Chapter 270: Fate, Death, and Facing the Alien

The torrential rain poured down. An absolute silence filled the living room, even as the crashing rain blanketed the outside world.

Kamishiro Ruri leaned in the stairwell, toying with the red umbrella. Her anger had subsided by now, leaving her expression as calm and gentle as always.

Ke Mingqing, holding a can of cola, rested his head quietly against the glass. He turned his profile to the rain-slicked street outside as thoughts raced through his mind.

'Two types of players...'

'Which one am I? Am I a brainwashed native player?'

'Little Red Riding Hood told me she believed Kuroki Hitomi was the real Kuroki Hitomi. If so, Kuroki Hitomi is very likely a brainwashed native player too. So what's the deal with the past-life memories we share?'

'Right.'

'If Kuroki Hitomi is a native, then her past-life memories are fake—implanted by the system.'

'And we knew each other in that past life. That's the weird part. The only explanation is that my past-life memories are probably fake too. Did the system add her to my memories as a safeguard, just to make me completely buy its lies?'

'But can Little Red Riding Hood really prove that Kuroki Hitomi is the original Kuroki Hitomi?'

'Just on a feeling?'

'If it's just a feeling, why haven't the other players been rooted out by the people close to them? Are feelings really that reliable?'

'Regardless, my identity and Kuroki Hitomi's are bound together. If she's a native player, I'm a native player. If she's a transmigrator, I'm definitely a transmigrator too.'

'As long as I can figure out which category one of us belongs to, I'll have the answer.'

'Still, if we really are native players, that's a good thing for Kuroki Hitomi.'

'Among the people close to her, Little Red Riding Hood was the only super-human species. Little Red Riding Hood is dead, so there's no one left to stop her from completing the Exterminate Superhumans task.'

'And since our memories of the orphanage are fake, she never owed me anything to begin with. If she decides to kill me later, she won't feel any guilt.'

'Otherwise, I'd hate for us to actually fight one day and have her just bare her neck to the blade. How would I ever convince myself to strike her down?'

'I can't exactly have my little sister execute my ex-girlfriend. Wouldn't that be a bit too ruthless?'

'Either way, as long as I can convince my alien mom to take my side, teaming up with her to take out the other players will be a breeze.'

'Of course, that all assumes I'm a native player. Otherwise, there's no reason to throw my life away for a bunch of fake family members.'

As his thoughts reached that point, Ke Mingqing's gaze toward the rain seemed to turn gray and murky.

At that moment, Kamishiro Ruri walked out of the stairwell with the umbrella tucked under her arm.

She looked at Ke Mingqing's silhouette and said slowly, "I apologize, Qing-kun. I lost control of my emotions earlier, but I have calmed down now. Let us sit and continue our chat."

She glanced out the window and murmured, "While the rain is still falling."

"It doesn't matter. I'd break down too if I were you. The situation is too fucking complicated." Ke Mingqing shook his head dismissively. "We're good buddies, so if you're going to commit seppuku, find a nice spot and don't spray blood all over my floor. My mom is a neat freak, and my brother inherited it. They're terrifying when they get mad."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Don't mention it."

"I still cannot believe someone like you would become a Red Name Player and kill seven players in a row," Kamishiro Ruri asked. "I am truly curious about what happened that night. Did you clash with those six players?"

"It's a long story, so I'm not going to tell it."

Ke Mingqing brushed her off casually.

'There's no way I can talk about Bai Ziling,' he thought. 'I finally managed to kill every player who knew about the special nature of her heart.'

"I see. Never mind then."

Kamishiro Ruri shrugged. She didn't think a person like Ke Mingqing would tell the honest truth anyway.

"So, your falling out with your brother... was that because you learned the truth about players from the Omniscient Ghost God?" Ke Mingqing suddenly asked after a moment.

"We are not siblings."

"I know."

Kamishiro Ruri fell silent for a moment before nodding. "In my rage, I wanted to kill him then, but I stayed my hand in the end."

"Why?"

"By keeping him alive, I could at least still see my younger brother's shell. That was what I thought at the time," Kamishiro Ruri said softly. "If I killed him, I would be parting with my brother forever."

"That's pretty funny. Don't you find it disgusting that a stranger stole your family member's body and is running around in front of you wearing his face? Isn't that an insult to your family?"

Ke Mingqing spoke absentmindedly, gazing out at the rain.

Kamishiro Ruri slowly drew a tachi in a vermilion scabbard from the loose sleeve of her kimono and gripped it in her hand. She lowered her eyes and ran her fingers over the scabbard, speaking softly. "Actually, there was another reason I held back. I was betting on a possibility. Once the players drive the super-human species to extinction, perhaps those souls that transmigrated from parallel worlds will return to their original worlds. Then my brother's soul could return to his own body, and we could live like we used to."

"Just as I thought."

"You even guessed that, Qing-kun?" Kamishiro Ruri raised an eyebrow.

Ke Mingqing didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he fired back, "So you came to me because you needed someone to huddle with for warmth, and you happened to think I was a brainwashed native too. Right?"

