"You Are You"; Bears on the Loose

The wind atop the skyscraper blew fierce and unrelenting, as though it could blow the stars right out of the sky. "All right, time to go." Crow clapped her hands and guided Bai Zhou to the edge of the rooftop. "Just... jump down like this?" Bai Zhou hesitated, looking down at the minuscule streets far below. The wind on the rooftop was truly howling, strong enough to make Bai Zhou shrink his neck into his collar. Crow nodded. "You jump, I jump." "That won't be necessary," Bai Zhou waved his hands hurriedly. "I just realized... I'm a bit afraid of heights." For Bai Zhou, an Adventurer who spent nights sleeping on external air conditioner units, soared through the sky, and leapt between rooftops, this was the very first time he discovered he actually had a fear of heights. "Afraid of heights?" Crow rolled her eyes. "Back then, how come you jumped faster than anyone?" "Caw!" The raven perched on Crow's shoulder threw back its head and let out two cries, nodding with solemn earnestness, as if confirming that it had indeed witnessed it with its own eyes. "A wise man knows when to adapt; circumstances change." Bai Zhou straightened his face to correct her, then sighed. "Things being what they are, taking the stairs is our only option." The past was the past. With Crow as a teacher who never took the conventional route, how much better could he be as her student? Ever since becoming an Extraordinary and obtaining a gliding trench coat, Bai Zhou's favorite pastime had been running along eaves, leaping across walls, and indulging in extreme sports along the ledges of skyscrapers. In the history of Extraordinaries, a certain anonymous, fatherly senior had once declared, "Those who can fly cannot walk the stairs," using this reasoning to argue that lawless Extraordinaries required strict supervision—and subsequently exiling who knew how many unruly Extraordinaries to dig potatoes on the snowy plains of Siberia. Now, however, things were different. The gliding trench coat Bai Zhou wore had been reduced to tatters and was still unrepaired. And most importantly—Bai Zhou was thoroughly exhausted. He was tired, as if he had just slaughtered dozens of people. But when he thought about it carefully, counting the Iron Thorn squad and the student anomalies inside Yuanmeng Middle School, Bai Zhou really had killed dozens of enemies, including a newly born demon. Well, no wonder. At this point, every inch of Bai Zhou's body—blood, qi, bones, flesh, and sinews—had been battered through and through. As the saying went, pull a single hair and the whole body aches. Every slight movement sent piercing pain coursing through him. There wasn't a single unbruised spot from head to toe. After aching for so long, he had even grown slightly numb, feeling as though he were steeped in a tingling, prickling pool of brambles. "Take the stairs? That works too, but be careful to avoid surveillance cameras." Crow supported Bai Zhou as they walked down the rooftop steps. Crow blinked gently. Watching Bai Zhou limp and hobble along with her support, she suddenly spoke in a faint murmur: "I believe I mentioned that I cannot directly interfere with reality... In truth, that 'direct' interference includes supporting you." "What?" Bai Zhou froze for a moment. Crow continued, "So, supporting you and all that is actually just your own psychological trick." With that, Crow patted Bai Zhou on the shoulder. "I did just pat your shoulder, but only you can observe that. It isn't observed or acknowledged by the world. Therefore, in objective reality, my support doesn't actually do anything. "—In truth, you hypnotized yourself into believing someone was supporting you, which made walking feel slightly easier." Bai Zhou stumbled right where he stood, as if the moment she said that, Crow's support really ceased to exist. "That's hard to believe, considering I still felt the physical push of your palm just a second ago." "It's not hard to explain." Crow explained, "There was once an experiment on psychological suggestion. A death row inmate was blindfolded and strapped to a bed, told he would bleed to death, and then someone dragged a piece of wood across his wrist. "Next, the experimenter turned on a dripping faucet, making a steady dripping sound. This terrified the condemned man; he felt excruciating pain in his wrist and vividly experienced his blood slowly draining away. "A day later, when the magistrate returned, the prisoner was already dead. The monitoring records showed that the cause of death matched exsanguination—even though he hadn't lost a single drop of blood. "That is the power of psychological