Chapter 55 Finale I Love You

After much deliberation, Xu Nuo finally rejected Tang Ningyue.

But before leaving, she recommended Ye Lin.

Compared to her who just shouts slogans, Ye Lin is undoubtedly a more suitable candidate. If she is the next S-level as Tang Ningyue said, she will also support Ye Lin in the future and ensure the evolved humans have the right to speak.

As for whether Ye Lin was willing to join... Xu Nuo only knew that she was very happy when she heard the news.

After being discharged from the hospital, Tang Ningyue and Zong Lan did not continue to see them off. Xu Nuo and Qi Qian went downstairs with their luggage and saw the RV that had been waiting there.

The car was painted off-white and had a two-story roof, very similar to the medical car I took when I first came to the White Pagoda.

Jiang Chen stood in front of the car, holding a suitcase and waving at them: "Hey - this way!"

The car door opened, and Gu Feihai stuck his head out of the car, folded his arms and nodded at them.

Xu Nuo ran forward a few steps, and when he saw them clearly, he slowed down abruptly.

Jiang Chen wore a particularly mature suit, combed his hair back, and wore big leather shoes. With his delicate and childish face, he looked like he was wearing adult clothes.

Gu Feihai dyed his hair red as boldly as his eyes, wore five punk earrings on each side, and wore a large gold chain, leather jacket and long boots.

Seeing that Qi Qian wasn't surprised at all, Xu Nuo muttered quietly, "These two are probably just wearing whatever they see. They don't dress like normal people."

Except for her, everyone present was a sentry with keen hearing. Jiang Chen said helplessly, "I'm going out to do some work for my father, and I'm going back with you guys."

Xu Nuo walked closer: "Business?"

She remembered that earlier in Fino, Jiang Chen's father and Zhou Junlin were good friends.

Jiang Chen saw her doubts. "Father and Zhou Junlin do know each other, but it's just a casual exchange. Finuo has grown in power in recent years, even surpassing the White Tower. Father has no choice but to play both sides and seek protection. You've been to the administrative center, and you should know that the base has been dug more than a dozen levels underground. They're trying to understand Finuo's motives and protect the base to the greatest extent possible in the event of war."

Xu Nuo: "So you have negotiated with Bai Ta now?"

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "The capital is in contact with Fino, so of course it will not cut off contact with the White Tower. This time it is just to deepen the cooperation. Compared to Fino, my father and I are more inclined to the White Tower. Fino's ambition is too big."

"Then...should I thank my uncle as well?" Xu Nuo said.

She was referring to Jiang Chen teaming up with Song Ke and Gu Feihai to help her escape. Without Jiang Chen's father leading them into Finuo, she would probably still be in a stalemate with Zhou Xuanyi.

Jiang Chen shrugged. "No need. Father was reluctant to take the risk at first, and I had to persuade him for a long time before he was willing to take the risk. You know, father is always a politician. Even though the situation was one-sided in favor of Finau, he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket."

Xu Nuo patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm so grateful for your kindness. If there's anything I can help you with in the future, just let me know."

Jiang Chen chuckled and accepted it.

Xu Nuo knew very well that the situation was difficult at that time - Qi Qian was injured, she was arrested, Bai Ta was weak, and the Fino family was the only one in power. Jiang Chen took a huge risk by betting on her and Qi Qian at that time.

And her friends, Fu Xue, Song Ke, Gu Feihai, Ye Lin, Thor... also tried their best.

Once you fail, there is no recovery.

Fortunately, they won the bet.

After a brief greeting, Jiang Chen carried the luggage and invited the two to get in the car.

Xu Nuo drove around the car and found that the space was ridiculously large, fully furnished, and had many functional areas. It seemed that a huge amount of money had been spent on it.

"Like it?" Gu Feihai followed her into the car and sat down nonchalantly, "Honey, this is my car."

"Why did you buy such a large RV? It's not convenient for you to go on missions alone," Xu Nuo said curiously. "As far as the stereotype is concerned, you should be driving a sports car in the desert and smashing mutants into pieces to make them scream."

