Starry Sky Railway: Twin Origins

Chapter 32: How come you're using cheat codes while playing hide-and-seek?

At this moment, Xing was also seriously observing the situation around her, trying to find a place nearby where a small child could hide.

Seeing the serious expressions of the two people not far away, Lin Qiong sighed softly, then crossed his arms, leaned back slightly, and rested against the wall behind him.

After searching around and coming back, March 7th saw Lin Qiong leaning against the wall looking rather uninterested, and immediately asked, "What's wrong, Qiong?"

"Did I make you unhappy by dragging you to come and play with us?"

Xing happened to return at that moment, and she happened to see March 7th asking Lin Qiong apologetically.

She then realized that it might be because she and March 7th had forced Lin Qiong to play hide-and-seek with them without considering Lin Qiong's feelings.

Thinking of this, Xing also cast an apologetic look at Lin Qiong, behaving like a child who had done something wrong.

However, when Lin Qiong saw the apologetic look in San Yueqi and Xing's eyes, he was slightly taken aback.

I never expected that just wanting to rest here for a while would be misunderstood by the two of them as me being unhappy.

Lin Qiong then shook his head and said, "I'm not unhappy. I just wanted you to feel a sense of participation, so I'm resting here."

Lin Qiong was not joking, because he knew very well where Hook and the others were hiding.

If I were to intervene, this game of hide-and-seek could end immediately.

"Wouldn't we feel involved?" Xing looked at Lin Qiong with a puzzled expression.

Although she was glad that Lin Qiong wasn't angry with them about this, she was still a little confused by what Lin Qiong said.

“We just searched the area but couldn’t find any trace of Hook and the others. Could you possibly find them?” March 7 asked curiously.

After saying that, Xing nodded, completely agreeing with what March 7th had said.

Just now, the two of them walked around the neighborhood, bumping into each other several times while passing through some alleys, but ultimately they couldn't find any trace of Hook and the others.

Then, to prove he wasn't joking, Lin Qiong slowly walked towards a nearby stone bridge under the watchful eyes of the two men.

Lin Qiong arrived at the two abandoned minecarts under the arch of the stone bridge and, to the astonishment of March 7 and Xing, picked up Hook, who was still facing the wall.

"You can't see me...you can't see me...huh?"

While looking at the wall and muttering to herself, Hook suddenly felt two hands supporting her under her armpits. Before she could react, those hands lifted her into the air.

Hook struggled desperately in mid-air to get away; she had never been held by anyone other than her father before.

"Quick...put Hook down!" Hook struggled and shouted, his short legs kicking wildly in the air. "Otherwise, I'll show you how powerful the hole-punching machine is!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong immediately put the struggling Hook down.

As soon as he landed, Hook turned around to see who had picked him up. His face was flushed with anger, and his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel with its mouth full of food.

As soon as Hook saw Lin Qiong looking at her with a smile, her anger subsided by more than half, replaced by disbelief.

Not far away, March 7th and Xing also jogged over to Lin Qiong's side, their faces bearing similar expressions to Hook's.

"See? I told you so, didn't I?" Lin Qiong smiled at the two of them. "If I were to get involved, you wouldn't feel like you were part of the conversation."

"Yes, yes, I know you're amazing," March 7 replied irritably, then turned to look at Hook.

"Hook, now that we've caught you, shouldn't you tell us where that big brother went?"

Unwilling to be the first to be caught, Hook crossed his arms over his chest, stomped his short legs on the ground, turned his head to the side, and made a "humph" sound.

"Although...although you have captured Lord Black Hook, we Mole Gang still have two comrades!"

"You won only if you capture them all."

Hook seemed very confident in his remaining two companions: "You have no chance of catching them!"

After saying that, Hook stuck out his tongue and made a big face at Lin Qiong and the others.

Looking at Hook's expression, Lin Qiong's lips twitched. He hadn't expected the kid to be so competitive.

"Then I'll have no choice but to find them all and make you admit defeat." With that, Lin Qiong headed towards the hiding place of the second child.

After stepping back from under the stone bridge, Lin Qiong walked to his left, which faced the bridge, and found a little girl next to several wooden boxes on an uphill section of the path.

Lin Qiong acted as if he had a radar on, showing no intention of even looking into the nooks and crannies of those alleys, as if he was certain that no one was hiding there.

