A Conversation with Wuhua

Time flew by in the dreary classroom.

"Class dismissed."

The physics teacher teaching the last class rubbed his bald head, picked up his goji berry tea, and turned to leave the classroom.

The class erupted in cheers, and students headed for the cafeteria in groups.

Mo Zhen also came back to his senses from the Domain of the Heart and headed to the cafeteria with Adam to find something to eat.

In the hallway, Adam looked at the drowsy Mo Zhen beside him and tilted his head. "You seemed distracted all day today."

"Did I? Maybe I didn't sleep well last night."

Mo Zhen lowered his head and gave a small yawn.

At the cafeteria, he treated Adam to a delicious meal of sweet-and-sour pork and mapo tofu. Afterward, he bought two bottles of juice at the school store and tossed one to Adam.

"Thanks."

The two sat on chairs outside the school store.

The afternoon sun shone through the treetops as deep-red maple leaves drifted down.

Adam was fiddling with his newly purchased camera. Curious, Mo Zhen asked, "Do you like photography?"

"Not exactly. I just like capturing these fleeting moments as they come."

Just then, someone arrived outside the school store. After noticing the two on the chairs, she hesitated for a moment, then walked over.

"Good afternoon, Mo Zhen."

Mo Zhen turned his head slightly in his chair and saw Saionji Kirika, dressed in her school uniform, looking at him with her deep violet eyes.

"Wuhua?"

Mo Zhen slowly sat up. "Did you need something?"

Saionji Kirika said, "May I sit next to you?"

"Of course."

Saionji Kirika gathered her pleated skirt and sat down gently beside Mo Zhen. "Actually... I wanted to ask you about Bai Xiaoxiao."

"Since you're her older brother."

Mo Zhen nodded slightly. "Sure. What did you want to know?"

Wuhua thought for a moment. "Xiaoxiao took a leave of absence for a while and only recently came back to school, so I wanted to know why she took leave..."

Mo Zhen asked, "You don't know?"

He had thought that, with the Saionji family's power, it would be easy to look into the matter. Now it seemed the matter ran quite deep.

"I don't." Wuhua shook her head.

Mo Zhen spoke calmly.

"Two years ago, an unknown S-rank criminal attacked our mother. The criminal disappeared afterward and still hasn't been caught."

"That's why Bai Xiaoxiao was away from school for so long. She only just came back."

Hearing this, Saionji Kirika gradually fell into thought and couldn't help recalling her first meeting with Bai Xiaoxiao.

It had been on the rooftop of an unfinished building.

She had caught hold of that utterly despondent child, who had been bewitched by a witch and was trying to end her own life, and had witnessed her complete Resonance with the Soul Gem.

"I understand. Thank you for clearing that up, Mo Zhen." Saionji Kirika rose and bowed slightly to Mo Zhen in thanks.

"Don't mention it." Mo Zhen shook his head gently. "Xiaoxiao doesn't have many friends. I should be the one thanking you."

Wuhua smiled. "I don't think my presence is all that important, because I've always heard Xiaoxiao mention you, Mo Zhen."

"Although Xiaoxiao seems to still have some things weighing on her, she once told me that you're her most important family member."

"Is that so... Thanks." Mo Zhen lowered his eyes slightly, his voice becoming somewhat subdued.

Saionji Kirika said, "I won't bother you any longer."

She turned and left.

Adam had witnessed the whole exchange from beside them, but he had known about Mo Zhen's family situation for a long time, so he wasn't surprised.

He simply raised the camera in his hand and quietly took a photo.

"Hey, why are you taking pictures of me on the sly..."

Mo Zhen instinctively raised a hand to shield himself from the flash.

Adam smiled. "Capturing emotion is a required skill for a street photographer."

He had captured Mo Zhen's complex emotions in that moment, feelings that words could not describe.

"And you say you don't want to be a photographer?"

Mo Zhen couldn't be bothered to make an issue of it. He picked up the can of cola beside him, tipped his head back, and took a drink, feeling the bubbles burst in his mouth.

Adam smiled. "If I could, I'd like to work part-time as a reporter, covering injustices and exposing the dirty secrets of those in power."

Mo Zhen nodded and remarked, "That's quite an ambitious dream. Hope you achieve it soon."

"Thanks. I hope so too."

That afternoon.

5:35 p.m., Taiping Prefecture time.

After school, Mo Zhen took out his phone and received a message from Mo Xiaochuan:

"Bro, I'm playing basketball with friends at the gym after school to prepare for the school tournament. Don't wait for me."

Mo Zhen tapped the screen and replied, "Okey-dokey."

With his shoulder bag on, he got on his bicycle alone and headed for the shopping street near the school.

He stopped outside an eyeglass store, parked his bike, and went in.

A short while later, Mo Zhen emerged from the store with a pair of non-prescription black-framed glasses on his nose.

He didn't want his frail real body to stand out too much in this disaster-prone world. Otherwise, it would do him nothing but harm.

