Role-Playing a Dual Personality as a Background Character in a Manga Chapter 97 : Chapter 97

Chapter 97

At 5:42 that afternoon, Ji Qing and the other two were just about to reach the crash site of the Chengfeng Train.

By then, the sky had already dimd. Half the setting sun had sunk behind the distant hills, while the other half still rested against their crest. Magnificent red clouds dyed the drifting clouds along the horizon a brilliant rose-purple, while the hills themselves had beco a long, narrow shadow.

Standing atop the carriage, Ji Qing calmly gazed at that distant beauty.

The train was still moving, and its headlights had not been turned on. It was rare for trains in the wasteland to run at night, because the people of the wasteland did their best to avoid leaving the city after dark. The wilderness at night belonged to the Aberrants.

For so reason, a trace of excitent rose within Ji Qing for no apparent reason.

He had not yet tried spending a whole night outside the city.

It feels like it would be quite an interesting experience. Ji Qing suddenly felt restless at the thought, but he quickly suppressed that utterly ill-tid impulse. A reaction so contrary to common sense would only expose his inhuman identity to the manga protagonists and readers far too quickly...

He had no desire to reveal his nonhuman identity that soon.

Forcing himself to calm down, Ji Qing lowered his gaze to the Terminal on his wrist.

Just a mont ago, Li Xuehua had already learned the exact details of the three of their situation. The timing tonight was extrely tight. Even if the three of them successfully reached the crash site, they still would not make it back to the nearest town in ti.

The best solution, naturally, would have been to wait until dawn before taking action.

But the mont Gu Lingxue learned the news, it was obvious there was no possibility of persuading her. At the ti, she had genuinely been prepared to go to her parents even if she had to walk there alone, and because of that, Li Xuehua could only contact the Railway Bureau first.

The Railway Bureau’s willingness to provide a trial train was the first step. Having Xie Chang’an ask Ji Qing was the second.

No matter what, Ji Qing’s strength was guaranteed. At the ti, Li Xuehua had thought: If Ji Qing goes with them, their safety will be much better secured.

Li Xuehua had already given up hope that there were still survivors aboard the train.

A southward-migrating flock of Mutated Birds, the vicinity of a B-rank Danger Zone, and nightti... with those three external conditions stacked together, even an A-rank Hunter would have to weigh their strength carefully. Most importantly, among that flock of Mutated Birds, there was also an intelligent avian Aberrant capable of controlling the movents of the Infected.

Perhaps it was the flock’s leader... Li Xuehua had thought anxiously.

After successfully contacting Ji Qing, Li Xuehua first apologized for troubling him, then relayed everything she currently knew: there might be a leader within the migrating flock, so he absolutely had to prioritize his own safety, and also...

Since earlier, she had been communicating with the Hunter’s Guild, and afterward successfully learned from nearby Hunters that there was a Safehouse within five kiloters, built specially by Hunters for convenience. If they managed to shake off the flock’s pursuit, they could head there and shelter from the Aberrants roaming the night.

Li Xuehua: 【Those are the most important points. Sorry to trouble you.】

Ji Qing: 【It’s no trouble.】

Night descended, and the wilderness darkened all at once. Under the faint glow of the Terminal, Ji Qing calmly typed that final reply.

Then he turned off the Terminal and strolled toward the front of the train through the cold wind.

Ji Qing could already hear the cries of the flock.

They were resting briefly beside the wreckage, patiently waiting for darkness to fall and for the hunt to begin.

The southward migration had left the flock ravenous, irritable, and short-tempered. That was precisely why they had suddenly attacked a human train. Compared to the flesh of their own kind, human flesh was far more tender and delicious.

To them, even a fully ard train was perhaps nothing more than a tin of human flesh with a lid that was a little harder to pry open.

Ji Qing could already make out the shapes of the flock.

Beneath the black curtain of night, he could not see their full appearance clearly, but judging from their build, Ji Qing felt they looked sowhat like a cross between vultures and geese. An ill-tid thought drifted through his mind: Evolution? Why does this feel more like crossbreeding between species?

But compared with geese, they really did seem much more like vultures.

With a grave expression, Ji Qing looked down at the sharp talons of a Mutated Vulture hooked into the base of the wrecked train not far away. Then he swept his gaze around the wreckage and quickly determined where the other Mutated Vultures were positioned.

Ji Qing soon jumped down from the top of the carriage.

Facing the other two, who stood at the front of the train beside him and witnessed the apocalyptic scene together with him, he said calmly, “There’s still ti to retreat.”

“What are you talking about?” Xie Chang’an asked in astonishnt.

Although Xie Chang’an did feel so fear at the hellish sight before them, they had already co this far, and the people in danger were his friend’s parents. To start talking about retreat now was far too soon, was it not?

“I’m not retreating,” Gu Lingxue said firmly. “Even if I die, I’ll die together with Dad and Mom.”

But after saying that, Gu Lingxue looked at the two of them with a solemn expression and added, “You two don’t need to accompany to my death. If you want to leave, I absolutely won’t stop you.”

“Lingxue, what nonsense are you talking about?” Xie Chang’an could not help frowning.

Now he finally understood Ji Qing’s aning, and he understood Gu Lingxue’s intentions even more clearly. Xie Chang’an covered his face helplessly. So these two... were both trying to leave their teammates a way out?

