ccnovels Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104
The perspective of the next chapter shifted to Xie Chang’an and the others, who had split up to act separately.
In the darkness, Xie Chang’an waved goodbye to Ji Qing, then ran without stopping toward the area that needed to be searched. Ji Qing remained where he was and watched him from afar for a moment before quickly turning away. The manga did not show Ji Qing’s features at that moment, yet the readers still sensed a trace of something strange:
【Was the Valedictorian waiting for Chang’an to leave?】
【He was probably trying to make sure Chang’an was safe in the early stage, right? After all, even the Valedictorian could not be sure whether this might be the last time the two of them saw each other.】
【Uh…】
【That really is possible. Ji Qing knows quite a lot about the lower strata of society. Maybe he has already witnessed many tragedies.】
“Not quite, I think?” Ji Qing recalled hesitantly.
At the time, he had only wanted to sigh over how Xie Chang’an had suddenly grown up. But once the manga readers interpreted it that way, it really did give off the feeling of “watching a companion walk onto a battlefield where life and death were unknown.” Ji Qing murmured in surprise, “Eh? So I’m the beautiful, powerful, tragic type?”
The manga panels then followed Ji Qing.
Using his Ability, Ji Qing leaped between the train wreckage, searching for traces of surviving passengers. He did not make any effort to conceal his movements, so he was quickly spotted by the Mutated Vultures. Ji Qing did not care at all and toyed with them for a while as if a cat were playing with mice.
The flock of mutated birds let out low snarls when they sensed something was wrong.
Ji Qing quickly locked onto the position of the flock’s leader and realized that he needed to lure it away.
So Ji Qing tried making a provocative gesture, but he had not expected the effect to be so astonishingly good. The corners of his mouth inexplicably turned downward, and a shadow instantly fell over his eyes.
【? Is the Valedictorian in a bad mood?】
【Who would be in a good mood after being looked down on? Even if things did go the way he expected, being in a bad mood is perfectly normal, is it not?】
【He got looked down on.】
【Looks like Ji Qing is pretty proud deep down, even though he is usually gentle when dealing with people.】
【It feels a little strange, but I cannot explain why.】
【There is nothing strange about it.】
【Do none of you feel like it does not really fit the Valedictorian’s usual character setup?】
【But geniuses are proud by nature.】
The words in the barrage comments were like ripples splashing across the surface of water. Ji Qing murmured thoughtfully, “When you put it that way, it really does not fit the way I usually act.”
He had always believed himself to be someone who remained calm in the face of trouble, yet he had lost control a little on the battlefield where reason was needed most. Combined with what happened afterward, Ji Qing had good reason to believe that something had already gone wrong with him at that point. Ji Qing thought with relief: Fortunately, I never set up any overly exaggerated persona.
At most, something at this level could only count as a possible clue.
In the manga, Ji Qing successfully lured the flock away.
The white-haired, green-eyed boy flew into the night sky together with the Aberrants chasing him, and the manga’s perspective then flashed to Xie Chang’an. Standing beside the train wreckage, he looked up once toward the sky Ji Qing had disappeared into, then immediately ran in the direction the flock leader had taken off.
The next panel showed Gu Lingxue, who was still on the Elevated Tracks.
Using an ice pole, Gu Lingxue pried at an Aberrant corpse, preparing to use it as leverage to jump down from the Elevated Tracks. The instant she raised her head, she immediately noticed the flock of mutated birds circling in the night sky. In the manga’s narration, Ji Qing had become an ethereal “star” adrift in the night sky.
【Waaah, the Valedictorian is amazing!】
【The old thief’s composition and plot are truly incredible. A long-distance shot at this level feels so grand.】
【The little fangirl has become even more of a fangirl.】
【In this scene, Ji Qing really feels like the king of the sky. Even facing that many enemies, he can still remain calm and restrained. Both his strength and his charisma are top-tier.】
【The narration describes it perfectly too. For Lingxue, Ji Qing really is a solitary, ethereal star shining in the night sky. Throughout the first semester, Lingxue’s role had always been that of “the self-conscious pursuer.” Even though she has regained her confidence through her experiences, she is still looking up at that star.】
【I am dying. Is this an idol and his little fangirl?】
【If Xuexue were a boy, people would be shipping this scene into madness right now.】
【But Xuexue is a girl. Many of her struggles are uniquely those of a girl. Do not abruptly start thinking about genderbending her just because there are too few fanworks. The old thief is the one who created Xue, and it is enough that Xue is doing well in his hands.】
【The old thief genuinely loves Ji Qing, and he genuinely loves Xue too. I am almost starting to feel like he is a multishipper.】
【(After loving yours, loving you, and then loving the two of you together).jpg】
In the manga, Gu Lingxue quickly withdrew her gaze.
Compared with looking up at Ji Qing’s battlefield, she had something more urgent she needed to do. Gu Lingxue jumped down from the Elevated Tracks and sprinted all the way toward the front of the Chengfeng Train. The entire path was dark and terrifying, filled with nothing but the sound of her pounding heartbeat.