suggestion. Even if objectively nothing happened, your subconscious believes it did." "That sounds more cruel than just burning him at the stake," Bai Zhou couldn't help but remark after hearing the story. "Is your Blue Star always this inhumane?" "—Why is that your takeaway?" Crow was normally quite lazy—so lazy she couldn't even be bothered to waste energy shifting her facial expressions. Yet in front of Bai Zhou, her composure never seemed to last very long. "I think I get it... Wait, no. What about the ritual you inscribed on me before?" "The ritual?" Crow spread her hands. "Didn't I tell you back then? You're my intermediary. In essence, the ritual drew upon the latent spirituality within you. "Because I displayed the tracing of the ritual's patterns before your eyes, your subconscious followed the ritual's operation, and your spirituality was activated along with the lines of the ritual." Now Bai Zhou understood. "So I'm just your spellcasting tool?" Crow fell silent for a beat, then nodded. "...You could put it that way." "No wonder you always say I'm your medium for interfering with the mundane world." Bai Zhou shook his head. "Because the world doesn't objectively acknowledge your existence, and only I acknowledge you subjectively, you can only leave traces on me." Yet. Crow could do anything to Bai Zhou. Within Bai Zhou's world, every action Crow took was valid and real. Because he saw it with his own eyes and believed it without a shadow of a doubt. ...Thinking of it that way, Bai Zhou suddenly found the feeling somewhat wondrous. "Precisely." Crow nodded. "This is also the new lesson I want to teach you. "Life is often like this. People frequently believe they achieved something or overcame a hardship because of others' strength and encouragement—when in reality, they didn't." Her voice carried a touch of coolness: "In reality, there is no such power as bonds, courage, or love. Those are merely psychological suggestions people give themselves. The decisive factor that truly leads you to victory and success is always you alone. "Believing unconditionally in yourself, believing that the self who has walked this far can continue to create miracles—that is the essential foundation for an Extraordinary to triumph over any anomaly or monstrosity!" "So Teacher Crow was just looking for another chance to lecture me," Bai Zhou realized. "It's been a while since we had a lesson, so I didn't catch on right away." "Then again... hypnotizing oneself is indeed an important method," Crow added. "During the first major stage of an Extraordinary, at least before obtaining a Title, ninety percent of the secret techniques related to unleashing one's potential are inextricably tied to emotion and autosuggestion. "Even an ordinary person can lift incredible weights under extreme emotion. That isn't the power of bonds, but rather autosuggestion and hypnosis breaking through the protective limits set by the human body. Even though such a brief breakthrough imposes near-irreversible harm on the body, the resulting payoff is equally astonishing. "This self-hypnosis is an advanced application of hypnosis. If you wish to learn it, I can teach you later." It seemed Crow was a master of hypnosis as well; she always had fancy, novel tricks to teach him. "Truly mysterious," Bai Zhou mused aloud. He gazed at Crow, his blinking eyes shining. "Existing and non-existing, forever suspended between the two. "An endless repertoire of tricks, a bottomless abyss of mystery... Teacher Crow, who on earth are you?" Bai Zhou finally couldn't help asking. Crow lowered her eyes as if contemplating, but in the end remained silent. She did not seem eager to answer the question, or perhaps even she did not know how to answer. At that moment, Bai Zhou's eyes widened, and he cried out in mock alarm: "—Could you really be what I originally thought—a figment of my imagination? Am I actually schizophrenic?" "..." Crow's expressionless face stiffened, her mouth twitching involuntarily. "I am suddenly very glad we aren't enemies." "Why?" Crow answered without hesitation, "Because if someone were your enemy, talking to you would infuriate them to death before anything else. Even beating you to death wouldn't dispel their anger." Then, after a brief silence, the young woman couldn't resist mocking him sarcastically: "If I really were your hallucination... are you claiming you created the secret technique Moon Cinder out of thin air, knew it from birth, and then figured out the fused secret technique Moon Cinder Holy Oath Slash all on your own? "Are you claiming you learned all those rituals out of nowhere, including explosive rituals that ordinary ritualists could never access? "Are you claiming you became an Extraordinary by yourself and mastered the ritual to enter the Reflected Ruin Realm?" Crow nodded solemnly. "Then you must be a genius—no, a miraculous being born with divine knowledge. Even Jesus would have to bow down before you." "Makes total sense." Bai Zhou seemed completely oblivious to Crow's sarcasm, instead heaving a sigh of relief as if a heavy load had been lifted. In that brief moment, he didn't seem to care at all whether he was schizophrenic. Deep down, the youth merely harbored a faint, indefinable trace of fear. When he first met Crow, Bai Zhou had wanted nothing to do with her, terrified of what he would do if the girl turned out not to be a hallucination. Now, however, his fear had flipped—he dreaded the thought of the person before him truly being a hallucination. He didn't want Crow to be a nonexistent illusion of his own making; he wanted the girl before him to truly exist. "Still..." At that moment, Crow spoke out of nowhere once more. "Whether I truly exist or not isn't really that important sometimes. "Either way, whether I am real or not, you are the only one who can see me." As she spoke, she shook her head, slipped her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, and turned her gaze toward the distant, lonely stars, letting the late-night wind whip her hair in every direction. Her petite figure carried a hint of desolation in the wind. This was the first time the usually haughty, spirited girl had ever shown such a side of herself. Yet as if it had all been an illusion, Miss Crow quickly returned to her usual self. Her vibrant eyes turned back to Bai Zhou, and she raised a hand to usher him forward. "Let's go... I'll support you down the stairs, though you don't really need it." With that, Crow walked shoulder to shoulder with Bai Zhou. Dragging his feet along the floor and dawdling for some inexplicable reason, Bai Zhou remained silent for a moment before suddenly speaking in a low, muffled voice: "It's still different." Crow's footsteps slowly halted. "What?" "Even if only I can see you, it's still different." Bai Zhou shook his head. "Even if the entire world cannot see your existence and only I can, that's still true. "If you were merely my hallucination, then what would everything we went through together count for? If your existence depended on my perception, if your meaning was defined by me, if even your joys and sorrows were merely echoes of my own heart... how boring would your life be?" Wouldn't that mean he, Bai Zhou, had been talking to himself in absolute loneliness all this time? "So you must truly exist. Even when I can't see you, you exist independently—just like the moon that always hangs in the sky, unseen only because people are walking with their heads down." Bai Zhou spoke slowly, which only made him sound all the more earnest, as though every word carried genuine weight. "It's a bit embarrassing to say this out loud, but I've always been deeply grateful that you chose to walk alongside me. It saved me and brought light into my world... None of that matters whether only I can see you, or whether the whole world can't see you. It only matters because 'you are you.' "—So, please don't say things like that anymore." Having said that, Bai Zhou turned his face away with a touch of sheepishness, yet straightened his posture against the rooftop wind. Crow stood quietly where she was, her hair fluttering in the night breeze. The spirited sparkle usually in her eyes seemed to disperse with the wind, revealing an imperceptible ripple stirred beneath the surface. "...Fine, then." After a brief silence, an expressionless Crow replied thus, nodding offhandedly. "'Fine, then'?" Bai Zhou turned his head back and blinked twice. "What does 'fine, then' mean?" But no one answered him. All that met his eyes was Crow's back as she strode ahead, showing no intention of waiting for an injured casualty like Bai Zhou. "Wait for me—that's so disloyal! Teacher Crow, are you really leaving me behind just like that?" Bai Zhou grimaced and quickened his pace. Only when she neared the rooftop exit did Crow silently slow her steps. Her petite figure straightened its spine, the trench coat billowing in the wind. The young woman raised a hand and tucked the windblown strands of hair behind her ear. "Bai Zhou." She spoke up abruptly, her slightly raspy voice carrying a brisk, crisp tone. "What?" "I won't say things like that anymore." So said the girl. But before Bai Zhou could speak, she added in an icy tone with lightning speed: "Still, the way you were talking just now... someone who didn't know better would think I was dying." The girl with the crow on her shoulder offered Bai Zhou only the sight of her trench coat fluttering from behind, her chin lifted with a cool, sharp elegance. "Drop the cheesy, sentimental talk in the future. "—I don't like hearing it!" Evading surveillance cameras, they slipped out of the skyscraper. Injured, Bai Zhou walked down the misty streets in the pre-dawn hours, swaying like a zombie invading the city. "Hm? There's a bounty notice here." Crow's murmur made Bai Zhou shudder all over. Was a wanted poster for him already plastered all over the streets? Bai Zhou drew closer to inspect the roadside utility pole. Nestled amid an assortment of flyer stickers advertising "Fast Locksmith," "Authentic-Looking Fake Certificates," "Old Military Doctor Clinic," and "800 Drops," the most prominent was an official black-and-white notice: [Document No.: PSB-2030-Security No. 141] [Issuing Authority: Eastern Federation Tinghai City Public Security Bureau] [Recently, frequent incidents of bear sightings and attacks have occurred within our city. Their activity has expanded from traditional wilderness areas into the city outskirts and populated residential zones, posing a severe threat to the lives, property, and public order of the citizens of Tinghai. Following an official review, the Tinghai City Public Security Bureau has activated an emergency response protocol, established a dedicated task force, and coordinated with relevant departments to intensify patrols in key areas. Citizens are advised to avoid traveling alone late at night or in the early morning. If any anomaly or sighting occurs, please dial the Public Security Bureau's 24-hour hotline immediately. In the event of an encounter, remain calm, do not turn around to run or scream, and slowly step backward facing the bear while awaiting rescue.] [Note: Due to citywide coverage and limited personnel, the Public Security Bureau appeals to enthusiastic citizens with hunting experience to assist in patrolling and protecting Tinghai. Those who participate in bear hunting are eligible for a bounty reward. Bounty amount: Exactly Four Hundred Federation Coins (400.00). Contact: —— Public Security Bureau. September 2, 2030] "...It looks like this bounty notice is mostly meant as a warning. It's probably been up for several days." Crow shook her head. "A bear infestation, huh... Tinghai City truly is plagued by disasters. "I just wonder if there's an Extraordinary incident behind it. Did some alchemical madman's experiment go awry, or is it merely an ordinary bear outbreak?" Bai Zhou, on the other hand, stared with wide eyes at the official notice pasted beside the "Old Military Doctor" ad, his gaze locked squarely on the "Bounty Amount" line. "If I recall, a single bowl of jellied tofu costs five or six Federation coins, right? What do they mean by 'Exactly Four Hundred'? Did they spell it out in formal characters just to make sure people didn't misread the decimal point?" Bai Zhou was flabbergasted. "Risking your life against a bear for that little money? In the Public Security Bureau's eyes, aren't the citizens being a bit too 'enthusiastic'?" Crow shrugged. "That's why I said the notice serves primarily as a warning. "...Actually, thinking about it, it's quite terrifying. Although it's negligible to Extraordinaries, an ordinary person would be scared out of their wits if a bear capable of climbing trees and scaling buildings suddenly appeared outside their balcony window in the middle of the night." Just then, Bai Zhou asked out of the blue, "Is Tinghai currently in a fishing moratorium?" "It ended not long ago... Why ask that all of a sudden?" Crow genuinely couldn't fathom how Bai Zhou's train of thought had jumped from an overrun bear problem to a fishing ban. "Isn't the reasoning obvious?" Bai Zhou suddenly felt that Crow's thinking wasn't sharp enough, nor was she as knowledgeable as he had imagined. "I learned this lesson in Wancheng as a child." "What lesson?" "Because you can't have both the fish and the bear's paw." Crow inhaled deeply. She didn't utter a sound for a long time, so struck by speechlessness that she almost laughed. In a certain sense, the way Bai Zhou's mind worked might truly classify him as a genius. *Tap, tap, tap...* Along the quiet street, the two continued walking. At first, Bai Zhou wondered whether his weakened body could still manage a sliding tackle if a bear attacked him on the midnight streets. Yet he soon realized his worry was completely unnecessary. For the adjacent street was exceptionally lively, ablaze with lights and teeming with crowds. From afar, bright neon shone, the chatter of crowds hummed, and the scents of cumin, chili, and spices drifted through the air. "A night market... Ah, we've reached a snack street." Crow understood, and in the next second, her ears caught the loud rumbling of Bai Zhou's stomach. "I'm starving." Bai Zhou's mouth watered, but he could only gaze longingly from a distance. He had recognized an unavoidable dilemma: in his current battered state, clad in a blood-splattered school uniform, even if he could bypass cameras with a ritual, how could he openly walk into a crowd of people? Food sat before his eyes, yet he could not take a bite; clutching his belly, he could only sigh. Just as he sank into gloom, Bai Zhou's eyes lit up. Right at the entrance to the snack street, he spotted someone wearing a comical mascot costume, waving their arms to attract customers. "—You're the one!" Bai Zhou staked out from a distance for quite a while until he finally caught the person heading for the restroom. When he emerged from the restroom, master hypnotist Bai Zhou was already clad in the mascot suit, through the other party's "voluntary donation." "So what kind of character is this supposed to be anyway?" Wobbling down the street, noticing that passing children showed zero fondness for the costume—and that one had nearly spat on him twice—Bai Zhou couldn't help grumbling internally. The headpiece was exaggeratedly massive, weighing down heavily on Bai Zhou's neck. A crooked, orange-red hard hat sat atop it, while slanted, inverted eyebrows paired with a toothy grin stretched from ear to ear. A red nose, a goatee, a round belly, and an animal-pelt vest—with a toy plastic shotgun slung over the shoulder. Around the neck hung a cheap little speaker that squawked character voice lines whenever pressed. "—So ugly!" Shaking his head, Bai Zhou quickly tossed the thought aside. In that costume, he wove through the bustling night market crowd, popping open the headpiece now and then to shove food into his mouth. Lamb skewers coated in chili powder! Grilled cold noodles with egg! Sizzling, juicy fried chicken cutlets! And another serving of pan-fried tofu with scallions and cilantro! *Crunch, munch!* He devoured it all with relish! Only when he had eaten and drank his fill did Bai Zhou, still wearing the costume and carrying the toy plastic gun, strut leisurely out of the night market like a patrol officer on his beat. The night grew deeper, and the bustling noise of the market gradually fell behind. Walking alone, perhaps due to a post-meal carb coma, he felt warm all over, while exhaustion and drowsiness surged back with greater intensity. He needed to take off this mascot suit and find a place to sleep... Bai Zhou pondered the problem, but couldn't think of a suitable place to crash. Alas, his former default choice, his eternal home—an external air conditioner unit—was not suited for his current battered state. "Where should I go...?" Just as Bai Zhou was deliberating, a sharp cry reached his ears. "Help!!" The cry seemed to come from the next street over, distant and faint, caught only thanks to Bai Zhou's Extraordinary hearing. Yet he also felt the voice was vaguely familiar in a way he couldn't put his finger on. It was that very familiarity that prompted Bai Zhou to go check it out. And then, on the desolate street in the dead of night, he saw a black bear reared up on its hind legs, standing brazenly in the middle of the road. Right now, its bloodshot, savage eyes glared wide, drool dripping from its open jaws as it slowly closed in on a trembling girl in a school uniform, carrying a Hatsune-green backpack. The backpack alone looked familiar, but when he stepped closer, Bai Zhou was stunned to realize— —Isn't that the hissing little Charmander? Fang Xiaoxia... What in the world was she doing wandering the streets in the middle of the night? *Clack...* The sound of approaching footsteps instantly drew the attention of both the girl and the bear. Beneath the dim yellow streetlights, a comical, ugly, big-headed mascot stepped into the view of human and beast alike. Fang Xiaoxia: "?" The bear: "?" And so, the ugly big-headed mascot tilted its head in confusion along with them. With that tilt, the heavy, oversized headpiece wobbled precariously, nearly rolling right off, accidentally pressing against the small speaker on the neck. Immediately, the speaker began blaring the character's pre-recorded lines: "Mess with Logger Vick—and you'll get a beating, no questions asked!" A grating, scratchy voice roared across the street at the two of them, its arrogant shout echoing through the misty, dead-of-night street: "You stinking bears! I'm not done with you!"