The school bell finally rang, and Kuchiba Hiro walked out of the school gates with the crowd. He habitually put on a mask to hide his face, which had become far too "famous" because of the light screen, and headed toward a nearby supermarket.
After purchasing the ingredients needed for dinner, he carried the shopping bag and walked home along the familiar streets.
Just as he was passing a secluded alley entrance, a figure also wearing a mask and a gray hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled down very low, suddenly blocked his path.
"Excuse me... you are Kuchiba Hiro, right?" The other person's voice was kept very low, carrying a trace of faint nervousness.
Kuchiba Hiro stopped his pace and calmly sized up the other party. Average height, thin build, no obvious weapons, and a non-aggressive posture. His enhanced senses did not send any signals of danger.
He didn't go looking for trouble, but he was never afraid of it either. Thus, he nodded, considering it an admission.
The stranger seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and looked around cautiously. After confirming no one else was paying attention, he spoke in an even more polite, even slightly respectful tone, "Can I take a few minutes of your time? I... have some secrets I want to share with you. If you could... step aside to talk," he said, pointing to the dimly lit alley nearby.
Kuchiba Hiro narrowed his eyes, thoughts turning in his mind. He nodded without asking much and followed the other person into the alley, arriving at a corner filled with clutter far from the street.
Once they stood still, the stranger took a deep breath as if he had made a certain resolution. His first words were earth-shattering:
"I know where that 'Noah's Ark' is!"
Kuchiba Hiro's expression remained flat; his father had told him this long ago.
He felt a slight spark of interest in his heart, but his face remained impassive as he asked calmly, "What do you want?"
The stranger seemed to have found someone to confide in, and his speech speed quickened a bit, carrying suppressed excitement and hatred. "I saw your speech in the light screen! I believe you are a noble warrior who dares to throw a punch at those injustices!" he said, pausing as his voice took on a hint of a sob. "My father... he was a geology professor. Just because he accidentally learned the truth about the end of the world... he was silenced!"
He clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly as he pleaded, "I... my ability is weak, and I don't have the capability to take revenge myself. So... so I beg of you! Go blow up that ship! Let those wealthy elites and high-ranking officials who plan to abandon all of us... pay the price! Let them taste the flavor of despair too!"
His words were full of grief and indignation, as well as a fanaticism of placing hope in someone else.
However, after hearing this "impassioned" request, Kuchiba Hiro's face still showed no ripples. He simply nodded very calmly, indicating he had heard. Then, he suddenly raised his hand, pointed behind the stranger, and said in a tone as if discovering a new continent, "Look! There's a beautiful woman over there with no clothes on!"
This extremely abrupt change of topic left the stranger, who was in the middle of an emotional state, completely unresponsive. Almost instinctively, he subconsciously turned his head in the direction Kuchiba Hiro pointed—
The depths of the alley were empty, with only mottled walls and a few discarded cardboard boxes.
The stranger froze, instantly realizing something was wrong, and snapped his head back—
Where was Kuchiba Hiro's figure? Only in the place where he had just been standing, the air seemed to be slightly disturbed. Outside the alley, the sounds of heavy traffic on the street could be heard faintly, as if everything just now had been a hallucination.
The stranger stood there blankly, blinking in confusion, not coming to his senses for a long time. Was... was he played? That cold and wise "Godfather" from the light screen actually used such a... such a childish trick to slip away?
...At this moment, Kuchiba Hiro had already blended into the bustling crowd on the street, his steps light, like a fish merging into the sea. As he walked, he sneered in his heart.
"Blow up the ship? Easier said than done," he thought. "Without even considering the forces involved behind 'Noah's Ark,' what kind of colossus is it? To do something so thankless, purely being used as a tool, and inviting total destruction—whoever agrees to that is brain-dead!"
He admitted that the crazy plan of that "self" in the light screen sounded very satisfying, but that was under the circumstances of being pushed into a corner with no attachments. In reality, his father was still here. Although life wasn't perfect, it was far from the point where he needed to become an enemy of the world. How could a moment's satisfaction be more important than a stable life? He wasn't the kind of fool who would be blinded by hot-bloodedness.
He quickly hailed a taxi, gave the address of his residential complex, and leaned back in the seat, watching the street scenery flash by outside the window, putting that stranger and his so-called "secret" behind him.
Soon, the taxi arrived at the destination. Carrying the ingredients, Kuchiba Hiro walked up the familiar stairs and arrived at his front door. He adjusted his breathing, knocked on the door as usual, and called out, "Dad, I'm back."
Footsteps came from inside the door, and then the door was opened. His father stood at the doorway wearing a casual T-shirt and shorts, but his expression wasn't as relaxed as usual. There was a lingering trace of worry and seriousness between his brows.
"Son, you're back," his father said, his voice a bit low. He stepped aside to let him in, simultaneously gesturing behind him with his eyes and lowering his voice, "In the house... someone is looking for you."
Kuchiba Hiro's heart sank suddenly, and his footsteps halted at the door.
His father continued, his tone heavy, "It's... people from the Public Security Bureau."
The words "Public Security" were like ice picks, instantly piercing Kuchiba Hiro's eardrums, making his gaze suddenly become incredibly sharp, and the aura around him turned cold! His hand hanging by his side involuntarily clenched into a fist.
A dragon has a reverse scale; touch it, and death follows.
If anyone dared to target his father... he would absolutely make them regret coming into this world!
A surge of violent irritation rose from the bottom of his heart, almost breaking through his reason. But he forcibly suppressed it. Impulsiveness wouldn't solve the problem; instead, it might put his father in a more dangerous situation.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
'First, see what their background is and what their purpose is for coming here...' he muttered in his heart. 'Clear up their details, then decide... it won't be too late to blow up then'.
He adjusted the expression on his face, trying his best to look as calm as usual, then stepped forward and entered the house. In the living room, what awaited him would be an unknown situation and potential crisis.
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