Chapter 69: The Joy of an A-rank Bigshot (Second Update)
The manga ended here, marked with the words “Illusion and Reality Arc Concluded.”
As Li Li looked at Heige’s profile in the final scene, her expression grew heavy.
This event had never happened—she hadn’t done this.
It wasn’t malicious editing; it was pure fabrication.
Yet, this scene fit perfectly in the manga, successfully hinting to readers a possibility.
The possibility that Heige was speaking to a deceased Li.
Li Li had originally thought the manga artist could only depict events that occurred in the manga world, which explained things like malicious edits.
But this update revealed that the manga artist could draw events that never happened in the manga world.
This made the entire situation even more perplexing.
However, it didn’t have much immediate impact on Li Li, as she still couldn’t catch the system’s tail.
Li Li felt she’d need to reach high-rank before she could uncover anything significant.
After all, last time, Yue Qing’s S-rank ice had bypassed the system in an instant, following her into the real world.
So, she washed up, got into bed, and started browsing the forum.
In Li Li’s eyes, the manga artist’s final stroke was directed at the prophet.
But to the manga readers, it was aimed at ‘Li.’
As a result, Li fans had to once again accept that their male god was truly dead and also grapple with the fact that the villainous boss Heige, whom they despised, was their male god’s close friend.
What the Li fans wanted to say could be summed up in one sentence: Manga artist, I’ll knock your block off!
[???? What’s going on with the new chapter? Who is Heige talking to?]
[Holy crap, what kind of divine plot twist is this?!]
[So, is Ahoge Li really dead?]
[Yu Xiao, sweetie, if you can’t say something nice, how about not saying anything?]
[Analysis post: What exactly is the relationship between Heige and Li?]
[I don’t believe it! Li Baige isn’t Heige’s Li, Li isn’t dead, and they can’t be on good terms!]
[Crying Bird’s growth… I don’t know why, but it brought tears to my eyes.]
[So, after all the fighting between Li fans and Heige fans, it turns out Heige and Li were pretty close?]
[It’s like I was walking down the street and got kicked out of nowhere. Manga artist, you’ve stabbed me twice.]
[I suddenly can’t hate Heige anymore…]
[Let’s just say, today’s Heige bigshot is still as handsome as ever!]
…
[Analysis post: What exactly is the relationship between Heige and Li?]
1L Original Poster
Case closed, everyone. The manga artist has made it very clear.
[Heige removing the earring.jpg]
[Heige talking to the air, right.jpg]
[Heige in the square saying, “If you were alive”.jpg]
When Yan Changxiao appeared, he said Li Baige hid all their emotions in the ice-blue pendant, including their care for Little Corgi.
In the later part of the Illusion and Reality Arc, Heige took off the pendant and spoke to it, which was equivalent to speaking to the person who cared about Little Corgi.
That person could only be Li.
The ice-blue pendant represents Li, representing Heige’s brother or friend.
Their relationship was extremely close, perhaps even singularly so.
At the end of the Jiao Huang Arc, Heige killed Yue Lan and chased Qing Yu Chen out of Qing Tong.
We initially thought Li was the last to die, so we assumed Heige was the killer.
But after this scene was revealed in the manga, things changed.
Based on the information provided, Heige cared about Li, this already-dead person, even saying, “If you were still alive.”
So, he absolutely wouldn’t have killed Li.
The sequence at the end of the Jiao Huang Arc should be like this: After sending Little Corgi and Tang away from Qing Tong, Li, being weak, was killed by Yue Lan.
By the time Heige arrived at Qing Tong, it was too late.
Heige avenged Li by killing Yue Lan and chasing Qing Yu Chen.
But perhaps before Li died, they told Heige about Little Corgi, which is why Heige initially resented Little Corgi.
So, he created Li’s corpse to provoke Yiming, making Yiming feel the same pain he did.
Later, pushing Yiming to realize his own weakness—wasn’t that also a reflection of feeling that Li’s death was unjust?
If you weren’t so weak, would he have died for you?
2L
Who would’ve thought? The Heige that Li fans despised turns out to be the one who cared about Li the most.
So, what was all that fighting between the two fanbases for?
3L
Last chapter me: This twist is amazing! There can’t possibly be a better twist!
This chapter me: I was too naive. Manga artist, you’re the best!
Washing clean a sadistic villain in two chapters—brilliant.
4L
Now that I think about it, the name of this arc, Illusion and Reality Arc, is so fitting.
The false Li, the false Li Baige, the real Li, the real Heige—truth and illusion, perfectly captured in those two words.
