You Ling browsed the forums for a while longer, satisfied to see that Bi Xi's identity as the strongest had already taken deep root in people's minds.
She'd considered how to strengthen the persona. The "strongest" identity certainly carried deterrence, but looking back on all the manga she'd ever read, there was no shortage of people who wanted to challenge the strongest.
Being the strongest was just being the strongest—still within the same value system as other ability users. That meant inevitably being challenged, suspected, and doubted.
Because there would always be someone arrogant enough to believe they were the true number one.
She had no way to accept challenges, nor did she want to get tangled up with such people and lower her own standards. So she had to widen the gap between herself and everyone else, making ability users too afraid to challenge her.
Make them fear her—fear her so deeply they wouldn't dare resist, make them constantly harbor the illusion that she could kill them at any moment. That was the effect she wanted.
Of course, she'd patched that too—Bi Xi would only do such things when interested, and right now Bi Xi was most interested in You Shuo. Otherwise, she could hardly be truly omnipresent.
You Shuo was a brick—useful wherever you needed to slot him in.
She'd raised her brother to this age precisely for situations like this!
"Next up is the persona's backstory." You Ling mused.
The persona was established; now it was time to dig deeper into it.
But Bi Xi wasn't actually some Demon God at all—where would his past and future come from? Making things up also carried the risk of being exposed.
So she needed to do more preparation before proceeding with this.
What legends of the Demon God? She wasn't even from the Hidden World—how would she know?
She still needed to investigate. Investigate thoroughly.
What interested You Ling was the Tianli Sect and what Yiluoqi had said about their parents. You Ling no longer had any impression of their parents, but You Shuo would definitely take the bait.
Their world was originally a manga—the analysis from the forum's lore enthusiasts was correct too. There might be some secret behind all of it.
You Ling had always loved making plans. She was a very cautious person—without complete certainty, she didn't want to take risks.
Risk-taking was her last resort. She preferred the kind of effortless advance preparation of a magician.
The Tianli Sect was already a confirmed hostile force—they were the ones who'd ordered Yiluoqi to kill You Shuo. You Ling hadn't forgotten that. You couldn't just take out the pawns and let the king go free, could you?
Moreover, You Ling had no trust whatsoever in the Nightwatch behind You Shuo. She didn't trust the entire world.
What You Ling needed to do was make herself stronger before danger arrived.
"Progress is going quite smoothly." She closed her eyes and nodded with satisfaction.
Last night she'd earned a full seven days' worth of survival time in one burst, and gained a puppet on top of it. Yiluoqi's ability was incredibly useful—from now on, she'd never have to worry about being one person who couldn't keep up with multiple fronts.
Unfortunately, a puppet's ability could only be used by the main body after the puppet was decomposed. And Yiluoqi, a B-rank puppet she was very satisfied with—without any near-term replacement, she wasn't willing to decompose him yet.
And most importantly, her decomposition could genuinely enhance her ability.
After decomposing the researcher, she'd filled in part of the void. Even after converting Yiluoqi into a puppet, You Ling still had enough remaining capacity to briefly control You Shuo and heal the wound on his neck.
Rule Six had changed—now she could control two puppets.
'Didn't they say ability users' ranks can't be raised?' She felt somewhat surprised, but it wasn't a bad thing for her.
Of course, the most important thing for her right now was campaigning for votes.
One vote per volume—who knew how much longer she could live? If she could put in the effort, she'd put in all the effort she could!
Wen Nian's suggestion was very useful. You Ling hadn't prepared freebies in advance, but making them on the spot shouldn't be hard. Conveniently, there was a small manga convention in Jinli City that very afternoon—she could go as Bi Xi, stir up some excitement, campaign for votes, and pander to the fans.
But before doing any of that, she needed to handle personal matters first.
She factory-reset her phone and walked briskly out of the dormitory building. She logged out of the alt account, switched to her regular one, then adjusted her expression—putting a smile on her face as she stepped into the sunlight.
But almost immediately, she froze.
She'd expected many people, but to her surprise, she only saw You Shuo.
Quite a few people lingered near the dormitory entrance, many of their gazes drawn to You Shuo beneath the tree. He seemed like he hadn't slept in ages—while waiting for her, his head was lowered, eyes closed.
