My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 369 The Vow (Part 2, please vote)
The green train clattered through the mountains and fields, heading south. Passengers could see the sea and mountains when they looked out the window, and the midday sun shone on the top of the train.

In a sparsely populated carriage, a white curtain with floral patterns swayed in the breeze, casting dappled light and shadow on the floor.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, illuminating the lowered eyelids of the girl in the kimono.

Beside her, Xia Pingzhou sat quietly in his seat, eating a chocolate bar while searching for Li Jing's live news on his phone.

He was curious whether, with the Black Sun Demon's open and aboveboard appearance, the authorities would succumb to public pressure and choose to reveal the demon's existence to the public.

After all, this was a catastrophic demon that caused incalculable damage to the city. It even blocked out the sun and appeared in a place where everyone could see it, which was almost impossible to hide. You can't exactly say that the black sun hanging in the sky was actually a superhuman, can you?

Xia Pingzhou thought about it again and realized that there were indeed quite a few superpowered individuals whose ability was to change their bodies.

The official statement could be completely fabricated. What kind of catastrophic superhuman criminal used their powers to transform their body into a black sun with tentacles, hanging in the sky and engaging in a grand tentacles-playing game with the city, all while being broadcast live?

At the very least, one could say that the black sun was a summoning device of supernatural power, just like how Fan Dongqing could summon the "Azure Ship." In short, the right to interpret it rests entirely with them.

However, this means that the superpowered individuals are once again forced to take the blame for both the mystery maker and the exorcist.

Using a convenient channel provided by a hacker, Xia Pingzhou managed to access Weibo, which was overloaded with traffic. At that moment, the entire internet was indeed in complete chaos.

Currently, the authorities are working hard to communicate and take various measures to block information, resulting in the temporary inability to log in to major social media platforms. Even if you manage to log in, you will only see a "loading" message and a constantly spinning white circle.

The scene before us is exactly the same as the "Death of Blue Arc" incident half a month ago.

"Kid, what do you think?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly turned to the hacker and casually asked, "Will they reveal the existence of demons?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe they'll silence the refugees and cover it up with another hot topic." The hacker put his left hand in his overalls pocket and fiddled with his phone with the other.

What's trending?

"Blue Arc is still alive, and he's even a wanted criminal who tried to assassinate Rainbow Wing... Do you think that counts as a hot topic?"

"Oh, that could indeed be a hotspot that ignites the Earth," Xia Pingzhou said nonchalantly.

"right?"

“But I don’t think the authorities would go so far as to expose this themselves. If this gets out, wouldn’t it mean they orchestrated the ‘Blue Arc fake death’ and played the public for fools?” Xia Pingzhou tore open the wrapper and put a cookie in his mouth.

"Anyway, this matter will definitely be on par with the Demon incident in terms of popularity," the hacker said casually. "However, once the existence of the 'demon' is exposed to the public, the impact will certainly be much greater."

He paused for a moment, then said, "In short, they will definitely try to shift the blame to the superhumans. Then they will fabricate a story about this demon being a fugitive, catastrophic superhuman criminal, and that the 'Extreme Ice Girl' from Rainbow Wings was dispatched to arrest him."

"You're quite knowledgeable."

"Nonsense, anyone who spends a little time online knows how they handle these kinds of things. It's not like there haven't been demons in the public eye before, just not on this scale."

"To be honest, it was fortunate that someone from Rainbow Wing was there at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to snag the bargain," Xia Pingzhou said.

"I saw it. She unleashed a powerful move, which just happened to give you a crucial assist."

"Speaking of which... I hope the public doesn't also think that Miss and I are from Rainbow Wing?" Xia Pingzhou said. "Then when the news came out this time, it became 'Rainbow Wing Trio' saving the city."

"Possibly. After all, the authorities can't just announce that the bandits and the Rainbow Wing Heroes protected the city together; that would be a bit strange and could easily lead to conspiracy theories. So they had to obscure your and the young lady's identities."

