The video store was steeped in the faint, familiar hum of the television and the plasticky scent of old tapes.
Under the dim lighting, Wise paced anxiously back and forth. His soles rasped against the slightly worn floorboards, the soft shh-shh of friction cutting through the hush. His eyes stayed locked on Qianye, who had just finished examining Belle and now stood there with a furrowed brow, lost in thought.
"Qianye, how is Belle?" Wise's voice was tight with barely restrained urgency, as though it might punch a hole straight through the quiet. "Are her eyes seriously injured or something?"
Qianye snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. The faint confusion on his face immediately gave way to a "just as I suspected" kind of understanding. He waved a hand lightly.
"Serious injury? Nothing like that." His gaze flicked over Belle, and a mischievous glint surfaced at the corner of his smile. "When I said 'it's just like I thought,' I meant something else."
He leaned closer.
"Belle," Qianye said, his fingertip almost poking her cheek, "have you been staying up late every night recently? Your skin's rougher, your complexion's dull, and you've got dark circles under your eyes—mmph?!"
The latter half of his sentence vanished as Belle lunged forward and clapped both hands over his mouth.
Her cheeks turned beet-red in a heartbeat. She stared at him in panic, her arms trembling slightly from how hard she was pressing down, as if sheer force could erase the words he'd been about to say.
Nearby, Eous tilted its round head, its innocent electronic eyes blinking with pure confusion. It scratched at its head casing with a tiny hand.
"Mm-nye mm-nye (Belle, Qianye isn't wrong. These past few days, every time before I go into charging mode, I see you curled up under the blanket scrolling forums. Why are you covering his mouth?)"
That piece of "childish honesty" hit Wise like a thunderbolt.
He stopped pacing so abruptly his whole body seemed to lock into place. The worry on his face drained away, replaced by a dangerous squint. Slowly, his sharp gaze shifted—first to Qianye, who was being forcibly silenced, then to Belle, who was red-faced and visibly flustered.
"…."
Wise was silent for several seconds. The air congealed.
He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. The gentle warmth that belonged to him as an older brother vanished entirely, replaced by a sternness that bordered on cold.
"I see, Belle. I'm glad you're not hurt," he said in a low, steady voice that carried unmistakable pressure. "But if your daily routine has degraded into this kind of chaos, I can't keep indulging you."
He reached for the cup of water on the table and raised it to his lips—
—and Belle's counterattack struck like lightning.
"Brother!" Like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, Belle exploded. She yanked her hands off Qianye's mouth, then stabbed a finger at Wise with the ruthless determination of mutual destruction.
"You're one to talk! Don't think I don't know that precious pair of glasses you wear—those are a consolation prize because you failed to get tickets for Yao Jiayin! And then you treated them like a family heirloom and wore them basically every day!"
"PFF—!!!"
Wise sprayed water in a wild, uncontrollable arc, soaking the floor in front of him and splattering the tape shelves.
He choked violently, bending over and bracing one hand on his knee while the other frantically wiped water from his chin. Then he jerked his head up, eyes wide in horrified disbelief, staring at Belle.
"You—how did you—?! N-no!" He tried to steady himself, but his voice still trembled in spite of him. "Where's your proof?!"
"Proof?!" Belle planted her hands on her hips and stepped forward, chin raised high. "Fairy told me! She told me you tried to suck up to her so she'd help you snag a ticket!"
"Fairy, you—!" Wise whirled toward the intelligent terminal behind the counter, his voice full of betrayed outrage.
The terminal's screen blinked calmly. Fairy's synthesized voice responded, flat as ever:
"Assistant Three, you should be aware that the master's permissions outrank yours. Assistant Two's permissions also outrank yours."
Wise froze.
"So," Fairy continued, "you are the lowest-ranking individual in this household. I do not possess the authority to keep secrets for you."
A pause—then, with the same emotionless clarity:
"Additionally, per the master's directive, using Fairy to purchase tickets would be classified as 'using superpowers to do bad things,' because a human cannot press the purchase button within 82 milliseconds."
It was as if someone had pulled the plug on Wise's entire body.
