My Avatar Is Becoming the Final Boss-Chapter 9: Peeping

Through the Binding Restraint Sensory, Ji Minghuan observed the scene in the first-floor living room—and instantly confirmed a shocking truth: Gu Qiye was none other than the famed Reality-altering Esper of Lijing City—“Blue Arc.”
A string of system panels popped up, flickering in the pitch-black room.
【Main Quest 1 Completed: Investigate what your “brother” Gu Qiye is hiding.】
【Quest Rewards: 1 Split Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point】
【Main Quest 1 Updated: Form a cooperative relationship with the Reality-altering Esper “Blue Arc” and begin building social connections within the Reality-altering Esper Association.】
In the darkness, Ji Minghuan ignored the panels for now, brushing them aside as he focused on using his Binding Restraint Sensory to keep a close watch on Gu Qiye’s every move.
Even though Gu Qiye was downstairs while Ji Minghuan remained in his room upstairs, he didn’t make any sudden moves. He kept perfectly still, avoiding even the slightest sound—because he had no idea how sharp someone like Gu Qiye’s hearing might be. For all he knew, just flipping on a light upstairs could be enough for his brother to hear it from below.
“Let him get away again, huh… that’s twice now…” Downstairs in the living room, Gu Qiye leaned against the wall.
He set the metal helmet beside him and mumbled as he wrapped a bandage around the gash on his neck, “He’s damn hard to catch… no wonder the Esper division next door hasn’t been able to get him for years. Looks like I overestimated myself.”
Then he scoffed at himself, “Now that he’s crossed into our territory, we’re in for some real work.”
Ji Minghuan took in every word through the Binding Restraint Sensory, his bright eyes shifting slightly in the dark as he guessed:
“So, an Esper criminal from the neighboring city? Gu Qiye’s strength is obvious—there are only a handful of Espers who can take him in a fight… which means he probably clashed with that ‘Ghost Bell’ guy from the news earlier. The anchor said Ghost Bell just arrived in the city and challenged the Association. Gu Qiye is ‘Blue Arc,’ basically the face of the Lijing Division. It makes perfect sense he’d be sent to investigate.”
He glanced at Gu Qiye’s injuries and made another deduction: “Judging from those wounds, they must’ve just fought. Gu Qiye was outmatched and forced to retreat home to treat his wounds.”
With that thought, Ji Minghuan picked up his phone and started searching for information on “Ghost Bell” while still listening through the Binding Restraint Sensory to Gu Qiye downstairs.
“Ghost Bell”, a notorious Esper criminal—over the past few years, he had killed many Espers in the neighboring city of Liangcheng and destroyed numerous culturally significant landmarks.
Strangely, though, he had never harmed ordinary people, nor committed any acts of robbery. It felt as if his crimes were merely for the sake of drawing attention. No one knew what he truly wanted—only Ghost Bell himself might have the answer.
From the looks of it, Gu Qiye had just finished a fight with this Esper criminal, Ghost Bell, and had to flee home wounded. In Gu Wenyu’s memories, he had never seen his brother in such a sorry state—though maybe that was simply because Gu Wenyu had never discovered this side of him.
“So Ghost Bell is really that strong?” Ji Minghuan wondered.
After bandaging his neck wound, Gu Qiye took a deep breath, rested the back of his head against the wall, and closed his eyes. Sitting there motionless in the dark, he looked like a meditating monk, and Ji Minghuan couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to pass out like that.
A few minutes later, Gu Qiye’s phone suddenly rang.
The Doraemon opening theme blared piercingly in the silence. He opened his eyes, helplessly pulled the phone from his pocket, and answered the call.
He tilted his head slightly, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder. “What, calling just to mock me for losing?”
A cold female voice responded on the other end: “No. There’s a criminal at Lijing Plaza. He’s taken hostages and specifically demanded that you appear. He said he’ll kill one hostage every ten minutes.”
Gu Qiye froze, then asked cautiously, “Don’t tell me… it’s Ghost Bell again?”
“No, it’s not him. Ghost Bell fled the harbor after fighting with you. The rest of the team is still pursuing him—he hasn’t been spotted at the plaza.”
“Then who is it?”
“The criminal at the plaza is another Esper, codename ‘Green Wing.’” The woman paused, then added, “…You have too many enemies.”
“Tonight really won’t quit, huh.”
Gu Qiye sighed as he took off the upper half of his uniform, his toned body exposed in the dark.
Through the Binding Restraint Sensory, Ji Minghuan could clearly see a horrifying gash across Gu Qiye’s waist. The skin around it was stained bright red with blood, and the untreated wound was clearly worsening—thankfully, Gu Qiye was an Esper. A normal person would've passed out already.
“You better move fast. They’re about to kill the first hostage,” the voice on the phone warned. “If someone dies on a public livestream, the damage to the Association’s image will be severe.”
“I know… Stall him for now. Do whatever it takes to protect the hostages. I’ll be there soon.” Gu Qiye, still holding the phone with his shoulder, looked down and began wrapping bandages around the gash on his waist. He didn’t even disinfect the wound.
“Got it.” The woman paused again, her voice softening. “Are you seriously hurt?”
“I’ll manage…” Gu Qiye said nonchalantly, then suddenly yanked the bandage tight around his waist with both hands, gritting his teeth through a low groan.
Once the bleeding was under control, he let out a breath, pulled his blue-and-teal metal combat suit back on, put on the signature helmet of the Reality-altering Esper “Blue Arc,” and turned toward the foyer.
As Ji Minghuan watched Gu Qiye’s silhouette disappear down the hallway, he slowly retracted the Binding Restraint from the floor—his sensory link vanished, and his superhuman hearing faded with it.
“Still going out, even in that condition…”
Hearing the front door close downstairs, Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and muttered with amusement.
From Gu Qiye’s conversation, he gathered that Gu Qiye had just barely survived a fight with Ghost Bell, and now another Esper criminal had appeared in the center of Lijing—one who called him out by name and threatened to kill hostages unless he showed up.
Under these extreme circumstances, as the public face of the Lijing Division of the Reality-altering Esper Association, Gu Qiye had no choice but to respond—even seriously wounded.
He had to go. Not just to save lives, but to maintain public trust in the Association. If he ignored the threat, or if a hostage were killed during a livestream, it would trigger a massive public backlash.
Ji Minghuan didn’t turn on the lights in his room, just in case Gu Qiye happened to glance up and notice the upstairs window still lit.
He slid off the bed lightly, crouched by the floor-to-ceiling window like a wildcat, and peered down at the street under the moonlight.
The moment Gu Qiye, clad in his Blue Arc battle suit, stepped out the door, his figure turned into a streak of deep blue lightning, streaking off into the darkness at the end of the street—vanishing from Ji Minghuan’s view in an instant.
“So fast… Even injured, he’s still this fast. No wonder he’s Lijing’s superstar.” Ji Minghuan couldn’t help but genuinely admire him.
He stared at the empty street for a moment, then slowly pulled his gaze back from the window. In the moonlight, his eyes drifted toward the black mask and the folded swallowtail trench coat he had tossed in the corner of the room earlier.
The next moment, Ji Minghuan suddenly extended his right hand toward the mask. The black Binding Restraint unfurled like a bandage, swiftly slithering to the mask and wrapping tightly around it—then pulled it back to him.
He held the mask in his palm, stood up, and walked toward the door.
As he passed the wardrobe, he casually used the Binding Restraint to pull up the trench coat from the bottom, then stepped slowly out of the room.