Ke Mingqing and Tea Pear the Ninth

July 1, 21:30, inside an old building in Old Jingmai District.

Late at night, there was no sound of cicadas outside the window. Instead, a sudden shower began to patter softly.

Ke Mingqing's eyelids trembled slightly. He slowly "woke up" from the swivel chair in the corner of the bedroom, the back of his head still resting against the chair.

He looked up at the ceiling, then turned to glance out the window.

On the elevated highway in the distance, a silver-white iron dragon tore through the fine rain, roaring as it sped through the night.

Ke Mingqing blinked. A moment ago, he had been facing off against the Dread Crow Man in a warehouse at the harbor, taking several brutal punches. The next moment, he opened his eyes to find himself in this familiar yet unfamiliar bedroom.

It truly felt like a lifetime had passed.

"Crow Man was really ruthless... It was just a joke. Why did he have to start throwing punches? No sense of humor at all. Still, it was pretty fun seeing him get so worked up. Serves him right for lecturing me."

Ke Mingqing muttered soundlessly, raising a hand to rub his slightly throbbing forehead.

Next time, I'll just have the Theater Puppet tie up my real body and bring it over, then let Crow Man keep choosing between the two. If he chooses wrong, I'll get "burned to death" right in front of him, fake my death and slip away, and naturally leave this Boss's home.

Ke Mingqing stretched, and the swivel chair beneath him spun several times.

But if Crow Man chooses correctly and gives up the others to save his son, then he might become the next Magical Girl Ember. Like father, like daughter.

Just as Ke Mingqing happily envisioned the future, settlement panels suddenly filled his vision.

[Congratulations. You have successfully completed Main Quest One (Phase One)—Create a second identity to approach the superhero "Rain Crow," establish contact with him!]

[Quest rewards obtained: 1,000 experience points, 1,000 Superhuman Coins, 1 attribute point, and 1 chance to use the item roulette.]

[Notice: Your experience has reached the limit. Your player level has increased by 1.

(For every 5 levels gained, you will receive 1 attribute point; for every 10 levels gained, you may unlock a new skill slot.)]

[Current level: Lv.02 (500/1000 experience points)]

[Main Quest One, "Phase Two," has been refreshed: Create a "superhero" identity, use it to enter Hero Corporation, become a C-rank superhero, and gain Rain Crow's recognition.]

"Not only do I have to play a villain, now I have to play a superhero too?" Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow. "That raises the question: where am I supposed to get a costume... Oh, right. Hitomi Kuroki's family is wealthy. Maybe I can ask her to get me a costume."

He opened the skill shop. Since it was not yet midnight, the remaining four skills were still there. Ke Mingqing scanned them, his gaze stopping on the icon for one E-rank skill.

[Shift and Swap (E-rank skill)—Instantly exchange positions with a living target within twenty meters of you.]

[Note: The size of the detection range depends on your "Spirit" attribute.]

An E-rank skill cost 1,000 Superhuman Coins. Ke Mingqing had earned exactly that much from completing a main quest, so he bought it without hesitation.

[E-rank skill "Shift and Swap" purchased. This skill has been equipped above your second skill slot.]

"This skill is pretty useful..." Ke Mingqing thought. It works for both offense and defense. Getting something like this among E-rank skills is a real bargain. I still have three skill slots left, so I should pick up some combat skills next.

As he planned, he opened the player's "Personal Attribute Panel."

[Player "Ke Mingqing" attributes are as follows—Strength: E; Agility: E; Spirit: E]

[You currently have one attribute point available for free allocation. Use it now?]

Following the principle that speed was the ultimate weapon, Ke Mingqing pondered for a moment before pressing the plus sign beside "Agility."

A prompt box with a black-and-red background immediately popped up before his eyes.

[Congratulations. Your Agility attribute has officially risen from E-rank to E+-rank.]

"The Dread Crow Man is an A++-rank Super-species, so all his attributes should be close to S-rank?" Ke Mingqing thought. Yeah, the gap is still pretty huge. Keep it up.

He got out of bed, slipped his right foot into a slipper, and walked out of the bedroom into the bathroom. There, he suddenly noticed Xia Zili's phone beside the sink. Its screen was still lit.

Ke Mingqing lowered his head and looked at the photo on the screen.

The face of the girl in the gothic dress had been marked with a fascist symbol. The umbrella in her hand had been altered into a bloodstained chainsaw, while blood-red words such as "murderer," "girl butcher," and "madwoman" hung above her head.

He picked up the phone and exited the current page.

The photo came from a Weibo post with few likes. Naturally, it had few views as well, but every one of its hundred-odd comments was abusive, and the language was unbearable to read.

The less attention a place received, the more people indulged themselves without restraint.

Ke Mingqing fell silent for a moment, then casually shut and locked the door. Sitting on the toilet, he silently played with Xia Zili's phone.

In one of the bedrooms on the second floor, the lights were off.

Xia Zili lay on her side in bed, hugging her Sad Bear pillow as she stared blankly at the rain outside. Rain drifted past the dim yellow streetlights, soaking the advertising signs pasted to the walls.

But then she suddenly remembered something and froze slightly.

She rolled over, got out of bed, hurried to the bathroom, and knocked hard on the door.

"Open up," she said urgently.

