Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 107: The Knock Was a Bit Loud

At that moment, Sang Feiling happened to be there in her wheelchair.

Hearing the shocking “woof,” the former Traveler, brimming with curiosity, had an expression like “the world is so wondrous.” Her fingers twitched, as if she wanted to take notes.

Dan, who could boldly say “woof” in public, had some guts.

Whether by intuition or catching Li Li’s gaze, he suddenly turned his head, looking toward Li Li at the end of the road.

His one gold, one blue pupil lit up instantly.

Yiming also instinctively looked over and saw the “pretty sister” he’d met before.

Li Li, from far away, hooked her finger, not at all embarrassed or uncomfortable, even looking quite excited.

Yiming was about to say something when Dan decisively abandoned him, joyfully bounding over.

Hugging his rabbit plushie, Dan lifted his head and rubbed it against Li Li’s hand.

Then, blinking, his face expressionless, but his watery eyes seemed to hide endless grievances.

“I don’t want to talk to him. He doesn’t like you,” Dan said quietly.

Li Li guessed Yiming or someone had slipped up, saying he didn’t like Heige, and Dan overheard.

Dan was like a fiercely loyal hound, unable to tolerate anyone pointing fingers at Li Li.

This reaction was perfectly normal.

Then Li Li heard Dan say, in the same flat tone, “Can I kill him?”

His little braid swayed as the wind blew, his words as ferocious as ever.

Li Li smiled, “Good boy, no.”

“Wuu.” Request denied, Dan lowered his head, clutching his plushie tightly, looking utterly pitiful.

Li Li glanced at Yiming, who hadn’t yet experienced Dan’s tea-like speech and didn’t know what Dan had said, let alone that he’d nearly been sent off by an S-rank on the spot.

Yiming was somewhat happy to see Li Li.

He hesitated, wanting to approach, but sensed Li Li didn’t want much contact and wavered in place.

Then Li Li withdrew her hand and turned, “Let’s go.”

In that brief moment of hesitation, Yiming watched as she left with the white-haired boy, who turned back and mouthed “woof” at him before happily following the girl who looked like Li.

Yiming: I don’t get it, but I feel mocked.

Why did he feel a bit wronged?

The feeling faded quickly.

Yiming felt some regret but thought that person was here today and might come tomorrow or the day after.

Sooner or later, he’d get a chance to talk to her again.

Just then, Tang and An Huyu came over. Tang asked, “Yiming, what’s wrong?”

Yiming opened his mouth, unsure how to describe what just happened.

Nearby, Sang Feiling waved, asking the two kids for paper and a pen, casually saying, “They were debating whether it’s better to be human or a dog.”

Yu Xiao, who’d appeared at some point, asked, “Who won?”

Sang Feiling’s eyes gleamed with worldly wisdom, “For now, the dog won.”

Yu Xiao gave Yiming his signature not-so-bright look and said, “Yiming, isn’t winning great?”

Yiming looked at his innocent expression in shock, “Yu Xiao, do you really think I’m a dog?!”

The others were even more shocked, “You’re not?!”

Yiming: “Of course not!”

On the other side, An Heyu had left with Dan before An Huyu arrived, quickly catching up to Li Li.

Li Li was casually asking Dan, “You know the Jiao Huang City Lord?”

Of the nine existing SS-rank ability users, six were in Floating City, one hadn’t shown up in ages and might be dead, one was a wandering SS-rank, and one was the Jiao Huang City Lord.

Besides Yu Xiao, the Jiao Huang City Lord, Jue Hui Shen, was the only SS-rank she could currently contact.

Having bested Yiming, Dan was in high spirits, his little braid swaying with his steps, matching the sway of Li Li’s ahoge.

“I know him,” Dan said without holding back. “I met Jue Hui Shen before he was injured. He wanted my help, but his ability was useless to me, and mine couldn’t help him.”

He was S-rank.

Despite his array of concept-type abilities, few worked on SS-rank ability users above his level.

Dan’s own ability, [Error Correction], could do it, but Dan loathed himself and his ability.

He knew less about it than Lin Ruye’s uncle, whom he’d killed, did.

“Injured?” An Heyu was surprised. He’d heard the Jiao Huang City Lord was extremely powerful.

If he wasn’t strong enough, how could he carve out a piece of the Empire and rule Jiao Huang?

Such a person was injured?

Li Li wasn’t surprised.

