Chapter 467: Chapter 282: Truth, Nemesis, Chess Species Evolution
Hokkaido, Sapporo, Japan, August 8th, 5:30 PM.
At dusk on the Ishikari Coast, Gu Qiye leaned on the railing, gazing at the ocean under the sunset.
"How’s the situation?" he asked, "Didn’t you say the prison left a bunch of backups on Ryukawa Chiba?"
You Ruirui leaned against the railing, looking down at her phone, "Before Ryukawa Chiba left the prison, the miniature listening devices on him were all removed; the locator previously embedded in his right arm, installed on the bone, was discovered and dealt with by their hacker, and the signal was completely blocked."
By now, both were wearing casual clothes. You Ruirui wore a blue and white dress, while Gu Qiye had on a white T-shirt and trousers, with sneakers on his feet.
Due to too many uncertain factors during the process, the mission to arrest the White Crow Travel Brigade was forced to halt.
Among the three from Rainbow Wings, Urushibara Ryuri went to cooperate with the military to check the situation in the Hokkaido Superpower prison, while Gu Qiye and You Ruirui came to Sapporo City, trying to see if they could find any clues left by the White Crow Travel Brigade.
After a busy day without knowing what they were busy with, they simply came to the coast to relax.
Pedestrians on the street cast glances at them, and girls in JK uniforms discussed the two’s appearance while covering their mouths.
Based solely on appearance, no one would think these two were members of the world’s strongest superpower organization, looking just like a college brother taking his middle or high school sister to the seaside.
However, both were quite striking in appearance, especially You Ruirui—despite the side effects of superpowers that prevented her from growing taller, forever remaining at the age of sixteen, it didn’t affect her superior appearance. If she wanted, she could debut as a model anytime. Unfortunately, just a child model.
"So you’re saying there’s really no way to find them?" Gu Qiye asked.
"What else?" You Ruirui retorted.
"Then let it be."
"Blame the prison officials for being too confident. They assumed the brigade couldn’t defeat the warden, so they didn’t consider what measures to take if prisoners were rescued."
"And what about the warden?" Gu Qiye asked, turning to glance at her.
In the sunset, You Ruirui’s skin was pale and translucent. Only the warm sunlight cast a glow not belonging to her natural complexion on her face.
"The warden’s whereabouts are unknown; either taken by the White Crow Travel Brigade or destroyed at the scene," she said softly, "Continuing the investigation here is like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Are we heading back to the United States tonight then?"
"Yes, the higher-ups have arranged an emergency flight for us," You Ruirui said without lifting her head, "We can take the plane at the local Mutants Association branch."
The sea breeze lifted their hair. The air carried a faint salty scent. Gu Qiye gazed at the distant sparkling sea, watching birds stretch their wings in the twilight.
"Let’s go have dinner first, what do you feel like eating?" he asked.
"I haven’t been to Japan much," You Ruirui replied, "Ordinary food can be found anywhere, so to avoid any regrets, I think we should first research the local specialties."
Gu Qiye suddenly chuckled softly.
"Has anyone ever said you speak like a robot?" he asked curiously.
After a moment of silence, You Ruirui lifted her head, turning her ice-blue eyes to look at him.
"Do you dislike robots?"
One looked at the sea, the other at the other’s profile; the sea breeze gently brushed their cheeks. The girl’s white hair fluttered.
Gu Qiye didn’t answer, simply walking to the street vending machine, inserting coins, choosing two bottles of soda, and returning to toss one to You Ruirui.
She silently reached out to catch the soda, seeing Gu Qiye twist off the cap, she did the same.
With a pop, cool vapor emerged, hitting their faces.
Gu Qiye leaned against the railing, one arm holding his shoulder, the other lifting the soda to sip near the bottle’s mouth.
He quietly viewed the sea, his gaze landing on a few ship shadows on the horizon, sails fluttering under the sunset.
After a moment, he suddenly said, "I actually wanted to thank you for telling me about that on the plane yesterday."
"What?"
"You mentioned the orphanage, said I saved many children, said they had no parents but I gave them the courage to live... Although I don’t know if it’s true or not, you gave me some comfort."
"There are many more people you’ve helped, definitely not just them," You Ruirui thought for a moment, adding, "So, you’re still feeling guilty about the Mutant Mu Long incident?"
Gu Qiye nodded, "I feel quite guilty, whether it’s towards him or myself."
"I don’t understand why you’d feel guilty about accidentally killing someone you didn’t know?" You Ruirui said, "Clearly... you’ve saved far more people than this."
"My mother died in an accident caused by a superpower user," Gu Qiye said, "Afterwards, my family was a mess. Every day I’d return home, unable to even lift my head to see the expressions on my family’s faces."
He spoke calmly, "Unknowingly, I became the person I most hated. Actually when Mu Long exposed the truth to kill me, that’s when I thought, dying there wasn’t so bad."
"Why?"
"I don’t know..."
Suddenly they both fell silent. Leaning against the railing, watching the bustling street, they quietly drank their sodas.
"You can’t die," You Ruirui suddenly said.
"Why?"
"Because... those kids at the orphanage," You Ruirui said, "They all really like you, if you died, they’d be very sad."
"They liked Blue Arc, and isn’t Blue Arc already dead? Dead in every sense, the top is busy with his memorial event, then seeking opportunities to cash in."
"It doesn’t matter," You Ruirui said seriously, "Next time I visit the Welfare Institute, I’ll secretly tell those kids that Blue Arc is still alive, that you’re still alive, then it’ll be alright."
