My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 229 Photos, Clues, Conflict (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Gu Wenyu booked a car near the port using his mobile phone, sat on a public wooden bench, and played Spider Solitaire on his phone while waiting for the car.

By the time I got off the bus and arrived home, it was already very late at night.

The cicadas' chirping faded, and the streets and alleys grew dim, with only a billboard overhead flickering with light. The supermarket owner pulled down the shutter at the entrance, turned around, and greeted him, saying, "Hey kid, why are you so late?"

Gu Wenyu turned around and said, "Night running, my idol is Blue Arc, so I like running."

The boss nodded and said that young people are full of energy, then put on his helmet, rode away on his electric scooter.

Gu Wenyu inserted the key into the hole to open the door, and after returning to the room, he sprawled out on the bed in a spread-eagle position.

He looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Right now, all Gu Wenyu could see was a dark ceiling. The surroundings were so quiet that the whole city seemed to be dead, with only the faint chirping of cicadas reminding him that it was the dead of night.

But the other two machines were different; the world they saw was noisy, bustling, and colorful.

At this very moment, Xia Pingzhou was in a private underground tavern in Bergen.

The leader knew the owner of the place, so he booked it a few days in advance and reserved the entire venue on the day the mission ended. So now, apart from the leader, the other nine members of the White Raven Brigade were all gathered here, having a victory celebration and discussing the Whale Court War.

They began by collectively criticizing Robert.

After all, this robot head did nothing throughout the entire battle; it simply opened a door, exited the miniature garden, and then sat leisurely on a public wooden bench at the dock, drinking its wine.

While others were fighting to the death in their own little garden world, he was outside admiring the beauty of the night.

Everyone was discussing it, and among them, Tong Zizhu and others were particularly curious about how Bernardo died—this unfortunate fellow had passed away so quietly out of everyone's sight, as if he had never existed.

The only thing that made them stand out was the Black Death fragments that killed a member of the Royal Court team.

Fortunately, Bernardo was a new member of the troupe, having only been there for about a week. No one had any impression of him, and naturally, no one felt any connection to him. Even though his death was sudden, no one was moved by it.

So they quickly changed the subject and began to wonder what kind of monster the next new member would be.

Now the leader has significantly raised the bar for joining the group. Unless you are a highly specialized talent, you must at least have near-disaster level strength to be allowed to join the group and fill the remaining gap.

However, this would naturally bring Xia Pingzhou even more trouble on the day of his betrayal. Nevertheless, he was confident that with the intelligence he possessed, he could persuade the members to work for him and head to the Salvation Society's base.

However... he could hardly imagine how Ayase Origami would view him on that day.

Just as Xia Pingzhou was thinking this, the girl in the kimono next to him suddenly manipulated a piece of paper and gently scratched his cheek.

"I'm spacing out again," she said.

"I don't drink, so what's the point of me going crazy here with them?" Xia Pingzhou asked calmly.

"I don't drink either. Who would want to sit with a drunkard going crazy? Smokers should sit at the same table as drunkards too," the hacker muttered.

He stood with his back against the wall, eyes lowered, silently playing with his phone.

Xia Pingzhou scolded him expressionlessly: "You're a little kid, it's your duty not to smoke or drink; I'm an adult, it's my virtue not to drink or smoke, don't compare yourself to me."

"And me?"

Origami Ayase looked up at him.

“You’re a kid too, it’s only right that you don’t drink… I’m three years older than you and I haven’t drunk.” Xia Pingzhou said, silently pouring a glass of orange juice for Ayase Origami from the wine glass on the table, setting an example, “Since things have come to this, let’s drink orange juice.”

"Oh."

The girl in the kimono took the cup and toasted him.
The hacker wanted to toast, but when he raised his glass, no one paid him any attention. Then the three of them silently drank their celebratory orange juice.

"When are we going to take the cable car?" she asked, writing on a piece of paper in front of Xia Pingzhou as she drank her orange juice.

Xia Pingzhou glanced at the words on the paper, then put down his cup. "It's already late today, let's talk about it tomorrow. Let's go back to the hotel to rest tonight."

