Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117
At 8:07 p.m., inside an inn in Huangtie City.
Ji Qing lay down on the inn bed somewhat tiredly, staring blankly at the old ceiling.
Huangtie City, just as its name implied, was a town rich in iron ore and coal. Its economy was mainly supported by iron mines and coal mines, and the entertainment facilities in the city were even worse than those in Yancheng, where their school was located.
To use a somewhat inappropriate comparison, Huangtie City was like another Xicheng.
Ji Qing suddenly let out a long sigh.
Even now, he still remembered what he had seen while walking through the streets of Xicheng: the blazing seaside sun shining over roads paved with pebbles, the sea breeze blowing head-on with a salty, fishy scent unique to the ocean, and the Fish-Bone Wind Chimes hanging from house after house throughout Xicheng ringing out in clear, crisp notes.
It had been a very rare scene, one with a beauty deeply marked by the sea.
Even though Ji Qing had only strolled through Xicheng’s streets for a short while, he still could not forget the beauty he had witnessed that day. Or rather, at the time, Ji Qing had not realized that the streets of Xicheng would amaze him enough for his present self to remain unable to forget them.
Ji Qing suddenly thought: if Aberrants occupied Earth, then he probably would never see it again.
“Tsk...” Ji Qing clicked his tongue unconsciously.
He forcibly pulled himself together, got up from the bed, and sat back down at the desk. Ji Qing understood this perfectly well: if he continued letting himself lie there, then he definitely would not get anything done tonight. Recently, however, there had been quite a few suspicious points.
Ji Qing picked up pen and paper and decided to spend some time sorting them out.
First was Jiang Cuo. Jiang Cuo was definitely investigating something after Reporting Day, but he had no intention of telling his classmates. His association with Xie Chang’an had only happened recently, and the reason for it was that he did not want to spend too much time on A-Rank Commissions.
That reason naturally held up, because Ji Qing himself maintained exactly the same attitude.
Second was his meeting with Zhou Que and the others. Without question, Yuexia Cao’s influence was at work there. The ore truck escort they were about to carry out should be the main content of Volume 8 of the manga. It was entirely possible that the chance meeting of the four of them, their meal together, and their meeting with the client had all already been drawn into the comic by Yuexia Cao.
Third was the relationship between Zhou Que and the client. Ji Qing had also been quite shocked when he learned about it that morning. Zhou Que’s main sphere of activity was Central City, so Ji Qing had never expected to encounter someone Zhou Que knew in Huangtie City. Perhaps that was exactly why Zhou Que had been “deliberately” brought here by that old thief.
Fourth was the World Book and the Miao Family. Emerald had told Ji Qing only one sentence: “The Miao Family of Huangtie City holds clues about Licheng’s fall.” That sentence had puzzled Ji Qing when he first heard it, and it still puzzled him now. But when he thought about how Licheng’s fall had happened twenty-one years ago, then even if the Miao Family did have someone who knew the truth, that person should belong to the grandfather generation, should they not?
“Wait...”
Ji Qing suddenly realized that something was off.
He murmured softly, “If I keep acting together with Xie Chang’an and the others, then there’s definitely no way for me to find a member of the Miao Family and question them alone. And judging by their ages, the two members of the Miao Family who’ll be acting together with me later do not seem like informed parties either. Which means—”
“Has the time come for me to use the Substitute Puppet again?”
Ji Qing immediately fell silent. But after thinking it through and still arriving at only this one direction for the situation to develop, his expression returned to its usual cool indifference, while inwardly he gritted his teeth and thought: damn it, he had been calculated against by Yuexia Cao again.
Yuexia Cao definitely knew about the connection between him and Li Yuan.
No, no... Ji Qing forced himself to calm down.
As the creator of Ability Hunter Academy, Yuexia Cao was undoubtedly aware of the connection between Ji Qing and Li Yuan. But to what extent did he know? Was it the “Dual Personality Theory” that Ji Qing intended to fabricate, or the fully true “Alternate Identity Disguise Theory”?
For the moment, Ji Qing could not infer the answer.
“Forget it. There’s no point thinking about something I can’t figure out anyway.” Ji Qing let out a cold laugh. “Since he’s already prepared a stage for me, how could I possibly choose not to perform?”
