Chapter 211
by Need_More_SleepChapter 211: Stowaways (Two-In-One)
“Look, fire can be ignited through friction. The match head creates friction because its main components include potassium chlorate and…”
Before he could finish, he noticed Mi Xiaoliu had suddenly backed far away, holding Circle in front of her face like a shield, too scared to even glance at the match in his hand.
Circle was already a big cat now—too large to perch on Mi Xiaoliu’s head—so she could only lie in her arms.
She’s afraid of even a tiny flame like this…
That incident had truly left too deep a scar.
Okulet tossed the match into a cup of water. “Why does water put out fire?”
Mi Xiaoliu cautiously crept back. “The water is cold.”
She believed hot water wouldn’t work.
Okulet shook his head. “First, you need to understand the three elements of combustion: fuel, oxidizer, and ignition source.”
He was trying to use science to lessen her fear of fire.
Like will-o’-the-wisps—once you understood their nature, they weren’t so scary. Or the ghosts in horror stories—if you could communicate with them, or if the plot introduced a Taoist priest who could battle them for 300 rounds, they suddenly seemed much less intimidating.
He didn’t necessarily expect her to overcome her fear of blue fire, but at least she shouldn’t be terrified of ordinary flames. Fire was something encountered daily in life—especially in a crime-ridden city like this.
“Now, try lighting a match yourself. It’s simple—just strike it against this edge.”
He handed her the match.
Mi Xiaoliu shook her head.
Circle imitated her, but a cat’s head-shake looked more like it was flinging off water.
“Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen.”
Okulet moved behind her, guiding her hands to strike the match.
He could feel the slight tremble in the girl’s body.
“See? Easy.”
He blew out the match and encouraged her to try alone.
Still too scared.
Sigh.
Okulet didn’t force her. He patted her head reassuringly and asked.
“You and Yiwen are just ordinary friends, right?”
Mi Xiaoliu looked up at him.
Okulet frowned.
Mi Xiaoliu kept staring, motionless.
Okulet didn’t press further and resumed tutoring.
Two pages later, Mi Xiaoliu suddenly covered a doodle she’d drawn, refusing to let him see.
Okulet wasn’t surprised—he’d done the same as a kid.
He helped improve her doodle, earning a sliver of trust.
After the lesson, Okulet handed her a delicate butterfly hairpin. He opened his mouth slightly but said nothing.
His wife had asked him to pass it along—but not to reveal she’d bought it, knowing their daughter would refuse otherwise.
Though, with her short hair, a hairpin wasn’t very practical.
Mi Xiaoliu stared quietly at the hairpin in her palm.
Then clipped it onto her lips.
Okulet filmed this and sent it to his wife.
Blooming Fortune: 🥰🥰🥰
—
With her studies done, Mi Xiaoliu earned TV privileges.
Watching cartoons on a computer would’ve been cheaper, but Heli believed the internet was full of inappropriate content, so she’d never bought one.
Even with a paid subscription, ads were unavoidable.
During the break, Mi Xiaoliu finally opened the system’s gacha.
Single pull.
[Memory Fragment: ]
It was the same corridor, but compared to previous memories, this one felt emptier.
“Ugh, how many times do I have to say it? Stay away from the door. Why won’t you listen?” Gwen’s voice carried impatience.
Mi Xiaoliu stood perfectly still, showing no reaction.
After her memory was reset, she couldn’t even comprehend basic speech—only retaining high-level psychological side effects like “gender identity disorder.”
“Come here.” Gwen beckoned.
Her hand, marred with scars, was slightly darker in tone.
Mi Xiaoliu instinctively approached.
Then Gwen pinched her cheeks and yanked outward—hard, as if trying to tear her face off.
Mi Xiaoliu struggled.
Gwen released her, watching as the girl scrambled away.
“Now you get how dangerous the hands behind the door are? You keep getting close—how many times do you need to be strangled to learn?”
Only her voice echoed. It seemed the cell was empty except for them.
“Remember, Xiao Mi—no one here can be trusted. Not even Emily. Her kindness is all an act. Stay away from her, understand?”
“……”
“Hah. The executioner and the condemned, bonding over shared misery?”
A woman’s voice—never heard before—drifted from the corridor’s entrance.
The click of heels. From the small hatches on the prison doors, arms stretched out, desperate to grab her. Some were even crushed by others’ limbs in the frenzy.
Snarls of rage, weak howls, and agonized wails.
A hellish scene. But what terrified her more was the woman walking toward her.
[Memory ends.]
Mi Xiaoliu curled up on the sofa, patting her own head for comfort.
—
Okulet returned to his apartment.
He lived next door to Mi Xiaoliu.
Heli’s building had small units—sharing a room left little privacy.
His daughter was thirteen now. If she hit puberty and started grappling with those thoughts, things would get awkward.
Mostly, he remembered how Misha, influenced by Gloria as a child, had developed certain… opinions about him. Like how the sisters would scrub the toilet seat obsessively after he used it.
