【[Discussion] What level is the villain in the Jiao Tu arc? Going this big? Wrecked the protagonist until his resolve shattered, then introduced a character so overpowered it's practically a retcon?】
【[Discussion] This is little sis You's first appearance! She looks really cute in the photos. Those two siblings truly hit the genetic lottery — will she get more screen time?】
【[Discussion] Fat Fish has run out of ideas! We've officially entered the era of mass resurrections!】
【[Discussion] Rational discussion — could little sis You use this chance to learn about abilities and join the protagonist's team?】
【[Character] Bro, stop falling apart — watching you break is making me break too...】
【[Character] I have to say, the new character really hits. That fierce, edgy vibe? Savor it!】
【[Discussion] City's Edge, Jiao Tu Arc — The Greatest Crisis in History! The Nightwatch Squad's Identities Exposed! Family Members Face Death Threats! Protagonist You Shuo Actually Traded Away His Soul...?!】
【[Fan Art] Is the new character fox-coded or snake-coded? Can't decide, so I'm just drawing both!】
...
You Ling scrolled through the forums until her hair had been fully dried by the blow dryer. She had registered a reader account and bookmarked a number of posts.
For now, she hadn't spotted any comments that were obviously from ability users involved in the situation, which settled her anxious heart a little.
She went and knocked on You Shuo's door. "You Shuo, I'm done!"
Then she returned to her own room, casually locking the door behind her.
You Shuo hadn't told her much, so she could only act as though she knew nothing — that was how they had always lived. You Shuo didn't tell, and You Ling didn't ask.
Because their parents had left early, You Shuo had long since shouldered the family's burdens. You Ling didn't have the luxury of rebelling recklessly.
So she locked her bedroom door. A teenage sister locking her door and refusing entry was perfectly normal — You Shuo couldn't control it, and he wouldn't dare try.
"Let me think, let me think." You Ling muttered to herself. She had gathered most of the available information by now; it was time to formulate a plan.
She sat down at her desk, opened her notebook, pressed her elbow against the pages, and wrote a single line: "You Shuo — identity exposed. You Ling — killed."
She drew a circle around the words "identity exposed," then tapped a dot beside the circle with her pen.
The manga City's Edge was more or less like any other urban-ability light-novel-turned-manga adaptation, but the protagonist You Shuo's identity was special — he was one of the rare officially sanctioned ability users.
From joining the Nightwatch because the high salary let him support his family, to staying on the front lines out of a growing sense of duty, his emotional journey was fully depicted in the manga.
On top of that, his character design was simply too stylish — dark-haired, handsome, powerful yet tragic, a total siscon with the sweetest voice for his sister. He carried the team when carrying was needed and crumbled when the moment called for it. Before You Ling came along, he had ranked first in every arc's popularity poll.
Of course, now that You Ling was here, You Shuo would have to step aside.
You Ling clicked the cap of her ballpoint pen over and over, letting the rhythmic clacking drive her thoughts forward.
The manga was structured as a series of arcs, each featuring a different villain for You Shuo to face — like an episodic format. The overarching plot followed You Shuo's investigation into his parents' cause of death, and there still weren't any leads.
The worldbuilding the manga laid out was quite clear and could be simply divided into the Surface World and the Hidden World.
People in the Surface World were like You Ling had once been — completely ignorant of abilities. The Hidden World consisted of ability users like You Shuo, whose information was entirely suppressed in the Surface World. There was even a rule where exposing abilities to the public would affect the concentration of the mystical side, which in turn influenced ability strength — so it was universally accepted that abilities must remain hidden.
For this reason, people in the Hidden World generally operated under code names, keeping their Surface World identities concealed.
As the manga's protagonist, You Shuo had a resounding code name: 【Yanmo】.
The highest rank currently established in the manga was Double-S, and You Shuo was an A-rank ability user — already a formidable figure in the Hidden World. Combined with the additional prestige of being Nightwatch, no small number of ability users had their eyes on him. But the Nightwatch masks possessed a special concealment function; unless You Shuo voluntarily removed his mask, no one could see his face.
His identity being exposed was a matter worth serious attention. What kind of situation could directly see through it?
You Ling paused for a moment, then wrote five characters in her notebook: Information-type ability.
If it was an ability whose rank code exceeded that of the Nightwatch masks, then the identity breach was entirely plausible.
"In theory, only an S-rank should be able to see through the Nightwatch masks." You Ling pressed the pen cap against the skin beneath her chin. "System, can my transformation be seen through by abilities?"
【No. The System's code supersedes that of the manga world.】 the System replied.
"True enough — you can even make the dead speak." You Ling straightened up, pulling the pen cap away from her chin. She slowly exhaled a stale breath through her nose. "How did that idiot You Shuo get himself into this much trouble."
As things stood, the worst-case scenario was that the enemy You Shuo had encountered was an S-rank ability user.
The manga had explained in detail that abilities could not be upgraded, and the gap between each rank was enormous. You Shuo was indeed an A-rank ability user, but the distance between him and S-rank remained vast.
Because everyone in the Hidden World used code names, the manga had only provided a code name — 【Jiao Tu】. Nothing else.
Following this reasoning, the danger that this S-rank ability user 【Jiao Tu】 posed to You Shuo and his team would only continue to grow — and the same applied to You Ling, an "ordinary person from the Surface World."
...She wanted to kill them all. You Ling narrowed her eyes.
