber like the back of his hand.
Then again, this was partly because the whole family consisted of extrely straightforward people whose thoughts were exceptionally easy to guess. He wondered if this was due to inheriting Ghost Bell's Berserker Gene.
Except... for their deceased mother, of course.
Whenever Su Ying's kind and gentle face crossed his mind, Ji Minghuan couldn't help but wonder: could Gu Wenyu's mother actually still be alive? What if she suddenly popped out of her grave one day to give the family a massive surprise?
[Gu Wenyu: Eat, eat, eat. I'm down for whatever.]
Ji Minghuan typed quickly using his restraining bands and tapped the screen to send.
Just a single second after the ssage was sent, he heard a knock on the door—it turned out Gu Qiye had been leaning against the wall outside the entire ti, texting him and waiting for his reply.
He curled his lip, walked briskly to the door, and stepped out. Gu Qiye had already changed into a crisp white T-shirt and black trousers, standing with his arms crossed as he leaned against the corridor wall waiting for him.
"Where are we eating?"
"You choose. We can eat whatever you want."
Gu Qiye looked up and smiled at him, casually tossing his mobile phone toward Ji Minghuan.
As the phone's reflection grew larger in his pupils, Ji Minghuan could distinctly feel that it was moving agonizingly slow in mid-air, creeping along like a snail. Its entire trajectory was crystal clear.
To make his reaction speed seem normal, he deliberately waited a second before slowly reaching out his hand.
As a result, Gu Qiye's phone slipped right past his hand and dropped to the floor. Fortunately, the floor was covered by a thick red carpet, or the screen might have shattered.
"Why are you throwing things... do you think your phone is a Nokia?" Ji Minghuan grumbled. "You think you're so great just because you're rich?" He spoke while unhurriedly bending down to pick up the phone from the floor. He knew that the esteed Blue Arc was incredibly rich and arrogant, having raked in plenty of money from the Transgressor Association over the years. However, to hide his identity from his family, Gu Qiye was forced to exclusively use Ghost Bell's bank card. Either way, their old man was also rolling in cash.
Gu Qiye just chuckled with his arms crossed. "It doesn't matter. If it breaks, I'll just buy another one, and I'll get you a new phone model while I'm at it."
"I'll upgrade after the college entrance exam. Otherwise, it'll just make
neglect my proper business for trivialities."
Ji Minghuan said listlessly, looking down at the store introductions on the phone screen. His gaze stopped on a Western-style cafe called "Blue Bottle Coffee," located right on the streets of Roppongi, very close to their hotel.
"Let's go. We'll eat here." He held up the screen toward Gu Qiye.
So they took the elevator down and left the hotel. Not long after, the two arrived at the Western-style cafe.
Jazz music played softly inside the cafe. Gu Qiye picked up the nu and ordered two freshly made waffles with maple syrup, priced at 1,080 yen, along with the sumr limited pour-over coffee.
Then he glanced up at his younger brother, only to see Ji Minghuan staring down at his phone, playing "Life is Strange."
"By the way... Wenyu, have you taken an anomaly test recently?"
Gu Qiye suddenly brought it up, pretending to be nonchalant.
In truth, he constantly worried about this. Since he carried superhuman genes in his body, could Gu Wenyu and Su Zimai also unexpectedly awaken an ability one day just like he did?
Ji Minghuan didn't even lift his head. "What's that? Why would a Muggle like
need to be tested? Didn't they say that if you don't awaken an ability before you turn fifteen, the probability of awakening one afterward is less than one percent?"
Gu Qiye thought for a mont. "But what if you did awaken an ability? Would you want to beco a Transgressor?"
"I don't have much ambition. I'd rather just be a video blogger and use my ability to attract attention and rake in cash."
"That's good..." Gu Qiye smiled with relief. That made sense. Given his younger brother's personality, even if he did awaken an ability, he would never do anything dangerous.
But Su Zimai was a different story. Xiaomai was hot-tempered, impulsive, and blew up at the slightest provocation. If she were to suddenly awaken an ability like him one day, the consequences would be unimaginable... Thinking about this, Gu Qiye decided he needed to have a serious talk with Su Zimai once he returned to China.
"How has our little sister been doing these past few days?" he asked quietly.
His phone number and WeChat had both been blocked by Su Zimai, so the only way he could contact his sister was through Gu Wenyu.
"Don't worry about her. She's having a blast in China. She hasn't even sent
a single WeChat ssage."
"Well, remind her that if she wants to go ho, she should check the mailbox. I left a key for her in a letter."
"Oh, alright." Ji Minghuan paused, suddenly lifting his head to look at Gu Qiye with a serious expression. "By the way... Big Brother, don't you think our sister is..." He hesitated, looking as if he were severely constipated.
Gu Qiye's heart skipped a beat, startled by his younger brother's expression. He frowned and asked in a low voice,
"What about... Xiaomai?"