This action stunned March 7 and Star. They searched high and low, turning the streets and alleys upside down, but still couldn't find any trace of Hook and the others.

As a result, Lin Qiong caught two of them at once, which was hard for them to accept.

The little girl didn't seem annoyed after being discovered by Lin Qiong. Instead, she straightened her back and said with a shifty gaze:

"Hmph, although you've found me, you'll have to answer one question correctly if you want to truly capture me."

But Lin Qiong wasn't buying it: "If I caught you, I caught you. There's no rule that says you have to answer questions."

The little girl blushed when she realized her little scheme had been exposed, and gave an awkward laugh: "...Tch, I thought you'd fall for it..."

Just then, she saw Hook coming with March 7th and Xing, and she quickly ran to Hook's side.

The little girl looked at Hook, and with her head drooping dejectedly, she said, "Waaah... Boss Hook, I failed."

"It's alright," Hook said, patting the little girl's head to comfort her. "Julian will definitely not lose!"

Hearing this, the little girl, who had been feeling quite pessimistic, instantly perked up. She nodded emphatically in agreement and said, "Yes! Julian will definitely not lose!"

It seems the two have a lot of confidence in this little boy named Julian.

Overhearing their conversation, March 7th leaned closer to Lin Qiong and whispered, "Qiong, are you confident you can catch that little boy?"

("Isn't his transformation ability too powerful in this game?")

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong waved his hand without answering March 7, and then walked towards a young man wearing glasses standing under a street lamp.

Lin Qiong walked up to the young man and stared straight at him.

Seeing Lin Qiong staring at him, the young man nervously took a step back and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "W-what are you doing? Why are you staring at me like that?"

March 7th and the others followed at this moment. When she saw Lin Qiong's strange behavior, she asked, "What's wrong, Qiong? Is there something wrong with this person?"

The others also looked puzzled. They didn't know why Lin Qiong had suddenly run up to a passerby and stared at him so intently.

“Yes,” Lin Qiong replied, staring intently at the young man, “because he is Julian.”

"Huh?" March 7th and Star looked at the young man in front of Lin Qiong in shock. "Is he that little boy?"

Upon hearing this, Hook and the little girl also looked at the young man, their eyes scanning him closely, trying to discern some distinctive features.

Sensing the gazes of the crowd, the young man suddenly became flustered: "Who...who is Julian...Don't talk nonsense!"

But perhaps because of nervousness, the young man's hoarse voice suddenly became childish.

After saying that, the young man's eyes widened immediately, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

However, his voice had already given him away, and everyone looked at the young man speechlessly.

"...Hey, you've already been exposed, aren't you going to admit defeat?"

After March 7th finished speaking, thick smoke billowed from the young man's body.

After the smoke cleared, the boy's original appearance was revealed. He stomped his foot on the floor in frustration, saying, "...Damn it, I should have just kept quiet."

"Boss Hook, I failed..." The little boy walked up to Hook and said unwillingly, "I, 'Thousand-Faced Julian,' have no face to see you, Boss."

"Damn it, even Julian failed..." Hook glared at Lin Qiong angrily, "How did you find us all so quickly?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong shrugged, spread his hands, and replied casually, "You and that little girl are hiding too conspicuously, while that little boy often turns his head to look in our direction after transforming."

"Now that I've captured you all, do we win?"

Hearing Lin Qiong's words, March 7 quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, Lord Black Hook, shouldn't you tell us where our big brother is?"

“Hmm... Hook is the leader of the Mole Gang, and he always keeps his word!” Hook nodded obediently. “Hook saw the black-haired big brother being taken to the fight club by the blue-haired uncle.”

"Fight Club?" March 7th was taken aback when he heard the name. Just from the name, he knew it wasn't a good place.

She then continued to say to Hook, "So, Lord Hook, could you take us to that Fight Club?"

"Hmm... We can't even find such a conspicuous big house. The adults are really unreliable..." Hook waved to Lin Qiong and the others, "Come with Hook, I'll take you there."

After saying that, Hook made a "whoosh" sound and ran towards the fight club, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Lin Qiong and the others hurriedly chased after him, fearing that losing track of Hook would prevent them from finding the location of the Fight Club.