Chapter 92

When Xiao Shengyun woke up, he found himself in bed. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds before the noise outside the door snapped him out of his daze.

He walked out of the bedroom and noticed that the living room, which had been a mess, had been cleaned up.

Zhou Zhi took off his long black coat and draped it over the sofa. He then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and began tidying the table.

"woke up?"

"Hmm." Xiao Shengyun was a little embarrassed. If he had seen this person in such a disheveled state normally, he might have teased him, but now he was exhausted and really didn't want to say anything more.

"No need to pack, I'll be leaving soon."

Xiao Shengyun looked out the window. The scenery outside was as usual, but he knew very well that the Superpower Bureau had completely monitored and protected this place.

"Do you really have to leave? Is there no reason for you to stay?" Zhou Zhi looked at him.

"No." Xiao Shengyun exhaled, and when he saw Zhou Zhi's eyes, his heart ached again.

When he realized what the other person meant, he froze on the spot.

Is this a plea to stay?

Xiao Shengyun knew very well how much Zhou Zhi hated pollutants—or rather, how much he hated them. In Zhou Zhi's eyes, they were monsters that had to be killed. He was willing to give anything to save humanity, including his own life.

But now, these words coming from this person's mouth sound absurd.

"You want me to stay?" Xiao Shengyun clenched his hands, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Zhou Zhi paused for a moment and said, "I hope you can live a normal life. In my opinion, you are no different from other humans."

His eyes were so gentle, with a hint of pity, as if they were truly of the same kind, and he had arbitrarily included a pollutant in his protected area.

But they knew perfectly well that things in this world are never achieved through words like "thinking" or "hoping".

The silence was broken by the ringing of his phone. Zhou Zhi glanced at the message and his expression changed abruptly.

Abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected in the sea area where the underwater ruins are located, and it is highly likely that Shen Xiuping and his companions have already arrived in that area.

He showed the message to Xiao Shengyun and said, "If you insist on returning to the Inner World, I will see you off this time."

...

Xiao Shengyun returned to the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities and accepted his final mission.

The people in charge of monitoring this sea area are from "Lighthouse". This is Xiao Shengyun's first time dealing with this department. Lighthouse is mainly responsible for monitoring pollution levels and abnormal conditions in various places. If there are any abnormalities, they will be transmitted to other agencies as soon as possible.

"The first time abnormal fluctuations were detected in this sea area was twenty years ago. At that time, an elite investigation team was sent there, but only one person from that team returned. After that, we tried to send electronic equipment to investigate, but there seems to be a peculiar magnetic field around the ruins, and all electronic equipment would malfunction when it got close. After years of monitoring, the two time coupling points are very likely to be here."

The lighthouse's manager was a middle-aged man with graying temples, clearly indicating the immense effort he had put into his work. He didn't know the visitors' identities, assuming they were just ordinary Awakened Ones on a mission.

"But even if we find the coupling point, it won't make a difference; human power simply cannot separate these two worlds."

His face was filled with deep despair.

Inventing special antagonists is only a temporary solution; it cannot eliminate the source, and the pollution will continue to spread.

The submarine and equipment heading to the seabed will not be ready until the next day; before that, they need to rest overnight at the lighthouse.

For ease of observation, this branch of the lighthouse is located not far from the sea. From the top floor of the building, one can see the blurry coastline in the distance.

Xiao Shengyun opened the window, and the wind outside carried a slight smell of the sea.

He was momentarily dazed as he bid farewell to this world.

"Thank you for ultimately choosing humanity," Zhou Zhi's voice came from behind.

"No need to thank me, I quite like it here. If I don't help you, I can't possibly help those ugly and disgusting monsters, can I?"

Xiao Shengyun's eyes stung, and he turned his head away to avoid the other person's gaze.

They didn't immediately return to the accommodations arranged by the lighthouse. Zhou Zhi suggested visiting the lower floors of the lighthouse. Xiao Shengyun initially thought he wanted to learn about the lighthouse, but then remembered that Zhou Zhi's mother had worked there.

“I think I still hate her, but I still love her,” Xiao Shengyun suddenly said.

He had a dream all night, which kept flashing back to fragments of his childhood. He could not deny that some of his human qualities were given to him by Xu Qing, not by a creator or a creature, but by a mother and child.

He had never understood human love and hate, but at this moment, he seemed to understand.

The touch on his arm pulled Xiao Shengyun back to reality. He lowered his gaze and saw another pair of hands gripping his arm. The hands were long and fair, with tiny scars on the knuckles that made them look like porcelain with mottled cracks.

He heard Zhou Zhi's light sigh again.

Xiao Shengyun looked up and smiled: "Dean Zhou, cheer up. It's me who's leaving home, not you."

Are you... pitying me?

“No.” Zhou Zhi’s eyes welled up with sadness. “I just feel that I can’t keep anyone here.”

"This is where my mother worked, or more precisely, where she died in the line of duty. She was contaminated during a survey mission and died not long after."

"First my father, then my mother, then my teachers, my colleagues, everyone left. And now you're leaving too."

"I thought I could save everyone and give everyone a happy ending. But in the end, it seems I can't do anything at all."

Everyone around him eventually succumbed to the pollution, until one exception was encountered, but everything seemed to spiral out of control afterward.

“But you are not a savior, Zhou Zhi, that is not your responsibility.”

Xiao Shengyun felt this was the dumbest human being he had ever met, that thing called responsibility.

Perhaps it was only because he met such a person that he was able to erase all his resentment and hostility.

...

late at night

The entire building was pitch black, except for the faint glow of various instruments in the monitoring hall. Changes in pollution in this area were transmitted to the central computer via sensors, and various data flashed on the screen.

The lighthouse manager sat in front of the screen, the dim light making his white hair and wrinkles even clearer. He had been in poor health for the past few years, and the doctor said he should go to bed early and get up early.

Tonight is an exception.

The door to the hall was pushed open, and the person he was waiting for had arrived.

The person in charge stood up and looked at the visitor with loving eyes. He had last seen this child five years ago.

"Uncle Chen." Zhou Zhi gently closed the door.

"I knew you'd come; after all, you've always been smart, you can't hide it from me," the person in charge remarked.

"I do have many questions, such as why this kind of task was assigned to me? What is this so-called prophecy? Or to make a long story short, my trip to the Inner World ten years ago was not an accident, right?"

A layer of frost settled between Zhou Zhi's brows, finally revealing some signs of the feeling of being controlled by fate.

The "prophet" seems to be everywhere. Yin Wenshan was the first to venture into the inner world; he died, but left behind equipment and clues. Zhou Zhi was the second; he survived thanks to what Yin Wenshan left behind and met Xiao Shengyun, obtaining the Source Core. However, he returned to the human world ten years ago, while Xiao Shengyun arrived twenty years ago; the timelines of these two worlds are out of sync.

Then, Xiao Shengyun was raised by Xu Qing, and he began to develop feelings of affection for the human world.

They were all pawns, and it seemed that everything was under the control of the "prophet".

Using emotions as bait, the "prophet" managed to sway a god-level pollutant to the side of humanity. His moves were exceptionally clever.

Everything was designed by humans, including the initial encounter.

Despicable and cruel.

“I’m sorry, but this is a necessary sacrifice.” The person in charge said softly, “You should know better than anyone that those sacrifices are insignificant compared to the survival of all mankind.”

Perhaps this is the best ending. Zhou Zhi understood and agreed, but he just felt that it was too unfair to Xiao Shengyun.

He just felt a tremendous sense of absurdity.

Everyone is walking on a predetermined path, and no one can break free.

"Was this operation also prophesied?" Zhou Zhi asked.

The person in charge didn't speak, which probably meant they agreed.

Zhou Zhi didn't ask any more questions. He left the monitoring hall, where it was pitch black outside.

He suddenly remembered the time he was imprisoned in the research institute. He had returned from the other world covered in blood, and the pollution on his body caused the monitoring equipment to exceed the limit. Those people locked him in solitary confinement.

He always thought he had forgotten that memory, but now he thinks it might be because it was too painful and his brain automatically blocked it out.

It turns out that this suffering was not accidental, but man-made.

He pulled his coat tighter around his neck, feeling as if a chain was always around him, a chain that was always there, and that all the coincidences were perhaps inevitable.

But he had nothing left to lose; he had nothing at all.

When Zhou Zhi returned to his temporary residence, he noticed a light coming from the room next door. He knocked on the door, and a wet face appeared behind it.

"Is there anything else?" Xiao Shengyun pulled Zhou Zhi in, and casually pulled out a tissue to wipe his face a couple of times; he had just started washing up.

"It's nothing, can I hug you?"

"ah?"

Xiao Shengyun placed his hand on Zhou Zhi's brow. He had marveled at those eyes countless times, but now they held a vast ocean of sorrow.

They are all prisoners of fate, tightly bound together and inseparable.

Perhaps the so-called encounter was not accidental, but man-made, or to put it another way—destined.