"do not forget."

"of course not."

Xia Pingzhou looked up and saw Bloodline, Ripper, Andrew, and Anron playing cards while drinking and laughing.

Tong Zizhu stood next to Anlens with his arms crossed, frowning as he intently watched the British number one gambler's techniques, mainly to see if he was cheating.

White Wolf and Robert sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, drinking and chatting in a serious manner.

The melancholic atmosphere of the middle-aged man almost made the orange juice trio next to him faint, so they quietly moved a little further away.

Bai Tanlang was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "I may have to go back to China in a few days."

Robert turned to look at him: "China?"

He didn't remove the robot box while drinking; instead, he made an opening in the philtrum of the robot's head.

Bai Tanlang nodded: "Something happened to the demons in China. The Phantom Troupe will be disbanded for a while, and I can't just stand by and do nothing. They might be going to war with the Exorcist Association."

"It's not a lake hunt, is it?" Robert scratched the robot's head, his voice carrying a mechanical magnetism.

"Yes, the Lake Hunters will most likely come to attack the demon army led by the Year Beast Lord..."

"Do you think you have a chance? The Lake Hunters are four monsters." Robert sighed.

“There is still a chance of winning. The Nian Beast Lord has summoned powerful demons from all over the world, including what seems to be the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ from Europe,” said Bai Tanlang. “However, I think… it’s still very difficult to completely defeat that group of exorcists.”

"Should we call someone?"

“If necessary… I would like to ask the leader for help, but the Nian Beast Lord will not allow me to do so.”

"why?"

“They will not allow me to use human power. This is a war between demons and humans… They no longer want to live in seclusion on the mountaintop, so they must fight for their own space to survive.”

"Sigh, even demons have their own rules. I always thought demons were mindless creatures until I met you."

“Only low-level demons lack intelligence,” White Greed Wolf explained. “High-level demons like myself generally don’t roam the human world to avoid causing trouble for themselves, which is why you never see me.”

"Understood, High Demon... Let's drink. Don't tell Andrew about this, or he'll definitely come with you to the mountains to ambush the Lake Hunters with a sniper rifle."

Robert teased him, raising his glass to toast.

"Is Bai Tanlang going back to China in a few days?" Xia Pingzhou listened quietly to their conversation and wondered. He was curious about just how powerful the "Nian Beast" Bai Tanlang mentioned would be to require the four monsters from the Lake Hunt to personally appear.

The hacker looked down at his phone for a while, then suddenly seemed to remember something and walked over to the two of them: "Oh right, White Wolf."

"What's wrong, kid?" Bai Tanlang looked up at him.

“I’ve been meaning to forget to mention this to you. Come to think of it, the team leader asked me to tell you something.” The hacker shrugged. “When we met up the other day, I told you about those kids in hospital gowns in London’s underground bars. Do you remember?”

“I remember…” Bai Tanlang pondered, “The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, right? The leader was quite concerned about that matter. Back then, the newcomer got caught up in it and was even injured by them.”

The hacker rubbed his dark circles: "Among those children in hospital gowns, there's a boy with a wolf tail and wolf ears. He looks somewhat similar to you."

Bai Tanlang was taken aback, then suddenly looked up and stared at him: "What did you say?"

The hacker was silent for a moment: "I'm not sure, but the leader said it might be related to you."

Bai Tanlang frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What color is his hair?"

"black."

"Tail and ears?"

"It's white, sigh... I downloaded the photo from back then, you can see for yourself. The security camera at that underground bar was destroyed, so this is the only photo we have. Don't ask any more questions, just say there isn't any."

The hacker sighed, and as he spoke, he turned his phone screen toward Bai Tanlang. Bai Tanlang opened his eyes wide, which were covered by a white film, and stared at the photo without moving.

He frowned, his gaze shifting between the five children in hospital gowns in the photo, finally settling on a black-haired boy with wolf ears and a wolf tail.

Bai Tanlang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly sprang up from the ground, his roar echoing in all directions.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" The hacker was taken aback, quickly putting the phone back into his overalls pocket. "I couldn't remember for a moment. What's the rush? Is it really your son?"

