“He left just like that?” Huan Zixu said in astonishment. 

The mission target was nothing like he had imagined. He hadn’t interrogated him about the Clearing League, hadn’t mentioned Zhen Li and Yuan Luori, hadn’t looked down haughtily upon him and Feng Kui, hadn’t attempted to kill the levelers sent by the System…

The black-cloaked man had only taken the energy of their Systems, flicked his sleeves, and left. 

“He’s always been like this. He was like this when he dealt with Yuan Luori and Destroyer 192, too,” Lian Yufan explained placidly to Huan Zixu and Feng Kui while handcuffing them. 

As they took more and more Destroyers into custody, Lian Yufan was gradually getting used to it. As long as they didn’t cause large scale public damage like Destroyer 192, his attitude would be very mild. 

“It shouldn’t be like this.” Not for nothing was Huan Zixu a leveler with a superior IQ. Faced with such a sudden change, he could still put other things aside and concentrate on considering the black-cloaked man’s situation. “I’ve come into contact with him twice. Once was Yuan Luori’s voice recording, the other time was the video conference with the bomb freak—your Destroyer 192. I could tell he was an absolute ruler.” 

The rules he had laid down when dealing with Yuan Luori and his wrath when Destroyer 192 had violated those rules all showed that the black-cloaked man was a person who wouldn’t permit others to be disobedient. 

“Our analysis is different from yours,” Lian Yufan said. “I believe he’s a rather good-natured person who hasn’t lost himself because of his power and cherishes life.” 

“What kind of joke is that?” Huan Zixu took a different view from Lian Yufan. “Even though I haven’t had much contact with him, I can tell that he’s a tyrant with a fierce desire for control. He won’t let anything that falls outside of his expectations happen. If he didn’t understand our actions and the Protection Organization’s like the palm of his hand, he definitely wouldn’t have left so easily!” 

Hearing Huan Zixu from the sidelines, You Zhengping couldn’t keep his temples from twitching. 

Cen Xiao was responsible for controlling Feng Kui. Feng Kui was very well-behaved and didn’t say much. While Huan Zixu was carrying on his reasonable argument with Lian Yufan, Feng Kui only quietly told Cen Xiao that he wished to be taken to the same place as Huan Zixu. 

So Cen Xiao got out a pair of leg cuffs and cuffed Feng Kui’s right leg and Huan Zixu’s left leg together. Feng Kui looked down at their tied together legs, then gave Cen Xiao a straightforward and unrestrained smile. 

A second before, they were still enemies. Now, because their Systems’ energy had been removed, they could interact this harmoniously. The hostile atmosphere had turned friendly. 

Cen Xiao had an unprecedented moment of clarity. He saw clearly that their true enemy wasn’t the Destroyers or the black-cloaked man; it was the System that had hidden behind everyone all along and existed far out of reach in the remotest place. 

He sighed and looked out of the corner of his eye at You Zhengping staring blankly in the direction the black-cloaked man had disappeared. He walked over and said in a quiet, stern voice, “What’s wrong with you?” 

“Oh? Huh?” You Zhengping drew back his train of thought. He didn’t understand what Cen Xiao meant. 

Cen Xiao had grown up at the training base with You Zhengping since they had been around ten years old. He understood his comrade in arms very well. In countless battles, you could see their tacit understanding. 

Precisely because he understood him, Cen Xiao was even more worried. 

When he had snatched You Zhengping out of the black-cloaked man’s arms, he had noticed the look in You Zhengping’s eyes. Even though You Zhengping had been doing everything he could to cover it up, his gaze still uncontrollably stuck to the black-cloaked man. 

“When you were injured on the roof last time, wasn’t it the black-cloaked man who saved you?” Cen Xiao asked quietly. 

“Yes…” You Zhengping looked warily at Cen Xiao, feeling very uneasy. 

“You haven’t…” Cen Xiao pulled You Zhengping towards the warehouse, avoiding Lian Yufan and the others as much as possible. “You haven’t had a change of affections?” 

“What?” Hearing these words, as he relaxed, You Zhengping was so startled that his eyebrows twisted like caterpillars. 

He had thought that, like him, Cen Xiao had noticed something oddly familiar about the black-cloaked man. But instead Cen Xiao had come out with this soul-searching question!

“Don’t try to hide from me!” Cen Xiao said firmly. “When you fell in love with Yu Hua at first sight back then, the look in yours eyes was just the same as right now!” 

“Oh? Really?” You Zhengping averted his eyes, not looking at Cen Xiao. 

