My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 404 The Resurrected Black Chrysalis, Reunion with Family (10,000 words, seeking monthly votes)
At 1:00 AM on August 26th, in the old site of Guyimai Street, inside that familiar abandoned train station.

Hei Yong had been here many times before, usually when he met with Ke Qirui in private. At this moment, he was hanging upside down under the eaves of Platform 7, with a restraint strap connecting his head to the ceiling, and he was completely silent.

After a moment, he slowly raised his eyes and silently looked at the train demon's carriage.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

The steam billowing from the engine dissipated, and the warm orange light cast the figures onto the curtains. Just by looking at the outlines of their reflections, he could make out who was in carriage number 7—Gu Qiye, Gu Zhuoan, and Su Zimai.

Ke Qirui and Su Wei are not inside the train demon, nor is Xu Sanyan.

These three either had something to do and were temporarily leaving, or they never intended to stay overnight on the train like Su Zimai and the others—which is normal, since not everyone is a wanted criminal.

In truth, Black Chrysalis didn't really want Su Wei to continue being associated with the Salvation Society.

After all, he had heard from Ke Qirui a long time ago that Su Wei's body was about to give out.

The old man only appears strong in front of his grandchildren. After each battle, he inevitably reveals his true colors, his hair turns gray, and he ages considerably overnight.

After the battle of Rainbow Wing, Su Wei's physical condition deteriorated to the point where he could no longer even contend with the members of the White Raven Brigade.

If it were the Su Wei of the past, she could easily have taken on two Cataclysmic-level enemies from the Phantom Troupe on her own.

So if Su Wei really intends to wade into the muddy waters of Iceland, his fate will most likely be grim. Even if he doesn't die at the hands of the monsters of the Salvation Society, his physical condition is already beyond repair.

Of course, if he really comes, even Black Chrysalis can't stop him—after all, Su Wei is the one who truly has a say in this family, and Gu Zhuo's case is nothing.

For a moment, Platform 7 was eerily quiet, like a ghostly platform in a movie, where a wandering ghost in a ticket seller's uniform would soon appear and lead him to the platform of hell.

The black pupa could hear the faint chirping of cicadas. The restraints amplified every sound he heard many times over, as if the cicadas were chirping right next to his ear.

He stared at the carriage for a long, long time, listening to the conversation between the three people.

"I'm not sleepy yet, Dad and Brother, can't you go to sleep first?" Su Zimai said irritably in the carriage. "Are you my nannies?"

"It's already one o'clock," Gu Zhuo'an said in a low voice, one hand on his hip.

“What’s wrong with one o’clock? I usually go to bed at two or three o’clock at home.” Su Zimai said casually. “Sometimes when I go to hunt demons with my teacher, it’s already past midnight when the mission is over. We even take the train to Japan together. We often stay up all night at izakayas, eating sukiyaki and drinking ramune soda.”

The father and son's faces darkened. Gu Qiye rubbed his Tianming acupoint and exhaled, while Gu Zhuoan hugged his shoulders and sighed softly.

"What if you can't get your sleep schedule back when school starts?" Gu Qiye asked.

"No way, you have two super-high internationally wanted criminals in your family, and you still want me to go to school?" Su Zimai said disdainfully. "I'm afraid I'll be dragged away and interrogated by Hongyi's people halfway through class."

"The people from Lake Hunter said they'll arrange a new identity for you later. Then you can attend school and find work normally in their territory," Gu Qiye said softly.

"They really know how to make arrangements. I thought I finally wouldn't have to go to school anymore," Su Zimai pouted.

"We still have to go to school, and we still have to live our lives," Gu Qiye shrugged. "We can't run away forever, can we?"

"Alright, stop nagging. You guys go and get some rest," Su Zimai said. "I'll go to sleep when I'm tired. You don't need to rush me."

Both father and son knew that Su Zimai couldn't be persuaded; the more they tried to reason with her, the more defiant she became. So, they said in unison:
"Okay, then Xiaomai, you should get some rest." "Go to sleep early, goodnight."

After speaking, Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an got up from their seats one after the other. They chatted as they walked through the long corridor and then entered carriages 9 and 10 respectively.

Both of these are sleeper carriages.

Gu Qiye sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard reading a book; Gu Zhuoan, on the other hand, hunched over, his hands on his knees, staring blankly at the empty corridor.

