My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 167 Gu Qiye: Xiaomai, I am Blue Arc (Seeking monthly votes)

The time in Beijing, China, is roughly the same as in Whale Garden, so it's evening in Beijing right now.

"Wenyu, are you awake?" Gu Qiye's voice came, followed by a soft knock on the door.

Hearing the commotion, Ji Minghuan, controlling the No. 1 unit Gu Wenyu, opened his eyes, got out of bed, and groggily glanced at the time on the wall: "21:25".

He put on his pants, got up quickly, and turned the doorknob to open the door.

Looking up, Gu Qiye's face came into view, the bright white light of the corridor illuminating his clear eyes.

"What's wrong, bro?" he asked.

Gu Qiye rubbed his forehead, hesitating to speak: "Uh... my little sister sent a WeChat message saying she has something to say to us tonight."

At this point, he crossed his arms, looked up, and smiled. "Now that you're awake, shall we go downstairs and talk?"

"Oh, okay," Ji Minghuan said, "then I'll wash my face."

"Okay, I'll wait for you downstairs." Gu Qiye said, and went downstairs first.

Ji Minghuan glanced at his back, scratched her messy hair, and walked into the washroom feeling a little confused, thinking to herself, "What's wrong with my little sister now?"
He stopped in front of the sink, looked up at his tired face in the mirror, and slowly began to recall:
Su Zimai is going to London with Ke Qirui in a couple of days to capture the crazed exorcist, "Red Light".

From Ke Qirui's perspective, they hadn't overestimated their strength this time. After all, with the Ghost Train Squad's abilities, dealing with a mere Red Light was quite easy. No matter how famous Red Light was, he was just a second-tier exorcist, usually killing exorcists through ambushes.

What they didn't know was that the Salvation Society would also be involved in this incident.

Even assuming they did know, they might not have fully grasped what the "Salvation Society" actually was.

This is the most dangerous place...

"Let's take it one step at a time," Ji Minghuan sighed.

After washing his face, he smoothed his hair and quickly went downstairs.

All the lights in the living room were on, and a standing fan was pointing directly at the sofa, its blades swirling gently and blowing out a cool breeze. Outside the window, the sounds of cicadas chirping and children laughing and playing with glow sticks filled the air.

Under the warm orange light, Su Zimai, dressed in pajamas, sat on the sofa watching TV; Gu Qiye, on the other hand, leaned against the living room wall, one hand in his pocket, staring blankly out the window.

Ji Minghuan thought to himself: Dad's not here? You guys really know how to pick your time. As expected, you still don't take Dad's opinion seriously. But then again, he really doesn't have much say.

"How to say?"

As Ji Minghuan spoke, she walked over and found a seat on the sofa.

"I'm going out in a couple of days, and I probably won't be back for a while," Su Zimai said.

Gu Qiye was taken aback: "You're going out again?"

“Yes… I have something to take care of,” Su Zimai said in a low voice.

The sofa was facing away from Gu Qiye, so he couldn't see her expression.

"What's wrong?" Gu Qiye asked softly, her head lowered. "You've only been home for two days, and you're already in such a hurry to go out again... Don't you want to stay home that much?"

"It's my own business, and it's not convenient for me to talk about it... I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry about me again," Su Zimai replied casually.

A moment of silence fell between the three of them as the television broadcast the latest news.

The host read from the script as he spoke: "Last night, members suspected to be from the White Raven Brigade appeared in Lijing, China, and participated in a bank robbery that occurred yesterday. The wanted criminal with supernatural abilities, 'Black Chrysalis,' also appeared at the scene of the incident. Below are photos of the crime scene..."

Ji Minghuan glanced at the television, popped a peanut into his mouth, and then said sarcastically:

“I don’t think that will work. Last time, my younger sister even secretly went to Japan without telling us. Who knows what she might do this time?”

Su Zimai raised her eyes, turned her head and glared at him fiercely, her eyes seeming to say, "I thought you would speak up for me."

Ji Minghuan remained silent, only giving her a cold look that seemed to say, "Who are you?"

Su Zimai didn't speak, nor did she want to.

When she thought about how Gu Wenyu had yelled at her at the door of her room a couple of days ago, she didn't know what to say or how to get angry. Instead, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

She thought, "He really cares about me."

A standing fan whirred against her side, making her ponytail bounce up and down.

A summer evening breeze wafted in through the French windows, gently caressing Gu Qiye's forearm.

He gazed at the night view outside the window, remained silent for a while, and finally spoke: "Xiaomai, the 'thing to be done' you mentioned, you mean the matter concerning exorcists, right?"

Su Zimai paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "No! Didn't I explain it to you before? That exorcist is just a title in a game. You guys are still making a big fuss. Can you please stop..."

Amidst the gradually increasing chirping of cicadas, Gu Qiye suddenly interrupted her:
"You don't need to hide it from me, I know what an exorcist is."

Ji Minghuan paused for a moment, munching on sunflower seeds and looking around.

He glanced at Gu Qiye's expression, then at Su Zimai's, before deciding to withdraw from the battlefield. He then broke the silence, feigning ignorance, and asked:
"What is an exorcist?"

