In the narrow, secluded alley, Shi Yi clung tightly to Ruan Qing'an as if he were the only piece of driftwood in the water, so tightly that even his fingertips turned pale.

The atmosphere froze, and finally—

Ruan Qing'an sighed softly, "I'm sorry, Shiyi."

Hearing the girl's almost sighing voice, Shi Yi's hand suddenly stopped, and his dark green eyes suddenly darkened. But just then, Ruan Qing'an's soft voice rang in his ear.

“I will not allow such a thing, because I am not worthy of it. To love and be loved is your right, Eleven.”

She paused, her slender fingertips stroking Shiyi's hair: "How fortunate I am to be loved."

"Eleven, although you were able to awaken because of me, you are an independent individual in this world. You can also connect with others. Your existence is not about me."

"The Administration will not take you away. You can stay in this world and enjoy everything you once lost."

"Whether you are human or not, you are Eleven."

In the quiet alley, only Ruan Qing'an's gentle, loving voice remained, like a slowly flowing stream, gently flowing through Shi Yi's heart, which was so empty it was almost convulsing.

She affirmed all the inhuman parts, the parts that were out of step with the human world, as if she had given them new meaning.

His mechanically constructed spine trembled slightly as Shi Yi buried his face in Ruan Qing'an's neck, his voice tinged with a bitter laugh: "How could I bear to let go of someone like you, Qing'an..."

—You are always redeeming me.

Ruan Qing'an gently stroked Shiyi's hair, but just then—

The man's strength suddenly increased, pinning her firmly against the wall, while his hands gently shielded her back, as if afraid that her delicate skin would be chafed by the rough wall.

Shiyi looked up, her dark green eyes filled with hope as she gazed at her: "Qing'an, will you stay with me?"

"Stay here. I want to see the world, but without you, I can't bear to see anything—I want to see and record everything in the world with you."

"Don't go, Qing'an, okay?"

"...Eleven."

Ruan Qing'an pinched the bridge of her nose and looked at Shi Yi's eyes, which were wet and expectant, like those of a puppy waiting for her.

She closed her eyes briefly before saying, "Eleven, you know the Bureau's rules. I can't stay in the mission world, and I certainly can't abandon my mission. I'll leave after I finish it."

"So what is your mission, Zhou Ziqi?!"

Eleven raised her voice and even increased the pressure on her hands, while Ruan Qing'an frowned: "Eleven, have you forgotten the three ironclad rules of the Bureau?"

"First, the details of the mission must not be disclosed;"

"Secondly, you are not allowed to disclose any information from the Administration Bureau;"

"Third, the indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants of the mission world is prohibited."

Ruan Qing'an paused, pushed away Shi Yi's hand, and distanced himself from him: "I will soon complete my mission and leave here. Before that, you still have a choice, Shi Yi."

"Stay here, or go back to the Administration Bureau."

As Ruan Qing'an spoke, he took a few steps back, his leaden-gray eyes fixed intently on Shi Yi.

The tall man stood there, head down, his half-length hair obscuring his face, making it impossible for Ruan Qing'an to see his expression. His shoulders slumped, and he seemed somewhat dejected.

Some things you need to figure out for yourself. Eleven has too little and is too stubborn...

Thinking of this, Ruan Qing'an sighed softly, turned to leave, but at the very moment she took a step—

The ground suddenly shook. She was startled and took a step back. As she did so, Ruan Qing'an pressed down on the hilt of his sword with one hand and drew his Tang sword with the other. The sharp blade tore through the space in front of her in an instant.

Meanwhile, mutated plants bursting from the ground swayed, their roots and vines surging and waving, seemingly able to block out the sky and firmly blocking Ruan Qing'an's path.

She tensed up, gripping the knife hilt tightly with her backhand, watching the vines warily, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Shiyi with her head down.

He remained standing there, dejected, seemingly unaffected by the strangeness of the place, only asking in a low voice, "Really, it's not allowed..."

"I don't know your mission, but your mission target is Zhou Ziqi, right?"

"So he can enjoy your gaze, become the only reason you stay in this world, make you risk everything for him, and even... become the person you like."

Eleven spoke in a low voice, slowly raising his head. His dark green eyes seemed to be pleading for something as he stared intently at Ruan Qing'an.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his face, which resembled Zhou Ziqi's. From the point where his fingertips touched, fine cracks began to appear on Shi Yi's face, like glass.

He said, slowly and deliberately, "If...Qing'an, if I could become Zhou Ziqi, wouldn't I be the one to enjoy this preferential treatment?"

"Then, may I ask you to stay in this world and stay with me?"

Eleven asked cautiously, as if in a plea, yet with a twisted, uncontrollable madness, the thick, intense love so overwhelming it was almost suffocating.

His dark green eyes looked at her, and suddenly he smiled little by little—gentle, proper, like the bright moon on a tree branch in the forest, like a gentle breeze at night, a smile just like Zhou Ziqi's.

Eleven tried squinting her narrow eyes and tilted her head: "Is this how he smiles, Qing'an?"

“Shiyi, you are not Zhou Ziqi, and you don’t need to become him.”

Ruan Qingan felt a terrible headache coming on; the distorted years of Shiyi's life could not be corrected in a short time.

Over the long years, all he could hold onto were memories of Ruan Qing'an. Amidst endless wear and tear, his only obsession and longing remained for her alone.

Eleven is twisted, insane, a vine that grows in the darkness, clinging to an entity called "Ruan Qing'an" to exist.

He loathed his inhuman self, yet when he had nowhere else to turn, he used his inhuman advantages to try to mechanically reconstruct himself into another person.

037: [Ancestor, what should we do now? Eleven—]

“I can’t change his mind… Let’s finish the mission first. I’ll try to contact the Management Bureau and bring Eleven back. Maybe that will bring him a different turn of events.”

Ruan Qing'an pinched her brow, feeling a sharp pain in her temples. She held the knife in a reverse grip, and in the instant she broke through the vines—

Seeing that he couldn't stop her, Shiyi couldn't help but shout, "Ruan Qing'an!"

"Can't 'Eleven' keep you here, not even 'Xie Huainan'?!"

"...Eleven."

Ruan Qing'an finally stopped walking. She looked at Shi Yi seriously and said, "I've said it before, you are no one, and you can't possibly be Xie Huainan."

Shiyi's face darkened, and she stubbornly said, "I possess all the memories of being 'Xie Huainan,' everything we've been through. I am him."

"However, Xie Huainan would never willingly transform himself into another person to beg for my love."

Ruan Qing'an paused, her voice as cold as a judgment in Shi Yi's heart: "All you have are his memories, and Zhou Ziqi only has data similar to him, but neither of you will be him."

"To be precise, Xie Huainan could be anyone. He is a supreme god, whose unparalleled consciousness can control the entire world and every single person, but—"

"No single person could be him, not even all of you combined."

Seeing Shiyi standing silently in place, Ruan Qing'an smiled. In truth, what difference was there between her and Shiyi?

She lowered her eyes, one hand on the hilt of her knife, and walked out along the alley. Her light words drifted on the wind, very soft, yet they reached Shiyi's ears.

"When you told me to call you 'Eleven,' you didn't actually believe that the you with the memories was him, did you?"

"As far as I'm concerned, there will never be another Xie Huainan in this world."

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