CHAPTER 526: CHAPTER 325: SHADOWS, WISHES, FAREWELLS

In a corner of the Spirit Library, Ji Minghuan looked up, curiously and surprisingly gazing at the suddenly appeared fourth shadow.

"Oh... what is this thing? Could it be the prototype of the fourth machine?" he murmured.

Just as he said, another corpse had appeared hanging from the ceiling at some point.

The library was empty.

From the ceiling hung the bodies of two people and a shark, their heads drooping, motionless under the setting sun. The afterglow shone through the paper window, staining them with an inescapable blood-red hue;

And beside them, at this moment, hung a shadow that seemed out of place.

Upon closer inspection, the fourth corpse was covered with a faint shadow, making it impossible to discern its true appearance. Yet, at times it resembled some eerie and fierce animal, and at others, a slightly immature humanoid, ever-changing.

"Minghuan, are you ignoring me now?" Red Dragon asked solemnly.

Ji Minghuan stood in the corner of the library, scratching his hospital gown in a speechless manner, staring at Red Dragon’s face.

It squinted slightly, its pupils glowing intensely red in the shadow.

A person and a dragon silently stared at each other.

Ji Minghuan quietly looked at it for a while, then heaved a heavy sigh.

"Alright, I really haven’t forgotten you. There’s going to be a big battle in a couple of days, I’ve been very busy lately..." With that, he sat down in front of Red Dragon, tilting his head and crossing his legs.

"So what do you plan to do next?" Red Dragon asked.

"Plan to do what?"

"If the Bee King is really born on that island, according to the Salvation Society’s claims, its strength is comparable to the Mythical Level."

"Don’t worry." Ji Minghuan shrugged, "Even if the Bee King is really born, I’ll just kick it into the gutter."

"So confident." Red Dragon snorted coldly.

"There’s no way around it, overthinking won’t get anything done," Ji Minghuan said, "We’re very close to catching the Salvation Society’s tail. If nothing goes wrong, I’ll know where their base is after this operation."

"I think you’re a bit arrogant, Minghuan," Red Dragon said, "You think being a Restricted Level Superpower User, whatever you do will lead to the results you want, treating reality like a game and those around you as puppets, right?"

Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows, curiously looking up, silently staring into its eyes.

"Am I as you say?" he asked.

"Do you plan to kill those kids in the Salvation Society?" Red Dragon raised a claw, scratching its bifocals on its nose.

Ji Minghuan was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head, grabbed his ankles with his hands, and dazedly said, "If possible, I hope they don’t have to die. But isn’t that unlikely?"

"What about Jack the Ripper?"

"What’s there to think about, killing her is no problem," Ji Minghuan raised his head and said, "Not killing her, and I’ll lose a Catastrophe Level machine; killing her, I can not only save Xia Pingzhou but also make the troupe follow my steps, obediently taken to the Salvation Society’s base, becoming my aid."

"What about that kimono girl?"

Hearing this, Ji Minghuan suddenly fell silent. He leaned back slightly, supporting himself on the floor with his hands, sighing towards the ceiling.

"Can you stop asking so much?" he said, "Now you know why I don’t come to the library to chat with you?"

"I just hope you understand what you really want in your heart."

"Where in the world does everything turn out perfectly?" Ji Minghuan turned his head, looking at the sunset outside the library, "In cartoons, don’t they say that to get what you want, you have to make sacrifices?"

"What if the sacrifice is that white-haired girl?"

"Then I’ll destroy the Earth, and no one gets to play," he said.

"Your principles and bottom line have been very clear from the beginning."

Red Dragon looked at him, then lowered its head to continue reading.

"If I’m really playing the Earth as a game, like you said, then she must be a player too," Ji Minghuan said softly, eyes downcast, "She’s my only family. If I don’t care about her, who else could I care about?"

"But the people you care about have already grown in number," Red Dragon said, "You just don’t want to admit it."

"No, they’re just being used for their feelings, we dark little school kids are like that."

"Really?" Red Dragon said, "I only see a child pretending to be strong, afraid to face his inner self."

"No more talk, man and dragon are not the same, don’t use the way you educate Li Qingping on me."

Ji Minghuan shot it a glance, sprawling on the library floor.

After a while of dazed thinking, he suddenly asked, "When Li Qingping wanted to put Whale Court’s matters behind him and live carefree in the human world, was it you who told him, ’Do you really not care about the Third Prince, can you really watch the Third Prince die in Whale Court’, and then he foolishly returned to the Terrarium?"

"I did say that," Red Dragon did not deny.

"I figured."

"But even if I didn’t say so, Li Qingping would go back sooner or later," Red Dragon said, "I’m merely observing the behaviors of you kids, helping you understand your true selves."

"Just a dragon and you’re getting verbose," Ji Minghuan sighed.

Pausing for a moment, he slowly closed his eyes, "But you’re right, he is indeed that kind of person."

...

...

At the same time, on the island of the Light-Eating Bees, the hive.