But quickly, he looked over, opening his eyes to reveal a reassuring smile.
...He hadn't slept again. You Ling thought, looking at the dark circles beneath his eyes.
The Nightwatch was way too exploitative. How could she trust an organization like that?
"What brings you here all of a sudden? Got time off?" She pretended not to notice and asked.
Her gaze swept casually across You Shuo's face, and she spotted a small black dot on the curve of his ear.
You Ling understood immediately.
By now, virtually every ability user knew about the manga's existence—it would be difficult for the Nightwatch not to know as well. Bi Xi appeared far too terrifying in the manga; it was only natural they'd take it seriously.
And she, on the surface, was merely an ordinary person resurrected by Bi Xi. They didn't dare do anything to Bi Xi, but that didn't mean they wouldn't dare do anything to her.
You Ling had predicted this. When You Shuo asked her to come out today, she'd already prepared herself.
The Nightwatch had a research institute—the manga had mentioned it. They held certain special ability users there. The exact circumstances were unknown, but no one who'd been locked inside had ever been seen coming out.
You Ling didn't think it was a pleasant place, but by the Nightwatch's protocols, they should theoretically have put her there.
She wasn't worried—with puppets available, where the Puppeteer's main body was didn't matter.
But this time, it was You Shuo who'd come rather than anyone else, which meant You Shuo had shielded her.
You Ling looked at the dark circles under You Shuo's eyes, and she felt like sighing.
Even though Bi Xi had devoured Yiluoqi right in front of him, he still believed she was fine, didn't he?
You Shuo, oh You Shuo—did you truly not know, or did you not dare to know? When it came to anything about her, how did you lose even the most basic rationality?
"Mm, I got time off." You Shuo softened his voice, taking the canvas bag from You Ling's hands. "Things before were my fault—I'm sorry I couldn't properly spend time with you. My supervisor gave me leave. Is there anywhere you want to go today, anything you want to eat? I'll go with you."
He seemed very tired, with a hint of guilt and a desire to escape. He repeated: "I'm sorry, Lingling. It's my problem. I won't bother you for long—I'll leave after a while."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. You've already done very well," You Ling said.
It was just that everyone liked treating her like a fool. 【Jiao Tu】 did, and the Nightwatch behind You Shuo did too.
After all, she was an ignorant ordinary person—a perfect victim. And she had indeed died because of that.
"No matter what you're thinking, I won't hold back. There's a gorgeous new restaurant near campus—your wallet is about to hemorrhage." You Ling said with a smile.
But it didn't matter. Given the opportunity, she would seize it. Having her main body outside wasn't without its advantages—this time, the Nightwatch could forget about doing anything to her.
After all, it was You Shuo who'd come. When not revealing her identity, Bi Xi had no reason to do anything for You Ling—but he could do things for You Shuo.
...
Qin Yuelai—a university-age ability user with perfectly normal hobbies, like going to conventions with friends.
Even if a ghostly manga had latched onto them, life still had to go on, and hobbies couldn't be abandoned. So she was going to have fun.
Not only was she going to have fun, she was going to cosplay an Edge IP character!
In ability users' eyes, anyone bold enough to do that had to be a clueless normal person—so absolutely no one would guess she was also an ability user!
The moment she stepped out of the dormitory building, her 20/20 eyes spotted a certain someone who looked exactly like a character from the manga.
Wow, as expected of a mega-popular manga—there were already cosplayers on campus.
Immediately after, her brain snapped fully awake.
Wait—no!
That wasn't a wig, there was no makeup—that was just how he looked—
You Shuo and his sister! He'd come to pick up his sister!
Qin Yuelai hurriedly pulled her foot back inside. Fortunately, You Shuo only had eyes for his sister and didn't notice what anyone around him was doing.
She'd seen 【Yanmo】 drop off and pick up his sister plenty of times before. When 【Yanmo】 wasn't working, he looked no different from a normal doting older brother—Qin Yuelai naturally wasn't afraid of him.
The problem was, things were different now!
She frantically fired off messages in the ability users' group chat she'd only recently joined: [【Yanmo】! I spotted 【Yanmo】!!!]
A group member quickly replied: [So what if you spotted 【Yanmo】? He doesn't eat people.]
