Chapter 107: Phone Call, the Past, and Permission to Leave |
July 18th. Only three days remained in the countdown to the official start of the underground auction in Tokyo.
At the Roppongi Grand Hotel, Host Body One, Gu Wenyu, woke up in his bed.
Looking at the clock on the wall, it was exactly nine in the morning, so he used a restraining band to fish his mobile phone out from under the covers.
Upon turning off the 'Do Not Disturb' mode, a flurry of notification sounds rang out endlessly.
Immediately after, the backlog of messages received yesterday appeared on the screen one after another. They piled up like cars rear-ending each other at an accident scene; before he could even read the previous message, the next one was already shoving its way to the top.
Without a doubt, these messages were all from Gu Qiye.
He had ignored Gu Qiye all day yesterday, feeling that if Blue Arc wanted to find Ke Qirui, he only needed to go through the Exorcist Association.
That way, Gu Qiye could also reveal his identity directly to Ke Qirui and Su Zimai, making communication between the three of them much simpler.
However, it seemed Gu Qiye did not want to contact Ke Qirui under his persona as Blue Arc.
'Sigh... is that really necessary? It would be so much easier to just reveal his identity to Ke Qirui directly,' Ji Minghuan thought. 'Does Big Brother simply not trust this woman, or does he just not want Su Zimai to find out he is Blue Arc?'
Yesterday morning, before dismissing their meeting, the members of the core bodyguard team for the auction had stated that their next gathering would be on the 20th. At that time, they would begin setting up the auction venue.
Therefore, Ji Minghuan did not bother getting up early today to keep watch.
Gu Qiye was likely resting in his own hotel room as well.
Ji Minghuan absentmindedly swiped through his phone screen.
He obviously could not scroll through every single message in the history, so he only read the very last one.
[Gu Qiye: When you wake up, could you send me that girl's mobile phone number? I want to ask her about Xiaomai.]
The timestamp on this message was 3:00 AM.
It was clear that Big Brother had stayed up all night worrying about Su Zimai. Gu Zhuo'an was probably in a similar state; Dad would likely utilize his underworld channels to investigate the connection between Su Zimai and the Exorcist Association.
Of course, whether they could actually find anything was another matter entirely. After all, Ke Qirui's status within the Association was anything but ordinary; forging a new identity for Su Zimai would be a breeze for her. Thinking of this, Ji Minghuan let out a yawn.
With sleep-induced tears blurring his vision, he typed on the screen.
[Gu Wenyu: I sent it to you on WeChat, look for yourself.]
Tapping the screen to send the message, Ji Minghuan extended a pitch-black restraining band from his fingertip, pressing it against the wall.
Following that, another restraining band slithered out from his cuff. This one maneuvered into the bathroom to retrieve his mouthwash cup, fill it with water, and then fetch his toothbrush and a towel.
The restraining band senses seeped through the hotel walls like rainwater.
Treating the situation like watching a morning sitcom, Ji Minghuan silently observed Gu Qiye's room while using a restraining band to wipe his own face.
Gu Qiye was standing perfectly straight against the wall, holding a book up near eye level as he read with excellent posture.
He wore a thin white jacket over a button-up shirt. The cuffs of the jacket were rolled up, revealing his lean, well-defined muscles.
Big Brother was still reading "The Outsider", and the pages he was flipping through were nearing the end. He had been reading it for days and was finally about to finish it.
Comrade Black Cocoon suddenly felt that he truly was a public figure with excellent conduct. To have influenced a big star like him to read literature meant that sparking a nationwide reading craze was right around the corner.
Gu Qiye pulled his mobile phone from the pocket of his thin jacket, glanced at the number his brother had just sent, hesitated for two seconds, and dialed Ke Qirui's number.
He held the book in his left hand and pressed the phone to his ear with his right, his face completely devoid of expression.
"Hello. May I ask who is calling?" Ke Qirui's voice came through the line, her tone polite yet distant.
Gu Qiye cast his gaze to the floor and introduced himself at an unhurried pace:
"Hello, I am Su Zimai's older brother. I got your mobile phone number from my younger brother and wanted to ask how Xiaomai has been doing lately."
His voice was as calm and composed as ever.
"Oh, so it is Maimai's older brother. You sound remarkably young," Ke Qirui teased. "She often tells me that her big brother acts like a fussy old man and lives like an ascetic monk, so I assumed you were quite advanced in age."
"My sister certainly has a sharp tongue," Gu Qiye chuckled. "Gu Qiye. That is my name."
"Ke Qirui," she replied. "Your sister is doing quite well right now. She is sitting right next to me playing a game."
