HAGLTP Chapter 16

Xiao Lu’s gaze turned towards Xiao Keyang.

This was their first meeting.

As the protagonist, and with a beautiful mother like Xiao Yimei, Xiao Keyang naturally had quite good looks. He carried an air of arrogance, and at just 18 years old, this arrogance combined with youthful spirit formed a unique personal aura.

In the original owner’s memories, there were many bits and pieces about his younger brother; Xiao Keyang was almost raised by him alone. Sometimes, when the money left by Xiao Yimei was too little, he would rather go hungry himself than not leave the last portion of dinner for Xiao Keyang.

Unfortunately, in the end, Xiao Keyang grew up to be as cold-hearted and selfish as Xiao Yimei, draining the original owner dry and unwilling to leave even a shred of leeway.

It would have been better to raise a piece of char siu than this thing.

Xiao Keyang took the initiative to speak: “You came to Yun City and didn’t even tell me? Even if you don’t want to see me, you should at least check on Mom. She misses you a lot. You haven’t taken care of her for so long; if others find out, they’ll say you’re unfilial.”

He still used the same tactics he had once employed against the original owner—moral coercion, emotional manipulation, and a few veiled threats, which could pin a person down tightly.

“Coincidentally, I just saw her before I came here. We had a pretty good chat; of course, I mean I was happy,” Xiao Lu said with a smile.

Xiao Yimei might not have felt the same.

Xiao Keyang keenly sensed the underlying meaning in his words. He scrutinized this long-lost brother and couldn’t help but frown: “You’ve changed. You wouldn’t have treated family like this before.”

“That depends on what kind of family member it is. Some char siu brothers are useless even for the New Year, don’t you think?” Xiao Lu’s smile remained as he walked towards him.

As Xiao Keyang watched the approaching figure, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Why did the brother who would always obey him now have such a gaze?

Clearly smiling, yet it felt like a knife ready to carve through bone.

Bathed in the other’s gaze, he even felt as if he were bound to an autopsy table, being scrutinized.

In that moment, he seemed to return to the time when the ghostwriting incident was exposed, leading to a wave of online condemnation.

That was the darkest period of his life.

From a genius singer in the spotlight to a rat scorned by all, the praises he once received turned into curses, slanders, anger, and disdain, nearly suffocating him.

Fortunately, the world soon changed; the alienation arrived, and he became the youngest captain of the Night. The entertainment industry had long since vanished, and no one mentioned the ghostwriting incident anymore. He thought he had escaped the shadow of that time.

But when Xiao Lu stood before him again, examining him with such a scrutinizing and mocking gaze, he still felt anger and shame.

Countless taunts and accusations seemed to echo in his ears, howling and lingering.

“Xiao Lu, do you think you’re something special?” Xiao Keyang’s fingertips flickered with light.

He had only won a battle of public opinion; now the times had changed, and strength was the new rule. Public opinion could no longer destroy a person.

He wanted Xiao Lu to understand who was truly qualified to be arrogant in this era.

Golden star patterns appeared on Xiao Lu’s hand: “A naughty kid who doesn’t listen definitely needs to be taught a lesson; a good beating will do.”

Nearby, Huang Sansheng watched in astonishment: “Brother Lu’s brotherly bond is too hardcore.”

The two started fighting at an absurd speed, almost skipping the warm-up. Was it really that enjoyable for brothers to beat each other up?

They moved almost simultaneously, two similar golden lights intertwining in a dance, shining as if it were broad daylight despite the sunset.

In the quiet Area A, someone was stirred, quietly pulling back the curtains to watch the two engage in a rapid exchange.

“Who is it? Don’t they know weapons are banned in Area A?”

“Is that… Xiao Keyang from the Night? And who is he fighting? It seems like a fair match.”

“Not just a fair match; look at that person’s ability, it’s the same as Xiao Keyang’s.”

“I just saw that person seemed to be planning to stay in the White Dove’s territory. When did the White Dove have someone like this?”

