Chapter Twenty-Nine: Bonds! Friendship! A Silhouette in the Radiance!
The young lady felt increasingly embarrassed by the crowd’s constant attention, so she put her headpiece back on and returned to her toy bear form.
“Kirra, where did you find the third bear costume?”
The pink bear waved its paw and replied, “It’s my ability, kuma.”
A power that renders one invisible could also conjure a toy bear? Miss Qin was momentarily perplexed.
The pink bear suddenly seemed to remember something and asked anxiously, “Qin Qianbai, their movie tickets—”
“Terribly sorry! Sorry, Demon Brother!!” x3
Three voices, full of rising and falling intonation, echoed from afar, drowning out Kirra’s words. Three burly, muscle-bound men followed behind a blue toy bear, heads bowed, looking like prisoners being escorted. At the end of this surreal procession trailed a vacant-eyed middle schooler, evidently added as a safeguard against any escape attempts.
“If you’re truly sorry, keep your voices down. Don’t draw unnecessary attention to me, Lord Gongsun,” said the blue bear, leading the four to join the other two bears. He signaled for the two bears to stay quiet and turned to speak. “So, you’re saying that Skullhead’s walkman was stolen?”
The blond thug, voice low, said, “Yes, it was taken by a man in a green shirt with long hair. We saw him with this kid on the street today… so we came to ask about it!”
The battered Da Wu chimed in, “Brother Huang, didn’t we see—”
The blond glared at him, and Da Wu swallowed his words in grievance.
Gongsun Ce had no interest in the daily affairs of these thugs. He looked at the familiar-looking middle schooler.
Before he could ask, Miles shrieked, “I really got dragged into this!!”
He pointed at the pink bear, “The walkman was—was—was taken by this bear!!”
The gray-haired youth followed his finger and met Kirra’s sweat-soaked gaze.
He addressed the middle schooler sternly, “You should calm down and choose your words carefully to explain the situation, not use such disrespectful language based on personal bias.”
The boy in the baseball cap struggled for a while before nervously saying, “Mr. Gongsun, that walkman was turned into a movie ticket by this bear, and then taken away.”
Gongsun Ce was quite irritated. “Why do you refer to an unfamiliar lady as a bear?”
“I—I—I—but she really is…” Miles, on the verge of a breakdown, shouted, “She really is a bear!”
It was truly bewildering.
Gongsun Ce checked the surroundings again. Of those in bear costumes, aside from himself, there was only Miss Qin.
He couldn’t make sense of the middle schooler’s words, so he turned to the thugs, “Are you sure Skullhead’s walkman was turned into a ticket?”
The buzz-cut man replied meekly, “Demon Brother, we didn’t see it ourselves, we just heard from this kid. It’s probably a misunderstanding…”
He looked from the red bear to the pink bear, unable to tell which one the middle schooler meant. With a gentle smile, the muscleman asked Miles in a tone almost tender:
“Which bear has the walkman?”
Miles had no idea how to answer. If he said the pink bear, the demon would be angry; if he said the red bear, it would be a lie!
The poor kid was so anxious he stomped his feet, finally wailing, “I don’t dare say! Please let me go!!”
“Gongsun Ce, the walkman is—”
“A Ce, what’s going on—”
Gongsun Ce hurriedly signaled his friends to calm down, feeling the situation was chaotic enough.
The psychic pondered their confused conversation and began to sense something odd.
Bear… bear?
He recalled the classic question about how many people are in a room.
He asked the trio of thugs, “Wait, how many bears are here in total?”
“That, that…” The blond was sweating profusely, never having faced such a tricky question.
How many bears? Anyone with eyes could see: blue, red, pink—three bears! But could he say that? "Counting you, three bears." Could he say that to the Demon Lord’s face?!
No amount of courage would suffice; how was he supposed to answer?
The poor blond swallowed hard, forcing a smile uglier than crying.
“I—I’m a bear, does that work?”
Gongsun Ce frowned, “You’re human. I’m asking how many bears.”
Da Wu, bruised and battered, couldn’t hold back and bravely said, “Three—”
The blond and the buzz-cut man kicked him simultaneously, and Da Wu, clutching his backside, changed his answer, “Two bears!! Just two!!”
Gongsun Ce was deeply puzzled.
He thought Kirra’s unknown ability had been activated again, but the three claimed there were only two bears. That matched his understanding: himself, Miss Qin—why would Miles point to Kirra and call her a bear?
He pointed at the red bear, trying to be gentle, “Calm down, Miles. As you can see, there’s only one bear standing there. Can you explain now?”
