My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 349 Gu Wenyu's Funeral (Part 1)

August 16, 2:30 PM Japan time, in a cafe in Tokyo.

It was a pleasant and warm afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the wooden window frames into the café, illuminating rows of mahogany tables and chairs, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Lively jazz music echoed throughout the café.

Meanwhile, a boy wearing a blue jumpsuit was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone; in the kitchen behind the counter, a handsome young man was quietly making coffee with his head down.

"Have you heard?" the person playing on their phone asked.

"What did you hear?" the person making the coffee asked.

The hacker said slowly, "It seems that half of Rainbow Wing's people were killed in the extermination operation against the Light-Eating Bees. The source of this information is highly credible, and it looks like we can start popping champagne now."

"Really?" Xia Pingzhou asked without turning his head as he made coffee in the kitchen.

"Why would I lie to you?" The hacker shrugged. "That black pupa seems to have died on the island as well, but I only heard it secondhand, I have no evidence."

He paused for a moment, then added, "And yesterday the leader suddenly told me he was going to Osaka to meet with Kuroko, which made me wonder if he was joking with me."

"So, where did you hear this from?" Xia Pingzhou asked expressionlessly, adding a few spoonfuls of sugar to his food.

“I’ve been listening to that little prince’s phone. He’s been working with that shark all this time,” the hacker sighed. “It’s a pity they didn’t bring their phones with them, otherwise I would have known what was going on on that deserted island.”

"Don't be so sneaky, kid. It's not a good habit to pry into other people's privacy all the time."

"Hehe, I'm just gathering intelligence, and it was the commander who ordered me to monitor them," the hacker said. "Anyway, judging from the tone of their conversation, it's probably true that half of Rainbow Wing has been wiped out, which is good news for us."

"Good news?"

As Xia Pingzhou spoke, he took two cups from the cabinet and poured two cups of coffee into the coffee machine. The sound of rushing water mingled with the jazz music, and the steam rising from the cups sprayed his face.

"Of course, at least for the short term, Rainbow Wing will be busy recruiting new personnel instead of sending people to bite us," the hacker said calmly. "So we can focus on the Nian Beast and Lake Hunting matters without worrying about any 'mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind' situation."

"However, the fact that half of them could be wiped out by a swarm of bees suggests that Rainbow Wings isn't actually that strong."

After saying that, Xia Pingzhou took a sip of the freshly brewed hot coffee.

"Sigh... Let's forget about Rainbow Wing for now, let's think about how to deal with 'Lake Hunter'." The hacker rested his chin on his hand, tilted his head and muttered, "That Zhou Jiuya is so strong he's like a monster, but he's only ranked third in Lake Hunter. Our operation this time must be very, very meticulous, otherwise someone else will kick the bucket like Lan Duoduo and Uncle Longying..." At this point, the hacker suddenly stopped talking.

He squinted guiltily, picked up a cup to cover half his face, and clicked his tongue.

Seeing that the hacker had suddenly quieted down, Xia Pingzhou looked up from his coffee cup and turned his head to look into the building. He saw a girl in an ochre-red kimono walking down the wooden steps, making a creaking sound as she walked. She was wearing a pair of wooden clogs.

"Takikage, what's wrong?" she asked the hacker.

"No, uh... I mean, the coffee that Little Cat Casanova makes isn't as good as the coffee that Uncle Takikage makes." The hacker looked away and changed the subject. "Right, Little Cat Casanova?"

“Then don’t drink it,” said Origami Ayase. Suddenly, the game magazine on the sofa shattered into pieces and flew up, snatching the coffee cup from the hacker’s hand and dumping it into the sink.

"Can you stop being so protective? Just because he said it doesn't taste good, does that mean I can't drink it?" The hacker was speechless, couldn't help but sigh, and continued playing on his phone with his head down.

Xia Pingzhou came out of the kitchen carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one cup to Ayase Origami and kept the other for himself.

"When are we leaving for China?" he asked.

"Tomorrow." Origami Ayase took the coffee cup with both hands, the rising steam blurring her pale face.

"so fast."

"Oh, right...besides the few people who died in Rainbow Wing, I have some explosive news," the hacker suddenly said.

