My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 236 The most haiku, the most moonlit night, the most girlish (Seeking monthly votes)

A faint itching sensation came from his face. Xia Pingzhou opened his eyes and saw a ceiling that was neither familiar nor strange. This was his room at the Bergenfjord Hotel.

At that moment, a little paper figure was walking back and forth on his face, swaying and walking in a funny way. Looking down, the little paper figure only had two short legs and a pointed head.

Without a doubt, this was Origami Ayase's doing.

"Kitten, move." Following the faint voice, the girl in the kimono leaned against the windowsill as always, her eyes lowered as she flipped through a collection of haiku in the moonlight.

They were still in Bergen. There's a seven-hour time difference between here and Lijing, so it was still late at night when they looked out the window. The streets, nestled among the mountains, were brightly lit, like a long dragon brimming with the warmth of everyday life.

At this moment, the silhouette of the girl in the kimono and the lights outside the window seemed to blend into one, the night flowing like mercury, and her reflection on the window seemed to flow as well.

Origami Ayase went to bed early yesterday, so she woke up in the early hours of this morning. After waking Xia Pingzhou by controlling the little paper doll, she took her change of clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Xia Pingzhou got out of bed, smacked his lips, and yawned.

This time it wasn't the young lady's inhuman neurotic outburst; rather, there was a reason behind it: before going to sleep last night, the hacker informed them that they had to board a plane and leave Bergen early this morning, August 2nd.

After all, the destruction of the Whale Garden had just occurred, and now this city was the focus of global supernatural forces. As members of the heinous White Raven Brigade, they should naturally leave this place as soon as possible and find a peaceful place to vacation.

Despite the dangerous situation, Origami Ayase didn't forget her idea of ​​taking the cable car.

She'd been talking about it for days. But they had to catch a plane early that morning, which meant leaving Bergen, so the cable car ride was obviously out of the question.

Origami Ayase seemed disappointed.

She sat alone on the windowsill all night, looking at the distant Freyon Mountains and the cable cars going back and forth, her eyes becoming empty again.

Xia Pingzhou had no choice but to make a promise with her before going to bed: if Ayase Origami woke up around two or three in the morning, she would wake him up too, and then the two of them would sneak off to the Froyen Mountains and take the sightseeing cable car.

If the administrator isn't available, then let a hacker act as the administrator.

The electronic pet is the best; it's online 24/7, and replies to messages instantly. Rumor has it that this hacker only sleeps once every few days; if it weren't for his superhuman physique, he probably would have died of overwork long ago.

However, it's true that not sleeping will stunt his growth; he's 13 years old and only 1.5 meters tall, a fact that Xia Pingzhou has ridiculed him for many times.

He thought to himself, "You stupid penguin, it's a year younger than you but taller than you, how embarrassing!"
It's said that, in order to ensure he doesn't miss any messages from his group members while he's sleeping, this child prodigy has designed an AI that can intelligently reply to their messages and take corresponding actions based on their needs.

Xia Pingzhou decided to give it a try, so he picked up his phone and sent him a message.

Xia Pingzhou: Are you there?

[Note: No response for an extended period; you have been redirected to the chat interface of the AI-powered "hacker".]

Xia Pingzhou raised an eyebrow, and a pixelated image of a little kid in a onesie popped up on the screen.

The mosaic-covered little brat knelt down and kowtowed to him, then sat on the ground and asked in a coquettish voice:
"What are your orders, Master?"

This scene was extremely strange, and Xia Pingzhou's eyes twitched slightly.

I heard that the hacker originally designed the AI's image as a cute girl in a maid outfit, and the movements were designed in that direction as well.

But after thinking about it, the hacker felt it would be too embarrassing for his teammates to know his fetish, so he had to temporarily change the AI's appearance before implementing it. After much thought, he still couldn't come up with any inspiration, so he finally created a mosaic version of himself.

Then, he became too lazy to change the actions and tones he had designed for the AI.

And so, this scene unfolded before our eyes: a little boy in overalls kneeling on the ground like a maid, speaking in a sweet, coquettish voice.