The more Popularity Value, the better, naturally.
Ever since Li Yuan exited the stage in Volume 4 of the manga, he had not appeared again for quite a long time. Ability Hunter Academy had now been serialized all the way to Volume 8, so by all rights it really was about time for Li Yuan to appear once again. What was more, the mission Ji Qing was carrying out right now was a Dawn Society mission.
Since it was a Dawn Society mission, then having Li Yuan, a Dawn Society cadre, appear and resolve it was perfectly reasonable, was it not?
“Hm, that actually makes perfect sense.” Ji Qing was immediately astonished.
Because the logic of it was simply too sound, even Ji Qing’s resentment toward Yuexia Cao dissipated by more than half. Although Ji Qing was unquestionably being pushed forward right now by Yuexia Cao’s plot force, this matter was, after all, beneficial to him.
“So this also counts as indirectly reminding me?” Ji Qing could not help falling into thought.
For the remaining time, Ji Qing planned to read some manga.
Once he met up with the Miao Family tomorrow, and then later had to live, eat, and travel together with those few problem children while secretly investigating clues about the informed party, he would no longer have that much time to read manga. It was also a good opportunity to see the readers’ reactions.
With that thought, Ji Qing immediately got up and washed up.
***
At 8:42 p.m., inside the Pure White Space.
Before going to sleep, Ji Qing specifically checked the time displayed on his Terminal. He thought: once I finish reading the manga, I should be able to get a proper night’s sleep.
Now that things had suddenly returned to the same busy state as during winter break, Ji Qing really was having a hard time adjusting.
Opening KuMan and clicking into the comic’s homepage, the first thing that entered Ji Qing’s sight was the cover of Volume 8 of Ability Hunter Academy: inside a train carriage racing through the wilderness, four boys sat two by two facing each other.
Compared with how Ji Qing had actually experienced the situation inside the carriage, the expressions of the four people on the cover all made it seem as though each of them were harboring his own thoughts.
Ji Qing sat by the window, propping his chin on his hand in distraction. Across from him, Zhou Que lay on the table with an irritated expression. Beside Zhou Que, Jiang Cuo was using one hand under the table to scroll through Terminal messages. Closest to the right side of the composition, Xie Chang’an was gazing out the window at the scenery.
The center of focus on the cover then shifted to the scene outside the train window.
In an extremely fitting touch, Yuexia Cao had drawn a long ore transport convoy outside the window, clearly hinting at the upcoming plot.
“I thought he’d do another front-facing portrait shot, but apparently not...”
Ji Qing’s voice carried a trace of regret.
If Yuexia Cao had drawn the cover the way he had done with Volume 7, placing Zhou Que at the center of the composition, Ji Qing would not be so conflicted about what came next.
When Volume 7 ended, Ji Qing had looked at the forum, and one reader had raised a very interesting point: if Yuexia Cao intended to draw the stories of each member of Class S, then one could place a bet on whether another classmate-focused personal arc would appear within the next three volumes. If it did, then the later plot of Ability Hunter would pretty much be a sure thing.
And in this current main plotline of the manga, they had encountered Zhou Que’s childhood acquaintance.
If Yuexia Cao planned to tell Zhou Que’s story, then this would be an excellent opportunity. But judging from the content of the cover, Ji Qing knew that the plot of this volume definitely would not revolve solely around Zhou Que’s reunion with an old acquaintance. After all, Li Yuan would also be appearing again.
“My head really hurts...” Ji Qing sighed.
But all that did was make it even more obvious that Yuexia Cao truly adored Gu Lingxue. Ji Qing thought helplessly: after all, Yuexia Cao was the creator of Ability Hunter, while Gu Lingxue was the first heroine of Ability Hunter. Yuexia probably treated Gu Lingxue like a beloved daughter.
“Forget it, forget it. I should just read the manga first.” Ji Qing laughed softly.
The plot of Volume 8 of Ability Hunter Academy began with “Xie Chang’an taking a commission alone.”
Through Xie Chang’an’s point of view, the manga explained why Gu Lingxue was not there: Feng Youyou and the others had asked Gu Lingxue to team up with them, and because the client had specified that only female Hunters could accept the commission, Xie Chang’an had naturally been pushed out of the group.
