Chapter 188
by Need_More_SleepChapter 188: Sink Or Swim
Juvenile Detention Center for Girls
“Focus on reforming yourself inside. Once you’re out, you can still go back to school… Don’t worry about the Black Element. Uncle here will hunt down those Decadence City bastards—they’ll have a solution.” Humpback Whale rubbed Mi Xiaoliu’s head with his thick finger, like she was a hamster.
The other delinquent girls being processed rolled their eyes.
What they heard: “Focus on reforming yourself inside. Once you’re out, you can go right back to prison.”
Humpback Whale nudged her forward.
Mi Xiaoliu turned to look at the panda plushie by the entrance.
Understanding, Humpback Whale picked it up and handed it to her.
—
Mi Xiaoliu’s situation was exactly as Yiwen feared.
While the girls here were too young for repressed desires to twist their sexuality, adolescence was the most volatile phase.
Seeing someone prettier could easily spark jealousy.
Cliques formed faster in places like this than in classrooms. Everyone here had some level of aggression.
Sometimes, hatred needed no reason—just one glance.
People under pressure loved projecting their darkness onto others for twisted satisfaction.
Mi Xiaoliu’s power-suppressing bracelet marked her as an esper—a prime target for bullying.
And Humpback Whale, in his well-meaning cluelessness, had made things worse.
Not just the plushie—he’d smuggled in manga, snacks, even got her a private cell. The only thing missing was handing her a phone.
The guards said nothing. This girl produced miracle herbs—even Arkham would give her special treatment.
Which only pissed off the others more.
The hell? Is she here to serve time or vacation? The favoritism was blatant.
That damn panda plushie even went to class with her. The guards didn’t confiscate it.
Who the fuck acts this innocent in juvie?
At this age, nobody considered why she got privileges—only that it was unfair.
—
During moral education, a girl with arms thicker than Mi Xiaoliu’s thighs whispered to her clique.
“Snap a toothbrush later. Let’s carve up her face.”
Her lackey shook her head nervously.
The leader’s gaze turned icy.
This wasn’t a suggestion—it was an order.
The instructor—the same officer who’d escorted Mi Xiaoliu—glared at them openly.
“Some of you are new and don’t grasp your situation. Let me clarify, you’re in prison. Future employers will see this record and think, “Oh, a criminal.”
“This isn’t cool. You’re only here because juvenile laws protect you. Grow up, and the next step is a firing squad. Know what that is? They hood you, march you blind to the wall—”
Some rebellious teens thought juvie was badass, proud of defying authority. After release, they’d brag: “Mess with me? My brother did time—he’ll wreck you.”
“And don’t assume new arrivals are easy targets. That bracelet?” She pointed at Mi Xiaoliu. “It’s for your safety—and it’s not foolproof. You, come here. Bring the stool.”
She motioned Mi Xiaoliu to the front.
“See? The suppressor is active.” The instructor placed a hand on Mi Xiaoliu’s shoulder and pointed at the blackboard. “Fuse the stool into that.”
Mi Xiaoliu obeyed.
The stool vanished—only for its four legs to reappear embedded in the blackboard.
No, not just embedded—through it, as if the entire wall had swallowed the stool whole.
The other girls flinched in shock.
Then, under the instructor’s direction, the suppressor bracelet on Mi Xiaoliu’s wrist disappeared—reappearing in the instructor’s hand.
In theory, forcibly removing the bracelet should trigger an electric shock. But it didn’t react at all.
“Put it back on.” The instructor patted her.
Mi Xiaoliu obediently slipped the bracelet back onto her wrist.
Useless as a restraint, but proof of her cooperation.
“Some abilities can’t be suppressed—just like physical enhancers.”
After that, no one dared mess with her.
That didn’t stop the whispers, though.
“Unaffected by suppressors? She’s definitely wearing a faulty one—probably got connections.”
“Or she’s not even a real inmate, just a plant sent to spy on us…”
Kids’ imaginations ran wild.
The instructor nudged Mi Xiaoliu and handed her a new chair, signaling her to sit back down.
But Mi Xiaoliu tugged at her sleeve, looking up with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong?” The instructor tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bent down, voice gentle. “If anyone bullies you, hit back. Just don’t kill them.”
She made sure the others heard.
Zero subtlety.
“You’ll have to learn to protect yourself.”
Mi Xiaoliu let go and returned to her seat.
—
At Sunshine City Highway.
[Black Hole]: You took over Group 42? Kinda embarrassing, but the youngest one stole my teleporter. Mind getting it back? I’m lost.
[King.3] Prophet: LMAO 🤣 “Strongest in physics” my ass. Go home and eat steamed buns, clown. 👉🐒
He set his phone aside, ignoring the ensuing spam.
After a moment, he texted [King]: Use Red Prince now if you’re gonna. He’s dying.
[King] BUG: No way to stop it?
[King.3] Prophet: Nope.
