Zongman: Evolution Paradise Chapter 036

“I’m back…”

Xu Lun, carrying his belongings, opened the apartment door.

A small figure had been waiting there for a long time.

Like rattling off a menu, she began to recount the results of her day’s investigation.

“Xu Lun.”

“Eighteen years old.”

“An orphan from a welfare institution. In your early childhood, you were so outstanding that many families competed to adopt you, but you refused them all.”

“It wasn’t until junior high that your genius halo gradually faded.”

“After getting into Chiba Sōbu High School, you completely became an ordinary person, hidden from the public eye.”

“Yet, you, who are content with an ordinary life, recognized my true identity at a glance, and you know so much about the Black Organization, claiming to be the same as me.”

Miyano Shiho slowly stood up, tilting her head back to stare into Xu Lun’s dark eyes.

“There is only one truth: you are also a survivor of ATPX 4869.”

Xu Lun lifted her to the side, took out the slippers from the shoe rack, and as he changed his shoes, he retorted to her deduction.

“Isn’t the content before this from some unscrupulous media report? I remember it was called something like ‘The Fall of a Genius’?”

“You just made all this up based on what you found online?”

“No need to pretend anymore, I’ve already guessed your identity. You must be an old experiment subject of the Organization, who feigned death by taking ATPX 4869 to escape, and have been lurking in the shadows all these years, investigating every move of the Organization.”

Xu Lun didn’t explicitly refute her, which made Miyano Shiho even more convinced of her deduction.

Otherwise, how could he explain his extensive knowledge of the Organization, his understanding of ATPX 4869’s effects, and why he was a genius as a child?

Xu Lun must not be a high school student, but some kind of old monster who has grown up again.

This was her wisdom.

In a way, she had indeed guessed correctly.

“Uncle, facing the behemoth that is the Organization, we need to have an open and honest talk.”

Miyano Shiho pulled Xu Lun, speaking earnestly.

Unfortunately, she was in the form of a child now, and speaking seriously made her seem like she was pretending to be an adult, which was a little cute.

Xu Lun couldn’t resist ruffling her short brown hair. Based on his estimation, her height was 105cm, so the clothes he bought should be the right size.

“You’re overthinking it. I only recently provoked the Black Organization. I took out a few of their members, that’s all.”

Miyano Shiho’s hair stood on end from Xu Lun’s head rub, and her lake-blue eyes were full of vigilance.

“You should know I’m not a child, right? Are you some kind of perverted uncle?”

Miyano Shiho said venomously.

“Please call me big brother. If you’re going to be a child, act like one.”

Xu Lun flicked her head, making her squat on the ground and hug her head defensively.

Xu Lun handed her the things he bought and said, “I bought you some children’s clothes. Go change. We’ll have guests soon.”

Miyano Shiho took the clothes, paused for a moment, then slowly said, “Indeed, if I’m to be a child, I must act like one. The Organization’s eyes are everywhere. I need to be more vigilant, act like a true child, so the Organization won’t discover the truth of my escape.”

“Xu Lun, I need a new identity.”

She looked up, her gaze fixed on Xu Lun, her eyes revealing a determination to bid farewell to the name Miyano Shiho.

“How about Haibara Ai, then?”

Xu Lun asked tentatively.

“Sounds quite good.”

Miyano Shiho, now renamed Haibara Ai.

She had expected to have to think about it, but she hadn’t anticipated that the first name Xu Lun suggested would perfectly suit her aesthetic.

Xu Lun thought: Of course, that’s the name you were going to choose for yourself anyway.

Haibara Ai went to the bedroom to change clothes.

Xu Lun, meanwhile, prepared the ingredients for sukiyaki. He had invited Kirisu Mafuyu and Shiina Mahiru for dinner.

Additionally, he needed to get a new identity for Haibara Ai.

“Paradise, please provide me with an item that can solve identity issues, priced under 94 Paradise Coins.”

[Found item for you – Legal Identity]

Item – Legal Identity: Can provide the user with a legal identity within one world.

Bonus: None

Conditions of use: Will not cause a sense of incongruity within that world.

50 Paradise Coins/card (Note: Same as the Paradise mission world. Although the identity is legal, there are no traces. It is recommended to arrange for an orphan identity.)

It was very cheap, but there was a reason for its cheapness.

This item only provided an identity. It worked fine for use, but if someone were to investigate the activity trail from childhood based on this identity, it would naturally be full of loopholes.

For example, when Paradise arranged for him to be a student at Fujimi Academy, because he had no real experience of studying there, none of the students at that school knew him. Except for Marikawa Shizuka, no one believed the identity Paradise had inserted.

But for Haibara Ai now, it was enough.

The Black Organization didn’t know that ATPX 4869 also had the effect of making people shrink.

Were they really going to investigate everyone’s life trajectories?

Xu Lun bought the card, and a white card appeared in his hand.

After some thought, Xu Lun gradually added settings to it.

Haibara Ai, 9 years old, her only living relative in Neon Province, her grandmother, passed away from illness. Her distant relatives in Great Ming were unwilling to take her in, so the old woman entrusted her to Xu Lun’s temporary care before her death…

He truly couldn’t think of a better identity setting.

After all, Xu Lun himself grew up in a welfare institution, so he couldn’t set Haibara Ai as a relative.

If she were set as an orphan, Xu Lun hadn’t reached the legal age for adoption.

So, he had to set it as temporary care. As for how long “temporary” would be, that would depend on when Xu Lun took down the Black Organization and Haibara Ai returned to her adult form.

At that time, Haibara Ai could naturally be taken back by her “distant relatives” in the Great Ming mainland.

While Xu Lun was arranging the settings,

Haibara Ai had already changed her clothes. She wore an apricot-colored dress set with a bear pattern and a doll, and white knee-high socks.

She stared at Xu Lun with the eyes of someone looking at a pervert.

“The owner of the children’s clothing store recommended this. She said it’s the most popular style this year.”

Being stared at by her, Xu Lun felt no guilt whatsoever. He took a look; it did look good and was worth the money he spent.

“This is your new identity.”

Xu Lun handed her the white card.

Haibara Ai took it. She had seen such things in the Organization, but she found it strange that Xu Lun also had one.

She glanced at her new settings, then skillfully crushed the card to use it.

Several identification documents appeared in her hand. From now on, her identity would be Haibara Ai.

Haibara Ai still wanted to ask Xu Lun why he had such a thing, but then the guests arrived, so she had to temporarily suppress her curiosity.

“Excuse me.”

Shiina Mahiru knocked on the door, only to find a child opening it.

“Oh, who are you? Where’s Xu Lun?”

Looking at the very cute child, Shiina Mahiru squatted down and asked her.

“My name is Haibara Ai. I’m temporarily staying here. Xu Lun is washing vegetables.”

Haibara Ai said coldly.

Although she had to pretend to be a child, she couldn’t completely mimic a childish, sweet voice. This identity allowed her to act as a precocious and aloof character.

“Temporarily staying?”

Shiina Mahiru looked curiously at her hair and eyes. She didn’t seem to have any blood relation to Xu Lun.

But Haibara Ai’s expression was a bit cold, so Shiina Mahiru didn’t ask further.

Entering the house with her doubts, Shiina Mahiru soon became happy, eagerly tying on an apron and joining Xu Lun in the kitchen to cook.

Haibara Ai, meanwhile, hid in the room and continued to use Xu Lun’s computer.

She had always been in a semi-imprisoned state within the Black Organization, unable to access many things, and was very out of touch with reality.