She dealt with Aberrants, crossed over hills, and at last caught sight of her parents and Xie Chang’an.
At that moment, the manga’s visuals shifted from dark to bright. Even the forest behind Gu Lingxue no longer looked gloomy and frightening. The chapter ended by freezing on Gu Lingxue’s tearful smile of overwhelming joy.
【This is so moving.】
【Sob sob sob, this is truly so gratifying.】
【I cannot even speak. I just keep wanting to cry. The ones shedding tears at this moment are not only her parents, but also the people who have watched her come this far all along.】
【Nothing shows Xue’s growth more clearly than this moment.】
【It feels like, in places neither we nor Chang’an could see, Xue gradually became brave and gained the ability to take control of her own life. She is no longer the same as she was last semester.】
That was indeed exactly how it was.
Ji Qing’s green eyes calmly reflected the ending of that chapter.
If the Gu Lingxue from before her class promotion had still been a somewhat self-conscious rich young lady, then the Gu Lingxue of this moment had already basically grasped her own position and learned how to use her Ability in battle while also supporting her teammates. Ji Qing murmured, “Looks like she gained quite a lot during winter break.”
What the manga revealed was ultimately only the tip of the iceberg of the wasteland.
At the very beginning of the next chapter, Ji Qing’s figure flashed into view. With his back to the manga panel, Ji Qing stood in the very center of the flock, pulling his right hand out of a pool of blood. The sticky blood stretched between his fingers in stringy strands, and then came the tightly constricted vertical pupils of the flock.
One manga page, three panels, and Ji Qing’s face was never shown head-on, yet the information it revealed was explosively shocking.
The following panels then returned to Xie Chang’an’s perspective.
The barrage comments were stunned when they saw it:
【? Hm, what happened???】
【Did something happen to the Valedictorian?】
【Holy shit, this scene is so cool. The genuine shock from everyone around him and the oppressive atmosphere spreading through the entire scene are basically a savage slap in the face to all those who looked down on him before.】
【I am a little scared.】
【The Valedictorian is definitely strong, but this scene is giving me chills. The linework and atmosphere in these panels are all so oppressive. It does not really feel like they are showing off how cool he is, but rather hinting at some awful omen.】
Elsewhere, after seeing this, Ji Qing sighed calmly. “Ah, as expected, Yuexia Cao really does know how to help cover for me.”
Yuexia Cao was even more afraid than Ji Qing himself that the manga readers would discover Ji Qing’s Aberrant identity. Although he had already planted quite a few clues, the protagonist of the current Volume 6 was Gu Lingxue. Once Ji Qing’s Aberrant identity was revealed, it would trigger explosive levels of discussion and completely overshadow Gu Lingxue’s moment in the spotlight.
As the manga artist, Yuexia Cao was naturally unwilling to let that happen.
“Sigh~” Ji Qing revealed an amused smile.
Although things had not been actively guided by him, they were still developing in the direction he had hoped for. By now, Ji Qing could more or less accept the role the manga had assigned him. Was his true self not simply an Aberrant with a Dual Personality, one who could disguise himself as an Infected and had infiltrated human society for special reasons?
“But honestly, is that character setup not a little absurdly impressive?” Ji Qing suddenly frowned.
From the manga Ji Qing had read, the roles assigned to manga characters were usually rather simple. Only those special plot-heavy characters would possess multiple identities. And those special plot-heavy characters were generally nothing more than these types: the protagonist, members of the protagonist’s group who would defect sooner or later, villains, and villain bosses…
Ji Qing said with helpless amusement, “I really do seem pretty special.”
In the manga, Xie Chang’an had already finished talking with Gu Lingxue.
He quickly broke away from the fleeing group, preparing to turn back and look for Ji Qing. Gu Lingxue soon took over Xie Chang’an’s responsibilities within the team, while at that same moment, her parents both began reflecting on the future between themselves and their daughter.
Meanwhile, Xie Chang’an ran through the darkness toward the distance.
