RPDH Chapter 13

More fan creations had been posted while she was away. Li Li checked some of the more interesting ones.

[Spoiler: Chibi fanart]

1st Comment (Original Poster) V●ᴥ●V〜☆

[Chibi Cowlick Li carrying a corgi across the road.jpg]

[Old Father Li squatting down to pick up the corgi’s shedding.jpg]

[Li pensively staring at the floor covered of dog hairs.jpg]

[Li shaving Little Corgi bald.jpg]

[Tearful Little Corgi.jpg]

Cute chibis with bouncy cheeks are so cute. Reminds me of cotton candy.

…

Li Li couldn’t help but crack a smile. Her mood improved as well.

Netizens were as talented as always, she thought as she tapped on a trending fighting power post.

There were many wars being waged in the comments due to the large influx of new characters. In terms of ‘Li’, however, most of the commenters were like: ‘there’s no point in bringing him up because he’s obviously not a fighter’, ‘are some people so bored they’ll settle for fighting over anything?’, ‘that pipsqueak can’t hurt a fly!’

Almost all the readers believed that ‘Li’ was not a fighter, and was even on the frailer side. Perhaps they got that impression because he debuted as a victim and was also feigning an injury.

She thought back to her journey so far in the manhua world. It seemed like everyone aside from Yi Ming treated her like a bigshot.

She couldn’t help but sigh at how different the manhua world and the manhua forums were.

Her ‘Rank A bigshot’ identity still sat uncontested at the top of the power rankings, of course.

Time passed quickly when you’re having fun. Li Li concluded her browsing session by searching for any mentions of abilities. Alas, the manhua never went into depth about natural comprehension. The protagonist possessed an ability from the start.

Meaning she had to figure it all out on her own…

Li Li set down her phone and slowly closed her eyes.

She wouldn’t give up no matter what.

…

However, abilities weren’t something you could get willy-nilly. Li Li still hadn’t succeeded by the time her self-imposed deadline for returning to Tarnished Bronze arrived.

There were only two days left.

[Processing collected popularity data.]

[Processing data…]

[Total popularity value: 1812]

Her popularity grew at an impressive rate over the past two days due to all the fan creations. If Li Li didn’t buy anything from the mall, she could live for an entire 18 more days or half a month.

However, she had to keep exchanging for items.

Li Li checked how much time she had left as the Rank C ability user led her to the merchandise warehouse.

If everything went according to plan, she would be able to see the next update by the end of this transmigration.

If something did happen, then the readers of Beyond Black and White would be hit with a sudden hiatus from their hardworking, punctual author.

The lights were on in Tarnished Bronze HQ even during the day. It wasn’t as dark as before, but there was still a gloomy feeling in the air.

“Where’s Qing Yuchen?” Li Li asked as she trailed the Rank C at an unhurried pace.

She thought Qing Yuchen would come to greet her personally and profess his loyalty after her warning two days ago.

“The leader is away.” The Rank C ability user replied.

Away? Li Li was somewhat surprised.

The Rank C ability user stopped before Room 4.

Li Li adjusted her state. Her smiling expression instantly cooled.

The door melded with the walls finally opened once more. A dark-haired young man slowly strode in against the light.

The door sealed again as soon as he was inside.

Yi Ming, who had been waiting all this time, exclaimed, “Li!”

He hurried over and scanned every inch of the dark-haired young man. “Qing Yuchen didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“I’m fine.” Li Li let Yi Ming fuss over her. Her tone remained indifferent, “No need to welcome me like this, Little Corgi.”

Her complexion was inevitably a little paler than usual. Although she rested well in reality, she had been actively searching for and picking fights for two days straight in the manhua world.

There was bound to be backlash.

However, Yi Ming’s attitude towards Qing Yuchen gave her pause.

It seemed like Qing Yuchen hadn’t been behaving himself in her absence.

Yi Ming glanced up at Li Li with an accusing look in his eyes. “You’re trying to hide things from me again!”

His gaze was like a corgi questioning why their master would lie, why they wouldn’t give a poor little pup some chocolate.

Li Li felt like her credibility with Yi Ming was basically nil by now. Even if dogs really shouldn’t eat chocolate since it was poisonous for them.

“Alright, alright. But I can move just fine already.” She revealed a hint of fatigue at an opportune moment.

Her identity right now was an aloof, cool older brother figure who wasn’t that good at fighting. ‘Li’, who sometimes had a cowlick bouncing around on his head.

…

The dark-haired young man lowered his eyelashes, clearly fatigued. His cold features were softer with his bangs covering his sharp eyelashes, like cool jade.

Yi Ming paused. He felt like they couldn’t stay here much longer.

He came back today, but what about tomorrow? What if he never came back one day?

He stared right into those tired dark eyes. “Let’s escape from this place, Li!”

Yi Ming knew he couldn’t leave things as they were anymore. He had to act.

It didn’t matter if he went hungry here, but he couldn’t let Li suffer any longer.

The dark-haired young man schooled his expression. “Are you being serious?”

Yi Ming’s response was firm, “Yes.”

He shared his plan, “We’re going to get Tang and leave together.”

“We?” Li repeated.

“Yes, we.” Yi Ming confirmed.

The air seemed to stagnate after that.

The dark-haired young man circled around Yi Ming to the wall. Then he turned, leaning against the wall as he crossed his arms and stared at Yi Ming emotionlessly.

“You came here just for Tang initially, right? There’s no need to take me along.” The young man’s melodic voice was chilly.

Like he was ready to hash out all the details that had been glossed over until now.