Li Baige saved Yiming but refused to see him, which reflects Heige’s attitude toward Yiming. He paid attention to Yiming because of Li, but he himself dislikes Yiming.
5L
This foreshadowing, this twist—I’m clapping in awe.
So, is Ahoge Li truly the eternal white moonlight? Yiming’s white moonlight, and Heige’s white moonlight.
Ahoge Li, forever a god!
6L
Sob, sob, sob, I don’t know who to cry for—Li, who died and had Heige protect Yiming, or Heige, who lost Li and now walks forward alone.
Heige, bigshot, how are you this tragic too?!
…
[Who could’ve imagined I’d one day cry for Heige?]
1L Original Poster
Sorry, Li, but Heige saying “If you weren’t dead” with that expression really makes me want to cry.
2L
Hugging the OP. Same here, I’m still in shock.
Can I take back all the times I cursed Heige?
3L
Li died, and the one who’s most heartbroken is Heige.
4L
I take back everything I said before. Heige, bigshot, live a long life!
5L
I can’t accept this.
I hated this guy for so long, and now you’re telling me he didn’t harm anyone, and it was all a misunderstanding?
6L
The manga artist has no heart!
A few days ago, I broke down because Li Baige was Heige.
Today, I’m breaking down again because Li Baige is Heige.
But the reasons for breaking down are different!
7L
The fish cries, and the sea knows. I cry, and who knows?
Suddenly, I feel that although Heige is a bigshot, there are still things he can’t do.
When he said Yiming was weak, was he also talking about himself?
If he had been stronger, more powerful, could he have arrived in time to save Li?
8L
Stop it, no more knives. I won’t sleep tonight.
…
[Let’s Discuss: Heige’s Character Role]
1L Original Poster
Before these two chapters, Heige was the standard villainous bigshot, a malicious antagonist who toyed with the protagonist and disregarded life.
After these two chapters, Heige’s character has been completely flipped.
From a villain to a villain with deep reasons—or perhaps he’ll become a hero later?
I’m starting to suspect the Illusion and Reality Arc was the manga artist’s tool to redeem Heige.
From the start, the artist set up Li Baige as a good person, then revealed Li Baige equals Heige, and finally told us Heige didn’t kill Li.
This combo punch left me dazed.
2L
He’s definitely getting redeemed. A villain with deep reasons is still a villain?
In the end, the only thing worth criticizing about Heige was that he killed Li and belittled them in front of Yiming, saying the weak deserve to die.
Now, the former has been overturned—Heige didn’t kill Li and was even deeply connected to him.
The latter has a reason too.
Heige calling Yiming weak is justified. If Yiming weren’t weak, would Li have stayed behind alone and died?
He’s got all the logic on his side.
3L
Honestly, before, I only felt Heige’s strength, like he was just a symbol of power.
Now, I feel like he’s becoming flesh and blood.
He has people he cares about and his own regrets.
His strength is real, but he also has a weak side—facing an irreversible death.
Yet, this ‘weakness’ makes him even more determined to walk his chosen path.
Oh man, I’m just gonna say it—I want to be Heige’s dog.
4L
The person above is weird.
I think the Former Ability Guild storyline will definitely start with Heige.
He’s probably going to join the protagonist group.
Look at how many times he saved Little Corgi.
Little Corgi himself said if Heige didn’t kill Li, he wouldn’t hate him.
Protagonist group, basically confirmed.
5L
You got it wrong. Little Corgi said if Li was fine, he wouldn’t hate Heige.
Li’s still dead, so it’s not certain.
6L
The thing is, with Heige’s tone and attitude, I feel like he wouldn’t join the protagonist group.
He seems more like he wants to handle things on his own.
7L
To put it bluntly, the current protagonist group is too weak.
If I were Heige, I wouldn’t want to keep babysitting kids either.
Too weak, Little Corgi.
…
[PBC Doujin: My Forever Sleeping Dear Friend]
[Former Ability Guild Analysis: Relationships Between the Three S-rank Nobles]
[Plot Prediction: The Next Arc Will Involve the Former Ability Guild]
[Analysis Post: What Are Rao Yue’s Motives? Her Identity Is Definitely Not Simple]
[Sob, sob, sob, I never thought when I became a Heige fan that he’d be a knife magnet too!]
[Some people are friends for a reason, like those two hedgehogs covered in knives (blood slowly dripping from my mouth)]
[Seeing the forum in mourning, I thought Heige had some terminal illness. And it’s just this? Does it affect his ability to kick butt?]
