Even with the change in fur color, Xin Ye knew it was Tang Qiuqiu the moment he touched him.
There was no scientific principle behind it; he could only attribute it to the familiarity and intuition developed over two lifetimes as teammates.
The room was too small to have a proper place for a cat bed. Just as Xin Ye crouched down, intending to pull the white shirt he’d previously shunned from the wardrobe to use as padding, the black cat leaped from the bedside onto his shoulder.
Qiuqiu the cat leaned forward, reaching out a paw to swat away the white shirt in Xin Ye’s hand. Fearing the cat might fall, Xin Ye had to support him with one hand while returning the shirt to its place with the other. "You don't want to sleep elsewhere? You want to sleep by my pillow?"
The black cat retracted his paw and nodded.
Xin Ye closed the wardrobe and stood up, lifting the cat down from his shoulder.
He signaled for the mirror image to return to the shard. Once they were the only two left in the room, Xin Ye pulled out a chair, sat down, and placed Tang Qiuqiu on the desk.
The scene was too similar to the way Xin Ye used to interrogate himself after Shelter missions. Qiuqiu the cat immediately grew tense, wanting to pace back and forth on the desk to soothe his anxiety, but Xin Ye pressed him back down.
"No running, and no changing back into a human. Talk to me like this," Xin Ye said, forcing the cat’s pupils to meet his gaze. "Confess. How did you get out? What do you know now, and how are the other three?"
Qiuqiu the cat sat up straight and let out a meow. "Captain, your departure was classified as a 'defection' by Headquarters. Researcher Yi was imprisoned for helping you."
"But before she left, she sent us a timed email. It must have been encrypted because HQ didn't intercept it. Anyway, except for Leng Xianye, we’ve all left Headquarters, meow."
Tang Qiuqiu briefly recounted what had happened after Xin Ye left HQ, focusing on Leng Xianye’s arrangements.
The email sent by Yi Ting provided a rational explanation for all of Xin Ye’s abnormal behavior during those days. The impact of the truth had terrified and horrified the four of them, who had spent years deeply believing in Headquarters and their own parents. Leng Xianye was the first to snap out of it, as he wasn't entirely ignorant regarding the exploitation of ability users.
He had seen a proposal on his father’s desk with Fu Shu’s name on it, and after the finals, he learned that Fu Shu was a modified ability user. Unease had long since begun to spread in his mind.
"Regardless, leaving Headquarters is currently the best choice for any ability user," Leng Xianye had decided quickly. "But there is still information we need to acquire. One-sided accounts aren't reliable."
Xing Yue immediately caught his drift. "Do you want to split up?"
"Yes," Leng Xianye replied. "Two groups. I’ll stay at HQ alone. You three go out and find Xin Ye."
"He and Yi Ting are likely the two people who understand the situation best right now."
Xing Yue had immediately rejected Leng Xianye’s idea. She wouldn't accept him staying behind in a dangerous situation while the others fled. How was that any different from Xin Ye running off alone to face the Mutation Core?
An argument ensued. When those two clashed, Lian Muyun and Tang Qiuqiu didn't dare interject; they could only hide outside the dormitory like they were being punished.
In the end, it was Xing Yue who compromised.
Tang Qiuqiu didn't know how Leng Xianye had convinced her. He only saw that when the two finally emerged from the room, Xing Yue stood a bit further away from Leng Xianye than usual.
She had said, "I am choosing to trust you."
After a phone call from Leng Xianye, the "You Guys Are Gonna Lose, Right?" team—a team with a long name and a short lifespan—was officially marked as disbanded in the HQ system.
Lian Muyun and Xing Yue took Tang Qiuqiu straight to the Second Branch, while Leng Xianye left with his father. No one knew his current situation.
"We came here because Lian Muyun’s home is here. Even if we need to gather info on the civilian areas of other branches, his authority to access data is higher here," Tang Qiuqiu explained. "I didn't expect to catch the scent of the Mirror ability at the entrance... I’m really not a creep; I just have a very keen nose."
Lian Muyun had been calling him "dog-nosed" for days. No matter how much he insisted it was a "cat-nose," it didn't work.
Xin Ye asked about Tang Qiuqiu’s current ability level. After the "ordeal" of the Toy Factory mission, he had reached the threshold of A-rank. Hearing this, Xin Ye nodded.
The time the mirror image brought him to the civilian area was close to when Lian Muyun and the others arrived. With an A-rank ability, it was normal for him to pick up the scent.
After entering the civilian area, the three divided the labor: Lian Muyun provided data, Xing Yue analyzed and filtered it, and Tang Qiuqiu took action. Xin Ye hadn't brought much with him when he left, so there weren't many places he could stay. After a few days of searching, Tang Qiuqiu quickly located him.
And then he bullied the local cats.
Once the interrogation was over, Tang Qiuqiu asked if he could change back. Upon receiving permission, he shifted into human form and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling out his newly replaced communicator.
"When we left, Xing Yue’s father came and specifically told us not to throw away our multi-function watches... but we threw them away secretly anyway," Tang Qiuqiu said, carefully holding his communicator out to Xin Ye. "I’ve already messaged Lian Muyun and Xing Yue to tell them I found you. They’ll be here tomorrow. Captain, can I have your new number?"
Xin Ye took the communicator and quickly entered his number. The weight on Tang Qiuqiu’s heart finally lifted. He was about to ask if Xin Ye needed his number when he saw Xin Ye pull something out of his coat.
