My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 380 Little Nian Beast: Lin Xingshi, I am a Demon (10,000 words, seeking monthly votes)

On the morning of August 21, Lin Xingshi and Zhou Jiuya walked on the wooden corridor of the mansion.

One of them nodded slightly, untying his long braid at the back of his head, while the other put his hands in the pockets of his Zhongshan suit, looked up, and gazed at the swaying tree shadows on the ceiling.

Looking outwards following the shadows of the trees, there is a row of osmanthus and ginkgo trees planted in the courtyard. When the sea breeze blows, the branches and leaves rustle, and the emerald green of the osmanthus and the golden yellow of the ginkgo dance together in the wind.

"Old Crow, what did the Gu family say?" Lin Xingshi asked.

Zhou Jiuya replied, "That kid Zhuge Hui played a trick. After he made arrangements with the Gu family, he also told Chairman Su Wei about the Gu family father and son's plan to deal with the White Raven Brigade. After hearing this, the chairman will most likely come over and help them stop the brigade."

"Hmm... I feel like their family heritage is comparable to our Lake Hunter Clan."

"Captain, could you please stop making such ridiculous remarks? We're not even in the same league."

"Good good."

"So... who exactly is that friend you were talking about in the office just now?" Zhou Jiuya yawned and changed the subject.

"What's there to care about? Are all you antique dealers so gossipy?"

Lin Xingshi spoke casually, untying his long braid. A cascade of fiery red hair fell like a waterfall down his back. Then he gently shook his head, and his hair spread out.

Her hairstyle was already quite unique, but it became even more special when it was spread out. The front had medium-length black hair, while the back had a long, fiery red cascade that stretched down to her waist, swaying gently in the sea breeze and sunlight.

“Old Lion, aren’t you usually straightforward?” Zhou Jiuya said coldly, “It’s rare to see you being so hesitant. Why are you acting like a woman?”

"What are you talking about? Aren't I a woman by nature?" Lin Xingshi said calmly, nudging his arm with her elbow. "What, you look down on the world's number one exorcist?"

"So what's on your mind these days? You've been so distracted."

"Well..."

Lin Xingshi muttered to herself, a purple-red lion image suddenly flashing through her mind. She was about to engage in battle with the Nian Beast King, and she wondered if that image from her memory would appear then…

So these days, memories of that summer many years ago have been constantly surfacing in her mind... two runaway children, a smuggling boat, an old apartment, starlight on the rooftop, neon lights and bustling city that didn't belong to them.

"I never imagined that our captain would have someone he finds difficult to talk about. It's really not easy," Zhou Jiuya said with a sigh.

Lin Xingshi shrugged and said dismissively, "Say what you want."

"Is it a man or a woman?" Zhou Jiuya asked after thinking for a moment.

He asked this because he wasn't sure about the captain's sexual orientation. After all, Lin Xingshi had been raised as a male by her family since childhood, and she had never shown any interest in men.

Lin Xingshi thought for a while and then suddenly spoke.

“A male,” she said seriously, her tone not like she was joking.

Zhou Jiuya fell silent.

After a while, he turned his pale golden eyes to look into Lin Xingshi's eyes. Lin Xingshi also turned his head, meeting his gaze with amusement.

“…Captain, this is a bit bizarre.” Zhou Jiuya remained silent for a while, then raised his hand to rub his forehead.

"Is that not allowed?" Lin Xingshi raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Zhou Jiuya avoided Lin Xingshi's gaze and sighed, "So what's the background of this male?"

"Hmm... To be precise, it's not really about romantic love. I feel like he's like my... younger brother?" Lin Xingshi thought for a moment and then said.

"During the time you ran away from home?" Zhou Jiuya crossed his arms and said expressionlessly, "I remember you were gone for about half a year. The entire Lin family was in chaos, not to mention that you disappeared at the same time as the son of the Nian beast, which made things even more complicated and caused widespread panic."

