I Became the Most Popular Character by Acting as a Villain in the Manga

Chapter 28

Kunpeng Marine Floating Island Park.

After Bai Xuechao left the park for a certain distance, the raging, difficult-to-extinguish flames in the park lost their special ability control and were successfully put out by SAIDB personnel.

Members of SAIDB's logistics department began to get busy, first comforting the frightened tourists, signing confidentiality agreements with them to prevent the special ability incidents from leaking out. Too many people had encountered special ability incidents this time; even the Security Department — the protagonist group and the Level 6 special ability user who came to assist were from this department — came to help. Next, they evacuated and sent these tourists away.

After all the tourists had left, the logistics personnel prepared to carry away Qiao Jing's charred corpse to take back for examination. After the photos of the roasted Level 6 mutated giant octopus were taken, most of it ended up in the stomachs of the special ability users.

After all, the roasted octopus smelled truly delicious and contained a very high concentration of special ability molecules. As direct experiencers of the park incident and protectors of the tourists in the park, the protagonist group received the largest share of roasted octopus. The remaining small portion was carried away along with Qiao Jing's corpse, to be taken back to SAIDB for testing and recording.

This was just a simple initial step, more investigations would follow.

The protagonist group had to write a detailed report about the specific events that occurred at the Marine amusement park and submit it to SAIDB upon their return.

On their way back, the protagonist group rode in a car dispatched by SAIDB. Zhou Chenhao looked at the rapidly receding streetscape outside the window and suddenly said, "When the tourists were being sent off, I didn't see Bai Xuechao and his brother."

"Me neither," Xia Xiaoxi said from the passenger seat. "Ling Feng, did you see them?"

Ling Feng replied, "No."

Silence filled the car for two seconds. Xia Xiaoxi thought of something and speculated, "Bai Xuechao's special ability is water; could they have left by sea?"

Ling Feng nodded, "Perhaps. Some underground special ability users don't want to interact with SAIDB."

"Ah?" Xia Xiaoxi looked a bit troubled. She covered her mouth with her hand and whispered back to Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng, who were sitting in the back, "So, when we write the report, should we include them?"

Reports couldn't be fabricated, but some information could be omitted. If they wanted, they could actually leave out the part about encountering Bai Xuechao and his brother; this wouldn't violate any rules.

Zhou Chenhao stroked his chin, pondering for a moment. He then said, "Should we write it down? He helped us in the park. If he ever wants to join SAIDB later, the park incident could be included in his file, which would be a good thing. Besides, he didn't seem to have told us to conceal our encounter with him, did he?" What he said sounded very reasonable.

Xia Xiaoxi nodded, "Okay, then we'll write it!"

The three chatted for a few more moments, mainly Zhou Chenhao and Xia Xiaoxi talking.

Ling Feng only spoke when they asked him something, engaging in a desultory conversation. They talked about when Zhou Chenhao was captured to be the Ghost groom.

"Oh, right, the Hot-pot." Xia Xiaoxi turned to look at Zhou Chenhao.

"When you were looking for the bride, you stood in front of Bai Xuechao, and you two whispered for a long time. What did you talk about?"

There was also a folk music orchestra playing loudly at the time, so she could only vaguely hear them talking, but she didn't hear clearly what they specifically said and was a bit curious.

Zhou Chenhao scratched his head. "That? I wanted to ask him to elope with me, but he refused."

Xia Xiaoxi let out an "Oh?" and asked, "How did he refuse? Elaborate?"

"I wanted him to create a flood to wash us all out." Zhou Chenhao sighed, a hint of regret on his face. "He said that the water he created would disappear if it touched me, and he couldn't take so many tourists with him."

Ling Feng, who was sitting next to them, suddenly widened his eyes, as if remembering something. He sat up straight and confirmed with Zhou Chenhao again, "What did he say?"

He had just suddenly recalled that when they left the Magic Horror House, everyone was flushed out by Bai Xuechao with water columns, including Zhou Chenhao, who was running ahead of him!

The water column did not disappear!

Because the situation was quite urgent at the time, the Mummy was blocking the exit, and his attention was focused on the tourists at the door and the Mummy. He didn't realize there was a problem here until just now, when it finally dawned on him that he had overlooked such a detail.

Bai Xuechao had lied to them; he wasn't a Level 4 special ability user! To not be nullified by Zhou Chenhao, who was still Level 3 at the time, his special ability had to be at least Level 6!

However, Bai Xuechao clearly knew that the water should disappear upon touching Zhou Chenhao, yet he still did it. Was it an unintentional exposure while saving the tourists, or... was it deliberate?

Zhou Chenhao, thinking Ling Feng hadn't heard clearly, repeated, "He said that the water he created would disappear if it touched me, and he couldn't take—"

His eyes also widened.

