My Avatar Is Becoming the Final Boss-Chapter 20: Probing

The cicadas outside screamed desperately, and the hum of the electric fan drowned out the unrelenting noise.
The shot on the TV screen cut back to the studio, where the host read the script while glancing down:
“The association spokesperson reminds citizens: if you encounter any similar black ribbon-like objects, stay away immediately and call the emergency hotline. The identity and motives of ‘Black Cocoon’ are still under investigation. Our station will continue to follow the developments. Next up: weather updates.”
At that, Ji Minghuan looked away from the TV screen.
He thought, “Before Gu Qiye comes home, I should use ‘Binding Restraint Detection’ to check what new abilities Su Zimai has. Who knows, I might just complete the main quest directly.”
With that in mind, he opened the Skill Tree panel again to double-check the skill’s effect.
【Binding Restraint Detection (Learned): When you use the Binding Restraint to touch a target (must be human), a set of their data (Attributes, Abilities) will pop up in your mind.】
He hadn’t tried it in practice yet, but judging by the description, a simple touch should be enough. He figured.
“Want a drink?” Ji Minghuan asked as he got up from the sofa.
“Cola,” Su Zimai replied.
“Okay.”
Ji Minghuan walked to a corner of the living room, opened the fridge, took a bottle of cola from the freezer, and then pulled out a round-tube ice cream from the lower compartment.
He slowly walked toward Su Zimai, raised the hand holding the cola, and from the sleeve of his school uniform jacket, a Binding Restraint emerged. He quietly and slowly reached out toward her shoulder from behind.
In that moment, the pitch-black Binding Restraint, like a small threadsnake, darted out from his sleeve, slithering over the veins on Ji Minghuan’s wrist.
Then, it gently touched Su Zimai’s shoulder.
【Condition met: Physical contact with target established. Passive Skill “Binding Restraint Detection” activated.】
On the sofa, Su Zimai shivered while playing on her phone. The sensation felt like a venomous snake suddenly coiled around her neck.
She was still trying to figure out what touched her when she whipped her head around—only to see a bottle of cold cola. Fresh from the fridge, the red can was still releasing a misty white vapor.
At that moment, Ji Minghuan had already retracted the Binding Restraint into his sleeve. To distract Su Zimai, he pressed the cold cola against her neck, then let go.
The can, icy as a block of ice, felt like a rock falling off a cliff. It dropped from Su Zimai’s shoulder, only to be caught mid-air by her quick reflexes.
“Are you f**king nuts?”
She side-eyed Ji Minghuan from over the back of the sofa, her gaze cold and her voice sinking. No one liked being messed with like that, especially when what she just felt was eerily unsettling—like being stung by some bizarre creature.
“I got you a drink and this is your attitude? Next time, I won’t bother,” Ji Minghuan said as he unwrapped the ice cream and at the same time checked the ability panel generated by “Binding Restraint Detection.”
【Target Gender: Female】
【Target Attributes: Strength: D-grade; Speed: C++ grade; Spirit: B-grade】
【Extraordinary Species: Exorcist】
【Rank: First-tier (Exorcists are ranked into three tiers)】
【Tianqu Power: Magic Hand (Rarity: A-grade in Tianqu) (Currently bound demon: Fridge Demon)】
“What the hell is all this…”
Ji Minghuan expressionlessly gnawed at the ice cream, then opened the Quest Log, only to see that the main quest “Find out what your sister is hiding” was still incomplete.
“Is it because I haven’t seen her use her extraordinary abilities firsthand? Or because I still don’t know exactly what kind of identity she holds in the ‘Demon Hunters’?” He replayed last night’s image of Gu Qiye dressing his wounds in battle gear in the living room and quickly drew his conclusion.
“Right,” Su Zimai suddenly said.
“What now?”
“Dad said he’s coming back tonight.” Su Zimai said.
Ji Minghuan paused, then replied, “But he didn’t text me.”
He thought for a moment and muttered, “Guess he didn’t text our brother either. Just told you?”
“Then you tell him later.”
“Sure. But if our brother hears Dad’s coming back, he might not come home tonight.”
“Whatever,” Su Zimai said blankly, “But if he doesn’t, I’m staying over at a friend’s place too.”
Just then, the sound of the front door opening rang out. The two of them turned around on the sofa. Gu Qiye stepped in from the entryway, carrying a heavy shopping bag. From its crinkled shape, it was clear it was packed with boxes of food ingredients.
Gu Qiye played with his phone in his left hand and lifted the shopping bag with his right. With a tone that sounded half-threatening, he said to the two on the sofa: “I’m cooking tonight, you little punks better not run off. Wait till after dinner to go out.”
Ji Minghuan eyed his neck. There was no trace of a wound now—not even a scar. Considering how badly he’d been injured by Ghost Bell last night, Ji couldn’t help but marvel at how fast Reality-altering Espers recovered. Then again… maybe the Esper Association’s medical support was just that good.
“Got it,” Su Zimai answered.
“What about you, Student Xiao Yu,” Gu Qiye asked Ji Minghuan as he walked toward the kitchen, “You hear me?”
Ji Minghuan lazily replied, “I’m not running off. But there’s someone else coming for dinner tonight.”
“Who?” Gu Qiye put the bag on the kitchen table, raised a brow, and looked back at them. “A classmate? A friend? Then I better make something that looks decent. Gotta leave a good impression.”
“It’s Dad.”
The air in the living room suddenly fell silent. Gu Qiye’s expression froze on his face, staying there for several seconds.
His reaction wasn’t just because their father, Gu Zhuo’an, hadn’t come home in two years. It was also because… of what “Black Cocoon” had said when they met alone last night.
……
“Aren’t you curious? What exactly has your father been doing these past two years? Did he really just stop wanting to see you after a fight? Or maybe… he had other plans. To keep you and your siblings out of it, he had no choice but to leave.”
“That’s right, Gu Zhuo’an—could it be that, like you, he’s hiding some secret no one knows…”
“Think about it. Is your father really the kind of coward who would avoid his own kids for two whole years? Or was something else forcing him to stay away—just like how you joined the Reality-altering Espers for the truth behind your mother’s death.”
……
Snapping out of it, Gu Qiye was silent for two seconds, then softly said to Ji Minghuan:
“If he wants to come, let him.”