Having said that, he gave a self-deprecating laugh, his tone carrying a lazy sense of mockery.
Why am I even saying this.. you can't hear me anymore anyway.
The Silver-haired youth blinked, clearing the inexplicable moisture from his eyes. He remained there quietly for a while longer, then straightened his posture, took two steps back, turned around.
As he turned to leave, he saw a girl of about fourteen or fifteen.
With black hair and green eyes, she bore a resemblance to Shiratori Midori of about forty to fifty percent.
Gin recognized her.
She is Shiratori Midori's little sister, Shiratori Nana, they had met once before.
..
"I saw you." Amidst the silence, the black-haired girl was the first to speak.
Are you here to.. see my Sister?
Gin blinked and nodded.
“Why.. didn't you show up at the funeral just now?” The girl's height was far shorter than Gin's; she looked up at the Silver-haired youth standing not far away.
Gin did not answer; he stepped forward toward his original direction, preparing to leave.
As the two brushed past each other, Shiratori Nana suddenly spoke. Gin had no intention of paying her any mind, yet the content of her words acted like a rope, binding her legs in place.
The Black-haired girl said, "When my Sister died, were you there?"
Gin stopped in her tracks. She did not turn to look at her, merely uttering a single word: "I was."
Then.." The female voice from behind was choked with tears; its owner fought back the urge to sob, struggling to speak clearly, "Why.. why didn't you save her?
.." The girl gasped loudly, suppressing the urge to burst into tears, said with difficulty, "Even if.. even if you couldn't save her.. you could have at least shown up afterward..
As the girl spoke, silence descended upon the atmosphere once again.
After a long silence, the Silver-haired youth finally spoke. His voice was calm, yet it sounded like a sudden clap of spring thunder:
I killed her.
He shouldn't have revealed the truth, but he said it anyway.
Anyway—they wouldn't be able to find anything out, they certainly wouldn't believe the words of a fourteen-year-old girl without any evidence.
As for the danger of suspicion and exposure?
—He didn't care either.
Shiratori Nana stood stunned on the spot.
Gin stepped forward again, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, his left hand was grabbed with great force, stopping him from leaving.
The Black-haired girl spun around abruptly and grabbed her, pulling him with reckless abandon; at this moment, she cared nothing for the underlying danger in Gin's words, nor did she care whether a person capable of killing a Sister seven years older than her would silence her forever.
Gin felt impatient, frowning as he turned his head to look at her.
The Black-haired girl's face was covered in tear stains, days of crying had left her eyes red and swollen, yet a small flame seemed to burn within her Green eyes.
The Silver-haired youth met those eyes, for some reason, the irritation in his heart subsided slightly.
Should one say they truly were sisters? Their eyes were simply too similar.
It was just that Shiratori Midori would never look at him that way; never.
Having gained an inexplicable amount of patience, Gin spoke, "What is it you want to do?"
"You said.. you said you were Sister's friend.." The Black-haired girl finally lost control, breaking into loud, sobbing wails as she cried out in interrogation.
You said you were friends! You said you were partners!
So why, why did you have to kill her?
Gin remained silent.
After a long time, amidst the girl's hysterical questioning and rage, Gin finally moved.
She quickly grabbed the Black-haired girl's wrist with her right hand, with a skillful twist, he freed her left hand.
Shiratori Nana rushed forward frantically, struggling and cursing; driven by rage and indignation, she exerted strength far beyond her usual capacity, her strikes becoming exceptionally fierce.
However, for Gin, none of this mattered at all.
He quickly subdued Shiratori Nana, his left hand clamping around her throat, applying just enough pressure to turn the black-haired girl's face pale.
From beginning to end, Gin's expression did not change.
He quickly released Shiratori Nana, tossed the black-haired girl aside, turned to leave.
Loud gasping and coughing from the Black-haired girl came from behind her, but Gin acted as if he hadn't heard a thing.
The black-haired girl watched the retreating figure of the silver-haired youth, her eyes turning red with hatred.
Not long ago, Sister's sorrowful words seemed to echo in her ears again, a surge of resentment rose in Nana's heart, her rage burning through her reason.