So he too said seriously, “I’m not retreating either. If I die, then that’s my own business.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Gu Lingxue cut him off angrily. “Don’t say things like that before the operation even starts! I already feel bad enough about dragging you into this, and now you’re talking nonsense about whether you’ll die or not!”

Xie Chang’an said blankly, “Weren’t you the one who said it first? And it wasn’t even you who dragged here...”

“Don’t get stubborn at a ti like this!” Gu Lingxue simply raised a hand and smacked him.

But after lightly knocking him on the head once, Gu Lingxue made no further move. She also understood that ti was tight and that the flock of Mutated Birds might notice them at any mont. Still, before the three of them began to act, Gu Lingxue asked Ji Qing uneasily,

“Ji Qing... what about you?”

“?” Ji Qing, who had been watching the two of them the whole ti, blinked slightly in surprise. Then he smiled indifferently and said, “You don’t need to worry about . Since I decided to co, that ans I’m confident in my own ability.”

He stated calmly, “Out of everyone here, I’m the least likely to run into trouble.”

The Valedictorian’s confidence and boldness were laid bare before the other two.

Xie Chang’an was caught off guard by it, but unexpectedly, he felt neither irritated nor amused, because it was simply an indisputable fact.

If Ji Qing were not truly that trustworthy, Li Xuehua would never have specifically asked him to co along. If Ji Qing were not truly that worthy of respect, he would not have been able to help him at the registration office. If Ji Qing were not truly that strong, he would never have obtained everything he had now...

Ji Qing was very, very strong.

Even though he never deliberately displayed that strength, there was simply sothing about him that could not be ignored.

Just like Li Yuan.

Strange. Why did he think of Li Yuan again?

Xie Chang’an smiled inwardly. Clearly, those two were not the sa person, yet he kept sensing the sa qualities in both of them.

Perhaps, just as Grandma had once said, it was not that the two of them were alike, but that the people who attracted him, the people who stayed in his mind, all possessed the sa kind of character. And because they possessed the sa kind of character, he felt they resembled one another.

Xie Chang’an had felt deeply embarrassed when he first heard that, but now he suddenly understood.

Because he really was drawn to them, drawn to those confident, brilliant souls who possessed the qualities he longed for. Xie Chang’an could not beco them, but he yearned toward them.

“All right. Ti to move,” Ji Qing said steadily, pointing out the obvious.

At those words, Xie Chang’an ca back to himself from his tangle of thoughts. He gripped his Tang Saber and nodded heavily to the two of them.

Tonight was bound to be a hard battle.

And the start of that battle began with a crystalline ice spike.

Gu Lingxue took a deep breath and, pretending to be calm, walked toward the wreckage of the Chengfeng Train still hanging on the elevated tracks. Her jet-black hair stread from side to side in the cold wind, while her clear blue eyes fixed stubbornly on what lay ahead.

According to the agreed plan, she would take the lead.

Xie Chang’an was not good at long-range combat. Against Mutated Vultures that could leave the ground at any mont, his saber skills were at a serious disadvantage. Ji Qing, anwhile, was skilled at both close-quarters and long-range combat, but the elusive leader of the flock needed him to keep it in check.

So in the end, their decision was this:

Xie Chang’an would search for survivors and bring them to the nearest Safehouse. Gu Lingxue would serve as the decoy to draw the enemy’s attention. Ji Qing would help Xie Chang’an search while supporting the two of them from the rear.

Ji Qing’s gravity ability was useful to an unbelievable degree.

Though all three of them regretted the lack of any light source.

If Shao Huayu or Zhou Que had been present, the pressure on the group would have been greatly reduced. But then again, light and fire in the darkness would also attract Aberrants from farther away, so that was so small consolation.

While the darkness obstructed their vision, it also obstructed the flock’s.

“We must finish the fight before those nocturnal Aberrants co out,” Ji Qing instructed the other two sternly before they split up.

If the fight was still not over by then, the darkness would no longer hinder both sides equally. It would beco a complete burden on their side alone. Ji Qing had already decided that no matter what happened at that point, he would forcibly pull his teammates out.

He was certain he could survive alone late into the night, but he could not protect several people at once.

The manga had only just barely made it safely through the first sester, and now it was only the beginning of the second. The two manga protagonists absolutely could not die in a place like this. He had not yet saved up enough Popularity Value to simply take life easy.

“All right.” Gu Lingxue had nodded seriously at the ti.

Gu Lingxue knew nothing about Ji Qing’s lant over Popularity Value, but she did understand the dangers of the night, and she was also grateful for the Valedictorian’s help. If, by then, they still had not found her parents, Gu Lingxue felt she would probably be able to accept the reality of her parents being eaten by the flock of Mutated Birds.

Even though the thought made her heart ache uncontrollably.

But at the very least, she had co—

Gu Lingxue had co here without a mont’s delay, without hesitation, without wasting ti. Her teacher and classmates had all supported her choice. They had all helped her co this far. Even though her parents’ accident really was connected to her, but... but...

No. She could not think about that anymore. Gu Lingxue hurriedly steadied her heart.

Her gaze returned once more to the wreckage of the Chengfeng Train before her, and to the Mutated Vultures that had already noticed her figure. At once, the Mutated Vultures spread their wings and lunged toward Gu Lingxue, while Gu Lingxue imdiately condensed countless floating ice spikes.

The battle was about to erupt.

And in that mont—

She only needed to think about the enemy before her.