Lin Xingshi nodded, "Actually, looking back on that time, I still feel very dazed..."

"why?"

She said softly, "I always feel that maybe that was the only time in my entire life when I was truly free."

"You're only 19, why are you pretending to be artistic and sentimental?" Zhou Jiuya said casually. "Don't end up like Lao Hui, where people say you have an old-fashioned air about you."

"By the time I retire, I'll be quite old, and I won't have the chance to be artistic and sentimental anymore."

“That makes sense.” Zhou Jiuya thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Speaking of which, back on that smuggling ship, you really didn’t recognize that the child was the son of the Nian beast?”

Lin Xingshi was taken aback, then remained silent for a moment before shaking his head and chuckling softly.

"Of course not, otherwise I would have killed it with one hand long ago." She joked, "Don't make me sound like those old men in my family, lecturing me all the time... They all suspect that I killed the son of the Nian beast. I wish I really had that ability back then."

After saying that, she casually stretched and then crossed her arms.

"Oh, but it's not easy... A living demon disguised as a human is right in front of you, and you didn't even recognize him. Just how big of a mind do you have?" Zhou Jiuya mocked.

“After all, I was only eight years old at the time. What can you expect an eight-year-old to do?” Lin Xingshi asked calmly.

"You are our world's number one genius, a monster who awakened the Sky Drive at the age of four."

"So even a genius isn't human? You were still playing in the mud when you were eight, you great antiquarian. Do you remember when you were four and little girls were bullying you? I chased them away, didn't I?"

"Long-winded..."

Zhou Jiuya turned his head to look out the window. Back in 2009, he had heard many rumors that the Lin family had found out that Lin Xingshi had escaped on a human smuggling boat. So they followed the clues and found the stowaways on the boat, arrested them all, and tortured them severely.

Finally, the Lin family learned from these scoundrels that there were two children on the ship at the time, and they left together after disembarking.

The two children happened to be a descendant of the Lin family and the son of the Nian beast.

So later, when only Lin Xingshi returned to Haifan City, the demons believed that the Little Nian Beast had already been killed by the exorcists.

The Nian Beast King was disheartened and had stopped searching for the Little Nian Beast for many years. Instead, he recuperated while plotting his revenge against humanity.

However, the Lake Hunting has evolved so rapidly, and the four major families have produced a wealth of talent, causing the Great Lord's plans to be postponed time and time again. Before we knew it, ten years had passed.

After returning home, Lin Xingshi kept silent about the matter, as if he had never met that devilish son.

When her family asked her about it, she simply said, "I saw him all alone and thought he was a kidnapped child, so I rescued him from the traffickers and helped him off the ship. After that, we went our separate ways and never saw each other again."

Mixing lies with the truth often makes things more convincing. Lin Xingshi's story was half lies and half truth; she simply omitted the six months in between. In any case, the two of them did eventually go their separate ways.

"Lao Hui and Wu Jiu are already waiting for us at the restaurant. I'll take a taxi," Zhou Jiuya said as he walked, taking his phone out of the pocket of his Zhongshan suit.

Lin Xingshi nodded, then suddenly turned to look at him, "Why don't we talk about how things are going between you and Ke Qirui?"

"Putting aside the fact that I see her as a younger sister, and besides, I have no feelings for her, are you kidding me?" Zhou Jiuya said, yawning and tilting his head as he put his phone back in his pocket.

“Hey, we old crows are just saying one thing and meaning another… You’ve been following me around like a little shadow since you were a kid, and in the blink of an eye you’ve grown up so much,” Lin Xingshi said. “Youth is fleeting, and opportunities are rare. If you like someone, seize the opportunity.”

"Get lost... You're acting like you're my mother." Zhou Jiuya said coldly, glancing down at his phone.

“I’ve always felt like I’m your mother, the mother of all three of you,” Lin Xingshi laughed.

"I'll pass on myself. Lao Hui's childish nature definitely means he needs a mother. Wu Jiu is too repressed... he probably lacked maternal love in his childhood too."

