Chapter 203: Rewards, Little Red Riding Hood Moves In, and Second Sister's Meeting

[The dungeon boss, "Drumming Thunder Ghost", has died. Entering the reward settlement phase in twenty seconds.]

Ke Mingqing looked up at the text, breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly lowered his head.

He wiped the sweat from his cheek with the back of his hand, the dim yellow tunnel lighting washing over his face.

At that moment, the black-and-blue lightning coiling around his body faded, breaking down into wisps of electricity that danced through the dim tunnel and drifted away like fireflies.

Ke Mingqing glanced into the distance. Hovering right in front of Kuroki Hitomi, the Maiden Tyrant slowly dissolved into a shower of withered petals and thorns before vanishing completely.

The boy and girl were still wearing their blue-and-white school uniforms, looking no different from ordinary students who had wandered into the tunnel by mistake.

Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow. The Blended Lightning form drains all power directly. I only had forty percent left when I activated it, and it lasted exactly forty seconds. So one percent of power sustains it for one second?

As he snapped back to reality, a violent, aching pain suddenly erupted through every muscle in his body. His arms twitched slightly, feeling practically dislocated, and a dull ache throbbed at the base of his thighs.

Kuroki Hitomi lowered her head in thought for a long while before raising her calm, dark eyes to stare unblinking at Ke Mingqing's back.

He was resting with his knees slightly bent, hands braced against them.

The underpass tunnel was swallowed by absolute silence, returning to its lifeless state. Only the sound of Ke Mingqing's heavy panting continued to echo.

He clearly hadn't expected the Blended Lightning form to place such a massive burden on his body. Power reserves aside, he felt like his physical stamina had been completely wrung dry.

With the Blended Lightning state active, I should be able to exchange blows with an A Rank super-human species. Maybe I should go slaughter those B Rank lackeys from Death Crow tonight. It would be a good chance to help the boss clean house and prep for the prison break later.

The problem is, I don't know if the boss is even still in Leijing. He used Steal to take the Clock Maker's time-stop ability, so making a move on them is still too dangerous...

Ke Mingqing stared at his sweat dripping onto the ground, thought for a moment, and stood up to do a few stretches. Then, without looking back at the girl behind him, he asked, "Well? Was that impressive or what?"

He turned his head, a slight smirk on his face as he looked at Kuroki Hitomi. "That's the raw power of an A Rank skill for you. Even I didn't expect to one-shot this thing in just a few seconds."

Kuroki Hitomi thought for a moment. "Did that skill refresh in the Skill Shop?"

"Where else? Did you think it was some one-time use skill card?" Ke Mingqing couldn't help but roll his eyes at her.

"I assumed it was like that One-Time Magical Girl Transformation Card."

"Why would I do something so low?" Ke Mingqing shrugged dismissively. "How is that any different from renting a luxury car to take someone out shopping, and then bragging to everyone that it's your own ride?"

Kuroki Hitomi pinched her chin in thought. "Oh, I see. So you specifically dragged me into this dungeon just to leave me hanging on the sidelines while you showed off your A Rank skill?"

She clapped her hands with a deadpan expression, switching to Japanese to whisper a sarcastic remark with deliberate enunciation: "How truly amazing."

Ke Mingqing shook his head. "I really didn't bring you here to show off."

"...Then why?" Kuroki Hitomi stopped clapping and tilted her head at him, a stray lock of hair drooping over her temple.

He turned completely around and lowered his voice. "I just wanted to talk to you about that player on the forums."

Kuroki Hitomi fell silent for a moment. "I understand. I just won't interact with them. But I don't get why you've suddenly become so wary this time. If anything, I get the feeling... you're very hostile toward them?"

She paused. "You know the white-haired vampire in the photo, don't you?"

Ke Mingqing froze slightly. This Japanese girl is way too sharp, he thought. If I ever look for a girlfriend in the future, I need to steer clear of Japanese women.

"I don't know that white-haired brat, and I never said you couldn't interact with those players," he said softly. "But same as always... I'll be your bodyguard this time, too."

Kuroki Hitomi fell silent again. "But Blue Pigeon isn't some nobody anymore. If you show up in front of them using your Blue Pigeon panel, it'll most likely draw suspicion."

She hesitated. "Worse yet, they might just surround and kill you on the spot."

"No, when you meet them, I'll hide in the corner and stay out of sight. I'll also hide my super-human species panel and player ID. From their perspective, I'll just be an ordinary person."

Ke Mingqing paused. "It's the perfect chance for me to observe them."

"Why not use your identity as Jin Chengwu to interact with them openly?" Kuroki Hitomi suggested. "It would save a lot of trouble."

"Impossible. Not just anyone can trust a Red Name Player. They might attack the second they see my name." Ke Mingqing sighed. "Kamishiro Ruri and Kamishiro Kawa were special cases. When we showed up back then, they happened to be getting hunted by Shadow Warriors, so I was able to use the opportunity to prove my innocence."