After a while, the lights in the two sleeper carriages slowly dimmed.

It was getting late, and both the father and son were already asleep.

Although the black pupa could no longer see their shadows through the curtains, it could still use the restraints to clearly perceive their state and even read their facial expressions.

So at this moment, only carriage number 7 of the train still had its lights on. Su Zimai was still awake, sitting alone in her seat, staring blankly at her phone.

Hei Yong waited quietly until Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuoan fell asleep, then he reached out his right hand, peeled off a piece of restraint strap, and took out a spare phone from it.

He opened his contacts.

To evade Hongyi's investigation, the Gu family members had basically changed all their phone numbers and other electronic information. However, his address book contained Su Zimai's new contact information, which he had naturally obtained through Caesar's channels.

[Anonymous user: Calling the Diaper Demon! Calling the Diaper Demon! Come out and meet me!]

After sending the message, Hei Yong put her phone back in her restraints and stopped asking questions. Instead, she looked up at the carriage that was still bathed in warm light.

His phone kept vibrating incessantly inside the restraints, but he couldn't be bothered to read what messages Su Zimai had sent him. He could guess that they were probably just a bunch of curses and questions.

Just like always.

He just thought that Su Zimai must be wondering right now, who in the world would know the nickname "Diaper Demon"? Could it be someone from Lake Hunter? Or did Ke Qirui suddenly call her out to give her a surprise?
Hei Yong pulled himself out of his rambling thoughts and silently watched the shadows reflected in the carriage curtain.

At first, Su Zimai angrily lowered her head and frantically pressed her phone. After a while, she suddenly looked up and stared blankly out the window for a moment.

Separated by a curtain, the two gazed at each other silently, though those inside the car could not see those outside.

A little while later, just as Hei Yong had predicted, Su Zimai got up from her seat and carefully opened the carriage door.

In order not to wake Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an, she closed the door as quietly as possible, making very little noise.

Immediately afterwards, she crawled out from under the door and walked cautiously through the dark Platform 7, glancing down at her phone every now and then.

There are probably fewer than five people in the world who would call her the "diaper devil," so the first person she thinks of when this annoying nickname is mentioned is that person.

Su Zimai didn't know what was wrong with her. She felt stupid. She knew perfectly well that such an absurd thing couldn't possibly happen in the world, but she was still tricked out by a text message and wandered around outside for most of the day.

A little while later, just as she was about to turn around and walk back to the tracks, the platform lights suddenly turned on with a "snap".

Su Zimai didn’t think much of it at first, but the next second she suddenly realized something important: this was a train station that had been abandoned five years ago, so why were there still lights?

Her heartbeat quickened several times, and she slowly raised her eyes to look at the light bulb on the ceiling. At the same moment, the black pupa slowly released the color-changing form of its restraints.

In the flickering light, his suspended figure was revealed to Su Zimai. He hung upside down from the ceiling, slowly peeling away the restraints covering his face, his gaze meeting hers.

In the silence, the two gazed at each other quietly.

The lights flickered, and Gu Wenyu's pale yet handsome face was also illuminated by the flickering light.

Looking into his eyes, Su Zimai remained in a daze for a long time.

Then the other person slowly spoke, breaking the silence between them:
"Hello, isn't this our diaper devil?"

Almost instantly, the fear and confusion in her eyes turned into astonishment and doubt, then from astonishment back into even greater fear, and then into anger, an uncontrollable anger.

"Who... are you?" Su Zimai asked in a wary manner as she backed away. "That bastard doctor from the troupe? Am I under a spell again? I advise you not to come near me. My brother and father are in the car. They won't be able to kill you so easily."

"I am a black pupa."

Hei Yong tilted her head and spoke calmly. Su Zimai lowered her head, her eyes gradually being obscured by her bangs.

"You've lost your memory?" Black Chrysalis continued. "That's strange. I don't remember my ability causing people to lose their memory."

He paused. "I said I was a black pupa, um... is that some kind of hard-to-understand statement? Or is human language just too advanced for the diaper demon?"

"Are you kidding me..." Su Zimai lowered her voice, "Why do you all like to impersonate my brother?"

“Oh, Black Chrysalis is impersonating your brother, yes, that makes sense.” Black Chrysalis nodded.

"Go away!"

She lowered her head, no longer looking at his face, afraid that she would burst into tears.

The black pupa remained silent for a moment.

