Truth

I should get to bed early after I get home... Ji Minghuan thought. Instructor will be coming for me soon. I have to focus on dealing with him using my Main Body.

It was already late, and dusk had deepened. There were few people on the streets and alleys. Beneath the hazy yellow streetlights, a bicycle passed through the street, the soft rustle of its turning chain clearly audible.

Ji Minghuan picked up a donut on the way home. He remembered that back when they were still at the Welfare Home, Kong Youling had loved them. Whenever the nurses brought back donuts, he would always tell her he did not like sweets, then give her his share.

Eating one alone now, though, made it feel less flavorful. It did not seem as good as he remembered. Perhaps after leaving the poor, cramped environment of the Welfare Home, without the children around him making a fuss over everything, the donuts that had seemed so rare back then had lost their flavor.

Yet as he savored it, he seemed to see the nine-year-old Kong Youling sitting beside him, nibbling away in tiny bites. Her snow-white hair swayed as she ate, making her look like a little white hamster.

Every now and then, she would bite down on her donut, glance back at him, and write in her notebook, "You really don't want any?"

Ji Minghuan could not help letting out a soft laugh, his eyes hidden beneath his fallen bangs.

If... you were here too, that would be nice, he suddenly thought.

With the donut between his teeth, he unlocked the front door with his silver-plated key and changed into house slippers.

When he entered the living room, he saw Gu Qiye sitting on the sofa after cleaning the kitchen, quietly reading a book. It was a newly unwrapped hardcover edition of The Stranger, the very book Black Cocoon had been flipping through when he made his grand entrance before everyone last night.

"It's rare to see you reading at home," Ji Minghuan said, taking a bite of his donut.

"Cultivating my temperament," Gu Qiye said.

Cultivating your temperament, or studying your enemy? Ji Minghuan grumbled inwardly.

He was not worried that Gu Qiye would find an identical copy of the novel at home. The book he had carried last night had been casually snatched from a bookstore with the Restraint Band while he was on his way to Li Jing Square. He had even casually returned it on his way home.

That was what a proper, high-quality villain ought to do. Well, more accurately, a "Gray Character."

"Wheat... hasn't come back?" Gu Qiye asked without looking up from his book.

"She said she's staying out and won't be back until summer vacation ends."

After briefly explaining what had happened at the park, Ji Minghuan said he had kept the contact information of the mixed-race girl named Ke Qirui and could call her if needed. Then he happily scampered upstairs.

Oddly enough, Gu Qiye did not ask him for the girl's number. Maybe he thought Su Zimai would get angry if he did.

This big brother really did understand his little sister. Of course, if he knew Su Zimai had actually run off with a senior Exorcist, he might turn into a bolt of lightning too fast to cover one's ears and rush straight to the park to bring her home.

Ji Minghuan was actually a little surprised. He had thought that at this hour, Gu Qiye would no longer be home. Instead, he should only have been able to catch a glimpse of Li Jing City's superstar Esper, Blue Arc, on television.

Of course... it was also possible that Blue Arc had been too badly injured yesterday, so the Esper Association had someone else cover his shift today and gave him a day off to catch his breath.

Ji Minghuan took a change of clothes from the wardrobe in his room and went to shower. He heard a set of heavy Footsteps coming from upstairs.

Gu Zhuoan's room was on the third floor, directly above the second-floor bathroom. Judging by the Footsteps, Old Man should be in his room right now.

So Ji Minghuan stood beneath the showerhead, rinsing his body with warm water while summoning the Restraint Band and pressing it against the bathroom ceiling.

Its senses seeped through the white wall, bringing him the scene upstairs.

Gu Zhuoan was sitting motionlessly on the bed, staring blankly at a photograph by the window. It was a photo of him and his wife, Su Ying, from their university days. He had not seen that photograph in two years, yet he was now gazing at it intently.

Ji Minghuan had thought he was tinkering with some dangerous biochemical weapon. He had not expected Old Man to be so devoted.

He silently retracted the Restraint Band back beneath his skin. After showering, Ji Minghuan changed into clean pajamas, sprawled spread-eagled across his bed, used the Restraint Band to close his door, then opened his personal panel. Dense lines of information filled his vision.

Character Attribute: Strength (determines Physical Quality): C-rank; Speed (determines Nerve Reaction): C+-rank; Spirit (determines Mental Strength): C-rank

Your current Game Character—"Black Cocoon"—has 2 Attribute Points. Would you like to allocate them immediately?

Ji Minghuan pressed the plus signs beside "Strength" and "Speed," respectively, going for balanced development.

Game Character No. 1 "Black Cocoon" Strength attribute changed: C-rank → C+-rank

Game Character No. 1 "Black Cocoon" Speed attribute changed: C+-rank → C++-rank

It was like an undercurrent gurgling through his body, permeating every cell. His physical capabilities visibly improved. Ji Minghuan tried doing a few push-ups on the floor, and even the movement of his Muscles during exercise seemed much smoother.

What was more, increasing those two attributes could also enhance the Restraint Band's strength and speed. That was the true priority.

He then switched to the Character Skill Tree panel. Like the branches of a tree, the skills on its three paths flooded into view.

Branch One (Concealment): Restraint Belt Senses (learned) → Restraint Band Truth (available to learn) → Unknown (details will become available after learning the "previous skill" in this branch) → Unknown...

Branch Two (Frenzy): Restraint Belt Extension (available to learn) → Unknown → Unknown → Unknown...

Branch Three (Ferocity): Restraint Belt Detection (learned) → Restraint Belt Suppression (available to learn) → Unknown → Unknown...

At present, the only known way to obtain Split Points is by completing Main Quests. Once I create a second Game Character, I won't end up unable to obtain Split Points after the first character dies. That way, even if the first character dies, I can continue developing through the second and keep creating more characters.

As he thought, Ji Minghuan pressed and held the skill slot for "Restraint Band Truth."

Expressionless, he watched it shift from dim to bright before finally blooming into a color brimming with black vitality.

Consumed 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the Branch "Concealment" skill—"Restraint Band Truth" (after binding a target with the Restraint Band, you can force them to speak the thoughts in their heart).

Learning access for the next skill in the Branch "Concealment" has been unlocked.

"Then... in a couple of days, I can go settle things with the director."

In the darkness, Ji Minghuan recalled the past. Memories of the old director taking them to worship at a Christian church flashed through his mind. Back then, the old director had knelt before the Jesus Stone Statue, his hands clasped in prayer beneath that hypocritical, bloated face. The sight remained deeply etched in Ji Minghuan's memory.

"Old director, you can start praying to your God now. Pray... that you can give me an answer that satisfies me."

He murmured softly, hellish colors from the red-and-black branches reflected in his pupils.

The trial promotion starts in two days, so please vote more, everyone.