Role-Playing a Dual Personality as a Background Character in a Manga

Chapter 116

At exactly 10:00 a.m. the next morning, at the coffee shop.

Ji Qing arrived on time at the place he had agreed to meet the client. Before leaving the inn, he had specifically studied the A-Rank Commission posted by Miao Weiyong:

【Commission Name: Escort the Ore Truck Convoy to Ding’an City】

【Commission Rank: A-Rank】

【Client: Miao Weiyong】

【Commission Details: Escort the convoy from Huangtie City all the way to Ding’an City. The team must remain in Ding’an City for a period of time, then escort the convoy back afterward. Hunters taking this commission are not required to participate in Ding’an City’s internal security matters, and are only responsible for the convoy’s safety during travel outside the city. In addition: the Miao Family has already established several Safe Points near the Huangtie City–Ding’an City route.】

【Deadline: Within 7 days】

【Reward: 50,000】

But how should he put it... Ji Qing’s eyes darkened for some reason.

Even though the commission details were very clearly explained, Ji Qing could not help feeling that a storm was on the horizon. Huangtie City and Ding’an City were not especially far apart, but the problem was that there was no railway line that went directly to Ding’an City. A train transfer station would inevitably be involved midway.

What they were escorting was probably iron ore.

Transporting iron ore by train cost money, and moving it through a transfer station also cost money. It definitely was not as economical as transporting it directly by ore truck. But since several Safe Points had already been established, Ji Qing felt that the contents of this commission were probably fairly straightforward.

Even driving flat out from Huangtie City to Ding’an City would take no more than three days and two nights.

Even if the terrain or Aberrants delayed them somewhat along the way, it still would not exceed five days. So the issue probably lay in the period of time they had to remain in Ding’an City?

Ji Qing thoughtfully rolled his eyes.

He came to a silent conclusion: the problem lay in the time they had to stay in Ding’an City and the time the commission itself would consume. Those two issues stacked together made the commission’s difficulty merely average, yet the willingness of Hunters to take it dropped exponentially.

"But it works well enough as a student team’s first A-Rank Commission," Ji Qing murmured softly.

After all, their team had been thrown together only temporarily, and none of them knew anything about the route between Huangtie City and Ding’an City. At a time like this, the ones who had to judge the situation carefully were not only them, but also the client who had issued the commission.

Ji Qing was even more curious about the information the World Book had revealed.

Licheng had fallen in the Black Tide twenty-one years ago.

That was an undeniable fact. Ji Qing could even search online and find the ruins of the towns that had been swept up in the Black Tide back then. And from the perspective of human society, the Black Tide was a disaster triggered by Aberrants—an uprising of Aberrants.

Without question, the target of Ji Qing’s revenge pointed directly at the Aberrant who had caused the Black Tide.

But Ji Qing could not understand why human figures had appeared in the middle of it all. Even though he knew that the World Book was needed precisely because so many parties had been involved, how had humans ended up entangled in it?

Ji Qing’s eyes darkened slightly.

Could it be that before that world-destroying Black Tide, some humans had done something unforgivable and provoked that Aberrant? And then that Aberrant Crown Prince had triggered the Black Tide and killed his family?

What a very strange matter, Ji Qing thought.

If his family had merely died after being caught in the Black Tide, he felt that fact alone would not have been enough to support the hatred he had held onto for so many years. Deeply troubled, Ji Qing murmured, "So what exactly happened back then?"

That remained an unsolved mystery.

Because even Ji Qing himself did not know. And because the Ji Qing from before his amnesia had never revealed this matter to anyone.

Though his thoughts were in chaos, Ji Qing still forcibly pulled himself together.

A glass of iced latte sat on the table in front of him, but because he had been waiting so long, the ice cubes inside had already melted, leaving only a transparent layer of condensation on the surface of the glass. A moment ago, Ji Qing’s mind had wandered far away again.

"So slow," Zhou Que complained, sprawled over the tabletop. "Can we switch commissions? This client doesn’t seem very promising."

At that, Jiang Cuo awkwardly glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 10:27 a.m.

So he tried to smooth things over. "Why don’t we wait a little longer? If he still hasn’t come by 10:40, we’ll leave first. I’ll also hurry him along on the Terminal. Hahaha... maybe something came up at the last minute..."

