Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 23: Bumping into a Leader

Hua Yizhi was uneasy.

He feared the youth before him, yet for certain reasons, he trusted him.

He had searched for the youth for two days.

After that major upheaval, the youth had vanished without a trace, until today when he finally got word of his whereabouts and hurriedly rushed over.

But facing this person, he began to fear again.

The last time in the casino, this A-rank ability user had left him with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

His ability failed, his space was casually trespassed, and that frenzied killing intent....

He could never forget the look in this person’s eyes, the kind filled with killing intent that even sunglasses couldn’t block, as if it could crush him into that darkness in the next second.

At that moment, the A-rank ability user removed his sunglasses, and as his black pupils lightly swept over, Hua Yizhi felt as if he were instantly transported back to that night, gripped by the fear of his life being threatened.

He looked at the smile on this powerhouse’s lips, and a bone-chilling sensation arose.

It was as if he were being stared at by a ferocious beast, and the beast was assessing his worth.

“Tide? Leader?” The A-rank ability user said playfully.

The surface of the silver-white mask gleamed under the sunlight, yet he himself seemed like a shadow that belonged in the night.

He appeared nonchalant, but every word, every pronunciation, made Hua Yizhi feel immense pressure.

Hua Yizhi knew what had happened in Jiao Huang after this A-rank ability user arrived.

First, the casual killing of Qing Tong members, then the massive tremor two days ago.

The missing Qing Yu Chen, the collapsed ruins of the Qing Tong organization, the cracked earth that day, and the anomaly that appeared on the sea horizon.

Even though he was at the casino watching that emerald-eyed little girl that day, when he looked up, he could see a black shadow that seemed to pierce the clouds, dark clouds and heavy rain, the ground’s tremors seeming to last forever.

As an intelligence peddler, Hua Yizhi knew that the branch leader of the Four-Way City Ability Guild had disappeared in Jiao Huang, and he knew that was an A-rank noble.

Even a powerful and esteemed A-rank, a noble of the same rank as him, was insignificant compared to the person before him.

And who was responsible for all this? It was obvious.

It had to be him, this A-rank ability user!

This powerhouse who suddenly appeared in Jiao Huang, arriving after receiving Tang’s message!

Hua Yizhi believed that what this A-rank ability user was capable of went far beyond this, and he became increasingly convinced that this was the person he had been searching for!

“Tide’s other name is ‘Former Ability Guild.’”

The pursuit of his goal overcame his fear, and Hua Yizhi, gauging the A-rank ability user’s tone, decided to reveal his identity honestly, “Six years ago, the Ability Guild split. Our prophet foretold that we would meet the leader who would unite us, overthrow the nobles and the empire, this year.”

Once he started speaking, the words flowed more easily.

“That person would rescue the girl trapped by Qing Tong and join us as our leader.”

“That person is powerful, able to lead us to shatter the enemy’s shields. That person is wise, able to dismantle the enemy’s schemes. That person is resolute, never betraying us or our beliefs, ultimately leading us to the rising sun of victory.” Hua Yizhi’s usually lazy tone was now upright and proper.

“That person is you.” He said.

Heige. Hua Yizhi silently repeated the name in his heart.

He was the leader he had waited six years for!

Originally, he thought that person was the youth named Yiming, but that youth leaned more toward doing his best rather than bearing everyone’s expectations, not fitting their vision of a leader.

Their leader had to be powerful and willing to stand up for all those struggling in this world.

And just when Hua Yizhi thought the other might need training, Heige appeared.

With the same goal of Tang, yet far more powerful and fitting the prophecy’s description.

When he released his killing intent but ultimately didn’t act, Hua Yizhi knew he had arrived.

Heige was powerful; an A-rank noble died by his hand, and the heavens and earth of Jiao Huang changed for him.

Heige cared for the downtrodden, crushing Qing Tong’s rule, saving low-rank ability users treated as commodities by Qing Tong, even casually helping oppressed youths.

And Tang was indeed successfully rescued with his help.

He was the one Hua Yizhi had been waiting for!

Hua Yizhi believed in the prophecy with near reverence and believed in the youth before him.

“The nobles have always suppressed us, hunting us down to eradicate us, which is why we used ‘Tide’ as a pseudonym.” Hua Yizhi’s narrow phoenix eyes were now bright, and he continued, “But we merely went into hiding.”

“Jiao Huang is managed by me as an intermediary for all matters, and our comrades in the empire are striving in different places. The Ability Guild, noble forces, even the imperial royal family have our comrades. We are waiting for the chance to strike with full force. We don’t fear death, only seeking a world for those who come after us, free from oppression, where they can live.”

“And you will lead us to victory!” He raised his head, as if already seeing the dawn in his eyes.

