Chapter 78: Decision
Under the cold-toned lighting, three children sat against the wall in silence.
Ji Minghuan glanced at Filio, his mind swirling with questions.
If his Unit Two body brought White Greedy Wolf to rescue Filio one day, would Filio side with the Instructor or with his father?
If he stood with the Instructor, wouldn’t that mean Ji would have to take down that big dog?
Just how many kids had already been mentally controlled by the Instructor and turned into his puppets?
Was he going to have to fight these kids one by one in the future and take them out?
Ji Minghuan leaned the back of his head against the wall, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.
After a while, he spoke to Filio: “Try to think positively. It’s just you thinking your dad hates you. You haven’t even seen him, so you don’t actually know how he feels... So don’t be so pessimistic. Maybe he’s already forgiven you.”
To avoid suspicion, he added, “The Instructor will help you find him.”
He thought to himself: Yeah right... they’d love nothing more than to keep you locked up forever. Even if they found your dad, they’d probably just lock him up with you for research. A parent-child comparison group would make experiments twice as efficient. “I don’t want Dad to find me...” Filio’s voice sank. “I’m scared to see him.”
Ji Minghuan glanced at his expression, then rested his hand on his bent knee and tactfully changed the subject:
“Alright then, let’s talk about me. I didn’t even eat my mom, but my parents still abandoned me, didn’t they? I was only four years old when they locked me in a closet and left... Honestly, we’re all pretty screwed, getting thrown into this godforsaken place. No parents coming for us. They don’t care if we live or die.”
Kong Youling hadn’t said a word. She held her sketchbook and quietly stared at the floor. She was thinking of her mother again.
Even though Ji Minghuan wasn’t looking at her as he spoke, he suddenly reached out and patted the top of her head.
“At least we still have the Instructor who cares about us,” Filio said out of the blue.
Looks like that “ideological education” really worked on you. Well, makes sense. A puppy raised from childhood—of course it’d be loyal, Ji Minghuan thought.
“The Instructor works really hard, taking care of so many kids. If you can, try to be more obedient... especially you.”
Filio lowered his voice and glanced at Ji Minghuan. “The Instructor says he worries about you a lot. He talks to me about you all the time. Says he really likes you... But you’re dangerous, just like me. That’s why he has to keep you safe here.”
This demonkin kid only seemed to talk more when it came to the Instructor. His empty eyes lit up slightly.
Ji Minghuan tilted his head back and let out a dismissive sigh.
He said, “If he likes me so much, why won’t he even give me a TV? Liking someone should be shown through actions, not just words, you get that?”
He looked at Filio, trying to balance things out in his head. “Don’t tell me he won’t let you watch TV either?”
Filio shook his head. “I don’t watch TV. But I do play computer games. Just not the bloody ones—the Instructor doesn’t allow those. Stuff like tile-matching games are okay.”
Ji Minghuan shrugged and silently flipped off the surveillance camera on the ceiling. So other people were treated like little princes—good food, fun games.
He sneered in his mind: What, were they afraid I’d awaken some esper ability while watching TV? How meaningful. Turns out I awakened just by sleeping. Like you could’ve stopped it anyway.
“I’m Filio.” The demonkin kid suddenly introduced himself.
“Kong Youling.” The white-haired girl wrote in her notebook.
“Ji Minghuan.” The boy sitting between them drew lazy circles on the floor with his finger, answering unwillingly.
Filio went quiet for a while, then said, “This is the first time I’ve talked this much to kids my own age. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’m bored out of my mind here anyway, come hang out whenever.”
Ji Minghuan spoke like a shopkeeper, like he was running a “Friendly Chat Emporium.”
“Aren’t you scared I might eat you?” Filio asked quietly.
“You’re still wearing your collar.”
“True.”
“I think... if none of us had suppression collars, you’d be the one who should be scared of me.” Ji Minghuan teased, “They say I’ll destroy the world someday. That’s way worse than just eating people... I might swallow the Earth whole.”
Filio turned to look into his eyes and said softly, “Even though we’ve only just met, I feel like... you’re a good person. The Instructor says you’re a good kid too. He thinks you’ll do those things in the future because you can’t control your powers.”
Funny, I feel like I’ve got my esper ability under control just fine. If anything, it’s the ability that has me under control...
