My Avatar is Becoming the Ultimate BOSS

"You?"

"Me."

"You, you, you?"

"Me, me, me." Su Zimai glared at him.

"Alright, good luck," said Gu Wenyu. "But don't push yourself too hard, or in a few days you'll end up like big brother and wash your hands of it all."

Su Zimai lowered her head, saying nothing.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly said quietly, "I'm leaving tomorrow, and this time I might really be gone for a long, long time. I might not even return for the start of school."

"Why?"

"We've been targeted by some very dangerous people," said Su Zimai. "Last time, my friend was almost killed by them. If it wasn't for luck, if they hadn't been caught, he'd be dead."

"Dangerous people?" Gu Wenyu muttered, "The kind you can't tell me about?"

Su Zimai nodded.

"Then why not tell big brother? He's so strong, he can definitely protect you."

"I don't want to involve him. Brother is already very tired, I don't want him to worry about me. Moreover, even in front of those people, maybe even he..."

"That dangerous? Even Blue Arc can't handle it?"

Su Zimai was silent.

She whispered, "Yes, actually, I'm quite scared. Lately, I've been having nightmares every day. Black Cocoon says that once those people have their sights on us, it's hard to end things. I'm not even sure if I'll ever be able to come back after leaving this time."

Looking at Su Zimai's lowered eyelids, Gu Wenyu said softly:

"Then don't go."

"No, I don't want you to get hurt."

After speaking, she suddenly leaned forward, hugging Gu Wenyu tightly, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Even though I know I might never see you again, I must go. So... if I really disappear, you must remember me." At this point, her eyes reddened suddenly.

Gu Wenyu was stunned. He understood that, lately, the people around Su Zimai had been continuously involved in incidents. First, Lin Zhengquan was attacked by the Salvation Society, then Gu Qiye was nearly killed by Mu Long. Her spirit was on the verge of collapsing, which made her unable to hold back from saying these things.

"You're still the same as when you were a child, when you were quite short and couldn't even reach my waist, yet always pretended to be brave in front of strangers. At night, you'd come to me, crying and saying: 'Brother, hug me.'"

"Can't you say something nice?"

Gu Wenyu was silent for a moment, his lowered hair covering his eyes.

After a while, he reached up to touch the top of Su Zimai's head.

"Take care of yourself," he said. "Come back alive."

.....

.....

It was August 3rd.

That night, in Tokyo, Japan, in a café near the Tokyo Bay Rainbow Bridge.

A girl in a reddish-brown kimono released sheets of paper from her sleeves, which formed a key to unlock the wooden door, then gently pushed it open and entered.

The lights came on, casting a warm orange glow that illuminated the faces of the four members of the troupe.

Xia Pingzhou sighed, "I can't believe this café is still here. I thought it had been flattened by the gangs."

"They don't have time to search such remote corners," the hacker said blandly. "This place doesn't have much foot traffic, and only old customers come to Uncle Takayama's café."

Robert scratched his robotic head, "Without a cook, eating out in Japan isn't safe. Let's have the hacker order us some takeout?"

"Am I your electronic babysitter?" The hacker squinted. "Ordering takeout requires my help?"

"For safety," Robert said.

"Electronic pet, do not overstep," Ayase Origami said while inspecting the contents of a drawer behind the counter.

The hacker clicked his tongue, hands tucked in his jumpsuit pockets.

"Actually, I can cook," Xia Pingzhou volunteered. "I have a foundation in it myself and learned a few things from Uncle Takayama."

"Then we'll rely on you, newbie," Robert stretched lazily. "Oh, and... the leader and Jack the Ripper are coming soon. I heard they're here to recruit a new member and take care of some business."

"Jack the Ripper is coming?"

Xia Pingzhou turned to the hacker, "Then electronic pet, convey a message to Jack the Ripper for me."

"Convey what?" The hacker sneered, "Anything with the word 'mom' in it, I won't indulge."

"Tell her to leave some demons for me, don't kill them all," Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "Otherwise, I'll really have to avoid her for a vacation."

"Oh."

"I have a message too," whispered the kimono-clad girl seated behind the counter.

"What do you have to say to her?" The hacker looked at her disdainfully, "Your conjoined twin thinking is just identical."

"Leave some demons, there's no cat food left," she said nonchalantly.

.....

.....

That night, both Gu Wenyu and Xia Pingzhou went to bed early.

Meanwhile, Yaguba, after returning with the great Dr. Zerxi from practicing medicine, filled the bathtub in the small hotel with hot water and leapt in, falling asleep in the water.

On this rare occasion, Ji Minghuan had a good dream.

He slept soundly, not dreaming of that stormy night when he was locked in a wardrobe, hearing the sounds of banging outside.

In the dream, it was the roof of the Welfare Institute, looking up to see a sky full of stars. There were many people around him, Li Qingping drinking beer; Uncle Takayama, like a ninja, hung upside down under the eaves, writing haiku with pen and paper.

But upon waking from the dream, something unexpected occurred.

August 4th, that morning, when unit one Gu Wenyu woke up from bed, he received a shocking message upon turning on his phone.

[Ke Qirui: Lin Zhengquan is dead.]

Gu Wenyu's fingers paused slightly, then he began typing in the message box.

[Black Cocoon: Are you serious? Today's not April Fool's Day.]

[Ke Qirui: Last night, on his way to find Lin Yilong, he was attacked by a superpower user. The identity of that person is still unknown.]

[Ke Qirui: No time to chat, we must leave the city immediately, or Xiaomai's family will be dragged in too. Even our communication now is very dangerous.]

[Black Cocoon: Where are you?]

[Ke Qirui: We're on the Train Demon. I'm planning to take Xiaomai and Xu Sanyan to Lake Hunting. We won't return to Li Jing for a long time.]

[Black Cocoon: What about Lin Zhengquan's body? From the body, we should be able to determine the methods of that superpower user.]

[Ke Qirui: Only a head hung on a street lamp. The rest of his body has... vanished.]

Gu Wenyu was stunned. Rising from bed, he used a restraint belt to turn the doorknob and open the door, stepping into the corridor, he looked, and Su Zimai's room was already empty.

[Ghost Bell: Mu Long is looking for you, things are serious.]

[Ghost Bell: You better come quickly, we're still at the underground location, I'm here waiting with him.]

[Black Cocoon: Received. Also, convey my condolences to Mr. Mu Long.]

After typing, Gu Wenyu entered the bathroom to freshen up, staring at his face in the mirror.

"Lin Zhengquan is dead? Then knowing Lin Yilong's personality, he'll surely become an enemy of the Salvation Society in the future," Gu Wenyu thought. "This means he'll very likely collaborate with me to capture 'Urushibara Liuli,' a member of the Salvation Society hidden within Rainbow Wings."

"But the problem now is... how can I convince big brother to join Rainbow Wings?"

"Yes, if I tell big brother that those after his sister are from the 'Salvation Society,' and the Salvation Society's dogs are hiding in Rainbow Wings, this would give big brother a reason to rejoin Rainbow Wings."

Thinking this, Gu Wenyu wiped his face with a towel, "Better handle Mu Long's matter first."

After freshening up, he used restraint sensing to ensure no one was in the house, then returned to the room, opened a box, and pulled out the Black Cocoon suit, changing into a black trench coat and wearing a mask with dark red accents.

Then, he wrapped himself with the restraint belt, distributing gravity, leaped out of an open floor-to-ceiling window, and vanished into the first light of dawn.