Chapter 482: Chapter 292: Gu Wenyu: I Am Black Cocoon
The Train Demon raced through the time tunnel, and inside carriage number 7, a tall dark figure said something.
Then he raised his hand and slowly removed the metal mask from his face.
At that moment, the world became deathly silent, the roar of the engine seemed to vanish, and Ke Qirui watched the scene silently, a flicker of shock, surprise in her eyes, but more than anything else, an inexplicable uncertainty.
Her thoughts were in chaos, but the Black Cocoon turned a blind eye, appearing uninterested in offering any explanation.
He took off the mask, closed his eyes, his face expressionless as he lifted it up and breathed in fresh air, like a goldfish surfacing to breathe.
Ke Qirui took a deep breath, watching the boy with his eyes closed, inhaling deeply; no matter how many times she saw it, she had to admit it wasn’t her imagination, nor was it an illusion.
Without a doubt, the face of the boy before her was unmistakably Su Zimai’s second brother.
Gu Wenyu.
No matter how she tried to convince herself, no matter how real the scene before her appeared, it was difficult for Ke Qirui to align this youthful face with the mysterious, playful, almost omniscient dark figure in her memory.
But the truth, stark and undeniable, lay before her— the dark red mask in Gu Wenyu’s hand cast a cold gleam in the dim light, reflecting Ke Qirui’s bewildered face.
Ke Qirui’s thoughts raced.
In fact, as early as a month ago, Ke Qirui had suspected the possibility: Gu Wenyu is the Black Cocoon.
Back then, she even discussed with Su Zimai how to unveil Gu Wenyu’s mask and expose the truth. However, after a series of tests, she had to dismiss her conjecture.
Yet precisely because of that, her inner shock at this moment was all the greater, more astonishing than anyone else’s; a possibility she had long since dismissed was suddenly confirmed a month later.
It was as if a bullet fired in the past hit its target right between the eyes at that very moment.
She had to spend a long time sorting through the scene before her.
Li Jing’s park, Japanese ramen shops, every place the Black Cocoon appeared, all the past encounters with Gu Wenyu and Black Cocoon flooded back like a deluge, drowning her mind.
Even though it was a hindsight way of hitting the target after drawing the bullseye, at this point, all the unreasonable connections came together and finally made sense, offering a reasonable yet shocking explanation:
——Gu Wenyu is the Black Cocoon.
A few moments later, Ke Qirui finally let go of the pipe she’d been holding, her slightly bewildered expression changed.
"Gu... Wenyu?"
She slowly uttered his name, the surprised tone echoing in the carriage only to be quickly drowned out by the train’s rumble.
The carriage remained deathly silent.
Gu Wenyu did not rush to answer her but placed the mask on the seat beside him, smoothing down his flattened hair.
Afterward, he lifted his eyes and met Ke Qirui’s gaze without blinking.
"Come on, who else could it be? Do I have an identical twin?" he asked curiously.
Without the voice changer, his voice and inflection were just like a plain, unremarkable young boy.
"So it was you..." Ke Qirui, still not recovered, stared into his eyes, murmuring, "Wait a minute, isn’t this some kind of disguise trick?"
"Yes, it’s really me; otherwise, you could try pulling my face off." Gu Wenyu slipped the mask into his pocket teasingly, "Well... actually, Ghost Bell tried that too, but the situation was rather special, so even tearing off my face didn’t help."
Ke Qirui pocketed her pipe, staring at him without moving.
A moment later, she lowered her eyes, recalling and saying, "Then when we first met in the park, when you shook hands with me..."
Gu Wenyu interrupted her, "Back then, I didn’t know your background, so I tested it with the restraint belt. And then, I found out you were an Exorcist."
"So it really was..." Ke Qirui said, contemplating, suddenly laughing, "I thought the strangeness I felt back then wasn’t my illusion, but so many things happened afterward that I didn’t dwell on it."
"You were right, saved me a lot of trouble," Gu Wenyu said, "Exposing my identity too early wouldn’t do me any good; at least at the auction, we wouldn’t have gotten along so pleasantly."
"Speaking of, your restraint belt has so many functions, not only can it change color, steal superpowers, seal superpowers, force someone to speak the truth, it can even read memories the instant it touches someone?"
"Haha, let’s just say it can read memories."
"So at that time, you had already trusted me?"
"My younger sister isn’t ordinary either, so when I found out about your identity, I wasn’t very surprised," Gu Wenyu said casually, "Thankfully, in the Exorcist world, you have a name for yourself; otherwise, I wouldn’t trust my sister to you."
He chuckled slightly, "Although you almost led her astray and evolved her from a human into a Diaper Demon, I won’t hold it against you."
Ke Qirui pondered, "Then at that ramen shop, how did you appear at Tokyo Tower and before us simultaneously? It doesn’t make sense."
"Can’t figure it out? It should be an easy guess."
Gu Wenyu raised his eyebrows, speaking with interest, and then raised his hand, where a pitch-black restraint belt fell from the sleeve of his black coat.
The restraint belt slid to the floor like countless little snakes, hissing as they gradually formed into a human shape, which then stood up, wrapped entirely in the restraint belt.
Ke Qirui watched the scene, her expression complex as she murmured, "So it was a clone... I should have predicted it, Black Cocoon’s methods aren’t that simple."
She let out a long breath, "After all, you’ve exceeded my expectations so many times, so many times."
