My Avatar Is Becoming the Final Boss-Chapter 27: First Meeting

【Passive Skill Activated—“Binding Restraint Detection.”】
The system notification chimed, followed by a red-and-black panel popping up. Brown text crawled up Ji Minghuan’s pupils like migrating ants, one after another.
【Target Gender: Female】
【Target Attributes: Strength: B level; Speed: B++ level; Spirit: A level】
【Extraordinary Species: Exorcist】
【Class: Tier 2 (Exorcists have a total of three tiers)】
【Tianqu Power: Retro Monocle (SS-level rarity among Tianqu Powers) (Currently bound demons: Train Demon, Movie Demon)】
"Still don’t know what this ‘Tianqu Power’ thing really is, but judging from the data, this person should be mid-to-upper tier combat force on the Exorcist side. No wonder Su Zimai calls her 'Instructor'. Too bad… still not as strong as those two Calamity-level bosses in our family."
Ji Minghuan teased inwardly while calmly withdrawing his right hand and tucking it into his school uniform jacket pocket.
Then he said to Ke Qirui, “Then my sister’s yours. I’ve gotta go home and shower, made plans to game with some friends tonight.”
At that moment, Ke Qirui’s right hand hovered in midair for a second. She raised her brows ever so slightly.
Lifting her gaze from beneath the brim of her cap, she looked Ji Minghuan over with interest. She said, “I’ll take good care of her. Let me know if you need anything.”
“What do you mean I’m hers now?” Su Zimai frowned and glanced at Ji Minghuan.
“You're so dramatic.”
As he spoke, Ji Minghuan casually ruffled the top of Su Zimai’s head. “If you hadn’t run away from home, I’d be outta the shower and resting in bed by now. Got it?”
Surprisingly, Su Zimai didn’t resist—just stared blankly. She’d never been this close with anyone, not even Gu Wenyu.
Off to the side, Ke Qirui quietly watched Ji Minghuan’s right hand. After a moment, she suddenly said, “How about we exchange contact info? That way you guys can feel more at ease.”
Ji Minghuan nodded. “Makes sense. Otherwise it’ll be hard to explain to my older bro. Wanna add me on WeChat?”
“Sorry, I only use my phone number.”
“Oh. Then phone number it is.”
The two ignored Su Zimai’s protest and efficiently exchanged phone numbers.
“I’m off. You two talk.”
With that, Ji Minghuan patted his butt and got up from the swing, walking away.
As the two watched in silence, he strolled out of the park. At the corner, the inky dusk swallowed his silhouette.
On the dimly lit street, a car roared by. Ji Minghuan paused mid-step and suddenly thought, “Speaking of which, why isn’t Su Zimai’s mission complete yet? Didn’t I already find out she’s an Exorcist?”
With that thought, Ji Minghuan pulled up the Quest Log to check the progress of his four Main Quests.
【Main Quest 1 (Phase 3): Complete first collaboration with Reality-altering Esper ‘Blue Arc’, deepen mutual trust.】
【Main Quest 2 (Phase 2): Establish a cooperative relationship with Super-criminal ‘Ghost Bell’, then expand social connections among evil Espers.】
【Main Quest 3: Investigate what your ‘sister’ Su Zimai is hiding.】
【Main Quest 4: Investigate what your ‘bro’ Li Qingping is hiding.】
He thought to himself, “So I managed to complete Phase 1 of the first two quests, but couldn’t finish the ‘investigate my sister’s identity’ quest. Probably because I immediately found out Gu Qiye is Blue Arc and Gu Zhuo’an is Ghost Bell, but didn’t figure out Su Zimai’s exact role as an Exorcist, so it didn’t count.”
Ji Minghuan closed all panels from his view and shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to find time to tail her later.”
If he turned back now to follow the two in the park, he’d likely be able to figure out Su Zimai’s status in the Exorcists and naturally complete “Main Quest 3.”
But given his current power level, tailing Ke Qirui would be pure suicide—Ji Minghuan was at least self-aware enough to know that… Same goes for stalking anyone else in the family without learning a skill like “Conceal Presence.” Especially that old man code-named “Ghost Bell.”
