Chapter 311: Chapter 195: Black Cocoon’s Public Art Exhibition, Mu Long’s First Kill
He said, "Oh, isn’t this the new Mutant in our Li Jing... let me think, what’s your name again, Deaf Eye, Wooden Cage, or Mother Dragon?"
Mu Long remained silent, simply continuing to walk forward.
"Actually, sometimes, being able to assess the situation is an important skill. Didn’t you notice how everyone loves my Swallowing Silver Art Exhibition? By rudely driving them away, don’t you end up looking more like a lawbreaker than I do?"
Saying this, Black Chrysalis withdrew his gaze and continued painting, "This style doesn’t help you gain people’s approval. A disliked Mutant, no matter how talented, finds it hard to advance. That’s the truth in the Era of Popularity."
He paused, then suddenly lowered his voice, "Or could it be... you never intended to be a good Mutant from the start, but instead harbored another agenda?"
"Clown," Mu Long whispered.
Suddenly, a bottomless black curtain spread from him, covering a hundred-meter radius like a nightfall.
The glow of neon lights was completely swallowed.
The pitch-black darkness spread like a tidal wave in an instant in all directions.
The Restraint Incarnation hanging upside down beneath the billboard was plunged into darkness, a buzzing in his ears. His vision, pain, and even all his senses were fully stripped away, leaving only silence and void.
"Domain-type Ability?" Black Chrysalis looked around, "Is his ability to surround everything with a domain and devour light sources... it seems like those trapped inside also lose their five senses, but that might not be all; he’s a Quasi-Catastrophe Level superpower user."
In the endless darkness, the Restraint Incarnation suddenly heard a hoarse eagle cry. Mu Long appeared behind him, wielded a sword, and stabbed through his shoulder.
Due to the Mutants Association’s regulations, Mu Long could not kill Black Chrysalis directly, so the thrust wasn’t aimed at the Restraint Incarnation’s vital point.
"I advise you to surrender..." Mu Long whispered in the darkness near Black Chrysalis’s ear.
Despite having a sword through his shoulder, Black Chrysalis hung quietly under the billboard, as if nothing had happened.
With his still-functional left hand, he grabbed a pencil, propped up the dangling sketchbook with a restraint belt, and continued doodling without raising his head.
Two seconds later, he finally spoke:
"Comrade Mu Long, you know... in today’s popular Mutants, your cold-faced judge type isn’t in vogue anymore. People like Mr. Blue Arc, who are chatty and personable, sometimes cracking a cold joke, are the answer for the era. If you want to be a good Mutant, you should learn from him."
Mu Long remained silent.
When he stabbed through Black Chrysalis’s shoulder, he had already noticed something was wrong: it didn’t feel like human flesh, more like a pile of rotten banana peels.
Black Chrysalis whispered in the dark, "We should get acquainted. Every capable person in this city knows me, including hotheads like you..."
"Truly arrogant."
"Mr. Mu Long, I know of your past, your struggles, and your obsessions, and I deeply understand why you approach Blue Arc. Perhaps I can offer you some help?"
Mu Long was startled, then lowered his voice, "Nonsense..."
"Finished... please hand this great piece of art over to Mr. Swallowing Silver as a birthday gift."
Before Mu Long could react, the body of the Restraint Incarnation disintegrated in the pitch-black domain, turning into searing steam that hissed and dissipated into the cityscape.
The next moment, Mu Long’s domain receded, and the encompassing darkness was burnt away like weeds, with neon lights once again illuminating Li Jing Square.
It was as if the Creator had wielded a palette, repainting every scene with dazzling colors.
Swallowing Silver stood there motionless, his arms raised for protection in front of him, his back soaked in cold sweat.
This was his first cooperation with the Mutant Mu Long, and he naturally found it hard to adapt. Just now, even he was affected by Mu Long’s superpower, thus kept vigilant, not daring to move rashly.
He had to admit, that feeling just now was terrifying, as if all your senses were deprived, leaving you alone in the world.
As if experiencing a mental death.
"Hey... rookie, where’s Black Chrysalis?"
Swallowing Silver returned to himself, restrained his advancing force, and descended to the ground of the square.
Mu Long shook his head and looked down in silence, what remained on the ground was just a sketchbook and a broken pencil.
On the white paper was a sketchy pencil drawing depicting a black eagle wearing a knight’s helmet, carrying a blue electric mouse in its beak while hovering in the air. Meanwhile, a silver hamster was cradling a battery, hiding and shivering in the corner.
"Did he escape again?" Swallowing Silver said while walking over, seeing the cartoon version of himself on the paper, he immediately got furious, black lines popping up on his forehead, "That guy... never-ending, is he?"
Mu Long still remained silent. He just raised his head, stomped on the sketchbook, then dragged his gray long cloak as he slowly walked toward the end of the square.
...
...
Meanwhile, inside a residential building in the Gu Yima District.
Gu Wenyu opened his eyes in bed, a red and black hint panel appeared before him.
[Hint: Your "Restraint Incarnation" has died. You need to wait 12 hours of cooldown before you can summon the avatar again.]
He yawned, picked up the backup phone by his pillow, and sent a message to Blue Arc’s private account.
[Black Chrysalis: Be wary of that newcomer around you, Mr. Blue Arc.]
[Blue Arc: What do you mean?]
[Black Chrysalis: Mu Long, he’s got quite the background, be careful when you’re alone with him.]
[Blue Arc: Can’t you just directly say why his background is not ordinary?]
[Black Chrysalis: This is a gray character’s professional ethics, maintaining fifty percent mystique.]
Despite accepting the Ghost Bell’s commission, Ji Minghuan did not really want to reveal Mu Long’s truth to Blue Arc, nor did he wish to mediate between their conflicts either;
Quite the opposite, he wanted to leverage Mu Long’s act of revenge to add another achievement to Blue Arc’s career, so that when Big Brother advances to Catastrophe Level, the chances of him being selected as one of the Rainbow Wings would become higher.
As of now, his only link to the Rainbow Wings is "Blue Arc."
If Big Brother cannot smoothly enter the Rainbow Wings, there would be no way for him to access the Salvation Society led by "Urushibara Ryuri."
"I wonder how many spies from the Salvation Society are inside the Rainbow Wings..." Gu Wenyu pondered, "Regardless of how many, as long as Big Brother can capture one of them, I’ll be able to use the ’Restraint Truth’ to find out the Salvation Society’s base location."
Ideally, the best development would be to round up all the undercover agents from the Salvation Society.
But that would depend on whether the Ghost Bell would be willing to cooperate, as relying on just him and Big Brother alone likely wouldn’t accomplish this task.
[Blue Arc: Oh, then I’ll keep an eye on him for a short while, I could indeed sense he acts a bit unnatural when he’s around me, though I don’t know why.]
[Black Chrysalis: That’s right, especially when alone with him, you must stay alert.]
[Blue Arc: Enough about this, I have a question to ask.]
[Black Chrysalis: What’s it?]
[Blue Arc: My brother, isn’t he an ordinary person too?]
[Black Chrysalis: Uh, why did you suddenly come up with this doubt?]
[Blue Arc: Just suddenly thought of it, I found no one in his room early this morning, conveniently Xiaomai also left.]
[Black Chrysalis: Is there a possibility, Mr. Blue Arc, that I am... your brother.]
[Blue Arc: Signing off for now, talk later.]
Gu Wenyu stared at the phone screen, expressionless and silent for a moment, as the last remnant of a setting sun cast on his bewildered face.
He thought to himself, what’s with your family? It’s rare for me to be sincere and none of you believe it, right?