"I remember now!" Xia Xiaoxi's emerald dog-like eyes widened, a look of belated shock on her face. She blurted out what Zhou Chenhao was about to say, "When we left the horror house, he used water to push all of us out!"

***

Bai Xuechao and Duan Xingzhi returned to the hotel.

Perhaps because he had been "playing in the water" all day and then felt the night wind on the sea when leaving by boat, Bai Xuechao felt a bit cold. He soaked longer in the warm water of the bathtub while showering.

After showering, he dried his hair and walked out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, seeing Duan Xingzhi standing by his bed, seemingly having waited for him for a while.

Duan Xingzhi also looked like he had just showered; his light golden long hair was still a bit damp, with water dripping from the ends. He wore the white bathrobe provided by the hotel, his figure tall and slender, with broad shoulders. Hearing the sound of Bai Xuechao opening the door and walking, his glacier-like, light blue, clear eyes looked towards him.

"What's wrong?" Bai Xuechao asked.

Duan Xingzhi turned his head again to look at the two blood-red crystals Bai Xuechao had placed on the bedside table. The larger one was the Special ability energy crystal, and the smaller one was Qiao Jing's special ability crystal. He picked up the special ability crystal and looked at Bai Xuechao earnestly, saying, "I'll take care of you."

"Blow-dry your hair first before you come back," Bai Xuechao said, reaching out to take the special ability crystal from Duan Xingzhi's hand.

Duan Xingzhi dodged Bai Xuechao's outstretched hand and tucked the special ability crystal into his own bathrobe pocket, as if afraid Bai Xuechao would eat it while he was away. He said, "Then wait for me." With that, he quickly walked out of the room.

Xiao 6 whispered, "Host, do you feel unwell after eating the special ability crystal? Why does Duan Xingzhi have to take care of you?"

Bai Xuechao sat by the bed, waiting for Duan Xingzhi to return. He vaguely heard the sound of a hairdryer from the next bedroom and said in a relaxed tone, "It's nothing serious, just a fever, a bit of blood-spitting, that sort of thing. A good night's sleep will fix it. Maybe he's just a bit worried."

Duan Xingzhi quickly finished drying his hair and came over, handing the special ability crystal to Bai Xuechao. Bai Xuechao took the special ability crystal and put it into his mouth.

The blood-red, translucent crystal, upon entering Bai Xuechao's mouth, instantly turned into a liquid and was absorbed by Bai Xuechao. The entire process took only two or three seconds. Almost in a single breath, Bai Xuechao suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then it became uncontrollable.

It was as if all his internal organs had turned into blood, as he coughed violently and continuously vomited blood, his clean white bathrobe rapidly turning crimson with fresh blood.

Xiao 6 cried out in fright: "Wah, ah, ah! Host, is this 'a bit of blood'? Is it 'a bit'??" With this amount of bleeding, it almost suspected its host was about to die on the spot!

"Don't make noise..." Bai Xuechao finally finished a wave of blood-spitting, collapsed backward onto the bed, closed his eyes tiredly, and said to Xiao 6, "I have a headache."

Xiao 6 immediately became quiet as a chicken, afraid of making its host's headache worse. It nervously rubbed its small hands, watching Bai Xuechao.

Duan Xingzhi had already brought a clean towel soaked in warm water and helped Bai Xuechao wipe away the bloodstains on his jaw and neck. He asked him in a low voice, "Your clothes are wet, do you want to take them off?"

"I don't want to," Bai Xuechao turned his body, pulled the comforter over himself, and said, "I'm going to sleep."

"Okay, you sleep," Duan Xingzhi sat on the carpet in front of Bai Xuechao's bed, like a large Golden Retriever accompanying its owner, lying by his bed and watching him.

Not long after, Bai Xuechao developed a high fever. Due to his high body temperature, Bai Xuechao's pale, snow-white cheeks were tinged with redness, and his breathing seemed to become hot.

Duan Xingzhi then went to retrieve the fever-reducing patches he had prepared earlier from the medicine cabinet, brushed aside Bai Xuechao's bangs, and applied one to his scorching forehead. In truth, the fever-reducing patches were useless for Bai Xuechao; they couldn't bring down his fever. Doing this only made him feel a bit more comfortable.

He slept very restlessly, his brows gently furrowed together. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly started coughing in his sleep. As he coughed, fresh blood welled up in his mouth again, flowing down his snow-white neck.

Duan Xingzhi immediately got up when he heard the coughing. He went to the bathroom, soaked a towel in warm water, wrung it out, and returned to help Bai Xuechao wipe away the blood that had flowed to his neck. After thinking for a moment, he carefully helped Bai Xuechao take off the blood-soaked bathrobe, afraid he would be uncomfortable wearing wet clothes.

The hotel's white cotton comforter was also stained with blood. Duan Xingzhi went to the wardrobe, pulled out the spare comforter provided by the hotel, and replaced the one on Bai Xuechao.