"what news?"

"Wasn't the Ripper in Lijing the other day? It seems she killed Swallowing Silver."

With a "crack," Xia Pingzhou crushed the coffee cup in his hand. The scalding liquid spilled all over his hand.

Fortunately, at that moment, Origami Ayase reacted quickly and used a piece of paper to wrap around his hand; otherwise, Xia Pingzhou would have been burned to some extent.

"Kitten, you're breathing on it," the girl in the kimono said expressionlessly, glancing down to make sure his hand wasn't injured.

Xia Pingzhou slowly raised his eyes and looked coldly at the hacker.

"Why are you reacting so strongly? Are you a fan of Swallowing Silver?" The hacker was taken aback.

"A ten-year veteran fan," Xia Pingzhou said. "Tell Ripper to watch out, I'll help Swallow Silver get revenge in a few days."

"ill."

The hacker was utterly speechless, wondering what kind of extraordinary people he had been interacting with for just a day or two.

One day later, at 17:30 PM China time, in Haifan City, the sky was nearing dusk, and the setting sun, red like a persimmon, cast its afterglow, illuminating the mountains and forests.

The sea breeze blowing in from the bay, carrying the red sunlight, caressed every figure in the mountains, making the maple trees rustle.

There is a cemetery on the mountain. In the past, this cemetery was very deserted. Few people would be buried here, let alone visit it. But now, a large group of people have gathered here. They are Ke Qirui, Xu Sanyan, Lin Yilong, Gu Qiye, Gu Zhuoan, Su Zimai, Su Wei, and Caesar.

They were either people Gu Wenyu knew or Gu Wenyu's family members.

Besides, Zhou Jiuya from the Lake Hunting Clan also accompanied Ke Qirui to the cemetery as a guest. He sat under a banyan tree with his arms crossed, closing his eyes to rest, looking as tired as ever.

"Commander, there are so many sensitive people here. What if we run into the authorities?" Xu Sanyan asked helplessly, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Just by looking around, he could see the world-renowned S-class wanted criminal "Ghost Bell," the S-class wanted criminal "Mu Long," and a newly promoted top-level wanted criminal, "Blue Arc." Of course... Blue Arc's situation was rather special. Currently, only the United Nations knew about Blue Arc's defection.

However, out of consideration for the public image of the Aberrant Association, the United Nations could not possibly suddenly jump out and claim that "Blue Arc" had become a wanted criminal and even killed several members of Rainbow Wing less than half a month after Blue Arc faked its death.

Isn't this undermining our own team?

It's important to know what kind of figure "Blue Arc" is. Even though a week has passed, the topic of "Blue Arc's death" is still trending on major social media platforms around the world.

Revealing the truth at this point would trigger an unprecedented and unparalleled public backlash. The chaos would be unimaginable, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it could even paralyze the entire internet.

Therefore, the United Nations was forced to handle the matter internally, and those sent to secretly hunt down Blue Arc would naturally be internal personnel of Rainbow Wing.

"Don't worry, this city is Lake Hunter's territory. Whether it's the Alien Association or Rainbow Wing, they have to ask them first if they want to do anything," Ke Qirui said in a low voice. "At least this funeral is safe. Besides, our fighting strength here is such that even a whole Rainbow Wing team wouldn't be a match for us."

She paused, then said sarcastically, "Not to mention that 'Rainbow Wings' has now become 'Broken Wings'."

“I don’t think these people are very safe just standing here,” Xu Sanyan sighed. “But I didn’t expect… that seemingly silly kid was actually Black Chrysalis.”

"I only found out recently, I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long."

"It's alright. I wasn't familiar with him anyway, so it doesn't matter whether I know who's behind the mask or not." Xu Sanyan finished speaking, then paused for a moment. "But how's Xiaomai?"

"I don't know, she's locked herself up for two whole days."

"Two days?"

"Yes, she only came out of her room this afternoon after we told her that we were going to hold Gu Wenyu's funeral," Ke Qirui said softly, turning her head to glance at Su Zimai in the distance.

Su Zimai stood with her head drooping, leaning against a banyan tree, quietly staring at the sandals on her feet. Her bangs obscured her eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking.