At sunset, the boy rode home, turning into an alley as a shortcut.

In fact, Mo Zhen regretted it a little as soon as he turned in. He suddenly remembered that many incidents in the superhero comics of his previous life had begun in an ordinary alley, making them veritable accident hotspots.

Surely I'm not that unlucky... It's not like I'm Batman...

That was what Mo Zhen thought.

Suddenly, two or three figures emerged from the twisting paths beside him and blocked his way.

Mo Zhen stopped his bicycle and looked behind him. Another figure was already blocking his path there, a sinister-looking knife in hand.

Tianhe City really is a place blessed with outstanding people.

He sighed inwardly.

"Hey, bro, I'm a little short on cash lately. Think you could lend me some spending money?"

The street punk at the front, his hair dyed white and a studded leather jacket on his back, spoke to Mo Zhen with a grin.

Mo Zhen shrugged. "I didn't bring any money."

"Damn! Who are you trying to fool?! I just saw you pay cash at the eyeglass store!"

The men closed in on Mo Zhen and shoved him into a dead end in the alley, away from all light and cameras.

That suited Mo Zhen just fine. After all, a place with no one around made it easier for him to act.

He took off his glasses and glanced toward the corner out of the corner of his eye, seeing only a smashed surveillance camera.

The camera was broken. Good. If he made a move, there probably wouldn't be any trouble.

With the boost from his magic power entry, Mo Zhen could easily deal with these ordinary thugs even without transforming.

"Yo, wait!"

At that moment, a hint of excitement suddenly appeared in the white-haired leader's eyes. He leaned in close to Mo Zhen, looking him over from left to right.

Now that he had taken off his glasses, the muddleheaded men finally noticed that the person they were about to rob today seemed a little different.

One of the underlings' eyes lit up. "Holy crap, boss, we've caught ourselves a lucky little koi today. I bet we can finish the job."

The white-haired man flicked his hand, bringing a butterfly knife up in front of Mo Zhen. "Bro, let's make a deal. It's fine if you don't have money. How about doing us a favor tonight?"

"Don't worry, we won't ask you to do it for free."

As he spoke, he took out a transparent packet of white powder, rubbed his nose, and smeared some on his gums.

"This is good stuff I just got my hands on. I'll let you have a taste. Pretty generous of me, right?"

"It's your lucky day. As long as you keep that big shot happy, you can have as much money as you want. Then, heh heh, you just have to give us half."

The few of them had been worrying about finding a suitable person to complete the job. After all, those people's demands were always hard to meet.

The white-haired leader belonged to the Crimson Flame Gang, a third-rate gang in Tianhe City that specialized in dirty work and grunt work that couldn't see the light of day.

They had recently been given a job by the financial conglomerate family behind the Crimson Flame Gang. To win over and curry favor with a superhero who had unusual tastes, the family was trying to satisfy his demands.

They had started with girls, but even when they sent over a top female idol, he kicked her out without so much as a glance.

Then someone suddenly slapped their forehead. If he didn't like women, send him men! If men didn't work, find some tomboys. If that still didn't work, they had one ultimate trump card left-fuck, a furry!

In Taiping Prefecture, where capital ruled, financial conglomerates and superhumans colluded for mutual benefit. It was hardly news anymore.

What was more, those powerful superhumans were themselves financial conglomerates, and even dared to stand against the joint government.

Not only did they control ordinary people's livelihoods and finances, they also held an iron grip on the paths to advancement for lower- and middle-tier superhumans.

Want to get ahead? Be a good little worker for ten years first.

It could be said that, in present-day Taiping Prefecture, superhumans had already taken the lead in completing a top-to-bottom division into classes.

Mo Zhen's thoughts had wandered rather far. When he came back to his senses, he saw the man eagerly preparing to pour out some white powder to share with him, and the magic power in his body gradually began to stir.

Four invisible slashing lines fell on the heads of the white-haired man and his companions.

I don't smoke, thanks.

I'm a reformist. If I smoke anything, it's the RELX Fifth Generation.

Squelch!!

In the alley at sunset, Mo Zhen hastily buried the four headless corpses in the pile of garbage at the dead end.

People died every day in Taiping Prefecture. In an unsolved case like this, with no surveillance footage and a few thugs as the victims, the police wouldn't bother looking into it.

At most, they'd call someone to collect the bodies.

Mo Zhen used a jacket to wipe the blood from his hands. As anyone who had killed someone knew, killing was easy; burying the bodies was the most troublesome part.

God knew how exhausting the process was. No wonder body collectors were so well paid.

What rotten luck...

I'm never cosplaying Batman's parents again.

Just as he was about to leave.

[Random event detected nearby. Would you like to teleport?]

Mo Zhen stopped and gently loosened his tie.

Tch, no choice. Random events are hard to come by, and I'm already here. I might as well claim the reward before heading back.

"Teleport."

[The witch is praying...]