Chapter 89

[Current Popularity Value 1: 8777]

[Current Popularity Value 2: 14042]

Gazing at the status of his Popularity Values in the upper left corner, Ji Qing fell into a long silence. Although the situation differed from his guesses, he truly hadn't expected the Popularity Values to skyrocket. Ji Qing rested his chin on his hand and lamented, "So, readers really do love melodrama."

Due to the inconsistent flow of time between the two worlds, the Popularity Values were recalculated based on Ji Qing’s current manga progress. He truly hadn't expected his "intentional link then break" plan to achieve such unprecedented success.

Ji Qing’s original goal in doing this was simply to avoid the trouble caused by Xie Chang’an’s associations.

Although manga readers rarely suspected whether "Li Yuan and Ji Qing were the same person," having the protagonist, Xie Chang’an, ponder this question repeatedly would gradually steer the readers' discussions in that direction.

Ji Qing, therefore, had to take precautions.

While witnessing himself personally detonate this landmine, Ji Qing also felt a bit uneasy. However, after seeing the end of Volume 4, he realized the outcome was actually quite good. The mangaka, Yuexia Cao, stood on his side.

Yuexia Cao had even intentionally omitted any scenes that might link the two, including Li Yuan’s stay on the streets of Yancheng and Ji Qing waking up after his mission ended.

Ji Qing suddenly let out a soft laugh. "I suppose it was a good cooperation."

But this incident also made Ji Qing realize one thing: Yuexia Cao’s goal in assisting was to present a better manga effect. He wanted to hide the fact that they were "the same person" even more than Ji Qing did. For a long-running shonen manga, such critical intelligence could not be exposed so early.

The actions of the characters and the laws of the world were difficult to change once the manga settings were finalized, but the order in which the main plot was narrated remained in Yuexia Cao’s hands.

"I wonder what Yuexia Cao thinks of me, a player who doesn't follow the rules?" Ji Qing rolled his eyes, his tone playful. "But forget that. As long as I know his goal, I can use this situation again if I encounter it in the future..."

With that thought, Ji Qing prepared to check the manga forum:

[hot] [Featured] Everyone, come quick! What exactly is the relationship between Ji Qing and Li Yuan?!!!

I don't really understand why that old hack specifically drew this plot. Looking at the focus of Volume 4, it has actually always revolved around "Who is Ji Qing?" Even if Ji Qing really is related to Li Yuan, why did he have to spend an entire volume's length on it?

[Featured] Jiang Cuo's origins clearly hold a big secret; let's summarize his situation here.

Li Yuan is seriously so cool, sob. I beg the old hack to make him return to the main plot quickly! I just fell in love with him and he already left the main plot. I can't bear to let him go, TAT.

I don't understand why the protagonist thinks Li Yuan and Ji Qing are the same person. How can he be such a 'white-sweet-dumb' character to believe whatever the Valedictorian says?

[hot] What is the greatest contribution of Volume 4? It’s giving us the super delicious fan content for the Li Yuan x Valedictorian ship. The shipping points are simply invincible. Those of you who don't understand this ship truly have no taste. Delicious, delicious, I'll have another bite, sob, TAT.

Li Yuan’s talent is so powerful; I've decided to analyze Li Yuan’s talent and estimate his current strength.

...

"Oh, it seems the attention is quite high." Ji Qing found it amusing. "But the focus of Volume 4 also includes the friendship between Jiang Cuo and Xie Chang’an, it's just that you all were too busy focusing on the connection between Li Yuan and Ji Qing."

Soapy blood-relative ethics had defeated youthful, hot-blooded friendship.

How truly lamentable.

[Topic: Everyone, come quick! What exactly is the relationship between Ji Qing and Li Yuan?!!!]

[1L OP: Volume 4 is finished, the old hack is happy, and my heart is broken, QAQ. How could that hack Yuexia heartlessly end this volume after proposing such an interesting theory? I truly want to know the relationship between Ji Qing and Li Yuan.]

[2L: That old hack Yuexia is too cunning.]

[3L OP: At first, I thought he wanted Ji Qing to ride Li Yuan’s hype, but the middle development made me unsure. These two seem to have more and more connections, and we even have the protagonist's backing, but I didn't expect... tears, TAT... That hateful hack Yuexia drew a cliffhanger and ran, and he really succeeded in riding the hype.]