[Irresponsible Guess: Heige and Li’s Past]
[Little Corgi, hurry up and get stronger!]
Currently, the forum fully believes Li Baige equals Heige and that Li is dead.
The white moonlight script still belonged to Li, and his popularity hadn’t dropped.
At the same time, Heige gained a massive surge in popularity, with backstage popularity points skyrocketing.
Li Li’s plan had succeeded perfectly!
Whether the manga artist would drag things out, revealing Heige equals Li only at the end, or start setting it up soon, depended on her popularity.
Would she become a deeply conflicted villain in the manga, with her true identity revealed only at the end?
Or would she become a hidden protagonist, rivaling the main character’s status?
Honestly, Li Li wanted the latter.
“The protagonist group that appears regularly, versus a marginal villain who could be replaced if they don’t show up—isn’t the choice obvious?” She exited the forum and tapped on the manga artist’s pen name on the manga’s title page.
“But if I’m not mistaken, you’re thinking the same thing, aren’t you?” she said softly.
Otherwise, her identity wouldn’t have been crafted so coincidentally, so perfectly.
When the clock struck midnight again, entering the manga world:
[Data updated, total popularity points: 82,381.]
[Preparing for transmigration.]
[Channel opened. Wishing you success in becoming a high-popularity character, bringing new vitality to the manga.]
With the system’s announcement, Li Li opened her eyes to the morning sky of Jiao Huang’s exhibition.
Next stop: Ranmu City.
Let’s see how many more surprises the prophet had in store for her.
If going to Ranmu City initially was a choice made to follow her persona, now it was driven by Li Li’s strong personal desire.
She was intensely curious about the prophet’s identity, the system’s identity, and the reason for her transmigration.
Of course, she wouldn’t forget her goal.
She would become the manga’s top popularity character, and she was still moving toward that goal.
…
Unlike Four-Way City, which Qu Yan called a backwater, Ranmu City’s streets buzzed with ability-energy-powered vehicles speeding by.
White airships glided through the sky, and ability users could often be seen flying overhead.
Tall buildings, clean streets, high-tech architecture.
The city’s area was four times that of Four-Way City, living up to its status as the fief of an established noble clan.
Before entering Ranmu City, An Heyu had said, “I’ve heard a version of the Lin clan leader Lin Ran’s ability. She can detect ability fluctuations within her range. Using an ability in Ranmu City triggers her condition, allowing her to kill you from miles away.”
“Her eyes cover the entire city. Nothing in Ranmu City can be hidden from her unless she chooses not to look.”
“Ability users who cause trouble in her city will face immediate punishment,” An Heyu said, looking at Li Li. “So, when you’re in Ranmu City, try to use your ability as little as possible and avoid trouble.”
Hearing this, Li Li thought for a moment.
For her, this was too inconvenient.
If she couldn’t use her ability, she couldn’t even change her appearance.
But this was the inevitable path of choosing a city guarded by an SS-rank ability user—risk and opportunity went hand in hand.
An SS-rank was rumored to be capable of destroying an empire single-handedly.
Yet, Ranmu City wasn’t invulnerable.
“But Lin Ran has a regular schedule. From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., she’s asleep,” An Heyu continued, looking at the city and the large screens on its buildings.
In an advertisement, a handsome orange-haired youth looked at the camera, as if seeing beyond the screen.
“That period is called Ranmu City’s ‘Eternal Night,’” he said.
Ability users, suppressed all day, unleashed chaos in the night.
It was a lawless, chaotic, endlessly long night that seemed to never see dawn.
“Is that so?” Li Li looked over as well, saying softly, “That’s something to look forward to.”
So, on her first night in Ranmu City, she told An Heyu, “Uh-huh, I’m going to sleep,” then promptly jumped out the window, her boots landing on Ranmu City’s streets.
The moment her toes touched the ground, her appearance changed.
Unable to use her ability during the day, she had used Li’s appearance.
Now, with her ability activated, her face shifted to something bolder and more flamboyant.
She stood on Ranmu City’s streets, eager for the city to reveal its dark side.
And she didn’t have to wait long.
“An unfamiliar face. You’re not from Ranmu City, are you?” At the exit of a small alley, five men in different patterned T-shirts blocked the dead end. “Lost? Need us to show you the way?”
Clearly, their “showing the way” wasn’t genuine.
The youth in the shadows, as if not noticing the issue, slowly curved their lips.
“Sure,” she said, her tone light. “I’m quite curious to see what this city’s night looks like.”
From her current observations, it seemed an A-rank could walk sideways in Ranmu City.