Chapter 19: Bad Rabbit

Bai Chen Zhu examined his face and confirmed there were no abnormalities.

He blocked his eyes with his arm, feeling a bit stifled inside. “No. I just… really like this book. We were just talking about superpowers, and I thought you were a fan of the book too, so I got sidetracked for a moment.”

He came up with a very half-hearted and lame excuse.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Jiang Ye tapped his knee with his fingers, his gaze shifting to the dim sky outside the window. “So that’s how it is.”

He finally understood. ‘Little Butterfly’ came from that.

Just when Bai Chen Zhu thought the conversation was wrapping up, Jiang Ye suddenly chuckled and said very solemnly, “Have you heard the saying, ‘History is written by the victors, but the truth is only known by those who lived it’?”

Why did Jiang Ye suddenly bring this up? Bai Chen Zhu frowned in thought. “What are you trying to say?”

Jiang Ye shrugged and reverted to his laid-back demeanor. “The literal meaning. I’m advising you not to treat the book as reality.”

But this book was clearly just a novel, written by an ordinary shut-in guy. The mysteries before Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes snowballed larger and larger. He pondered and sized up Jiang Ye. “Sometimes I feel like you know everything.”

“No one is all-knowing and all-powerful.” Jiang Ye did not want to continue the topic. He said he was sleepy, yawned, got up, wrapped himself in the blanket like a caterpillar, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Bai Chen Zhu went over and tugged at his blanket. He rolled over, eyes closed, and no matter how Bai Chen Zhu pressed him, he made no sound.

“Tch, Jiang Ye!” Bai Chen Zhu knelt on one knee behind him and wrestled with Jiang Ye, pulling at the blanket like a tug-of-war. But he could not match Jiang Ye, who had become a ‘Strongman’. After pulling for a long time, he still could not yank the blanket free.

Bai Chen Zhu was now certain that Jiang Ye was deliberately stringing him along, so he felt quite annoyed inside. “People shouldn’t have double standards. You just said people shouldn’t speak only halfway.”

“Mmm.” Jiang Ye finally deigned to open half an eye.

Just as Bai Chen Zhu thought Jiang Ye was about to say something, Jiang Ye turned over, stretched out an arm past him, and snapped off all the lights with a click.

In the pitch-black night where he could not see his hand in front of his face, Jiang Ye’s voice echoed faintly. “So what if I have double standards? What are you gonna do, hit me?”

“You wait.” Bai Chen Zhu was so exasperated that he laughed. He had never met such a punchable guy. He clenched his fist, reached out to flip the switch, planning to turn on the light and give this guy a good beating.

But Jiang Ye stopped Bai Chen Zhu from turning on the light.

In the darkness, they could not see each other’s expressions, yet they stared in each other’s direction and fell into a strange standoff.

Bai Chen Zhu said displeased, “Jiang Ye, from the start when you dangled ‘superpowers’ in front of me, to now beating around the bush, you never planned to talk to me properly. I don’t like hypocritical, cunning liars.”

His tone was icy cold, full of pent-up frustration. His anger was like a small pot of boiling water, with white steam roiling and the water about to splash out.

Jiang Ye hesitated and let go of the hand grabbing Bai Chen Zhu. Thus, the room’s lights came on, and they saw each other’s faces clearly.

Bai Chen Zhu sat sideways beside him and tugged at his blanket, saying coldly, “Are you sure you want to stay silent like this? If the rabbit doesn’t get the carrot, it bites.”

“Only bad rabbits bite.” Seeing his attitude soften, Jiang Ye hooked the corner of his lip and relaxed a bit.

He let out a long sigh and surrendered. “Alright, about what just happened, it’s not that I won’t say—it’s that there’s nothing much to say. I don’t know much more than you do.”

Not more than me? That means not less than me either. Bai Chen Zhu narrowed his eyes and scrutinized him, a few guesses forming in his mind. “Swear it.”

How low was his credit with Bai Chen Zhu! Jiang Ye gritted his back teeth, intending to behave properly, and said grudgingly, “I swear.”

Bai Chen Zhu dropped a bombshell. “Swear that you have no memories from your past life.”

Jiang Ye: ……

Forget it, he wouldn’t bother being a good person.

Fine, still pretending. Bai Chen Zhu raised a brow. Jiang Ye remained silent for a long time.

They stared at each other for a while. Bai Chen Zhu vaguely confirmed something from his expression and smiled to himself, his shoulders shaking slightly. It was a light, warm smile of someone who knew what was up.

Jiang Ye muttered, “Bad rabbit.”

“Mmm.” Bai Chen Zhu got his answer and felt cheerful. He gently tucked him in, his movements carrying a hint of dominance. He propped one hand by Jiang Ye’s ear and looked down at him.

No longer pressing on the earlier issue, Bai Chen Zhu changed the subject. “The second thing you’re hiding from me—superpowers. Tell me, what is my superpower? Did my physique change because of this superpower? Will I keep having fevers and weakness from now on?”

“You have too many questions.” Jiang Ye turned his head away impatiently, trying to dodge.

But Bai Chen Zhu turned his face back.

Jiang Ye faced that noble and refined face squarely. His eyes flickered, then he reverted to his laid-back look. “Fine, your superpower should be mental system. Mental system means using mental power, but how it’s used varies per person. Time will tell; you’ll gradually discover your unique traits.”

“Everything in the world tends toward balance. There are gains and losses. Since the mutation of mental power exceeds what the body can bear, mental system ability users usually come with physical weakness—the stronger, the weaker the body. Misuse it, and you could even die.”