As soon as he had changed the comforter, Bai Xuechao groggily awoke, his eyes slightly reddish from the high fever, and a little moist at the bottom. His gaze was still very hazy; he didn't know if he was fully awake. After a few soft coughs, he murmured, "Duan Xingzhi, it's so cold."

Duan Xingzhi quickly ran back to his own room, brought his comforter over, and placed it on Bai Xuechao.

"It's too heavy..." Bai Xuechao parted his lips, gasping, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible. "Can't breathe..."

Xiao 6 was incredibly nervous, feeling that its host was so fragile he might break with just a slight pressure. As a useless System, it could only silently watch over Bai Xuechao, praying for morning to come quickly.

Duan Xingzhi understood Bai Xuechao's words, pulled back a section of the comforter, not allowing it to press down on Bai Xuechao's chest.

Bai Xuechao's breathing became much smoother. He let out an almost inaudible "mm," and reluctantly closed his eyes to continue sleeping.

After that, Bai Xuechao had a high fever all night, during which he vomited blood twice. Duan Xingzhi also brought over the spare comforter from his own room, which was just enough. If Bai Xuechao had vomited blood one more time, he would have had to call room service for blankets in the middle of the night.

When Bai Xuechao woke up, the sky outside was already bright, and sunlight squeezed into the room through a gap in the drawn curtains, leaving a warm golden streak on the floor.

He found Duan Xingzhi sitting in front of his bed, his delicately sculpted jaw resting against the bed's edge, his light blue eyes gazing at him. Upon realizing he was awake, the other's long eyelashes fluttered.

"You've worked hard." Bai Xuechao placed his hand on Duan Xingzhi's head. The soft, slightly cool sensation made him involuntarily rub it.

Xiao 6 quickly asked, "Host, how are you?"

"I'm fine now," Bai Xuechao withdrew his hand from Duan Xingzhi's head. "I said a good night's sleep would fix it; that part was true."

Xiao 6 breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good." Then it suddenly realized something: "So, everything else was a lie?!"

Bai Xuechao said, "I didn't say that, you know."

The hand on his head moved away, and only then did Duan Xingzhi stand up from the bedside. He leaned slightly and asked Bai Xuechao, who was lying on the bed, "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," Bai Xuechao thought for a moment. "I'm a little craving for corn pancakes."

Duan Xingzhi didn't care if corn pancakes were fried or if Bai Xuechao could eat them now. As long as Bai Xuechao said he wanted to eat them, he would call someone to make them: "Okay, wait for me."

"Wait a moment." Bai Xuechao sat up, looking at the blood-stained bathrobe and comforters all over the floor. "Call someone to clean up too, please. I'll get up."

Duan Xingzhi: "Okay."

After Duan Xingzhi left, Xiao 6 took a deep breath.

"Ah, ah, it's so good for shipping!" Xiao 6 raised a red heart high, and tiny red hearts filled Bai Xuechao's vision. Xiao 6 then said a long string of words without pausing, "Duan Xingzhi really didn't sleep all night, staying by the bed and taking such careful care of you! Wuwu, last night, Host, when you were half-dead, I wasn't in the mood for shipping, but now that you're better, I can finally ship without worry!"

Bai Xuechao: "..." Six, you truly live up to your name.

So, while Bai Xuechao put on a new spare bathrobe from the room and went to the bathroom to wash up, he listened to Xiao 6 eloquently recount how Duan Xingzhi had taken care of him last night. Bai Xuechao brushed his teeth, thinking it was better not to tell Xiao 6 that this wasn't the first time Duan Xingzhi had taken care of him like this, otherwise Xiao 6 would never stop shipping.

After he had groomed himself, he walked out of the bathroom. Duan Xingzhi and the room service auntie were already in the room. The hotel was an asset of the Dark Organization, and the hotel manager was also a member of the Dark Organization, so they naturally knew who the two of them were. But the cleaning auntie didn't know; the manager had only told her not to be surprised by anything she saw when cleaning the room, and not to say anything.

The auntie quietly cleaned the room, taking away the blood-stained bathrobe, towels, comforters, and sheets. After she left the room, she couldn't help but say something.

Although she spoke in a low voice only after the door was already closed, the excellent hearing of high-level special ability users allowed them to hear what the auntie said—

"Young couples these days play so rough? The whole bed was covered in blood; I thought someone had died. That poor little face was so pale, does he really not need to be sent to the hospital?"

Duan Xingzhi remained silent.

Bai Xuechao pretended he hadn't heard.

Xiao 6 clapped excitedly: "Why am I called Xiao 6? The auntie is truly 6, she imagines even more than me!"

Bai Xuechao: "..." The embarrassment was so intense, he could carve out a Marine amusement park with his toes.