[3L: I didn't think Ji Qing was that charming before, but now I finally get it. He truly has the charm to make Chang’an miss him constantly. (tears)]

[4L: Agreed. Now he has me missing him constantly too.]

[5L OP:

Let's summarize the potential connections revealed between the two so far:

1. Ji Qing has had contact with the Infected and knows the internal situation of the Infected organization (Dawn Society).

2. Ji Qing contacted Xie Chang’an first and noticed Xie Chang’an’s uniqueness, after which Xie Chang’an met Li Yuan.

3. The Valedictorian was suspended from the individual competition, but the prize for the individual competition was exactly what Li Yuan needed.

4. Li Yuan is very familiar with the arrangements inside the school, and coincidentally, when he threatened Chang’an, he also mentioned having a mole inside the school. We still don't know who it is (could be Ji Qing).

5. Ji Qing has had contact with the dark side of the Federation, and Li Yuan has always been active on that dark side.

6. Both have spoken to Xie Chang’an in a similar 'parental' tone (of course, this is just readers' wild imagination).]

[6L: Crap...]

[7L: You don't realize it until you summarize it, but once you do, it's a shock.]

[8L OP:

There's more, there's more—

7. There are certain similarities in the appearances of Li Yuan and Ji Qing (backed by the protagonist).

8. There are certain similarities in their personalities, which might be due to the influence of living together or the influence of a shared past (originating from the protagonist seeing Li Yuan's shadow in Ji Qing).]

[9L: Ah, this...]

[10L: OP, you're amazing.]

[11L: I feel like OP has practically worn out the first four volumes of the manga.]

[12L OP: But points of doubt still exist:

1. Ji Qing has denied having any relatives with similar appearances to himself three times. In manga, this almost signals a set truth, because Ji Qing’s tone never wavered across all three times.

2. Although their personalities are similar, their essence is still different. Ji Qing’s personality leans toward coldness, while Li Yuan is more naturally familiar.

3. Li Yuan has never revealed his true face, judging only by the lower half of his face is extremely prone to error.

If there are other connection points and doubts, please supplement them.]

[13L OP: Next, I'll summarize the possible relationships here:

1. Brothers/Twins

2. Relatives with a certain blood connection, similar to uncle and nephew

3. The same person

4. Truly just strangers who look alike

Finally, guessing toward a darker side: 5. Test subjects from the same batch in a laboratory.]

[14L: Holy crap.]

[15L: OP’s post will definitely be featured. The plot substance is too high; it practically summarizes all the mainstream guesses. It’s simply too amazing!!!]

[16L OP (Reply to 15L): Thank you (blushing).]

[17L OP: Since Li Yuan has never mentioned the Valedictorian, most current speculations are derived from the Valedictorian's attitude. The Valedictorian has denied having look-alike blood relatives three times. I think 1 and 2 can be excluded, probably?]

[18L: 1 should be excludable, but 2 not necessarily. In the plot, the Valedictorian clearly said both his parents are dead, so I guess he might not know if there are any look-alikes among his parents' relatives, unless a clan extermination happened or his parents explicitly spoke about it.]

[19L: I think 'brothers' is the least likely guess among them. Of course, I have my own bias—I don't think Li Yuan is only sixteen or seventeen. His attitude and words are not characteristic of a high school student, and are you saying a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy can become a cadre of the Dawn Society and be so composed facing a veteran, experienced former S-rank Hunter?]

[20L: That point is true...]

[21L: Exclude 4 as well.]

[22L: 4 is also impossible. If they were just strangers who looked alike, the old hack wouldn't have specifically spent a volume drawing it. The two must have some connection, otherwise Volume 4 is practically invalid plot. I believe there's a reason the hack specifically wrote the protagonist having hallucinations of Li Yuan.]

[23L: Speaking of which, the most magical thing is: Ji Qing truly doesn't believe anyone is connected to him. This doesn't seem fake. It’s a pity Li Yuan has left the scene, otherwise we could ask him.]

[24L: Why would someone who has a link to the Dawn Society not know a cadre of the Dawn Society?]

[25L: Maybe he just heard of them?]

