After the Insect Pupa Man left, it seemed that the air pressure over the entire Li Jing Square had risen significantly.
Blue Arc spoke to Green Wing: "I suggest you surrender. The five accomplices you hid on the rooftop have already been subdued by my teammates, and their detonation devices are useless. The area is surrounded by members of the Mutants Association. You can't escape."
"But the hostages... the hostages are still with me." Green Wing took a few steps back, getting closer to the hostages.
"Look again carefully." Blue Arc said calmly.
Hearing this, Green Wing shivered and quickly turned his head, only to find that the five hostages had disappeared without a trace. The crowd that had been watching in the square had also been quietly evacuated, replaced by a group of people wearing bizarre clothing.
"Damn..."
Green Wing was about to say something but realized that Blue Arc's attention wasn't on him at all. Under the helmet, his eyes were fixed on the direction in which the Insect Pupa Man had left.
The next moment, Blue Arc's figure had transformed into a deep blue flash of lightning and vanished.
The LED screen's light went out for a second, only resuming after the lingering electrical arc in the air had dissipated.
....
....
A minute later, on a secluded path near Li Jing Square.
"I knew you'd follow me, Mr. Blue Arc."
A black cocoon hung upside down under the streetlight. The yellowish light shone through, and the cocoon shell slowly opened, revealing a slender figure: at this moment, Ji Minghuan, wearing a mask, was looking down, reading an old newspaper.
His face was focused, and he held a ballpoint pen in his right hand, occasionally twirling it, looking just like a meticulous scholar.
"Who exactly are you?" Blue Arc asked.
"I don't have a codename or a name for the time being, but I believe I will soon... That's the charm of being a public figure; if people like you or fear you, they will always give you all sorts of nicknames."
The Insect Pupa Man rambled on, turning to the next page of the newspaper.
The newspaper was several years old, documenting a tragic accident from five years ago: a mother named "Su Ying" was mistakenly injured to death by the Mutants Association. The poor man repeatedly sued the government to no avail and couldn't even find out who had accidentally killed his wife because the mutant was from "Rainbow Wings," and their identity was confidential to the public.
At this moment, Blue Arc noticed the news photo on the newspaper, his face under the mask twitching slightly.
"Mr. Gu Qiye, you were only thirteen years old at the time of the incident, right… and right before your eyes, your mother went 'boom!'" Insect Pupa Man emphasized the onomatopoeia with a drawn-out voice, then spread his hands and continued, "blew into a pile of flesh. What a pity, a childhood lacking motherly love is incomplete. I sympathize with your experiences more than anyone."
"Of course... my childhood also lacked motherly love," mocked Ji Minghuan under the mask in his heart.
Blue Arc remained silent, not even questioning why this strange person in front of him knew these things.
Seeing he was silent, the Insect Pupa Man continued: "Since that day, you have harbored resentment towards those 'mutants' who uphold justice but abuse their powers."
He paused: "That's also why you became a 'mutant'. You want to gain enough fame within the Mutants Association through your unparalleled performance, be recommended to enter the United Nations Organization 'Rainbow Wings', and find the mutant who casually crushed your mother like an ant."
"Nonsense."
Blue Arc took a deep breath, the fury in his pupils almost about to erupt.
"Is what I'm saying truly nonsense? You know best." Insect Pupa Man mocked.
"And then?"
"Then? Then I appeared."
Insect Pupa Man said as he closed the newspaper, casually tossing it into a garbage bin at the street corner, raising his gaze from behind the mask and looking at Blue Arc while hanging upside down: "I'm here to help you, Mr. Blue Arc. Let's cooperate. I can help you enter 'Rainbow Wings' to find the mutant who inadvertently killed your mother and launch a grand revenge."
At this point, he raised a finger wrapped in a black leather glove, "And all you need to do is help me with one thing... a trivial matter."
"What's the matter?"
The Insect Pupa Man thought for a moment, then shook his head: "For now, it's better to keep it confidential from you, or it might bring you fatal trouble…" He sighed, "In any case, I will also be active in this city in the coming days, which means we might meet often, take care."
"Why do you know my identity?"
The masked Gu Qiye finally asked a crucial question.
"The reason is simple..." the Insect Pupa Man said nonchalantly, "I see beneath every mask."
"Ridiculous."
"Aren't you curious? What exactly has your father been doing outside in the past two years? Did he really just argue with you and never want to see you again, or... does your father have other plans in his heart? To avoid involving you and your siblings, he had to leave alone."
Blue Arc was startled: "My father?"
"Yes, the Gu Zhuo case, might he also be hiding some unknown secrets just like you…" the Insect Pupa Man said softly, "Think about it, is your father really that cowardly person? How could he be so weak as to live outside for two years, hiding from his children? Is there a reason compelling him, just like you joined the Mutants Association for the truth about your mother's death."
He paused, "If you want to know these things, cooperate with me. I never treat my partners poorly."
Blue Arc rasped: "You exactly..."
The Insect Pupa Man interrupted, "Oh… although you're wearing a helmet, I can't see your expression, but I can imagine it, you must already love me…" He diverted his gaze, "Hmm, in the future, we can have our graves close together, so it'll be convenient for me to steal your offerings."
"Shut up. What exactly are you..."
"No no no, don't bother with who I am or why I know your background, it's all meaningless." The Insect Pupa Man teased, "You should be more concerned about your own situation now, shouldn't you?"
Having said that, his figure gradually was pulled upward by the restraint belt, sitting atop the streetlight, "Farewell, Blue Arc, with such serious injuries to your waist and neck, stop chasing me… Dragging this on any longer might risk your life, otherwise, you would have attacked me already. Sometimes asking for help is not as disgraceful as you think, hope you're wise."
Once he finished speaking, restraint belts extended behind him, gently moving under the dim light, as if waving goodbye.
Before Blue Arc could respond, the Insect Pupa Man leaned backward, falling from the top of the streetlight, disappearing into the boundless darkness.