The youth before him stood against the sunlight, his black hair casting shadows that seemed to hide his obsidian-like pupils.

The black-haired youth watched Hua Yizhi’s passionate speech, watched him elevate him to great heights, then said again: “Please become our leader!”

The youth chuckled lightly.

Then he slightly raised his chin, turning his face to reveal a mocking expression.

“Me? Save people?” He dragged out the last syllable, his face smiling yet his eyes like a piercing winter.

Hua Yizhi opened his mouth, wanting to affirm this statement.

Wasn’t it true? He, who should have died, was still alive.

Yiming, who should have failed and been turned into a commodity with Tang when Qing Yu Chen returned early, was still bouncing around.

Those “commodities” rescued after Qing Yu Chen’s death—weren’t they all saved by him?

Of course, he believed in the prophesied leader, believed in the youth before him.

But at that moment, the youth spoke: “I have no interest in what happens to you.”

The youth’s black pupils looked through the silver-white mask, his black trench coat lightly fluttering as he stepped forward.

“But I don’t like being decided for.”

The youth’s tone carried a hint of coldness.

“I refuse.”

Hua Yizhi hurriedly stood, but it was too late.

The youth’s figure dissipated before their eyes, like a phantom, vanishing with a wave of its master’s hand, and no one could stop the process.

The youth they had waited two days for left just like that, and they could do nothing to make him stay.

...

This was content not yet mentioned in the manga.

Li Li understood as soon as Hua Yizhi spoke his first sentence.

Why had Tang’s father sent a letter to ‘Tide,’ yet Qing Yu Chen thought she was from the Former Ability Guild?

It was because the two were the same organization, which was why Qing Yu Chen had directly labeled her as a ‘Former Ability Guild member.’

And why, in the manga, did Hua Yizhi help Yiming, giving convenience to an outsider low-rank youth?

It was because of the so-called prophecy.

Li Li hadn’t expected that Hua Yizhi, who seemed quite normal, was actually so superstitious about a prophecy.

At that moment, Li Li had already cautiously changed her appearance.

In the manga, characters often transformed by merely changing their hairstyle, and Li Li had done the same.

Her hair remained black, but her eyes were now crimson.

She had swapped out the trench coat, still wearing black but in a practical top and bottom, with cuffs and calves tightly bound, layered with a loose, oversized black coat that made her frame appear broader and taller.

She walked through the streets of Four-Way City, a more advanced city compared to Jiao Huang, bustling with traffic.

Looking at the unfamiliar city, she adopted a new expression.

It was a cold, indifferent expression.

At the same time, Li Li was thinking.

If she hadn’t intervened, Hua Yizhi would have continued believing Yiming was the one he sought, aiding his growth from the sidelines until Yiming, as now, abandoned the principles his foster father gave him, completing his transformation.

Li Li felt that if Hua Yizhi had made his request to Yiming, he would have succeeded.

Because Yiming genuinely cared about others’ well-being; he was that silly Little Corgi.

But Hua Yizhi’s prophecy also gave Li Li a sense of an impending storm.

The prophecy said the ‘leader’ would rescue Tang, but Yiming came to Jiao Huang to save Tang because Yu Xiao obtained the letter.

Because Yiming knew about it, he came.

How many people knew of the prophecy? Was Yu Xiao aware? These thoughts flashed through her mind the moment she heard the news.

But Yu Xiao was likely unaware, as his luck was so bizarre that anything happening to him wasn’t surprising.

Li Li felt she had already been drawn into the conflict between the Ability Guild and the Former Ability Guild, but Yiming had not yet been pulled in by the boss.

This was too difficult for a D-rank Little Corgi.

If she hadn’t intervened, this side plot would likely have been revealed one or two arcs later, when Little Corgi reached mid-rank.

It was exposed far too early now.

And Li Li was telling the truth—she had no interest in what the boss and his group were doing.

Her interest lay only in her own popularity.

While she leaned toward the Former Ability Guild, the ‘leader’ role, for her current self, only meant trouble, especially since she wasn’t truly A-rank.

Of course, she would refuse.

But that didn’t mean she would avoid these two forces; rather, she intended to use them.

The sun overhead was beginning to sink toward the west, and Li Li stopped in front of a building.

Snow-white throughout, its roof spiked like thorns, occupying an area about three times the size of a Qing Tong stronghold.

Above the entrance’s columns hung a sign: Ability Guild.

She would use her current conditions to make the Ability Guild focus on her, following the clues to investigate what happened ‘six years ago’ before the manga updated this part, fabricating a suitable past for ‘Heige.’

Then she would present the lie in the manga.

Pausing, Li Li stepped inside.