Chapter 478: Chapter 289: Resolve, Hatred, and Sudden News
This scene was so ironic that it made him feel amused. He laughed inappropriately, as if laughing at others, yet seemingly mocking himself. He didn’t want to open his eyes, didn’t want to see himself in the rearview mirror, fearing the urge to tear this hypocritical face to pieces.
"Sounds terrible." You Ruirui said softly.
"Actually, he used to be a very good and reliable person, though not eloquent, his character was gentle, and he handled things with principles. Every time after work, he would bring us something delicious," Gu Qiye said, "Mom’s death changed him."
"I originally wanted to ask you, what’s it like to have family who care about you?" You Ruirui said, "But your family situation doesn’t seem ideal, maybe I should avoid these topics."
She paused, lowered her ice-blue eyes, "Sorry, I’m not very good at communicating with others."
Before she finished, You Ruirui said quietly and earnestly, "But it’s not because of an age gap, even though I said my actual age is older than my body’s, I’m actually only one year older than you."
"Why do you care about such inexplicable issues?"
"I don’t know."
"Actually, I guessed it. Your real age should be around your twenties; after all, what grandma or old aunt would like to play a bunch of mobile games?"
You Ruirui was silent for a moment, then said lightly, "Based on my observation, when you say something like that, it’s because you had a moment of thinking I might be an old aunt or grandma."
Gu Qiye had no energy to speak anymore, so he simply avoided the question.
You Ruirui tapped on her tablet, and Gu Qiye felt exhausted, so he closed his eyes and silently rested. The vast underground parking lot was deathly silent.
After a while, Gu Qiye suddenly said, "Every time I perform a mission, I’ve been thinking about one question. I don’t know if you’ve had similar thoughts."
"What question?"
"Have you ever thought that the people you kill also have families?"
Gu Qiye said this, slowly opening his eyes and looking directly at You Ruirui’s face through the rearview mirror.
"Generally, the people the United Nations need us to deal with are either those who have killed many people, or their level of danger has exceeded the point where we can consider ’whether they have families’," You Ruirui said, "so I haven’t thought about it."
"Is that so."
"During your time as a Mutant Blue Arc, you always captured criminals and sent them to prison," You Ruirui said, "but Rainbow Wings operates differently. For us, making the target vanish into thin air is common; it helps ensure the mission’s secrecy."
"I understand."
"Anyway... let’s have dinner first."
You Ruirui put down the tablet and started the Maybach with the remote key. She stepped on the accelerator, and the car roared out of the underground garage. The sunset light poured down, illuminating the avenues of the Manhattan District, with the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers on both sides shimmering like the sea under the setting sun.
Gu Qiye sat alone in the back seat, silently opening his phone, finally willing to look at the message sent by Black Cocoon earlier—if not for this message, he might have already pierced You Ruirui’s heart.
He knew in his heart that he couldn’t delay any longer. The more he learned about his enemy, the more indecisive he would become. He was such a weak person.
Gu Qiye knew himself well. When he couldn’t see his enemy as something akin to livestock, merely an outlet for negative emotions, and instead tried to see them as living beings sharing the same emotions as him... then killing them would bring him nothing.
There would be no pleasure, nor would he ever forgive himself; all his efforts might only result in a more binding shackle clamping onto his heart.
So, while he still didn’t understand the other person, while he wasn’t hesitating, he must kill the person in the rearview mirror.
Thinking of this, Gu Qiye’s gaze slowly grew cold as he stared at Black Cocoon’s message.
[Black Cocoon: How could you ignore me for so long?]
[Black Cocoon: Did you have fun this time in Japan? Uh, it’s midnight in U.S. time, you’re not already asleep, are you? I have some good news to tell you.]
[Gu Qiye: Let me confirm one last time, the one who killed my father was the Extreme Ice Maiden, You Ruirui, right?]
[Black Cocoon: Did I say that?]
[Gu Qiye: You are still playing with me, she already told me herself that she was the one... who killed Ghost Bell.]
[Black Cocoon: What I mean is... who killed Ghost Bell is not important, right?]
Gu Qiye’s face slightly twitched, and at that moment, he was thoroughly infuriated. Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he forcefully typed out each word on the screen and sent them.
[Gu Qiye: Are you kidding me?]
On the screen, Black Cocoon didn’t respond to his anger with words, but suddenly sent a photo.
Gu Qiye frowned, slowly raised his hand to tap the photo, and with the enlarged image captured in his eyes, every detail was vividly clear, leaving nothing unseen.
It was a selfie. The background showed a bookstore. The photo had two faces, one person wearing a shirt, sitting on a swivel chair behind the counter, glasses on their face, with eyes slightly squinted showing an elder’s smile.
The other person stood in front of the counter, hands in pockets. He wore a torn black jacket, with unshaven beard and messy hair, appearing as a scruffy old man. His expression was somewhat awkward as he lifted a hand to scratch his chin.
"This is..." Gu Qiye froze in place, gaze blankly staring at the scruffy man, almost whispering out, "Dad...?"
Then, the phone chimed "ding-dong," disrupting Gu Qiye’s shocked and confused thoughts, and a message popped up before his eyes.
[Black Cocoon: Uh... The reason I said it doesn’t matter who killed Mr. Ghost Bell is because Mr. Ghost Bell isn’t actually dead. With the help of Dr. Zeersi and me, he has faked his own death and escaped.]
Gu Qiye leaned back in the seat, as the blood-red evening light, coming through the car window, settled on his face. His expression was neither happy nor sad, just blank and bewildered.
[Black Cocoon: Also, I have good news for you. Look at the photo I just sent you; what a harmonious scene.]
[Black Cocoon: Let me formally introduce this; the man with glasses in the photo is your grandfather. How about that? Doesn’t he look younger than your father?]
[Black Cocoon: Your grandpa is quite trendy; he took a selfie with your dad and sent it to me. (Hush... This is typical elderly behavior. I can almost see grandma pulling her grandkid for a selfie and then setting the picture as the phone wallpaper.)]
[Black Cocoon: What a loving family, my tears are almost flowing. Now everyone can unite and seek revenge for Ms. Su Ying. A few days later, I’ll see you in Japan.]
Gu Qiye was stunned for a long time before he finally raised his hand to type a single word on the screen.
[Gu Qiye: Huh?]