And after receiving the invitation, Gu Lingxue immediately agreed.
Compared with Feng Youyou and Ling You’er, who had long been on familiar terms with each other, Gu Lingxue’s relationship with them was only average, but she had always wanted to get along better with the two of them. Some topics could only really be discussed when all parties were girls.
On the other side, Xie Chang’an received a message from Jiang Cuo:
【My friend, are you trying to push for A-Rank?】
At the sight of that, the barrage comments came in from every direction:
【Wow, what a great cover!】
【You can tell at a glance from this volume’s cover that something huge is going to happen.】
【Excited, excited.】
【Chang’an, Jiang Cuo, the Valedictorian, and Zhou Que. What a very special team composition. I’m really so curious about how this develops!】
【Valedictorian, Valedictorian, we like you!】
【Judging from what Jiang Cuo said, is the later development going to be the four of them teaming up to challenge A-Rank Hunter status? Is it really that hard to become an A-Rank Hunter?】
【Volume 7 left me completely wilted. Are we finally going to get another fierce battle?】
【I’m so excited.】
The readers’ reactions were more or less within Ji Qing’s expectations.
Because Volume 7 had largely been Xie Chang’an completing low-level Hunter commissions, the plot had been much calmer than the previous volume. After seeing the tense bird-flock rescue operation in Volume 6, the readers’ expectations had risen by quite a bit.
Who would have thought that Yuexia Cao would suddenly turn to daily-life material in the next volume?
In the manga, Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo successfully met up.
Since Xie Chang’an himself had also planned to challenge A-Rank Hunter status, then one could say his thinking coincided with Jiang Cuo’s. But unlike Jiang Cuo’s do-whatever-feels-right style, Xie Chang’an planned to finish his current D-Rank Commission first and then choose a relatively simpler A-Rank Commission.
Jiang Cuo: “My friend, take me with you.”
Xie Chang’an: “Huh? Shouldn’t it be you taking me with you?”
【Hahahahahaha.】
【They’re so fun. The two of them are so fun.】
【Oh no, why do I feel like neither of them can really carry the other? (facepalm)】
【Chang’an can’t handle long-range combat, and Jiang Cuo is only a half-baked Ability user.】
【To be honest—I think without the support of the other two people from the cover, nobody would approve of them taking a commission together. (honestly)】
【That really is the truth, isn’t it?】
【By the way, when are the Valedictorian and the others going to show up? I’m super excited now.】
The scene suddenly shifted to the train station.
Because Xie Chang’an’s current commission required him to go to Huangtie City, Jiang Cuo had also bought a ticket for the same train. Once the two of them were seated inside the carriage, the passengers in the same carriage suddenly began talking about the disturbance that had happened at the station they had passed through earlier.
“That red-haired young man looked a little off. Hopefully he wasn’t Infected.”
“Not likely, right? How would an Infected dare come to a train station? I think he was probably mentally ill, though that white-haired boy seemed pretty decent.”
“...”
The more the two passengers spoke, the more animated they became, and the other passengers could not help joining the conversation as well.
After listening, Jiang Cuo vaguely felt that they were describing the Valedictorian.
【White hair, green eyes, beautiful features, a cold temperament, looks hard to approach... isn’t that obviously the Valedictorian?】
【Everyone who’s seen the cover agrees.】
【So did something happen to Zhou Que?】
【Too bad we’re inferring backward from the result. Jiang Cuo and the others probably wouldn’t dare be certain, right?】
Ji Qing, however, did not pay much attention to that point. He carefully reread the passengers’ discussion about the station disturbance, then laughed softly. “Zhou Que’s reputation has really been ruined horribly.”
Though Zhou Que himself probably would not care about that at all.
The next chapter of the manga switched to the scene where Ji Qing and Zhou Que happened to run into each other. Ji Qing stood alone amidst the flow of people in the station hall, raising his eyes beneath the warm sunlight to look at the departure board displaying the train schedules. The soft light poured over him, making the entire moment seem calm and beautiful.
“Wait, Ji Qing?!” Zhou Que suddenly called out.
Ji Qing immediately turned toward the frame, revealing a slightly troubled expression, as though an immortal had fallen back into the mortal world.