"Don't let them hear these words. I don't want any big news about 'internal discord within the Lake Hunting Grounds' to spread," Lin Xingshi said with a smile.

She paused for a moment, then said, "Speaking of which, Crow, if you weren't an exorcist, what would you want to do?"

“What else can I do but keep working with my antiques?” Zhou Jiuya said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are in the antique business. It’s not too late for me to retire.”

"I see..." Lin Xingshi said thoughtfully.

"how about you?"

"I don't know... I always feel like I can see the end of my life from the beginning," Lin Xingshi said with a sigh.

"By the way, your birthday is in a couple of days," Zhou Jiuya suddenly said.

Lin Xingshi suddenly paused for a moment.

"Birthday?" she murmured, head down.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I haven't celebrated my birthday in a long time. Even the old folks in our family don't really have that concept," Lin Xingshi shook his head and said casually. "Let me think, it's been almost ten years since my last birthday, hasn't it?"

At this moment, the two walked out of the Lin family mansion and stopped on the coastal highway. Lin Xingshi looked up at the sea, her face bathed in dappled sunlight.

"The last time I celebrated my birthday..."

A cool breeze blew from one end of the horizon, lifting her fiery red hair. The scent of the sea filled her nostrils. Gazing at the gray horizon where the sea met the sky, some memories suddenly surfaced in Lin Xingshi's mind.

Eleven years ago, in the height of summer, in Lijing.

Since they discovered that apartment building, Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian have been living there for some time.

During these days, Lin Xingshi often saw people searching for her on the streets. But each time, she skillfully avoided them by holding the little Nian beast's hand.

But this day was different. The two returned from the supermarket with their purchases. In the living room of their apartment building, Lin Xingshi turned on the air conditioner with the remote control. Then he rushed over and drew the curtains, blocking out the scorching summer sun.

The living room suddenly dimmed, leaving only a hazy light and shadow cast through the curtains onto the floor.

Lin Xingshi wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, then stuffed the drinks and bread that Little Nian had stolen from the supermarket into the refrigerator and slammed the refrigerator door shut.

Then he clapped his hands, sat down on the sofa, and glanced at the calendar.

Today is August 24, 2009. Next to the date is a line of rather delicate handwriting written by a little monster named Xiao Nian: "This is the 124th day that Xiao Nian and Lin Xingshi have spent together in Beijing."

That's right, they've been here for over four months, but the apartment owner still hasn't returned.

The two had agreed to make a quick getaway as soon as their owner returned and find another place to stay. So, for the first few days, they lived in constant fear.

Every night, there's always one person who stays up, squatting on the rooftop with their knees drawn up to their chest, keeping watch—though often it's this person who ends up sleeping the best.

But later, seeing that their master showed no signs of returning, the two gradually relaxed. No one kept watch at night anymore; instead, they slept on the large bed in the master bedroom.

Lin Xingshi often sleeps with the little Nian beast in his arms, saying it's as soft as a pillow.

She felt that sleeping soundly was much better when she was holding him.

One day, after waking up in his big bed, Lin Xingshi suddenly said in a daze that he dreamed that he had been sleeping with a small, purplish-red lion cub the night before. The lion cub's head was on fire, and it set the whole bed and the entire apartment building on fire!
The little monster was startled when it heard this.

From that day on, he never dared to sleep in her arms again. He was afraid that one day he might accidentally turn into the Nian beast in his dream, with an inextinguishable flame on his head, burning Lin Xingshi to a crisp.

Later, Lin Xingshi also taught Xiao Nian Shou how to write.

In her eyes, Little Nian was an absolute genius. He only glanced at the dictionary and memorized the structure and strokes of all the characters, truly deserving the title of "photographic memory." Lin Xing Shi always looked at him with shining eyes, as if she had discovered some rare treasure.

The little beast wasn't very skilled at using a pen at first. Sometimes it would even hold the pencil in its mouth, droop its head, and write stroke by stroke, saying that it was more convenient that way.