Seeing her younger brother's reaction, Gu Qiye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, "So, Xiaomai hasn't explained the exorcist to the rest of the family yet?"

He had initially thought that since Gu Wenyu and Su Zimai had been getting along so well lately, Su Zimai might have already told him about the "exorcist".

But now it seems that things are not as he thought.

Gu Wenyu was still kept in the dark.

But would it be good for Wenyu to know these things now? He still has to study hard in high school... Knowing his personality, he'll definitely ask all sorts of questions, right? That wouldn't make Xiaomai happy either.

I'd better talk to her alone first and ask about her attitude before considering discussing these matters with Wenyu.

Thinking of this, Gu Qiye suddenly said, "Wenyu, I want to have a private talk with my younger sister."

"What is it that you can't say in front of me?" Ji Minghuan tilted her head.

"I'm afraid she'll get angry." Gu Qiye smiled. "Just try to understand."

"Alright, alright... You siblings are so close, I'm just an outsider, I'll just leave."

Ji Minghuan snorted coldly and said nonchalantly. Before leaving, he held a handful of melon seeds in his hand and then openly took out the Coke that Su Zimai had just frozen from the refrigerator.

He went upstairs while munching on sunflower seeds.

Sure enough, Su Zimai was lost in thought and didn't notice that her second brother had taken her cola.

No sooner had he stepped onto the second floor than Ji Minghuan stood with his back against the wall, a restraint strap extending from his sleeve. With a "click," he unscrewed the tab on the Coke can, and wisps of cool air rose up.

Immediately afterwards, the black restraint straps loosened their loops, fell downwards, and pressed against the floor.

Using the sensory restraints that seeped down, Ji Minghuan quietly eavesdropped on the two's conversation while drinking cola.

Su Zimai asked suspiciously, "You said you know about 'exorcists'?"

“Yes,” Gu Qiye laughed, “What is your Sky Chaser? I’m quite curious about what kind of superpowers my little sister has.”

Su Zimai stood there stunned. "No way? How do you even know this?"

“Of course I know,” Gu Qiye said calmly. “Ke Qirui, your teacher, she’s a member of the Exorcist Association, right?” He thought for a moment, “Her Sky Chaser is a one-way mirror, her ability is to control demons, and the demons she contracts with are the ‘Train Demon’ and the ‘Movie Demon’…”

Su Zimai was speechless, stunned.

Her brain had stopped functioning at this point.

To give an analogy, it's as if she painstakingly pieced together her brain using Lego bricks, only to have Gu Qiye, like the mischievous neighbor's child, come running over shouting and roughly kicking over her newly assembled brain. Now, her brain is shattered into countless pieces, clattering and crashing to the ground.

A moment later, a thought, as powerful as a raging storm, suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Brother, you wouldn't happen to be..." she raised her eyebrows and asked in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qiye lowered his head, his expression complex, and the corners of his lips slightly raised. After a moment, a relieved and carefree smile appeared on his face.

He said softly, "You guessed it all? Yes, I'm Lan..."

Su Zimai interrupted him: "You are... Black Chrysalis?"

Gu Qiye paused for a moment, then slowly raised her head.

The two looked at each other.

A brief silence fell between the two of them. Then, a "pfft" sound came from the upstairs corridor. Ji Minghuan had just spat out the cola he had just drunk.

He lay on the ground, pounding his fists, while quickly wiping the water stains on the floor with his restraints.

Ji Minghuan coughed several times, thinking to herself, "Little sister, you are truly a genius of all time, albeit a comedic genius."

To avoid arousing suspicion from the two, Ji Minghuan began muttering to himself into his phone:
"Please, Li Qingping, can you even land a single skill? I can play better than you even with a bunch of rice chickens scattered on my phone screen. Next time, can you please stop trying to take the AD carry role? Just play a Yuumi and hang on me!"

Hearing the cursing coming from upstairs, Gu Qiye and Su Zimai remained silent for a while.

The two thought to themselves, "When did Gu Wenyu get hooked on mobile games again? This Li Qingping seems to be his good buddy. Sure enough, playing games together can ruin a relationship."

After a moment, Gu Qiye seemed to have made a connection to something, so she tentatively asked:
"Hmm... Wheat, why do you think I'm a black pupa? Can you tell me your reasoning? Did that black pupa say something to you?"

Su Zimai's eyes twitched slightly. Holding her head, which felt like it was about to explode, she had given up thinking. A series of clues were intertwined haphazardly in her mind, ultimately leading to the fact that Gu Qiye was the Black Chrysalis.

She hurriedly lowered her head, then raised it again; her eyes were already red.

Finally, she shouted, almost in shame and anger, "You really are Black Chrysalis, aren't you, brother? You bastard! You've been playing me for a fool... Is it fun to have me all over the place?!"

"no, I do not……"

Before she could explain, Su Zimai launched a barrage of words: "So that's why Black Chrysalis knew so much about our family! Why did he look so familiar to me? Why did he come all the way here to save me? It was you! Why did you keep it from me? Didn't you already know I was an exorcist? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I'm really not a black person..."