After saying that, the hacker took a sip of Want Want milk, "But they have to deal with all the leaked images. After all, your appearance and the young lady's appearance have already been published on the official wanted list, and anyone with eyes can recognize them at a glance."

"He's quite humorous," Xia Pingzhou said.

"Speaking of which... how come that Rainbow Wing member didn't catch you?" The hacker thought for a moment, then asked, "She couldn't have just watched you get away, could she?"

"No, she turned around and went to rescue people. She probably felt that the time she had to hold us back was enough to save many people, and besides, she might not even be able to beat us." Xia Pingzhou shook his head. "Isn't it dangerous for us to talk about this on the train?"

"I hacked the security cameras. There are only a few of us in this carriage, what's so dangerous about it?" The hacker rested his chin on his hand and rolled his eyes at him speechlessly.

Xia Pingzhou suddenly said, "By the way, I've really reached level three. The person who said I couldn't reach level three, please step forward."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his chair was suddenly kicked hard from behind, causing it to shake violently and even waking Ayase Origami, who was resting by the window.

Origami Ayase raised her head and glanced at Xia Pingzhou expressionlessly.

"It was the person behind me who did it," Xia Pingzhou explained before the other party could accuse him. Then he picked up a plastic beverage bottle, brought it close to the opening, and took a sip of oolong tea.

"So what?" Enma Rin's cold voice came from behind. "What are you trying to say? That a third-tier kitten is about to turn into a tiger?"

"Maybe the third-tier kitten really will turn into a tiger," Xia Pingzhou said nonchalantly as he screwed the bottle cap on.

"Be quiet."

After finishing her sentence, Origami Ayase leaned against the window and closed her eyes again. Seemingly realizing she wasn't sleeping comfortably, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the hacker sitting across from her.

"What are you looking at me for?"

The hacker looked up from her phone and met her gaze.

Origami Ayase silently watched him, manipulating a piece of paper to cover the hacker's eyes. Then she rested her head on Xia Pingzhou's shoulder and quickly fell asleep.

"If you don't understand, just ask. Haven't I seen you two showing off your love enough? What's the difference between this and burying your head in the sand?" The hacker disdainfully ripped off the paper blindfold and asked irritably.

"Aren't you curious why I advanced to the third tier so quickly?"

"What else could you be curious about? It just means you're a once-in-a-lifetime genius," the hacker said. "Satisfied now?"

"If you mention the word 'third rank' again, I'll chop you up." The Ripper's voice came from behind the seat.

"Okay, where do we meet in Haifan City?" Xia Pingzhou asked, smoothly changing the subject.

“An antique shop,” the hacker replied. “I heard the owner of that shop is a friend of the group leader, and that friend also happens to know Zhou Jiuya, but the two have already fallen out.”

"Where will we sleep?"

"A hotel nearby."

Is it safe?

"It should be safe. The Lake Hunters don't have that many informants in Sea Sail City, and their attention is currently focused on the mountains rather than the city, so it's unlikely we'll be discovered."

"Isn't Haifan City their main base? Why don't they have many informants?"

"The four major families of Lake Hunting are located in cities further south. However, they have set up a defense line in Haifan City specifically to prevent the demons on Haifan Mountain from causing trouble."

"Oh."

"By the way, didn't the Ripper promise to take you to find the Contract Demon once you reached Tier 3?" The hacker smirked. "That's great... you're the kind of guy who always has a free lunch."

"Go yourself." Enma Rin's voice came from behind once again.

"You changed your mind?" Xia Pingzhou asked.

Enma Rin was silent for a moment, "The Seven Deadly Sins?"

“Yes, you can kill the remaining two. But I’ll keep the enraged demon; I want to make a pact with it,” Xia Pingzhou said. “No objections?”

He paused for a moment: "Or do you also want to contract a demon? But I remember you said that your Skyward is not suitable for contracting demons."

Enma Rin said, "It's indeed not suitable. I've already said that we need to ask the leader's opinion first."

“Killing the Seven Deadly Sins might anger Lord Nian,” the hacker said.