His previously upright posture visibly caved in. A gray despair washed over his face. He stood there, lifeless, like a stone statue that had weathered into dust in an instant.
Belle let out a smug little hmph, nostrils flaring slightly, satisfied at last. Only then did she fully release Qianye—who finally got his breathing rights back.
"And you, Qianye," she said, pivoting instantly, her finger nearly poking the tip of his nose. Her dark green eyes gleamed with "don't think you're getting away." "You don't get to criticize me either! What's your relationship with those two Public Security officers who came by? Especially that—that—big-chested woman!"
Spell cast.
"Uh…" Qianye, who had been about to lodge a complaint after being muffled for so long, was cut off mid-breath by the sudden interrogation.
He blinked, then reflexively rubbed his slightly numb lips. His eyes drifted up toward a dusty spiderweb in the corner of the ceiling as he fell into a brief, helpless silence.
"Senior Qingyi…" he began, his voice returning to its usual warmth, tinged with faint nostalgia. "That happened because she was playing chess with some old friends, and one of the elderly gentlemen got too into it. He leaned back hard and threw his lower back out."
He mimed the dramatic backward lean.
"I happened to be passing by, so I helped him with a cold compress and gave him some painkillers so he wouldn't suffer too much. That's how I met Senior Qingyi."
"And as for Zhu Yuan…" The moment he said her name, his good-looking brows knitted again, like he'd run headfirst into a genuinely difficult problem. A sincere confusion flickered in his clear eyes.
"Honestly, meeting her was… kind of an accident. Even now, I'm not that familiar with her." His tone carried earnest bewilderment.
"Oh, really?" Belle dragged out the words, her face screaming I absolutely don't buy it. She leaned in, pushing the interrogation.
"Then why was that big-chested woman so worked up when she saw you at the Public Security Bureau? She practically charged over and lectured you like a mother—"
Belle deliberately mimicked Zhu Yuan's urgent, uncompromising tone with uncanny accuracy:
"'Qianye! You can't come to a place this dangerous!'
'Qianye! Why won't you let me come with you?!'"
Under Belle's machine-gun questioning, Qianye could only sigh and shake his head again. He truly didn't understand it either—why Zhu Yuan, someone he'd only met a handful of times and could barely call an acquaintance, would suddenly overflow with such intense, outward emotion. The raw concern in her words had been so obvious it left him completely at a loss.
In the corner, curled up on the old couch, Xu Ge Ya—the Bangboo—rested its round head against the worn velvet. Its electronic eyes were dim, drained.
The battle in the Hollow had consumed what little energy it had left.
But what exhausted it even more was this: it knew the tangled secret wrapped around Qianye could only be unraveled by Qianye himself—
—an absolute order the master had engraved into it.
Still…
Master…
It released a soundless sigh that became a faint, nearly inaudible electronic buzz.
Some things can be softened by time. But there are also wounds that even time can't touch—pain that lingers for a lifetime. Even when it heals, it leaves scars that never truly fade.
Wise, Belle, and the little master lived in noisy warmth now.
But you…
After that enormous hand that blotted out the sky took you away…
Where are you now?
That unspoken sorrow finally slipped out as a low, tired murmur:
"Mm-nye mm-nye (Qianye… I'm out of battery…)"
"Hm? Out of battery?" Qianye's attention snapped over at once.
He saw Xu Ge Ya's eyes nearly flickering out and hurried over. His movements were gentle as he scooped the small companion into his arms. Xu Ge Ya's limbs drooped limply, like a toy whose power had run out completely.
"Then let's head back," Qianye said softly. "Tomorrow you've got a heavy assignment."
He nudged Xu Ge Ya's cool metal shell with his knuckles, voice bright with encouragement.
"Coach Xun has begged me a bunch of times, so we have to go tomorrow, alright? You'll need to work hard, Xu Ge Ya."
"Mm-nye… mm-nye? (Got it… who?)"
In Qianye's arms, Xu Ge Ya barely lifted its heavy eyelids. Its tiny paw swiped weakly at the air, its face full of innocent confusion.
…Did I just miss some important information again?
The next morning, sunlight poured warm gold over New Eridu.
