In the archives, the classification sequence of the Black Cocoon provided by the United Nations is clear:
— King level (tentative).
"It's only higher than the two levels of Preliminary and Harmless, in other words, not just a mere fish in the sea, but in the end, still a fish. My real body is Restriction level... As a result, my game character is just a King level?" Ji Minghuan shrugged.
However, he didn't really feel any dissatisfaction.
After all, according to the system settings, the upper limit of each game character is visibly high. Currently, the character was only just created, and the strength of the Black Cocoon hasn't been enhanced for the time being.
Once the main quest for this game character is completed and all the attribute points provided by the cultivation system are fully utilized, and finally, the entire character skill tree is developed... By then, even if the classification sequence of the Black Cocoon suddenly skyrockets from "King level" to "Calamity level," it wouldn't be surprising. Coupled with the well-developed skill mechanism, this character alone might even take down several Rainbow Wing members who are also "Calamity level."
The most critical aspect is that Ji Minghuan can have more than one such game character:
— As long as he acquires enough "Split Points," he can continue to create characters.
Besides, the initial data of the characters he created is low not only because the superpower just awakened less than two days ago, but also because he was injected with a superpower inhibitor by the experiment personnel, preventing him from utilizing a hundred percent of his abilities.
Otherwise, Ji Minghuan wouldn't dare to imagine how terrifying his game character would be without receiving the inhibitor... Perhaps every attribute would surpass the maximum limit, reaching the unknown level.
After checking everything that needed checking, Ji Minghuan closed the official website of the Superpower Association, his gaze wandering in the living room. Su Zimai sat quietly on the sofa watching TV, while Gu Qiye was alone in the kitchen busying himself, the fan blades spinning leisurely, casting mottled shadows on the floor.
At this moment, a voice suddenly broke the brief silence.
"By the way, big brother, you and Dad won't argue again tonight, will you?" Su Zimai paused for a moment and said softly, "Although it's been two years since we last met."
"Who knows..."
Gu Qiye placed the groceries from the shopping bag into the fridge, speaking nonchalantly, his face showing no visible expression.
After being silent for a while, he suddenly asked Ji Minghuan, "By the way, Wenyu, were you home all last night?"
What's the situation? Is he doubting me?
Ji Minghuan thought this, but he replied without hesitation, "What else? I ate takeout and went to sleep."
"Did you hear any strange noises in the middle of the night?" Gu Qiye continued to ask.
"No, did a thief get in last night?" Ji Minghuan said without thinking.
"No, it didn't happen." Gu Qiye shook his head with a smile, "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Ji Minghuan drooped his eyelids, pondering where exactly he slipped that might have caused Gu Qiye's suspicion. Beside him, Su Zimai suddenly spoke up, "Speaking of which, I feel you're acting weird today."
"Why?" Ji Minghuan turned to look at her, thinking, sister, can you stop adding insult to injury?
Gu Qiye in the kitchen washed vegetables while listening intently.
Su Zimai said expressionlessly, "Don't know, maybe you're talking more than usual. Normally, I hardly see you talking, you're always holed up in your room doing who knows what."
"Oh, should I leave then?"
"That's not what I meant." Su Zimai shook her head.
"It's nice to chat more." In the kitchen, Gu Qiye said as he sliced meat on the cutting board, "Don't follow our father's lead, ignoring family. Think about how mom used to treat us, how great the family atmosphere was back then."
Ji Minghuan shrugged, choosing not to speak further with them, not understanding how a real family should interact.
Although during these years at the Welfare Institute, he indeed considered Kong Youling as family, their interaction as family was more akin to a pair of close friends.
Living in the Welfare Institute made him yearn for a family, considering his parents abandoned him early on.
Yet now, with a fake set of relatives around him, he felt a trace of surprise: it seemed those who have families are, ironically, more likely to harbor feelings of disgust or estrangement upon seeing them, even hoping for distance between each other.
At least Gu Wenyu himself was like this, or rather the character setting was this way—he disliked interacting with family. Perhaps it was due to his father and mother's influence, with the mother dying in an accident and the father abandoning them.
"The funny thing about humans is that they can't get too close, otherwise they'll end up hating each other."
Ji Minghuan casually reflected in his heart, suddenly feeling a bit grateful for being raised in the Welfare Institute.
As the three went about their own business, time quietly slipped away amid the cicada's song, unknowingly bringing the clock on the wall to six in the evening. The streets and alleys outside were already enshrouded by dusk.
At this moment, the sound of the doorbell suddenly echoed within the house.
"You guys go open the door, see who it is." Gu Qiye's emotionless voice came from the kitchen.
Upon hearing this, Su Zimai and Ji Minghuan silently exchanged a glance and clenched their fists, chanting "rock, paper, scissors" as they threw them forward.
A second later, Ji Minghuan's paper defeated Su Zimai's rock; he had played this a lot in the Welfare Institute and could tell what she would play from the muscle movement on her hands the moment she acted.
Su Zimai was silent for half a second, raising her middle finger from the fist formed by rock, then amidst Ji Minghuan's taunting "can't accept losing," she expressionlessly rose from the sofa, put on her slippers, and walked towards the door.
Opening the door, her eyes were met by a tall and robust figure.
The man was approximately one meter eighty-five tall, wearing a white shirt and suit pants, with sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His scruffy face showed no expression, his eyes were deep and hollow, a reddish scratch mark lay beneath the corner of his eye.
He lowered his head, backed by the ink-like darkness of twilight, and upon seeing Su Zimai's face, he paused for a moment, his hollow eyes momentarily lighting up.
Gu Zhuo Case slowly withdrew his gaze from his daughter's face, his lips slightly quivering, emitting a hoarse voice:
"I..."
Su Zimai looked him over twice, her gaze sweeping past the slightly haggard face, the untrimmed bristles, a glint crossing her indifferent eyes, uncertain whether it was compassion or ridicule. She opened her mouth facing the man but couldn't utter anything, merely taking a deep breath, and returning to the living room.
She said to Gu Qiye in the kitchen, "Brother… Dad is back."
Gu Qiye didn't respond, merely engrossed in cooking, leaving a silent silhouette.
Meanwhile, on the sofa, Ji Minghuan was already prepared to pull his usual tricks.
If Gu Zhuo Case was a prominent figure, then as long as he could detect Gu Zhuo Case's abilities using "Restraint Detection," he could deduce the hidden identity of this father who had disappeared for two years.
And once he grasps the potential identity of his father Gu Zhuo Case... Ji Minghuan would truly have the confidence to put on a mask and negotiate fairly with Gu Qiye under his "Black Cocoon" persona.