“We don’t need to cooperate with the Nian Beast Lord,” Xia Pingzhou said. “We’re just using Bai Tanlang’s intelligence to launch a surprise attack at a crucial moment. Whether or not we anger the Lord makes no difference to us.”

“That makes sense.” The hacker scratched his head.

"Speaking of which, is it really possible that some Skywalkers are not suitable for contracting demons?" Xia Pingzhou turned to look at the hacker.

“Zhou Jiuya’s Sky Chaser ‘Tonggu Compass’ and Zhong Wujiu’s Sky Chaser ‘Twelve Beast Nuo Masks’ are not suitable for contracting demons,” the hacker said.

"why?"

“Zhou Jiuya is because the Tonggu Compass is unwilling to share its antique warehouse with the contracted demon,” the hacker said. “Zhong Wujiu is because the Nuo Mask contains the soul of a captured divine beast, and the divine beast is unwilling to smell the aura of the contracted demon… although the so-called ‘divine beast’ is actually just a type of demon.”

"I see," Xia Pingzhou murmured.

He turned his head and glanced out the window. The clear sea and sky came into view, and the half-sun and its reflection formed a complete circle on the horizon. At this moment, the train was already very close to Haifan City.

Lijing and this fjord city are not far apart. Back then, Xiao Nian Shou and Lin Xing Shi took that smuggling boat from Hai Fan City to Lijing, but it only took them one night.

With his thoughts drifting to this point, Xia Pingzhou raised his hand and scratched his forehead; the midday sun made him a little dizzy. He leaned back in his chair, slowly closed his eyes, and memories from Unit 4 flooded back.

Eleven years ago.

After taking a shower in the apartment building where the owner was temporarily away, Little Nian Beast changed back into his old clothes, while Lin Xingshi changed into a clean dress.

The two left their shoes at the bathroom door, their hair still wet and hanging down their foreheads.

Lin Xingshi looked at the purplish-red strand of hair on the little Nian beast's forehead and said, "Your hair is so special! Did you dye it?"

"Little Star, what is hair dyeing?" The little Nian beast tilted its head.

"Okay, I knew it couldn't be dyed hair." Lin Xingshi smiled.

She looked at the clothes on the little beast again, "You can wear this for today, and we'll get you new clothes tomorrow."

"Mmm," said the little Nian beast.

Instead of turning on the lights in the second-floor corridor, the two wandered around in the dark as if they were on an adventure in a haunted house, occasionally nudging each other's shoulders and making faces at each other with a "whoa!"

Finally, they stopped in front of the master bedroom, where there was a large bed and two pillows. Moonlight streamed in through the rooftop, casting swaying shadows on the floor.

"Let's sleep here tonight." Lin Xingshi's eyes lit up, and he ran into the bedroom, plopped down on the soft bed, and hugged his pillow. "It's been so long since I've slept in a clean bed, it's so wonderful..."

The little Nian beast remained motionless.

"What are you still standing there for?" Lin Xingshi said, turning his head to look at the little Nian beast standing blankly at the door.

"I...I...I..." The little beast drooped its head.

"You, you, you, what do you mean?" Lin Xingshi tilted his head.

"I... have never slept in a bed before," the little beast mumbled.

"No way, your family treats you like this?" Lin Xingshi was stunned, and asked with a crooked eyebrow and a wink, "Do they usually make you sleep on the floor, or in the doghouse?"

"Abuse?" It took the little Nian beast a moment to understand the meaning of the word, relying on its racial talent. "Are they abusing me?"

“Yeah, who wouldn’t let a child sleep in a bed?” Lin Xingshi looked at him with a mixture of pity and amusement, then suddenly pouted, “What kind of life did you live before?”

"Oh, I get it. My daddy is abusing me. Daddy is a bad guy." The little beast frowned. "But... Little Star, there's no bed at home."

"what?"

"I don't have a bed at home. That's why I've never slept in a bed," said the little monster.

It thought to itself that it usually slept either on the branches of trees in the forest or on the head of the Lotus Leaf Demon. Its favorite place to sleep was Spirit Heart Lake. The gentle sound of the flowing water made it feel at ease, and it always slept very soundly.

