Chapter 51: Identity, Guidance, and the Red String of Fate

July 6, ten o'clock at night. Inside an apartment building in the Old Jingmai District.

Four people sat on the living room sofa, Switch controllers in hand, playing Roundtable Heroes: Superstars.

The teams were Xia Ningzhi and Xia Zili versus Ke Mingqing and Ke Linye—sisters against brothers.

On the television screen, the Roundtable hero Officer Girl raised her right arm. Her military overcoat billowed in the wind as countless guns, cannons, and firearms assembled in midair. Beams of light and heavy artillery blasted forward, raining down like a torrential storm.

At the same time, the hero Zeus spread his wings of light and ascended into the clouds. He raised both hands, condensed a colossal sphere of thunder, and hurled it down. In an instant, Rain Crow and Doctor Toy were wiped out, their health bars dropping to zero.

"Yes!" Xia Ningzhi cheered, nudging Xia Zili's shoulder with a laugh. "Sisters united, invincible in all the world!"

Xia Zili remained expressionless. It'd be nice if we could team up in reality, too, she thought. Too bad you're an ordinary person, big sis.

Ke Mingqing's eyes were glued to the screen as his fingers mashed the buttons. "Do you even know how to play? Seriously, bro, being on your team is eight lifetimes of bad luck."

Can you please bring out the same energy you use when you thrash me outside? he thought.

Ke Linye let out a light laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I'm really not much good at these kinds of games."

"You were incredible when we were kids! You used to take on all four of us by yourself," Ke Mingqing said disdainfully. He wondered if his older brother was secretly a sister-con who just couldn't bring himself to get serious against them.

"That was when we were kids," Xia Ningzhi huffed. "Did you really think your big sister wouldn't improve after all these years?"

Xia Zili didn't say a word. She kept her face angled down, entirely focused on the controls. She looked so intense that she might pull out her umbrella halfway through the match and put two holes in her brothers' heads right there on the sofa.

Right as the group was in the middle of their game, Xia Wenna came downstairs. She tilted her head, glanced at the four on the sofa, and asked, "A-Qing, Xiao-Li, don't you two have your final exams tomorrow?"

"Oh, right." Ke Mingqing had already been dragged down by his teammate so much that he didn't want to play anyway, so he took the excuse to bow out. "I'm going to wash up and head to bed. Let's play tomorrow."

Seeing that he was done, Xia Zili set her controller down on the sofa. "I'm going to sleep, too."

Ke Linye toyed with his phone without looking up. "Good night. Sleep well."

"Do well on your exams," Xia Ningzhi said, rubbing both of their heads.

Ke Mingqing walked up the stairs and made a beeline to claim the bathroom first.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he sat on the toilet and scrolled through his phone.

Sure enough, in just a few hours, the Blue Pigeon tag had already taken over the Weibo trending topics. Clicking into it, he saw posts explaining the death of Grey Owl from a few years back.

Everyone was speculating whether this rising-star hero would join the Super Hero Company—or if he had already been quietly forced to retire by Rain Crow before he even got the chance.

"Crow Man isn't still running away, is he? He and Clock Maker have been tangled up with each other for years. It's about time they settled things once and for all."

Ke Mingqing looked up from his phone and glanced at his main quest interface.

[Main Quest 1 (Phase Two): Create a superhero identity, join the Super Hero Company, and gain Rain Crow's recognition.]

Looks like I rode the right wave. Crow Man and Clock Maker really do bring in the highest traffic, Ke Mingqing thought. I'll head over to the Super Hero Company in a couple of days and meet that top-spinning kid. The other teams probably wouldn't take me anyway.

He knew very well that he was a jinx. For the immediate future, he would be dead center of public opinion—seemingly on the side of justice, yet permanently bound to the title of a villain. An ordinary hero squad definitely wouldn't want him.

Just then, someone in the hallway hesitated before lightly rapping on the door.

"If you're in that much of a hurry, use the bathroom downstairs," Ke Mingqing said. He didn't even need to think to know it was Xia Zili standing quietly in the hall, leaning against the other side of the door.

"What happened to the wound on your face?" Xia Zili asked after a moment.

Ke Mingqing froze.

She was naturally referring to the cut he had gotten while testing the black lightning. He had already peeled off the bandage back at the train station.

Thanks to the regenerative abilities of his super-human species constitution, the scar had faded into a faint red mark. He had even deliberately combed his bangs over to cover it up when he got home. He hadn't expected Xia Zili to spot it anyway.

