Father and Son

Ji Minghuan and Su Zimai reached an unspoken agreement, sitting motionlessly on the sofa and pretending to be dead as they watched TV.

Neither of them had expected this: on the first day of Summer Vacation, their father, who had been gone for two years, suddenly came home without so much as a warning—how was this supposed to be heartwarming? What was the difference between this and stumbling onto the set of a horror movie?

Gu Qiye was still in the kitchen. He placed the pot of lotus root soup on the table and switched the rice cooker to keep-warm mode.

Then he leaned against the sterilizer cabinet, folded his arms, and pulled his phone from the pocket of his kitchen apron.

Meanwhile, at the front door, Gu Zhuoan raised a hand to shut the door and stood staring blankly at the shoe cabinet for a while.

He then took off his leather shoes, changed into house slippers, and slowly made his way into the Living Room.

At that moment, this painfully awkward father and son stood with one facing away from the kitchen and the other with his arms folded, head lowered as he played with his phone. Neither seemed particularly willing to see the other.

Gu Qiye's expression was somewhat strange.

Ever since he had fought with Old Man two years ago, he had never seen him again. Even for living expenses, he had been using the bank card left behind by their deceased mother—though Old Man did transfer money into that card every month.

They had an unspoken understanding about this. It was as though his father knew he would use their mother's bank card, depositing every cent he was supposed to each month. Thus, the three brothers' livelihoods were still secure.

Ji Minghuan curiously examined Gu Zhuoan. Even in Gu Wenyu's Character Memory, it had been two years since he had seen this father. Even Gu Wenyu was unfamiliar with his father as he was now, let alone Ji Minghuan.

The moment he caught sight of Gu Zhuoan, a panel was reflected in his pupils.

Main Quest 2: Investigate what your "father," Gu Zhuoan, is hiding.

Though he wore Gu Wenyu's face, Ji Minghuan, an outsider, was clearly not as embarrassed as Su Zimai and Gu Qiye.

He shifted his gaze from the quest prompt and spoke, breaking the silence hanging over the Living Room.

"Old Man, has work been going well out there?"

Gu Zhuoan put his hands on his hips and lowered his head to think for a moment. In a somewhat hoarse voice, he asked, "I'm fine... But Wen Yu, you seem to... be in your second year of high school already, right?"

"Yeah. After Summer Vacation, I'll be starting my third year," Ji Minghuan said with a nod.

"How are your studies?"

"Not bad." With a pointed hint in his words, Ji Minghuan teased, "They should be... about as good as your work is."

In truth, Gu Wenyu and Gu Zhuoan were alike. One was busy researching his own supernatural ability in preparation for his future debut and paid no attention to schoolwork; the other had vanished for two years, doing who knew what out of town. In any case, he could not possibly have been holding down a respectable job.

Gu Zhuoan nodded and looked at Su Zimai. "And you... Wheat?"

Su Zimai fell silent for two seconds, then tilted her head. The ends of her cold-looking hair brushed past the corner of her eye. "Is fifth in my grade good enough?"

Gu Zhuoan froze. He raised a hand to rub his stubble, seemingly unsure what expression to make. In the end, he forced his stiff features into a faint smile.

"...That's good," he said.

Behind him, Gu Qiye leaned against the sink, one hand braced on the table while the other played with his phone.

Listening to the conversation between the three in the Living Room, he hesitated briefly before saying, "Dinner's ready."

At those words, Ji Minghuan was the first to rise from the sofa. He entered the kitchen and sat down at the dining table.

Su Zimai rose next, passing by Gu Zhuoan. She glanced at him. "What are you still standing there for?"

Gu Zhuoan lowered his head and pondered for a while before slowly turning around to look at Gu Qiye, who was standing by the sink.

Gu Qiye did not meet his gaze. He merely kept his head lowered, expressionlessly playing with his phone.

Gu Zhuoan did not seem to mind. He shuffled into the kitchen, pulled out a chair opposite Su Zimai and Gu Wenyu, and sat down. Staring at the steaming dishes spread across the table, he said nothing.

The cicadas outside gradually fell silent, until even the last traces of noise disappeared. The atmosphere at the dining table became so quiet it was awkward.