The Jiao Huang City Lord had barely appeared in recent years.

If he wasn’t a recluse like Lin Ran, there had to be a reason he couldn’t show up often.

“Tell me what you know,” Li Li nodded slightly, signaling Dan to continue.

“Jue Hui Shen’s ability is [Devouring],” Dan said. “I don’t know why he’s injured, only that he’s been sleeping at the sea bottom to recover in recent years.”

SS-rank mimicry-type ability, transforming into a dragon, with the trait [Devouring].

Last time, Dan had woken Jue Hui Shen in Jiao Huang.

Because of their brief acquaintance, Jue Hui Shen didn’t kill him but was furious enough to expel him.

“Can’t he heal himself?” An Heyu asked, speculating from his understanding. “If his ability is [Devouring], shouldn’t he be able to consume other things to restore himself?”

Dan glanced at An Heyu, then looked up at Li Li and said, “I don’t know.”

“That’s enough,” Li Li crossed her arms, her index finger tapping her arm.

She was thinking.

Though the news of Yu Xiao being a Prophet overturned many of her guesses, it also made her mental map of these people’s relationships clearer.

Everyone’s information differed.

Their identities and interests led them to share different perspectives, but those were sincere words.

Yet some sincere words were deceived or biased, heartfelt but wrong.

Sorting out the useful information, discarding overly subjective “vague” or “wrong” clues, what remained was the main storyline of Extreme Black and White.

If there was one thing Li Li still didn’t understand, it was the system’s purpose.

All she knew was that the system was absolutely Yu Xiao’s opposite.

“Really interesting…” She genuinely thought so.

...

Compared to her previous nonstop pace, Li Li was indeed more idle now.

She no longer worried about running out of survival points or sudden death.

The manga’s main plot was progressing normally.

This arc belonged to Yiming and the other hot-blooded youths, not much to do with her.

But it was only slightly idle.

The reason why the princess stayed in Tan City was temporarily unknown, but Tide had made thorough preparations, determined to seize this opportunity to defeat the imperial princess.

Under the pursuit and attacks of the imperial family and nobles, Tide’s top combat strength consisted of only one high-rank, Sang Feiling.

However, the occasional assistance from Dan and An Heyu filled this gap.

Although half of the strong cards in the princess’s hand had been nullified by Li Li, there were still quite a few ability users who rushed to her summons.

Both sides, situated in the two cities of Ranmu City and Tan City, engaged in a prolonged tug-of-war.

The battle of wits and martial prowess continued ceaselessly, while the true “high-end combat force,” the slacker duo, frequently crossed paths.

This made Li Li feel it wasn’t quite right.

Yu Xiao looked at her.

There were many things she couldn’t do, and she still had to pretend in front of Yu Xiao that she didn’t know who he was.

Though Yu Xiao was the same, pretending in front of her that he wasn’t Shuang Buyan.

When the two acting emperors met, neither could catch a break.

So, after a moment of contemplation, as An Heyu poured her a cup of milk tea, Li Li turned her head and looked at him.

An Heyu, somewhat puzzled, set down the teacup and asked, “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t know what Li Li had been thinking about lately, but he trusted her immensely.

His confidence in Li Li far surpassed his confidence in himself.

An Heyu believed nothing could stump Li Li.

Then Li Li gave him a faint smile.

“Little Red, I have a tough task for you,” she said.

“Wait a second, let me prepare myself mentally,” An Heyu said, taking a deep breath. He sensed an ominous vibe from Li Li’s smile.

That smile, the curve of her lips, was the same as the one he’d seen a few times when Li Li was about to trick someone.

After three deep breaths, he adjusted his posture, sat upright, and said with utmost seriousness, “Go ahead, tell me.”

So Li Li grinned, “Little Red, take off your disguise!”

An Heyu: ...

An Heyu: ?

An Heyu suspected he hadn’t heard correctly.

But Li Li continued to coax, “Don’t you miss your brother? Take this time to catch up, have a nice chat, talk about family matters. How great would that be?”

“But…” An Heyu felt suffocated at the thought of his short skirt and black stockings.

Yet Li Li’s words were laced with temptation, “As long as you do this, no one will care why you’re wearing a skirt…”

An Heyu suddenly realized.

Nothing could stump Li Li, but plenty of things could stump him, An Heyu.

Heige was invincible, but he wasn’t!