Last night's rain had gathered into small puddles in Sixth Street's narrow alleys, reflecting a clear sky. The scattered light glittered with tiny, hopeful sparkles.
But behind the Golden Finger Arcade, beside piles of cardboard and trash bins, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
"Mm-nye! Nye-mm-nye! (Oh! My beloved savior! The greatest player in New Eridu history! My hardship wasn't in vain! You're finally here!)"
Coach Xunxun was so moved it practically threw itself flat on the ground, the whole round body pressed to the pavement as it performed an absurdly dramatic prostration toward Xu Ge Ya.
Beside it, A-Piao, the Speed Bangboo, stood bolt upright. Its tiny electronic eyes were brimming with pure admiration and expectation, fixed unblinking on Xu Ge Ya.
Xu Ge Ya looked at the spectacle with muted disbelief. It lifted a round metal arm and, purely for symbolism, pressed a hand to its forehead. Then it turned its head toward Qianye, who was wearing a pleading "please help them" expression.
"Mm-nye? (This treasure Bangboo is the Coach Xun you mentioned?)"
"Mm-nye! Mm-nye! (Indeed it is I! Has my name already spread across all of New Eridu?!)"
Upon hearing Xu Ge Ya's "question," Coach Xunxun—who had been face-down on the ground one second ago—sprang upright like it had a spring loaded into its chassis. It bounced in place with excitement, its little eyes practically sparkling with pride.
Xu Ge Ya stared at it in silence, then—brutally honest—raised a single rounded metal finger and tapped the side of its own head.
"Mm-nye. (Never heard of you.)"
"Thud—"
Like it had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer, Coach Xunxun stiffened, then toppled backward in a rigid fall. It hit the ground hard, limbs twitching comically. Its display flickered chaotically in a full "CPU overload, system short-circuit" meltdown.
"Mm-nye! (Coach! Don't go down!)"
A-Piao panicked and flung itself onto Coach Xunxun, trying to shake it awake with its tiny body.
Watching the farce unfold—then meeting Qianye's hopeful, shining eyes that seemed to say Look how sincere they are—Xu Ge Ya let out a resigned sigh. A faint hum vibrated from its metal chest.
It turned to A-Piao, whose system had finally "rebooted" Coach Xunxun into a woozy seated position. Xu Ge Ya's electronic eyes locked onto the smaller Bangboo, and its voice came out calm, steady, and faintly authoritative:
"Mm-nye. (Kid. Get ready. I won't be merciful.)"
A-Piao jolted like it had been electrocuted.
It puffed up its tiny chest and tried to stand even straighter, its display flashing a determined expression symbol.
"Mm-nye—! (I—I'm ready!)"
"Mm-nye! (Good. That's spirit.)" Xu Ge Ya nodded approvingly, then swept an arm toward a heap of discarded wooden boards and metal pipes nearby. "Mm-nye. (Next—prepare the stakes.)"
"Mm-nye? (S-stakes?)"
A-Piao stared at the pile of junk. Massive question marks filled its display instantly, and the courage it had just mustered seemed to leak away a little.
At noon, sunlight poured like molten platinum onto the windows of the Lumina Square Public Security Bureau Branch, illuminating the interior so brightly that even floating dust motes were visible.
The air conditioner hummed insistently, sounding unusually loud in the overbright stillness.
Qingyi stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the metal partition by Zhu Yuan's desk. Her dark green electronic eyes carried a hint of helplessness as she looked at the Investigation Team captain—who had buried her entire face in a mountain of documents. Her shoulders trembled slightly, like an ostrich refusing to acknowledge the world.
"…Sigh." Qingyi's breath left her with a faint metallic rasp.
She lifted a hand and lightly knocked her cool metal knuckles against the wrinkled cover of the report in front of Zhu Yuan.
"Zhu Yuan. Relax. If you keep burying yourself like this, the heat from your face is going to cook the paper. Sit up. Get some air."
To the side, Seth Lowell stood rigidly straight, worry written plainly across his young face.
He glanced at the unmoving captain, then at Qingyi's "I knew it" expression, and finally couldn't hold back. He spoke carefully, testing the waters.
"Senior! Captain… what's going on with her today? Did she get tangled up with those fluffy stray cats again and couldn't get away?"