Miles, his eyes full of terror, sadness, and grievance, looked at the red and pink bears together and half-collapsed, “There really are two bears!”
“You see clearly, there are indeed two bears. Now can you explain about the walkman?”
At this moment, the demon nodded in agreement. Miles struggled between thinking the world was insane or the demon was, and finally decided he must be the crazy one.
“The walkman is right—”
The red bear spoke.
“A Ce, you said it was disrespectful to call Kirra a bear, didn’t you?”
The gray-haired youth waved his hand with flair, “Anyone with common sense wouldn’t use an animal to describe a woman.”
“Then why did you so naturally call me a bear?”
The red bear stepped closer, the cute squeaks sharply contrasted by the cold, oppressive tone!
Qin Qianbai was furious—why? It made even less sense than the middle schooler’s words; he hadn’t said anything wrong!
Gongsun Ce looked at the big toy bear and the girl behind, who seemed ready to speak, recalling the commotion Kirra’s earlier words had caused. Suddenly, he realized: he mustn’t let Kirra speak now, or his life might be forfeit!
“Calm down, young lady!”
He pointed behind the big bear—pink twin tails, an outfit too embarrassing to stare at, unmistakable traits!
“That’s Miss Kirra standing there, meaning she’s a girl—isn’t that right?!”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The gray-haired youth looked at the approaching bear: black eyes, fluffy fur, round ears, big head, bear paws—no one could mistake these features!
“And you, from any angle, are definitely a bear!”
The thugs and middle schooler wore expressions of shock, confusion, fear, and a hint of awe, making the psychic instantly realize he’d said something wrong.
“I see.”
(Gongsun, save me…)
The red bear’s roar and Shigure-kun’s cry for help rang out together! The psychic, unable to be everywhere at once, fell into unprecedented despair. Should he resolve the misunderstanding first or save Shigure Renichi?
(Quick explanation!)
(I’m with Cardesia in Hall 4, the movie here is… a restricted yuri film…)
At this moment, the gray-haired youth realized there were people far more desperate than himself.
Now came the ultimate choice, Gongsun Ce. Time was limited; he couldn’t do much. Should he save himself or help his friend one last time?
He decided.
“Miss Kirra, who has the walkman now?!”
Finally finding a chance to speak, the girl replied anxiously, “Shigure Renichi and Cardesia have it!”
“Damn!” “Mother!” “No way!” The three thugs howled in unison at the name, and the middle schooler seemed to recall something! The psychic used telekinesis to lift the four and rushed to the cinema!
“Listen up! When we get in, immediately ask about the walkman, use it as an excuse to get them out! That way you finish your task, and someone unfortunate might be saved!”
The psychic flung open the Hall 4 back door, spotting the two in the rear row. He dragged the four along, lowering his voice, “Could you please come out for a moment? These guests think you may have taken the wrong item!”
The girls in the cinema turned, eyeing the blue bear and his entourage. On the big screen, the conflict ended; the two female leads sighed and embraced, falling asleep. Both inside and outside the screen, silence reigned, echoing the saying, ‘Great sound is rare.’
The quiet lingered until a sudden noise broke it. The middle schooler, unused to such scenes, had a nosebleed.
“Pfft, hahaha!” The blonde woman in the top hat laughed, “Wrong item? The Death Wing team-building movie ticket?”
The blond thug bowed deeply, “Cardesia, could we talk outside…”
Cardesia propped her face with one hand.
“Why? I’m watching a movie—let’s talk here. If you want to watch, go buy a ticket.”
Her male companion gazed at the ceiling, serene as a corpse.
The buzz-cut man stammered, “That ticket you got from the bear, could you show us…”
Cardesia shrugged and handed over the ticket she’d gotten from the red bear. The blond, tense, pressed the middle schooler, “How did it change? How?!”
Miles, clutching his nose, said, “She just tapped it and it turned into this, really! Really!!”
The blond jabbed the ticket, shouting, “Change! Change!!”
Nothing happened.
He jabbed several times in frustration, “Change for me!!!”
The ticket seemed uninterested in changing.
“Everyone… quick…” At that moment, Gongsun Ce saw Kirra enter the cinema, waving and saying something to the audience. The girls rose one by one, shot the group a disdainful look, and left through the back door. The psychic sensed trouble!
But events would not halt for his anxiety, and the Death Wing trio pressed on. Da Wu shouted, “Lion Sister, please let us off! We just want a walkman!!”
His plea worked a miracle, bringing Shigure-kun back to reality, and he and Gongsun Ce gasped in unison.
