Chapter 229: Red Moon, the Final Task of Ember's Main Quest

"This is my first time seeing you cry—who cries just because their little sister yells at them? Could you be any more pathetic as an older brother?"

"Could we change the subject?"

The brother and sister sat on the end of the bed against the wall. Beside them, the curtains billowed, casting mottled shadows across the floor.

"Like what?" Xia Zili asked.

"How about we talk about Dad?" Ke Mingqing suggested casually.

"Dad..." Xia Zili muttered. She let out a soft, exasperated sigh. "I really never imagined he would be Rain Crow."

"Right? I didn't see it coming either. That old man really hid it well." Ke Mingqing rested a hand on his bent knee.

"When I first found out, I was so mad I shot at him," Xia Zili said softly. "Using you as bait to lure out Clock Maker... could he be any more heartless?"

"It couldn't be helped. Back then, he didn't know I was Blue Pigeon."

"So it's fine just because he didn't know?" Xia Zili enunciated every word.

"Come on, the old man has been tormented by Clock Maker for over twenty years to the point of madness. Cut him some slack," Ke Mingqing said. He tapped his forehead, changing the subject. "My hand still hurts, though. If I hadn't blocked your bullet, I feel like Dad would have an extra hole in his head."

Xia Zili fell silent. She reached out and took his right hand, uncurling his fingers one by one before gently massaging his palm with her index finger.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

Ke Mingqing blinked in surprise, then shook his head. "Not anymore."

"I've been so stressed out about her lately that we haven't had time to properly talk about it," she said softly.

"We can talk about it now. Do you want to join Rain Crow's anti-fan group with me? You get to see all sorts of embarrassing photos of Dad every day. It's great."

Ke Mingqing spoke absentmindedly as he pulled his right hand back, picked up his phone, and sent her a WeChat group invite.

Xia Zili rolled her eyes at him. "No thanks. Those groups usually post porn of him and Clock Maker. It's darker than the dark web."

"You sound awfully experienced. Is it because you joined your own anti-fan group and saw someone photoshop you and Little Red Riding Hood—" Ke Mingqing was cut off by Xia Zili's icy glare. He shrugged and added, "Usually those are fan groups, though. Don't underestimate otakus."

"You call her Little Grey, right?" Xia Zili asked after a while.

"Yeah. The witch persona is a bit unreasonable." Ke Mingqing sighed. "She's like a kid. If you don't give her what she wants, she'll do really bizarre things—like kidnapping Kiyono Sakura and making a fake corpse of her."

He paused. "She killed Clock Maker, too. Because you were worried about me, she felt your emotions and did it for you."

Xia Zili froze slightly.

"No wonder I woke up at the train station that day," she murmured.

Ke Mingqing lowered his eyes, gently tapping his bent knee with his index finger. "Given how bizarre Clock Maker's corpse was, Little Grey had to be the one who did it. I'm still not entirely sure what her abilities are. She can do a lot of things... it almost feels a bit exaggerated."

He thought to himself, Well, Xia Zili's semi-witchified form already had S Rank strength. The witch persona might be on the same level, so it wouldn't be strange for her to show some unimaginable abilities. Clock Maker, a representative S Rank, could even pause time...

Xia Zili hung her head. After a moment, she whispered, "So, before I woke up just now... did she ask to hug you?"

"Yeah," Ke Mingqing answered frankly. "Didn't I just tell you? She acts spoiled like a little kid."

"You've never initiated a hug with me," she mouthed.

Ke Mingqing didn't catch it. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Xia Zili shook her head, looking down at the mottled patches of light on the floor. "Did the witch only come out because she was worried Dad might do something to you?"

"Like what?"

"The Brain Imaging Helmet you mentioned earlier."

Ke Mingqing was about to reply when he caught sight of Xia Zili's phone on the bed, and he suddenly paused.

He just remembered that Xia Zili's phone still had his chat history with Little Grey. He didn't know if Little Grey had deleted it before falling asleep.

After a moment, Ke Mingqing quietly looked away from the phone.

He nodded. "Right. She thought Dad was going to assassinate me. Don't you think it was over the line for Dad to shove a Brain Imaging Helmet onto my head?"

Xia Zili thought it over. "It is pretty over the line. If it were me, I'd never suspect the people around me. At most, I'd put the helmet on Mom, since her ditzy look would be way too easy to fake."

Ke Mingqing gave a dry chuckle. Please don't, he thought. If a Question Mark Rank alien vanguard could be possessed by a player, it wouldn't even take half a year. One month would be more than enough to Exterminate Superhumans.

The two sat quietly for a while, feeling the cool breeze that billowed the curtains. For a long time, neither spoke.

The evening light fell across the boy's and girl's cheeks. It had been a long time since they had talked normally, and both felt a little unaccustomed to it.

"You keep looking at my phone. Are you worried I'll see your chat logs with her?" Xia Zili asked.