"Are you really innocent?" Kuroki Hitomi suddenly asked after a brief silence.

"Is there any player out there who works harder or is more dedicated than me? If I'm not innocent, who is?"

"Alright then."

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes at her. "Oh right, I feel like I could use this Jin Chengwu identity to contact the other players in Leijing. What do you think?"

"That's easy," Kuroki Hitomi said. "They've actually already asked me about Jin Chengwu. Hiding it any longer isn't a solution anyway."

"Okay, we'll talk about it in a few days."

As the boy and girl chatted in the dim tunnel, a dark settlement panel suddenly popped up in front of their eyes.

[Weekly Dungeon Completion Rewards Acquired: 1. 8,000 superhuman coins; 2. 8,000 Experience Points; 3. A mysterious red kasaya.]

[Congratulations. Player's Experience Points have reached the current level cap. Level has automatically increased by one.]

[Current Level Progress: Lv.23 (400/11,500 Experience Points)]

[Current superhuman coin balance: 9,000 coins.]

[Dungeon MVP: Ke Mingqing. The MVP player will receive an additional reward: One-Time Item - "Thunder Ghost's War Drum" (Upon use, instantly generates a massive war drum. Striking the drum unleashes a shockwave forward.)]

[Notice: Dungeon reward items have been added to your inventory.]

[Settlement phase complete. Returning to the real world in 20 seconds. Players, please prepare yourselves.]

Ke Mingqing opened the Skill Shop and looked at a skill icon displaying a padlock symbol. He pressed and held the icon, and after a moment, it began to glow.

[Congratulations! By spending 3,000 superhuman coins, you have successfully purchased the D Rank skill: "Erupt in Silence or Perish in Silence"!]

[Notice: This skill has been equipped to slot 11 of your Skill Bar (Extra Skill Slot).]

"Got it." Ke Mingqing stretched his back in deep satisfaction.

"Did you just grab another A Rank skill?" Kuroki Hitomi asked casually.

Ke Mingqing shook his head. "No, but to me, this skill rivals a B Rank one. It can only truly shine in my hands."

"Congratulations," Kuroki Hitomi said deadpan in Japanese.

"Stop being mad, alright?" Ke Mingqing glanced at her. "I didn't leave you on the sidelines on purpose. I was just worried the boss would kill you, and if that happened, our rewards for clearing the dungeon would take a hit."

"Got it."

"Oh, right, if you hadn't mentioned the Magical Girl Transformation Card, I would've forgotten."

Ke Mingqing paused, turning his head to stare at Kuroki Hitomi's profile. "What exactly happened back then? Why don't I remember anything?"

Kuroki Hitomi thought for a moment. "Do you really want to know?"

"I do." Ke Mingqing nodded.

"Do you know why I previously suspected you might have killed Kiyono Sakura?" Kuroki Hitomi looked up at him for a moment, then asked.

"Why?" Ke Mingqing blinked, taken aback.

"Because you got your hands on a One-Time Magical Girl Transformation Card that exact same day," Kuroki Hitomi said. "I suspected you used the card and killed Kiyono Sakura while unconscious."

"Even if you're joking, at least read the item description first. It's a magical girl transformation card, not a witch transformation..." Ke Mingqing suddenly froze, his words cutting off abruptly.

After a long pause, he slowly raised his head to meet Kuroki Hitomi's eyes. "Are you saying..."

"Yes. After you used the Magical Girl Transformation Card, you didn't become a magical girl at all. What I saw was a different kind of creature, something entirely different..."

Kuroki Hitomi paused, raising her gaze to meet his, and lowered her voice.

"In that moment, you turned into a witch."

The moment the words fell, Ke Mingqing kept his head raised, staring into Kuroki Hitomi's eyes in disbelief, frozen in place.

The tunnel plunged into absolute silence. The boy didn't speak again for a long time, while the arcs of electricity washing over his feet drifted into the distance like dying butterflies.

...

...

Half an hour later, at a street corner in Old Jingmai District.

Kuroki Hitomi got into the Maybach and closed the door. Behind the window glass was a calm face, the tiny teardrop mole at the corner of her eye making her look like a dark cat with lowered eyes.

Ke Mingqing stood alone on the street corner, quietly watching the jet-black sedan drive away before finally stepping toward the old apartment building. A moment later, when he reached the front door, he realized that a girl with wispy bangs was hunched over a suitcase, her head drooped as she quietly memorized vocabulary words.

"What are you doing at the door?" Ke Mingqing raised his head, giving her a weird look.

"No one opened the door for me," An Youlu whispered, lowering her eyes dejectedly. "I knew it. We little country girls who grew up eating trash aren't worthy of a warm welcome from girls born with silver spoons in their mouths. Why does a sixteen-year-old girl like me have to experience the cruelty of the world and the betrayal of friendship so early in life..."

The setting sun was already sinking toward the bottom of the horizon. A faint touch of afterglow landed on the top of her head, and paired with her mildly sorrowful expression, it actually made her sob story look halfway convincing.