He tossed the dead multi-function watch he had been keeping into the trash can.
Xin Ye handed the communicator back to Tang Qiuqiu. "I kept that before because I thought your numbers were still in it. I thought, what if things suddenly changed and I had to go back? I should at least keep your contact info."
"But I don't need it anymore. You're all here."
His teammates had followed him.
They might forget the words they once said due to some irresistible force, but their promises were etched into their thoughts and actions.
***
The clinic received another severely injured patient today. Xin Ye watched as the doctor wheeled the person into the operating room and gave a nod to his mirror image.
"You go to the incident site. I’ll assist the boss today."
He changed into a full set of surgical scrubs and disinfected himself thoroughly before pushing the door open. To his surprise, he saw his boss standing by the operating table, dressed quite casually.
Dr. Chen didn't seem to care about his own procedural errors. He even remarked, "You’re coming today? And so properly dressed. Didn't your brother tell you I don't need such a grand production to treat people?"
Xin Ye picked up the gauze from the metal tray to help stop the bleeding. In contrast, the boss—the lead surgeon—stood with his arms crossed, making no move.
"It seems in your eyes, my brother and I share everything and have a very good relationship," Xin Ye said. One piece of gauze was completely soaked in blood; he swapped it for another. "I’m happy to receive such an assessment."
Xin Ye was clearly steering the conversation away, acting as if he didn't care at all how the doctor actually saved people. He carefully examined the patient’s wound. The hole in the abdomen wasn't large, but it was deep, and the blood loss was significant. It looked like it had been pierced by an insect’s limb.
Seeing that the man beside him still hadn't moved, he even picked up a vial of anesthetic, preparing to give the patient an injection. The patient was in too much pain; an ordinary person would find it hard to endure.
The doctor stopped him. "I’ll do it. Don't waste medical resources."
He raised his hand and activated his ability.
Healing ability users were precious. Xin Ye had only seen a genuine healing type use their power once in this timeline—Wen Xiaowen, outside the butterfly barrier during the preliminaries. The white light she produced was gentle; just looking at it made one feel warm.
But the orb of light the doctor produced could only be described as dazzling.
Intense light flooded the entire operating room. Xin Ye’s eyes stung for a moment, but he forced them open, trying to see the process of the doctor using his ability. At the edge of the blinding white expanse, he could only see the wetness and red on the patient’s clothes fade away. Finally, even the painful gasps were swallowed by the white radiance.
When his vision returned to normal, he saw the doctor giving the person on the table a shot of anesthesia.
Xin Ye: "?"
The doctor: "To prevent him from remembering the whole surgery when he wakes up. I’ll just lie to him once he’s better."
Xin Ye: "So I wasn't actually wasting the anesthetic earlier."
The doctor: "...Is that really your focus?"
After the "surgery," the doctor was perfectly clean. He peeled off the only piece of surgical gear he’d worn—the gloves—and signaled for Xin Ye to talk outside.
The two sat in the reception area, facing each other on the sofas. Just as the doctor sat down, he stood up again to flip the sign on the door from "Open" to "Resting."
Dr. Chen returned to Xin Ye, clasping his hands over his knees. "You specifically swapped out your brother... or rather, your ability, to come here yourself today. Do you have something to ask me regarding abilities?"
Having the true nature of his ability exposed, the only sign of surprise Xin Ye showed was a slight tap of his finger against his wrist. "You are very perceptive."
"I am getting older, after all. To be honest, ever since you showed up, I’ve slightly regretted hiring that 'ability' of yours," the doctor said, spreading his hands. "He seems much simpler than you. His eyes are clean. Unlike yours—they make you hard to read."
Xin Ye calmly nodded, acknowledging the point.
"...Moreover, you’re from the Investigation Department Headquarters, aren't you?"
The finger tapping his wrist paused. Xin Ye’s eyelids lowered slightly, but he didn't give the doctor a direct answer.
"I happened to pass by the site where your ability was performing a clearing job. Although he didn't use his power and relied purely on physical techniques to defeat the variants, I could see the shadow of HQ’s training videos in every move. Quite standard," the doctor said, looking Xin Ye up and down. "As for you, you’re even more obvious. Spend enough time in a place like that, and even your walking posture becomes standardized."
Xin Ye didn't like being on the defensive in a conversation. He countered, "Hearing you say that, you seem very familiar with Headquarters yourself. Your tone says you loathe them, yet you notice such tiny details?"
The doctor saw he was displeased and laughed instead. "Yes, I spent time there. It’s because I hate it that I’m sitting here now."
The younger, more spirited party was about to say something more when Xun Yin stopped him just in time: 【I had this character appear so he could help you! Why are you trying to start a fight with him?】
【Don't be hasty. Say what I tell you to say next. He’s important; he determines when we can finish this job.】
Thus, the doctor saw the boy’s indignant expression cool down, smoothing into a polite smile. He said, "If you hate them, then that makes things easy. It means we’re on the same side and should cooperate."
"Now, I’d like to ask the boss for a favor. Since you hate Headquarters, you wouldn't refuse, would you?"
The boss frowned, momentarily unsure how to respond.
What was this feeling of being walked into a trap?
***
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Promoted to Protagonist: Persecuted by the Meta-Narrative | Chapter 59 | Reunion and New Alliances | Novela.app | Novela.app
