Chapter 39: Brothers Can’t Become Wives
The night grew late, the apartment living room lit only by the flickering TV screen and the occasional shouts of two boys.
The PS6 exclusive Twin Shadows had just launched, and Lin Feng, who’d splurged on the deluxe edition, teamed up with Dongfang Cheng, who’d gleefully tagged along to play. Onscreen, their two characters frantically dodged a giant vacuum cleaner monster.
“Save me, save me! I’ve been down for thirty seconds—pull me up!” Lin Feng gripped the controller, veins popping.
“We’re dodging the same bullets—why’re you dead and I’m not? Git gud!” Dongfang shot back, unfazed, restarting the level as if the blue-capped character’s demise wasn’t his fault.
“Piss off, watch your dad carry you this time!”
They traded barbs—“noob dog,” “dumb son”—as their controllers clicked furiously. Their characters died in spectacular ways to traps and hazards, but despite the trash talk, they inched through the level.
“Finally… we made it…”
Two hours later, the “Chapter Complete” text flashed. Lin Feng exhaled, feeling more drained than if he’d fought a magical girl in armor. He dropped the controller, rubbing his sore wrists, while Dongfang slumped into the sofa.
“I’m grabbing water. Don’t start the next chapter—Biyangde’s killing my tendons,” Lin Feng said, heading to the kitchen. Returning with a glass, he found Dongfang dozing off, head bobbing, breathing even. The game’s lone character stood at the new chapter’s start, waiting for its partner.
“Lame,” Lin Feng muttered.
He tiptoed over, gently draping a thin blanket from the armrest over Dongfang.
“Seriously, what’d you do without your dad, huh?” he whispered, a faint, unnoticed smile in his voice.
Dongfang slept soundly. The curtains, not fully closed, let moonlight slip through, casting a soft silver glow on his forehead’s stray hairs.
Lin Feng’s heart stirred. His gaze flicked away, startled by the feminine beauty he saw in his best friend.
“I’m not gay, I’m not gay, I’m not gay…”
—But what if A-Cheng did become a girl?
His mind spiraled. If A-Cheng turned into a delicate, curvaceous girl with the same face, softer and prettier… could they still be bros?
Would he still sling an arm around A-Cheng, joking and roughhousing? Or would he feel compelled to protect her, care for her… maybe even pursue her?
Imagining a female A-Cheng in the cute skirts he’d helped pick, looking at him with Zero’s clear black eyes, calling him “Lin Feng” instead of “rich dog”…
Lin Feng’s cheeks burned.
No, no, no! It’s A-Cheng! Even as a girl, he’d still be the hotheaded delinquent who punches first. And they’re on opposite sides—unless she fell, there’s no way he could date her.
Bros are bros, not wives! Focus on the mission!
The report for Her Majesty was due by 1 a.m. on the 21st. He glanced at the computer’s clock—12:26 a.m. Plenty of time to draft a report on Magical Girl Zero’s weaknesses, balancing duty to Ouroboros with not screwing over A-Cheng.
Lin Feng stretched, relaxed, ready to brainstorm.
…Wait. The date was the 21st?
He leaned closer, squinting. Yep, 21st, 12:26 a.m.
“SHIT, I MISREAD THE TIME!”
A blood-curdling scream shattered the night.
In the living room, Dongfang stirred at the noise, rubbed his eyes, and promptly fell back asleep.
At the city’s edge, in a dark, damp abandoned industrial zone.
Moonlight pierced the holes of a decrepit factory, casting cold glints on golden armor. The girl’s silhouette stood tall and lethal in the wavering shadows.
A petty thief, unrepentant despite warnings, who’d just swiped snacks and a beer from a convenience store, was pinned to a rusted wall by her knightly longsword. The blade pierced his shoulder blade, metal grazing bone. He wailed, struggling, each movement deepening the pain and scraping bone with a faint grind. The knight stood impassive, her golden eyes devoid of emotion.
“Stealing goods is as stealing life. Your sin demands blood.”
She sniffed the air, her hunt far from over.
In a back alley off a decent commercial street, a middle-aged man, recently exposed for torturing stray cats and dogs for fun, hung suspended. Golden chains pierced his limbs, twisting them at unnatural angles, creaking under strain. Each breath came with a stifled groan.
“You delighted in tormenting the weak; your heart is no different from a demon’s. Your sin demands unending agony until your vile desires are purged—or your life ends.”
At her feet, a stray cat pounced on a pigeon too slow to fly. A golden flash, and the animal’s pained shriek echoed through the night.
In a deserted residential zone, abandoned due to water pollution, a high schooler held a lighter to a pile of old tires and furniture. Flames licked the kindling, flaring up, reflecting his stress-warped, sickly gleeful face. For weeks, he’d burned abandoned shacks and unclaimed junk to cope, unaware a golden figure had been tracking him.
As the fire roared and he panted neurotically, a shadow loomed behind him, armor glinting in the flames, terrifyingly cold. Sensing the chill, he turned, meeting emotionless golden eyes.
“You defile order with flame, unleashing inner demons, sowing seeds of greater calamity. Left unchecked, you’ll spark a wildfire. I shall sever your sin’s root here.”
Her voice was flat, stating fact. Before the boy could beg or explain, her icy sword swept across. Blood sprayed from his neck, a demonic fountain in the firelight. His body crumpled, his fading eyes catching the blaze and the knight’s cold retreating figure.
The Golden Needle Knights once had many members. Now, only Reida remained.
Blood dripped from her long blade, shattering on the ground. It had pierced many sinners, and her righteous judgment would not cease.