Chapter 30: Bookstore
The radio in Brolly Bookstore was playing a song called Open Door, dreamlike jazz echoing into every empty corner.
“Lately I dreamed”
“I had tasted”
“All life’s treasures”
As the music reached that line, under the bookstore owner’s dazed gaze, the massive cocoon slowly cracked open. Then, a man wearing a tailcoat and a red-black mask “crawled” out, hanging motionless upside-down from the ceiling.
At some point, he had already taken the sketchbook and a ballpoint pen the owner had left on the counter.
The young shop owner was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile at him. “Sir, we’re about to close.”
“Oh… just a moment, I’m almost done drawing, just need a bit more time.”
Black Cocoon hung upside down, his face just inches from the owner’s. He didn’t even lift his head, fully focused on sketching in the notebook.
“Alright.” The owner nodded and took a sip of coffee, surprisingly calm.
Black Cocoon suddenly said, “By the way, Mr. Photo Retriever, I borrowed a copy of The Stranger from here before—it was on the fifth bookshelf from the left when you enter. But I did put it back later… Yeah, it’s the one I was reading on TV during my debut. Camus’ writing does have a unique charm, and I really resonated with the protagonist’s inability to feel sadness even at his mother’s funeral… What can I say? The one attending the funeral was a fake person. My brother and sister cried their eyes out.”
The owner had no idea what he was talking about.
Amid the scratching sound of the ballpoint pen, Black Cocoon hummed along with the jazz and asked, “I just meant to say… sir, you’re not mad that I borrowed a book without saying anything, right? If you’re upset, next time I’m on camera I can plug your bookstore by reading one of your fancy hardcover editions. That should make up for it.”
“As long as you leave an ID and phone number, borrowing is allowed here,” the young owner said. “No need to feel guilty… at most, you just skipped a step. I’m not too strict with customers sometimes.”
Black Cocoon nodded. “Good to know. I heard from some neighbors that you have a strange Esper ability—you can find the actual location of an item by using a ‘photo.’ So when people around here lose stuff, they come to your store with pictures and ask for your help.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s awesome. I don’t have a photo, but I do have photorealistic drawing skills. Maybe you can use your power to help me find the cutie I drew?”
“I haven’t tried using my power based on a drawing… but I can give it a shot.”
“No worries. My drawing’s pretty much photo-level quality, I’m sure your ability will work perfectly.”
Black Cocoon spoke with confidence, then turned the sketchbook around to show the owner.
The owner squinted behind his glasses. The sketch looked like a lumpy, barely human figure.
It reminded him of an elementary school essay he once wrote, where he described a classmate like this: “Her eyes are red like cherry tomatoes; her hair white like daikon; and the sun overhead was big and red like a giant tomato.”
Black Cocoon’s “masterpiece” practically recreated that exact level of artistry. To call it elementary school-level might even be an insult to elementary schoolers.
“So this is what you call… photo-quality… photorealistic art?”
The owner stopped three times mid-sentence.
“Yup. So can you find the person in the picture for me?”
Black Cocoon tilted his head and squinted. Though hidden behind a mask, his tone and posture made him seem very earnest.
“Sorry, my power only works on non-living items, and only small, structurally simple objects within a limited range… If it’s a human, even a hundred photos won’t help—let alone this ‘photorealistic’ sketch.”
The owner explained calmly. “There’s a reason I’m rated Harmless-level.”
Black Cocoon deflated, dangling limply from the ceiling. He slowly spun his pen and sighed.
He asked, “Alright, then do I owe you anything for borrowing your sketchbook and pen?”
“No charge.”
“Thanks, sir. You’re a good man.”
Black Cocoon nodded respectfully, then used the Binding Restraints to return the notebook and pen to the owner.
“You’re welcome.” The owner paused. “Actually, maybe just one yuan. My sketchbook’s kinda old—it falls apart when you tear pages out. And your drawing… has such artistic value that I’d like to keep it, but I can’t tear it cleanly.”
“I get it. Genius art can only be appreciated by fellow geniuses… like Picasso.”
Black Cocoon muttered to himself, fished a one-yuan coin from his tailcoat, and handed it over with the Binding Restraints. “Feel free to rip it out and frame it, sir.”
“Thanks.” The owner took the coin and placed it in the till.
“No need to thank me, sir. You earned it.”
Still hanging upside down, Black Cocoon casually grabbed a book off the shelf. “So… I’ve got two minutes before you close. Anything else I can help with?” the owner asked.
