Black Cocoon

"So, why didn't I just give myself a codename on the spot at Li Jing Square? Something like 'Restraint Band Maniac.' Forget it... It's too late now. I just hope they don't give me some ridiculously lame nickname."

Ji Minghuan muttered, his eyelids already drooping with exhaustion.

He had been awakened halfway through his sleep. His morning temper was awful, but with no one to vent it on, he had no choice but to wander outside and mess around with his brother. By accident, he had even taken out five bandits. Naturally, he felt even more exhausted after getting home.

Ji Minghuan yawned and raised a hand to tap the Attribute Panel.

More notes popped up beside the three attributes.

Strength (Adding this attribute can improve your overall Physical Quality, as well as the power of the "Restraint Band")

Speed (Adding this attribute can improve your Nerve Reaction speed, as well as the speed of the "Restraint Band")

Spirit (Adding this attribute can improve your Spirit Power, as well as the toughness of the "Restraint Band")

You currently possess 1 Attribute Point. You may choose any one of the three attributes to add it to.

At that moment, an add option appeared beside each of the three attributes.

With heavy-lidded eyes, Ji Minghuan gave them a quick glance and, without hesitation, added his Attribute Point to "Speed."

Game Character "Gu Wenyu"'s "Speed" attribute has changed: C-rank → C+-rank

Didn't those martial arts novels always say, "There is no defense against speed"? Ji Minghuan shared the same belief. Adding this attribute would not only make his reactions faster, but also increase the Restraint Band's speed. That would make it easier to seize the initiative in battle and prevent him from getting instantly killed in sudden encounters.

After allocating the Attribute Point, he opened the "Character Skill Tree System."

Branch One (Hidden): Restraint Belt Senses (Learned) → Restraint Band Truth (Available to Learn) → Unknown → Unknown...

Branch Two (Frenzied): Restraint Belt Extension (Available to Learn) → Unknown (You may view this skill's details after learning the "previous skill" in this branch) → Unknown → Unknown...

Branch Three (Ruthless): Restraint Belt Detection (Available to Learn) → Unknown (You may view this skill's details after learning the "previous skill" in this branch) → Unknown → Unknown...

"Restraint Band Truth" could force others to tell the truth, essentially functioning as a lie detector;

"Restraint Belt Detection," on the other hand, allowed him to obtain information about someone's abilities by touching them with the Restraint Band.

As for "Restraint Belt Extension," he did not need to consider it for now. It was obvious at a glance: the "Frenzied" branch was a skill category meant to raise combat power.

And Ji Minghuan was not lacking in combat power for the time being. What he lacked were methods of survival and tracking down clues.

He thought for a moment. I'll unlock "Restraint Belt Detection" first. I can use it to figure out my family's secrets, especially Gu Wenyu's Old Man and Younger Sister. As long as I complete the Main Quests related to them and obtain more Skill Points, I can learn the other skills whenever I want.

So he pressed and held "Restraint Belt Detection." The text on the panel changed from dim to brilliantly lit, glowing in alternating red and black.

Consumed 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the "Ruthless" branch skill—"Restraint Belt Detection": When you use a Restraint Band to touch an opponent (must be a human or humanoid creature), a series of data will appear in your mind (attributes, abilities).

Learning access for the next skill in the "Ruthless" branch has been unlocked.

Ji Minghuan looked at the newly unlocked skill under that branch.

Restraint Belt Suppression: After using a Restraint Band to bind a metahuman, you can temporarily suppress the target's extraordinary abilities.

It sounds pretty useful, he thought. I just don't know how specific the "binding" mentioned here has to be. Do I have to tie up their entire body, or would a knot around their calf be enough...? There are too many possibilities. Once I learn this skill, I'll find some unlucky bastard and slowly test out all its rules.

Ji Minghuan then switched back to the System Panel and flipped to the final page, where he found an eye-catching option—Create New Game Character. Its text was different from the other options, written in pure Blood Red.

He raised a finger and tapped it, and a series of prompts immediately appeared.

Split progress has not yet been completed. Unable to create a new Game Character.

Notice: Creating a brand-new Game Character requires 3 Split Points. (You currently possess only 1 Split Point. Once you have collected a total of 3 Split Points, you may create the next "Game Character" in the real world.)

So I only need two more Split Points to create a new Game Character. Once I have two bodies, I can try making a move against the Welfare Home...