She truly did not want You Shuo to keep doing this job. It wasn't just the danger — it also made him an easy target for enemies looking to strike at his weaknesses and break his spirit. But You Ling understood You Shuo. The siblings shared similar temperaments; once they set their minds to something, they refused to give up.
Two stubborn mules butting heads would only end in mutual destruction. It wasn't as though You Ling could resort to crying, throwing tantrums, and threatening to hang herself to force his hand. She was a person with dignity too. Whatever way You Shuo hid things from her, she would hide things from him the same way and solve the problems on her own. That way, everyone was happy.
Whether You Shuo was genuinely happy or just faking it, she didn't care. She would be genuinely happy regardless.
"If only I had an ability..." You Ling murmured.
Abilities were purely a matter of talent — you either awakened one or you didn't. You Shuo's talent was extraordinarily high, and by all logic, You Ling's shouldn't be far behind.
You Ling slumped forward onto her desk with a deflated sigh. She idly rolled the ballpoint pen beneath her fingers — but then she blinked.
She noticed what appeared to be several fine threads extending from her fingertips. They were impossibly thin; if her eyes pulled back even slightly, they vanished entirely. Like the tiny downy hairs on a face — only visible when she leaned in close.
"What is this?" You Ling rubbed her fingertips together. The threads didn't seem to exist physically; they passed through her skin in a way that defied science. As if they possessed a will of their own, they expanded and contracted in rhythm with her breathing.
They seemed capable of stretching very, very long. Their far ends seemed like they ought to be connected to something, but for now, You Ling had no way of knowing what.
When she had first come back to life, something had indeed felt different... You Ling's eyes slowly widened. She stared at the threads, rubbing her fingertips again and again.
Could these threads be her ability?
It was true that she had sensed some kind of change when she was resurrected, but she hadn't known whether it was because a corpse was moving around or for some other reason. Now it seemed she might have hit the jackpot.
You Ling tried to grasp the fine threads, but they behaved as though they existed outside the laws of physics entirely, passing straight through her palm. They could not be caught.
"Can't figure it out." You Ling sighed.
She couldn't make sense of it, and there was no point in forcing the matter. Time was short — You Ling set the issue aside for now.
She had twenty hours left to live, but she also had to account for the manga's update schedule. The sooner she acted and the more she did, the better her chances of advancing the manga's plot by one chapter within those twenty hours and earning Heat once more.
She could only begin tonight.
A character's presence was tied to the way they made their entrance. Showing up in an orderly, predictable fashion could never match the allure of appearing and vanishing without a trace.
Without an ability, without information on the villain — the only card You Ling could play right now was her understanding of You Shuo.
"You Shuo," You Ling closed her notebook and gave a small shrug, "play along. What's good for me is good for you."
Just give her a little face. Let her bold gamble land safely.
...
In his room, You Shuo was in a remote meeting with his teammates.
The computer screen cast a faint glow, the video conference window open before him.
You Shuo hadn't turned on his camera, nor had he turned on the lights. His mood had been wretched ever since the disaster struck, and only by placing himself in darkness could he catch his breath.
The black pen in his hand spun rapidly between his fingers, as though sheer instinct could suppress all those terrible emotions and keep him calm enough to handle work.
He took a deep breath, steadying his tangled thoughts. "I'll be staying home for a while."
The enemy lurked in the dark while they stood in the light. You Shuo didn't dare stray too far from You Ling. The blinding red still seemed to sway before his eyes, and his heart felt as though a massive hand had seized it in a crushing grip — the pain boring straight through.
"Don't worry about us," a teammate reassured him. "We can handle things on our end."
That actually made it worse. The moment those words left his teammate's mouth, You Shuo's pen-spinning sped up until it was practically a blur in the air.
He really was worried. Extremely worried.
He had raised You Ling on his own. He had done everything himself. He didn't believe anyone besides him would be good to You Ling without wanting something in return, and he couldn't bring himself to entrust her to anyone. Even at the Nightwatch, he had never shaken this habit — only the certainty of handling everything personally could put his mind at ease. Now, with the situation critical, who knew whether You Shuo was the only one whose identity had been compromised.
It wasn't just You Ling. His teammates were in danger too.
He couldn't leave. He couldn't let his teammates face the danger alone — that would be utterly irresponsible.
And yet he couldn't let go of You Ling either. She was just an ordinary person, without any abilities, without even knowing abilities existed. Today, a miracle had descended and allowed him to trade his soul to bring her back. But what about tomorrow? The day after?
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I can't leave..."
"There's nothing you can't do."
An abrupt voice — familiar, and terrifying.
You Shuo shot to his feet. The chair toppled backward from the violent motion, hitting the floor with a heavy thud, but he couldn't spare it a thought. His eyes locked onto the darkness, fixed with razor-sharp vigilance on the figure standing there —
In the darkness, having appeared at some unknown moment, the devil stood on the floor tiles of You Shuo's home.
Like a true specter, he had arrived without a sound. Red tassels hung still, like blood that had been settling for years.
This time he didn't carry an umbrella, but a folding fan. His steps were light, and as the distance between them closed, his features grew ever clearer. Those jade-green eyes were like a bottomless dark pool, stealing the soul of anyone who gazed into them.
The fan gently tipped up You Shuo's chin. The devil tilted his head, lips curling into a delicate smirk.
"Unless... I don't agree."