"Don't you think..." Ji Minghuan took a deep breath, emphasizing every word. "There's an issue with her sexual orientation?"
"...Huh?"
Gu Qiye stared blankly for a second before his expression slowly relaxed. He asked curiously,
"Sexual orientation?"
Now that it was ntioned, he did feel that Su Zimai had a sowhat tomboyish personality. She didn't speak as softly and gently as other girls her age, but this type of thing was completely outside his area of expertise.
Ji Minghuan nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah! I really think she likes girls. The other day in the park, I saw her acting all lovey-dovey with this other woman. It was a bit too much for
to handle, so I slipped away."
Gu Qiye pondered for a mont, then shook his head. "Young people nowadays are just like that. Honestly, if Xiaomai likes girls, there's not much we can say about it."
"Well, alright then. Respect and understanding."
"Respect and understanding."
Gu Qiye shrugged, repeating the words with a smile. He truly didn't care who his little sister liked, as long as she was happy and safe.
After a mont of thought, he still gave one final piece of advice. "Wenyu, if you ever do actually awaken an ability one day, make sure you co talk to
about it. I might be able to help you."
"Yeah, yeah, alright. I know."
Ji Minghuan lowered his eyes, continuing to play on his phone.
He thought to himself, 'If I hadn't chosen the [Gray Figure] growth path when I created my character, but selected [Hero] instead, I'd probably be a mber of the Transgressor Association right now. I'd be trailing behind Blue Arc, completing missions and steadily leveling up my Transgressor rank.'
It would be just like the classic level-grinding tropes seen in shounen manga.
Being protected by his older brother naturally carried far less pressure than secretly cooperating with him, at least without having to worry about the fallout of his identity being exposed. However, since he had already chosen a different path, Ji Minghuan had no regrets.
After all, having a younger brother to babysit wouldn't actually be a good thing for Gu Qiye. It would only embolden the villains who held grudges against him, because it ant Blue Arc had another exploitable weakness. It would be just like Batman and Robin—Robin was always getting kidnapped by the Joker, and Batman constantly had to rush in to save him.
After finishing breakfast, Ji Minghuan headed back to the hotel with Gu Qiye.
He lay on the large bed in his hotel room, staring blankly at the ceiling as he organized the intelligence he had gathered that morning in his head.
'Aside from the Salvation Society, there is actually another possibility for the faction backing that second guest Sakura Bud ntioned... The Exorcist organization, Lake Hunt.'
Lake Hunt was China's top Exorcist team, led by "Lion Dancer" Lin Xingshi. It consisted of exactly four mbers, and every single one was a Tier 3 Exorcist—each a powerhouse capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with mbers of Rainbow Wing.
Rationality told him that the odds of the other guest being from Lake Hunt were far greater than the odds of them being from the Salvation Society.
But... even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance of the Salvation Society showing up at this auction, Ji Minghuan absolutely had to investigate this guest's identity.
The current situation didn't allow him to pass up even the slightest opportunity to track down the Salvation Society. Even if it was just a single thread of a spider's web, he had to cling to it tightly, because... it might be his only chance to escape his imprisonnt.
'I have at most two months to rescue my True Self and Kong Youling from the Experintal Facility... Nobody knows what kind of monsters the Salvation Society is currently breeding, or if they are developing the world's most potent Anomaly Inhibitor just to pin
down permanently.'
At this thought, Ji Minghuan decided it was ti to test his current strength.
The abilities of Host Body One were currently heavily focused on reconnaissance and tracking. Without a doubt, when it ca to sheer combat power... Host Body Two was vastly superior to Host Body One.
Xia Pingzhou's combat capabilities represented the absolute highest level of strength Ji Minghuan could exert right now.
So, he slowly closed his eyes and synchronized his consciousness with Xia Pingzhou.
When he pushed himself up from the mattress on the floor, Ayase Origami was nowhere to be seen in the loft. It seed the kimono-clad young lady didn't have a habit of lying in bed. The pages that had been plastered against the window last night had all fallen off, drooping limply across the floor.
Ji Minghuan washed up in the loft's restroom, then headed downstairs, his footsteps drawing loud creaks from the old spiral staircase.
As he descended the stairs, he glanced up at Ayase Origami, who was sipping coffee and reading haiku, before turning his head to look at Oda Takikage, who was already sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper.
"Number 4, do you have a mont?" he asked expressionlessly, staring straight at Oda Takikage.
Oda Takikage raised his thick, short eyebrows, slightly lowered his reading glasses, and peeked over the top of the newspaper.
"What is it... Number 12?" he asked.
"Fight . I want to test my strength."
Ji Minghuan spoke slowly, locking eyes with him.
Ayase Origami cast a sidelong glance at Xia Pingzhou, her gaze seeming to say, 'Why is this little Kitten hissing so early in the morning?'
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