"Then right now..." Gu Qiye asked, "which city are you in?"
"Hong Kong," Ke Qirui lied with absolute naturalness.
"Hong Kong?"
Gu Qiye fell silent for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.
He had just seen Ke Qirui at the villa yesterday, and today she was claiming they were in Hong Kong?
Observing Gu Qiye's expression from the next room, Ji Minghuan could not help but let out a soft snicker.
He thought: 'Big Brother, now you know just how insufferable this train-freak lesbian can be. She is the very first person I have genuinely despised during all my time playing outside.'
"Then, would it be possible to let my sister answer the phone?" Gu Qiye paused. "Let me speak with her for a few moments, just to put my mind at ease. After all, as you know, she left without saying a word to us."
"Alright, do not worry. I will pass the phone to her right now," Ke Qirui said. "Mr. Gu, please wait a moment."
Having finished washing his face, Ji Minghuan held his toothbrush with one restraining band while continuing to eavesdrop on the conversation between Gu Qiye and Ke Qirui with another.
Shortly after, Su Zimai's voice came through the line.
"Hello... Big Brother?" she asked.
Hearing Su Zimai's voice, Gu Qiye remained silent for a beat, his expression softening considerably. "Are you having fun over there in Hong Kong?"
"I am."
"Have you gotten hurt at all?"
"No."
"Are you short on clothes or anything?"
"My friend has clothes at her place. I am wearing hers; our sizes are about the same."
"Yesterday, Wenyu told me..."
"What did he say?" Su Zimai's voice instantly grew guarded.
"He told me that you sent him a text saying something like, 'Actually, I am an Exorcist'..." Gu Qiye paused. "He also mentioned that you might have joined some kind of cult and were acting completely unhinged."
Su Zimai was silent for a long time before she spoke, enunciating every single word: "Put him on the phone."
Ji Minghuan rolled his eyes and glanced down at his own phone.
Sure enough, at that exact moment, he received a WeChat message from Su Zimai.
[Su Zimai: Is there something wrong with your brain?]
[Gu Wenyu: So what? You are the one who started acting crazy first.]
[Su Zimai: Then tell me, why did you have to go and tell Big Brother?]
[Gu Wenyu: They asked about you during dinner, so I just mentioned it casually. Us three men of the family had a great get-together, the atmosphere was wonderful and harmonious. By the time you come back, you will probably be isolated from the rest of us.]
[Su Zimai: Who even cares.]
Gu Qiye was quiet for a moment before speaking up, "Wenyu is not awake yet. When he gets up, I will have him call you back."
"Is there anything else?" Su Zimai asked.
"What I just mentioned."
"The 'Exorcist' thing is just a class in a video game," Su Zimai said, frowning. "Just search it up online. Are there not tons of those web games where demon hunters hack and slash giant boss demons, dealing 99,999 damage in one hit and dropping golden treasure chests?"
She paused. "How did you guys manage to twist that into some kind of cult? You really are just an old man... totally out of touch with the times."
Gu Qiye simply replied, "If you have gotten mixed up in something dangerous, remember to tell your older brother. I will come and bring you home immediately."
Su Zimai seemed to understand her brother's concerns, so she explained, "One, I have not been abducted by a pyramid scheme. Two, there is no way I could be brainwashed by a cult." Reaching this point, she took a deep breath. "Are you satisfied now?"
Gu Qiye hunched his back, seemingly unsure of what to say.
He merely stared quietly at his sister's name on the phone screen for a while.
Then, his lips curled into a faint smile, and his tone relaxed. "Alright. I still trust our Xiaomai's intelligence."
"I am hanging up then?"
"After you hang up, could you take my WeChat out of your blacklist?" Gu Qiye chuckled.
"We will talk about that when I get back."
With that, Su Zimai abruptly hung up the phone, leaving only the steady disconnected tone echoing in Gu Qiye's ear.
He leaned back against the windowsill, arms crossed over his chest, his head bowed in a long, heavy silence.
As if unable to bear seeing Lord Blue Arc looking so utterly crestfallen, Ji Minghuan sighed and quietly withdrew the restraining band from the wall, ceasing his observation of the other room.
He thought to himself: 'Big Brother is still far too gentle. If it were me, I would barge straight into Ke Qirui's hotel room and give her a thunder-and-lightning whirlwind combo just to vent my frustration.'
A moment later, Ji Minghuan used the restraining band to place his toiletries back into the bathroom. He then patted his backside, rose from the bed, stepped out of his room, and knocked on the door next door. Gu Qiye quickly opened it; his face looked a bit haggard from staying up all night, but a warm smile still rested on his lips.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Did you not say that you wanted to find some time to go out and stroll around?"