"Honey, do you want to go for a drive in the contaminated area? We can leave tomorrow," Gu Feihai said with a casual smile, "but it's only tomorrow. I have other things to do."

Xu Nuo knew he was joking: "I forgot to say thank you. Without your help, I couldn't escape from Fino."

Gu Feihai put his legs together and placed them on the table: "Thank you, no need. I am helping myself by helping you."

The car started shakily.

Xu Nuo sat down: "Why, are you betting on us too?"

Qi Qian came over after putting down his luggage and sat down between the two of them: "He is the product of Phino's experiment. The pollution during the experiment was too high, so... his brain is not very good."

"Don't listen to his nonsense, dear," Gu Feihai said with a sidelong glance, "I've kept my smart brain, handsome face, and cheerful personality well—unlike him, who's always gloomy and sullen, and I don't know what evil plans he's planning. Be on your guard against him, dear."

Qi Qian said nothing, but suddenly reached out and held Xu Nuo's hand, interlocking his fingers in a provocative manner.

He seemed strong, but only Xu Nuo knew that the grip he gave was very light, even a little trembling and hesitant, as if he would retreat tactfully after a slight struggle or the slightest intention to struggle.

Xu Nuo shook his hand back and squeezed it soothingly.

Qi Qian clenched his hands.

"Ah, so you're all like this," Gu Feihai swayed his tail as he hung on the ground. "Time has really changed, and I thought I'd never see a scene like this in my lifetime."

Xu Nuo stared at his tail: "Have you ever been deformed?"

Gu Feihai's tail twitched impatiently twice.

"Yeah. Fino forcefully injected him with an experimental drug and forced him to evolve, leaving him with a tail that he can't change back to."

Xu Nuo: "It's actually pretty cool, as long as you don't dress so flashy... and ostentatiously."

Gu Feihai lay on his back, his head resting on his hands. "It doesn't matter. I'm working for the White Pagoda now. Tang Ningyue said she would help me return to my original form in a year."

Another year later.

Xu Nuo held his chin in his hand: "What did she ask you to help with?"

"Take over Qi Qian's previous job," Gu Feihai said, "and collect the spirit balls from the mutants for her. Yes."

He pointed at the package he was carrying, revealing an exquisite silver rectangular container with a transparent material in the center.

Xu Nuo had seen this thing before when he first met Qi Qian. He used it to contain the blue flames in the eyes of the giant Transformer.

The flame was condensed from a strong spiritual force, and Xu Nuo had experienced its power in area A01.

Qi Qian said at the right moment, "Tang Ningyue has always relied on collecting these spirit balls to break through to S-level. Theoretically, you can also use them to break through to A-level."

Xu Nuo stared at the container for a long time and shook his head. "Let's talk about it later. Tang Ningyue has a mission and has no choice but to do this. But whether this thing has any side effects is still unknown. If possible, I still want to rely on myself."

"By the way, where are Sister Fu Xue and Song Ke? Are they doing okay?"

Jiang Chen picked up the tablet on the table and made a video call: "Talk to them yourself."

The video call was connected, and Xu Nuo took the tablet. Across the screen was the office in the basement of the administrative center. Fu Xue was sitting at the desk, looking at her with a smile: "Xu Nuo, long time no see."

Xu Nuo hugged the screen and smiled: "Sister, thank you."

Fu Xue adjusted her glasses and said, "Why thank me? We're all family. I'm still the same as when we first met. If you're willing to join the Guard, I'd welcome you anytime."

Xu Nuo was happy: "Okay, I will definitely join when I return to the academy. Song Ke, thank you too!"

Song Ke sat next to Fu Xue and nodded.

Jiang Chen interrupted, "Now's a good time for you to join. Sister Fu Xue has just been promoted to deputy base commander. Our guard team will have a lot of power. We'll have more funding, higher ranks, and we'll be able to apply for search warrants at will. We'll even be able to go out for training and dinner every week!"

