Chapter 42
Shen Huaixin suddenly looked at Shen Chumo, his eyes were calm, his tone was calm, and he continued to speak,
"In this world, the burden of life weighs on you, forcing you to work alone in the big city for a living and for your loved ones, working around the clock, with no chance to breathe. You cry when you're fired, but your crying has a time limit. You wake up with tears still on your face, and continue to do the work that causes you pain."
"So, your world is black and white because your soul has lost its color; and the world's silence, and your subsequent loss of voice, are all because you are suppressing your love for music. You may feel that if you lose your passion and live like a machine, perhaps it will be less painful."
"You can't find the direction to move forward. All you can do is survive in this world, not live."
"Sister, is the answer to this question correct?"
“…”
Shen Huaixin, who had now returned to her old identity as Du Mingxing, lowered her head in acquiescence and sighed.
So her solution was to earn enough bonus money from this mission to support her family, buy a house in a big city, and pursue her dreams. She needed the money, not for some dramatic reason like in a Korean drama, like her mother's dying or her father's massive debt, but simply out of selfish desire. Perhaps she also wanted to make her mother face her own problems through money.
This is her biggest wish as a rural child, pretentious, selfish, and full of money.
In the face of the suffering of countless people, he would find it funny that such a trivial grievance has the nerve to be turned into a source of pollution?
"You're brilliant and intelligent, and you could have wished for more, yet your obsession is so pure and simple." He was half puzzled, half regretful, with undisguised heartache deep in his eyes. "Why do you keep it so deep in your heart? If I had known earlier, I would have..."
"It's my fault. I'm sorry."
Du Mingxing raised his head abruptly, squeezing out a moist sound from deep in his throat. All the previous confusion and hesitation vanished at that moment.
Shen Chumo pinched the puppet's hand and said to himself, "But I'm confused. Why is your subconscious mind so different from your real situation? It's like... two completely different people."
"But you may never answer me about these mysteries."
He stood up, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. From beginning to end, whether he was facing the android or the puppet, he always had a faint smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. He would often fall silent in the middle of a conversation, as if he suddenly realized that the person who was listening was no longer there.
"Sing the song again, sister," Shen Chumo smiled and lowered her head, "You will always have an audience, at least one."
“…”
Du Mingxing suddenly felt his heart beating a little. It wasn't coming from him, but from the puppet. It was like a shot of cardiac stimulant, and the previously numb and dead place suddenly revived.
"Sister, no matter what happens, you must remember," he straightened the puppet's body so that it faced him, "I will always be by your side and support you."
"Give it everything."
Before he finished speaking, the puppet's heart, hidden in its chest, began to beat, beat again and again. The world suddenly took on color. Du Mingxing saw that the gray puppet had a bright red heart. The life force that had been abandoned had been picked up and pieced together by the puppet, and it was beating vigorously.
The knot in her heart was untied, and she could even feel an invisible relief from the puppet's chest. Its glass eyes moved, and then instinctively turned their gaze in her direction, lifeless but as if telling a story.
Saying "Be yourself".
"Are you looking at the stars?" Shen Chumo followed its gaze and saw the vast Milky Way filled with stars, but for some reason he felt like something was missing.
Du Mingxing met his gaze, a bitter smile forming on her face. Her throat itched, and she unconsciously hummed a tune never before heard in either world: a melody about love and dreams, parting and blessings. The impromptu tune was fragmentary and incomplete, but it reminded her of the purest joy she'd felt the first time she'd reached the top of the hill and hummed along.
She suddenly felt fortunate that her actions, even though they were part of a mission, had paid off. He hadn't turned evil as described in the book, and he was strong and kind enough to walk the path ahead on his own.
The puppet opened its mouth, making some sounds of wood rubbing against each other, childish and authentic. Shen Chumo listened to the puppet's discordant song, not insisting on a single word.
She doesn't need others' judgment. All she wants is for her to follow her heart and find her true self.
The remaining thin mist dissipated in an instant, and the illusion was shattered. Shen Chumo looked around and found that he was still in the original subway station, and had not moved.
The pollution surrounding his body gradually disappeared. Shen Chumo touched the pollution core stored in his left chest pocket. It seemed to sense that it was about to transcend and was trembling in fear.
"Any obsession?" Shen Chumo pondered intently, not knowing what he had missed.
Logically speaking, after the regretful fulfillment, the contaminated core should not have this kind of reaction, resisting and shrinking, appearing very uneasy.
Does this mean that Shen Huaixin wants to stay and be with him? Once this thought came to mind, he couldn't help but feel excited.
Shen Chumo's Adam's apple rolled, and his fingertips touched the pollution core. When he input energy, it trembled more violently and absorbed it without any resistance.