(Mostly because I don’t wanna.)
—
“If you like the little Princess so much, why not break her out?” Sister Hermit drove one-handed, cheek propped lazily on the other.
A Group 42 trademark: terrible driving habits. She wondered if Mi Xiaoliu would inherit this flaw—given how she’d treated vehicles last time, probably.
Ugh, who knows how long it’ll be before I can pat the princess again? Kids grow so fast during puberty—next time, she might be too tall for me to head pat.
“Don’t joke. I’d be walking to my death.” Wang San kept scrolling. “Besides, this outcome isn’t terrible, right?”
“But you said Easter has infiltrated the authorities. What if they take her?” Hermit glanced at him.
Then promptly ran over someone’s leg because she wasn’t looking at the road.
“That’s a scammer. He laid down there on purpose.” Wang San didn’t even blink.
“…”
Could’ve warned me sooner.
As bystanders pulled out phones to film, Hermit slipped on a mask, rolled down the window, and tossed a bank card at the “injured” old woman.
“There’s 500,000 mira in there. Password six zeros.”
She could already imagine the online outrage.
No big deal. I can spam infinite alt accounts from different regions—not just to clap back, but to flood them with AI-generated harassment calls. Changing numbers won’t help.
As logistics support, Hermit usually stayed off the radar. But if anyone dug deeper, her fake driver’s license wouldn’t hold up. Best not stick around for the cops.
Sigh. If the Original Boss were driving, we wouldn’t need to pay hush money. Wei Shi’s driving and acting skills are S-tier.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got—but she couldn’t vent at the man beside her.
For one, he was technically Group 42’s new leader now. But even ignoring that, he counted as one of the real higher-ups.
Wei Shi was better. Harsh, but unmatched at handling messes. And thanks to his temper, I got so many chances to pat the loli.
What pissed Hermit off most was the Prophet handing Mi Xiaoliu to the police. Whatever future he saw, how can they protect her from Easter?
Wei Shi soloed a governor in broad daylight—sure, with Mi Xiaoliu’s help and some lazy responders—but still.
“Is this really okay?” Hermit checked the rearview mirror.
A policewoman sat quietly in the backseat.
After Hermit’s question, the woman’s appearance and physique shifted—within a second, she had transformed into an entirely different face.
Now, it was an ordinary middle-aged man with a stern expression.
A casually fabricated visage, untraceable even through Night Owl Network.
The transformation took three attempts to succeed—like a motorcycle struggling up a slope, failing twice before finally revving hard enough on the third try.
Once the change was complete, the figure slumped back, breathing heavily.
Even walking was a struggle now—like an out-of-shape person forcing themselves through a 1000-meter sprint, left dizzy and unable to sit or stand properly afterward.
Exhausted.
What was supposed to be a monthly inhibitor shot had been shortened to every ten days.
This was the last time the ability could be used. From now on, they’d just be an ordinary person afflicted with Black Element.
—
Starfish—the creature with the strongest known regenerative abilities on Earth. Its vital organs are distributed throughout its body. Sever an arm, and it regrows. Sometimes, that arm even grows into a whole new starfish.
The process is slow—months, maybe years.
Researchers theorize this is how it reproduces.
Can espers replicate this for offspring or clones?
Probably not.
Because beings with brains are bound by souls. Even ninjas who create clones only have one true soul in their original body.
As the “Ultimate Lifeform,” Wei Shi could mimic a starfish’s biological structure. The hard part was transferring a fragment of his soul—along with a sliver of his brain—into his severed arm.
That’s why he lost consciousness the moment the arm was detached.
After that, his fate was entirely in Humpback Whale’s hands.
This maneuver didn’t purge the Black Element. Instead, it pushed his abilities past their limit—likely rendering them permanently unusable.
His original body had already been sent for dissection. To be thorough, the authorities even demanded the arm Humpback Whale took.
So Humpback Whale sliced off a new one from the regenerated Wei Shi and handed it over.
—
“You were planning to die there originally, weren’t you?” Hermit asked. “Why change your mind?”
Wei Shi had said nothing before the mission, but she’d sensed it.
Even pushing himself, surviving another year in this state would be a miracle. There was no point—better to die after fulfilling his last wish.
Wei Shi propped his chin on his hand, staring out the window in silence.
“A mission to protect your ex-girlfriend’s orphan child—abandoned after just two or three months. Normally, you wouldn’t entrust a kid to someone that careless, right?”
Getting no response, Hermit sighed and focused on driving.
“What’s the plan now? Can your body hold up? Maybe take on a new identity and keep watching over Mi Xiaoliu?”
She’d miss Wei Shi terribly. It hadn’t been obvious before, but now that leadership was changing, it felt wrong.
Wei Shi kept his eyes on the passing scenery.
“Leave her be. Let her sink or swim.”
His condition was dire.
He’d leave these two cities behind, find some forgotten corner, and waste away the rest of his days.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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