CHAPTER 247: CHAPTER 160: DOLLS AND DOLLS, CONFESSION, THE LONDON TRIP

In the early morning of July 24, at one-thirty, Xia Pingzhou swiped the room card and pushed open the door.

Xia Pingzhou raised his hand to scratch his nose and looked up, as expected, Ayase Origami was awake.

He took the room card when he went out, so the power inside was off. She couldn’t turn on the lights and was sitting by the window, quietly flipping through a haiku book by the light of the moon.

"Since you’re awake, do you want to go to the tavern for a drink?" Xia Pingzhou asked, "The others are there too."

"I don’t want to go." Ayase Origami didn’t turn her head.

"Bloodline is waiting for us downstairs."

"Even more I don’t want to go."

"Alright, then I won’t go either."

After speaking, Xia Pingzhou silently bowed his head and sent a text to Bloodline with his phone.

[Xia Pingzhou: Sleeping, don’t wait for me, Over.]

[Bloodline: (middle finger)]

Xia Pingzhou turned off his phone, casually placed the room card back in the slot, then pulled a chair by the window and sat down.

"What are you going to do?" After a moment of silence, Ayase Origami spoke.

"Fight demons."

"Why didn’t you wake me?" asked the kimono girl.

Her tone carried a hint of icy questioning, like when the owner finds their cat being fed by the hated neighbor without a word.

"You don’t like staying up late," Xia Pingzhou explained.

"I wasn’t asleep."

"Why?"

"I thought you were dead."

"Your joke-telling skills have improved."

"Thank you."

Ayase Origami said as she drew a photo from the haiku book and, with lowered eyes, quietly gazed at it by the moonlight.

Xia Pingzhou glanced at the photo in her hand and then asked:

"When was this photo taken?"

The photo showed the courtyard of a residence, with a wooden corridor standing by the pond, and an old man in a steward’s uniform along with a girl in a kimono standing by the corridor.

In the yard, two rows of stunning cherry trees were planted, their blossoms softly falling from the branches as if trying to submerge the entire world.

The old man’s face bore a faint smile; the girl had an expressionless doll-like white face with a single double cherry hanging at her mouth’s corner.

"Four years ago," said the kimono girl, "at that time we hadn’t left our family yet."

"How old were you when this photo was taken?"

"Twelve years old."

"How old are you now?"

"Sixteen."

"You were so short when you were young." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "Not as tall as me." He looked at the photo.

It was the truth. While Ji Minghuan had been confined at the Salvation Society base, periodically there would be a batch of lab coat-clad experimenters come to measure various physical data.

The last measured height for him was 1.62 meters, whereas Ayase Origami in the photo appeared to be about 1.55 meters.

He thought, I won.

Ayase Origami silently glanced at him, cold and detached: "Little cat, rebelled."

"It’s a fact."

"Let me see your childhood photos, let’s compare who’s taller," Ayase Origami said.

"Childish."

Xia Pingzhou retorted.

The gaze Ayase Origami had cast grew increasingly cold.

"Actually, I didn’t keep any past photos," Xia Pingzhou admitted.

Long before joining the brigade, he destroyed all evidence of his past existence to avoid leaving any traces.

"Why?"

"No reason." After a pause, Xia Pingzhou suddenly said, "Actually, I feel like you and I are a bit alike."

"In what way?"

Xia Pingzhou lowered his eyes, looking at the doll-like white girl in the photo, and quietly said: "It’s the kind of feeling where you’re clearly standing there... yet you strive to detach yourself from your body, as if you’re an outsider."

He paused, "I find it hard to describe clearly, anyway, it’s about not wanting to form connections with people around... wanting not to feel, so you lock your heart away, that’s about it."

Ji Minghuan remained silent.

In order to efficiently achieve his goals, he indeed tried his best to ignore the influence of body memory, so as not to form feelings towards people around him.

Whenever interacting with them, he constantly reminded himself that these relationships were fake, and once they were no longer needed, the body would be destroyed, and these relationships would vanish as if they never existed.

Therefore, detaching himself and not forming emotions with them was best.

All his actions should serve the "escape from Salvation Society" objective.

And Ayase Origami in the photo was the same, she too seemed to be trying hard to detach herself in some way.

Though Ji Minghuan didn’t quite understand why.

Thinking about this, he controlled Xia Pingzhou to raise his head suddenly, silently gazing at Ayase Origami’s profile.

She didn’t seem to want to answer.

Just as Xia Pingzhou withdrew his gaze, Ayase Origami suddenly spoke.

She said: "When I was a child, my father would get angry with me for no reason, so whenever he got mad, I would imagine myself as someone else... an observer."

"Why?"

"This way, I wouldn’t get hurt."

"Later... you got used to it."

"Yes."

Xia Pingzhou was silent for a moment: "When we’re talking, do you also habitually imagine yourself as someone else, observing our conversation?"

After saying this, Ji Minghuan suddenly found it amusing, thinking isn’t this exactly like me?

The difference is, he’s a genuine player, using a genuine higher-dimensional perspective to overlook Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami’s conversation.