"At first I thought you were a young master," Lin Xingshi said in surprise.

"I am the young master!"

"A young master who doesn't even have a bed at home?"

"Yes, everyone around me calls me Prince."

"Which primitive tribe did you dig up, Prince?" Lin Xingshi said speechlessly, patting the pillow next to him. "Here, you can sleep here tonight."

"it is good!"

The little beast responded and then jumped barefoot onto the bed.

The two children lay on the big bed, lost in thought, turning their heads to gaze at the clear night sky outside the rooftop. A tiny point, flashing red and flickering intermittently, flew past among the stars.

"what is that?"

The little Nian beast pointed at the moving red dot.

"Airplane," Lin Xingshi blurted out.

"What is an airplane? A demon?"

"Wow, you really don't know anything." Lin Xingshi was stunned for a moment. "An airplane is... an airplane is a flying car."

"Oh, oh, oh," said the little Nian beast.

"Let's go take a look at the rooftop."

"Uh-huh."

Lin Xingshi took the little Nian beast's hand, and the two got out of bed and stepped onto the rooftop on the cold floor. Moonlight streamed in, illuminating their pupils.

They clung to the rooftop railing, gazing at the brightly lit street at night. At this time of day, Lijing was bursting with life. The streets were lined with food stalls, and men and women strolled about in groups.

"what!"

Lin Xingshi suddenly let out a low growl, then hurriedly buried his head under the railing.

"what's wrong?"

The little Nian beast also lay down and looked at Lin Xingshi's profile. Her bright and lively eyes were secretly watching a figure on the street through the gap in the railing.

"See that big bald guy?!"

Lin Xingshi raised his finger, pointed at the figures on the long street, and asked in a low voice.

"Who is that?"

As the little beast asked, it followed her gaze and saw a man dressed in a long black robe.

Actually, the man wasn't bald. He had a buzz cut, a cold gaze, and a sturdy build like a soldier.

“He’s a member of my family, how could he be here?” Lin Xingshi said. “Could it be that I’ve already been discovered for sneaking here?”

"What should we do then?" The little Nian beast asked, its eyes wide.

Lin Xingshi focused her mind and breath, putting the method of concealing her presence that her father had taught her to the extreme.
The little beast also lowered its aura to the minimum, just like a wild animal hunting in the forest, which is their innate instinct.

“Beat him up, he hasn’t even noticed us yet,” Lin Xingshi muttered. “He’s the fiercest person to me at home. In the past, when I made mistakes, my father would make him cut my hair. I hate him so much.”

"How can you do this?" the little beast said, but he had already put his right hand into the hollow crevice. His right hand traveled more than fifty meters and appeared at the back of the man's head.

Suddenly his eyes turned cold, his pupils bulged like a wild beast's, and he abruptly grabbed an inch of the other person's hair and ripped it out.

On the street, the man with the buzz cut suddenly screamed, turned his head sharply, and looked around in shock and anger. The tourists on the street all cast strange glances at him.

"Get down!"

Lin Xingshi was stunned. She didn't expect the little beast to actually do that, so she quickly hugged the little beast and the two of them lay down on the ground of the rooftop.

"Who is it? How dare they?!" At that moment, a deep voice came from the street.

The two children stared into each other's eyes, speechless, their hearts pounding.

The moonlight stretched their shadows long on the bedroom floor, and their clear pupils reflected their own faces in each other's eyes.

After a while, the man's furious shouts subsided, replaced by hushed whispers on the street, mostly things like "Is this guy crazy?" and "Shh, don't look at him."

At this point, Lin Xingshi and Little Nian were still lying on the rooftop, not getting up. After a long while, Lin Xingshi said with lingering fear, "Alright, he's gone."

Then, she and the little Nian beast straightened up from the ground.

"Little Star, I'll avenge you," the little beast said softly.

"How are you so amazing?" Lin Xingshi asked in a daze.

"Isn't it awesome?"