He hesitated, then tried another possibility. "Or did we run into a crafty criminal who escaped through a Hollow route? Do we need to deploy right now?"
His hand drifted toward his belt as if he might rush out at any moment.
"No. Neither, Seth," Qingyi replied, turning slightly to look at her eager junior. Her tone carried the calm understanding of someone who'd been there—along with a trace of something complicated. "I get wanting to share her burden. That enthusiasm is admirable…"
Then her voice softened—but remained firm.
"But Seth, you're not needed here for now. Go organize the patrol report from this morning. What Zhu Yuan's dealing with… can't be solved with guns or fists."
Seth opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, but when his eyes met Qingyi's calm, all-seeing electronic gaze, he pressed his lips together instead.
He straightened and gave a crisp salute to both of them.
"Yes, Senior! Understood!"
His eyes swept over the precarious paper mountain on Zhu Yuan's desk. He stepped forward quickly, scooped up a thick stack of documents in both arms, and carried them out like precious supplies. Paper rustled softly.
He exited, closing the door gently behind him.
Qingyi watched him go and shook her head, twin tails swaying.
"Seth, kid… the road is long." Her voice held a wry sigh. "If he wants to truly stand on his own and share Zhu Yuan's 'thousand-pound burden'… he's got a long way to walk."
She turned back to Zhu Yuan.
This time, she walked around behind the desk and placed her metal hand—covered in synthetic skin, cool to the touch—on Zhu Yuan's tense shoulder, giving it a steady, reassuring pat.
"Alright, Zhu Yuan. Stop pretending to sleep." Qingyi's voice carried a teasing ease. "It's just because that brat Qianye looked at you twice like you were some 'weird big sister.' The sky isn't falling. It's not that serious."
Zhu Yuan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
After a long pause, she finally—slowly, painfully—lifted her head out of the document pile.
The harsh noon light struck her face with no mercy. She narrowed her signature red eyes slightly; fatigue lingered in them, along with confusion that hadn't fully cleared. Several faint pink lines—paper creases—were stamped on her pale cheeks.
She avoided Qingyi's probing gaze and unconsciously worried the edge of a report page between her fingers.
"No, Senior…" Zhu Yuan's voice was muffled at first. She paused, as if searching for words.
Then she raised her head again, and the confusion in her red eyes rapidly condensed into the familiar, almost obsessive firmness she wore when analyzing cases.
"I'm… confused."
"Confused?" Qingyi arched a brow. The ring of light in her electronic eye tightened slightly, focusing.
She shifted and sat casually on the corner of Zhu Yuan's desk, one leg dangling, watching her like she had all the time in the world.
"My total number of meetings with Doctor Qianye," Zhu Yuan said, voice sharpening into a clean, investigative cadence, "including this time, can be counted on one hand."
Her tone dipped. Her fingers tightened, crumpling the edge of the page.
"When I saw him standing alone at the edge of that wreckage—smoke not yet gone, debris everywhere—it was as if… something exploded inside my head."
She inhaled, steadying herself.
"Every previous encounter was limited to brief official contact, or an accidental assist like last time." Her gaze hardened. "But this time…"
She stood abruptly.
The movement carried restlessness, almost agitation. She took half a step in the narrow space behind the desk, then stopped and turned to face Qingyi head-on.
In her red eyes burned the flame of pursuit.
"My emotions went out of control." Her words sped up, forceful. "That impulse—completely unrestrained—to drag him away from danger immediately, to protect him, even… to ache for him…"
Her throat tightened around the admission.
"It hit like a tsunami and smashed through the dam of reason. That is not logical, Senior."
Her voice grew sharper, almost accusing reality itself.
"It violates my behavioral code. My emotional management is strict. It is stable." She clenched her fist. "I would never lose composure like that simply because someone I barely know is standing near ruins. It is unreasonable."
Zhu Yuan leaned forward, hands on the desk, like a hawk that had locked onto a target.
Her gaze looked like it wanted to pierce Qingyi's electronic eyes.
"There is a major secret hidden in Doctor Qianye." She said it with unwavering certainty. "Something that can directly influence cognition—something that triggers irrational emotions. Senior. You know it."
