My Avatar Is Becoming the Final Boss-Chapter 48: Night Raid

“Looks like some real heavy hitters will be at this auction. Even the Whale’s Garden wants in.”
Ji Minghuan sat on the lighthouse exhibition platform, head tilted, quietly watching the massive whale disappear over the sea like a battleship.
He was definitely curious what this so-called “Whale’s Garden” looked like, but there was no way he’d follow Li Qingping into the whale’s belly—that’d be a one-way trip.
So all he could do was silently watch his best friend leave. Actually, “watch” was too kind—he was just a stalker and a spy.
No idea how Li Qingping would react if he found out his best buddy had tailed him the whole way.
The tide lapped at the beach, the searchlight swept over a calm ocean, and the constant crashing of waves rang in his ears.
“Li Qingping’s going to serve as the Second Prince’s bodyguard and attend an underground auction in Tokyo… if it’s just him, that’s fine. His stats are about the same as my old man’s. If we’re using Esper power ratings, he’s more or less a ‘quasi-calamity-level’—not even reaching Rainbow Wing’s benchmark. With the White Crow Brigade’s strength, they could squash him easily.”
“But the problem is: if Li Qingping dies at the auction, my ‘Black Cocoon’ is going to lose a main quest.”
Ji Minghuan hunched over and sighed deeply, feeling like this second character of his was off to a terrible start—not only could he not protect himself, now he had to worry about keeping someone else alive.
He lifted his head and glanced sideways at the undulating sea under the night sky, thinking, “What if things get even worse? Say my older brother, old man, and little sister also get involved in the auction... that means there’ll be at least three half-calamity-level beasts on the scene, unknown forces from the Exorcist Association, plus Japan’s underground syndicates.”
“In the end, either my second character dies there, or my main character loses multiple main quests. Either way, I lose.”
“No wonder the quest ‘Survive the Auction’ gives such absurdly high skill point rewards—it’s ridiculously difficult. But quitting the brigade is a dead end too... just take it one step at a time.”
Pitch-black Binding Restraints wrapped around his body. His figure disappeared, as if erased from the world by God. Ji Minghuan stepped onto the table, climbed out the lighthouse window, and leapt into the moonlight.
...
...
Half an hour later, Gu Qiye stood at the doorstep, using a silver-plated key to unlock the front door with a “click.”
He turned the doorknob and entered the house, looking somewhat tired. Just then, his phone buzzed with a text from an anonymous sender.
【Anonymous: Mr. Blue Arc, thank you for your help today. I didn’t expect you to do so well.】
【Gu Qiye: How did you know that girl was locked in the bottom of the library?】
【Black Cocoon: My hearing’s always been sharp. Besides, didn’t I already tell you? I see through the mask of every pretender. That fake, filthy Headmaster was never going to fool my eyes.】
【Gu Qiye: You could’ve chosen to send him to jail instead of torturing him to death.】
【Black Cocoon: What I did doesn’t even qualify as ‘torture.’】
【Gu Qiye: Only because you wanted me to stage it as a suicide. That’s why you held back.】
【Black Cocoon: Hah, so you noticed... I guess we’ve really gotten to know each other over the past two days. You say I could’ve sent him to jail, but deep down, your choice was the same. You wanted him dead too. You just couldn’t do it yourself because of who you are—but I could.】
【Gu Qiye: Nonsense.】
【Black Cocoon: The fact that you didn’t turn me in proves you agree with what I did, at least in principle.】
【Gu Qiye: Anyway, I did change my view of you today. I thought you were just some messed-up punk who only cares about thrills, but turns out you’re capable of doing the right thing every now and then.】
【Black Cocoon: What I did in the plaza that day wasn’t the right thing? If I hadn’t stepped in, you—badly injured—would’ve ended up like a dog with a broken spine, cuffed by Green Wing. You know those cuffs were off.】
【Gu Qiye: Say whatever you want.】
After sending that, Gu Qiye let out a long sigh, tossed his phone aside, and slumped onto the couch, the back of his head resting against the cushion.
He stared blankly at the ceiling. Before long, another message notification dinged.
Gu Qiye picked up his phone and checked the message.
【Black Cocoon: By the way, how’s that girl doing?】
【Gu Qiye: She’s receiving medical treatment and counseling at the hospital. Still needs time before she can be discharged. I visit her when I get off work.】
【Black Cocoon: Or, you could just give me the address.】
【Gu Qiye: Isn’t your hearing amazing? Go find it yourself.】
【Black Cocoon: True. Not like I’ve got time to visit her anyway, so I’ll leave her in your care.】
【Gu Qiye: Fair enough. Your appearance alone might leave her with trauma.】
Just as Gu Qiye set down his phone, he suddenly heard footsteps at the entrance.
He realized he hadn’t closed the door. He turned his head over the back of the couch to see who had come in.
Gu Zhuo’an had changed into slippers and was walking in with a bag of takeout. The white plastic container couldn’t contain the strong scent of scallion-seasoned ribs.
He met Gu Qiye’s eyes, cigarette dangling from his lips, and asked in a gravelly voice, “You eaten yet? I bought ribs.”
Gu Qiye was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Wanna eat together?”
“Wenyu home?”
“I just texted him. He’s upstairs. He’ll be down in a sec.”
Gu Qiye hesitated. “Then... sure.”
If Gu Wenyu hadn’t been home, he definitely would’ve turned Gu Zhuo’an down and just grabbed something from a nearby diner. But since Wenyu was home, eating together wasn’t a big deal. Gu Qiye didn’t have any hopes left for this useless father, he just didn’t want his little brother to feel lonely.
Footsteps echoed from the second-floor hallway. Ji Minghuan walked slowly down the stairs, eyes on his phone, slippers tapping on the steps.
He swaggered into the kitchen first and took a seat.
Gu Zhuo’an stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the ashtray, then put the plastic bag with the scallion ribs on the table.
The three of them ate a quiet dinner together. No one said much at the table—just ate their own food.
After dinner, Ji Minghuan brushed his teeth in the second-floor bathroom, then returned to his room. He used a Binding Restraint to close the door, lay down on the bed, and opened the System Panel, efficiently assigning his newly gained Attribute and Skill Points.
【Primary Game Character “Black Cocoon” Strength Attribute changed: C++ → B】
【1 Skill Point used. Branch “Malice” Skill Unlocked—“Esper Theft” (After binding an Esper using Binding Restraint, you may temporarily steal and store their ability. The ability disappears after one use. Effectiveness limited to 50%, and scales with Black Cocoon’s stats. Max storage time: 24 hours)】
【Next skill in the “Malice” branch unlocked: “Capacity Boost”.】
It had been a long day, and Ji Minghuan was utterly exhausted. Plus, he’d barely napped before the Instructor woke him up earlier. Now his drowsiness was impossible to hide.
He turned off the light. Within minutes, his eyelids drooped.
He fell asleep.
At the same time that night, the deathly silent holding room once again welcomed a visit from the Instructor.
But... strangely, this time the Instructor didn’t enter the usual way.
Instead, the metal door of the holding room opened in complete silence.
And in pitch-black darkness, step by step, the Instructor crept toward the sleeping Ji Minghuan.