But can he really treat everyone around him as NPCs... Actually, he’s not sure himself.

"I don’t know." Ayase Origami thought for a while.

"Why don’t you know?"

"I just don’t know."

Xia Pingzhou said flatly, "After hearing you talk about so many things, I’m thinking, no wonder you give me the impression of a dumb puppet."

Ayase Origami retorted, "You said I’m a lot like you. That little cat is also a puppet."

She seemed to be trying her best to make her words sound playful, but her tone was still somewhat stiff.

I really am a puppet, the kind you throw away after use, Xia Pingzhou thought.

"I’m not a puppet."

"Then what are you?"

"Cat doll," he said.

Ayase Origami paused slightly, then raised her haiku collection to cover her mouth, avoiding Xia Pingzhou’s gaze, as if trying not to laugh.

She slowly turned her head to look out the window, where the Venice scenery was enchanting under the moonlight.

"You give me a feeling..." After a moment, she suddenly broke the silence.

"What kind of feeling?"

"There’s a child living inside you."

What situation? Have I been seen through?

Ji Minghuan was slightly startled, and after a while, he controlled Xia Pingzhou to look up and said expressionlessly, "I think you can be more direct and just call me immature."

Ayase Origami shook her head, "It’s different."

"How is it different?"

"Can’t say." She said, "It’s just different, that’s all."

"I get it." Xia Pingzhou said, "Is it because you think I act like a child, so you take care of me?"

"Maybe."

The kimono-clad girl did not offer a definite answer, closing the photo among the book pages.

Both were silent for a while, with only the rustling sound of Ayase Origami turning the pages piercing the air.

"How about we go to London?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly suggested.

"Why?"

"To relax, walk around, since staying in the same city all the time is quite boring anyway," Xia Pingzhou said, turning to Ayase Origami, "What do you think?"

"I said, wherever you go, I’ll go."

"Just the two of us is too boring. How about we bring others along?"

"For example?"

"Bloodline."

"Not going."

"Then let’s call Jack the Ripper."

"Okay."

"Oh, then it’s decided," Xia Pingzhou said, "Aren’t you going back to sleep?"

"The little cat sleeps first."

"Alright."

Xia Pingzhou responded, feeling like Ayase Origami was afraid he’d sneak out while she slept.

He lay down on the bed, opened the character panel, and checked tonight’s loot.

[Currently holding Disposable Demon Chess Pieces: Three Flame Demons, two Blue Electric Mouse Demons, one Garbage Mountain Demon, one Magician Demon.]

"Oh right, that mission should be completed."

Thinking this, Xia Pingzhou brought up the main task panel.

[Main Task 3 Completed: Find "Your Former Teammate," clues to the Frenzied Exorcist—"Traffic Light."]

[Reward for Main Task 3: 1 Split Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point]

Xia Pingzhou quickly allocated the attribute points in hand.

[Your No. 2 body "Chess Player"’s speed attribute has changed: from B+ level to B++ level (the speed of your "Chess Species" will also increase accordingly)]

As for the skill point, all skills on the current three branches require at least 2 skill points to unlock, so having just 1 isn’t useful, and no need to bother with it for now.

Xia Pingzhou then focused on the refreshed main task.

[Main Task 3 Updated: Prevent "Salvation Society" personnel from taking away "Traffic Light."]

He took a deep breath and quietly gazed at the words on the panel.

Actually, he thought about inviting Bai Tanlang on this London trip. But the purpose of this action is to take away the person Traffic Light, not to engage in battle with the Salvation Society.

Upon seeing his son Filio, Bai Tanlang would most likely be unable to suppress his emotions and rush into a fight.

In doing so, the situation would shift completely to the scenario Ji Minghuan least wanted to see.

At this junction, he didn’t think these people stood even a one percent chance against the Salvation Society.

Moreover, if the Salvation Society realized that at this precise moment, Filio’s father appeared so coincidentally and abruptly, they would definitely suspect there’s a mole within the Salvation Society.

And Ji Minghuan would undoubtedly be the first to be suspected.

Similarly, Black Cocoon’s position is like Bai Tanlang’s.

Mentor had long suspected Black Cocoon’s superpower was related to Ji Minghuan, possibly thinking Black Cocoon was a puppet created by Ji Minghuan using his superpower.

Even the Salvation Society’s action this time might be based around this guess.

So, Black Cocoon absolutely cannot be discovered by the Salvation Society.

But Black Cocoon is his most mobile and best-suited body for enemy reconnaissance; leaving Black Cocoon behind isn’t very realistic either.

Thus, during this London action, Ji Minghuan took every step cautiously, ensuring Black Cocoon remained out of the Salvation Society’s sight.

Otherwise, all his efforts so far might end up being in vain.

Recalling Kong Youling’s face, Ji Minghuan’s expression slightly darkened. He stared at the ceiling, thinking expressionlessly:

"Whatever happens then, must stay calm... Especially at such moments, one must not act impulsively, lest falling into their trap."

Thinking of this, he controlled Xia Pingzhou to slowly close his eyelids. In the gentle rustling sound of the girl turning pages, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.