“Heh, your news is too slow. This person entered the city this morning, took care of some small fry at the city gate, and was then picked up by the White Dove. MIKI came personally, and he had two others with him, one of whom looks like Ye Qi.”

“The White Dove is lucky; they just gained a captain-level fighter.”

“Ye Qi is here; is there going to be a shake-up within the White Dove?”

Although electronic devices were gone, humanity’s information network remained formidable. In a short time, the news had quietly spread.

Xiao Keyang grew increasingly alarmed as he fought; how could Xiao Lu’s ability also be “Radiance”? Wasn’t that what that guy had said, that only his twin brother had that ability?

He called out in his mind: “Hey, didn’t you say you sensed your brother was dead?!”

The consciousness belonging to the Star Radiance in his mind replied: “Yes, dead. It seems his consciousness has been completely devoured by him.”

Xiao Keyang’s heart sank. His path of alienation was not smooth; the consciousness of the Crown Prince Star Radiance in his mind was like a storm, trying to swallow him whole. After several days of difficult tug-of-war, both sides were nearly at their limits. Chai Yige could only give him water and wipe his sweat; he couldn’t help him resist the invasion of the Star Radiance consciousness.

Just when both sides were about to perish together, that consciousness compromised, sending him the message that it was willing to submit. But correspondingly, he could not erase the other.

At that time, he was also nearing his limit; if he didn’t accept, the only path left was mutual destruction, becoming a mindless zombie.

So both sides could only guard against each other and coexist.

But now, Xiao Lu’s appearance felt like a resounding slap in the face, telling him: What Crown Prince Star Radiance? Just one brother, and I can still kill you!

The last ember of the sunset disappeared at the edge of the sky, swallowed by the night.

The two, both possessing Radiance abilities, suddenly felt their strength diminish, but neither wanted to give up early; the battle continued.

After several exchanges, Xiao Lu felt something different.

His strength seemed to be increasing, like an electronic device about to run out of battery suddenly plugged into a fast-charging power bank. The power wasn’t coming from himself, but from…

Xiao Lu looked at Xiao Keyang and noticed the other’s face suddenly turn pale.

With a hint of a smile in his eyes, Xiao Lu decided to retract his previous words; the char siu brother wasn’t entirely useless; at least he could replenish energy.

In the original plot, Xiao Keyang could take over the Star Radiance energy after Xiao Lu’s death, so naturally, it could work the other way around.

·

Chai Yige, watching from the sidelines, didn’t understand the principle behind it, but the protagonist should be invincible; how could he be entangled with a cannon fodder for so long? This was not right.

No, this Xiao Lu had been off from the start; he was changing the plot and becoming stronger. If this continued, it would definitely have a greater impact on the storyline.

He couldn’t let him continue; he had to stop him!

Chai Yige’s eyes sharpened as he quietly pulled out a gun from his lower back. His ability was quite useless, merely for aiming assistance, but a useless ability could still be effective at a critical moment.

The gun’s muzzle quietly aimed at Xiao Lu, who was fighting.

The system disliked them killing each other and would impose severe penalties, but he didn’t need to kill Xiao Lu; there were many dangers in this world. As long as he could injure the other or create a flaw, the subsequent matters would be handled by Xiao Keyang’s protagonist halo.

Suddenly, Chai Yige’s vision turned a chilling blue, as if shrouded in a film filter.

His finger, about to pull the trigger, froze.

Chai Yige looked around, realizing he had been surrounded by ice-blue barriers without knowing when. These barriers looked as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet he felt a chill run down his spine.

When he looked in a certain direction, Chai Yige’s breath suddenly quickened—Ye Qi was watching him.

This usually gentle and composed movie star was now enveloped in the night, his handsome face shadowed, making it impossible to discern his expression, three parts human and seven parts ghostly.

Especially as the ice-blue star patterns flickered on the back of Ye Qi’s hand, indicating that the barriers trapping him were created by the other.

