Seeing that any further attempts at a verbal explanation would only dig him deeper into this hole, Chen realized he had to change tactics.
A wicked little spark of an idea ignited in his mind.
If they wanted to fixate on appearances, he would give them an education in it.
“Hmph.” A sly grin spread across his face.
“Since you’re all so concerned with form and gender, why don’t you…
see for yourself?”
He didn’t even need to finish the sentence.
Without any grand gesture, the small, unassuming figure people had dubbed the ‘Little Black Tower’ began to warp.
His petite frame shot upwards, stretching like taffy.
The dark, simple outfit dissolved into a cascade of light, reforming into a familiar vibrant dress.
His short brown hair lengthened in a blink, flowing down his back in smooth, pink waves.
And the face… was an exact, startling replica of March 7th’s.
Even the slightly smug, triumphant smirk playing on the corner of his lips was a perfect mirror.
“So?
How’s this for a demonstration?” The counterfeit March 7th—Chen—planted his hands on his hips, his voice a pitch-perfect imitation of the boy’s own vibrant, energetic tone.
“Getting a more intuitive feel for my abilities now, my other self?”
The real March 7th was rendered utterly speechless.
His jaw hung open, his eyes blown wide as he stared, frozen for three solid seconds.
Finally, a trembling finger shot out, pointing at his doppelgänger.
“You—you—you…
You actually transformed?!
Wait a second…”
His pointing finger faltered as he scrutinized the figure before him.
His brow furrowed in genuine confusion.
“Hang on…
isn’t this…
exactly what I look like right now?”
He tentatively touched his own cheek, then glanced back at the face of his copy.
He looked down at his own chest and clothes, then back at the other ‘him’.
At a glance, they were uncannily identical.
No change, you say?” Hearing this, the smirk on Chen’s borrowed face twisted into something far more mischievous.
He deliberately, and with great theatricality, puffed out his chest.
The action made the feminine curves of his new form…
significantly more pronounced.
He then fluttered his large, lively eyes—a perfect copy of March’s own—feigning an air of pure innocence.
“March,” he cooed, his voice dripping with mock sincerity, “the devil’s in the details, you know.
Are you absolutely sure…
we’re truly the same?
Why don’t you…
come feel for yourself?
You know, for a proper comparison?”
To emphasize his point, he gave another deliberate forward thrust of his chest.
“—GAAAHH!”
The effect was instantaneous.
The real March 7th’s face exploded into a shade of crimson that would put a ripe apple to shame, with steam practically whistling from his ears.
He reflexively crossed his arms over his own chest, as if shielding himself from a psychic assault.
Stumbling backward, his voice cracked and shot up an octave.
“PERVERT!
YOU ABSOLUTE PERVERT!
Who would want to touch that?!
You—you—you…
change back!
Change back right now!
You’re forbidden from using my face to make weird gestures or say weird things!”
Nearby, Dan Heng had already turned completely away, her palm pressed firmly against her forehead as if to stave off a migraine.
A long-suffering sigh escaped her lips before her cold, sharp voice cut through the chaos.
“…That is quite enough.”
As for Qiong, she simply stood there, baseball bat resting on her shoulder.
Her gaze flickered from the beet-red, shrieking March 7th to the other March 7th, who was still proudly puffing out his chest with a devilish grin.
She seemed genuinely incapable of processing why such a simple gesture had triggered such an explosive reaction.
Tilting her head in pure befuddlement, she decided the best course of action was to continue her silent observation. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
“Oh my, getting shy on me already?” Having thoroughly achieved his goal, Chen decided to quit while he was ahead.
A triumphant laugh bubbled out of him as a soft shimmer of light enveloped his form.
In a flash, he shrank back down, the vibrant colors of March 7th’s attire receding into the simple, unassuming shape of the ‘Little Black Tower’.
He clapped his small hands together with an air of finality, as if concluding a successful experiment.
“See?
That’s the simulation ability.
As for correcting minor details like gender…” He gave a dismissive shrug.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Now, can we please move past the baseless ‘pervert’ accusations and focus on the mission at hand?”
He gestured with a thumb toward the dark corridor stretching out before them.
The faint, guttural growls of Voidrangers echoed from the depths.
“C-12 Storage Area.
We still have monsters to deal with.”
March 7th slowly lowered his hands from his face, though he kept them spread just enough to glare daggers at Chen through the gaps between his fingers.
His cheeks were still flushed, but he knew the mission came first.
With an indignant huff, he raised his bow.
“Just you wait!
I’m settling this with you after we’re done!
Pervert!”
Without another word, March 7th spun on his heel and charged into the corridor, the tips of his pink hair tracing a petulant arc through the air as he went.
Dan Heng retracted the tip of her spear, her cool gaze sweeping over Chen, who was still trying to stifle a chuckle.
With a faint shake of her head, she moved to follow March.
Qiong gave Chen one last curious look, glanced at the retreating backs of their companions, and then jogged to catch up.
Left behind, Chen pouted.
His short legs had to scramble to keep pace.
“Such a sore loser,” he muttered under his breath.
[Elysian’s Note:
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