"Exactly. Your behavior was too abnormal. After learning the truth about players, I naturally wondered if you were the same kind of existence as me."

Kamishiro Ruri paused. "Now I understand. Perhaps you did it for your family. Those six players you killed... were they trying to threaten them?"

Ke Mingqing froze for a second, then burst out laughing, nearly spraying the cola he'd just sipped.

Confusion flashed in Kamishiro Ruri's eyes. "What is so funny, Qing-kun? Are we not discussing a very serious matter?"

Ke Mingqing coughed a few times and said in exasperation, "Buddy, just take one look at the panels floating over my family's heads and you'll know. Do they look like people who could be threatened?"

Remembering something, a look of realization dawned on his face. "Ah, I get it now. That Bird Judge you saw earlier? He's the weakest one in our family. He's practically a minion compared to the rest of them. No wonder you had such a misunderstanding."

Kamishiro Ruri stiffened, looking as if she had been struck by lightning.

An absolute silence filled the living room. After a long while, she asked in disbelief, "Qing-kun... are you saying that an A++ Rank powerhouse is the weakest person in your family?"

"What else?" Ke Mingqing sighed, changing the subject. "Rather than that, let's talk about the second question you asked the Ghost God. What answer did it give?"

Seeing that he didn't want to answer, Kamishiro Ruri remained silent for a long time before lifting her head, casting a poignant look toward the roof.

After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and recalled, "The second question we asked was: Will the system truly execute an Obliteration on players? Is there any way to Escape the system's pursuit?"

Lowering her voice, she added, "And the Ghost God's answer was very brief: 'Yes.'"

Ke Mingqing wasn't too surprised to hear that. If players wouldn't face Obliteration, his future self wouldn't have gone to such desperate lengths to time-travel back into the past after Becoming a Witch.

"What about the second half of the question?" he asked in confusion.

Kamishiro Ruri smiled helplessly. "It didn't answer the second half. We failed to slip it past. Just asking whether the system would execute an Obliteration counted as a complete question on its own. With that, we had used up our two chances to question the Ghost God."

"I am seriously in awe of you guys."

"Regardless, Qing-kun, let us add each other as friends first," Kamishiro Ruri said with a smile. "Even though you deleted me once, I do not mind. I would have done the same in your position, considering the other players are still hunting you."

With that, she opened her friend list and sent a friend request to Ke Mingqing.

[Notice: Player "Kamishiro Ruri" has sent you a friend request.]

"I can do that, but what are you planning to do?" Ke Mingqing looked up at the prompt.

"I have nowhere left to turn. Like you, we are outliers among the players," Kamishiro Ruri said softly. "My current standing is no different from a Red Name Player."

Ke Mingqing stayed quiet for a moment. "No, do you know what a real outlier is?"

Kamishiro Ruri frowned. "Please, enlighten me."

"A brainwashed native player who has their own super-human species family—they are the biggest outliers of all. Because to complete the task, they have to kill their own family, and if they don't, they'll die."

Ke Mingqing paused. "But you're different. Like you just said, your brother was possessed by a player. Driving the super-human species to Extinction is the only way your brother's soul might return. So when it comes down to it, you still have to walk the original path—completing the tasks the system assigns."

Kamishiro Ruri froze. For a moment, she actually couldn't find the words to refute him.

After a while, she spoke up. "But... we still are not sure you are a native player, are we?"

Ke Mingqing let out a sudden sigh. "Right. And because I'm not sure, I don't want to get tangled up in disputes with other players right now. It'll just make things messier."

"Do you mean... if you are a native player, you can protect your family with a clear conscience, but if you are not, you can find a reason to convince yourself, to force yourself to kill them?"

Ke Mingqing fell silent. He began to regret saying so much to Kamishiro Ruri. A pitch-black arc of electricity flashed through his pupils.

"I thought so," Kamishiro Ruri said with a faint smile. "Though we have not known each other long, I have generally grasped how you do things."

"The thing I hate most in this life is people who act overly familiar."

"Why?"

"Because practically everyone around me who acted too familiar ended up dead. So I suggest you get the hell out of my house and stay far away from me," Ke Mingqing said deadpan. "The next time we meet, we might be enemies, or we might be friends. I haven't decided yet. The answer is still waiting for me to find it."

Even as he said that, he reached out and pressed the "Yes" option on the friend request prompt. The name Kamishiro Ruri immediately joined his empty friend list.

Kamishiro Ruri blinked in surprise for a moment, then chuckled. "I understand. Until we meet again, Qing-kun. Please let me know once you find your answer. Regardless of where we stand in the end, it was a stroke of fortune to have met you."

With that, the kimono-clad youth walked into the pitch-black entryway and slowly opened the red umbrella.

"Wait," Ke Mingqing said suddenly.

Kamishiro Ruri paused and cast a slight sideways glance at his face.

"Can you cut your hand with your sword?" Ke Mingqing asked, baring his teeth in an awkward smile.

Kamishiro Ruri looked at him in confusion, hesitating before saying, "I can, but why do you—"

"Weekly task," Ke Mingqing said, spreading his hands.

