Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 102: Little Corgi Feels Very Anxious

[Who’s still stabbing me with this? It’s Li! It’s Heige! It’s your best friend duo!]

1L OP

I really want to hug that fragile child, but he’s just a phantom now.

A phantom Heige conjured with illusions.

2L

I can’t imagine what Heige was feeling when he used Li’s face to ask Yue Shan, nor what he was thinking when he finally dropped his smile.

Their lives, their meaning—worthless in the researcher’s eyes.

As insignificant as dust.

“You have to be stronger to surpass me. But right now, you can’t even survive under my hand.”

What Heige said to Yiming—wasn’t that his own reality?

If they don’t become stronger, they can’t even control their own lives.

3L

Wahhh, stop stabbing, I beg you, stop stabbing!

This is the first time in the manga’s run I’ve seen Heige with that expression.

It really hurts to see.

How could you not remember them? They’re not numbers; they’re living people!

They have their own names!

4L

Cried myself to death. The best friend duo is too heartbreaking. How could this happen!

I knew Heige cared about Li, but I never imagined it would be like this—inhumane human experiments, despair with no tomorrow in sight.

What exactly did they go through as kids? If Yue Shan’s theory about abilities and souls holds, Momo was forced to transplant Youyou’s eyes, gaining two abilities.

Then how much did they endure to have multiple abilities?

I can’t even think about it.

5L

I almost feel grateful they met each other.

Having someone by your side, at least you’re not alone.

They could draw that faint warmth from each other, tightly embrace to find the courage to keep living.

6L

Heige disguised as Li Baige, capturing Li’s demeanor and aura.

Heige disguised as Shura, with Li’s face, an exact replica of his features.

Even this time, with the childhood Li, my first thought when he appeared in the manga was: that’s Li.

Heige really knows Li so well, well enough to fool even Yiming and the others, well enough to impersonate him, as if he’s still alive, able to step forward for himself, for them, and ask, “Do you still remember me?”

7L

The comment above makes me imagine some best friend duo moments.

Heige: Today I used your temper to trick your little brother.

Heige: Today I dressed as a girl with your face and wandered around.

Heige: Today I took your childhood form to get revenge on Yue Shan.

Heige: Where are you?

8L

Tonight, the best friend duo has me crying my eyes out, wahhh.

Manga artist! Do you hear me? You have no heart!

…

[The Prophet was their foster father. Yiming calling Li “big brother” was real.]

1L OP

It was real for Heige too.

But Li agreed during their escape, and Heige, by Li’s body, told Yiming not to casually claim family ties.

2L

How can you keep stabbing like this! I’m begging you, give us a happy what-if storyline! The kids are getting stabbed to death!

3L

I open my eyes to “Who is he,” close my eyes to “You don’t remember, do you.” One stab split into two, double the sorrow for Li fans and Heige fans.

4L

Same, double fan here. I’ve been broken all night.

Heige said Yiming was weak, too weak.

Wasn’t he talking about himself?

5L

Cried until I’m hiccuping. My mom asked if I secretly got a chicken.

…

[Discussion: What abilities has Heige used so far?]

1L OP

Known for his signature illusion ability, and materialization used during the Li Baige disguise period.

In this chapter, teleportation and duplication.

At the end of the Ranmu Arc, the one used on Dan, something like hypnosis but able to clear all negative statuses based on verbal commands.

2L

Feels like a command ability?

Multiple abilities are such a cheat.

Who’d expect a supposed mage-type illusionist to have so many tricks?

Heige combat fans are genuinely having their minds blown by Heige’s strength every day.

Is there even a need to argue about combat rankings? No need at all!

3L

Don’t forget the end of the Four-Way Arc, that twin experimental subject pair.

According to Yue Shan, neither of them would live long, but Heige stepped in and saved them, even restoring Youyou’s eyes.

4L

Doesn’t seem like a swap.

Could it be something like equivalent exchange?

It’s so divine.

The manga artist was already planting experimental subject foreshadowing back then.

Right, Li also said he had multiple abilities, but with Ahoge Li’s tough-talking, soft-hearted nature, even Yiming didn’t believe he’d resort to Plundering.

Back then, there was a bro in the forum insisting Li was an experimental subject, and damn, he was right.

5L

That bro sticking to the experimental subject theory, a true prophet!

Gonna bump that thread to ride the prophet’s coattails!

…

[Why’s everyone crying? Laugh, damn it! Laugh! My cp is real!]

1L OP

I knew Li was special to Heige!

Childhood friends, an irreplaceable bond!

Family, I’m shipping them to death!

2L

I’m crying and laughing at the same time.

My mom thought my face was cramping.

Wahhh, they’re real!

3L

Thanks for the invite, already brainstorming some childhood anecdotes.

4L

Though the world gave them pain, as long as they held each other’s hands, they could keep going.

Until they welcomed the light.

…

[Deranged best friend duo doujin, childhood.]

[Main storyline speculation: Yiming, Heige, and Li’s relationship.]

[The manga artist doesn’t draw useless plot! Tang’s father definitely has more to come!]

[Looks like the protagonist group is heading to Ranmu City to regroup, but the new city lord might be Heige. Will Little Corgi get mad enough to bite?]

[PCB doujin, some salvation literature, OOC.]