Xia Pingzhou turned on the voice option and spoke:

"We want to ride the sightseeing cable car, but we need someone to start it for us. The manager isn't here in the middle of the night."

The AI ​​kid suddenly disappeared, and in its place, a text message popped up.

[Hacker: Call me when we arrive.]

Xia Pingzhou activated his voice assistant: "Who are you? Give me back my AI."

[Hacker: Sigh, capital.]

[Xia Pingzhou: What do you mean by cable car?]

[Hacker: It's simple, you just need to bring your young lady. But I need to have Ripper go with you. The leader said Bergen is dangerous these days, so at least three people should go together.]

Xia Pingzhou: Okay.

[Hacker: Also, please confirm where you want to go on vacation so I can book you a morning flight.]

Xia Pingzhou: I'll ask about it later.

[Hacker: Okay.]

Xia Pingzhou looked up from his phone screen, tapped the gear icon in the lower right corner of his field of vision, and system options popped up.

He found the quest panel and clicked to claim the reward for the first main quest.

[Main Quest 1 (Phase 3): Invading the Whale Garden with the White Raven Brigade.]

[Quest rewards obtained: 2 skill point, 2 attribute point, 2 split point.]

[Main Quest 1 (Phase 4): Will refresh after a certain period of time.]

Xia Pingzhou thought for a moment, then lowered his eyes to look at the other mission of the second unit.

[Main Mission 2 "Kill Jack the Ripper" Deadline: September 09st (Warning: If the mission is not completed before the deadline, Unit 01 will be automatically destroyed.)]

"Is there only one month left?" he thought. "The Ripper is already a Cataclysmic level, and the second unit is at the initial quasi-Cataclysmic level. Catching up with her within a month shouldn't be difficult."

With a sigh of relief, Xia Pingzhou opened the character panel of Unit 2 and quickly allocated his attribute points.

[Your second unit, "Chess Player," has undergone a change in its "Spirit" attribute: A-rank → A+-rank (your "Chess Seed" power will also increase accordingly)]

[Your second unit, "Chess Player," has had its "Speed" attribute changed: A-rank → A+-rank (Your "Chess Type's" speed will also increase accordingly)]

[Attribute points have been allocated. You currently have 2 skill points. Do you wish to proceed to the "Skill Tree Panel" to begin development?]

Xia Pingzhou tapped the prompt box, and the character skill tree panel immediately popped up.

Branch 1 (Group): ... → Final Recruitment (Requires 2 skill points to learn)

[Final Recruitment: Obtain one Knight chess piece and three Soldier chess pieces.]

Branch Two (Courage): ... → Secondary Evolution of the Chess Type (Condition: You need to accumulate "10" skill points on other branches before you can learn this skill) (Requires "2" skill points to learn)

Branch 3 (Soul): ... → Bridge between Human and Demon (Requires 2 skill points)

[Bridge between Human and Demon: Briefly fuses one of your chess pieces with a demon piece (fusion time depends on your "Mental Attribute").]

"The chess type in branch two cannot be evolved, so I can only choose one of the skills in the other two branches." With this in mind, Xia Pingzhou began to choose between "final recruitment" and "bridge between humans and demons".

He scratched his chin, feeling that the few pieces he was given after the final recruitment were useless before the second evolution of the chess pieces was completed; at most, they could only serve as cannon fodder to power up the king.

Thinking about it that way, I might as well try out the effects of the "Bridge between Humans and Demons".

So he raised his index finger and pressed and held down the skill name "Bridge of Humans and Demons" on the third branch. Immediately afterwards, a bridge made of humans and demons appeared on the skill icon, gradually brightening from dark to light, finally revealing a patchwork of black and white colors.

[Two skill points have been used to successfully learn the "Soul" branch skill – "Bridge Between Human and Demon".]

Hell is empty; all the devils are here on earth.

The next skill for the "Soul" branch has been unlocked – "Soul Devour": When your piece kills a demon, it has a chance to absorb the demon's attributes, thus becoming stronger. (This effect does not apply to disposable pieces.)

Xia Pingzhou looked away from the character tree panel.

Origami Ayase changed into a light blue kimono and emerged from the bathroom. In the clear moonlight, her skin appeared so white it seemed almost translucent.

