My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 5 Family
In front of a three-story residential building in Guyimai Community, Lijing.

Half of the setting sun has sunk below the horizon, and the last trace of crimson and golden yellow lingering in the sky slowly fades away.

It was almost night, and the summer cicadas were still singing tirelessly in the trees. Ji Minghuan stood motionless under the shade of the trees, with no expression on his face.

He was shrouded in the heat, staring blankly at the door in front of him. A drop of sweat flowed down his forehead, sliding across his pale cheek, along his jawline and falling to the collar of his school uniform.

It was so hot that he had taken off his school uniform jacket on the way home and put it on his wrist.

He tugged at his wet collar and breathed a sigh of relief.

At first he didn't quite understand why Gu Wenyu had to wear a school uniform jacket to school in such bad weather. He was afraid that others would not look at him twice at school and might think he had a cold.

Now he understood that Gu Wenyu wore the coat only to make it easier for him to use his supernatural powers, and to hide the restraints in his long sleeves so that they would not be easily discovered. For example, if he exercised too vigorously in physical education class and accidentally called out the restraints, he could still hide and save the situation by wearing the coat, but if he wore short sleeves, he would be exposed in an instant.

Stopping outside the door, he lowered his head and glanced at his phone.

The current time is July 9, 2020, 17:30 in the afternoon. I turn off the screen, look up from the mobile phone screen, and look at the brown-red door in front of me again.

The evening breeze blew over the city, lightly lifting his hair and bringing a coolness to the night.

"Home...this word is so unfamiliar." Ji Minghuan thought.

The reason why he was standing at the door at this time instead of sitting in the house with the fan on was to think carefully about how to play this role well in the eyes of Gu Wenyu's family.

As an orphan abandoned by his parents at a young age, Ji Minghuan has no experience of getting along with his family.

In that orphanage, he grew up with other orphans, teachers who neglected their duties and waited for the end of get out of class with a sullen face every day, annoying nurses, and an old director who was hot and cold.

So he could only start from Gu Wenyu's memory, understand his family members' personalities and behavioral logic one by one, and then remember Gu Wenyu's different attitudes towards each family member. Then, he slowly figured out how to get along naturally with these "family members" who shouldn't exist, without them noticing any clues.

Ji Minghuan lowered his hand and touched his pants, then he remembered that the key was in his coat pocket.

While he was groping for the school uniform in his hand, he went over Gu Wenyu's "background memory" in his mind again.

Gu Wenyu's family relationships can be described as complicated.

The family originally consisted of five people: father "Gu Zhuoan", mother "Su Ying", brother "Gu Qiye", sister "Su Zimai", and "Gu Wenyu" who was caught in the middle.

At the beginning, it could be considered a very standard happy family - the father was kind and the children were filial. The mother was not only gentle but also very smart. She was patient and encouraging, and always took care of the emotions of each child. Gu Wenyu and his brothers and sisters all relied on her.

That all changed five years ago.

On June 15, 2015, his mother was involved in an accident. Officially, the story goes that one of the members of Rainbow Wing, an elite psychic organization affiliated with the United Nations, was engaged in a mission when, distracted by a powerful enemy, they accidentally injured a resident of the Guyimai community.

Their mother, Su Ying, was one of the ordinary people accidentally injured by the "Rainbow Wing" members. To be precise, it wasn't an accidental injury...

Instead, they were killed, leaving no trace.

In fact, this situation is not uncommon. Similar things often happen in today's world. When people with special abilities fight, they accidentally injure ordinary people, just like a human accidentally stepping on an ant while pushing and fighting.

Who can have the energy to notice an ant under his feet when he is fully focused on fighting with others?
After that, my father complained to the government many times, but the status of "Rainbow Wing" is very high. It is recognized as the strongest organization of superpowers in the world. It is composed of the top superpowers of each major "member country" strictly selected by the country and directly serves the top figures of the United Nations.

According to rumors, each "Rainbow Wing" has a total of 12 members, and the information of all members is strictly confidential. Unless there is a compelling situation and it cannot be concealed, it will never be allowed to be leaked, especially their special abilities - the detailed effects of their superpowers. Exposing them is equivalent to giving the enemy a chance to counterattack.