[26L: Mostly because Ji Qing refuses to communicate, so it’s hard for us to find accurate answers (regret.jpg). But looking back at the manga plot at the time, I think it's reasonable. The relationship between Ji Qing and Chang’an really isn't that good; it's normal for him to refuse...]

[27L: Hoping their relationship gets better, though I think it’s unlikely.]

[28L: And with Chang’an’s subtle attitude, he might even annoy the Valedictorian. The Valedictorian said he hates being used as a substitute, and the Valedictorian is the Valedictorian, after all. You, someone who rose up from Class F and had a conflict with the Valedictorian's friend before, are now doing something the Valedictorian hates... Hiss, I don't think the relationship can get better.]

[29L: Let's still hold some hope, QAQ.]

[30L: As for 5, I feel it's also impossible. Same reason as 1. If they were laboratory test subjects, the Valedictorian couldn't have denied it so absolutely. In that case, he would be more likely to press Chang’an for questions rather than being coldly vigilant.]

[31L: Exclude 3 as well. Being the same person is simply absurd; only a fool like the protagonist would think of that. The plot has already clearly shown it's impossible for them to be the same person. The two just have similar personalities at most; it’s absolutely impossible for them to be the same person.]

...

[57L: Hahaha, dying laughing—after excluding everything, all possibilities are gone.]

[58L: Isn't there one left?]

[59L: 2 is possible, but I don't think the old hack would arrange that. Although the 'relative' choice is safe, it's not worth the hack specifically drawing a whole volume for it. However... I can't think of any other possibilities (facepalm).]

[60L OP: It's too hard, QAQ.]

[61L: There's still too little information right now (regretfully leaving).]

...

"It seems it will be a long time before they guess correctly."

Upon seeing this, Ji Qing let out a helpless smile. Although the theories were all reasonable, they were worlds apart from the answer he intended to move into the manga, and even Xie Chang’an himself hadn't guessed correctly. Or rather, because he hadn't guessed correctly, the readers were completely clueless...

[Topic: Jiang Cuo's origins clearly hold a big secret; let's summarize his situation here.]

[1L OP:

Ability: Fantasy World, S-rank Special-type Ability.

Ability effect (Simple version): Can turn fake into real, and real into fake. A bit like a magician’s deceptive tricks; can do combat support, control, and healing, but isn't specialized in any.

Personality: A chatterbox, flighty, likes to talk to himself. Very fast reaction when facing serious business. Will counsel Xie Chang’an. Strong insight, knows how to tailor his behavior to the person.

Transferred from the Second Ability Academy.

Flamboyant reason: Couldn't stand the bathhouse culture of the northern schools.

Real reason: Could not adapt to the collective mode there; didn't want to engage in collective action with them for long periods.

Short-term goal: Get on good terms with the Valedictorian and use that to successfully occupy a certain position in Class S.

Long-term goal: Unknown.

Family background: Illegitimate son of a prestigious noble family. His father was an Infected before he died, and all his wilderness skills were taught by his father.

Social background: Once actively inquired about the Infected, feels the Infected are pitiable, but is very decisive when taking action against them.

Currently, although he often roasts Xie Chang’an, you can see he quite admires him. He was willing to help when the gang caused trouble in Ning City and counseled Xie Chang’an after their internal conflict. The reason is still unclear.

Also, when he first appeared, the forum said his character design overlapped with the 'Revenge Demon' male lead from the old hack's Wasteland short manga. But looking at it now, I don't think so. Although Jiang Cuo acts cheerful on the surface, he is willing to counsel Xie Chang’an, unlike 'Chestnut' (the nickname for the short manga lead) who walked a single path to the end and never thought about opening up to anyone.]

[2L: I feel the same way.]

[3L: Not quite sure which side of his parents belongs to the prestigious family, but I think since he could be loved by a member of such a family, the other person's strength and appearance must have been good.]

[4L: Setting aside the parents' situation for now. I clearly feel Jiang Cuo should be closer to his father and lived with him for a long time. So I think his father's suicide after infection must have been a huge blow to him, and he probably wants to find out why his father was infected afterward.]

[5L: +1]

[6L OP: I also think he wants to investigate the reason for his father's infection; it might be related to his mother. Mostly because Jiang Cuo’s ability is S-rank, his father's ability couldn't have been low. For such an ability user with a decent rank who was familiar with the wilderness to get infected, and then commit suicide before the mutation manifested (likely not even reaching early-stage mutation), there are quite a few points of doubt.]

