novelraw Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Ji Qing bought milk and bread from the convenience store for dinner.
The dormitory building was some distance from the cafeteria, and he had no intention of going out again today.
Calming the turmoil had been far more exhausting than he expected. Everyone had their own stance, and as the person trying to settle the matter peacefully, he had been forced into three rounds of verbal confrontation with three different groups.
Xie Chang’an really deserved a beating.
But in the end, this trouble was something he had taken upon himself. Ji Qing thought with slight helplessness: since he had already promised the system to maintain the stability of the manga world, he could only see it through to the end.
At most, it meant spending a little more effort talking.
As Ji Qing passed the beverage vending machine in front of the convenience store, his gaze was suddenly drawn to the nutrient packs on the top shelf.
As a “compressed food” commonly seen in wasteland novels, he had thought he would never encounter it himself.
The packaging resembled a jelly pouch and looked rather plain.
The taste was probably terrible, but it might be interesting to try something new.
Feeling slightly better, Ji Qing pressed the purchase button.
He was actually looking forward to the off-campus practice starting next semester. That would mark his true connection with the wasteland world.
However, Ji Qing also understood why Class S had so few students.
Such high-intensity off-campus practice felt less like the school trying to teach according to aptitude and more like using students directly as wasteland hunters.
Were wasteland hunters really that scarce?
At that moment, Ji Qing suddenly remembered that the manga’s title was Ability Hunter Academy.
He hesitated.
Could that have been the school’s former name?
An Ability Academy that trained hunters?
That was quite interesting, Ji Qing thought. He wondered what kind of students other Ability academies were trying to cultivate.
But none of that had anything to do with him right now.
Ji Qing continued walking toward the dormitory building.
When he arrived at his dormitory and placed his purchased dinner on the desk, his terminal suddenly lit up.
Zhou Que had told him before: this meant someone had sent a message.
Ji Qing was immediately surprised.
He thought about who might contact him—everyone from Class S, Liu Mu, or his homeroom teacher.
Could it be that You Xingluo and the others were looking for him?
Confused, Ji Qing began operating the terminal.
He did not find any new messages in the communication software. Instead, he noticed a red unread notification inside a hidden basic application.
Ji Qing’s expression instantly turned serious.
After spending several days at school, he had almost forgotten about the issue of identity.
Yet now someone who knew him had come looking for him.
Red Heart: 【How is your mission progressing?】
Ji Qing did not reply.
First, he calmly examined the mysterious software.
It was a communication program disguised as a basic terminal application. The interface was extremely simple and had no extra functions.
If the message had not appeared suddenly, he would have assumed it was simply a built-in memo application.
Ji Qing noticed that his codename on the software was “Raven.”
He had four hidden contacts, and Red Heart was one of them.
Damn it. Why had no one told him he had a hidden identity?
Ji Qing felt inexplicably irritated.
Just as he was silently complaining, Red Heart—having received no reply—sent another message.
Red Heart: 【?】
Red Heart: 【Say something, Raven. Do not tell me you really plan to stay in that lousy school for half a year.】
Calm down.
Ji Qing warned himself internally.
The owner of this codename was his former self before losing his memory. As long as he replied in the same style he normally used, it should be fine.
Moreover, both the manga plot and Red Heart’s words pointed to the same fact—
“Ji Qing,” or rather “Raven,” had originally planned to remain at this school for one semester.
Having decided, Ji Qing began typing on the terminal.
Although the sudden contact made his palms slightly sweaty, his movements remained steady.
Raven: 【What is the problem?】
Red Heart: 【…】
Red Heart: 【I truly cannot understand you. It is just stealing something. Why make it so complicated?】
After a brief pause, Red Heart seemed unable to suppress his curiosity and sent another message.
Red Heart: 【By the way, which class are you in? What level is your Ability? Since when were you an Ability user?】
Raven: 【No comment.】
Red Heart: 【You really have no sense of camaraderie. Fine, fine. Enjoy school. If Infected start causing trouble near Yancheng, I will dump it all on you.】
Raven: 【Okay.】
Red Heart: 【…You really are a mute.】
After that, Red Heart said nothing more. The conversation appeared to have ended unilaterally.
Ji Qing stared at their chat window with a grave expression, then suddenly let out a long breath.
He had finally passed this hurdle—for now.
But before he could relax, the terminal screen lit up again.
This time it was still Red Heart, but the message came from another hidden application disguised as a basic terminal program.
The red unread mark flickered in Ji Qing’s eyes, glaringly bright.
Red Heart: 【BOSS, is the World Book really that important?】
Red Heart: 【Also, just quietly asking—what does my brother look like? We have always contacted each other online, so I still have no idea what he actually looks like. I am so curious it is driving me crazy. I cannot even focus on my work anymore.】
Ji Qing stared at the sudden word “BOSS” on the screen and fell into a long silence.
He muttered softly to himself.
“Ji Qing… how many hidden identities do you actually have?”