Because of this, no matter how many times the father appealed to the government, he was never able to find out who the psychic was who had accidentally killed his mother in that incident... No matter how hysterically he vented his anger, or even organized the families of the victims who had been accidentally injured at the time to protest together.

The final response was just a cold letter from a lawyer and a series of official responses that were so straight forward that there was not a single flaw to be found.

Soon after, the incident was suppressed. One by one, the people around him chose to compromise and withdraw from the protest, leaving my father alone and dejected on the street. The only thing to be thankful for was that at least he received several hundred thousand yuan in compensation.

After my mother's funeral, my father fell into despair and was too exhausted to even take care of his three children.

Later, because his younger sister Su Zimai ran away from home, the eldest brother Gu Qinye had a big quarrel with his father at home. The relationship between the two became completely strained. They did not want to see each other and behaved like two strangers who were forced to live together at home.

Now my father works away from home all year round, and it seems that the only connection between him and this family is the living expenses he sends back every month and a few symbolic greetings on the phone.

For Gu Wenyu and his sister Su Zimai, their eldest brother, who has always taken care of them meticulously, is more like their "father".

The real father has long since disappeared in name only, becoming a money-making machine that cannot be seen or touched but sends money back on time every month.

My father hasn't been home for two years.

The eldest brother Gu Qiye was admitted to a local university in Lijing City.

The school is not far from Guyimai Community, and it takes only half an hour to get home by subway from the station next to the university. Therefore, he can take care of his younger siblings who are in high school without affecting their studies.

Ji Minghuan yawned and stared up at the sky in a daze. "It's actually not a bad idea to think this way: since Gu Wenyu's father is usually away, the only ones I need to deal with are his brother and sister. As long as I reduce my interactions with them, no one will notice anything is wrong."

"Oh right," he said, as if thinking of something. "Speaking of which, I remember the character background when I created the file said - 'Every family member of Gu Wenyu hides an unknown secret.'"

"But as far as I know, in Gu Wenyu's memories over the past decade or so, apart from his mother who is dead and cannot be traced, the remaining three family members, whether it's his father, brother, or sister, have always treated themselves as ordinary people and never revealed their true identities. So, is this family actually a secret agent?"

After thinking for a while, he finally felt a long, hard object from his coat pocket, took out the silver-plated key, and inserted it into the lock of the door handle.

The next second, just as he was about to turn it a circle, there was a "click" and the door opened from the inside.

Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows, took the key out of the hole, and saw a clear face through the open door.

The person who opened the door for him was Gu Qiye, who was also Gu Wenyu's brother.

He is tall, with shoulder-length black hair, regular features, a high nose bridge, and a curve at the corner of his mouth that is between confidence and frivolity. He has never lacked people pursuing him since he was a child, but in Ji Minghuan's opinion, he deserves a beating.

At this time, Gu Qiye had a silver cross necklace hanging around his neck, and he was wearing a plain black T-shirt, jeans on the lower body, and a pair of ordinary indoor slippers on his feet.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Gu Qinye said with a smile.

He leaned against the door frame and casually threw a bottle of iced cola to his brother.

"Thanks, brother." Ji Minghuan didn't even blink. He quickly caught the Coke and unscrewed the lid while saying thank you.

With a "click", a stream of cool air rushed out of the tank, and he put his face close to it to cool down.

Gu Qiye hugged his shoulders with one hand and used his phone with the other. He looked down at the incoming text message and asked casually, "Why are you back so late? Didn't you say that tomorrow is summer vacation, so school will be dismissed early?"

Ji Minghuan drank a sip of Coke, raised the back of his hand to wipe the sweat that had gathered on his chin, and explained helplessly:
"There's nothing we can do. Our head teacher talks too much. Students from other classes have already left school, but he's still on the podium, chattering away."

As he spoke, he looked up at Gu Qiye again, and at this moment a long text panel popped up in front of him.

[Main Mission 1: Explore what your "brother" Gu Qiye is hiding.]

[Quest Rewards: 1 Split Point (Collect a certain number of Split Points to create a new game character in the real world), 1 Skill Point (can be used to develop the "Character Skill Tree"), 1 Attribute Point (can be used to improve one of the attributes in the "Character Panel")]

(End of this chapter)