Qin Yuelai sent her message in horror: [【Yanmo】 is here—can the Green-eyed Kitty be far behind?!]
[Did you see Him?] the group member asked.
[Are you stupid? He's definitely here! He's omnipresent!]
Qin Yuelai looked down at the character she was cosplaying and deeply felt that maybe she shouldn't leave the building today.
Because she was cosplaying Yiluoqi.
"Maybe... I should just not go?" Qin Yuelai wavered. "But I stayed up all night hand-making this wig and costume..."
...
"Test her."
The voice of the headquarters liaison came through the earpiece. You Shuo watched You Ling walking ahead with her cheerful steps, and instinctively dropped his voice to a murmur.
"Lingling, have you been feeling unwell anywhere lately?"
You Ling turned back, pointing at her own head. "Not really unwell—I don't know if it's because I switched shampoos, but I'm barely losing any hair when I wash it now."
"That's good." You Shuo said. Hair loss was what girls this age hated most—You Ling had complained about it many times back home. Less hair loss was a good thing.
He couldn't help the slight upward curve at the corners of his mouth.
The research institute at headquarters—there was no way he'd let You Ling go there. But headquarters didn't trust You Shuo's judgment. At this moment, the headquarters people were in that conference room. Because You Shuo had refused to let his sister appear on camera, they could only hear the audio.
The masked figure who'd been slumped over the desk last time was now curled up in their seat, yawning: "Sounds like there's nothing wrong. Most girls in the Surface World are like that."
The masked figure seated at the highest position spoke: "Ask her about things from your past."
The command reached You Shuo's ears, and the barely-upturned corners of his mouth instantly went flat.
"Lingling..." He took a deep breath. He hated this so much. If headquarters hadn't demanded he immediately confirm You Ling's condition, he wouldn't have wanted to come see her at this time at all. He wanted to keep dangerous things as far away as possible—like Bi Xi, and like himself, who'd traded his soul to the devil. "Do you remember the last time we walked down the street together like this?"
"When I was in elementary school." You Ling answered quickly.
"That long ago?" You Shuo's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
You Ling stared at him for a good while. "You're usually very busy. Even picking me up from school, you rode a bicycle. If we're talking about actually walking together, there was only that one time."
You Shuo's eyes darted frantically—now he was the nervous one.
"We bought a tanghulu on the way?" You Shuo recalled.
"Mm, because your tears got my only dress wet, so you bought me snacks I normally couldn't afford." You Ling said.
"..." You Shuo's expression turned slightly awkward. This kind of thing was fine when only he remembered it—but his superiors were all listening in.
On the other end, the yawning masked figure bolted upright: "Seriously?"
"Mm." You Shuo gave a quiet acknowledgment, then coughed once. "I'm sorry, Lingling. I'll buy you a new dress today to make up for it."
"We're here!" You Ling spun around and pushed open the door of a shop with very tasteful decor.
She went in first. You Shuo followed a step behind, speaking to the headquarters people: "She's my sister—there's absolutely nothing wrong with her."
No matter how you looked at it, this was You Ling. Absolutely impossible to fake.
The masked figure seated at the highest position spoke in a deep, resonant voice: "We will make that determination. Continue."
...
The shop was lit with scented candles, a gentle warm breeze brushing across the cheeks, carrying a natural sense of comfortable drowsiness.
You Ling chose a sofa against the wall, confirmed the lighting wouldn't be in her eyes, then casually ordered some small cakes and pretended to study camera angles with great interest.
She chatted about random classroom things—professors, group projects. You Shuo went from attentive, to confused, to completely glazed over.
That was what happened when you couldn't follow. You Shuo had never attended university and had barely lived a normal Surface World life—the topics You Ling discussed were too far removed from his reality.
They actually didn't have much to talk about. You Ling's school social circle was incomprehensible to You Shuo, and You Shuo's Hidden World social circle wasn't something he'd share with You Ling.
They were people at opposite ends of the Surface and Hidden Worlds. Even bound by blood, there was an uncrossable chasm between them—a chasm called life itself. They had lived different lives.
You Ling kept up her act for five minutes before You Shuo finally couldn't resist the drowsiness, lowering his head as his eyes slowly drifted shut, sinking into the sofa and falling asleep.