Ke Mingqing thought about it for a second and threw out a half-hearted excuse: "I tripped while I was out running."

"Liar."

"Then what do you think happened?"

The person outside the door fell silent. After a long moment, she said quietly, "I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"Don't you think you've been acting a little too neurotic lately?"

Ke Mingqing stood up from the toilet, casually opened the door, and glanced at the side of Xia Zili's face.

"Bathroom's all yours. Stop bugging me," he said.

"Did you really go to the train station tonight?" she asked.

"Where else would I go? I was bored, so I went for a stroll," Ke Mingqing said.

"Did you get into a fight with your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, yeah, we got into a fight, so I didn't get dinner with her." Ke Mingqing shrugged. "I'm going to sleep. I have exams tomorrow." With that, he turned and walked into his bedroom.

He locked the door, closed the window, and turned off the lights. Lying in bed, he pondered: So the question is, who in the family should I leak my hero identity to first? Either way, I can't let Crow Man find out, or he'll try to stop me from playing superhero. He might even break my legs. Eldest Brother is out, too; that lunatic's moves are way too hard to predict.

Ke Mingqing scratched his head and yawned. That leaves choosing between Third Sister and my little sister. Their combat strength is decent enough.

I'll figure out a way to leak my identity to my little sister over the next few days, he thought, turning over and closing his eyes. Knowing her personality, she might just start tailing me anyway. I might not even need to guide her myself.

Before long, drowsiness wrapped around his mind like a chrysalis, and he sank into a deep slumber.

The night passed quietly.

...

...

[Good morning, dear player "Ke Mingqing." Today is Saturday, July 7, 2026. Time remaining until the "Exterminate Superhumans" quest deadline: 174 days, 17 hours.]

Ke Mingqing opened his eyes and looked outside. In the hazy morning light, a crow perched on the utility pole outside his window, its blood-red eyes staring silently at his face.

The old man definitely knows about the players now. Otherwise, he wouldn't be watching us this early in the morning. The day finally came, huh, he thought, looking at the bird.

Ke Mingqing quietly pushed the covers aside and got out of bed.

Today was the start of final exams for the tenth grade. Fortunately, Ke Mingqing had been an honors student in his previous life—to the point that he had already finished the twelfth-grade curriculum. For him, these finals were just a way to kill time.

To avoid raising suspicion, he deliberately controlled his score, intentionally getting a few questions wrong exactly where an ordinary student would.

As the first rays of sunset filtered into the classroom, the first day of exams ended. Ke Mingqing stretched, grabbed his stationery, and headed back to his homeroom.

His classmates were already packing their bags. At the podium, the teacher went over today's exam questions, asking the class how many they got right. Some sighed in despair, while others beamed with joy.

Ke Mingqing turned to look at Kuroki Hitomi. "Let's go. We're running a dungeon today."

"A dungeon?" Kuroki Hitomi paused, meeting his gaze.

"Yeah. I didn't mention it yesterday, but it's over at the train station in the Old Jingmai District."

Kuroki Hitomi nodded. "Okay. Come here for a second."

"Come here?"

Puzzled, Ke Mingqing moved to sit beside her, their shoulders pressing together.

The girl with the beauty mark silently pulled a thin red string from her pocket. She tied one end around her own little finger and handed the other end to him.

"What's this?" Ke Mingqing asked.

"An item I drew earlier," she said, bringing up its description panel.

[Item Name: Red String of Fate]

[Item Grade: C-grade]

[Description 1: Tying the Red String of Fate around the little finger binds it to a player. The string can bind up to two players in total. Unless one party voluntarily unbinds it, the string will never break, no matter how far apart they are.]

[Description 2: Under normal circumstances, the Red String of Fate remains invisible.]

[Description 3: When approaching the other party, the red string will react. A player can also pull their bound partner to their side through the Red String of Fate at any time; the other party shares this same ability.]

Ke Mingqing paused, understanding her intention. He lowered his head and quietly tied the other end of the red string around the little finger of his right hand.

Their little fingers were linked by the red string. Moments later, the crimson line faded from view.

"That's all?" he asked.

"Mhm."

Kuroki Hitomi kept her eyes on her little finger.

"Then let's go," Ke Mingqing said, standing up. "To the train station. Let's run that dungeon."

Kuroki Hitomi looked up. "Should we call any other players?"

Ke Mingqing shook his head and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"No. Just you and me."