“Oh right… would you be willing to partner with me?” Black Cocoon finally remembered why he came. He twirled a gloved finger near his temple. “Uh… by partner, I mean, I’ll plug your bookstore’s hardcover editions on TV, and in return, you help me find stuff now and then—like my razor. I’m a very manly man, you know, I wake up with a full beard every day. Not having a razor’s a real hassle.”
“Even though I’m only twelve and haven’t started growing facial hair,” he added mentally.
Seeing the silence, Black Cocoon pressed on: “Come on, it’d be so cool! Picture this—on every crime scene broadcast in Lijing, there’s a guy hanging from the ceiling reading your hardcover books. That’s better than any commercial. Your shop would blow up in no time!”
“But I don’t want the police knocking on my door looking for you,” the owner shook his head. “And I don’t want to be labeled as a ‘creepy psycho-lit bookstore.’ So don’t advertise against me.”
“Alright…” Black Cocoon folded his arms and thought for a moment, then said, “Given your concerns, we can cooperate secretly. You help me locate things occasionally, and I’ll act as your private detective. Say your girlfriend’s cheating? Just come to me. I’ll pack her and her bastard lover up and deliver them right to you.”
The owner chuckled. “That part actually sounds good.”
“You’ve got a strong mind. I thought I’d freak you out.”
“Maybe I’ve seen too much weird stuff growing up. I’m naturally more numb than others. Might be a side effect of my ability.”
“I see. That makes us a good fit,” Black Cocoon said. “Black Cocoon—that’s my name.”
“You can just call me ‘Boss.’”
“So… does that mean we’ve formed a partnership?” Black Cocoon asked tentatively.
“Why not?” the owner smiled faintly.
Black Cocoon raised his brows and pulled up his 【Character Development System】 panel, checking his progress. It still only showed Reality-altering Esper “Blue Arc” as a partner.
“Something very sad happened just now,” he muttered as he closed the panel.
The owner looked up at the upside-down weirdo. “What is it?”
Black Cocoon replied seriously, “I had a fight with my Binding Restraints just now. It said you’re not a valuable partner. Honestly… I’m deeply saddened by how shallow it is. Because I truly believe you’re a very useful partner, and yet it won’t acknowledge you.”
As he flipped through the pages, he added solemnly, “I think this is what you’d call… blind ignorance.”
“That does sound sad.”
The owner took a sip of coffee, unbothered.
“There’s a curfew at my place. If I don’t sleep on time, Mommy will jump out of the grave and kick my *ss. So I’ve gotta go. Hope we can meet again.”
“Go ahead.”
The owner waved.
“One last thing—I’d like to borrow this copy of The Tatami Galaxy. But I don’t have an ID or phone number… it’s tragic. Not everyone has a place in society. Like they say… what was it again? Kids without umbrellas must run through the rain. Sometimes I think… if borrowing a book takes so much caution, then this world really is unfair.”
Black Cocoon mumbled as he looked down at the book in his hands.
The owner didn’t catch a word, just said, “Go ahead. No ID or phone needed. Just return it in a week.”
“Okay. Bye, Boss.”
Black Cocoon closed the book, stuffed it in his pocket, and waved at him with a flick of his Binding Restraints.
“Bye.” said the owner.
The upside-down figure vanished. The store lights suddenly went out, then flicked back on a second later.
The owner took a sip of coffee. It was a quiet night.
………
………
Five minutes later, Guyimai Neighborhood, Gu Wenyu’s home.
Ji Minghuan lay sprawled on the bed, the newly borrowed novel placed by his pillow, eyes closed.
The Binding Restraints helped him undress, removing Black Cocoon’s mask and coat, putting on pajamas, then storing the mask at the bottom of the closet like a personal maid.
“Scammed… Cooperating with a Harmless-level Esper doesn’t count toward Development System progress. So I need to work with someone stronger to progress—Quasi-level? Or maybe even Kui-level?”
As he pondered, Ji Minghuan’s eyes suddenly opened. He brought up the system panel, scrolled through it, and found the “Full Split Mode” option.
Without hesitation, he toggled it on.
【Full Split Mode activated. After a one-hour loading period, your consciousness will fully control the game character 24/7, without needing to dream.】
【Currently loaded game character perspectives: One.】
“With this, I can control both my real self and the game character at the same time. Just need to wait an hour to see the results.”
Before bed, Ji Minghuan checked the 【Anchor Deviation Level】. Yesterday’s violent behavior at Lijing Plaza had pushed it up to a dangerous 42%, but thankfully, it was gradually decreasing.
If deviation goes above 70%, things get dicey—the game character might break free and go berserk, so he had to be careful.
“Hope Instructor doesn’t disappoint me… bring some useful info,” Ji Minghuan thought as he closed his eyes again, arms tucked under his head, and drifted into deep sleep.