Whenever this happened, Lin Xingshi would be amused by the little Nian beast and would giggle and roll on the ground. Later, the little Nian beast even bit through several pencils. Lin Xingshi was both angry and amused, and pointed at his nose and said, "Are your teeth made of iron, you idiot!"

Every time the little monster was scolded by her, it would put the pencil out of its mouth with a pitiful expression.

Later, he gradually gave up the habit of holding the pencil in his mouth and started holding it with his right hand. At first, it felt awkward, but he slowly got used to it.

Since learning how to write, the little monster has been picking up a pencil every morning and writing on the calendar in the apartment building.

Every time he wrote, it was “This is the XXth day that Xiao Nian and Lin Xingshi have spent in Lijing.”

Every time he tore off a page of the calendar, he would write a new line of text, never missing a day. Little Nian Beast was always the first to wake up, so Lin Xing Shi would see a line of text on the calendar every morning when he got up.

The cicadas chirped in the summer, dogs barked in the alley, and the electric fan whirred gently. Day after day, the numbers on the calendar quietly changed; the two spent more and more time together, becoming increasingly familiar with each other, just like family.

It's like two young animals licking each other's wounds in the cracks of the world, huddling together for warmth.

Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian Shou slept together, took baths together, went to the supermarket to "stock up" together, practiced writing together, and took school textbooks from the bookstore to read.

Sometimes they would sneak into a nearby primary school, climb over the school wall, and hide outside the classroom window to secretly listen to the lessons.

In the classroom, students would occasionally rest their chins on their hands, gazing out the window in a daze.

At this moment, Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian Beast suddenly poked their heads out, made faces and stuck out their tongues to scare the student, causing him to be punished by the homeroom teacher and then run away hand in hand, laughing.

And so life went on day after day, and before we knew it, four months had quietly passed, and summer was almost over.

On the sofa, Little Nian was eating an ice pop while watching the animated film "Blackjack." Lin Xingshi stuffed the contents of his shopping bag into the refrigerator, then hugged his knees and squatted down on the sofa barefoot.

The little beast was wearing a jumpsuit, the same outfit Lin Xingshi wore when he first ran away from home, which was now being worn by the little beast.

Lin Xingshi herself was wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, revealing her fair legs. She hadn't cut her hair in a while, and it had grown to below her shoulders, the longest her hair had ever been since birth.

Every morning when she woke up, she would admire herself in the mirror for a while. Then she would stare blankly and give a slight smile. Over time, her mood improved.

But on this day, Lin Xingshi was unexpectedly depressed. She hugged her knees and stared blankly with her head down.

A light rain was falling outside the window, and gloomy rain clouds covered the entire sky, just like when they first arrived in Lijing. The living room was quiet, with only the sound of the television and the rain.

After a while, the little beast suddenly turned to look at Lin Xingshi, only to see the girl with her head buried in her knees, not saying a word for a long time.

"Lin Xingshi," he said.

Lin Xingshi remained silent for a while, then turned his face away and ignored him.

"Lin Xingshi, what's wrong?"

The little monster stared at her without moving, and uttered the name once more.

Because Lin Xingshi disliked his original name, saying it sounded too boyish and uncouth, the two secretly chose a homophonic name for him: "Lin Xingshi." Only they knew this name, and only he could call her by it.

At first, the little beast didn't understand the difference between "Lin Xing Shi" and "Lin Xing Shi". He kept thinking that the pronunciations were almost the same. Later, as he learned more and became more familiar with Chinese characters, he gradually discovered the difference between the two, and then he started calling her that every day.

Lin Xingshi, Lin Xingshi, Lin Xingshi, every day the little monster would lie on the floor and write her name many times.

Lin Xingshi would lie beside him, her hands supporting her chin, watching him until he stopped making mistakes and his handwriting became neat and tidy. Only then would she clap her hands and exclaim, "Xiao Nian, you are truly a super genius!"