"After all, Black Chrysalis and Gu Wenyu seem to be two different identities, but in reality, they are two different entities. One serves its own interests, while the other serves a non-existent, false, and disgusting family relationship." He shifted his gaze and said slowly, "So objectively speaking, Black Chrysalis is real, and Gu Wenyu is fake—therefore, there is no such thing as Black Chrysalis impersonating your brother; rather, it is your brother impersonating me, understand?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his face was covered by restraints again, and the restraints then put sunglasses on him.

Su Zimai was suddenly stunned; she hadn't heard such a mystical tone in a long time.

"You...could it be..."

She stood there stunned for a long, long time, then suddenly realized something and looked up again.

At this moment, Gu Qiye heard the commotion on the platform, opened the door of carriage number 9, and stepped out of the train. With a "click," he casually closed the carriage door.

"Xiaomai?" He raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively, then looked curiously at platform 7, wondering who Su Zimai was chatting with outside so late.

But at that very moment, Gu Qiye suddenly saw a figure that defied all expectations.

Gu Qiye stared at him blankly, then slowly squeezed out a name from her throat:

"Wenyu?"

Black Chrysalis raised her eyes and silently looked into his eyes.

Suddenly, the black pupa took out a drawing board from the restraints, and then pulled out a child's paintbrush from the restraints.

He turned the canvas towards Gu Qiye and silently wrote words on the white canvas with his paintbrush:
"Actually, I've always been thinking... is it wrong to be a complete scumbag?"

Gu Qiye looked at the black cocoon in shock, then slowly lowered her eyes, looking at the line of text on the drawing board with confusion.

Black Pupa wiped the drawing board with the restraints and continued writing with the paintbrush:
"In the end, what was the point of me playing one of the five characters? Didn't it just cause more harm? When I saw that girl looking so down in the bar, I was actually very distressed."

He vigorously rubbed the drawing board and wrote:
"In the end, anything that is false will cause harm to others the day it is exposed; even if the initial intention is good, in the end everything points to me being a hypocrite."

He nearly tore the canvas to shreds as he continued writing:

"After all, am I not a primary school student?"

"In the end, wasn't I a selfish person from the very beginning?"

"Yes, I've been a scumbag from the very beginning, the most despicable scumbag in the world. But what's wrong with being a scumbag... I'm just living for myself, and what's wrong with living for yourself?"

He quickly wiped the canvas while writing rapidly.

From beginning to end, Hei Chang remained silent, and Gu Qiye simply stared blankly at the words on the drawing board.

At this moment, Gu Zhuoan heard the noise and woke up. He pried open the carriage door and rushed out of carriage number 10.

Upon seeing Gu Zhuo's case, Hei Yong suddenly tilted her head slightly.

“Great, our Mr. Ghost Bell has arrived too.” He looked at Gu Zhuo’an walking slowly towards him, wrote on the drawing board, and drew a gloomy Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Suddenly, he stretched out a restraint strap and abruptly tied Su Zimai up.

In an instant, layers of ribbons wrapped around her neck like a black venomous snake, then climbed up her cheeks and covered her mouth.

“Wheat!” Gu Qiye was slightly taken aback.

He saw the trajectory of the restraints, but Hei Yong and Su Zimai were too close. He was only distracted by Hei Yong's words for a moment when Su Zimai was already bound by the restraints.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Gu Zhuo'an was stunned for a moment when he saw this scene, and then asked in a gloomy voice.

He knew his son was dead; he had watched Gu Wenyu die before his eyes, and the black cocoon in front of him must be an imposter.

The black chrysalis watched him silently, continuing to write on the canvas with her paintbrush:
"Don't act rashly."

After writing this line, he pointed at Gu Qiye with his restraints: "You, don't disgust me with your broken lightning."

Then, he pointed at Gu Zhuo'an with the restraint straps and wrote: "You, don't try to bring out your lousy clock tower, don't even think about stopping time, understand?"

Black Chrysalis suddenly made a throat-slitting motion with the restraints, and wrote on the drawing board, word by word:
"Otherwise, I would have snapped her neck immediately."

As he spoke, the restraints tightened slightly around Su Zimai's neck, as if a venomous snake might bite her neck off at any moment.

Black Chrysalis thought for a moment, then suddenly raised a finger, while the restraints behind her frantically processed words on the drawing board:

"Oh, right, I'll be taking out more than one of your family members."