As he spoke, Jiang Cuo let out a few dry laughs.

Xie Chang’an, who was sitting by himself in the farthest corner of the coffee shop, did not feel much about it. Or rather, his luck had never been particularly good. He often ran into rather difficult clients, to the point that he was inwardly wondering: Does this even count as being late? It still seems acceptable.

Ji Qing instantly read Xie Chang’an’s train of thought. A faintly amused smile quietly curved his lips. Truly worthy of the comic’s protagonist. Xie Chang’an had already accomplished quite a lot by now, and yet when one actually spent time with him, he was still a little foolish.

He really was like a somewhat dim-witted puppy.

Just as Ji Qing’s thoughts drifted off again, all the way to the Manga Forum, the coffee shop door was suddenly flung open.

A black-haired boy who looked roughly the same age as them stood at the entrance, anxiously glancing left and right. He quickly fixed his gaze on Ji Qing’s group. He hurried over and asked Ji Qing, "Excuse me, are you the Hunters who accepted the escort commission? If I remember correctly, the person who took it was named Jiang Cuo, so may I ask—"

"That’s me," Jiang Cuo said, raising a hand.

The boy let out a long breath of relief, then bowed apologetically. "I’m terribly sorry. Something came up with my father on the way here, so I had to come meet you in his place. Since I don’t have a Hunter Account, I had no way to notify you directly. I’m truly very sorry."

Jiang Cuo froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands. "It’s fine, it’s fine."

But as he said that, Jiang Cuo’s gaze once again drifted toward the wall clock. The current time was 10:34. The client had not really been that late, had he?

"You can sit first," Ji Qing said coldly. "Since you’re here, you might as well explain the details of the commission first. Can you make decisions on your father’s behalf?"

"Yes, I can."

The black-haired boy nodded solemnly.

He pulled out a chair beside them and sat down with both hands on the tabletop, like a prisoner being interrogated. Once seated, he glanced around curiously and said, "Still, I have to admit, I’m pretty surprised. You all seem to be about the same age as me."

His gaze slowly swept across the faces of the four of them—from Xie Chang’an on the far left, to Jiang Cuo, then Ji Qing, and finally came to a complete halt on Zhou Que at the far right.

Seeing the boy freeze in place as though stunned silly, Zhou Que greeted him expressionlessly. "Yo."

"Mm... long time no see, Zhou Que."

The boy’s heartbeat suddenly skipped, and then he awkwardly returned the greeting.

The other three at the table were all caught off guard.

Jiang Cuo said in astonishment, "Huh? You two know each other?"

"Didn’t I already say that yesterday?" Zhou Que pointed at the black-haired boy with one hand and introduced him expressionlessly, "Miao Miaonian. Someone I knew in Central City when I was little. Tsk... I didn’t think I’d actually run into someone I knew in a dump like this."

"It’s... not really that terrible a place, is it?" Miao Miaonian protested softly.

"Isn’t it?" Zhou Que complained disdainfully. "There are barely any entertainment facilities, the whole place is nothing but coal mines and iron mines, and there isn’t even a decent inn."

"..."

Miao Miaonian stiffened on the spot.

Although Zhou Que’s words were not pleasant to hear, they were the truth. Huangtie City really was a remote and impoverished town. But the moment Zhou Que said it out loud, Miao Miaonian felt as though every inch of skin on his body were radiating heat.

It was just too embarrassing.

"Right... before anything else, may I ask about your Ability ranks, your Hunter ranks, and how many B-Rank Commissions you’ve completed so far?" Miao Miaonian hurriedly shifted his gaze away and asked in a flustered tone. "You all look very young, and our escort mission is also somewhat difficult, so %￥￥..."

Seeing the client’s words grow more and more confused, Ji Qing let out a helpless sigh.

He first raised a hand to interrupt Miao Miaonian, then took the lead in introducing himself. "Ji Qing. S-rank Ability, B-Rank Hunter, five B-Rank Commissions so far."

"Jiang Cuo. S-rank Ability, B-Rank Hunter, seven B-Rank Commissions so far."