"Can you drop the victim act?" Ke Mingqing wasn't buying it. "Where's my sister? Did she not open the door for you?"

"Senior is probably sleeping, otherwise it doesn't make sense why she hasn't replied to me."

"What about my older brother? I remember he's home today, too."

"Sleeping."

Ke Mingqing sighed and unlocked the front door with a silver key. "Here, come in." As he spoke, he helped Little Red Riding Hood lift her suitcase. An Youlu blinked in surprise, then nodded to thank him.

The two of them crossed the empty living room, chatting as they walked up to the second floor.

"Are you planning to share a room with my sister?"

"Probably not. I recall there being another empty room."

"Oh, that works too."

Ke Mingqing pocketed his phone as he spoke. No sooner had his foot touched the second-floor landing than he saw a tall, slender figure open a bedroom door and step out.

"Sure enough, he was sleeping." Ke Mingqing stared at Ke Linye with disdain.

"Sigh... A'Qing, why do you keep bringing girls home?" Ke Linye let out a yawn. "If you keep this up, I'm going to tell on you to your second sister."

"This girl has been to our house before. How is your memory so bad, big bro?" Ke Mingqing was dumbfounded.

Ke Linye raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yes, I'm innocent," An Youlu testified, nodding cautiously.

"Sorry, my mistake for falsely accusing you." Ke Linye chuckled, patting Ke Mingqing on the shoulder before strolling into the bathroom.

An Youlu turned her head to stare at Ke Mingqing and asked in a low voice,

"Am I also going to join your harem?"

"Dumbass."

Ke Mingqing rolled his eyes at her. He then walked over to Xia Zili's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Sister, are you awake?"

After a long while, there was no response from inside the room.

Ke Mingqing didn't linger. He dragged the suitcase to the corner room, helped Little Red Riding Hood put her luggage inside, and then turned back to say:

"My sister hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so she probably won't be able to go to school with you."

An Youlu nodded and walked into the room. "I understand. I'll just keep her company after school."

"Alright, that's that, then. You've stayed at our house before, so you know all the rules. I won't repeat them." With that, Ke Mingqing set down the suitcase and turned to leave. Just then, An Youlu suddenly called out to him. "Wait."

"What is it?"

"An autographed photo."

As An Youlu spoke, she unzipped her suitcase, pulled out a photo and a ballpoint pen, and held them out to Ke Mingqing.

"How childish," Ke Mingqing muttered. He took the pen, preparing to sign his name on the photo for her.

"I don't want your autograph." An Youlu frowned. "Although it's true I'm a fan of yours, you're being a little too full of yourself."

"Then whose autograph do you want?"

"Rain Crow's," An Youlu said calmly. "Master Xi Ziyue is a fan of Rain Crow. She heard that I know you, and out of everyone I know, you're the only one who knows Rain Crow, so she asked me for a favor."

Ke Mingqing was stunned for a moment before flipping the photo over to look at the front.

The photo showed a beautiful, elegant young woman wearing a light green qipao with a bamboo hair accessory.

She sat at the counter of a ramen shop, her medium-length black hair draped over her shoulders. She held a rice ball in her hands, quietly lowering her eyes. Her demeanor was like that of an attentively seated red panda as she cupped the rice ball. A sliver of the setting sun's afterglow poured through the window, spilling across her fair face.

Ke Mingqing raised his eyes from the photo. "It's doable, but your master will owe me a favor."

"No problem. My master already knew that getting someone like you to do her a favor would definitely come with strings attached. Out with it, what do you want my master to do?"

Saying this, An Youlu suddenly paused and crossed her arms in a defensive posture, staring at him with deep suspicion. "But nothing in that regard. Please stop filling your head with dirty thoughts."

Ke Mingqing tucked the photo into his jacket pocket and lowered his voice. "Pass a message to your master for me. She already failed her duty once during the battle over the Comet Fragments. Xia Zili almost died that time..."

He paused, then added:

"Since the Final Heaven Tower is coming soon, I hope she doesn't fail her duty a second time."

With those words, Ke Mingqing turned and left the room, only to bump into an annoying figure at the stairwell.

"A'Qing, your second sister is coming home for a visit this week." Ke Linye leaned against the stairwell handrail, looking down at his phone. The screen's glow illuminated his deep, dark eyes.

"Huh?" Ke Mingqing was taken aback. "Didn't she just head back to her university a couple of days ago? Why is she in such a rush to come back?"

"Said she has something to discuss with you, a family meeting or something." Ke Linye spread his hands. "Who knows?" Smiling, he turned and walked away.

Ke Mingqing shoved his hands into his pockets, turned his head, and quietly watched Ke Linye leave, thinking to himself, Alright, fine, a meeting it is. Bring it on... Anyway, who in this house doesn't already know that I'm Blue Pigeon? If anything, I'm just curious to see how long it'll take you guys to dig up my identity as White Jack too.