Earlier he had been complaining about how many identities You Xingluo had. Yet now it was his turn to complain about himself.
Who would not be completely confused by such a development?
Ji Qing expressionlessly typed four words.
【No comment.】
Then he immediately closed the terminal.
Surely a boss had more right to ignore messages than someone who was merely a colleague like Raven.
While nursing a headache, Ji Qing pulled out a blank notebook.
But when his gaze fell on the empty paper, a sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him first.
Ji Qing took a deep breath and forced himself to focus.
First, “Ji Qing” possessed multiple hidden identities. He had enrolled in the Third Ability Academy to seize the World Book. At some point six months later might be the best opportunity to obtain it.
Second, Red Heart and “Ji Qing” were online colleagues who had never met. If Ji Qing had not enrolled in the Third Ability Academy, Red Heart would not even know he was an Ability user.
Third, the organization they belonged to was connected to the Infected.
“But this is still absurd…”
Ji Qing frowned deeply as he looked at the clues listed on the page.
“Ji Qing’s” objective was now clear.
In the original version of the manga, his sudden withdrawal from school had never been without reason.
He had come to the Third Ability Academy for the World Book from the very beginning. Once he obtained it, there would be no reason to stay.
[System.]
Ji Qing took a deep breath and called out inwardly.
[I am here,] the system responded immediately. [What happened?]
Ji Qing asked directly:
[Is there a secret organization whose members use codenames like “Red Heart” and “Raven,” and that is connected to the Infected?]
The system paused slightly, its tone becoming hesitant.
[Did you encounter someone from the Dawn Society?]
[Dawn Society?]
[An organization composed of the Infected,] the system explained quietly. [They advocate “bringing dawn to the world and coexisting with Aberrants.” They usually appear in Danger Zones or at the origin points of Black Tides. All known members are infected.]
[In the later stages of the manga’s main storyline, the protagonist’s group will confront the Dawn Society’s codename members directly.]
Ji Qing was stunned.
[Wait. Are all of them infected?]
The system added:
[In the manga, the members who appear directly and those recorded in the world data are indeed all Infected.]
So it was possible that non-Infected members existed.
Ji Qing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
[However…] the system continued in a subtle tone, [the four cadres of the Dawn Society, along with their leader, have all been confirmed by the Federation to be Infected. Because of their extreme ideology, the Federation government has issued full arrest warrants for the Dawn Society’s leadership.]
Ji Qing suddenly had a bad feeling.
[The codenames of the leaders would not happen to be…]
[Raven, Red Heart, Emerald, White Night, and their leader “Dawn.”]
“…Heh.”
The light in Ji Qing’s eyes instantly faded.
What a catastrophic beginning.
After going in circles, the situation had come crashing down on him again—this time even worse.
[System, I have bad news for you,] Ji Qing said expressionlessly. [My real identity is one of the Dawn Society’s leaders. Right now I am wondering whether I am actually an Infected.]
[…]
The system crashed instantly.
After a long time, it finally spoke again in a firm tone.
[Host, you cannot possibly be an Infected. If you were, I would not have been able to bind with you.]
[Good. Then the problem becomes simple.]
Ji Qing first sighed with relief, then calmly raised an even more lethal question.
[How did I infiltrate an organization of Infected as an ordinary human—and even become one of its leaders and cadres?]
[From the looks of it, I even fooled everyone.]
The system pondered desperately, its metaphorical CPU nearly overheating. Finally it could only respond with difficulty.
[Your identity… is quite impressive.]
“I would rather not have this kind of impressiveness.”
Ji Qing forced a pale smile.
Reality had truly raised the difficulty level for him.
He had thought starting with no information was already terrible. Yet somehow things had become even worse.
Compared to his real identity, the issue with Xie Chang’an was practically trivial.
No, no—calm down.
Ji Qing steadied himself and hurriedly asked:
[What is the World Book?]
[An Ability artifact used to interpret fate,] the system replied after a brief pause. [However, the cost of using it is extremely high. Each use requires the life of an Ability user ranked A-level or above.]
[That does sound powerful,] Ji Qing said absentmindedly.
Since the Dawn Society had already taken action to seize the World Book, it meant they could afford the price of using it.
And as the leader of the Dawn Society, his former self had clearly approved that plan.
But…
Was the entire organization really composed of Infected?
Ji Qing was not entirely convinced. That might explain why he personally participated in the mission, but it did not explain why others believed he was an Infected.
[System, can the Substitute Puppet imitate an Infected?] Ji Qing asked with unprecedented calm.
[Yes, it can,] the system replied hesitantly. [Host, are you planning to…]
[I am going to separate these two identities.]
Ji Qing’s voice turned cold.
[Since I have already decided to guide the manga’s storyline, I cannot abandon the identity of the top freshman. But the mission of my original identity must still be completed.]
His eyes burned with determination, his voice steady and resolute.
[I will make “Ji Qing” and “Raven” exist at the same time.]