Gu Qiye thought it over. "Uh... how about we skip it for today? I do not really have the ener—" He hesitated for a second, then softly admitted, "I am a bit tired today."
"Forget it then."
Ji Minghuan turned on his heel to leave.
"Wait." Gu Qiye suddenly called out, changing his mind. "Then let us just take a car and look at the nearby attrac—"
Ji Minghuan turned his head back and cut him off. "I said forget it... Just look at yourself."
Gu Qiye stood stunned.
After a brief silence, Ji Minghuan continued, "Big Brother, get some proper rest... You look exhausted."
Leaving those words hanging in the air, he retreated back into his own room, casually shutting the door behind him.
Out in the hallway, Gu Qiye was left entirely alone, leaning against the doorframe in a daze.
He did not know why, but it felt as though it had been a very, very long time since he had heard a family member express any care for him.
The last time he had heard similar words was from his mother's lips.
"Get some proper rest..." Gu Qiye muttered to himself, his mind suddenly flooded with a chaotic swirl of memories.
During all these years of fighting as a Transgressor, especially in his first year, he would come home from school every day carrying ingredients bought from the supermarket, only to find his father collapsed on the living room floor or in the entryway, drunk as a skunk.
He was only fourteen at the time. Every single day, pushing through his deep disgust for the stench of alcohol, he would blankly drag his father onto the bed, simply so his younger brother and sister would not have to witness such a sight when they got home.
Then he would shut the door, lean against it to catch his breath, drop his schoolbag, and begin cleaning up the filthy liquor bottles in the living room, using disinfectant to scrub away the overwhelming reek of booze.
Only after all of that would he finally start preparing dinner for his siblings.
When night fell, he would change into his combat uniform, put on his helmet, and head to the Association to carry out missions. After the mandatory meetings, he would only return home in the dead of night. Stripping off his clothes, he would stand in the bathroom and treat his wounds with the Association's specialized medicine.
Following that, he would hole up in his room with only a single bedside lamp turned on, leaning against the headboard as he meticulously completed his homework, stroke by stroke.
For the longest time, he would not go to sleep until three or four in the morning, only to wake up a meager two hours later.
Whenever Gu Wenyu or Su Zimai caused trouble at school, it was always Gu Qiye who stepped in for their parents, going to the school to receive the scoldings.
He would always lower his eyes, sit quietly in his chair, and patiently, humbly listen to every single word the teachers had to say. He would listen as the dean harshly reprimanded him, saying:
"You, as the older brother, have failed to set a good example and discipline your siblings. That is why they cause trouble at school and get into fights with others."
Only after the dean and the teachers had talked themselves hoarse would Gu Qiye slowly raise his head and, with utter calm, explain their family situation to them.
He would tell them that they did not have a good family like the other children, that they had no father or mother by their side to accompany them. Because of that, he hoped the teachers could be a little more lenient with his younger brother and sister.
He asked them to please give them more chances, explaining that they were good children who simply needed a bit of time.
Gu Qiye would further explain that even though he was looking after them, he had never let his own studies slip. He carved out time every day to tutor them, proving that he was not a bad influence.
He had already been trying so incredibly hard.
Every single time the teachers and the dean heard about his family's reality, they would stare in stunned silence for a long time before guiltily patting his shoulder, unable to utter another word of reproach.
As the years rolled by, Gu Qiye simply viewed all of this as a matter of course.
Because he had never once heard... anyone in this family show a shred of concern for him.
Not even a single word.
Over these past few years, whenever he felt slightly fed up or on the verge of collapsing, Gu Qiye would force a smile into the mirror and tell himself: It was all because their mother had died that his brother and sister had become so withdrawn. They were not at fault.
Not to mention his father—from the very beginning, Gu Qiye never expected to hear the word "Thanks" come from his mouth.
Yet, he had completely failed to realize that he could get tired too. He was only human, after all...
Why was he the only one who had to constantly cater to everyone else's feelings?
Why was there never anyone at home willing to tell him, "You are already so tired, go get some proper rest"?
Even just a single sentence would have been enough.
Since no one ever said it to him, he fooled himself into believing he could just keep holding on, numbly and exhaustedly pushing forward.
But just now, his younger brother had suddenly said those exact words to him: "Get some proper rest... You look exhausted."
A deathly silence cloaked the dim hallway.
"Right... I really should rest."