The other two thugs’ faces turned green. They frantically covered the big guy’s mouth, “He’s new, please forgive—”
The middle schooler, remembering Death Wing's stories, stared at the ill-tempered woman: blonde, top hat, stunning, accompanied by a young man in a suit…
Stories told by older classmates surfaced, tales of terrifying psychics and their feats, of one particularly “unfriendly,” “moody,” “extremely frightening” woman, and her notorious nickname…
“—Red Lion!!!!”
Miles screamed in terror, echoed by the two thugs.
“No, no!!”
“I think describing women as wild animals is extremely vile. So, I…”
Cardesia said nonchalantly.
“I utterly loathe the nickname Red Lion.”
The screaming thugs and the middle schooler, realizing they’d crossed a line, bolted for the back door, only to spin around faster than before—because a red bear, radiating menace, was coming in.
“Kirra is a girl, I am a bear. I see, A Ce.”
Gongsun Ce protested, “But you really are a bear!!”
Wham! The red bear’s headpiece missed him by a hair, smashing a corner of the screen like a cannonball! Seeing the girl’s expressionless face, Gongsun Ce realized what he’d shouted. He tore off his own headpiece, despairing, “No, young lady, I didn’t mean it that way!! You’re not a bear!!!”
The toy bear suit was shattered from inside, red fur and fabric scattering across the cinema! Cardesia turned to her companion, her tone displeased.
“Hey, Renichi. Isn’t it time to explain what you’re up to?”
The blue bear suit was ripped apart with a karate chop! Emerging, Gongsun Ce shouted, “Don’t misunderstand, it was all an accident—”
The suited youth calmly stood up from his seat.
“Soon, trust me.”
He signaled the girl to pause, then led the bewildered psychic to the big screen, passing by the four unlucky souls huddled in the corner, and stood at the center of the cinema.
Having drawn everyone’s attention, Shigure-kun laughed cheerfully three times.
“Hahaha!”
He extended both hands, applauding with the elegance of a gentleman at the end of a play, saying with heartfelt emotion,
“Cardesia, you’ve been pranked!”
Gongsun Ce nearly fainted.
“I see.”
Then—
Everyone in the cinema, outside the cinema, and throughout the building felt it at that moment—
The rise in room temperature.
“Oh dear, I really overthought things.”
Though it was a warm spring day, it now felt like being inside a furnace. Breaths grew labored, sweat poured, lips cracked, heat and high temperatures assaulted every body, and the only explanation was the crimson glow emerging behind the woman in the top hat.
“Shigure Renichi, Gongsun Ce, you must know what fate awaits men who cause such a string of farces just to amuse girls.”
Flames, redder than blood—this common yet dangerous phenomenon was the true form of Cardesia Spencer’s ability.
The fire scorched everything in the cinema, solidifying behind Cardesia into a fierce, terrifying shape—the head of a crimson lion, the beast of flame that devours all enemies!
“I’m angry, A Ce.”
With that declaration, the young lady snatched a strand of fire and turned it into a crimson longsword.
Two women, more ferocious than beasts, more terrifying than ghosts, advanced step by step. The psychic instantly concluded: this time, he was truly finished—no one could save them!
“Listen, Shigure-kun, after I block the first wave, run for it! Baryon—”
The young man in the suit smiled, gripping his hand tightly.
(Don’t even think about using baryon, Gongsun. I’ll pay any price, but I won’t let you escape here.)
(If you want to die, don’t drag me with you!!!)
Like successful businessmen at a lectern, they shook hands and looked toward the glowing inferno below.
“You despicable men!”
“Go to hell and reflect on your actions!”
The sword of flame and the beast of fire, fueled by the women’s wrath, charged forth!
In the final moment, Gongsun Ce thought,
(I really think if I try just a bit harder, there might be hope.)
Shigure Renichi replied gently,
(It’s been hopeless for a long time. Prepare to die.)
Thus, the men’s backs faded into the blaze—
·
“Midday Newsflash.
This morning, a serious arson incident occurred at the Extreme Stability Building in the Dingyi District. The Extreme Stability Building is one of the city’s oldest shopping centers, renowned for a decade of uninterrupted safety. After thorough verification, no casualties resulted from the fire, only minor property damage. The shopping center’s spokesperson suggested it was likely an impulsive incident sparked by romance, and advised young psychics to handle their feelings calmly, not to let love turn to hate and harm others…”
The TV hostess continued detailing the incident, and Mo Yuankai, unable to bear listening, switched the channel.
He silently prayed for a second, shook his head, and sighed, “Serves them right…”
You are a genius; remember instantly—Red Sweet Spring: