FI CH 46

Chapter 46: Pre-War Preparations (III)

“This isn’t what we agreed on.” After sending Jing He away, Lin Yuan turned to the man opposite him. “You could have erased all her memories of this place. Why drag her into this?”

“She’s an ability user too. I won’t let go of anyone with potential value.” Qin Yu curled his lips into a smile. His face was so exquisitely beautiful that his smile should have been pleasant to look at—yet it was cold to the bone. “Lin Yuan, when you agreed to work with me, you should have known exactly what kind of person I am.”

Lin Yuan stared at him coldly without a word.

Qin Yu met his gaze fearlessly. “Don’t forget your original purpose. The root of all these mistakes lies in the very existence of ability users. Public opinion is a terrifying force. You can’t clear Feng Xu’s name. You can’t get justice for his death. All you can do is take revenge on those so-called righteous people.”

Lin Yuan didn’t answer him, but instead asked, “You tampered with her memories?”

“You noticed?” Qin Yu smiled, not even bothering to deny it. “I went to great trouble to make her hold a deep, unshakable gratitude toward you, her savior. I simply wanted to make her more loyal to us. But I can assure you—her feelings for you aren’t fake…”

Lin Yuan cut him off. “And the others? Who else have you done this to?”

“Guess.”

Lin Yuan clenched his fists, though his expression remained unchanged. “I agreed to work with you, but not to let you lay hands on my people.”

“We never agreed that you could act on your own, either,” Qin Yu countered, dragging the topic back. “You met those two derivative ability users, didn’t you? Why didn’t you capture them?”

Lin Yuan caught the key point in that statement, his gaze toward Qin Yu growing even colder. “I don’t need to tell you everything.”

“Don’t look at me with those eyes like you want to kill me. I’m not your enemy.” Qin Yu shrugged indifferently and took a few steps forward. As he passed by Lin Yuan, he lowered his voice and said, “Lin Yuan, I can tolerate your little tricks—but don’t go too far.”

“After all, you can’t go back anymore.”

***

“Regarding Lin Yuan’s sentence, the United Army has reached a joint decision… death, and death only.” When the young colonel spoke the final word, the room fell silent.

Bai Hua seemed stunned as well. He remembered that just moments ago, they had been discussing countermeasures—how had the topic suddenly jumped to this?

This time, Kurosawa didn’t speak aloud. Instead, he used a mental link to say to Bai Hua, “It’s probably because… they can no longer hide the fact that he’s a Dark Sentinel. The United Army must take a stand on the side of justice.”

Bai Hua glanced at him. “But isn’t his family… not involved?”

Kurosawa shook his head. “Precisely because of that, they have to protect the family’s honor. Sacrificing kin for the greater good.”

“So his identity… is the main reason?”

“Don’t overthink it. It also has to do with Lin Yuan’s own choices. He might have… already guessed this would be the outcome.”

Bai Hua was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “Kurosawa, I—”

Kurosawa cut him off. “Shh, don’t say anything right now. After the meeting, I have something to tell you. Whatever you were going to say—think about it again after you hear me out…”

After the strategy meeting, the group had already drafted an initial battle plan, leaving the intelligence and tactics teams to finalize the details while they waited for the enemy’s next move…

At that time, Bai Hua followed Kurosawa into a military conference room. The walls were made of a special material that could prevent ability users’ powers from penetrating, completely blocking out any external surveillance.

From Kurosawa’s cautious demeanor, Bai Hua knew that whatever he was about to say was extremely important.

Although their bond had been formed under uncontrollable circumstances, Bai Hua had indeed failed to fully consider how much trouble his identity as a Dark Sentinel could bring to Kurosawa. He couldn’t guarantee that he could hide it for the rest of his life—but thinking of Lin Yuan’s fate…

“Bai Hua.”

Kurosawa’s voice suddenly broke Bai Hua’s train of thought. Bai Hua looked up to see Kurosawa gazing at him with a serious, solemn expression.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then… I want to take you to meet someone.”

“Who?”

“My father—Admiral Blackfeather.”

“You…” Bai Hua was completely stunned. Back in the underground city, when he had heard Kurosawa talk about his younger sister, he could never have imagined that Kurosawa was also the son of a high-ranking officer. But now Bai Hua finally understood why the matters Kurosawa reported to the higher-ups always seemed to receive such swift responses.

“I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It’s just… there really wasn’t much to say about it.” Kurosawa gave a helpless smile before continuing, “When my sister died, my father once told me something—that I should make her death mean something. Because of those words, I decided to do everything in my power to do what I should do.”

Bai Hua opened his mouth, unsure for a long while what to say to comfort him—but he figured Kurosawa didn’t really need comfort. “You have a very good father.”

Seeing his reaction, Kurosawa smiled faintly. “Then I’ll tell you something even more surprising.”

“What is it?”

“My mother… is actually an ordinary person.”

Compared to the previous revelation, this struck Bai Hua even harder. He was so astonished he didn’t even know how to react. Indeed, during the era of the semi-forced pairing system, the union of an ability user and an ordinary person was almost unthinkable. This was without doubt a huge secret. He knew that Kurosawa was telling him this now only because of absolute trust.

“How did your father… manage that?”

“Just a few tricks. He successfully hid it for more than twenty years.”

Bai Hua knew he couldn’t dig deeper, so he simply nodded and said, “I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Bai Hua, the reason I’m telling you this is because I want you to understand—A person can have ambition and ideals, justice and empathy, kindness and courage, but they cannot be without the means to achieve them. As long as we don’t violate the core principles, we can still make appropriate compromises. Otherwise, it’s all just empty talk.”

Kurosawa added, “You’re not wrong. I just don’t want you to spend your entire life only living under the sunlight.”

Bai Hua stared into Kurosawa’s pale-golden eyes, which were now filled with a gentle light. He was stunned, unable to speak. He hadn’t even realized that Kurosawa had already thought so far ahead for his sake.

“You… when did you start thinking about all this?”

“Ever since I learned your identity.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“If we want his help, we can’t hide it from him.”

“But not everyone is like you… able to accept it so easily…”

“That’s why we have to present evidence that can convince him. It might be difficult, but I’ve never planned on giving up.”

Hearing this, Bai Hua couldn’t find any reason to refuse him.

Kurosawa spoke with firm, unwavering seriousness, “I told you—you’re not alone. So, no matter what happens, don’t push yourself away so easily.”

(To be continued…)

T/N: Kurosawa continues to prove he’s the ultimate green flag 💚 — not just protecting Bai Hua, but actively planning for his future,making sure he’s never isolated, and trusting him with secrets most people would never reveal. And the best part? Bai Hua meets him halfway. Their trust and understanding click together so naturally, it’s like they were built for each other. Honestly, they fit so well it’s almost unfair to the rest of us. ଘ(੭◌ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