One day later, on the thirty-fifth floor of the Mutants Association building, in the ergency ward.
Gu Qiye woke up in bed, blinked, and stared motionlessly at the unfamiliar silver-white ceiling.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the sky was as blue as the ocean, with clouds stretching across it. A warm sumr breeze blew, stirring the light white curtains, reminiscent of every previous leisurely afternoon, causing him to squint slightly, his mind wandering for a brief mont.
Monts later, he turned his head on the pillow and saw two people sitting by the bed.
"Fan... Dongqing?"
Gu Qiye was slightly startled and instinctively uttered the na.
One of the people before his eyes was a girl wearing a black tight-fitting outfit.
With white hair and blue eyes, standing less than 1.6 ters tall, her features were delicate, resembling a foreigner. At that mont, she was lowering her eyes, playing a ga titled "Return to the Future 1999" on a tablet;
The other person wore a traditional white Chinese Tang suit with a mandarin collar, long black hair draped over his back, and a slim figure.
This person was precisely the Rainbow Wings’ "Vessel of Li Qing" — Fan Dongqing, currently the only publicly identified mber within the entire Rainbow Wing Organization. Two weeks ago, Gu Qiye had seen Fan Dongqing at Li Jing Airport.
At that ti, Fan Dongqing had co to China Li Jing at the official’s request to hunt down the mutant criminal "Ghost Bell," but he seed to have returned empty-handed in the end.
Fan Dongqing raised his head to look at him, curiously raising an eyebrow:
"Oh, you’re awake... White hair, make the introductions."
The white-haired girl lifted her eyes from the tablet and looked silently at Gu Qiye.
For a while, she spoke with fluent Chinese, her voice cold, "My na is ’You Ruirui’, and my code na in Rainbow Wings is ’Extre Ice Maiden’."
"People from Rainbow Wings?"
Gu Qiye glanced sideways toward the girl, whose deanor was as cold as ice sculpture.
"Upon confirmation, the mutant ’Blue Arc’s’ superpower has undergone a second mutation, and the danger rating has been officially upgraded to ’Catastrophe Level.’"
As she spoke, the Extre Ice Maiden picked up a tablet and showed him a video taken by surveillance equipnt from the city center:
Among the ruins, a bloodied young man knelt on the ground, and the black lightning erupting from him ravaged over a dozen skyscrapers. At this mont, the monitors were entirely destroyed, and the screen dimd with a "whoosh."
Gu Qiye remained silent for a while, then asked in a low voice, "Mu Long, how is he?"
You Ruirui lowered her eyes and closed the video on the tablet, "According to the association’s report, Mu Long entered a critical condition at Li Jing Square and was rescued while unconscious by the fugitive ’Black Cocoon’ who ca for him."
"Black Cocoon took him away?" For so reason, Gu Qiye felt a bit relieved upon hearing this; he continued to ask, "Then... is Mu Long still alive?"
"We are currently uncertain whether he is alive, but the authorities have already launched a comprehensive manhunt for him, and his wanted level is the sa as ’Ghost Bell’."
"What are people saying about this outside?"
"The surveillance footage provided by Mu Long is too dated to be trustworthy, and the authorities are guiding public opinion," You Ruirui said. "And currently, the authorities are claiming that your status is unknown."
"Unknown status?" Gu Qiye frowned.
"That’s right."
The ice sculpture-like girl nodded.
"Why?"
"Details will be explained later."
"So... what do you people from Rainbow Wings want with ?" Gu Qiye asked.
You Ruirui silently took out a contract and handed it to Gu Qiye.
Gu Qiye took the docunt, lowered his head, and carefully perused it; it was a confidentiality agreent.
You Ruirui remained silent for a while before speaking, "Because the forr Rainbow Wings’ team mber No.8, [chanical Soul Bodhisattva] Ajaya, was declared deceased during a recent operation in the Sahara Desert. Therefore... there is currently one vacancy among the twelve positions within Rainbow Wings."
As she said this, she lifted her ice-blue eyes and gazed at Gu Qiye, "We’ve been observing you for a long ti. You’ve always been on the pre-selection list for Rainbow Wings, not with a low priority, except that your abilities previously didn’t et the requirents."
"What about now?" Gu Qiye asked.
"Now your own conditions have qualified, not only that, external conditions perfectly align," You Ruirui said.
"External conditions?"
"Yes," You Ruirui nodded, "If you choose to join Rainbow Wings, the authorities will officially announce to the public: the mutant ’Blue Arc’ died in this Mu Long assassination incident."
She paused: "And you... would therefore abandon the identity of Blue Arc and beco a mber of Rainbow Wings."
Gu Qiye was stunned.
He absolutely had never imagined that the opportunity he had dread of for years would actually present itself to him in this form.
If he accepted You Ruirui’s request, he would officially beco a mber of Rainbow Wings, starting today to work for the United Nations.
At the sa ti, he would be infinitely closer to the truth behind his mother’s death.
"If you choose to join us, then afterward, you will be given a new code na," You Ruirui said, "Every mission must be kept strictly confidential; unless necessary, you must never reveal your existence to the outside world."
"In other words... I must fake my death?"
You Ruirui nodded.
Gu Qiye silently looked at her, his heart filled with a torrent of thoughts.
Rainbow Wings?
At this point, should I still join Rainbow Wings?
But I haven’t found out who killed my mother, even if not to avenge, at least to uncover the truth.
However... if I join Rainbow Wings, will there still be a way back for ?
Mother, should I let go now?
If I take this chance to discard the identity of Blue Arc and return to the life of an ordinary person, would that be better?
Thinking of this, Gu Qiye was silent for a mont, and bowed his head.
"Can you give a few days to think about it first?" he softly asked.
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