“Your objective has never been to save everyone. You were only here for Tang. What’s with the change of mind? Why risk taking me along?”

There was doubt suffused in the cold words, “You said you didn’t know me, right?”

“Yes, it’s true that I don’t have the power to save everyone.” Yi Ming quietly admitted, “Buyan told me being impulsive when you lack the ability will only make things worse.”

Buyan, full name Shuang Buyan, was the adoptive father Yi Ming was searching for.

Yi Ming always acted according to his adoptive father’s teachings, including during his infiltration into Tarnished Bronze this time. He did initially only plan on taking Tang, just as the dark-haired young man said.

The name made the dark-haired young man lean forward slightly.

“However,” The brunet teen clenched his fists tightly, a determined light shining in his azure irises. “you did help me back then, unintentionally or not. I will definitely get you out of here to repay the favour. Consider that a promise.”

This time, the dark-haired young man’s silence dragged on.

Yi Ming stared at him expectantly.

After an unknown amount of time, the young man set down his arms like he had been persuaded. “Let me be clear about something: I’m selling you out if we get caught again.”

“That’s fine.” Yi Ming breathed a sigh of relief and beamed. “I’ll be sure to protect you!”

The young man spoke cheerfully like he had received confirmation. There seemed to be little flowers blooming around him for a while.

The young man blinked at the flowers before raining on his parade, “You should find a way to get out of here first.”

“Actually, I tried to leave yesterday.” Yi Ming said, “Then I ran into Qing Yuchen.”

He didn’t elaborate, but it couldn’t have been good.

The young man returned the favour and looked Yi Ming up and down. “It’s his ability, mind control. Since he marked you before, he always knows where you are and can seize control of your body at any time.”

“You two were marked as well?” Yi Ming quickly took the new information into account. “No wonder Qing Yuchen caught on so quickly that night and rushed back to Tarnished Bronze. He should have been delayed some more.”

The brunet teen frowned in consternation. How was that kind of ability fair? “In that case, we’ll be controlled as soon as he catches on…” He clawed at his hair, “This is ridiculous!”

Just as he was wracking his brains for a solution, he heard the dark-haired young man leisurely speak up.

“However, he’s not at headquarters right now.”

Yi Ming: “……”

Yi Ming: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier, ah!”

He was seriously thinking about how to escape with Qing Yuchen looming over their shoulders!

…

Teasing Little Corgi was so fun that Li Li found it hard to resist.

Still, the intel she had shared was true. Qing Yuchen could control marked ability users even if they were hundreds of miles away.

However, Qing Yuchen wouldn’t stop them from leaving. It was more likely that he’s wanted her to leave for a while now.

Li Li paused at the thought of that troublesome Rank B ability user.

She still felt uncertain about him, even though Qing Yuchen seemed sufficiently intimidated by her…

Still, there’s no harm in leaving early.

After discussing what to do, Li Li watched Yi Ming put both hands on the alloy door.

He activated his ability, Heart of Metal.

Yi Ming’s arms instantly morphed into an identical material and fused with the door.

Cracks began to form around the edges of the door as soon as he designated the entire thing as a part of his body.

Yi Ming dismantled the entire gigantic door and charged out, using it as a shield.

He was setting the door aside after dispatching all the guards nearby by the time Li Li leisurely strolled out.

‘Silkworm squad’ was in charge of guarding the merchandise warehouse. Li Li’s noticed by now that members of the organization without abilities lacked gold embroidery on their robes. Looking around, only the leader out cold on the floor here was an ability user.

Since this was Qing Yuchen’s territory, all ability users, be they subordinates or merchandise, were under his control.

Yi Ming gently set down the slab when he saw her come out. His arms and hands returned to normal.

“Come with me.” He whispered.

They were going to search the area Tang was originally being held in.

Tarnished Bronze had repaired the power supply a long time ago. Dim lights illuminated the long hallways. Yi Ming and Li Li proceeded cautiously, one after another.

Li Li unabashedly followed behind Yi Ming as ‘the injured teammate’.

The Rank D Yi Ming ambushed the Rank E, Rank F and ordinary subordinates with almost 100% success. This was how he managed to infiltrate Tarnished Bronze and reach Tang last time.

They quickly rounded the third corner and reached a fork in the hallway going left or right. Yi Ming peered down both to make sure no one was around before gesturing to the right.

Yet there was a sharp whistling sound  just as he left cover.

“Fwoop!”

Yi Ming’s blue eyes widened as a trace of blood appeared on his cheek.

It was a needle.

When he turned back, there was a black-robed man in the hallway he was certain was empty just a moment ago. The man stared at him with his sclera-less eyes.

“Run!” Yi Ming reached back to grasp Li Li’s wrist before racing around the corner without looking back.

Several brown hairs detached a moment later, morphing into a storm of blades that shot down the left hallway. Li Li heard the clinking of metal hitting metal. She glanced back to see a black-robed man standing behind the mass of projectiles.

Hooked nose, weak jaw.

It was that Rank C!

The only other mid-rank ability user in Tarnished Bronze!

It was then that Li Li locked eyes with the Rank C.

A momentary glance at the icy look in Li Li’s eyes seemed to visibly shock him.

He stepped back and lowered his head swiftly, as if afraid of disturbing the fun of the person before him.

Yi Ming pressed his hand on the metal wall at this time, using the same method he opened the door with to create a wall between them and the Rank C ability user.

Yi Ming was so focused on running away with Li Li that he didn’t notice the wall remaining untouched.

After all, the Rank C wasn’t pursuing them anymore.