In another corner of the cemetery, Caesar hid the small shark in his pocket so that no one would find out.

He wore a black suit today, which was a bit too big for a child. But his regal bearing worked its magic, making the ill-fitting clothes look elegant.

At this moment, Caesar looked up and saw Su Wei, who had just arrived. He was stunned and his mouth dropped open.

"Mr. Su Wei, what happened to your hair?" After a long pause, Caesar finally asked.

In just two days, Su Wei's hair had turned completely white, and the wrinkles on her face had deepened considerably, making her look as if she had aged decades overnight, completely different from before.

Su Wei shook her head, picked up a cane and walked into the cemetery. "I'm already getting old, this is how I should be."

“So that’s how it is…” Caesar was speechless, looking at Su Wei’s hunched back, a sudden sadness welled up in his heart.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on another corner of the cemetery. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the ground, and the sea breeze blew through the maple leaves, which swirled and fell onto a tombstone.

At this moment, Gu Qiye was standing in front of the tombstone. He stared at the blood-red name engraved on the tombstone and remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked at Su Zimai standing under the tree with empty eyes.

At the same time, he suddenly recalled what had happened in the early morning two days earlier.

The train demon plunged into the tunnel, and the whole world was swallowed up in pitch-black darkness. Gu Qiye stared blankly out the window, her mind a complete blank.

The thick cloud of steam that the train had spewed out dissipated, just like the steam that disappeared into the desert. At that time, Hei Yong was submerged in that white fog, and tears streamed down Gu Qiye's face.

"Wen...Yu?" he murmured, as if asking himself, or perhaps asking the lonely, dark figure in his memory.

"Brother...why aren't you saying anything?" After a while, Su Zimai's voice came from the darkness.

“Xiaomai, Wenyu, he…” Gu Qiye lowered his head, unsure of his own expression, but he felt as if he were smiling. He shook his head, gave a hoarse laugh, and after a long pause continued, “He has already…”

"What happened to him?" Su Zimai's voice murmured, then slowly deepened. "Tell me!"

"MaiMai, don't ask anymore, let your brother calm down." Ke Qirui seemed to realize something was wrong, so she hesitated for a moment and put her hand on Su Zimai's shoulder.

"To save us, to save me and my father, he came over then. The Father of Puppetry, the one who killed my mother, his puppet..." Gu Qiye spoke incoherently and intermittently.

“I don’t know, I don’t understand…” Su Zimai said softly, her head down. “I don’t understand. I just want to know where my brother went. Where did he go? Tell me!” As she finished speaking, her tone became more forceful with each word, almost as if she were shouting.

"He...he's not coming back." Gu Qiye's lips moved, as if he were using all his strength to say these words. Then he suddenly laughed, "It's all my fault, I'm so useless...I'm so useless, I didn't protect Mom, Mom is dead, and now...now I'm watching him..." He lowered his head, the shadows obscuring his eyes, but unable to hide the tears streaming down his face. In the end, every word he uttered was almost a wail, a silent wail, "He died, right in front of me."

Su Zimai stood there, stunned.

She stared blankly at Gu Qiye, then gently curled the corners of her lips into a smile. "Liar, he must be joking with me. He's always like that, he always makes me run around in circles..."

Su Zimai shook her head and said softly, "I know... my little sister is clumsy, so, please, please stop bullying me..." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, her expression still one of resentment and defiance, her eyes overflowing with sadness. "Don't lie to me anymore..."

She slowly approached Gu Qiye, who was slumped in his seat, cupped his face in her hands, lowered her head in the darkness, and looked directly into his eyes. "Tell me the truth... please? I beg you."

Su Zimai suddenly froze. Gu Qiye's eyes were empty, so empty that it was as if nothing existed. Tears streamed down his face, wetting her hands. Gu Qiye's lips moved, like a puppet with its strings cut, as if he wanted to say something, but he could no longer make a sound.

He was still uttering hoarse words, one word at a time, as if he were a person with aphasia.

In the end, Su Zimai only heard one sentence clearly.

"sorry."

　Please vote for me! I'm currently working on the outline for Volume 4, so there will only be one update today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)