Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

213: After All These Twists and Turns, Who's Real?

Reno walked out of the elevator. He did not have any "X" mark on his hand.

From Lin Sanjiu's explanation, Rena learned how Lin Sanjiu distinguished them from the imposters. She looked at Reno's wrist. Seeing that there was no mark, she called out to him slightly emotionally, "Reno!"

Reno reacted with slight astonishment. In a moment of rashness, Rena was about to rush out, but when she took her first step, Lin Sanjiu immediately stretched her body into a two-finger-like form and 'pinched' the corner of Rena's dress.

'Even if he doesn't have a mark, we should be cautious. After all, he just appeared all of a sudden. Let's hear what he has to say,' Lin Sanjiu thought.

When Reno saw his sister, he was flabbergasted. He switched his gaze from the floating brain to his sister and back again several times before he finally stammered, wanting to convey too many things simultaneously, "Re-Rena, you're here? I mean, no. I mean, you're Rena, right? Something was pretending to be you. It attacked me! And... Lin Sanjiu, you're faster than me."

For a second, Lin Sanjiu found the situation difficult to manage. Since both siblings were accompanied by an imposter just moments before, it created a problem. Neither experienced the same thing, so they were on different pages.

When Reno 1, the imposter, told Rena about fighting with a spirit that resembled her, the real Reno was still looking for his sister. Naturally, once he finally found her, he couldn't wait to share the incident with her again. Based on this logic, the Reno in front of them should be the real deal.

However, since the fake Reno took a precaution and disappeared, he must have realized that he had let something slip by. Removing the mark from his wrist wasn't hard if it knew. 'If he's acting like this, it's his first time seeing his sister after the event.' Lin Sanjiu took a quick glimpse of Rena. She was frowning slightly, seeming to be thinking about the same thing.

In other words, when Lin Sanjiu discovered the imposter's identity, the fake Reno could have done the following: First, come up to the 26th floor with Rena. Then, disappear from the 26th floor. He might have waited for Lin Sanjiu to meet with Rena before appearing as the real Reno.

Lin Sanjiu couldn't even ask Reno to use his ability to prove himself. For some reason, the fake Reno had shown he could use [Did you check your almanac before leaving your house today?].

According to Reno, he had rested in the apartment unit after Lin Sanjiu rushed out to chase the spirit. After a while, 'Lin Sanjiu' returned and searched the entire building with him, trying to look for his sister. They saw the elevator going up before stopping at the 26th floor. While Reno took the elevator up, the fake Lin Sanjiu flew out of the building to head upstairs, which was why he exclaimed she was faster than him.

His explanation did match what was written in Lin Sanjiu's Diary Card. After Reno finished, Rena kept quiet for some time. She looked at Lin Sanjiu and the teenage boy in front of her a few times, seeming uncertain as to whether he was her brother.

Lin Sanjiu felt clueless as she observed the teenage boy before her. 'If the spirit successfully tricked the real Reno, why did it release him? Wouldn't those sly spirits be worried if the siblings left the building immediately after finding each other?' They could only confirm that this Reno was real if Rena attacked him now.

As Lin Sanjiu was about to suggest this, Rena must have had the same thought, as her hands glowed faintly. She stealthily reached out her hands and attacked Reno from behind. This time, she probably used her [Superstition was banned after the founding of our country].

Reno was visibly startled by the sudden punch, revealing his lack of fighting experience. Lin Sanjiu couldn't help sighing. As a posthuman, even if he trusted his sister, it was pathetic that he couldn't dodge an attack that close to him. But thanks to the punch, Lin Sanjiu and Rena could finally let down their guard.

He was the real Reno!

"Hey, why did you hit me?" Reno asked with furrowed brows.

"Hehe. Don't blame me. I needed to be sure." Rena's expression grew lively. Laughing and grinning, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and explained, "We have to be super cautious in this place."

Reno seemed doubtful at first, but his hot-blooded nature got the better of him. Visibly upset, he couldn't hold back his temper. After a few seconds, he finally hit his sister a few times. Rena found it unfair that she was hit an additional two times. And just like that, the siblings squabbled in the corridor for some time. Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but admire their simple-mindedness a liitle.

"Stop! Let's not fight anymore." Reno, who had been scratched quite a few times, looked irritated. "Since we're both alright, let's leave this place quickly!"

This time, he made no mention of the training issue in this place.

"Scared?" Rena giggled as she pressed the elevator button, then pushed him. "Coward!"

'Huh?' Lin Sanjiu slowly turned around in midair. She glared at Rena.

"We don't have that word in Red Nautilus" echoed in Lin Sanjiu's head.

Reno froze and said nothing for a second or two.

Upon closer look, Rena's eyes had somehow become unusually large. The inner corners of her eyes were almost touching. Slowly, she looked at Lin Sanjiu and Reno with her jet-black eyes. "Uh-oh," she laughed. "I always forget this."

When Reno roared angrily and rushed toward her, 'Rena' gave a shrill laugh and quickly ran into the left corridor. Lin Sanjiu and Reno were hot on her heels, but she disappeared once she slipped into an apartment with a half-opened door.

They flew to the door, and Reno kicked it open. Their actions scared the person inside the apartment unit. It was Rena.

Or, more accurately, another Rena. Her eyes were normal. When she circled the table to approach them, Lin Sanjiu could see that her white socks were dirty. After staring at them blankly, Rena sighed and placed her hands down. She looked at them wide-eyed as if she didn't know what had happened. "Brother? You found Lin Sanjiu?"