Riels had mentioned Yiwen treated him the same way—that being looked down on was normal.
The walls were thin. At night, you could often hear tenants yelling over online games.
But Okulet wasn’t worried—he was about to play games too.
Not that it’d disturb his daughter next door. Heli had soundproofed her room over the summer. Living alone, space wasn’t an issue.
After a few rounds, he scored a pentakill.
See? The losses earlier were totally that security guard’s fault.
Okulet screenshotted his achievement and posted it on his social media feed, then privately messaged Gloria asking her to give him a like.
Gloria cursed him out and commented underneath: “Anyone with hands could do this.”
“……”
He then privately messaged Mi Xiaoliu.
6 (Liu) liked your post.
Okulet felt slightly comforted.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Dias’s eyes lit up when he saw Okulet’s update. While liking the post, he also opened Mi Xiaoliu’s profile.
Her profile was extremely simple—her account level was only three stars, and her profile picture was a cat with markings resembling a panda.
But the personal information section was meticulously filled out: Fanzui City, 13 years old, Male, Student.
So naive, actually listing her location. Not that it was wrong, but residents of Fanzui City often faced regional discrimination online.
The discrimination wasn’t the main issue—what was worse was that a few overly enthusiastic guys had used certain channels to track down these people’s addresses and traveled long distances to turn them into local specialties of Fanzui City.
The gender didn’t quite match, but since she dressed as a boy, this account had to be hers, right? Otherwise, why would a middle-aged man have a friend of that age?
Dias lay on his bed, deep in thought.
Was the girl he liked actually a crossdressing guy?
No way. Such a cute girl couldn’t possibly be a boy! Her mannerisms were all feminine—she must just be disguising herself as a boy!
But why would a normal person live their daily life dressed as the opposite sex…?
The Add Friend button was right there, but Dias hesitated slightly.
Whatever, just add her first! So what if she’s a guy? She’s still pretty, with a sweet voice.
She accepted. So fast.
Dias was ecstatic.
After much deliberation, he racked his brain, drawing on all 14 years of his wisdom, and finally condensed his thoughts into two words.
“You there?”
6 (Liu): …
Arrogant, Young Master Di: Are you a boy or a girl?
6 (Liu): …
Why is she just sending dots?
Dias was puzzled: I’m the guy your dad bumped into during the day.
6 (Liu): Sorry.
This reply confirmed he’d added the right person.
Dias excitedly rolled around on his bed.
Arrogant, Young Master Di: Did you eat dinner?
6 (Liu): …
Arrogant, Young Master Di: What did you eat?
6 (Liu): …
Arrogant, Young Master Di: Do you drink water while eating?
6 (Liu): …
Arrogant, Young Master Di: How often do you breathe normally?
……
Still just dots, no real answers. If not for the occasional simple word, Dias would’ve thought she’d set up an auto-reply.
But looking on the bright side, her half-hearted responses meant she was busy. And even though she was so busy, she still took time to message him—wasn’t that a good start?
Plus, it only took him half an hour to learn her name.
Mi Xiaoliu. What an adorable name.
The only problem was—what should he name their future child?
“Master, you don’t have to keep replying to him! He’s definitely up to no good,” Sasha said anxiously.
Mi Xiaoliu was confused.
This contradicted Sasha’s earlier advice: “Be a polite, well-mannered child.”
—
The next day, Yiwen noticed something was off.
Although Mi Xiaoliu was diligently coloring in all the enclosed strokes of her textbook’s characters during class, between lessons, she kept checking her phone.
Yiwen glanced at Lu Mingxue.
Lu Mingxue, who was napping at her desk, suddenly felt a chill.
But Lu Mingxue wasn’t on her phone either.
Yiwen outright asked Mi Xiaoliu for her phone—and Mi Xiaoliu handed it over without resistance.
After skimming the chat history, Even gasped.
How could it be this ambiguous?
Dias?
Since when?! You little—how dare you cheat on me?! And it’s already reached the stage where you’re replying in ‘Six Language’?!
Furious, Yiwen dragged Mi Xiaoliu to the rooftop during break and demanded: “Xiaoliu, what’s going on?”
“Chatting,” Mi Xiaoliu replied.
Her clear, innocent gaze gave Yiwen, who was ready to discipline her, a massive headache.
“Xiaoliu, do you remember we’re dating right now?”
Mi Xiaoliu nodded.
“Then do you know that when you’re dating someone, you can’t date others? Especially not some guy you’re chatting with so intimately. It’s disrespectful to me as your partner,” Yiwen said sternly.
“Sending dots counts as intimate? Give me a break,” Sasha muttered.
But it was obvious to anyone that the guy had ulterior motives.
“I’m sorry,” Mi Xiaoliu lowered her head.
“Hmph.” Yiwen turned away, crossing her arms. “I won’t buy you snacks anymore.”
Mi Xiaoliu tugged at her sleeve. “I won’t chat.”