“Mom…” she said softly.

Xia Pingzhou was taken aback.

Origami Ayase looked up and continued, "Mom, the kimono that was left behind."

Xia Pingzhou remained silent for a long time, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. He thought to himself that the dragon slayer would become the dragon, and the one who gazes into the abyss would become the abyss. He never thought that he would be so shocked by the word "mother".

The girl in the kimono remained motionless, her dark eyes gazing silently at him.

As if waiting for something.

"It looks good." Xia Pingzhou finally commented, "The blue kimono suits you better than the original one."

"why?"

She tilted her head.

“Because your temperament is relatively calm, blue easily reminds people of the sea, and the sea is also very calm…” Xia Pingzhou recalled the essays he had written in the orphanage. Halfway through his sentence, he took out his constantly vibrating phone—it was a screen full of tildes sent by a hacker.

[Hacker: ~~~~~]

[Hacker: High EQ: Because you have a calm and composed demeanor.]

[Hacker: Low EQ: Your demeanor is more like that of a bot.]

[Xia Pingzhou: I forwarded it to Miss; she has a cell phone now.]

[Hacker: Please have mercy.]

The hacker suddenly brought up the AI, and a Marseille version of a little kid in overalls knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the screen.

Xia Ping turned off his phone and shrugged: "Let's go take the cable car."

"You haven't finished speaking."

"You look good in anything you wear."

"...I breathed on it."

On a moonlit night, a paper dragon danced in the air. It flapped its enormous, snow-white wings and carried the two to the Froyen Mountains. It was a tranquil night, and the wind rustled through the entire forest.

They descended from the dragon's back and walked along the mountain path, stopping and starting. Before long, the two found the cable car they had seen at the port.

After opening the car door and boarding the cable car, someone activated the device for them.

Amidst the buzzing sound, the cable car cabins suddenly lit up, like a giant lantern hanging in the night sky, swaying and rising along the iron cables, then drifting leisurely towards the other side of the mountain.

The boy and girl turned their heads to look out the window, and the brightly lit fjord city was reflected in their eyes, forming a sea of ​​stars.

"Where are we going after the cable car ride?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly asked. "To China, or London... or back to Tokyo?"

"Wherever you go, I will go."

"Then let's go back to Tokyo."

"why?"

"I miss that place a bit. I'll just check if Uncle Takikage's café is still there."

"it is good."

"If Takikage were still here, would he be clinging to the bottom of the carriage like a shadow right now?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "He'd be so worried about you, he definitely wouldn't let us go out alone in the middle of the night."

Origami Ayase thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "He'll probably be sitting on the cable car, watching the night view while composing haiku with a brush."

Xia Pingzhou pondered for a moment and said, "Haiku? May I try to compose a couple of lines?"

Origami Ayase paused, then looked up at him, a hint of doubt hidden in her cold gaze. She seemed somewhat skeptical that he could write haiku.

Xia Ping coughed twice during the day:
"Most girlish, most kimono-clad, most doll-like."

The kimono-clad girl retorted:
"The kitten, the silliest, the most childlike."

Xia Pingzhou nodded seriously, "I see. This is the essence of haiku. Japanese culture is truly profound."

As soon as he finished speaking, a collection of haiku flew out from the girl's sleeve, gently tapped his forehead, and then opened in front of him.

“Little cat, you’re punished by having to finish reading this book,” she said.

"As ordered."

Xia Pingzhou took the old haiku collection and suddenly paused slightly.

He suddenly remembered that Origami Ayase had said these were left to her by her mother, just like the light blue kimono she was wearing now. This sixteen-year-old girl had very few pieces of evidence of being loved in this world, which was why she cherished and carefully kept these things with her. And now, she was sharing them all with him.

He was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Should we go back to the hotel to rest? We have to go to the airport in two or three hours."

Origami Ayase didn't say anything, but simply rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, little kitten," she whispered.

"Good night."

In the darkness, the cable car, bright as lanterns, reached its destination, but no one disembarked. Only a boy and girl, their heads huddled together, slept in the carriage.

　Asking for a monthly ticket.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)