He lied. Actually, the commander glanced at the photo and told him to wait until the operation was over before telling Bai Tanlang about it, otherwise it might affect his performance in battle.

Panting, Bai Tanlang glared at the hacker and asked hoarsely, "Where did he go? Where did they all go... Who took him away?!"

"I don't know, I haven't found anything, but I'm sure the organization behind them is not simple." The hacker clicked his tongue. "Can you not be in such a hurry? I knew I shouldn't have told you."

At this moment, the entire tavern fell silent, and the five people at the card table all turned their attention to this place.

"Hmm... what's going on now?" Bloodline raised an eyebrow, lifting his crimson eyes to scrutinize White Wolf.

Having been a member of the group for so long, she had never seen such a gloomy and impatient expression on Bai Tanlang's face, so she got up and walked over.

The hacker shrugged: "The newcomer, the Ripper, and the young lady seemed to have run into White Wolf's son in London back then, what a coincidence, right?"

“It’s not just a resemblance, that’s my son…” Bai Tanlang said in a deep voice.

"you sure?"

That's my son!

Bai Tanlang spoke slowly and deliberately, almost like a low growl. He was panting heavily, his pupils dilated like a wild beast, and scorching steam was emanating from every pore of his body.

The hacker covered his ears and looked at him with a pained expression.

Andrew winked and, taking advantage of the fact that the three people at the table were distracted, quickly threw away his bad hand. Then he put on a resentful air, as if his interest had been spoiled and he simply didn't want to play anymore.

He turned to look at Bai Tanlang and said irritably, "It's a rare victory celebration, Old Wolf, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? If you haven't had enough fighting in the Little Garden, then let Sister Ripper go out and... fight with you?"

At this point, he was already feeling drowsy from the alcohol and collapsed at the card table.

“Sigh… I really dislike being interrupted halfway through gambling.” Anlens shrugged, a helpless smile playing on his lips, and put his hands into the pockets of his English suit. “I’m going to go to a nearby casino to have some fun first. Call me if you need anything.”

As he walked out of the tavern, he added, "Oh, by the way, infighting among members is prohibited. Don't go too far."

After saying that, Anlens walked out of the tavern without looking back.

“Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember.” Enma Rin thought for a moment, “Back then in that tavern, I did think there was a child who looked quite like the White Wolf.”

Bai Tanlang turned to look at her: "And then you kept it from me for so long?"

“I just forgot to say it,” Enma Rin said.

"Alright, stop arguing. Kid, let me see the photos," the Bloodline said as he walked toward the hacker.

"I sent them all to you guys via mobile phone, it's so annoying," the hacker muttered. "Why are you suddenly acting like it's my fault that they got away?"

Bai Tanlang gradually calmed down, but his breathing remained heavy and his muscles rippled like waves.

Bloodline picked up the phone on the gambling table and stared expressionlessly at the photo of the five boys in hospital gowns.

Then she suddenly froze on the spot, her crimson pupils contracting as she stared motionlessly at the boy in the hospital gown in the center of the photo, who was holding a thin, white-haired girl in his arms.

"1001..."

Bloodline opened his mouth slightly and softly read out a line of numbers that were both familiar and unfamiliar.

After a moment, she suddenly raised her head in silence, staring blankly at the hacker, her pale golden hair hanging down on her pale cheeks.

Where did the child in the middle of the photo, and the girl with white hair, go?

The hacker was stunned: "No way, you old lady, you're here too?" He just couldn't understand why a small photo could cause these two people to suddenly change their personalities, as if they had rabies.

He thought to himself, "I should have known better than to pull out that photo in front of them. It ruined the atmosphere of the celebration and I'll get yelled at."

Xia Pingzhou was suddenly stunned. After a long while, he looked up at the Bloodline:
"You're not going to say that the boy in the photo is 1001?"

The bloodline was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

“I won’t admit my mistake,” she said softly.

Despite the depth of a century in her demeanor, her eyes and brows remained as clear and bright as a young girl's, and her tone of voice was resolute.

"You've definitely mistaken me for someone else; the photo is so blurry."