Ye Qi remained silent, while Huang Sansheng made a gesture to the restless guy:

Don’t move if you don’t want to die.

Chai Yige’s cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes, and he froze in place, not daring to move.

·

The battle between Xiao Lu and Xiao Keyang continued, but suddenly, mist began to rise around them. The speed at which the mist swirled was so fast that it obscured their vision in just a few breaths.

He immediately frowned.

No, this wasn’t mist; it was smoke. Such a large amount of smoke couldn’t have appeared naturally.

A new ability user had entered the fray.

Xiao Keyang was delighted: “Boss!”

“You two have made quite a ruckus; my nap was disturbed…” A low male voice sounded, carrying a hint of gloom.

It was already dark; who knew where this person had been napping?

The smoke surrounding the two dispersed slightly, revealing a small clearing. Xiao Lu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a person squatting on a tall street lamp not far away, casually dressed in a black robe, looking strangely eerie under the moonlight.

Xiao Lu recognized him; he was also a celebrity, with a significant presence in the big screen advertisements of Yao City.

The former top idol Jiang Yushen was now the leader of the Night.

When Jiang Yushen was an idol, he portrayed a sunny and warm persona, but in reality, he was a gloomy, extreme, and unpredictable lunatic, often causing trouble that required his management company to spend a lot of effort to resolve.

After the global alienation, he awakened his abilities and completely let himself go, gathering a group of violent individuals to establish the Night.

Jiang Yushen stood high above, staring at Xiao Lu with hawk-like eyes.

Xiao Lu did not back down, calmly meeting his gaze, his fingertips glowing, more dazzling than the moonlight.

Xiao Keyang tried to maintain a serious expression, but inside, apart from feeling relieved, he was also secretly delighted.

He knew the boss’s temperament well; Jiang Yushen despised outsiders causing trouble in his territory and hated being disturbed during his sleep. Xiao Lu’s actions had already crossed the red line.

At the same time, Jiang Yushen was an unpredictable lunatic; when provoked, he would vent his anger through extreme means.

What happened to the last person who angered the boss?

Did they drop dead, or were they tortured until he was satisfied?

Xiao Keyang struggled to control the smile on his face; the boss didn’t like anyone laughing when he wasn’t smiling.

In short, Xiao Lu was finished.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Yushen suddenly smiled: “Your name is Xiao Lu? Join the Night.”

As a person with unpredictable moods, he could explode at any moment, yet now, with all the elements that could trigger his rage gathered, he was inexplicably in a good mood.

Xiao Lu suspected he was hearing things; was this the right moment to say that?

Xiao Keyang also felt he was hearing things. He tried to speak earnestly: “Xiao Lu is very close to MIKI from the White Dove, and MIKI has connections with you… We can’t guarantee his stance; what if he has dealings with the White Dove privately?”

Jiang Yushen squatted on the street lamp, looking down at him with a smug expression: “What, are you teaching me how to do things? Char siu brother.”

After saying that, he seemed to find the title amusing and repeated it: “Char siu brother, hahahaha… hehehe… hahahahahahaha…”

He laughed uproariously, swaying back and forth on the street lamp, making one worry he might fall off in his exuberance.

Perhaps he had suppressed himself too much while being an idol; now, Jiang Yushen just wanted to enjoy the joy of being unrestrained at any time.

Xiao Keyang: “…”

What is it like to have a lunatic for a leader?

【Author’s Note】

Xiao Lu: The smile of a super idol isn’t as sweet as your boss’s!

Xiao Keyang: …

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me with a tyrant ticket or watered the nutrient solution between 2021-11-29 19:21:09 and 2021-11-30 17:12:55!

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: Qi Maomao, Kia, and a happy alpaca 1;

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Kia 316 bottles; Xiao Mo 10 bottles; a happy alpaca 3 bottles; 47895611, Dawn Flame, and a cat lover 1 bottle;

Thank you all for your support; I will continue to work hard!