The manga delicately depicted the inner thoughts of the two adults and the manga protagonist’s concern for the Valedictorian. Once the barrage comments saw the change in the parents’ thinking, they immediately began cheering one after another:
【Thank goodness, we can finally get through to the parents!!!】
【We do not have to withdraw from school anymore!】
【This was really so difficult, but I feel like Xuexue’s parents are still fairly good parents, because in the end they were willing to yield instead of stubbornly forcing Xue to walk the path they had decided for her.】
【In the face of a life-and-death crisis—after thinking it over again and again, the parents realized that their child’s happiness was the most important thing.】
【Actually, I think this kind of family affection is fairly ideal. My parents would absolutely never compromise. They would only think that it was all my fault they ended up in a situation like this, that me coming to save them was only what I should do, or afterward they would still complain and ask why I had come at all…】
On the other side, the manga comments focused on Xie Chang’an’s inner thoughts:
【I ship it!!!】
【The past me who could not ship this pairing had no taste. They are just too shippable!】
【“His relationship with Ji Qing had only just improved a tiny little bit. He still had not become the Valedictorian’s friend in the truest sense. He still had not expressed how he felt about the help the Valedictorian had given him back then. He, he…he still had so many, so many regrets left unresolved.”】
【Admit it, protagonist. You fell in love with the Valedictorian at first sight, and now you are so upset you are about to cry.】
【Xie Chang’an, cry cry.】
【Is Ji Qing the first person Chang’an has ever chosen so firmly? I feel like even with Li Yuan, Chang’an was somewhat resistant and hesitant at the start, but Ji Qing is the only one Chang’an has chosen with complete certainty, and no matter what situation he is in, Ji Qing is always the first person he notices.】
【That really does seem to be the case, huh? (suddenly freezes)】
【What you said makes way too much sense! I used to keep complaining that Xie Chang’an seemed to have some kind of subtle filter when it came to Ji Qing, like for some reason his impression of Ji Qing was especially, especially good. So it was love at first sight???】
【Good grief, so the problem was that we were not the ones who fell in love at first sight?】
【Xie Chang’an: Love at first sight
Us: Huh? Protagonist, when did you defect? What exactly was it about the Valedictorian that drew you in?】
【Damn, that makes so much sense.】
“Hm?” Ji Qing raised a brow, deeply bewildered.
Why could he not understand at all what the manga readers were talking about, and yet somehow it still sounded strangely convincing? The more Ji Qing thought about it, the stranger it felt, so he hurriedly shook his head and muttered, “Forget it. It has nothing to do with me anyway.”
Still, Ji Qing felt it was perfectly normal for him to have left such a favorable impression.
After all, he had descended out of nowhere and rescued Xie Chang’an and the others. Among the current members of Class S, not a single classmate’s first appearance could surpass his.
In the manga, Xie Chang’an had already caught sight of the flock.
Just as he drew his blade and charged toward the light where the flock was gathered, a brutal monstrous force suddenly yanked him away from where he stood. In the very next instant, a large hand ruthlessly grabbed the back of his head and roughly shoved his face straight into the swamp.
Ji Qing: “You really are a complete hothead.”
Xie Chang’an: “Wah, QAQ.”
【Hahahahahahahaha】
【Ji Qing is fine. That is wonderful!!!】
【The protagonist is really so reckless, but now I am strangely starting to find him cute.】
【He is like the Corgi at my house that tears everything apart. Cute is cute, adorably dumb is genuinely adorably dumb, but when it comes to wrecking the house, it really does wreck the house.】
【That is exactly the feeling!】
【And he is the type that knows he was wrong and starts acting pitiful. I am always left with a headache while cleaning up after my doggy QAQ.】
【That is exactly it.】
【It is over, it is over. Please, experts, stop talking. The more you say, the more I think these two are shippable TAT.】
After making a few sarcastic remarks, Ji Qing released Xie Chang’an.
Like a shadow, he retreated back to the crack in the dead tree, and Xie Chang’an sharply sensed that something was wrong. Xie Chang’an stepped forward worriedly to ask Ji Qing what was happening, but before he could get his next sentence out, Ji Qing cut him off coldly. “Do not speak.”
That familiar tone instantly steadied Xie Chang’an.
But in the very next second, Xie Chang’an viciously cursed himself inwardly: Are you a damned masochist?!!!
【I am dying, hahaha】
【He is roasting himself for yielding too quickly.】
【This is getting more and more shippable.】
【The Valedictorian and Chang’an are forever the best!】
Ji Qing paused when he saw that.
At the time, because of the exhaustion brought on by losing control, he had not noticed Xie Chang’an’s immediate reaction. Looking at it now, though, it did give off a strangely subtle feeling. Ji Qing thought blankly: It seems the title of Great Demon King can now be firmly fixed onto my head.
In the manga, Ji Qing struggled to find himself a place to rest and said tiredly, “I’m just a little tired. Let me rest for a bit. They’ll leave soon enough. Wake me when they do.”
In the very last second before losing consciousness, he instructed, “Remember to protect me.”
The scene then shifted into a distant shot. A dark silhouette stood frozen beside the dead tree. The swamp beside the tree was silent and gloomy, the reeds at the outer edge of the swamp swayed with the wind, and farther away, where the light shone, the flock was still fighting.
The surroundings suddenly fell quiet, and even Xie Chang’an found himself holding his breath.
He had been trusted.
【Aaaaaaaaaah】
【Hello everyone, goodbye everyone, I am switching sides again.】
【This is practically mutual devotion.】
【This feels way too real.】
【The romantic sugar is hitting me right in the face. This scene is definitely going to become a famous one, sob sob sob.】
【Who else is left? Who else is there now? Your CPs are still using each other, and some of them have not even met yet. My CP is already mutual devotion! Those cold looks and all that dislike over making mistakes before were obviously just part of their chemistry. Aaaah, we were all mercilessly toyed with. (Please give us more.) (Banging bowl)】
【The old thief is so good at drawing this.】