As Shen Chumo continued to input energy, the core became darker and darker. As the dim light of the subway station flickered, the pollution core became active and reconstructed the source of pollution, which made Du Mingxing suddenly have a bad premonition.
Du Mingxing: Isn't this core... the original owner's? She resists death?
【System: What do you think?】
Du Mingxing: What happens if you continuously input energy?
【System: Will become stronger.】
Shen Chumo held the contaminated core to his chest: "I misunderstood, you want to become stronger, right?"
"If you want."
He muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on a daze. The pollutants in his body were raging, unstintingly supporting the energy required by the core. Countless black particles gathered around it, surging towards the center of the core, providing nutrients and promoting its growth.
Du Mingxing: What is the current pollution level?
[System: A-level, about to break through S.]
Du Mingxing quickly walked up to him and waved, trying to stop him from doing something stupid: "Chu Mo! Stop! That's not me!"
However, no living being could hear the cry from the soul. A steady stream of pollution emanated from the Shen residence, causing flowers and birds to mutate strangely. Dozens of small pollution sources were spawned under the extremely high concentration of pollution, surrounding him. The most intensely distorted was the core hidden in Shen Chumo's chest.
The sharp thorns on its shell pierced his chest, oozing blood. The blood quickly seeped down the surface and then disappeared without a trace.
Du Mingxing was so anxious that he was spinning around: "Master, stop him!"
[System: Re-evaluating the female supporting character's offline plot... Conclusion: There is a chance of correcting the deviation, and assistance will be provided.]
[Du Mingxing was shocked: What do you mean?]
[System: Host, you will receive a multi-million bonus as you wish.]
Du Mingxing's breathing stagnated. After realizing what the system was saying, his heart sank suddenly and his nails dug into his palms.
She returned home safely, won the bonus, and realized her wish, but what was the price?
It was Shen Chumo who was stabbed by his closest relatives after he opened his heart to her. It was him who no longer had any expectations for family affection. It was she who abandoned her remaining conscience for money.
【Du Mingxing: I... don't want it anymore.】
But no one answered.
The volume of the contaminated core continued to grow, and the surface seemed to be coated with a layer of black paint, with a faint flowing color, like a dream, a strange fusion of nobility and weirdness.
[System: Prepare to stimulate Shen Huaixin's soul. Three, two, one...]
[System: Tried to wake up Shen Huaixin once, failed.]
【System: Second time, failed.】
…
[System: Six times, success. Pollution source has reached S-level.]
The contaminated core slowly floated into the air, its surface contracting and expanding, making a sound similar to bones rubbing against each other. A small, dark cloud-like vortex whistled and circled above the contaminated core. Dark clouds pressed down, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. Its small size yet its power was concentrated, terrifying. Shen Chumo waved his hand, and the dark cloud immediately dissipated, leaving no trace.
Du Mingxing was stunned. He had been hoping that the thunder would kill the original owner, but it seemed that was no longer possible.
The core kept changing its shape, and finally it transformed into an illusory human figure. Looking closely, it seemed to be Shen Huaixin's appearance and figure.
Du Mingxing was shocked and used her body to block Shen Chumo, with her arms outstretched, trying to block their gazes. Perhaps because they were both souls, she could sense that the other person was no longer human. Neither was Shen Huaixin herself, but neither had she completely escaped from it. She felt closer to a form forged from the evil within her.
"Brother, I'm so scared." The vague figure was not yet stable. It stretched out its hand softly to Shen Chumo, passed through Du Mingxing's body, and barely grabbed the edge of his clothes. When it raised its head, tears welled up in its eyes, and it choked with sobs, "I want to go out..."
“…”
Shen Chumo held his breath and looked at her.
Is it a miracle?
His sincerity was blessed by God, so he let go and let the angel return to him? But what virtue did a monster like him have?
"Brother...it's me..."
The humanoid form, a mixture of reality and illusion, appears translucent and insubstantial, more like a dream carefully woven for Shen Chumo. A string of full tears stream down her delicate face, like a willow swaying in the wind, evoking a deep desire to protect.
Du Mingxing repeated "Don't believe her", but could only watch Shen Chumo let "Shen Huaixin" touch his face.
He finally spoke with red eyes, his voice hoarse, and each word came out: "You are still here, right?"
"I know you didn't leave. You've been watching me. I can feel it."
"Promise me you won't leave. I'm afraid you'll never come back after you leave."
Du Mingxing was stunned for a moment, as if he was hit by something.
At this moment, he was not some future villain, but just her younger brother who she lived with day and night, a boy who loved desserts and could not learn Chinese. Shen Chumo, whom she had once regarded as a character in a book but who had grown flesh and blood, was standing in front of her, trying to keep her. His warm breath was so close that her nose was slightly wet, and then a sour taste came unexpectedly.
A sweet and soft female voice sounded behind her, revealing a malicious temptation.
"Okay, I promise."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