"Xiao Nian is a genius!"

The little monster raised its arms and boasted. Then it threw the paper and pen aside and rushed to the refrigerator to find an ice pop to eat.

On this day, the little monster also wrote their names on the calendar. Over time, Lin Xingshi seemed to have forgotten her original name. But she knew this wouldn't last long; they could hide for a while, but not forever.

These past few days, they've been avoiding the surveillance cameras every time they go out. If it were just her, it wouldn't be so bad, but the little monster has also been affected and has to walk in the shadows with her.

She didn't like this, but she had no choice. Her family must have investigated the people on that smuggling ship and knew what the Little Nian beast looked like, so there was a risk that it would be recognized. She longed to be with the Little Nian beast. But she truly didn't like this situation at all.

"Little Star, what's wrong with you?" The Little Nian Beast called out in a different way.

Lin Xingshi was silent for a moment. “My family… they all know that I ran away to Lijing. It must have been those human traffickers who spread the news about me. Now everyone is looking for me in this city. There are missing person notices everywhere on the streets. I saw a lot of my own photos as soon as I went out.”

She paused, then said, "We can't hide for much longer."

The little beast was taken aback. He had also seen the missing person posters pasted on the walls and telephone poles on the street, with Lin Xingshi's face clearly reflected in the photos.

The missing person notice said she had been abducted by human traffickers, and asked anyone with information to contact her. But with Lin Xingshi's skills, how could she possibly have been abducted by human traffickers? It would be a miracle if the traffickers hadn't been abducted by her. Humans are just good at lying, Little Nian thought to himself.

He knew that Lin Xingshi was in a bad mood, but he didn't know how to comfort her.

Lin Xingshi sighed softly. Looking at her hair, which was growing longer and longer, she thought she had broken away from her old life. But one day, she went out on the street and saw so many missing person notices, each with her photo on it.

She stared blankly at so many identical faces, looking at the photo of herself with short hair, as if surrounded by her past self, feeling like she was about to suffocate.

Only then did Lin Xingshi realize that he couldn't escape at all. This world was a huge cage that would push everyone to where they were destined to be.

"Why are they keeping looking for you?" the little Nian beast thought for a moment, then asked.

“Because everyone says I’m some kind of once-in-a-lifetime genius, they all force me to cultivate. Especially my father, he even wants me to be the next patriarch.” Lin Xingshi sighed, “I feel like they’re so old-fashioned… There are so many ambitious people in the family, my brothers and the others really want to inherit the family business, but they chose me.”

The little monster was silent for a moment: "Today is your birthday, don't be sad."

"Birthday?"

"Yes, you told me that before."

"I had almost forgotten... How do you still remember?" Lin Xingshi slowly raised his eyes and met the gaze of the little Nian beast.

“Of course I remember, because it’s the day you were born. You are the most important person to me on Xiao Nian’s life. Without you taking me away, I would be wandering the streets,” said the little monster.

Lin Xingshi was stunned for a moment, "What are we supposed to do for a birthday again?"

"I bought a cake, they said so on TV," said the little monster. "I already bought some from the cake shop last night."

"When?"

"While you are sleeping."

"Don't run around while I'm sleeping next time," Lin Xingshi said softly. "I'll be scared if I can't find you when I wake up."

The little beast was stunned for a moment, then nodded. Only at this moment did he feel that Lin Xingshi was like a girl. When he came to his senses, her hair had grown very long. It seemed that due to the influence of the Heavenly Drive, a strand of hair at the back of Lin Xingshi's head was dark red.

After a moment of silence, the little Nian beast suddenly asked, "Okay, don't be sad, let's eat cake first."

Who eats cake in the morning?

"In the morning, in the morning!"

"I think you just want to eat it yourself."

"Today is Xiaoxing's birthday!"

"I give up," Lin Xingshi laughed.

“Eat cake!”

