Chapter 352 The Optimist

Dorui glanced at everyone expressionlessly, then fixed his gaze on He Yu. After a long while, he said softly, "You are so pathetic, so hopeless, and will never have a good end."

He Yu lowered his hand and asked calmly, "And then?"

The other person sized him up, the light behind him fragmented by the shadows of the seats.

Then, Dorui stood up, walked straight to He Yu's side, reached out to stroke the hair on his forehead, and gave him a very sympathetic smile.

He didn't try to hide, nor did he bother to.

"To put it in terms you can accept, I also understand some concepts that are not governed by the will of the universe, at the moment when the forbidden things within me were developed to the critical point."

"—I have come to understand 'time'."

"At the end of that endless cage, there is silence, without any sound, and without any living creature."

"All the actors in this world who are capable of dealing with time-related properties are not even one ten-thousandth as good as me... because I am the first human to master this ability, and also the only one left."

Dorui withdrew his hand, turned around to look at the others, and finally said, "In the previous twenty-six cycles, you have almost all been throwing your lives away."

"Just before this world was completely swallowed up by the forbidden object, I went to the second fluctuation layer."

“You set up many temporary bases in that space, but by the time I arrived, these places had already been occupied. I remember... there were many people of high status there, and their bodies are still there. I was just wondering if anyone could wake up again.”

"Nobody wants to go out for a casual stroll and be captured by all sorts of bizarre taboos, played with like a pet, or fucked to death. I want to do something more... even though it seems hopeless."

"But in the end... I was the only one who survived."

He thought for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject and asked the group, "Do you know what's the most ridiculous thing about going through so many reincarnations?"

Dorui curled his lips and couldn't help but burst into laughter. He saw himself in everyone's eyes, his long hair disheveled, full of decadence and hatred. His laughter was as sharp and bright as a sharpened knife.

“If I don’t get involved, you will all die.”

"But even if I choose to join your ranks... the plan to completely conquer the second wave layer has a very low success rate."

"Or rather, it's just a change from 0 to 0.1."

“You did what you had to do. If it were me, I would have done the same,” He Yu said, smiling at him. “Some things, no matter who handles them, can’t just be left like this, nor should they end like this.”

The projection of the notice board spread out among them like a continuous snow-capped mountain range, maintaining the brightness of the entire hall.

Just then, Hamilton suddenly asked, "So... in all those cycles you've gone through, what was the closest we came to success?"

Upon hearing this, before Dorui could even reply, Misaka Min looked amused and scanned the other fourteen people before saying, "Are your brains glued together? Didn't you hear him say that we're basically all dead? Why are you still concerned about so many details?"

Before she could finish speaking, Bell picked up the conversation, saying, "Actually, I'm quite interested in these details as well. After all, when it comes to conceptual characteristics... I'm one of the top in the entire Eoubs circle. As long as I have a specific idea before entering the fluctuation layer—like ensuring that all of us can come back alive—based on the development of that characteristic, although a few of you might be seriously injured or half-dead, in theory, a total annihilation is not an option."

“Hmm… your hypothesis will only be convincing if it’s put into practice.” Sandor chimed in, looking around with eager anticipation. “At least the people here are all very confident in their own abilities, so why not test your teammates’ skills before entering Wave Layer 2?”

"Good, good, you're right!" Hebrew was really hoping these idiots would have some fun, so he quickly added fuel to the fire, "There's no time like the present, let's not wait for the next cycle, I volunteer to be the referee for the free-for-all, let's start with you, Sandor, versus Hamilton, a clash between top forces and quantum mechanics! I'm already getting excited, hahaha!"

"Hey... how come you're acting like an idiot as one of the original candidates?" Doug Jackson was really uncomfortable with this, and squinted at the other party. "You guys can fight all you want, I'm not getting involved."

"However—if the representative from Yingzhou is also in the mood, I might be willing to have a proper exchange with you."

“Good, good, good! What you said is also good!” Hebrew interrupted with a laugh, “Without practice, there is no concrete plan. I think we should find someone we have a grudge against and have a good fight right here. Speaking of Stanford, I beat you half to death at the ‘garbage dump’ back then, and you weren’t angry at all. You must be unhappy, right? How about we…”

squeak--

Just as he finished speaking, Sheen jumped up from his seat, carrying a half-empty bottle of champagne, and strode toward Hebrew's spot.

"What are you doing?" Hebrew leaned back tactically as she stopped beside him, vaguely sensing something.

But his attitude remained arrogant and extremely irritating.

"Please stop talking trash."

"As those people said, as a former candidate... you should at least show some concern for the future of humanity, you bastard."

Sheen took a deep breath, as if telling himself to calm down.

Yu Yu had followed them over at some point, snatched the champagne from their hand, and then replaced it with a larger bottle, thoughtfully reminding them, "Use this; it will hurt more if you smash it."

"Haha! You two should stop now." Hebrew paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Especially you, don't think you can get away with this just because you beat me up once in the Mirror of Eternal Dreams. My strength now... can only be described as ten thousand times more exaggerated than his own father."

"Say what you want," Yu Yu said calmly, not taking the other person's words seriously at all. "But among so many people, you're the only optimist. That kind of personality can relieve some pressure for us."

"So, being a good person to the end, consider this an after-dinner activity and let me crack open your skull," Sheen said slowly, stroking the wine bottle.

"Hey!" Hebrew slammed his hand on the table and jumped up without them even saying a word. "If you can't stand it, I'll torture you all right now."

Then he was pinned to the ground and given a good beating by Sheen.