The four faces were bathed in orange-red light. Aside from Ji Minghuan, who looked entirely at ease and even seemed to be enjoying the show, the other three all wore rather stiff expressions.

Ji Minghuan said to his younger sister, "Hey, Little Sister, get me a bowl and chopsticks." Once again, he broke the silence.

"Don't you have hands?" Su Zimai asked around the chopsticks in her mouth.

"Brothers are as close as limbs. Is it too much to ask you to get me a set of bowls and chopsticks?"

"You crossed the line. We're siblings, not brothers."

"Fine, siblings."

Ji Minghuan rolled his eyes. Looking utterly unconcerned, he got up from his chair and walked toward the sterilizer cabinet. He turned his head and saw that Gu Zhuoan's place at the table was still completely empty, without any tableware, so he took out an extra set of bowls and chopsticks.

Holding a set in each hand, he approached Gu Zhuoan's back while glancing sideways to check on the other two.

Su Zimai and Gu Qiye both awkwardly kept their heads down, occupied with their own things. Neither was paying attention to this side.

It's an opportunity.

With that thought, Ji Minghuan walked up to Gu Zhuoan. Pretending to hand his father the bowls and chopsticks, he slowly extended his right hand, which held the chopsticks, toward Gu Zhuoan's shoulder from behind.

In that instant, he used the same trick again, extending a tiny Restraint Band from the tip of his index finger.

The pitch-black strip flew out like a black-spined snake, silently reaching for Gu Zhuoan's shoulder.

Unfortunately, Gu Zhuoan was not Su Zimai. Within that brief half-second, Gu Zhuoan's gaze suddenly turned cold. Almost reflexively, he reached out and fiercely gripped Ji Minghuan's wrist, nearly leaving a red mark from the force.

Fortunately, the little snake formed by the Restraint Band still touched his shoulder at that moment. Otherwise, he would have suffered a loss for nothing.

Condition met: Touched the target's body. Passive skill activated—"Restraint Belt Detection."

Before Gu Zhuoan could turn around, Ji Minghuan withdrew the Restraint Band between his fingers. Then, he deliberately released the bowls and chopsticks in his hands. The porcelain tableware crashed onto the table together, producing a sharp clatter in the silent kitchen.

Gu Qiye looked up from his phone screen. The moment he saw this, he frowned.

"What... do you mean by that?" he asked Gu Zhuoan, enunciating each word.

Su Zimai was also stunned. With chopsticks still in her mouth, she belatedly raised her eyes to look at Gu Zhuoan, who was gripping Ji Minghuan's wrist.

Under their gazes, Gu Zhuoan visibly froze. He slowly turned his head, only then realizing that he was holding Ji Minghuan's wrist. He abruptly released him, and the cold severity in his eyes instantly eased, even carrying a trace of panic.

However... at this moment, Ji Minghuan's attention was not on Gu Zhuoan at all.

Looking at the words on the ability panel, he slightly widened his eyes. A faint gleam flickered through his pupils.

Target gender: Male

Target attributes: Strength: A++ Rank; Speed: A Rank; Mental: A Rank

Superhuman species: Esper (Superhuman)

Ability description: Creates a three-meter-tall clock tower and makes his own "shadow" "stand up" from the ground. (The shadow inherits all three attributes of the esper's Main Body, effectively creating a clone. The difference is that the shadow cannot move too far away from the Main Body.)

Every 30 seconds, the clock tower's hour hand randomly turns to a specific hour between one and twelve.

At different hours, the clock tower grants Ghost Bell's shadow "different" ability enhancements.

The ability description on the panel was almost exactly identical to the ability of a supercriminal Ji Minghuan had just seen on the Esper Association's Official Website.

And that criminal's codename was...

"Ghost... Bell?"

Ji Minghuan raised his brows and slowly recited that name, which struck terror into countless people, in his heart.

The next second, a red-and-black Task Panel refreshed before his eyes.

Main Quest 2 completed: Investigate what your "father," Gu Zhuoan, is hiding.

Main Quest 2 reward obtained: 1 Split Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point

Main Quest 2 updated: Form a cooperative relationship with the supercriminal "Ghost Bell," thereby expanding your connections among evil espers.