As the little beast spoke, it revealed a tuft of hair that it had plucked from the man's head.

Lin Xingshi stared at the strand of hair, stunned for a moment, then his face puffed up slightly, and finally he clutched his stomach, fell to the ground, and laughed heartily while slapping the floor.

The little monster sat on the ground, clutching a strand of hair, and looked at her happily.

"What are you laughing at?" Lin Xingshi asked him, wiping his eyes that were almost crying from laughing.

"Your happiness is my happiness," said the little monster.

Lin Xingshi paused for a moment, then turned his face away and snorted, "I've disliked him for a long time. He's so arrogant at home. Luckily, you're here."

"Yes, I won't let anyone bully you." The little beast stared into her eyes.

“Me too.” Lin Xingshi was silent for a moment, then said softly, “If I kidnapped you, I will take responsibility for you.”

She suddenly extended her little finger.

The little Nian beast tilted its head.

"Pinky promise, you don't even know this?"

"I know," the little beast hurriedly gave a thumbs up.

“It’s the little finger.” Lin Xingshi stared at him.

"I know... I just stuck it out in the wrong place." The little Nian beast weakly stuck out its little finger.

"Fine, I won't pinky swear with you."

"why?"

“You don’t even know what a pinky promise means.” Lin Xingshi paused, then suddenly said, “If only you were a demon.”

"A demon?" The little Nian beast suddenly opened its eyes wide, its lips moving. "I...I'm not a demon, I'm not a demon!"

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Xingshi said irritably. "I just heard those adults say that exorcists can make a contract with a demon, so that the demon will accompany you for life, until you die, and you will never be separated."

"Is that so?" The little Nian beast retracted its little finger and murmured, "Exorcists are so powerful, and demons are so powerful too."

“It’s the power of the contract,” Lin Xingshi said. “When I was a child, I was reading my family’s history books and I saw that demons and exorcists were always fighting each other. I wondered… did the person who invented the ‘contract’ hope that everyone could coexist peacefully? But the exorcists are using the power of the contract to harm demons.”

The little Nian beast shook its head. "I don't understand these things."

"You don't understand anything. What will you do if I'm not by your side?"

"Then let's not separate."

"You said it yourself." Lin Xingshi paused halfway through his sentence, then suddenly stopped.

Suddenly, the little beast cautiously approached, took her hand, pried open her little finger, and then held it together. "Pinky promise," he whispered.

Lin Xingshi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Yes, we made a pinky promise."

The moonlight cast their shadows long, long across the floor; it was a quiet night.

On the morning of August 19th, at Lingxin Lake on Haifan Mountain, the little Nian beast, who was sleeping soundly on the head of the lotus leaf demon, suddenly opened its eyes.

It slowly turned its head and saw a silver cross floating on the lake. Hanging on the cross was a skeletal shadow, with almost no intact skin on its body.

The other party seemed to have come to see the scenery of Lingxin Lake. They had been standing by the lake for quite a while, with the skull's eyes wide open, staring intently at the figure of the little Nian beast.

"Your name is 'Raging Demon,' right?" The little Nian beast tilted its head and asked curiously.

"The son of the Nian beast..."

The skull on the cross suddenly trembled, its jaw opened and closed, and a hoarse sound came from its rotting throat, as if a corpse that had been buried underground for decades had suddenly opened its mouth to speak.

“That’s right, it’s me.” The little beast said, stepping on the lotus leaves and leaping up. Purple-red flames burst from its hooves, pushing the little lion across the vast Spirit Heart Lake.

He landed next to the skull, raised his head, and said, "Let's be friends, skull."

"You... know who I am?"

The enraged demon opened its head, its jaw snapping open and closing with a cracking sound, accompanied by its sinister voice, "Don't think that just because you're a junior, I'll tolerate your words... You should know that even your father wouldn't dare speak to me like that."

"It's alright. Tomorrow you'll become my contracted demon. It's not too much for a master to give their pet a nickname, is it?" The little beast thought to itself, a smile creeping onto its face.

(End of this chapter)