In silence, Gu Zhuoan and Gu Qiye stared blankly at the drawing board.

"Two family members?" Gu Qiye asked.

“That’s right, Gu Wenyu and Su Zimai, they’re both in my hands.” Hei Yong wrote on the drawing board, then looked away. “Gu Wenyu is in my library. Whenever I want, I can strangle him, and then your beloved family will be gone!”

Black Chrysalis lowered its eyes and looked at the fingers wrapped in restraints.

He slowly wrote on the drawing board: "I mean, maybe Gu Wenyu never existed in the first place. He was just a black cocoon. So I didn't harm him at all. Who did I harm? I harmed myself. Can that be considered a crime? Suicide is not a crime. Long live the law. Everyone is equal..."

"You're not Wen Yu, so who are you?" Gu Zhuo asked in a somber voice.

The black pupa was taken aback.

He slowly extended a restraint strap and quietly and quickly wrote words on the drawing board:
"Good question, who am I, really?"

The writing on the canvas was quickly erased by the restraints, and new text was added with the paintbrush:

"This is actually a very serious question, involving philosophy. The question is, am I Ji Minghuan, or Xia Pingzhou, or Xiao Nian, or am I just a useless shark that has been eating, drinking, and defecating at the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years, who is actually Gu Wenyu, whom you love and miss the most?"

The restraints erased the words on the canvas like the wind, while the paintbrush added new words like the wind, all the while casually scribbling:
"I am Ji Minghuan, 12 years old, a primary school student."

"I am Xia Pingzhou, 19 years old, a retired exorcist. I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"I am Agubaru, I don't know how old I am, a lazy shark who loves to eat, and I'm fishing in Antarctica."

"I am the little Nian beast, 20 years old, woof woof woof, my father just died, I am the great son of the Nian beast."

"I am Gu Wenyu? 16 years old, a high school student, the world's greatest intelligence dealer..."

"So the question is, who am I, really?"

Black Chrysalis tilted his head, the restraints following his thoughts, casually and loosely writing words on the drawing board:

He lowered his eyes.

As his thoughts progressed, messy scribbles appeared on the blank canvas, like a student lost in thought scribbling on a desk.

The restraints were used to hold the paintbrush.

The words kept multiplying on the canvas, eventually piling up in a messy mess.

"honestly……"

"I've almost forgotten who I am..."

"Who was it again?"

"My name is Ji Minghuan."

“I’m not a primary school student, I’ve never been to school. I like reading. I have very few friends. I have no family, not a single one. They abandoned me to protect my younger brother.”

“The children in the orphanage hated me at first. Everyone called me a bookworm, and they threw library books at me.”

"I've always wanted to have a family."

"If I could, I would like to have my parents with me. If I could, I would like to have an older brother and an older sister; if I could, I would also like to have a younger sister and a younger brother."

"I have everything I want here. I am very happy here. Everyone is around me."

"I'm finally not alone anymore."

“I am very happy here, but one day I suddenly realized that I am not Gu Wenyu, but you are making it seem like I am the real Gu Wenyu. I am almost being deceived by you.”

"I feel disgusted."

"So disgusting...it makes me...want to tear myself...into...two."

"Are you watching me write? So here's the question: who can I tell the truth to? What's the point of continuing to act like this?"

"If I were to die quietly one day, in the research institute, and Gu Wenyu were to become an idiot, or perhaps he were to disappear from the world as if he had never existed... would anyone remember me then? would anyone remember Ji Minghuan?"

"Gu Wenyu is dead, and someone will hold a funeral for him. But what about Ji Minghuan?"

"You don't remember me..."

“What you remember is not me, but someone who cannot exist at all… I am just playing the role of him, and what I get from you is all fake.”

"12 years old, loves reading, is a little kid. Everyone says he'll destroy the world, but he just wants to quietly read with his only best friend." "16 years old, high school student, has a wonderful family."

"19 years old, a robber, a traitor, the robber who made that girl cry."

"I'm 20 years old, and I have a human childhood sweetheart, but I'm a demon."

"Xia Pingzhou, 12 years old, high school student; Ji Minghuan, 16 years old, robber..."

Gu Qiye, Gu Zhuoan, and Su Zimai stared blankly at the whiteboard covered with text.

Black Chrysalis remained silent, having wrapped himself up like a giant, pitch-black cocoon, preventing anyone from seeing his expression. Only the straps holding his easel and paintbrush were exposed.