...

A hint of contemplation flashed in Ji Qing’s eyes.

The forum’s speculations about Jiang Cuo coincided with his own guesses. He suspected Jiang Cuo might be investigating his parents' identities. He would have to know their identities first before it would be possible to know the causes and consequences of a series of events—but what exactly were those events?

He would set that point aside for now.

[Topic: What is the greatest contribution of Volume 4? It’s giving us the super delicious fan content for the Li Yuan x Valedictorian ship. The shipping points are simply invincible. Those of you who don't understand this ship truly have no taste. Delicious, delicious, I'll have another bite, sob, TAT.]

[1L OP: The chemistry between the two is so strong, TAT. Thank you, old hack, my ship is finally no longer just a 'crack ship' (randomly paired). Volume 4 is practically a carnival for my circle. So many great creators, so many fics; this little lady has finally stepped into a 'hot circle' (popular fandom), sob. The best investment is joining when the circle is cold, and then watching it become popular, sob. I feel like we can even compete for 'OTP' (hottest ship) status now, sob, TAT.]

[2L: OTP status should still be far off, right?]

[3L: But Li Yuan is truly popular; he appears in both of the top 2 ships on the popularity chart. This man is unimaginably 'hot' (popular).]

[4L: I’m waiting for the third Li Yuan ship.]

[5L: I’m different. I’m waiting for these two ships to fight to the death so that the Valedictorian x Second Seat ship can become the new OTP. (This woman's attribute is very obvious, even overly obvious.)]

[6L: Tsk tsk.]

[7L OP: Although I know I’ll be backstabbed sooner or later, the 'brother conspiracy' version is so delicious, it's explosively good, sob. How can some creators write so well! My ship is secretly together behind everyone's backs, ahhhhh!!!]

[8L: I actually like the 'Real World Actor IF-line.' The two of them watching the popularity changes of the ships on the forum and teasing each other about being popular. It’s very delicious.]

[9L: What attracts me is the similarity in their personalities. Pseudo-self-cest is truly delicious. That kind of thing where even if the other person doesn't speak, they can get the other's intent is super great, even though they haven't actually appeared on screen at the same time in the plot yet.]

[10L: A pity.]

[11L: For this reason, the 'big name' creators are mostly sticking to IF-lines for now. Mainly because the true connection between the two is uncertain, making it easy to be backstabbed later.]

[12L: I don't think the old hack plans to tell us immediately either. There’s basically no hope for the OTP now.]

[13L OP: I guess I can only dream, TAT.]

[14L: Dream on, I even dreamed of split personalities and dissociative identity disorder. They are truly suited for this kind of IF-line, hahaha.]

...

Ji Qing suddenly took a sharp breath and lamented, "The readers' imaginations are truly vast; they even brained up a split personality for me."

It was probably because of the similarity in personalities.

Regarding this point, Ji Qing had reflected on it afterward. Perhaps because he wasn't very good at playing multiple personas, Ji Qing’s previous sudden inspiration for a "just open a few more personas" plan was thus completely scrapped.

Xie Chang’an’s intuition was too absurd.

Ji Qing didn't want to constantly have to fix the loopholes caused by his poor acting; however... Ji Qing murmured, "It is also time to separate the primary and secondary personalities."

He absolutely could not frequently change the settings.

This would definitely backstab Yuexia Cao as the mangaka, and then Yuexia Cao would backstab him. Eventually, neither of them would be able to straighten out the manga settings, and in the end, the readers would stage a mass exodus... At that point, the death of the manga Ability Hunter Academy would be officially announced.

Ji Qing couldn't help but shake his head and lament, "I didn't expect the old hack and I to truly become accomplices in the same boat now."

As for the primary and secondary personalities, Ji Qing had already made preparations.

"Ji Qing" would be the primary personality, and "Li Yuan" would be the secondary personality—but as the secondary personality, "Li Yuan" would be aware of the full situation. Ji Qing thought with a steady gaze: If something happens to my classmates in the future, I can use that opportunity to help them out.

"I suppose it's a good thing," Ji Qing murmured.

He hoped that a time where he would be required to break the rules would not occur in the future.