"Good lord, you make it sound like you caught a cheating husband," Ke Mingqing grimaced. "I just think the texts I used to coax her were a bit embarrassing. I didn't want you to see them, or you'd get mad again."

Xia Zili was silent for a moment. "Oh. Then here, take my phone."

"Why?"

"Because I trust you," she said softly. "And I'm sorry for blowing up at you earlier, brother."

Ke Mingqing was stunned. He stayed silent for a bit before taking the phone from beside her leg.

"Then you can look at my phone, too." He pulled his own phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

Xia Zili hesitated for a second before taking it and pressing the power button.

"What's the passcode?"

"It's our oldest brother's birthday."

"Why is it his birthday?" Xia Zili didn't understand.

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes. "Isn't his birthday the only one in the family that everyone forgets?"

"Oh, right. How surprisingly thoughtful of you."

Xia Zili was amused. Her cheeks puffed out as her shoulders shook with quiet laughter.

Ke Mingqing opened her WeChat and took a look. Sure enough, Little Grey hadn't managed to delete the chat history in time.

Good thing I checked, he thought. Without a second thought, he scrolled through and quickly deleted the messages about the Brain Imaging Helmet.

Xia Zili casually scrolled through his contacts. When she saw the name "Lin Lan," her finger paused for a moment.

Then she opened the text messages. The last one was from a month ago.

[Lin Lan: Could you bring me a bag of chocolate candies on your way to the Hero Company? Oh, and the brat says he wants a bag of shrimp chips.]

There was also a photo in the text message, presumably taken by this Lin Lan.

It was a picture of a boy with a star tattoo by his eye. Squatting on the ground and playing a mobile game, the boy was flipping off the camera, a fierce expression on his face.

"Who's Lin Lan?" Xia Zili looked up and asked.

"Shadow Girl," Ke Mingqing said deadpan. He pulled a bag of chocolate candies from the drawer and tore open the packaging. "See? I told you hardly anyone remembers her real name."

He tossed a piece of chocolate into his mouth, letting it sit like hard candy without chewing. "I used to always wonder why our older sister liked lollipops so much when they're so sweet and cloying. Now I finally get it..."

Xia Zili silently turned off the screen and handed the phone back to Ke Mingqing.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said suddenly after a pause.

"Go ahead."

"How many people do you think will die once I turn into a witch?" she asked.

Ke Mingqing's hand paused as he pinched a piece of chocolate.

After a long silence, he shook his head. "I won't let you kill anyone. Why else would I have gotten close to Little Grey?"

"Really?"

"Really. Doesn't everyone say that a witch is born because the witch persona devours your memories and suppresses your true personality deep inside?"

Ke Mingqing paused, speaking with an inexplicable confidence. "But Little Grey still remembers me. As long as I convince her, there's a chance I can get her to change you back."

"But... what if things don't turn out as well as you think?"

"Meaning what?"

"If I'm the only one who dies before things spiral out of control, then a lot of innocent people would be spared," Xia Zili said softly. "Wouldn't that be the right choice?"

Ke Mingqing stared blankly. He turned to look at her, then slapped his thigh, putting on a breezy facade. "Damn, we really are siblings. I've thought about that exact same thing."

"Why would you think that?" Xia Zili asked in a low voice. "Can espers also lose control and turn into warlocks?"

"There actually are cases like that," Ke Mingqing said. "It's just that all those out-of-control superheroes were quietly dealt with by the Hero Control Bureau. The official PR department just swept it under the rug, and people completely forgot about them not long after."

"How come I've never heard of it?"

Ke Mingqing was blunt. "Fine, the truth is I'm a player. If I don't Exterminate Superhumans in the next three months, I'll die. Are you happy now?"

"Who are you trying to fool?" Xia Zili frowned. "Dad just put a Brain Imaging Helmet on your head, and you didn't trigger the Alarm when you went to the Hero Company earlier."

"Alright."

Ke Mingqing shrugged. Lowering his head, he continued, "I was actually talking about Kuroki Hitomi."

He paused. "I've thought about what I would do if I were her. Would I fight against innocent superhumans just for my own sake, or would I just peacefully accept my death?"

Xia Zili was quiet for a moment. "So you were thinking about her?"

"Yeah. What else?"

"Oh. So what conclusion did you come to?"

"My conclusion is—" Ke Mingqing reached out, taking her hand. He lightly traced the lines of her palm. "Take it one day at a time, and don't overthink it."

He lowered his voice. "It isn't easy to be born into this world. Once you die, you lose your thoughts, and your soul scatters to the wind. So what's wrong with being a little selfish while you're alive?"

Xia Zili stayed silent for a long time. Then, the corners of her lips curled up slightly as she teased, "Someone who was just shedding tears sure sounds convincing."

"I feel like you're going to mock me for the rest of my life. I actually cried because my little sister yelled at me. I don't even want to live anymore..." Ke Mingqing yawned, grumbling softly.

Good thing this lifetime actually isn't going to be very long, he added inwardly.

Dusk had yet to fall, but the sky was already turning red. Birds flew past the tangled power lines, and the evening light spilled across the floor through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Xia Zili watched the sway of crimson light across the floor. "You always say we should be a little selfish," she murmured, "but I feel like if it were you, when it came down to making that kind of choice..."

"What?" Ke Mingqing asked.

Xia Zili shook her head. A moment later, she suddenly looked up. A grey-blue flame danced at the corner of her eye.

"If... the only way you could live was to Exterminate Superhumans... would you die for me?"

The girl's tone was frigid, and she enunciated nearly every word. Even the daylight pouring into the dim bedroom was dyed exactly the same grey-blue, as if the entire world had been draped in a cerulean veil.

Ke Mingqing stared blankly at her. It had been a long time since he'd seen Xia Zili herself influenced by her witch persona.

A moment later, he said softly, "I would."

In his heart, however, he thought, No, I'll find a way to turn you from a witch back into an ordinary magical girl. That way, half a year from now, the Tiamat Comet will take back your power and turn you into a normal human. Then the other players won't have any reason to target you.

Before long, the grey-blue flame at the corner of Xia Zili's eye quietly vanished. She lost consciousness, slumping over onto the bed.

Ke Mingqing grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head. He tucked her in, then turned and left.

Later that night, on the second floor of an abandoned building—in the Hotel Floor replicated by The Pope's esper ability.

"Giovanni."

Ke Mingqing controlled his Theater Puppet, Giovanni, opening his eyes and turning his head from the back of the recliner. He saw Bai Ziling sprawled on the bed, playing with a small doll that Bai had given her.

In truth, Ke Mingqing had stitched it together using the threads from the puppet "Bai." It was an incredibly ugly doll with mismatched button eyes—one blue, one red—dressed in a tattered Western dress.

When Ke Mingqing finished making it, he had even showed it off to Mio, asking, "Well? Doesn't it look just like you?" Mio's button eyes had welled with tears as she said dryly, "Master, Master, have I fallen out of favor?"

Now, Ke Mingqing had Giovanni sit up from the recliner and ask curiously, "What is it?"

"Big Sister Bai... she seems a little strange lately," Bai Ziling suddenly said after a moment of thought.

Ke Mingqing blinked. "Strange?"

Bai Ziling nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Crap, it seems I still don't understand her deeply enough, Ke Mingqing thought to himself. His reference samples were just too limited, and her personality was completely different from when she was a child.

"Strange how?" he asked.

"I don't know. Just... different from usual."

"Didn't she give you a doll? Maybe she's just in a good mood lately," Ke Mingqing said evenly. "Besides, maybe women are just fickle like that. When you grow up, you'll probably change completely, too."

"Really?"

Bai Ziling tilted her head skeptically, her snow-white hair swaying gently.

"Really." Ke Mingqing's lips curled up in a faint smile. He said softly, "When you grow up, you'll become very talkative. You'll travel to many places and make many friends... but your stubbornness is the one thing that will never change."

"You say that like you've seen it, Giovanni," she said, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

"I'm guessing. Is that a crime?"

Bai Ziling was quiet for a moment. "Giovanni actually smiled."

"Is that strange?"

The white-haired girl shook her head. "You seem like you've been in a bad mood these past couple of days, but I don't know why."

Ke Mingqing was momentarily stunned. He hesitated, then lay back on the bed and spoke casually. "A friend of mine died a couple of days ago."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. I promised to take her around to a bunch of different places, but I broke my word."

Ke Mingqing pillowed his arms behind his head and gazed quietly at the ceiling. "Later, she went to all those places alone. She thought she'd be able to find me there... and then she traveled the whole world all by herself, but I wasn't anywhere."

Bai Ziling hugged her little doll and asked curiously, "How do you know that, Giovanni?"

"Her memories flashed through my mind at the time... along with some of her thoughts and feelings." As he spoke, Ke Mingqing gently closed his eyes.

The image of the white-haired girl flashed through his mind, lying spread-eagle on a slab of ruins, staring blankly at the ceiling. His lips moved slightly. "And that was when I realized... just how lonely it is to remember someone's entire world."

"Are you sad, Giovanni?" Bai Ziling asked softly.

"Not exactly. I was just thinking that maybe I shouldn't be so dishonest about my feelings—" Ke Mingqing shook his head, continuing softly. "At the very least, when saying a final goodbye, I should have properly expressed my feelings. There might not be anyone else in the world who understands me better than she did."

He shrugged. "But that's just how people are. You only know to cherish something once you've lost it."

Bai Ziling sat stunned for a moment.

She lowered her red eyes, unsure of what to do. Finally, she just reached out and gently squeezed Giovanni's sleeve.

The hotel room was completely quiet, bathed in the faint, warm glow of the bedside lamp.

A while later, Ke Mingqing opened his eyes. He pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket and took a look.

[Heimeng: The boss is back. He's very curious about those "players" and wants to ask you about what happened a few days ago.]