He just frantically wrote on the drawing board with the restraints, then wiped it, wrote, wiped it, and wrote again.

"Actually, I've almost forgotten who I am."

“I’m just lying to myself… I don’t have any family, you don’t care about me at all. You never cared about me from the beginning, you only cared about the person I was playing.”

"In fact, nobody cares about me."

“You are not my family at all.”

"I'm just a kid, why should I think so much? But... if I don't think about it, if I don't rack my brains to think about it, everything will disappear."

Inside the pitch-black giant pupa, the black pupa's eyes, nose, and mouth were shrouded by layers of restrictive straps. It opened its mouth slightly towards the sky, as if it were screaming silently.

Outside the giant cocoon, the restraints held a paintbrush and scribbled wildly, while messy words continued to appear on the canvas.

"Should I apologize to you?"

"What should I say?"

"In fact, Gu Wenyu never existed in the first place."

"I have already killed him."

“What should I say to this boy I killed? That I took your life, took your family, took everything from you…”

"Am I supposed to tell you, 'I'm sorry, I killed your family members, and he was a fake from the start'?"

"I still have to say to him... 'Thank you for letting me know what it feels like to have family around.'"

"I'm actually so tired... I've always been tired."

"I……"

The black pupa paused for a moment.

"I……"

Inside the giant, lightless pupa, the black pupa gently lowered its head, repeating the same word over and over.

Outside the giant cocoon, the same text appeared on the drawing board.

"I'm……"

On the canvas unfolded in front of the three, the restraints, paintbrushes, and words all danced wildly together.

"If I were... Ji Minghuan."

Will you be by my side?

The giant, pitch-black cocoon trembled, and the drawing board trembled along with it, causing the words drawn on the restraints to tremble as well.

"If I am just myself."

"you."

Will you still be by my side?

“If I am just… Ji Minghuan, I am not Gu Wenyu, nor Xia Pingzhou, nor Aguba Lu… I am just thinking that Xia Ping appointed Rangwei because I don’t want Ayase Origami to die.”

The messy words danced on the board, like a program infected with a virus, or like garbled text.

It keeps evolving, seemingly extending endlessly backward.

"Xia Pingzhou case, I, Ji Minghuan, am not your family? If so, Caesar, I really am not a shark, waaaaah, don't cry, Su Zimaier, waaaah, I'm not a big moth, uh, ah, Ji Minghuan, Agubaluwen case, ah, Xiaonian, don't go, Ayase, don't go, I'm not your family, extra family, fake family, real family..."

The restraints danced in mid-air, and the words on the drawing board twisted. All the "names" were dancing, blurring and shifting in the stunned gazes of the three.

Finally, what they saw was the same line of text:

Who am I, really?

Dead silence.

The station was deathly silent.

From beginning to end, the people inside the giant cocoon remained completely silent.

The next moment, a voice suddenly broke the silence that had long enveloped the station.

“I don’t care who you are…you absolutely cannot be Wen Yu,” Gu Zhuo’an said in a low voice. “Madman, let go of my daughter.”

Inside the giant cocoon, the black pupa suddenly paused slightly, then suddenly laughed, a cold, self-mocking laugh echoing from the pitch-black cocoon.

"makes sense……"

After a while, he muttered to himself, slowly emerging from the giant cocoon, then slowly raised his eyes, grinning as he met Gu Zhuo'an's gaze.

After a long, long silence, he suddenly threw away the easel and spoke in a cold voice from beneath the restraints and mask:
"Yes, you're right. I'm a madman, and I'm not Gu Wenyu. And... you know what? I've actually been putting up with you for a long time."

He looked at Su Zimai and said, "Look at you, an arrogant and conceited girl who always waits for others to clean up her messes."

He looked at Gu Qiye again, "A self-destructive saint, she's all about moving herself, but she can't actually do anything."

Finally, he shifted his gaze back to Gu Zhuo'an's face, looking down at him with blatant mockery in his eyes.

"A reckless and foolish man abandoned his child but could not save his wife."

Hearing the sound made by the black pupa, the three people on the platform were stunned.

At this moment, Gu Zhuo'an's expression turned extremely gloomy.

"Who exactly are you..." Gu Qiye murmured hoarsely.
"Who exactly are you...who exactly are you, who exactly are you?" Black Chrysalis stared at him, her speech increasing with each word, until it was as fast as a machine gun. "Why is everyone so fixated on one answer? Are all the idiots in the world like this?"