“But you’ve already broken my heart,” Yiwen said, peeking at her with one eye.
“Make it better.” Mi Xiaoliu reached out and patted her head.
Not as good as using her feet.
“Fine, I’ll forgive you this time. But bad girls who misbehave get disciplined,” Yiwen said, her scheme succeeding.
“Master, don’t listen to her!”
After checking that there were no cameras on the rooftop, Yiwen made Mi Xiaoliu lie across her lap.
And spanked her.
It hurt a little.
The more extreme stuff can wait until college.
Holding Mi Xiaoliu, Yiwen took out her phone again and messaged Dias.
“I’m her boyfriend. Don’t contact her again.”
She attached a selfie of her hugging Mi Xiaoliu, then deleted the contact.
If only Mi Xiaoliu could revert to her real gender. Then I, presenting as male, could openly announce our relationship.
But how would they deal with their parents? Would her own mother even approve?
After school, when she merely held Mi Xiaoliu’s hand, Okulet grabbed Mi Xiaoliu’s shoulders and pulled her away from Yiwen, tucking her protectively to his side.
It wasn’t that Okulet disapproved of the two girls being together.
But Every time he saw Yiwen’s white hair, he was reminded of Riels’ infuriating smirk and those annoying hands that kept slapping his butt.
Still, it was a bit of a blow to Yiwen.
Tch. Might as well go beat up Dias.
But before she could take the initiative, Old Chen called her.
“There’s a search-and-capture mission. You might be interested.”
————————
At Night-Time.
“Officer, please don’t fine me. My dad just went to the bathroom.”
Ninja stood next to an illegally parked car, reading aloud the note hanging from a puppy’s neck.
“Hah? Fine. Since the dog’s this cute, I’ll turn a blind eye.” Ninja crossed out the half-written ticket.
“Thanks, bro.”
A voice from the bushes startled Ninja.
Pushing aside the foliage, he found a man squatting in the middle of a dump.
“Public urination/defecation. Fine: 500.”
“I thought you said no fine?”
“……”
Not bad—earning some extra cash during a search mission, even though he wasn’t even a traffic cop.
“Kid, get your head in the game. Don’t let your mood mess with the job,” Ninja said, smacking Dias on the back of the head.
“I just don’t get it, boss. What does that guy have that I don’t? Look at him—prettier than a pop idol. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d served in the imperial palace. My corpse after three days wouldn’t be that pale. Bet he’s using max-level filters too,” Dias grumbled.
Nearby, White Whale, petting the dog, shot him a dark look.
“You’re lusting after someone else’s girlfriend and badmouthing them?”
“What’s it to you? Wait—are you the white-haired twink? Your voice is so high, I can’t even tell if you’re a guy or a girl.”
“Still better than a yellow-haired punk.”
Yiwen sneered.
She knew Dias’s online persona.
“Enough bickering. You’ve got a fiancée, yet you’re still eyeing other girls,” Ninja said, pushing them away from the fragrant scene.
“An engagement can be called off if it’s unsatisfactory…” Dias muttered.
He wouldn’t give up.
So what if she has a boyfriend?
In fact, this was good news—it confirmed Mi Xiaoliu was definitely a girl.
Before, his competition might’ve been countless suitors. Now, it was just one guy. By that logic, he was already one step closer to success.
In idol dramas, even if the male lead and female rival tangled into knots, things still worked out. He’d succeed eventually too.
“Sniper in position. Ready to breach.”
“Copy.”
The three arrived at a building. Ninja split into six clones.
“Four block the exits. The other two are with you.”
Fanzui City had recently seen an influx of undocumented migrants.
Many were physically deformed, resembling Defectives—yet each possessed formidable abilities.
One already captured, for instance, had heavy steel blades growing from his forearms, a trait impossible to hide.
Normally, they’d just be treated as regular illegals. But during arrests, they kept showing signs of losing control.
And according to intel from undercover agents, they were linked to Tian Xing Dao—which raised eyebrows.
I thought I had just caught a petty thief, but I didn’t expect I ended up poking Laos.
They were likely from places near meteor craters, like the Fallen City. That’s why Yiwen, who’d been focusing on ability training, was brought along.
The Fallen City incident had netted them plenty of Easter researchers—though most were later silenced or rescued. Still, they might’ve extracted a cure for Dark Element.
“OPEN THE DOOR, FBI!”
Kick down the door, guns drawn.
Firearms weren’t much help to Yiwen, but they were more intimidating than bare hands.
“Huh?”
Unexpectedly, someone had already taken out their target.
A man wrapped in bandages slowly stood up from the corpse, raising his hands in surrender—then placing them behind his head.
Then, razor-sharp claws shot from his palms.
The entire building—including the sniper outside—plunged into absolute darkness.
No sight. No sound.
Yiwen couldn’t tell if she was still standing.
Because even touch was gone.
This phenomenon—
It’s Night Demon.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
0 Comments