Gu Qiye stared down at the floor, murmuring softly to himself as he raised a hand to scratch his forehead.
He closed the door and slowly turned back into his hotel room, collapsing onto the large bed. Carrying a relatively peaceful state of mind, he slowly let his weary eyelids fall shut.
Gu Qiye drifted off to sleep.
At the same time, in the room next door.
Having just let his restraining bands wash him up, Ji Minghuan was already feeling sleepy again. He wondered if the mental strain of controlling multiple host bodies simultaneously was taking a heavy toll. Regardless, he had nothing pressing to do today, so he simply lay back down, closed his eyes, and drifted into a sweet nap.
However, a short while later, an icy, automated announcement roused him from his deep slumber.
"Restricted-Grade Esper, Number 1002—'Ji Minghuan'. The Tutor has arrived for a visit. Please prepare to undergo interrogation immediately."
When Ji Minghuan opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the unchanging silver-white ceiling. The cold, sterile lighting cast a harsh glow over his pale face, causing his pupils to shrink slightly in response.
"It has been a while," the Tutor said with a warm smile as he walked in.
"How long is 'a while'? I do not even know how many days have passed," Ji Minghuan sighed. "I swear, if you guys keep locking me up like this, I am going to lose my mind."
"That is exactly why I have brought you a new friend," the Tutor said, taking a seat at the desk.
Ji Minghuan slid off the bed and pulled up a chair to sit down. "Are you talking about that 'Myth-grade Anecdote' guy you mentioned last time?"
"Precisely," the Tutor nodded.
Ji Minghuan propped his chin on his hand and asked suspiciously, "Just how many 'Myth-grade Anecdote' users do you have locked up in here? Do not tell me there is actually more than one."
"That is indeed the case," the Tutor replied slowly, clasping his hands together. "The only two known Myth-grade Anecdote users in the world are currently both gathered within this very facility... We cannot release them under any circumstances; otherwise, it would trigger an unprecedented catastrophe for humanity."
He paused. "Mortal men are simply incapable of wielding the power of gods."
Ji Minghuan rolled his eyes at him. "Quit your damn bluffing. Why not just tell me what Anecdote Fragments these two actually possess?"
The Tutor spoke in a measured tone. "The child you are about to meet is named 'Sun Changkong'. It is a name I bestowed upon him, inspired by the Monkey King Sun Wukong from Chinese mythology."
"You do not mean..." Ji Minghuan's eyes narrowed.
The Tutor nodded. "That is correct. The Myth-grade Anecdote Fragment he carries is 'Monkey King Sun Wukong'."
Ji Minghuan was taken aback. "Then what about the other kid's Anecdote Fragment? Do not tell me it is Red Boy or the Bull Demon King? They would make a great pair with the Handsome Monkey King."
"Regarding the condition of the other child, we have decided to keep it a secret from you for now."
"Why?"
"His current state is highly unstable. It might require some more time before we can allow you two to meet."
"Suit yourself then." Ji Minghuan shrugged. "I do not care anyway. It would be best if I never had to meet him in this lifetime."
He thought for a second before adding mockingly, "Now that I think about it, your arrangements here are pretty amusing. The first time, you let me meet a little wolf. Now, you are bringing me a little monkey. Is this place going to turn into a full-blown zoo?"
"And what kind of animal are you, then?" The Tutor adjusted his glasses with a faint smile. "A little fox?"
"Hardly," Ji Minghuan replied, thoroughly disapproving. "Even if I was a fox to begin with, you guys are practically domesticating me into a sloth. I do nothing but sleep here all day long, completely unable to do anything else. My brain tissue is going to devolve back into a caveman at this rate."
The Tutor chuckled softly before continuing, "Speaking of which, I happen to have some good news for you."
"What news?"
The Tutor restrained his smile, looking deeply into Ji Minghuan's eyes as he spoke, emphasizing every single word:
"After careful evaluation, we believe it is time to allow you to attempt leaving the base. You will be assigned a few low-difficulty, minor missions to help you practice controlling your abilities."
Ji Minghuan froze.
After a long silence, he finally asked, "...Are you being serious?"
"Yes," the Tutor nodded. "I am completely serious."
"You mean... I can actually leave this place?" Ji Minghuan's voice was hoarse as he sought confirmation once more.
The Tutor nodded again.
Ji Minghuan sat stunned in his chair, the Tutor's inscrutable, hypocritical face reflecting in his pupils.
At that exact moment, a dangerous thought suddenly surfaced in his mind:
'Hold on a second. Could it be... that the people from the Salvation Society are planning to take us to participate in the underground auction in Tokyo?'