Su Zimai's mouth was bound with restraints, and she could only struggle to make muffled sounds.

"Do you think it's possible that from the very beginning, all of this was just a 12-year-old boy's delusion?"

Black Chrysalis murmured to herself, then suddenly peeled off the restraints covering her face.

His face was exposed to the cold moonlight. At that moment, everyone on the platform could see his face clearly.

This was indeed Gu Wenyu. Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an stared at him in a daze.

After a while, Gu Qiye's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I...don't understand."

"What exactly is it that you don't understand, Mr. Blue Arc?"

Black Chrysalis spoke calmly, meeting his almost pleading gaze.

"If you are Wen Yu, why didn't you come to see us sooner? Why didn't you tell us you weren't dead?" Gu Qiye said, enunciating each word clearly. "I don't understand... why did you do this?"

"Because I've already said it, I've practically screamed in my head a thousand times, okay? I absolutely don't like playing these fake pretend games with you guys."

Gu Wenyu's face was expressionless.

“I was never Gu Wenyu from the beginning. Gu Wenyu doesn’t exist. Gu Wenyu is a fake. You’ve all been fooled by me.”

As he spoke, his face sometimes transformed into "Xia Pingzhou," sometimes into "Little Nian Beast," and after a while, it became "Ji Minghuan."

But his expression remained cold and detached throughout, and he looked at them as if they were a group of strangers, or as if they were a group of people he deeply hated.

"Maybe... I'm just a schizophrenic, and it's all my imagination. Like the brain in a vat in the book."

After he finished speaking, his face returned to Gu Wenyu's appearance.

Immediately afterwards, he covered his face with the restraints again and put on the sunglasses that had been crushed by the restraints.

"Listen, listen..."

Suddenly, Black Chrysalis made a "prick up your ears to listen" gesture with her hand. "There's an idiot in my head named 1001 who says I'm deceiving myself. I just don't know how to face you guys."

He paused for a moment, then said, "He said I was just afraid of being exposed by you, so I simply gave up on myself."

Black Chrysalis tilted her head. "He really understands. It's good to be rational. Long live rationality. It's cruel to be rational."

Black Chrysalis hung her head dejectedly: "I hate rational people."

Black Chrysalis muttered, "But there's a rational person living in my head."

Black Chrysalis sighed, head bowed: "I'm going to live with rational people for the rest of my life."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't look at me with that vicious look, as if I've eaten your family."

Black Chrysalis shrugged. "Anyway, let's leave it at that. We'll never understand each other. Because we were never really family from the start."

He said, "Iceland, Hofsjökull glacier... all the secrets you want to know are hidden there."

He added, "If you're interested, come find me in Iceland."

He held up one finger. “But, but, but, but—if you dare to go to Hofs Glacier before September 1st, I can’t guarantee Su Zimai’s safety. I’ll kill her immediately and chop her up to feed the pigs.”

"At the same time, I can also guarantee..." He lowered his voice and said coldly, "You will never see 'Gu Wenyu' again in your lives."

"Okay, even though we were never going to see each other anyway."

Black Chrysalis spoke cheerfully, her tone suddenly becoming relaxed.

To the astonishment of the three, the black chrysalis bent its two restraint straps in mid-air, forming a large heart.

Then, the restraints loosened again and waved to them:
"Well then, goodbye, see you in Iceland. Love from Iceland. Mr. Blue Arc, Mr. Ghost Bell! With such a convenient mode of transportation as the Train Demon, I don't want to see you late. Otherwise, it's not fair to someone like me who walks."

After saying that, the black pupa's restraints tightened Su Zimai's grip slightly.

Then, as if his body had lost its gravity, he suddenly leaped upwards like a bird, taking her with him and disappearing into the deep night.

Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo were still in shock and had not recovered for a long time, because Su Zimai was still being held hostage by Hei Yong, and they did not dare to make a move rashly.

The station was quiet.

Gu Qiye stared in the direction the black cocoon had left, unable to come back to his senses for a long time. It was as if nothing had ever happened. The night sky was still so calm, but it stirred up a huge wave in his heart.

Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuoan exchanged a glance.

They didn't understand. If Wen Yu was really dead, then who was this madman who appeared before them?