The sound of rain gradually softened, while his drowsiness deepened. His eyelids felt as though they had been fitted with lead weights, shutting out the panel from his sight entirely. Throwing all his tangled thoughts to the back of his mind, Ji Minghuan closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Not long after he fell asleep, Gu Qiye returned home in casual clothes.

Gu Qiye did not turn on the entrance light. Instead, he softened his Footsteps and silently crossed the first-floor Living Room before heading up to the second floor, where he stopped outside Gu Wenyu's room. After standing in silence for a long while, he gently turned the handle and quietly opened a narrow crack in the door.

Through that sliver of an opening, Gu Qiye looked at Gu Wenyu inside the room.

Gu Wenyu was lying on the bed, sleeping deeply and peacefully. He did not look like he was pretending to sleep.

"Was I overthinking it...?"

Gu Qiye murmured with a complicated expression. He kept feeling that the Chrysalis Man he had encountered earlier bore some resemblance to his Younger Brother, yet he could not say exactly what was similar.

He took a deep breath. The damp, icy air pierced his lungs like a sharp sword, dispelling his chaotic thoughts. Careful not to make any noise and wake his Younger Brother, he slowly closed the door, then returned to his own room to rest.

A fine drizzle fell outside the window, the rain tracing beautiful parabolas beneath the eaves.

It was a quiet rainy night.

"Restricted Superhuman, Number 1002—'Ji Minghuan.' Your Instructor is here. Prepare to receive questioning as soon as possible."

That all-too-familiar announcement sounded in his ears again. Cold-colored lights spread down from above, directly waking Ji Minghuan as he lay curled on his side in bed.

He opened his eyes, rolled onto his back, and raised his left hand to rub his Tianming Acupoint. His other hand reached for his neck, fingers touching the ice-cold Metal Collar.

His Instructor had once said that the moment it detected him using his superpower, the collar would immediately inject him with massive doses of sedatives and Superpower Inhibitor.

Yet during the time Ji Minghuan had used his superpower to control another body, the collar seemed not to have detected him using it at all. Otherwise, he should have been shocked awake long ago, much less have had such a long "dream"... It was truly baffling.

So... is my superpower really that advanced? Does it even come with its own anti-detection system? Ji Minghuan thought, releasing the icy collar and stretching his stiff neck.

When he sat up and looked ahead, the Instructor had already entered through the corridor entrance, the metal isolation door behind him closing afterward.

"Good evening, Instructor." Ji Minghuan's greeting remained as enthusiastic as ever.

"Good evening." The Instructor smiled.

Ji Minghuan raised his brows. He had not expected his probing to go so smoothly this time, so he asked, "So... is it really nighttime outside right now?"

"Who knows?"

The Instructor chuckled mysteriously, took two photographs from his sleeve, and placed them on the table.

He introduced them, "Interested in hearing about some superhumans who have appeared outside?"

"For example?"

Ji Minghuan sat across from him.

"For example, this is a superhuman newly discovered in China's capital last night. His superpower seems to be the ability to create extremely tough Restraint Bands that resemble bandages. When he appears, he likes to hide himself in corners where no one can see him, wrap himself in Restraint Bands like a chrysalis, and hang in midair. Doesn't that look a little frightening?"

Seriously... Word got around that fast?

Ji Minghuan was startled inwardly. As he listened to the Instructor speak, he examined the photograph on the table.

In the photo, a strange, enormous chrysalis was hanging upside down beneath a billboard in some square, suspended by a black strip-like object.

A closer look revealed that this "chrysalis" was also formed from pitch-black strips. The rings of stripes covering its surface were eerie and sinister, like a bottomless void greedily drawing in the attention of anyone who gazed at it.

Then it seems my superpower really does affect events in the real world. I had wondered whether that "dream" might have been a parallel world, but it looks like I was overthinking it.

Though that was what he thought inside, Ji Minghuan knowingly asked, "What is this thing... Instructor, are you sure this is a superhuman and not some Xenomorph creature?"

"No. Look at the second photo." The Instructor shook his head.

Hearing that, Ji Minghuan lowered his gaze to the second photograph beneath the first.

In the photo, the pitch-black Giant Cocoon had opened, revealing a man wearing a mask and a Swallowtail Windbreaker. He hung upside down beneath the billboard, flipping through a book in his hand as if no one else existed.

After staring at that strange human figure for a while, Ji Minghuan looked up at the Instructor and asked with some curiosity,

"Instructor, what is this superhuman called?"

The Instructor brought his ten fingers together and replied unhurriedly, "After a unanimous discussion among those outside, they have decided to temporarily call this superhuman—'Black Cocoon.'"