The little monster used its fingernails to scratch open a rift connecting to an independent space, reached out its hand, took out a beautifully packaged box, and held it in its hand.

He jumped off the sofa, placed the box on the table, and opened it. Inside was a cream cake with candles on it.

The little beast, with its back to Lin Xingshi, suddenly raised its fingertip, and a purplish-red flame swept across the air, instantly igniting the candle and emitting a warm red light.

It was a rainy day, and the curtains were drawn, making the living room dimly lit. But now, with the candlelight burning, their faces were illuminated by the firelight and enveloped in a warm glow.

Lin Xingshi hugged his knees, staring at the flames on the cake, his eyes involuntarily reddening.

"Why are you crying again?"

"No one has ever celebrated my birthday," she murmured.

"Isn't Xiao Nian a person?"

"You're a pig."

"I am a lion."

"pig."

"Can't a pig celebrate your birthday?" Little Nian puffed out his cheeks and wrinkled his nose angrily. His nose was so wrinkled, he looked just like a real pig.

"I'm very happy," Lin Xingshi said softly, wiping his eyes.

The little beast was taken aback: "That's good, as long as Xiaoxing is happy." He murmured, then thought for a moment, "Don't just look, make a wish first, otherwise the fire will go out."

"Hmm..." Lin Xingshi murmured, closing his eyes and moving his lips silently.

In the silence, the little Nian beast stared at her face, as if it understood what she was saying.

"I want to be with Xiao Nian forever, never to be separated." After saying this silently, she was about to blow out the candles on the cake when Xiao Nian suddenly stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xingshi opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Change your wish."

"why?"

The little monster was stunned. He actually wanted to tell Lin Xingshi that he was a demon, that they couldn't be together forever, and that one day she would discover he was a demon. Then she would realize she had been tricked and had actually become friends with a demon.

Actually, he should have left long ago. The longer he dragged it out, the more serious the human girl's injuries would become. Little Nian Beast knew everything, but he just couldn't bear to leave, which is why he stayed here for so long. It was really nice to see her sleeping face every morning when he woke up. It was also fun to sneak into school with her to listen to classes. It was also very fun to laugh together when teasing others. No demon on Haifan Mountain was ever willing to play with him.

Lin Xingshi was his only friend.

But he's a demon... From birth, he was told, "Little Nian Beast, you can't leave that mountain because the outside world is human territory. Humans hate demons and don't want to see them, so they drove them all up the mountain..." He shouldn't have become friends with her in the first place.

He knew everything, but the little monster still made stupid mistakes. "Now look what happened," he said to himself, "if you hadn't hesitated, she wouldn't have gotten hurt... It's all your fault."

After a long, long silence, the little Nian beast asked softly, "Little Star...do you hate demons?"

"Why do you hate demons?" Lin Xingshi raised the back of his hand and wiped away the tears on his cheek.

"Isn't the destiny of exorcists to kill demons? Otherwise, why would you be called exorcists?" Little Nian Beast continued to ask.

Lin Xingshi thought for a moment: "My parents taught me from a young age that exorcists and demons are good and evil, and that demons are monsters that eat people... But I don't know if there are any kind demons. I think that only what you see with your own eyes is true."

"What if I were a demon?"

"How could you be a demon?" Lin Xingshi said. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The little monster felt a sharp pain in its heart and almost hoarsely asked, "Can't I... be a demon?"

“You’re so stupid, so dull… you’re obviously not related to demons.” Lin Xingshi said, reaching out to poke his nose.

Just then, Lin Xingshi's expression suddenly changed. The candlelight flickered, casting a long shadow of a beast on the wall. But just a second ago, it was clearly the shadow of the Little Nian Beast.

She paused, then slowly turned her head, using the firelight to look at the lion-shaped shadow. What came into her view was a small lion about a meter long, with purplish-red fur, fangs that were not yet fully developed, and a cluster of bewitching flames rising from its head, flickering together with the candlelight.

Lin Xingshi remained silent for a long, long time before finally asking, "Are you... Xiao Nian?"