She sighed internally. This was exactly why she'd chosen this shop—comfortable for sleeping, with barely any noise.
The soothing atmosphere also eased some of the tension she'd carried the past two days. You Ling pinched the straw of her drink between her fingertips, stirring idly.
In truth, she didn't know when the last time she'd walked with You Shuo was either—she only remembered that one occasion so vividly.
Their parents had died early. For as long as You Ling could remember, it had been You Shuo raising her.
That day had been You Ling's fault too. She couldn't remember what she'd been thinking at the time. When You Shuo came to pick her up, she watched her classmates being collected by their parents and said to him: "Brother, why does everyone else have a mom and dad?"
Back then, You Shuo had only been a young teenager—a middle schooler. He hadn't dropped out yet, attending school and working part-time simultaneously. He must have just run into some trouble at work—when he came to pick her up, his elbow was still scraped and his uniform was dusty.
He'd frozen in place almost instantly. You Ling didn't know what he'd been through before that—she could only see his eyes suddenly brimming with moisture. He dropped to his knees, pulled her into his arms, pressed his forehead against her shoulder, and repeated over and over: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry Lingling—your brother is really so useless, I'm sorry..."
You Ling just stood there, a damp warmth spreading across her shoulder. She knew You Shuo was crying ugly tears. She didn't move, quietly waiting for his shattered emotions to subside.
The very next day, You Shuo dropped out. He devoted himself fully to working, giving up his own life.
From that point on, she knew there were things that shouldn't be said.
Certain confusions, certain questions, certain resentments—none of them needed to be shown.
She was too small. The only thing she could do was appear happier, more obedient—so You Shuo wouldn't have to worry about her on top of his own mess.
You Ling knew You Shuo very well, but You Shuo didn't understand her—because she had never let him.
Sometimes she felt they were strangers living under the same roof, each performing in a show called "family."
So there was also no need for You Shuo to know that his little sister was an executioner who'd taken up the blade.
You Ling checked the time—nearly two hours had passed. She stood, lightly patting You Shuo's shoulder, and deliberately whispered in his ear: "You keep sleeping. I'm heading out first."
She said a word to the staff, her peripheral vision sweeping over the shop's security camera aimed directly at the entrance.
You Ling walked into the camera's field of view. The instant she pushed open the door, a figure taller than her moved in the opposite direction, brushing past her shoulder.
Swaying red tassels flickered at the corner of her eye as she walked out of the shop—and Bi Xi walked in.
Golden threads connected puppet and Puppeteer. She walked along the road back to campus, while Bi Xi fanned himself with his folding fan and sat down across from a bleary-eyed You Shuo.
The newly-awakened You Shuo snapped to full alertness in an instant. He seemed about to say something, but at the same time, Bi Xi's green eyes narrowed, and only two words left his lips: "Turn it off."
On the other end of the earpiece connection, the masked figure seated at the highest position blurted out the instant those words registered: "Cut the line! Now!"
"Don't make Him unhappy!"
The command reached You Shuo's ears in a flash. He looked at Bi Xi. Bi Xi tilted his head, the same smile as always hanging at the corners of his mouth.
You Shuo took a deep breath, pulled the micro-device from his ear, and crushed it before Bi Xi's eyes.
This was the power You Ling wanted—power that could change her circumstances, power to pursue the outcomes she desired.
"Bi Xi," You Shuo said. "Didn't you say you'd give me a day?"
He still needed time to sort out his emotions. Not everyone who learned they could be assimilated by a demon at any moment could keep joking around with said demon. He'd just woken up, still groggy, and a demon had suddenly descended from the heavens.
"Today is the day. What about it?" The green-eyed demon paid no heed to others' words as always. His fan poked up under You Shuo's chin again, those eyes enlarging before You Shuo's face. The force tilting his chin wasn't great, but enough to make him raise his head. "I have time, you have time—or do you have something else to do? Something more important than me? Because then I'd be unhappy. Who could possibly be more important than me?"
You Shuo closed his eyes, seemingly steeling himself. After a long moment he opened them again, as if accepting reality: "You're the most important."
He tilted his head to avoid the fan and asked: "What do you want to do?"