But if he isn't Wen Yu, then why... does he look so pained?
Gu Qiye stared blankly at the night sky, lost in thought.

Ten minutes later, the restraints transformed into Su Zimai and brought her to the exhibition stand of the Lijing Iron Tower.

Then it transformed into a wisp of scorching steam, slowly dissipating with the wind.

The black pupa hung upside down from the ceiling of the exhibition stand, silently watching Su Zimai, who looked bewildered.

Naturally, he wouldn't let Su Zimai participate in this Icelandic war. He would keep Su Zimai tied up in Reykjavik before anything even began to ensure she wouldn't be drawn into the Salvation Society's war.

Because Hei Yong knew that, given Su Zimai's personality, if she learned about him from Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo'an, she would definitely come to Iceland to find him, even if it meant her own destruction.

But with her abilities, once she gets involved, she's finished.

So it's better to strike first and tie her up first, that way we can ensure her safety.

At this moment, Su Zimai's eyes were wide open.

In the pitch-black night, she stared blankly at the person hanging upside down on the exhibition stand. He was wearing a long black trench coat and a dark red, angular mask.

A moment later, a familiar voice broke the silence:
"Once we get to Iceland... I'll let you go. You'll be bored on the train anyway, so just treat it as a trip."

As she spoke, Black Chrysalis slowly removed the dark red mask from her face, revealing a cold expression.

Gu Wenyu said expressionlessly, "Go ahead and curse me... Consider it the price for kidnapping you. I'm prepared to listen to your babbling for days."

After saying that, he covered his ears with his hands and loosened the restraints binding Su Zimai.

He glanced sideways at the brightly lit street in the distance, expecting Su Zimai to yell at him or slap him once or twice. But things didn't turn out as he thought.

The moment Su Zimai was untied, she suddenly rushed over and hugged him. In the ensuing silence, he was slightly taken aback.

Then he tilted his head.

"Are you out of your mind?" Gu Wenyu asked. "I've kidnapped you, you know."

"I should be asking you, are you... are you out of your mind?" Su Zimai buried her face in his chest, her voice trembling with tears. "What are you trying to do? I don't understand you at all... Don't I... feel sad? Is it fun to keep playing with me? You always do this... I really... really miss you..."

She hugged him tightly, burying her head in his shoulder, as if trying to release all the pain she had been holding in for days. But as she spoke, she couldn't even utter a complete sentence; her voice trailed off, growing softer and softer.

Finally, Su Zimai burst into tears.

"Alright, stop crying... I'm getting annoyed by your crying." Gu Wenyu sighed.

Su Zimai did not let go of him for a long time.

"Are you sick?" After a long while, Su Zimai asked softly in a hoarse voice, "Shall we... go home?"

His bangs fell across his forehead, obscuring his eyes. "I already told you, you won't believe me, even if what I said is true."

“Even if you’re crazy, you’re still my brother,” Su Zimai said.

"I'm not crazy, not at all." Gu Wenyu tilted his head. "Okay, actually I feel like I'm not far from going crazy."

He lowered his eyes and murmured, “Do you know? Every day there are ten thousand voices in my head. Sometimes they say, ‘Don’t worry about them, they’re just tools. The only person you need to care about is Kong Youling.’ Sometimes they say, ‘They are your family. Their identities are fake, but their feelings are real.’ Sometimes they even say, ‘Why don’t we all just die together? That way the whole world will be peaceful.’”

He paused, then suddenly curled the corners of his lips into a smile:

"that's it."

"If you're not crazy, then why did you lie to us? Why did you pretend to be dead in front of us?" Su Zimai asked hoarsely.

"Because I can hardly breathe."

"why?"

"I don't understand... I don't even understand myself, how could you understand?"

Su Zimai remained silent for a very long time.

Suddenly, she spoke, breaking the silence.

"Whether you are Ji Minghuan, Xia Pingzhou, or whatever kind of nonsense you are..."

Her eyes were hidden by her bangs as she spoke slowly, one word at a time.

At this point, she paused for a moment, buried her head in his chest, and hugged him tightly.

"No matter who you are... you are my brother."

Her lips moved slightly.

Upon hearing these words, Gu Wenyu remained stunned for a long, long time. The evening breeze blew, ruffling his hair, and his pupils trembled slightly. At that moment, the city's neon lights seemed to go out.

After a while, he gently reached out and patted her back.

"Thank you."

(End of this chapter)