Cen Xiao said bitterly, “Yu Hua was tied up in chains and kicked into the warehouse by the black-cloaked man, and you haven’t even glanced at him. You just kept staring at the black-cloaked man! The black-cloaked man left and we started clearing the scene, leaving the task of rescuing Yu Hua up to you, but you’ve been zoning out gazing after the black-cloaked man!” 

“I…” You Zhengping couldn’t explain. 

When Yu Hua had been captured by the Destroyers, his mind had gone blank. He had only had the idea that he had to rescue Yu Hua, even if it meant giving up his life. But when the black-cloaked man had appeared in front of him, he had suddenly lost any feeling towards the person wrapped up in those chains like a lump. His gaze had stuck unshakably to the black-cloaked man. 

You Zhengping had all along been avoiding a certain inexpressible guess. Reason told him that this guess couldn’t possibly be true, but when had he ever gotten high grades on reasoning tests? He had always been someone who relied on instinct to act! 

“I know that the black-cloaked man saved you twice, especially last time. You were injured very, very badly. I know that would cause you to feel gratitude towards the black-cloaked man. But that’s not real love, it’s the transference phenomenon in psychology, it’s a short-term false impression,” Cen Xiao said seriously. “Though Yu Hua gets a little jealous sometimes, is very weak, and can’t relate to us in terms of work, he loves you very much. His whole heart is devoted to your home. He takes care of you in every possible way, and he makes snacks for us often. He’s an exceptional spouse. You have to control yourself! The black-cloaked man’s position is unclear. He may one day be our enemy. You can’t take the wrong path, do you understand?” 

“The black-cloaked man may one day be our enemy?” You Zhengping looked alarmed. 

“Is that all you heard out of everything I said?” Cen Xiao slapped the back of You Zhengping’s head and pushed him into the warehouse. “Go save your husband, hurry!” 

You Zhengping stumbled into the warehouse and saw the pile of chains in a corner. His heartbeat became wild again. 

He had clearly felt nothing towards that pile of chains before, but now the flame of love had been rekindled.

You Zhengping didn’t even dare to ask himself “why.” He quickly went to Yu Hua and tore off the chains. Seeing that deeply sleeping handsome face, his feelings instantly calmed. 

Yu Hua could always make him feel safe and at peace. 

You Zhengping bent his head and kissed Yu Hua’s face, picked him up in his arms, and went out of the warehouse. 

“What did you do to him?” You Zhengping asked Huan Zixu. 

Huan Zixu noticed how this handsome uncle Protector was holding Yu Hua. He forced down his suspicions and steadily answered, “I didn’t hurt him. He’s only going to sleep, then wake up and forget about coming to the warehouse. He’ll only remember lazing around at home on a Sunday. I wasn’t planning on appearing in the impressions of an ordinary person.” 

“It’s good that he won’t remember.” Lian Yufan nodded. “Or else Zhen Li and Yuan Luori would be in for it.” 

Lian Yufan was still rather concerned about his two colleagues. “We’ll bring them to the base and warn them not to reveal the business with the warehouse. Captain, remember to delete the chat log concerning the warehouse on Yu Hua’s phone.” 

“You’re a Protector and two levelers, why would you be afraid of an ordinary person?” Huan Zixu said dubiously. His flawless plan had been exposed because of Yu Hua’s relationship with the studio’s employees. He absolutely didn’t understand it. 

“We’re just humoring him!” Lian Yufan said irritably. He didn’t think that he was afraid of Yu Hua. He was only making necessary compromises to cover up his identity. 

You Zhengping couldn’t stand listening to this conversation. He said, “I’ll take Yu Hua home and meet up with you guys afterwards.” 

That was right. He had to look after his family member first. Cen Xiao nodded inwardly, feeling that he really had outdone himself for these two people’s relationship. 

There were cars in You Zhengping’s space. He took out two cars. One was a sedan that looked normal but in reality was unusually sturdy. The other was a police car. Cen Xiao and the others took the two Destroyers in the police car, while You Zhengping got into the sedan, carrying Yu Hua. 

He took Yu Hua home, placed his sleeping husband in bed, and used his own fingerprints to unlock Yu Hua’s phone. 

Yu Hua never took cautionary measures against You Zhengping. He had entered You Zhengping’s fingerprints in the phone’s fingerprint lock, and all of his codes were You Zhengping’s birthday, the day they had met, the day they were married, and so on. 