The hot-headed young girl didn't care at all about whether she was provoking him; she let out a loud roar—
“Why wasn't it you who died?!"
Through his tear-blurred vision, she seemed to see the Silver-haired youth's silhouette pause for a moment.
..
It was already very late when Gin returned to the Safe House.
He walked through the door and flipped the light switch, bright light instantly filled the dim Safe House.
Without even taking off his coat, Gin lay directly on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The Black-haired girl's screams seemed to ring in her ears once again.
"Why wasn't it me who died?" he murmured, as if asking and answering himself.
After a moment, he lowered his eyes, a self-deprecating smile curling at the corners of his mouth:
I don't know either..
He closed his eyes, suppressing the chaotic and disordered thoughts in his heart, only after letting out a sigh did he open them again, continuing to daze quietly.
Perhaps he had been spacing out for too long, as translucent text appeared in his field of vision.
Gin blinked his eyes to confirm he wasn't seeing things, only then did his somewhat sluggish brain slowly start to turn, allowing him to remember the reason this surreal scene had appeared.
Staring intently at a void for a long time would cause the System to appear.
This System had lacked a presence for a long time; if not for the so-called "Spoilers" being somewhat useful, Gin would have almost forgotten about it.
Gin twitched the corner of his mouth. He was just about to close the page when his attention was suddenly drawn to a certain spot on it.
[Host: Kurosawa Zhen (View Status), Shiratori Midori (View Status)]
Kurosawa Zhen's name shimmered with a silver light, Shiratori Midori's name also shimmered with a silver light, but the glow was dim.
—It just hadn't faded away completely.
Gin suddenly thought of the System's description regarding the host's status: if the status is normal, it shines with a silver light; if deceased, the name turns completely gray.
A faint sense of anticipation surged in his heart. The youth grit his teeth, forcing himself not to appear too excited, then clicked on [Check Status] within [Shiratori Midori (Check Status)].
[Shiratori Midori: ***Status—Deceased/Mental Status—Sleeping
Evaluation: High Risk, Extremely Weak
[Mental State—Sleeping]?
Gin looked at this description with doubt, but before he could think carefully about it, his heart was already filled with joy.
This means.. she isn't dead yet?
His green eyes finally lit up. Gin suppressed the joy in his heart, warning himself that he didn't know if the System could be trusted, while secretly telling himself to stay calm so he could think clearly.
He tried his best to recall everything related to the System since he obtained it—whether direct or indirect—analyzing the System's intentions.
Gin's mind was already top-tier, yet the number of times the System had appeared was truly few and far between, leaving him with far too few clues.
While lost in deep thought, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Gin, he took out the Jade Ping An Kou pendant hanging from his neck.
He stared intently for a long time—
There was no reaction at all.
The Silver-haired youth frowned anxiously, just as he was about to put down the Jade Ping An Kou, he accidentally aimed it toward the System interface.
A line of text appeared out of thin air in the void.
[Jade Ping An Kou (Status Description)]
Gin's eyes lit up, he hurriedly clicked it open.
[Jade Ping An Kou: A one-time use System item, issued after the host receives a codename from the Black Organization. It can preserve the mental body after one of the hosts dies. It will be automatically destroyed if the host fails the mission or if all hosts die.]
Gin stared blankly at the description, only finally snapping out of it after a long moment.
Ah.. this time, they were truly in this together, facing life and death side by side.
Oh—right, Shiratori Midori's status is still critical.. I need to understand it thoroughly and see if there is any way..
He thought, appearing calm.
However, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl upward.
He is still alive.
Since Shiratori Midori's death, Gin has laughed for the first time.
Author's Note:
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Q&A for this chapter:
Q: Why does the Jade Ping An Kou exist?
A: The Jade Ping An Kou only appears after both hosts have obtained their codenames. Therefore, it did not appear when Gin obtained his codename, but the conditions for its appearance were met when Shiratori obtained his.
Both hosts were bound to the System at life-or-death moments, with a portion of their spiritual bodies linked to the System. Furthermore, they had chosen their missions together previously, indicating that neither host could be missing. The Jade Ping An Kou is an item that appears to prevent a situation where a mission might automatically fail due to one host dying while the other survives, resulting in a "one dead, one alive" scenario.