Fu Xue held her forehead with her hand. "You're just thinking about eating. The base commander wants you to take over his position as soon as possible. How did the negotiation go in the White Tower this time?"

"It went very smoothly. It's all because I know Brother Falcon Yi and am on good terms with Xu Nuo, so no one gave me any trouble," Jiang Chen said, spreading his hands. "Xu Nuo, when I inherit my father's legacy, why don't you give the capital a name like Brother Falcon Yi did? With S-level sentinels and S-level guides in charge, my father can finally rest from the worries he's had for decades."

Xu Nuo didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Who told you I would become S-rank? This is not even possible. I'm not sure myself."

Jiang Chen scratched his head. "Besides this cooperation, I had a few small talk with the senior executives of the White Tower. It didn't take them long before they brought up you. The news that you would be promoted to S-rank has spread throughout the White Tower."

Xu Nuo was surprised: "When did it happen?"

"Probably... before you left Fino? I heard that Tang Ningyue said it herself." Jiang Chen scratched his head.

Xu Nuo sighed silently.

Tang Ningyue planned to put her up there - with the current S-level guide as a guarantee, no matter whether she would become S-level or not, everyone would assume that she would be S-level in the future and would have a close relationship with the White Tower.

In this way, even if someone knew that Tang Ningyue's mother had passed away, they would still be wary of her as a new force in the White Tower and would not dare to act rashly.

Xu Nuo didn't like this feeling very much.

But when I thought about the one-year agreement Tang Ningyue mentioned, my mood became complicated again.

In the wasteland era, everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones. Most people can still learn from the experience of their predecessors, but those evolved people standing at the top of the pyramid can only rely on their own understanding.

The possibility that Tang Ningyue would possess the power of creation after breaking through to S-level was just a possibility based on the experimental results. No one had ever reached that level, and no one could guarantee what would happen to her.

And now, she is willing to give her life for this guess. Regardless of her original intention or not, she deserves the admiration of the world.

Since that was the case, she couldn't say anything more.

"What do you think would happen if the world could return to its former state as a wasteland?" Jiang Chen looked back from the cab. "If there were no mutants and pollution, could we live like ordinary people in peaceful times in history?"

He muttered to himself, "I want to learn painting. The capital city has collected some paintings from before the wasteland. Back then, people had a rich spiritual world, unlike now, where we have to worry about mutations and survival every day."

Fu Xue pondered: "If the pollution is gone, should we revert from base autonomy to a federal system? I'm good at management... If possible, I can open a security company, which would be a return to my old job."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Song Ke with some curiosity. The latter did not intend to answer the question, but when he saw her looking at him, he said, "Working in your security company."

"No way, Song Ke, you just like going to work so much!" Jiang Chen exclaimed.

Everyone laughed.

Jiang Chen refused to let him go, so Song Ke racked his brains for a moment and added, "Then let's go swimming."

Fu Xue's eyes lit up: "Water resources are precious now. Except for a few people living by the sea, there is really no chance to swim. If there is such a day, I would also like to go."

"I want to, too. Let's go see the ocean together. I want to ride a yacht and go surfing!" Jiang Chen was very lively and pushed Gu Feihai. "It's your turn, it's your turn!"

Gu Feihai shrugged: "What's the point of living in the wasteland? I can't even kill the mutants. There's nothing I want to do."

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "No? I wonder who was always hiding in the car practicing guitar last year. I think someone has a dream of becoming a singer and wants to be the king of love songs?"

Gu Feihai tucked his tail in awkwardly, a rare gesture: "That's rock 'n' roll!"

"Oh, rock star Gu Feihai!"

"Big star, please give me an autograph!"

Amidst the commotion, Qi Qian suddenly stood up and pulled Xu Nuo up to the roof.

Looking up, they saw an endless expanse of yellow sand in front of them.

Qi Qian: "If such a day really comes, what are you going to do?"

Xu Nuo looked out at the sand dunes in the distance: "Hmm... probably traveling around the world."