Qiao sat at the hive entrance, finished reading the last book, closed it, and piled it to the side with his tail.

"So boring, why hasn’t that group of humans come yet?" Cameron yawned and asked, "How about I go have some fun in Osaka tomorrow? Just to test my abilities."

"Cameron, don’t act rashly," Malvite scratched his head, "Her Majesty the Queen Bee hasn’t awakened yet, we need to guard this place."

"Let her be, the three of us are enough to guard here," Guli said dismissively.

"I’ll be back shortly."

Qiao said, lifting the pile of books on the ground with his tail.

"Going again?" Cameron cradled his cheeks, curiously asking, "What’s so interesting about books from the lower life forms?"

"Don’t get too obsessed." Guli added.

"It’s none of your concern." Qiao looked up and saw the moonlight.

"Qiao, don’t go tomorrow, play cards with me." Malvite said from beside him without looking up, "I just learned how to play cards, and now you’re obsessed with something else."

"I’ll spend time with you tomorrow."

Qiao said expressionlessly, expanding his hexagonal wings, and shot upwards, instantly soaring through the clouds and basking in the moonlight.

That day, the Osaka Bookstore stayed open late into the night as usual.

Su Wei also sat alone behind the counter as usual, drinking coffee and looking down at an old, yellowed book.

It was left to him by his grandfather, containing stories of the Su family through generations. He hadn’t flipped through it for a long time. He initially intended to leave it to Su Ying, but who knew his daughter had no interest in stepping into the world of exorcists.

A sudden loud noise came from the street outside the bookstore moments later.

"Still so loud." Su Wei chuckled.

After a while, a slender tail stepped over the threshold first, entering the bookstore.

Followed by a pitch-black figure.

Qiao slowly lifted his head, his golden eyes still chilling. Each of his arms held a few books, while his long tail hooked three books, which were lent to him by Su Wei yesterday.

"Old thing, I’m here again."

He said, turning to look at Su Wei behind the counter.

"Calling me ’old thing’ is quite impolite." Su Wei said without looking up, "Do I look that old to you?"

"Don’t play dumb, I can see your age." Qiao said coldly.

Su Wei rubbed his temples, smiling, "Tell me, what book do you want this time?"

Qiao asked, "Shouldn’t you be introducing me to something?"

As he spoke, he used his tail to return the three hooked books to the shelf, then slowly lowered the books clamped under his arms, catching them with his tail to return them to the empty spots on the shelf.

"Sit first." Su Wei said, "I’m getting old too, my memory isn’t great, let me take my time finding the right book for you."

"Alright."

Qiao used his tail to pull a chair and sat down, then grabbed a children’s picture book and quietly opened it.

He frowned, "Human children read such things?"

"Humans are different from you, they are weak and lack wisdom at birth." Su Wei said, "We all grow up stumbling, learning from mistakes to achieve our current status on Earth."

Qiao remained silent, reading a few more pages, noting the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

"Is running a bookstore interesting?"

"It’s quite leisurely, with endless books to read." Su Wei said, "Occasionally, customers come in, someone to chat with while sitting in the bookstore." Su Wei chuckled, "Of course, sometimes it can be a headache; some people borrow books and never return them, claiming they got blown up by playing cards."

After a long silence, Qiao spoke in the quiet.

"I suddenly feel like opening a bookstore wouldn’t be bad." He put down the book, crossed his arms, "Hey, human, do you think I’m suited for it?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Su Wei, his golden pupils devoid of emotion.

"You aren’t suited." Su Wei said immediately.

"Why?" Qiao frowned.

"Because you’re a Bee Prince."

"What’s wrong with being a Bee Prince?" Qiao’s tone grew colder.

Su Wei asked, "Wouldn’t an anomaly like you be scorned by your kind?"

He sipped his coffee, mocking, "Among the Light-Eating Bees that want to conquer the world, there’s a Bee Prince whose wish is to open a bookstore in the human world."

"So what?" Qiao asked, "I don’t care about the gaze of my own kind."

"Can you truly abandon your species?" Su Wei looked up, meeting his eyes, "Even if you watch them being slaughtered by humans without care?"

Qiao lowered his head, silent for a moment, then lifted his gaze to meet his.

"Don’t push it."

"That’s your answer."

"Boring." Qiao shook his head, "I’m leaving, returning tomorrow." With that, he shut the picture book and hooked a whole row of picture books with his tail, heading out of the bookstore.

"You might not be able to come tomorrow." Su Wei said.

"What do you mean?" Qiao paused.

"If you truly wish to open a bookstore, and can ensure you don’t eat humans, then don’t go back tonight." Su Wei said, "You can wait for me in China Li Jing. I’ll return there in a while and can teach you how to do it step by step."

Qiao turned his head, coldly staring at Su Wei’s eyes. After a while, he broke the silence.

"Boring."

With that, he had already moved out of the bookstore, unfolded his hexagonal wings, and shot straight into the clouds.

Su Wei took a sip of coffee, "Why is it that you don’t believe it when it’s said?"