“How’s that? Tasty carrot?” Jiang Ye lifted his chin.

Clearly, Bai Chen Zhu was not satisfied with these answers. He was about to get up and leave when Jiang Ye grabbed his forearm.

Jiang Ye raised a brow. “You know, mental ability users before they grow strong have overflowing mental power like a feast running down the street. It’s easy for all sorts of mutants to ‘eat’ them. So, I was saving you.”

Bai Chen Zhu stared at him for a moment. “You only told me the downsides of my superpower, not the upsides. What, are you really some saint who saves everyone everywhere? Should I kowtow in gratitude now?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Ye was utterly shameless, leaving Bai Chen Zhu speechless. He let go of his hand, his defiant face full of curiosity. “Now it’s my turn to ask. What was the bad protagonist’s final outcome?”

Bai Chen Zhu glanced at him, lowered his gaze, and spoke very softly, as if he did not want Jiang Ye to hear.

Jiang Ye sensed something bad from his expression, sat up, and repeated the question.

Bai Chen Zhu paused. “Mutual destruction.”

Jiang Ye’s face went blank, and he said nothing for a long time.

In the utter silence, though Bai Chen Zhu did not know what the other was thinking, it was clear his mood was not good. He had been so talkative moments ago, but now he fell into deep thought, his face somber.

Bai Chen Zhu pinched his fingertips. He slowly raised his hand to cover Jiang Ye’s eyes. “Don’t think about it. It was just a nightmare. Rest early. Good night.”

“……Good night.”

The lights went out.

Jiang Ye turned sideways, back to him. Bai Chen Zhu glanced a few times; in the darkness, he could only vaguely make out a silhouette. He rolled over, back to the other, his mind equally preoccupied.

Had he remembered wrong?

What was the ending for that Jiang Ye, the one in the book? Bai Chen Zhu clenched his fist. It was as if a book truly appeared in his mind. He rummaged through his memories, trying to piece together details from the fragments.

But that was too hard. He had only skimmed it back then; now wanting specifics was like fishing a needle from the sea.

What he did not know was that after he closed his eyes, invisible fine threads emanated from his body, circling around him one loop after another, focused on his head, trying to dig something out of his mind.

Bai Chen Zhu furrowed his brows. In his half-dreaming, half-awake state, the fragmented ending text was strung together by mental power, turning into real scenes.

————

The man who barged in with elites was so young, his sinister brows heavy with gravity. No one present was his match. They could only watch helplessly as he barbarically kicked the base leader flying into the wall and domineeringly picked up that vial of medicine.

He dangled the golden liquid in the test tube. His men guarded the door and controlled everyone.

No matter how the people glared with bloodshot eyes or screamed themselves hoarse, it did not shake the elites’ absolute trust and obedience to Jiang Ye in the slightest.

“Jiang Ye! Don’t be stubborn anymore!” That was anger.

“Put it down. We can talk. Anything you want, we can negotiate.” That was pleading.

“That’s humanity’s last hope!” That was persuasion.

……

“Hope?” Jiang Ye finally reacted.

His dark pupils shifted slightly, and he squeezed out two words from his throat. He turned his head, lips curling mockingly as he looked at them. His hand loosened, and in the crowd’s incredulous gazes—

The test tube shattered on the ground. It did not break at first, but Jiang Ye stomped it to pieces.

The specially made potion bottle was crushed to powder, splashing crystalline fragments. The force was so great it even dented the floor, with potion spilling everywhere.

The ‘savior’ who brought the vial was dragged over by his own men. Jiang Ye knelt and stomped that head underfoot. The fragments of the special test tube ground against its face, blood streaming down as it wailed for mercy, only to be toyed with mercilessly.

Cold light flickered in Jiang Ye’s dark eyes as he looked down at it from above, kill intent undisguised. “Lick it clean.”

At the end of the dream, the base’s enemy attack alarm blared. Some begged in terror, some tried to slip away in the chaos, some fled in panic. The crowd in the dream turned into a chaotic backdrop.

Jiang Ye seemed to sense something and looked precisely toward Bai Chen Zhu.

The wall behind him shattered. His clothes whipped in the wind. The kill intent in his brows had not faded, piercing straight into Bai Chen Zhu’s heart, chilling to the bone.

For the first time, Bai Chen Zhu realized the gap. If this ‘Jiang Ye’ killed him, he would have no power to resist.

White light grew from small to large. A shrill, eerie sound grew louder, until it engulfed the entire bizarre, twisted world. Everything before his eyes was annihilating. Bai Chen Zhu used all his strength to resist and attack the surging force.

In that surging power, he sensed Jiang Ye’s aura. Thus, all his mental power surged without restraint toward the only real thing in this false dream.

A deafening boom. Everything turned to ash. He fell from the void into dead silence, countless invisible tendrils emanating from his body, struggling upward, wrapping around him entirely.

————

Late at night, Jiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up abruptly, hands cupping his face as he panted heavily. Through his fingers, he glimpsed eyes threaded with red blood vessels. A sense of crisis oppressed his nerves, screaming for destruction.

The bedside was empty late at night. The active mental power in the void still roamed, highly aggressive, eyeing him covetously.

With anger, he whipped his head around, kill intent flashing bloodily in his eyes—only for it to turn to shock.

The master of the mental power roaming at the bedside, trying to attack him, was Bai Chen Zhu?!