【Blessed with appearance, blessed with temperament.】
【Sometimes I feel like Ji Qing probably isn’t human. Because what human being could possibly be this good-looking? (starry eyes)】
【He really is endlessly pleasant to look at.】
【I feel like that old thief is especially fond of Ji Qing’s looks. He seems to give Ji Qing close-ups all the time.】
“To be fair, I know this reason rather well.” Ji Qing propped his chin on his hand and muttered helplessly, “Maybe not until the very late stages will you realize that Yuexia Cao has been repeatedly hinting at this all along: Ji Qing isn’t human, right?”
If things really continued in that direction, Ji Qing felt that the last layer of his disguise might not survive.
After all, Yuexia Cao had already planted the foreshadowing that “Ji Qing is an Aberrant” back on the Island.
The manga plot that followed was exactly what Ji Qing had gone through. After witnessing Zhou Que’s exaggerated behavior, Ji Qing knew full well that he could not just leave Zhou Que there. Since the two of them were heading to the same destination anyway, they might as well talk once they were on the train.
At the same time, Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo were also preparing to look for Ji Qing and the others.
Jiang Cuo: “The Valedictorian and the others should be in the carriages ahead. Let’s see if we can run into them first.”
Xie Chang’an: “I just hope they didn’t buy very expensive seats.”
In the wasteland, the farther forward a train seat was, the more expensive it became. Under normal circumstances, once the train began moving, passengers were not allowed to walk between carriages unless they upgraded their seats. What Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo were doing was taking advantage of that loophole in the seat-upgrade rules.
【What happened to Zhou Que?】
【Hahaha, Chang’an is still worrying about money. He’s already earned that much money, but he still looks so poor.】
【This is what it means to be a child from a poor family. (sighing)】
【I super agree now with Granny Director and the others deciding to let Chang’an go to Ability High School. Chang’an can already earn money in his first year of high school. That’s amazing!】
The next chapter shifted perspective again to Ji Qing and Zhou Que.
The experiences Zhou Que had gone through over the past month and a half were revealed before the readers’ eyes, and countless readers were shocked. While the manga’s protagonist himself was still stuck among the B-Rank Hunters, Zhou Que had already completed two A-Rank Hunter Commissions.
The feat from Zhou Que’s last A-Rank Commission in particular drew stunned cries from the readers:
【What the hell, what the hell, Zhou Que is incredible.】
【No wonder he was acting a little crazy at the station. If I had just been released from prison, I’d throw my head back and laugh too.】
【He actually endured it and finished the whole thing?】
【I respect Zhou Que even more now. Although the way he talks is a little too unfiltered, he really is incredibly strong.】
【A genius ought to be allowed a little privilege, shouldn’t he?】
【That’s right!】
At this point, the readers praised Zhou Que almost unanimously.
Ji Qing noticed that the readers were not simply averse to people who provoked the manga’s protagonist. Rather, they disliked characters whose position did not match their worth. Admiration of strength was human nature. And Zhou Que had once again used his own strength to turn public opinion around.
In the manga, Xie Chang’an and Jiang Cuo found Ji Qing and Zhou Que.
Ji Qing was surprised by the appearance of the two of them, but still suggested that they sit down first. After the conductor upgraded their seats, Ji Qing asked, “Gu Lingxue didn’t come with you?”
Xie Chang’an answered truthfully, but after hearing him, the three of them all teased him. Jiang Cuo even said in a highly meaningful tone, “My friend—haven’t you ever encountered the species known as a ‘male best friend’ before? I think someone like you, who can be attracted to men, should be able to %#...”
Xie Chang’an was so angry that he directly started hitting him.
Seeing that, Zhou Que asked in confusion, “Huh? Why are they fighting? Should I go up there and start brawling too?”
【Such a familiar development, hahahaha.】
【Zhou Que, you... (complicated feelings)】
【A normal person: Why are they fighting? Should I try to break it up?
An abnormal person: Should I go up there and start brawling too?】
【Zhou Que’s way of thinking is really unique.】
【He’s got a screw loose, doesn’t he?】
【Oh, you really are such a baby. Before jumping into the brawl, you even remembered to ask whether you could. (deeply moved)】
【Ji Qing is practically speechless from exasperation, hahaha.】