When he was about to delete the chat log, You Zhengping saw the “employee benefit” Maldives luxury trip and felt moved. 

Was Zhen Li…using this method to curry favor with Yu Hua? Did he know that doing this would make Yu Hua happy? 

You Zhengping deleted the chat log concerning the warehouse and raised his hand to stroke Yu Hua’s smooth forehead. After gazing at his husband for a moment, he got up and left the bedroom. 

He saw that the suitcase, which had originally been on top of the wardrobe, was now arranged in the center of the living room as though waiting for him to open it. 

You Zhengping touched the suitcase with his fingertips. He smiled gently, didn’t open the suitcase, and left his home. 

Half an hour after he left, Yu Hua, lying in bed, slowly opened his eyes. He went to the living room, saw the suitcase that had been of no interest to anyone, and sighed lengthily. 

Today really was fraught with perils. Yu Hua absolutely hadn’t expected that Xiao You’s power would ascend so quickly in such a short time, enough for him to wrest him right out of the hands of the two Destroyers and hide him inside his space, making him nearly lose the opportunity to step in. 

If Huan Zixu’s initial item hadn’t been rather powerful and snatched him out of the space, and if his face hadn’t been covered in chains, he didn’t know how he would have made his appearance. 

Wrapped up in chains, Yu Hua had been wildly with joy. While everyone had been momentarily stunned by Xiao You’s powers, he had quickly used his newly unlocked “the cicada escapes by shedding its skin” ability to throw off the binding of the chains. He had left his jacket and pants inside to play the part of his dummy. “The cicada escapes by shedding its skin” always required a “skin” to be left behind. 

While “escaping his skin,” Yu Hua had summoned the black cloak and the mask and floated into the air, absorbed the energy of Feng Kui’s System, putting a stop to his and You Zhengping’s battle. 

Faced with Xiao You, he always seemed unable control his actions. He couldn’t keep from hugging him, comforting him. Xiao You had experienced a fierce battle today. It must have been very difficult. 

It was already very restrained of Yu Hua to only have held Xiao You’s waist with one hand rather than rubbing his head and saying encouragingly, “It was really awesome how you grasped a new use of your special ability at the last second.” 

It was good that Cen Xiao had separated them in time, or else he really would have given himself away. 

Thinking of Cen Xiao, Yu Hua felt a headache coming on. 

He seemed to have left, but in reality he had returned to the chains and activated his “super hearing” to listen in on what was happening outside. Naturally he had also clearly heard Cen Xiao’s words to You Zhengping. 

Yu Hua’s feelings were very complicated. 

Did Xiao You know his identity or not? If he had already guessed that Yu Hua and the black-cloaked man were the same person, then that was to everyone’s satisfaction. If he hadn’t guessed and had purely been attracted by the black-cloaked man, then it proved that no matter what he looked like, Xiao You would still fall in love with him at first sight. Yu Hua also enjoyed seeing this, but…

If it was the latter, what should he do about “Yu Hua?” 

After the vexed Yu Hua had been returned home, he had deliberately made the suitcase appear in the living room, blocking Xiao You’s path. When Xiao You had walked through the door, the suitcase had still been lying on top of the wardrobe, but when he went out, it was in the living room. Xiao You had to notice, right? He would have to open the suitcase and see the black cloak inside? 

But Xiao You still hadn’t touched the suitcase. He had gone around it and left. 

He really was a person who turned a blind eye to housework. He often couldn’t find where he had put his clothes, and if he put his phone on the couch, he would turn around and forget where he had tossed it. So…not noticing the suitcase’s original location was also normal. 

As intelligent as Yu Hua was, he still couldn’t guess Xiao You’s thoughts. 

Yu Hua found that he seemed to always have worries. As soon as he resolved one problem, a new problem would appear. 

He thought of when they had gotten married and Xiao You’s mother had had a heart to heart with him. She had told him, “Life is a series of daily necessities and trivial household matters. Spouses will always have little problems and little frictions between them. That’s normal.” 

Being constantly plagued by vexations was probably what life was. 

—

When You Zhengping returned to the base, Zhen Li and Yuan Luori had also been picked up. Everyone took part together in Huan Zixu and Feng Kui’s interrogation. 

In view of the fact that the new Destroyers hadn’t done anything too bad and had had their abilities removed by the black-cloaked man, the interrogation took place in comparatively comfortable surroundings. There were no torture implements, and Zhen Li and Yuan Luori sat in chairs beside them, responsible for advising them to cooperate. 