"Just lucky." Gu Wenyu said lightly.
"Is it just luck? You’re being a bit too modest. You’ve been playing us like fools, almost everything is under your control. I actually thought you were some divine messenger or an unknown prophet."
"Actually, I’m quite afraid of you."
"Why?" Ke Qirui asked in confusion.
Gu Wenyu said irritably, "Because your intuition is so accurate it’s almost inhuman. There was a time I had to avoid you, afraid a mere glance would make you aware of my identity."
"Actually, my intuition comes from Celestial Driver." Ke Qirui explained, "The function of my Retro-style One-Sided Mirror isn’t only to store and summon demons, it brings me high-level inspiration and exceptional intuition. That’s why I found it strange that my intuition rarely fails, but it doesn’t work on you."
"Oh, oh, I see."
"Actually, I feel like I should be afraid of you. Do you know how I’m feeling right now?" Ke Qirui said with a hint of a smile.
"Tell me?"
Ke Qirui took a deep breath, glanced up at Gu Wenyu, then quickly looked away and sighed:
"It’s like watching a fake person sway back and forth in front of me, it’s almost overturning my worldview, I feel like I’ll have nightmares when I go back tonight."
"Say whatever you want." Gu Wenyu shrugged indifferently, thinking to himself, ’The one before you is indeed a fake person.’
"Are you really only seventeen?" Ke Qirui suddenly asked.
"Why do you have such a doubt?"
"From the heart, I don’t believe a seventeen-year-old can have such abilities: to build a complex network of relationships, connect with every force, exchange information, and guide everyone around... And the most unbelievable part is, you can actually connect with and oppose such a mysterious organization like the Salvation Society, which puzzles me."
Gu Wenyu kept reading while thinking, ’Could I possibly tell you I’m actually only twelve?’
He curled his lips in mockery, "If I were an adult, why would I need you to be my transnational driver?"
Ke Qirui was startled, then couldn’t help but laugh as well, "So that’s it, you’re really a minor, so you can’t buy international plane tickets yourself."
"That’s why I say your intuition is eerily accurate, you’re always saying astonishing things. From my perspective, don’t you find yourself terrifying?"
"Anyway..." Ke Qirui raised her eyes, reevaluating this seemingly ordinary boy, and marveled from the heart, "Gu Wenyu, you hide well. I’m only just realizing my defeat was so complete."
She smiled self-deprecatingly, put the pipe in her mouth, lowered her eyes, and asked, "So why are you only telling me?"
"Because I thought about it for a moment, telling you actually won’t affect my actions."
"That’s true, I’m not your relative, I have no stance to point fingers at you." Ke Qirui nodded in understanding, then asked, "So, have you been secretly protecting Xiaomai?"
"Can I not protect her?" Gu Wenyu said, "What I just told you, I hope you can keep it a secret from my sister for now."
"I understand, you’re worried about dying without your sister knowing who Black Cocoon really is."
"Yes, if I really die next, you pass the message of my identity on to her." Gu Wenyu said casually, "Actually, I’d love to take off the mask in front of her and see the reaction of this stupid little sister, though I might not see it."
Ke Qirui silently watched Gu Wenyu, then turned to look out the window, remaining quiet for a long while.
One watched a detective novel, the other a philosophy book intended to pass time.
In the silence, scenery outside the car window raced by, Tokyo Tower, Empire State Building, Big Ben, Pearl Building... Buildings that shouldn’t appear in the same place, linking in a chaotic time-space.
After a moment, Ke Qirui released the pipe, breathed out smoke, and then gently sighed.
"I take back what I said before. I originally felt if you died, Xiaomai would be sad for a while then quickly forget you." She said meaningfully, "Now, it seems different, she’d be so sad she’d be unable to recover."
"That’s still better than keeping it from her forever." Gu Wenyu thought for a moment, then suddenly chuckled lowly, "I have a good friend, he’s dying without knowing who I am, do you think he’s foolish?"
"Your family really is something, always thinking of revenge?" Ke Qirui shook her head, "Isn’t living peacefully better?"
"I can’t, actually I have some connection with the Salvation Society, but how to put it?" Gu Wenyu said, "Just like what Lin Zhengquan is investigating, I can’t tell you."
He paused for a while, "And Rainbow Wings, it just happens to have a direct connection with the Salvation Society, I can’t stop investigating. Even if there’s only a thread, I have to grasp it, but I don’t know what the result will be."
"Xiaomai, she complains but actually really likes you as a brother."
"I know."
"Are you still not willing to tell her yourself?" Ke Qirui said, "Tell her ’you’re actually Black Cocoon’."
"If I come back alive, I’ll tell her then; but if not, let you tell her."
"But I still can’t keep it from Xiaomai. Otherwise, if her brother just dies without knowing, she will definitely hate me for life."
"Then tell me, if Su Zimai knows what I’m involved in, will she stand by idly?"
"Probably not, with Xiaomai’s personality, no matter how dangerous it is, she’ll definitely come to help you."
"Exactly." Gu Wenyu said, "If you really care even a bit for her, you shouldn’t tell her now."
Ke Qirui remained silent for a moment, eyes downcast, biting the pipe, "Alright then, I promise you."
She slowly raised her head, looking straight into Gu Wenyu’s eyes, and said softly, "But from the heart, Gu Wenyu, I hope you can survive."