Akasha City’s Seventh District had a urban legend that had been circulating for nearly six months.
Whether it was the territories and influence of underground organizations or the shady transactions and deals that couldn’t see the light of day, they all disappeared one after another.
Some said it was a ghost, others said it was a gang’s cleaner, and still others claimed it was an execution program that went rogue after the city’s management AI lost control. In short, the versions varied, but they all had one thing in common.
The underworld of the Seventh District was being devoured by something. The local police station’s Countermeasures Section filed the case as a “Superpowered Crime Case,” number C-073.
“All witness accounts mention a white-haired, red-eyed female approximately 150 cm tall, true identity unknown.” Because all the incidents occurred at night, and because all witnesses said the shadow disappeared as silently as the night swallowed by daylight.
Thus, she was called—”White Night.”
In an old apartment building in the Seventh District, a thirty-year-old complex.
Lin Lingling pushed open the front door, kicking off her sneakers while unzipping her jacket.
“I’m home.”
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, flat without a trace of emotion.
“Welcome back, big sister!” From the kitchen came Lin Jiu’s cheerful reply, accompanied by the sizzling sound of something frying in a pan.
Lingling didn’t immediately walk into the living room. She stood in the entrance for a few seconds, looked down at the shoes she had kicked off—one tilted against the wall, the other flipped over—then ignored them. They were shoes she’d wear again tomorrow anyway; straightening them would only lead to the same mess.
This was a habit she’d developed in her previous life as a twenty-year-old guy. Even though she now had a 5-foot-tall female body, deep in her soul she was still that somewhat careless boy. Of course, now there was someone to clean up after her.
“Big sister.” Lin Jiu poked her head out of the kitchen. Her black hair was casually tied back with a white ribbon, her sapphire blue eyes curving into crescent moons.
Her apron had a cartoon penguin printed on it, forming a subtle contrast with her face, which was as delicate as a doll.
“Shoes.”
“…Got it.”
Lingling walked expressionlessly back to the entrance and straightened the shoes. Only then did Lin Jiu, satisfied, retreat into the kitchen.
This was her daily life now.
When she and her sister escaped from the secret organization “Cradle” half a year ago, she thought she’d be living on the run, knife at her throat every day. But unexpectedly, after being picked up by Chiyotsuki, she instead found herself with food on the table, a bed to sleep in, and even someone to straighten her shoes.
Though that someone sometimes looked at her with a gaze that sent chills down her spine. Like now.
“Where did big sister go today?”
Lin Jiu came out carrying plates, a slightly unsettling smile on her face.
“School.”
“And after school?”
“…Library.”
“But the library’s surveillance footage doesn’t have you in it.”
Silence.
Lingling raised her red eyes and stared at her sister expressionlessly.
Lin Jiu tilted her head, her smile unwavering. Those blue eyes clearly said: ‘Stinky big sister is lying to me. Why is big sister lying to me? Does big sister have someone else outside?’
“…Did you hack the surveillance?”
“Big sister Chiyotsuki taught me. She said the student council’s authority can access all public surveillance around the academy.”
Lingling silently made a mental note to get back at Chiyotsuki later.
“I went to deal with something.”
“Dangerous?”
“Not dangerous.”
“Injured?”
“No.”
Lin Jiu walked up to her, bent down, and carefully inspected her face, neck, and arms. Only after confirming there were no wounds did she sigh in relief.
“Thank goodness.”
She smiled. “If big sister got hurt, I would be very angry. So angry that I might do something… not so nice.”
Lin Jiu’s tone was extremely gentle, but it sent a chill down Lingling’s spine.
Lingling stared at her expressionlessly, then reached out and flicked her forehead.
“Ow.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“…Big sister is so mean. I was just worried.”
“Worrying is fine. Threatening isn’t.”
Lin Jiu covered her forehead, pouting, but her eyes were full of happiness—because her sister had touched her.
Lingling sighed inwardly.
‘I’ve seen plenty of yandere little sisters in anime and novels in my past life, but raising one in person is a hundred times more troublesome than I imagined. Still…’
She didn’t dislike it.
“Eat.”
“Okay!”
Dinner was sweet and sour pork ribs, seaweed and egg drop soup, rice, and some pickled side dishes.
Lin Jiu’s cooking skills were absurdly good.
Lingling had once asked her where she learned, and the answer was “the nutrition database in the facility” and “later I watched videos to teach myself.”
Turning nutritional data and cooking videos into food of this level—that must count as some kind of talent.
“Is it good, big sister?”
“Mm.”
“Awesome.”
Lin Jiu rested her chin on her hands and watched her eat with a smile. She had barely touched her own portion.
“Eat too.”
“I want to watch big sister eat first.”
“…It’s not good to eat while being stared at.”
Lin Jiu’s eyes instantly welled up with tears: “Does big sister… hate me watching her…”
Lingling’s chopsticks paused.
She knew it was an act. She knew those tears would disappear in three seconds.
But still—
“…Do as you like.”
“Okay!”
Sure enough, the tears vanished in three seconds. Lingling ate her ribs, thinking she’d probably never understand her sister’s mysterious brain circuits for the rest of her life.
***
After dinner, Lin Jiu cleared the dishes.
Lingling sat cross-legged in front of the small coffee table in the living room, using a tablet to record her recent actions. After finishing the activity log, she started searching for suspicious news or urban legends in the city.
“Big sister.” Lin Jiu came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands.
“Today I got a message from Chiyotsuki. She said she wants to come for dinner tomorrow night.”
“…Again?”
“She said ‘I want to taste Jiu’s new dishes’.”
Lingling was silent for a few seconds.
Chiyotsuki’s frequency of coming for dinner had been increasing noticeably. From once a week to once every three days, and now every other day.
“Does big sister not like Chiyotsuki coming over?” Lin Jiu tilted her head and asked.
Her expression was innocent, but Lingling felt there was a hint of something in her sister’s eyes.
“…I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
That was the truth. Chiyotsuki was her lifesaver and one of the few people who knew her identity without prying too much. That blue-haired, golden-eyed girl kept a nearly perfect sense of proportion, offering help while maintaining distance.
But precisely because of that, Lingling felt she couldn’t quite see through her.
“That’s good then.”
Lin Jiu smiled. “I like Chiyotsuki too.”
A pause.
“Of course, I like big sister the most.”
Lingling decided not to respond to that.