Before she knew it, she had been in this world for nearly twenty years. The peaceful and stable life in another world in her past memories seemed like a fleeting bubble. When she thought about it carefully, she could hardly remember it.

Her memory is so poor that after a few years, the memories of the previous world will fade away with time, and she will completely become a person of this world.

But Xu Nuo doesn't want to forget.

Whether it was from childhood to the present in this world, or the short, uneventful first half of life in the previous world, they had together shaped the real self of today.

She was grateful for the time travel, which gave her, who was once an orphan, an important family member and precious friendship.

If given the chance, she hopes to spend her life understanding and remembering both worlds.

"What about me?" Qi Qian suddenly asked.

Xu Nuo didn't react at first, then laughed and said, "You have to ask yourself what you want to do."

The young man stared at her and said, "I want to travel around the world with my sister."

Xu Nuo tilted her head: "Why are you still calling me sister?"

Qi Qian didn't answer, but his eyebrows were twisted into a "川" shape: "Will sister leave me in the future?"

Just now, Xu Nuo's expression when he was silent suddenly became distant and ethereal, so far away that it seemed as if he was in another world and had no connection with him at all.

This feeling of being out of control and about to leave at any moment made him extremely panic, and he desperately wanted to have a connection with her.

Xu Nuo raised their clasped hands and asked, "Why did you leave? I've always been by your side."

Qi Qian remained silent, the wrinkles between his eyebrows still not easing.

Xu Nuo put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer: "Okay, I'll take you with me wherever I go."

Qi Qian lowered his head obediently, but insisted stubbornly: "You can only take me with you."

No one else.

Xu Nuo laughed: "Why?"

“…”

He didn't continue. Xu Nuo reached out and pinched his chin, forcing his head to drop even closer. He whispered in his ear, "Tell me, why can you only take Qi Qian with you?"

The heat beside his ears made Qi Qian tremble all over, and he clasped his hands tightly.

He was determined not to speak, his dark eyes quickly passed over her face and looked away.

Xu Nuo looked at his gradually reddening earlobes, feeling helpless: "Is it because what I gave you definitely not enough? So even now, you still have to cautiously test my heart?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the pair of deep black pupils that had been lowered all the time turned their gaze and locked onto her directly.

The young man held her hand and trembled wildly, his heart beating harder than ever before, like a loud drum, boom, boom, boom.

He actually... got... the final permission that he had never dared to hope for and had only dreamed of.

He...how could he have such virtue?

Qi Qian's ears were red, his breathing was rapid, and his eyes were looking aggressively at the girl's eyebrows.

For the first time, he openly and unreservedly revealed his love to her. His sticky gaze slid from his eyebrows to the bridge of his nose and then to his lips.

He took a step forward and moved closer to her. He had already lowered his head, and now their breaths intertwined, making it difficult to tell one from the other.

Their eyes touched, and those greedy wolf pupils finally fulfilled their long-cherished wish and occupied her entire sight and attention.

Xu Nuo curled up the corners of her mouth and waited quietly for his next move with eyes full of anticipation.

Qi Qian's gaze lingered on the person in front of him for a long time, his eyes filled with turmoil.

After a while, he closed his eyes, his chest heaving, and took a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes again, my eye sockets were slightly red.

"Xu Nuo." He trembled his lips, crushed her name between his lips, and uttered it carefully.

Xu Nuo touched his red eyes, and felt a little cold and wet on her fingertips: "My future S-class guide's life partner turned out to be a crybaby."

Qi Qian smiled with tears in his eyes, and slowly and solemnly kissed her on the forehead.

"Xu Nuo, I like you."

It is not a last word at the moment of life and death, nor is it cowardice disguised.

He made the most heartfelt, vowed, and pious confession:

"Xu Nuo, I love you."

"Can I be the only one with you?"

"Qi Qian, me too."

…

The cruel wolf retracted its claws and bloody smell, disguised itself as a harmless puppy again, and finally prayed for the light to shine into its paranoid heart.

It is never the guide to the sentinel, but you to me, who gives reason and makes me willingly bound.

(End of full text)