The little lion stood awkwardly for a moment, then silently nodded.

“So it was you…” Lin Xingshi murmured softly.

These past few days, she'd been dreaming of a small, majestic, purplish-red lion. Every time it appeared in her dreams, she slept soundly and felt incredibly safe. But every time she woke up to find the little lion gone, she felt a pang of sadness. At this moment, looking at the little Nian beast before her, Lin Xing Shi understood everything.

"So there are kids like you among the demons..."

Lin Xingshi reached out and gently stroked its fur as he spoke. In the candlelight, the little Nian beast silently lowered its head. Outside the window, a light rain was still falling, and rain mist climbed onto the windowpane.

"Do you hate me?" The little beast didn't dare to raise its head, but asked in a low voice.

Just then, Lin Xingshi came over, hugged the lion tightly in his arms, and pressed his face against its soft fur.

"I made a wish," she said softly.

"what?"

"I want to be with you forever."

"What are you daydreaming about... You've been acting like you're possessed by a ghost these past few days." The sudden voice interrupted Lin Xingshi's thoughts.

She snapped out of her reverie and slowly raised her head, only to see Zhou Jiuya staring at her intently, his head tilted to the side.

The two exchanged a glance, and then Lin Xingshi quickly looked away.

"Nothing much, it's just that the sea breeze is quite pleasant today, and the weather is nice too." Lin Xingshi paused, then suddenly blurted out, "Long live peace."

"Then we'll celebrate your birthday again after we defeat the Nian Beast King."

"Alright, alright. Speaking of which, I hope the Phantom Troupe didn't just choose August 24th to celebrate my birthday?" Lin Xingshi said casually. "Thanks to you, Old Crow."

Zhou Jiuya took a deep breath, put one hand in his pocket, and rubbed his forehead with the other. "Don't mention the names of those unlucky people."

Just then, a horn sounded in the distance. The two looked up in unison and saw a yellow taxi driving from the end of the coastal highway and stopping in front of them.

Meanwhile, in another corner of Haifan City, at the bottom of Lao Wu's antique shop.

Upon entering, you'll be greeted by a brightly lit tavern, with neon signs hanging everywhere. Indeed, probably no one would expect that beneath this antique shop lies an underground tavern—it's incredibly flamboyant, and the two buildings are completely worlds apart.

The owner of this antique shop is named "Wu Erhuai". Taking the character "Wu" from his surname, the shop became known as "Lao Wu Antique Shop".

Xia Pingzhou heard from the hacker that the antique shop owner had previously been an exorcist under the Lake Hunters.

Later, due to his poor performance, he was expelled from the Lake Hunter, but he became acquainted with Zhou Jiuya of the Lake Hunter in the antique market because of his knowledge and love for antiques.

The two were arguing heatedly at the market about whether an antique was real or fake.

Hearing this, Xia Pingzhou was secretly ashamed, thinking to himself that with Zhou Jiuya's temper, it would be a miracle if not a single pillar came down and smashed Wuerhuai into a bloody mess.

In the end, Wu Erhuai won the debate by a narrow margin. This was because the antique in question was a fake he had personally crafted. His forgery skills were so masterful that he could easily pass for the real thing, even fooling Zhou Jiuya.

Zhou Jiuya considered himself a master forger, but he never expected to meet his match. Thus, the two became acquainted and opened this antique shop together.

However, Zhou Jiuya later joined the Lake Hunting Club, which severed some messy interpersonal relationships, and he has not been in contact with Wuerhuai for a long time.

Urhuai has no sense of good or evil; he is a person who acts purely based on self-interest. Over the years, he has also met the leader of the White Crow Brigade by chance.

Qi Yuanli took a liking to Wu Erhuai's Sky Chaser and wanted to recruit Wu Erhuai into the group, but Wu Erhuai refused.

However, the two remained close friends. At that time, Urushihara Ruri, the younger sister of Urushihara Ruri, even recommended that Uruhoku build a tavern in the basement of the antique shop so that she could come and play there.