Ji Minghuan thought dismissively, while mentally glancing through the perspectives of his two game avatars:
Right now, Gu Wenyu and Xia Pingzhou were fast asleep in a Tokyo hotel. In the dark, he could hear their soft breathing.
“She doesn’t talk?” Filio looked at the name Kong Youling had written.
“She’s been that way since she was little,” Ji Minghuan nodded.
“Oh, but she can hear us, right?”
“Nope. But she’s really good at reading lips.”
Filio froze, then turned to Kong Youling past Ji Minghuan.
“Hello.” Kong Youling wrote in her notebook and held it up.
“So sad...” Filio murmured without thinking.
“Don’t pull that crap. She doesn’t like being pitied,” Ji Minghuan said calmly. “She’s amazing. Even with her limitations, she never complains. She does everything seriously—eats seriously, studies seriously. Her grades are excellent, better than a lot of kids in class... She just never had the chance to go to school.”
He paused. “Because the orphanage adults wouldn’t let her go, I decided not to go either. Who cares about school anyway?”
Kong Youling was stunned. This was the first time she’d heard Ji Minghuan explain why he didn’t go to school.
He used to say: there’s a library, who needs school? Only idiots go to school. And she had foolishly believed him.
She lowered her head, her snow-white bangs covering her eyes, and unknowingly her eyes turned red.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Filio panicked, thinking he had made Kong Youling cry. He buried his head into his knees in a fluster.
Kong Youling shook her head, her pale hair swaying gently.
“Hey, I guess we’re friends now.” Ji Minghuan seized the moment. “Can I touch your tail?”
Filio nodded.
“What about your ears?” Kong Youling wrote, holding up her notebook to her face, red eyes watching him mischievously.
Filio hesitated, then nodded again.
So the two kids pounced on him like he was a family pet. One rubbed his wolf ears while the other scratched at his tail.
“That tickles... it really tickles...”
At first, Filio kept a straight face, but soon he couldn’t help laughing. He hadn’t laughed in a long time.
Just then, the lights in the holding cell went out. The room fell into darkness.
Then the exit door slowly opened, revealing a corridor. Two men in white stood there, wearing sterilization masks and holding iron rulers.
“That’s enough for today. Little Filio, Kong Youling, it’s time to go to bed,” the Instructor’s gentle voice came through the speakers, echoing in the room.
In the darkness, Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling reluctantly let go of Filio’s wolf tail.
“Goodbye,” Kong Youling mouthed silently.
“Goodbye... I’ll come see you again,” Filio stood up and whispered. A faint smile still lingered on his lips.
“Bye-bye, little wolf boy.”
Ji Minghuan didn’t even lift his head as he said it. In the dark, he hesitated a second, then gently reached out toward Kong Youling beside him, like he wanted to hug her—or maybe he was just reluctant.
The dim corridor light caught his outstretched arm, but it quickly slipped back into the shadows.
In the end, he only nudged her shoulder slightly and said in a low voice:
“Hey... you should go too. We’ll see each other again soon.”
Kong Youling nodded.
She lowered her eyes and hesitated, holding her sketchbook close. Then she closed her eyes and gently leaned her head against his shoulder. Two seconds. Just two seconds of warmth, but Ji Minghuan felt like it lasted forever.
When he came back to his senses, she had already stood up and was walking quickly toward the exit.
Ji Minghuan sat alone by the wall, watching the researchers lead them away through the corner of his eye.
With a loud “bang,” the door shut again.
The bedroom fell quiet. He was the only one left, lying on his side, staring idly at the metal door.
The Instructor had said he’d talk about Ji Minghuan’s parents next time—but after seeing Kong Youling and Filio, the promised broadcast never came.
After a long time, the door still showed no sign of opening.
He couldn’t be bothered to wait anymore. Who knew what tricks that old fox was playing?
“Whatever. I’ll just sleep... Tomorrow I have to hand the recorder to Dad. Gu Zhuo’an didn’t bring his battle suit to Japan, but if we warn him in advance, he’ll definitely be ready by the time the auction starts. Hopefully he can keep Big Brother safe.”
With that thought, Ji Minghuan lay down on the plain white bed and slowly closed his eyes.