"You met him earlier than I did. You must have noticed something abnormal. Right?"
Qingyi clapped lightly—pap, pap—the sound crisp.
Her voice carried a lilting, almost amused rhythm.
"Cautious minds see the small. Wise minds sense the turning point. Zhu Yuan… you've got sharp instincts. You smelled something off that quickly?"
Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up, like she'd just found a crack in the wall.
"Senior, then we should immediately—"
"But," Qingyi cut in, and the amusement vanished in an instant.
What replaced it was rare seriousness—heavy, almost grim. She hopped off the desk and stood upright, meeting Zhu Yuan's eyes directly. Her dark green electronic gaze flickered with unyielding authority.
"I refuse, Zhu Yuan."
"Senior?!" Zhu Yuan's light stalled, replaced by shock.
"I know exactly what you're thinking," Qingyi said, voice low and sharp with metallic hardness. "Open a case. Investigate. Dig deep. Find the secret."
"And then 'handle' it like a high-risk Hollow incident. Right?"
Qingyi shook her head slowly.
"Zhu Yuan… some things, off the scale, weigh less than four ounces. Light enough to ignore." Her tone tightened. "But the moment you insist on putting them on the scale—insist on weighing them clearly—those four ounces become a thousand pounds, ten thousand pounds."
She stared straight at Zhu Yuan.
"They'll crush you until you can't breathe. Until you're shattered."
Her voice softened into something that sounded almost like warning from a friend.
"Take my advice. Let it go. This isn't within your duties. It isn't a burden you can carry."
"And curiosity," she added with a faint grim humor, "kills cats… uh, birds too."
Zhu Yuan's lips pressed into a hard line, jaw tightening like a bowstring drawn to its limit.
She met Qingyi's gaze without flinching. The fire in her eyes didn't dim—if anything, Qingyi's obstruction only fed it.
A few seconds of silence passed—like a wordless contest of strength.
Finally, Zhu Yuan spoke, slow and deliberate, each word like stone.
"I… will not give up, Senior."
She inhaled, pressing down anything resembling hesitation.
"I know you wouldn't harm me. Your judgment has its reasons."
"But this 'strangeness' around Doctor Qianye…" Her eyes narrowed. "It's like a bomb with no timer."
"If we ignore it, who knows when it will detonate—or how?"
"It could hurt him in ways that can't be undone." Her voice hardened. "And it could become a threat to all of New Eridu."
"As an officer who maintains order, I cannot pretend a danger like that doesn't exist."
Qingyi exhaled a long, silent sigh—like a piece of circuitry warming under overload.
She rubbed her brow.
"Alright then, Zhu-bird," she said, voice carrying fatigue… and, faintly, indulgence. "Tell me."
"This stubborn mule—what exactly do you plan to do? Open a case? Issue a summons? Drag him in?"
Zhu Yuan straightened, snapping back into the crisp posture of a commander. Her red eyes sharpened with the clarity of operational planning.
"First: reconnaissance. I need the most detailed intelligence available."
"My authority allows me—without alerting him—to investigate every past record, every contact, every possible thread."
She paused, tapping the desk lightly as if running simulations.
"At the same time, I will search for gentler, safer methods to 'seal' or 'suppress' whatever anomaly may exist."
Her voice dropped, gaining a near-solemn edge.
"If… it ultimately proves there is no other safe, effective option—"
She lifted her head sharply, eyes burning with something almost like martyrdom.
"Then let me do it."
"Let me stand in front of every innocent person who could be affected—who might suffer misfortune because of him."
"Let my body and my will become the final barrier." Her words rang like an oath. "To 'seal' Doctor Qianye's anomaly."
"That is my duty."
"And it is my choice."
Qingyi stared at her for a beat.
Then, very calmly, she asked:
"Senior, what's wrong?" Zhu Yuan demanded, thrown by the silence.
Qingyi's gaze didn't change.
"Tell me," she said evenly, "isn't this just a scheme you invented so you can 'rightfully' monopolize that brat Qianye?"
Zhu Yuan's eyes widened.
"Senior! How can you slander my innocence out of thin air?!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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