"I'm taking a shower," Ke Mingqing's voice came from the bathroom. "What, you want to shower with me?"

"I left my phone in there. Give it back first, then take your shower. It's not like it'll get in your way," Xia Zili said with a frown.

What she was really worried about was Ke Mingqing seeing her WeChat contacts. There were quite a few Magical Girls on that list.

After a short while, Ke Mingqing opened the door and carefully placed the phone in her palm.

"No need to thank me." He waved, curling his lips into a smile.

Xia Zili looked at the phone, then raised her head and gave him a puzzled glance before turning and heading back to her room. Ke Mingqing silently watched her leave.

At that moment, a text panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Main Quest Two (Phase One) triggered: Use any second identity to approach "Magical Girl Ember," draw her attention, and establish contact with her.]

After entering her bedroom, Xia Zili stood with her back against the door and leaned back slightly, pushing it shut.

Before the door fully closed, she turned her face slightly and glanced through the gap at Ke Mingqing's profile, looking somewhat tired.

The door shut completely, swallowing the light spilling in from the hallway.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, as though it might drown the entire world.

Xia Zili leaned against the door for a while before turning on her phone. The room was pitch-black, and the screen's glow reflected in her pupils.

She moved her fingers and scrolled through the screen. One vile comment after another beneath that Weibo post entered her sight.

But when she reached one particular comment, she suddenly froze.

[ZDKyy: I say all these Magical Girls should be banned. This isn't the first time they've pulled something like this. Little girls just want attention and have no sense of restraint.]

Someone named "Tea Pear the Ninth" had replied to that person.

"Tea Pear the Ninth" was Xia Zili's own Weibo account, but she had never seen this comment before.

[Tea Pear the Ninth: Brain-dead take. It's fine when bad people kill others, but it's wrong when good people use slightly extreme methods to kill bad people? I'm Ember. First I'll dig up your mom's grave, then I'll give her a Magic Missile.]

Xia Zili sat stunned for a moment before slowly sitting down by the bed and continuing to scroll.

[Kskbl: It would be great if Magical Girl Company made Ember's identity public. Let's see whether those friends around her who don't know the truth can get along with a murderer. What a pity. She's so young, yet her whole life is already visible at a glance.]

There was another reply beneath that comment that she had not posted.

[Tea Pear the Ninth: Idiotic take. If Magical Girls don't kill criminals, will you be happy once a criminal kills your mom? Oh, maybe you don't have a mom. You alone are a whole family portrait.]

Xia Zili was a little angry, yet she could not help wanting to laugh.

She was silent for a moment, then kept reading.

[Watt: I really wonder what she'll do after Magical Girl Company fires her. She doesn't look like the type who can keep studying at school. Is she going to work the streets in the future?]

[Tea Pear the Ninth: You seem pretty experienced. Did your mom meet your dad while working the streets?]

There was another reply directed at the post itself, cursing the blogger who had edited her beyond recognition.

[Tea Pear the Ninth: Is your mom sold wholesale? You can randomly Photoshop anything? You even slapped a fascist label on her. One day, when those criminals kill your whole family, no one will save you even if you bow to Magical Girls a hundred thousand times.]

Xia Zili stared at that comment for a very, very long time.

She suddenly lowered her head, the corners of her lips lifting faintly as her hanging bangs covered her eyes.

She continued scrolling.

Beneath every Weibo comment were replies from "herself." Of course, she knew who had posted them, but for some reason, she was not angry at all.

[Tea Pear the Ninth: Blocked. You're just as stupid as the person above you.]

[Tea Pear the Ninth: The greatest flaw of the twenty-first century is letting mentally deficient things like you access the internet.]

[Tea Pear the Ninth: What contribution have you made by living this long? You're great at standing on moral high ground to judge others. You say nothing when people do good deeds, but when they make one mistake, you blow it completely out of proportion.]

[Tea Pear the Ninth: Besides, she didn't do anything wrong, okay?]

There were many, many more comments after that. She could not possibly read them all...

Xia Zili sat crouched on the bed with one leg bent, her chin resting on her knee. With her eyes lowered, she quietly read the comments on her phone, letting out a soft laugh every now and then.

After a long while, she suddenly tugged faintly at the corner of her mouth and murmured softly, "Are you stupid or what..." Yet as she said it, her eyes reddened slightly.

Ke Mingqing slowly walked into the bathroom, closed the door, undressed, turned on the shower, and cranked the water to full blast, letting cold water pour over his head.

The conditions at the orphanage in his previous life had been poor. Most of the time, the children showered with cold water. Being able to take a hot shower was a luxury in their eyes.

And among those children, only Ke Mingqing disliked hot showers.

Because once he went back to cold showers afterward, they became difficult to endure. So from childhood to adulthood, he had always bathed in cold water. Over time, he gradually got used to it.

Ke Mingqing's bangs were soaked by the cold water, plastered to his forehead and obscuring his eyes.

I'm really curious what they'll think when they find out I'm a fake one day.

After a while, Ke Mingqing turned his head and looked toward the window shrouded in mist.

A curtain of rain blanketed the brightly lit Dawn Capital. Raindrops as large as beans lightly struck the window before sliding down along its edges.

Still, having a family feels pretty novel. I'll play with them a little longer before thinking about faking my death...