"You're not? You still say you're not?!"

Su Zimai got up from the sofa, walked angrily towards Gu Qiye, and stared at him with a huff.

When she gets angry, she's like a penguin, charging at you dumbly and giving you a good peck.

Gu Qiye didn't feel anything special about it; he just thought his younger sister was quite cute.

Even so, Gu Qiye was momentarily speechless, overwhelmed by his sister's rapid-fire speech.

The living room was completely silent.

Finally, after regaining his composure, he raised his hand and gently ruffled Su Zimai's hair, saying in a gentle voice, "Xiaomai, calm down first and listen to my explanation, okay?"

Su Zimai suddenly raised her hand, her right hand frozen in mid-air, as if she wanted to slap Gu Qiye, her eyes darting around.

After thinking about it, she seemed to feel a little sorry for him, and in the end, with red eyes, she withdrew her right hand, only lightly punching him in the chest.

“You must give me a satisfactory explanation,” she said softly, her eyes lowered, “otherwise I will never forgive you, never…”

Gu Qiye frowned, wondering what Hei Yong had done to make Su Zimai react so strongly.

The next time the black pupa appears, he will definitely go and confront it. How dare it bully his sister? He will make that black worm pay a price.

“I understand,” Gu Qiye said. “I will explain it to you properly.”

“I feel so ashamed,” Su Zimai said softly. “I just told you that I could handle things on my own… but at the auction, you ended up saving me.”

Gu Qiye was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself that it was indeed he who had asked Hei Yong to watch over Su Zimai. Judging from what his younger sister said, it was indeed Hei Yong who saved her in the end.

But this black worm clearly saved his sister, yet it didn't come to claim credit the next day. That doesn't seem like his style. Gu Qiye wondered, "Did I misunderstand the black worm?"
At that moment, Ji Minghuan, who was eavesdropping on the second floor, was slightly startled. He thought to himself, "Oh no! How could I forget to ask my brother for credit after saving my sister that day? What a huge mistake!"

If you tell Blue Arc that you saved his family, it will definitely make his favorability towards you skyrocket, which will also be beneficial for their long-term cooperation in the future.

After all, they still need to work with Old Man Ghost Bell to wreak havoc on Rainbow Wing. How can they not establish a solid cooperative relationship beforehand?
Thinking of this, Ji Minghuan casually leaned closer to the bottle and took a big gulp of cola down her throat. She thought to herself that things were actually not bad as they were. Telling Gu Qiye about this through Su Zimai would only make him trust her more.

By sheer accident, I've managed to boost my brother's favorability.

In the living room on the first floor, Gu Qiye said, "You just said that I am Black Chrysalis, right?"

Su Zimai pressed aggressively: "Could it be that you aren't? Who else could it be but you?!"

"At first I even suspected that Dad was a black cocoon," Gu Qiye joked.

"what?"

Su Zimai's brain went blank again. She slumped her head and racked her brains, counting on her fingers.

When Black Chrysalis first appeared in Lijing, Old Man had just returned home; when Black Chrysalis was operating in Lijing, Old Man had just gone out; when Old Man traveled to Japan, Black Chrysalis had just arrived in Japan; Black Chrysalis was very familiar with their family's situation, and Old Man was also very familiar with their family's situation.

A perfect match!

She slowly opened her mouth wide, slowly opened her eyes wide, and stared blankly at Gu Qiye:
"The black chrysalis is... Dad?"

In that instant, Su Zimai's worldview completely collapsed. Just thinking about how her usually stern and unsmiling father, who was as serious as a statue, would instantly transform into a crazy person who sang, danced, and spouted nonsense after putting on a trench coat and a mask.

The contrast is just too gloomy...
She bit her finger, her face pale, and she seemed to freeze on the spot as if she had been glared at by Medusa.

After a long pause, she said, "Don't stop me, I'm running away from home... and I'm never coming back."

Gu Qiye looked at her expression with amusement, then shook his head and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm not sure either."

"Wait a minute! Bro, you're not trying to distract me, are you?" Su Zimai suddenly became alert, frowning. "Which of you is the Black Chrysalis?"

"If you're already suspecting us, why can't it be Wen Yu?"

"My commander and I have verified it; it couldn't be him!"

“That’s true, you two have been getting so close lately.” Gu Qiye shrugged. “Alright… enough joking, let’s get serious.”

"So who exactly are you?" Su Zimai was on the verge of tears. "I feel like I'm about to break down. Just give me a quick death, okay?"

Gu Qiye suddenly fell silent. He slowly raised his hand and turned off the living room lights. The living room instantly went dark, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, except for the incessant chirping of cicadas.

Su Zimai was stunned, not knowing what her brother was going to do.

The next second, deep blue lightning slowly rose from the darkness, illuminating their faces as warmly as candlelight at a birthday party.

"This is……"

Su Zimai was stunned for a long, long time, and then looked in the direction of the light source. She saw that on the five fingers of Gu Qiye's right hand, there were wisps of electric arcs dancing.

“I am... Blue Arc.”

In the silence, Gu Qiye spoke calmly.

　Please vote for me, everyone! This is really important!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)