Zhen and Yuan still didn’t remember the two of them coming to the studio last night. They had guessed based on their own mistaken behavior that someone must have messed with them. 

“What was the information you wanted to tell the black-cloaked man?” Director Xiao had listened to Lian Yufan’s report and got right down to business. 

“First guarantee mine and Feng Kui’s safety,” Huan Zixu said. “While I can’t believe in your guarantee, I still want a verbal promise.” 

Director Xiao said, “I won’t make any empty promises. You only have to look at Zhen Li and Yuan Luori to see how you’ll be treated.” 

Then he gave Zhen and Yuan a look, making them persuade on his behalf. 

“We only have to cooperate in order to be treated leniently, and life is pretty nice. Sometimes you get kidnapped, eat something weird, dance a little, get your wages deducted from time to time. The rest is fine,” Zhen Li said. 

“I’m not like Zhen Li. I’m rather busy. I live in the studio, eat instant noodles, study law, take care of a dog, and in the future I’m going to take part in a talent show. Later, I hear I’ll also be doing ads. I’m also planning to attend university, test into the law faculty, then take the National Judicial Exam, get a law license…” Yuan Luori stuck out his fingers to count up his abundant future plans. 

Huan Zixu said, “…What power does your Protection Organization have to decrease levelers’ intelligence?” 

Director Xiao coughed gently. “Ahem! They were like this when they came to this world. I was also amazed. If not for Destroyer 192 appearing recently, I would have thought that the current generation of Destroyers were all of that level.” 

“They’ve all been ruined by the System.” Huan Zixu looked at the two sweet idiots, involuntarily squeezed Feng Kui’s hand, and calmly said, “It feels good to be able to openly say bad things about the System without worrying about self-destructing. Even though I’ve lost my ability, I’m still pretty happy.” 

Watching Huan Zixu’s performance, Director Xiao glanced at the young Protectors out of the corner of his eye. He found that the young people had no ill will towards Huan Zixu and Feng Kui. 

Even the most cooperative and harmless Zhen Li had at first been beaten up by You Zhengping and Lian Yufan, and Yuan Luori had been wrapped up in bandages for days. The two of them had only achieved everyone’s approval that day at the mall when they had used all their strength to cooperate with the Protection Organization in protecting ordinary people. 

But as for Huan Zixu and Feng Kui, the Protectors didn’t have any enmity towards them from the start. 

“You’re very clever. You know what the best way to win our good opinion is.” Director Xiao exposed Huan Zixu’s goal. “First you win the Protectors’ approval by displaying concern for your companion. You clearly understand what kind of enemies hot-blooded young people will appreciate. Then you display malice towards the System, subtly telling us that you were forced and had no choice. We have a common enemy. Finally, you admit that you’ve lost your ability and are harmless. Only a few sentences, and your status goes from being an enemy to being an informer like Zhen Li who can work with us.” 

Director Xiao’s words put the young Protectors on their guards. Just as Director Xiao had said, Huan Zixu had been leading them by the nose. 

With his plans laid bare, Huan Zixu didn’t get flustered. He said easily, “The reason I can move you is that all of that is true. I used a bit of finesse, but you aren’t going to say I can’t protect myself, right?” 

“The only means you have of protecting yourself is coming clean.” Director Xiao said firmly, unmoved.

“Old fox,” Huan Zixu said, shaking his head. “Your ill will towards us is very strong.” 

“Compared to you, it would seem that I don’t count as old.” Director Xiao picked up a thermos mug and drank some tea. “Zhen Li and Yuan Luori’s true ages aren’t very great, and mentally they’re rather naïve. But you’re different. You’re several hundred years old at least. If a person who could originally have lived forever and had tremendous powers says that he submits and pledges allegiance, would you believe it easily?” 

“You say that because you haven’t lived hundreds of years.” A hint of the passage of time flashed through Huan Zixu’s eyes. “If I didn’t have Feng Kui with me, I couldn’t have held out.  The human mind can only tolerate a hundred years. This tolerance is built into our genes. Past a certain threshold, the human mind will change.” 

He pointed to his own head. “Why did I have to use this method to test the black-cloaked man? Because you can’t use conventional reasoning to conjecture about the thoughts of a person who went through 3,841 worlds on his own and has lived for thousands of years.” 

---

Author's Note

Cen Xiao: My good friend seems to want to have an affair. That won’t do. I have to counsel him to return to the true path. 

Yu Hua: Suddenly having complicated feelings. 

You Zhengping: Love comes as quickly as a tornado. There’s nothing I can do.