"Xie Chang’an. F-rank Ability, B-Rank Hunter, thirteen B-Rank Commissions so far."

"Zhou Que. S-rank Ability, A-Rank Hunter, two A-Rank Commissions so far, and five B-Rank Commissions."

The four introductions were given in full. Yet after hearing them, Miao Miaonian paid no attention whatsoever to Xie Chang’an’s F-rank Ability, nor to how low their commission counts actually were. Instead, he turned to Zhou Que and cried out, "What? Zhou Que, you’ve already completed two A-Rank Commissions?!"

"Aren’t you still a minor just like me?"

"Obviously!" Zhou Que planted one foot on the tabletop and cursed loudly, "I go to the Third Ability Academy. Their Class S students can get Hunter Accounts before graduation! Why the hell couldn’t I complete an A-Rank Commission?!"

Miao Miaonian froze. "So you didn’t go to the First Ability Academy? Wait, don’t tell me these people are your classmates?"

"Isn’t that obvious?" Zhou Que said in disgust.

Miao Miaonian blurted out in astonishment, "Damn, you’re all incredible! I can’t imagine people our age getting this far before even graduating high school!"

"Not at all, not at all, hahaha." Jiang Cuo hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

But inside, Jiang Cuo was extremely surprised that this time they had run into Zhou Que’s acquaintance. He thought in confusion: So it wasn’t the Valedictorian’s acquaintance, but Zhou Que’s? Huh? Huh? How is this completely different from what I expected?

Although Zhou Que had mentioned yesterday that he knew someone surnamed Miao, Jiang Cuo had not expected it to be such an exact coincidence.

Just as Jiang Cuo was about to ask about the matter, Zhou Que awkwardly cut in. "Enough with that. Talk about the things we need to watch out for in the commission. Also, hurry up and say whether you want us to take it or not. I want to finish quickly and go back to rest."

"Uh... right." Miao Miaonian grew awkward again.

The scene fell silent once more.

Ji Qing quietly observed everyone’s reactions. Zhou Que’s reaction was strange, and Miao Miaonian was even worse. Both of them felt awkward about seeing someone they knew from childhood again, to the point that even what they were saying had become confused.

Under these circumstances, the two of them were not actually suited to carry the conversation.

So Ji Qing took the initiative and said, "We’re all first-year Class S students at the Third Ability Academy, and our individual situations are exactly as we just described. From your side, how willing are you to let us take this commission?"

"Of course that’s fine." Miao Miaonian gradually calmed down.

As though he had finally found someone to steady himself, he gave a bitter smile and said, "To be honest, those experienced Hunters don’t think much of this commission either. And one especially important point is this: during the commission, both my father and I will be traveling with the convoy. My father has a lot of transport experience, so we hope you’ll follow his instructions."

"That’s fine," Ji Qing said. "And is there anything else we need to pay attention to?"

Miao Miaonian froze for a moment.

He clearly had not expected such quick agreement on that point. Miao Miaonian silently speculated: It’s probably because they’re students. Students probably aren’t as resistant to following temporary command, right?

If that was the case...

Miao Miaonian immediately became more enthusiastic. "As for everything else, it’s just as described in the commission. Also, your lodging in Ding’an City will be arranged by our side. The accommodations will be similar to the inn conditions in Huangtie City..."

"I understand," Ji Qing said coldly.

He did not think there was anything wrong with any of that.

"In that case, let me first wish us smooth cooperation." Miao Miaonian instantly stood up and extended his left hand toward Ji Qing.

Ji Qing coolly shook it once.

Yet just as Ji Qing assumed the meeting was now over, Miao Miaonian asked in a brisk tone, "Oh, right. I still have one question. May I ask who the leader of your team is?"

Leader? Did they even have something like that right now?

Ji Qing continued in the same cool tone. "We may need a little more time before we can tell you..."

But before he had even finished speaking, Ji Qing sharply noticed the gazes of the other three all turning toward him. He looked from side to side in surprise. Huh? Are your opinions really that unified? Is there not even one of you who wants to be team leader?

The moment he saw that, Miao Miaonian smiled with sudden understanding. "All right. I understand. Once again, I wish our cooperation a smooth conclusion."