Gu Qiye froze for a moment before placing his arms back on the railing, turning to look at her, "Isn’t that violating Rainbow Wings’ confidentiality agreement?"
"It’s Gu Qiye who joined Rainbow Wings, not Blue Arc," You Ruirui said lightly, "I’m just telling those kids Blue Arc is still alive, there’s no conflict."
"You do have a non-robotic side," Gu Qiye laughed.
"Is that a compliment?"
"More or less," Gu Qiye said, "You may appear robotic on the surface, but you’re actually quite nice. When I heard you say that you have funded many orphanages and regularly visit the children there, I was quite surprised."
"Why surprised?"
"Because you’re very kind. I never thought Rainbow Wings members could be so kind."
"How do you think Rainbow Wings members should be?"
"I thought all of Rainbow Wings were lofty, not considering human lives as lives, and ordinary people were just... ants accidentally stepped on." Gu Qiye said this, and his eyes dimmed somewhat.
He took a sip of soda and murmured softly, "I clearly thought it should be like this, but you’re different from what I imagined."
You Ruirui fell silent, and suddenly the sea breeze came, her white hair fluttered in the wind, strands of hair sticking to her cheeks, dyed the color of gold by the sunset.
In a blur, the corners of her mouth seemed to gently curve into a smile.
Unsure if it was an illusion, it was Gu Qiye’s first time seeing her show such an expression. But with just a blink of an eye, she returned to her usual look, standing like an ice sculpture with her ice-blue eyes seemingly devoid of emotion.
Could she smile? he wondered.
"I’ve decided on what to have for dinner," You Ruirui suddenly said, "Last time in New York you treated me, this time I’ll treat you."
"Sounds good, reciprocation is nice."
"Then let’s go."
Gu Qiye nodded, casually placing the soda bottle on the railing, turning to glance at the sea behind him.
The sky was getting darker, the huge sun disk was about to sink below the horizon. Fishing boats swayed as they headed towards unknown destinations far away.
Staring at the slightly dimmed sea surface, he suddenly remembered something, and fell silent for a moment.
"Is there anything else?" You Ruirui asked.
Gu Qiye shook his head and spoke, "By the way... since the mission is over, shouldn’t you tell me now?"
"You’re referring to?"
You Ruirui lifted her gaze from her phone, slowly turned her head, her ice-blue eyes steadfastly looking at him,
"Who was it a few days ago... that killed Ghost Bell?"
"Why are you so obsessed with this question? I don’t understand." You Ruirui was puzzled.
"Just asking offhandedly."
You Ruirui was silent for a while, then said expressionlessly: "It was me. At the time, to avoid too much commotion, Fan Dongqing was on standby in the car. The Superpower Association mentioned that you had been severely injured many times by Ghost Bell before, each time barely escaping."
She paused, and added calmly: "I avenged you, don’t need to thank me... what’s wrong with you?"
Halfway through speaking, You Ruirui suddenly noticed something wrong with the other’s complexion, so she slowly turned to look at Gu Qiye. Her gaze landed on a pale face. The sea breeze grew stronger, making their bodies feel chilled.
Gu Qiye silently took a step back, stunned in place. The sea breeze blew over, making his hair messy.
He leaned weakly against the railing, motionless with his head down, his falling bangs covering his eyes. At that moment, the sunset completely sank below the horizon, taking away the last gleam scattered on the shore.
The whole world dimmed, plunged into darkness where one could not see their hands.
....
....
Japan time, 11 PM, Tokyo City, in front of Oda Takashige’s café.
"Click" went the lock as Xia Pingzhou used the key to unlock it, then pushed open the glass door. The wind chime swayed, emitting a friendly and clear sound, as if welcoming them.
Despite traveling to so many places and staying in so many cities recently, the place Xia Pingzhou felt most at home was still Oda Takashige’s café.
Every time he saw the glass door of the café and heard the clear bell sound when opening the door, he always felt like he was home.
Ayase Origami seemed almost asleep. Her head drooped slightly, her clear strands of hair hung down, covering her eyes, drowsiness spreading across her simply white face.
Xia Pingzhou said casually, "You should go to sleep first; it seems you can barely keep your eyes open. I’ll lock the door."
"Mm, goodnight, little cat," she said quietly, with drooping eyelids.
Xia Pingzhou yawned, looking at the kimono-clad girl walking into the café.
After locking the door, he entered the café, sat in the dark, and opened the task panel to claim the reward for Main Quest 1.
[Main Quest 1 (Fourth Stage) Completed: Help White Crow Travel Brigade break out of prison.]
[Reward Obtained: 1 attribute point, 2 skill points, 1 split point.]
[Allocate the attribute point immediately?]
Without hesitation, Xia Pingzhou clicked the option—"Yes," meanwhile the character panel popped open in front of him.
He focused on balanced development, so he quickly allocated the only attribute point he had.
[Changes in the speed attribute of your second model "Chess Player": A+ level → A++ level (your "Chess Species" speed will also be enhanced)]
[Current attributes of the model are as follows—Strength: D level; Speed: A++ level; Spirit: A++ level]
"Catastrophe Level standards require multiple S levels; my second model is already close to advancing to Catastrophe Level." Xia Pingzhou thought, "When I break through to the third stage with the new mechanism ’Black King Domain,’ I can lock Jack the Ripper into the chessboard."
[Currently holding "3" skill points, jump to the character skill tree panel immediately?]
"So it seems like I can already learn the second ’Chess Species Evolution’?"
Xia Pingzhou raised his eyebrows, suddenly thought, "What material will the statue evolve into this time? Could it evolve into a real person eventually?"