The bloodline looked up and stared into his eyes. "Then how do you explain that white-haired girl? Was that also a coincidence?"

Xia Pingzhou was slightly taken aback.

Did the Bloodline mistake me for 1001 in the photo? He wondered, does 1001 look very similar to my true form? Or is there some connection between me and 1001? Did the Salvation Society capture me because I resemble 1001?
The girl in the kimono was silent for a moment, then looked at Xia Pingzhou and then at the Bloodline.

“Tell me,” the bloodline said slowly, “what happened there, and where did those children in the photo end up?”

"Why..." Bai Tanlang also raised his head, suppressing his anger, and said, "It just so happens that you bumped into them there. I don't believe it's just a coincidence."

Xia Pingzhou stared at the two of them expressionlessly: "Do I have any reason to answer you?"

The white film in Bai Tanlang's right eye began to crack, his teeth sharpened, and his body slowly became covered in fur. His pupils, like those of a wild beast, stood upright, gleaming with white light. He was utterly enraged, with an unprecedented fury.

“You do need to answer,” the Bloodline said. “Otherwise, I won’t let you go.”

"You shouldn't ask questions like this. Don't make it sound like I owe you something..." Xia Pingzhou remained expressionless. "If you want to fight, then I'm happy to oblige."

As soon as he finished speaking, he released the Sky Chaser, and black and white streams of light emanated from his body, enveloping his entire body.

"What's going on?" Tong Zizhu was stunned. "Why is there such a tense atmosphere all of a sudden?"

The hacker turned to look at Tong Zizhu and said disdainfully, "Hey... so many people are calling you 'Mom,' it's finally time for you to show off your 'mom' abilities. Can you hurry up and lighten the mood?"

He understood perfectly what Tanlang and Xueyi were like. The former would easily explode at the mention of his son, while the latter seemed to become a different person when the number 1001 was mentioned.

Xia Pingzhou, however, did the opposite, appearing too lazy to respond, which clearly angered the two of them.

However, the hacker understood that this wasn't Xia Pingzhou's problem, it was his. If he hadn't let Xia Pingzhou go to that underground bar to drink, none of the current conflicts would have happened.

"Forget it... even if I really am your mother, I should run away." Tong Zizhu clicked her tongue.

She summoned the Sky Chaser, put on the fox mask, and then her figure vanished.

Seeing that things were getting increasingly wrong, the hacker sighed and took the initiative to admit it:

"Okay, the new guy was in a bad mood and wanted to have a drink, so I just randomly recommended a bar to him. Then he had bad luck and ran into a red light, and those kids you two are looking for."

He shrugged. "How were we supposed to know those kids were connected to the person you're looking for? What's the point of getting angry at him?"

Robert, sitting on the ground, sighed and said, "Wolf, I know you really want to find your son, but don't be too impulsive. We don't know the specifics of what happened back then, so don't blame the newcomer."

Bai Tanlang was unimpressed, and simply glared at Xia Pingzhou.

Enma Rin suddenly drew her katana, and the clear, sharp sound of the blade echoed throughout the underground tavern in an instant.

She silently sat down at the card table between Bai Tanlang and Xia Pingzhou, holding her katana horizontally, her school uniform skirt drooping on the table.

"Don't move! Fighting among yourselves is forbidden," she said. "Say what you have to say, or else... I'll cut your intestines out."

A brief silence fell over the tavern, the atmosphere still thick with tension. If it weren't for the Ripper protecting Xia Pingzhou, the group would likely have ended up in a chaotic brawl.

Suddenly, the girl in the kimono got up from the sofa.

She raised her hand and grabbed Xia Pingzhou's sleeve, then led him step by step toward the exit of the underground tavern.

The moment the two crossed the threshold, pages of paper fluttered from their ochre sleeves, forming a paper curtain that obscured the tavern's exit and blocked the view of those behind them.

"Don't follow us." Her voice pierced through the paper curtain and reached their ears. Then, Ayase Origami led Xia Pingzhou away without looking back.

Before long, their figures disappeared into the brightly lit streets of the fjord.

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(End of this chapter)