Yet, as he listened, it actually seemed quite feasible.

His initial shock and resistance gradually turned into intrigue and readiness to act.

…

Tan City.

An Huyu, Yiming, and others formed an exploration team to scout the enemy’s movements.

Yu Xiao was among them.

His ability ensured they could instantly escape danger by entering his ability domain, waiting for the threat to pass before leaving.

If it weren’t for Tide’s agent in Ranmu City, Sun Shen, who could turn invisible, having another mission, he would have been the one going out with Yiming and the others.

“You absolutely can’t wander off halfway this time. It’s very dangerous,” Yiming repeatedly told Yu Xiao. “Really, extremely dangerous—more dangerous than that Qu Yan you encountered in Four-Way City.”

“You could die if you’re not careful,” Tang also said.

Yu Xiao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, “Oh.”

He always seemed like he wouldn’t cause trouble, but the few who had worked with him for a while had learned to remain skeptical of Yu Xiao’s “reliability.”

Even without Yu Xiao, they could push through and survive, sometimes even growing stronger through adversity. But who wouldn’t prefer to complete a mission safely?

“We trust you!” An Huyu said. “Good friend, you won’t leave us in danger, right?”

After several incidents where Flipping Fish disappeared midway, An Huyu had also grown considerably through crises.

Yu Xiao nodded, “Of course, good friend.”

With that, the group set off toward the city controlled by the princess as planned.

Yu Xiao turned his head, glancing at the dark jungle behind them.

Someone was following them.

…

Meanwhile, in Jiao Huang City.

The nighttime sea remained turbulent, its dark surface like a bottomless abyss, as if falling into it would trap one in an inescapable prison.

The salty sea breeze carried a faint fishy smell.

Bright moonlight hung on the horizon, its silver glow spilling across the sea, illuminating a solitary figure.

In the air, Li Li lowered her gaze, looking at the darkness beneath the sea’s surface.

Her trench coat fluttered loudly in the night wind, strands of hair brushing against her cheeks, causing a slight itch.

Black hair, black eyes, with an ahoge swaying gently in the faint sea breeze.

This was the appearance she had when she first arrived in this world, the image she used in Jiao Huang City.

Li Li closed her eyes, recalling past memories.

Then, she slowly curled her lips.

Her hand, long unexposed to sunlight, was slender and pale in the night.

She raised her hand.

“Snap.”

The sound of her fingers snapping echoed, and an illusion spread out like spilled paint.

“Boom!!!”

Thunder descended from the sky, striking the sea’s surface.

Serpentine currents instantly spread outward.

The earth’s crust seemed to shift.

Amid the quaking ground and howling winds, waves rose on the sea, towering surges blocking the moonlight on the horizon.

In this apocalyptic scene, Li Li remained floating above the sea, tilting her head slightly.

She gazed at the sea, silently counting.

Five.

The waves roared, shattering the calm water with overwhelming force.

Four.

Thunder accompanied the rain, dark clouds surged, and the stark white lightning briefly illuminated half of her calm black eyes.

Three.

A tremor from the seabed rippled through the illusion.

The Lord of Jiao Huang City, Jue Hui Shen, awoke from his slumber.

Two.

A massive black shadow coiled beneath the sea’s surface, the blurred darkness gradually becoming clear.

He glided through the seawater.

One.

Then, he leapt out of the sea.

“Roar!”

The dragon raised its head, roaring toward the sky. Its enormous body blotted out the sun, its golden vertical pupils narrowing, filled with the fury of being disturbed!

But at that moment.

“Snap.”

Another snap of fingers echoed.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, earthquakes trembled, tsunamis surged, and sudden rain fell.

The illusion, like fading paint, vanished entirely from the dragon’s sight in an instant.

The dragon’s enraged expression had yet to fade, but its roar seemed abrupt in the sudden silence.

The quiet seemed to affect the dragon, its roar softening until it ceased.

The dragon’s golden pupils shifted, meeting Li Li’s gaze as she floated in midair.

Moonlight spilled down, illuminating the black dragon’s form. In the moonlight, the dragon’s figure paused in midair.

A gentle breeze brushed through the space around them, bringing a faint chill.

“What did you do?” the dragon spoke, its voice human.

Above the calm sea, the red mark at the corner of Li Li’s eye flickered faintly between strands of black hair.

She met the dragon’s gaze directly, offering a polite smile.

“Shall we talk?” she said.