Wuerhuai took a liking to the pretty young girl and actually did as she was told. Unexpectedly, the tavern was built a few years later.

But by this time, Ruri Urushihara had disappeared without a trace, and when asked about his sister, he remained silent.

At this very moment, inside the bar beneath the antique shop, a young girl dressed in an ochre-red kimono stands in a corner, holding a grayish-white manuscript.

Countless pages of paper fluttered up from the manuscript, transforming into a cherry blossom pink in mid-air, swirling around her kimono like blooming cherry blossoms, and the resulting gust of wind gently lifted the girl's cool hair.

"It can actually change the color of the pages of the Endless Manuscript? I remember it couldn't be done before." Xia Pingzhou murmured softly, looking at the pages fluttering like cherry blossoms.

"It seems your young lady's ability to modify the properties of paper has reached a new level," Bloodline said with a smile.

"This is also thanks to the existence of the Endless Manuscript. With an infinite amount of paper material, it's much easier to refine one's abilities or raise their limits," the hacker said casually. "The young lady is a genius, but she hasn't focused much on her superpowers. With this manuscript, it's like a scientist who was previously short of funds suddenly having an inexhaustible fortune. Expensive research that was previously out of reach can now be done, and the money just can't be used up, so the efficiency of improving and controlling her abilities will naturally increase."

"Did you hear that?" Enma Rin looked at Xia Pingzhou. "As expected of your kimono-clad loli young lady, even she can be praised so highly by our hacker master."

Upon hearing this, Ayase Origami put the pages back into the manuscript and turned to look at Xia Pingzhou.

"Wasn't he praising the Endless Manuscript?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "What does it have to do with our kimono-clad loli lady?"

“I also feel it’s due to the endless copies,” Bloodline said, resting his chin on his hand and smiling.

"The kitten has rebelled," Origami Ayase said calmly after a moment of silence.

As the group was chatting, a familiar voice suddenly came from the entrance of the bar, "Hey, long time no see."

Xia Pingzhou turned his head to look. The door was pushed open, and a blond young man in a British-style suit walked in, with his usual mocking smile on his face. He was clearly the 11th member of the Phantom Troupe, Anlens.

The other person who followed in was wearing a baseball cap, had his hair tied in a ponytail, and was dressed in a casual T-shirt and jeans. Tong Zizhu's attire was also unchanged.

"Hey, little cat Casanova, your mom's here." The hacker rested his chin on his hand, glanced at Tong Zizhu, and then turned to look at Xia Pingzhou.

"Shut up." "Shut up."

Xia Pingzhou and Tong Zizhu spoke in unison.

"Still saying she's not your mother?" the hacker said with a "tsk," then rested his chin on his hand and drank orange juice through a straw.

"Looks like everyone's here." Robert, wearing a mechanical box on his head, walked in, his voice hoarse and magnetic.

Closely following behind him was Andrew, who was wearing a denim jacket and a brown denim hat.

He carried a sniper rifle as always. Since Lan Duoduo's death, Andrew had become less cheerful and carefree, instead appearing much more haggard and gloomy.

"It's great to see that everyone is still alive." Andrew grinned. "Lan Duoduo is still waiting for us in hell. Zhou Jiuya, you beast, I'm here."

Finally, a man wearing frameless glasses walked in. It was Rukawa Chiba, the Phantom Troupe's only psychic-type ability user.

"Long time no see." Rukawa Chiba smiled at Xia Pingzhou, who exchanged a glance with him before quickly looking away.

A moment later, a dark black crow flew in, landed above the bar, and then dispersed into crow feathers, revealing a figure wearing a black swallowtail trench coat on the bar.

Qi Yuanli pulled up a chair and sat down, looking up at the members of the troupe.

“We’ll begin the operation in three days,” he said. “Our primary objective is singular: to capture Zhou Jiuya.”

(End of this chapter)