[Tonight, either the manga artist or I won’t survive! I’m gonna find their address and mail them blades!]

…

The manga fully depicted the impersonation from Four-Way City that wasn’t shown before, right up to the point where Heige disguised himself as Yue Shan, connecting to the Four-Way Arc’s content.

After finishing the manga, Li Li first checked the forum for main storyline analysis threads.

But tonight, the forum was drowned in tears, with not many serious analysis posts.

Due to the manga artist’s earlier misdirection, and since Heige had used Li’s face more than once, while some wildly imaginative fans threw out bold ideas, most readers still saw them as good friends.

Originally, there was only the best friend theory, but now “Heige seeking revenge on Yue Shan for the deceased Li” solidified in their eyes that they were inseparable best friends.

Li Li saw plenty of cp doujins—some crying miserably from the pain, others celebrating like it was a festival.

What a pity, still selfcest. Li Li shook her head, no conscience.

The next manga storyline would likely involve Ranmu City, formerly Dawn City.

Going by the manga artist’s habits, this arc would probably focus more on things related to the Former Ability Guild.

Like Tang’s father, Tang Zeng, and his betrayal.

This thread started back in the Jiao Huang Arc, but there weren’t enough clues to push it forward.

Li Li skimmed the forum’s analyses and similarly felt Tang’s father would have a storyline.

If nothing unexpected happened, it would tie to the cause and effect of the Former Ability Guild’s destruction six years ago.

But combining the information she knew, Li Li felt a sense of contradiction in Tang Zeng’s actions.

While deep in thought, her phone suddenly rang.

Li Li glanced at it—her roommate was calling her in the middle of the night.

“Sorry, Lili, hic, calling you so late. But, wahhh, I really—wahhh, waaah!” Her roommate was crying energetically in the dead of night. “The manga artist has no conscience!”

Li Li quietly comforted her roommate while thinking, today’s another day the manga artist takes the blame for her.

…

Perhaps the new manga chapter had rattled the scriptwriter Jiang Lan.

The day after the update, she stayed up all night revising the script.

A few days ago, the cast was finalized, and the group chat started discussing when to meet for rehearsals.

[Lulu]: You finished the script that fast? Then if we hustle, we can make it for the local comic con in mid-August.

This proposal got everyone’s approval, and the rehearsal schedule was set.

Before reading the script, Li Li figured, barring any surprises, she’d be a wandering actor, popping up now and then to create a White Moonlight vibe, like a vengeful ghost.

But after reading the script, she realized that wasn’t the case.

Scriptwriter Jiang Lan claimed it was to give her goddess Li Li more scenes, but in reality, she sneaked in a Heige and Li confrontation scene.

Li Li tactfully suggested in the group chat to cut it, as she felt the manga artist might reveal her identity before their stage play performance.

Jiang Lan: “No need! Goddess! We’ve got plenty of time!”

Fine, worst case, she’d tweak the lines later.

Li Li shrugged.

The day passed quickly, and that evening, Li Li returned to the manga world.

Ranmu City’s reconstruction was proceeding smoothly under An Heyu’s arrangements, despite Li Li having just blasted a hundred-meter-radius crater, adding to his workload.

Dan constantly wanted to stick to Li Li, but he’d diligently complete any task she gave him.

Because Yu Xiao was lingering and refusing to leave, the two had sparked some friction.

Yu Xiao’s persona was a ditzy beauty with low emotional intelligence, while Dan, on the other hand, was a master at acting pitiful and coquettish without realizing it.

Li Li rubbed the head of Dan, who stood before her with his head lowered, looking frail and pitiful, then glanced at the clueless Yu Xiao.

She turned to An Heyu and said, “Little Red.”

An Heyu, who’d been burned by Dan before, slowly backed away, his face full of refusal.

This was Li Li’s current, unremarkable temporary life in Ranmu City.

That day, after trading barbs with Yu Xiao for a round, she dusted off her sleeves and headed out alone.

This time, she was dressed as the female Shura.

Not many knew she and Heige were the same person, and Yu Xiao, who hadn’t seen her cross-dress, might not realize “Heige” could disguise as a woman.

Since it was unclear when the imperial family’s people would arrive in Ranmu City, Li Li first headed to the area of the former Dawn City, now District 9.

The manga world’s timeline had entered midsummer.

At this point, most of Ranmu City’s citizens were involved in the city’s reconstruction, with Night Guards occasionally weaving through the construction teams, using their abilities to assist.

Li Li, wearing her black long dress, slightly tilted her head to look at the bustling scene over there.

She thought, when Yan Changxiao spoke of the Former Ability Guild’s founding, it was probably a scene much like this.

Though it was tough, they had hope for the future and a light to guide them.

Walking further out, Li Li reached the city’s outskirts, where a lush forest stood.

She surveyed the terrain, planning to circle along the boundary.

The sun sank below the horizon, and dusk arrived.

Li Li glanced at the lingering glow of the sunset, turned, and prepared to leave.

Just then, faint sounds of footsteps on grass came from the distance.

Someone was coming.

Her rich combat experience made her instantly release a crow phantom to scout who it was.

But when she saw clearly, her narrowed eyes widened, and she blinked.

It was Yiming.

And he was alone.

A mischievous urge welled up in her.