Kamishiro Ruri blinked, then broke into a wry smile. "I understand."

With that, she drew her tachi from its scabbard, sliced a bloody gash across her palm, and offered her hand to Ke Mingqing with a smile.

Ke Mingqing curled his lip in slight distaste. He extended his right index finger, and a wisp of deep blue electricity arced out from his fingertip. It splashed across Kamishiro Ruri's right hand like blue ink, wrapping around her palm.

The blue lightning form of Thunder God could be used to heal a target's injuries. Naturally, this target wasn't limited to Ke Mingqing himself; he just hadn't used the blue lightning to heal others very much.

Kamishiro Ruri seemed to trust him deeply. She remained perfectly still the entire time, her eyes lowered to quietly watch the bloody gash on her palm disappear, the seeping blood evaporating into the blue electricity.

Just then, a prompt box executed a Pop-up before Ke Mingqing's eyes.

[Congratulations! The player has completed Weekly Task 2: Use any item or skill to perform one medical treatment on another player!]

[Task reward obtained: Player Rank immediately increases by 2 levels!]

[Congratulations, player "Ke Mingqing"'s level has increased from Lv.26 to Lv.28 (↑2 levels). Original experience points will be retained.]

[Current level progress: Lv.28 (6500/14000 EXP)]

"As expected of you, Qing-kun. A real eye-opener," Kamishiro Ruri remarked in admiration.

"You'll praise anything, even a basic healing ability. You Japanese folks are too weird." Ke Mingqing waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, task's done. You can scram now."

"Then I shall take my leave," Kamishiro Ruri said, tucking the scabbard under her arm and lightly rolling up her kimono sleeves.

"Damn, you and Xi Ziyue would definitely hit it off. One's an old-fashioned young lady, and the other's an old-fashioned youth," Ke Mingqing muttered. He stepped into the entryway ahead of her to open the door, letting the wind and rain tear inside.

Kamishiro Ruri shook her head and chuckled. Saying no more, she opened the red umbrella and stepped out onto the rainy street, her figure quickly vanishing into the veil of rain.

Ke Mingqing shut the door. The world instantly fell quiet again as the sound of the rain was sealed outside.

He sat down on the shoe cabinet in the entryway and let out a sigh of relief. A moment later, he opened his friend list to see what it felt like to have a friend again. But his gaze suddenly locked onto the glowing blue panel.

In that exact moment, Ke Mingqing watched with his own eyes as Kamishiro Ruri's name on the friend list grayed out.

He stared, completely stunned. His pupils reflected that gray name. For a long time, he sat perfectly still in the darkness, as silent as a statue.

He knew what that meant...

Kamishiro Ruri was dead.

"...What the hell?" It took a long time for Ke Mingqing to process it. His pupils shrank violently. "Hey, hey, it's only been a few seconds since I saw her out and she died!"

Just then, there was a sudden click as the front door was pushed open a crack. A massive wave of terror exploded in Ke Mingqing's chest, making every hair on his body stand on end.

He slowly turned his head and instantly saw a woman's head squeeze through the crack in the door, staring quietly at his profile from the darkness.

It was Xia Wenna.

Xia Wenna's hair was drenched from the rain. She dropped the small piece of cardboard she'd used for cover onto the floor and waddled inside with her shopping bags, looking like a Penguin that had accidentally slipped out of Antarctica. She took two stiff steps, slumped down against the shoe cabinet, and lowered her head, exhaling a breath of cold air.

"It's actually raining outside..." she muttered. "A'Qing, didn't Mommy ask you to bring me an umbrella? Mommy is so sad..."

Ke Mingqing didn't make a sound. His Adam's apple bobbed. By the time he snapped back to reality, his shirt was soaked through, cold sweat trickling quietly down his scalp and back.

'Mom?'

'Did Mom kill Kamishiro Ruri? Just now, in the instant they crossed paths?'

'But why?'

'She didn't kill Kuroki Hitomi, did she?'

'Is it because Kamishiro Ruri and I were chatting in the living room, which delayed me bringing her the umbrella? Bloody hell, are all aliens this psychotic?'

Ke Mingqing sat in a daze for a very, very long time before accepting the reality of what happened.

He took a deep breath and slowly lowered his head in the dark, his eyes flickering slightly.

'Then in tomorrow's daily briefing, won't all the players find out about my mom's existence? Will the system broadcast Xia Wenna's danger rating then?' he thought.

The entryway was perfectly quiet.

Xia Wenna opened her shopping bag, fished out a pack of tissues, and used a few to wipe the rainwater streaming down her neck and the soaked ends of her hair.

At that moment, Ke Mingqing suddenly turned his head and stared at her. A beat later, he asked calmly, "Mom... if someone wanted to kill your whole family, what would you think?"

At first, Xia Wenna made no movement, except that the hand wiping her cheek suddenly stopped. A moment later, she slowly lifted her head. Her eyes, as if shrouded by a layer of fog, flickered with chaotic black and white static.

In the pitch-black, silent entryway, mother and son stared quietly at each other. The torrential rain was still falling. It was the longest rain Ke Mingqing had seen in his entire life.