With Gu Zhuo’an’s combat instincts built up over the last two years, if he noticed someone tailing him outside, he’d probably go for the kill before even confirming who it was—just like earlier when Ji Minghuan tapped him with the Binding Restraints in the kitchen and immediately got his wrist grabbed.
“Still gotta work with the masked old man later. Hopefully he’s as easy to talk to as my brother.”
Ji Minghuan muttered softly while rubbing his temples and letting out a yawn. “Better sleep early tonight. Can’t wait to see what freak of a game character I get next.”
Meanwhile, back in the park.
Ke Qirui lowered her eyes, expressionless, staring at the palm of her right hand. That subtle odd sensation during the handshake with Ji Minghuan lingered in her mind.
Su Zimai picked up her backpack from the sand and asked, “What’s wrong, Captain?”
Ke Qirui pressed her hand to her chin and murmured lazily, “Your brother… seems a bit unusual.”
“Him?” Su Zimai blinked. “What do you mean?”
Ke Qirui paused for half a second, sorting through what had just happened.
“He was probably worried his sister was in danger and tried probing me… Based on what I saw, that instant-cast ability should only be possible for Espers. Anecdote Envoys and Exorcists need certain prerequisites to activate their power, but I didn’t see him do anything like that.”
“Judging from Little Mai’s reaction… she doesn’t seem to know her brother’s an Esper. Could it be he’s been secretly protecting her for a long time?”
“Looks like he doesn’t want her to know his identity either. No need for me to meddle.”
With that thought, Ke Qirui glanced at Su Zimai and casually said, “I dunno… his vibe, looks… or maybe just a feeling?”
Then she suddenly shook her head. “Forget it. It’s nothing. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“Huh? Captain, that’s so mean, leaving me hanging.” Su Zimai frowned. “Are you saying… my brother has the potential to be an Exorcist?”
“No. I don’t sense any trace of a Tianqu Power from him. Let’s drop it.”
“Wait, don’t tell me… you’ve got a crush on my brother? You were totally staring at him earlier.” Su Zimai raised a brow and squinted.
Ke Qirui arched her cool, sharp eyes and asked with mild curiosity, “Hmm? Why would you think that?”
“You were weirdly into him. I thought you wanted to recruit him, but then you said he’s not Exorcist material. So what else could it be?”
“Just a little misunderstanding.”
“Yeah, that makes sense… I always felt like you were into girls anyway.”
“Objectively speaking, I think I’ve only ever had a crush on Sherlock Holmes in novels.”
Saying that, Ke Qirui pulled her right hand back into her trench coat pocket, raised the other to ruffle Su Zimai’s hair, and smiled at her. “Pack up. If you don’t wanna go home, don’t. Come stay at my place for the summer.”
“Why’re you patting my head too?”
“Just felt like it,” Ke Qirui pulled out a cigarette holder from her pocket and bit down on it. “Your brother can pat your head, but I can’t?”
“It’s not that. He just went crazy all of a sudden and I didn’t react in time.”
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve met your family. Why didn’t you introduce them before?”
Su Zimai replied blankly, “Forget it. They’re all muggles. We live in different worlds.”
She paused. “Especially my older brother. He’s already exhausted from school and taking care of us. I don’t want them dragged into dangerous stuff.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame,” Ke Qirui said indifferently. She took a puff from the cigarette holder, then said, “Let’s go.”
With that, she walked toward the park exit ahead of Su Zimai, who quickly followed.
“You old smoker. Soon as my brother’s gone, you stop pretending?” Su Zimai grumbled.
“Well, I couldn’t let him know his little sister’s spending summer with an old smoker, could I?” Ke Qirui teased.
“Whatever. Hey, are we getting the Train Demon to take us to Tokyo tonight?”
“Yeah. Got some things to discuss with Japan’s Exorcist Association tomorrow.”
“Then I want tempura shrimp. I didn’t even eat dinner, and they started arguing.”
“Alright, alright, Mai-Mai can have anything she wants.”