Chapter 61
The suffocating silence deep within the wreckage enveloped Lin Yao like an icy tide. The VCR screen had long since dimmed, with snowflakes flickering silently like a mocking sound.
Otto's face, which spanned three hundred years, was like the most vicious curse, deeply imprinted in the depths of his consciousness, stirring up a storm that was enough to subvert all cognition.
fear?
No, it wasn't just fear. It was a deeper, colder feeling... a sense of daze.
It is like a ship that has lost all its coordinates in the vast universe, losing its direction and even the meaning of existence has become unclear.
The rational logic that he was proud of shattered into pieces like fragile ice crystals in the face of the huge paradox of time and space distortion.
He needed to...get out of here. Now!
This thought arose like an instinct, overcoming the fatigue and pain in his body. Lin Yao stood up suddenly, his movements even showing a hint of panic.
He stopped exploring, stopped pausing. His spiritual threads, like startled tentacles, instantly retracted, leaving only the most basic barrier to protect him.
Like a ghost escaping from a nightmare, he rushed through the twisting passage at the fastest speed and rushed out of the wreckage that exuded the atmosphere of despair.
Outside, those humanoid pollution beasts that acted like guards were still wandering aimlessly.
Lin Yao's figure flashed at the edge of their perception, and the powerful mental interference made him blend into the background of the environment.
He no longer fought, no longer stayed, his only thought was to leave this high-risk core area and return to... the place where he left his mark.
The high-risk area of the Sea of Rotten Bones rapidly receded behind him. The poisonous miasma, the withered bones, the twisted shadows… all became a blurred background.
Lin Yao's speed reached an extreme speed. The intense consumption of mental strength made his face even paler. The wound on his shoulder that was corroded by pollution sent waves of tearing pain and numbness, but he was completely unaware of it.
There was only one coordinate flashing in my mind - the cave formed by black bone fossils.
When the familiar and relatively safe outline of the cave finally appeared at the end of the dim vision, Lin Yao's tense nerves almost broke.
He saw the tall, sculpture-like figure guarding the cave entrance - Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng obviously noticed his approach immediately and turned around abruptly. When he saw Lin Yao's condition clearly, Lu Cheng's pupils suddenly contracted!
His silver hair was messily stuck to his sweaty forehead, his combat uniform was torn in many places, revealing wounds deep enough to see the bone, which were emitting a strange purple glow. His face was so pale that there was not a trace of blood. His azure eyes were no longer as deep and calm as before, but were filled with... a kind of almost shattered confusion and fear that Lu Cheng had never seen before.
The god-like aura that controlled everything about him disappeared, replaced by a shaky and fragile feeling, as if he would completely collapse in the next second.
This... is this Lin Yao?
Lu Cheng's mind went blank, and the huge shock made him freeze in place.
Just when he was stunned, Lin Yao's figure appeared in front of him as if teleporting.
No signs, no words.
Lin Yao, like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood, opened his arms and hugged Lu Cheng tightly with all his strength.
This hug came so suddenly, so hard, and with a sense of almost desperate dependence. Lin Yao's body was even trembling slightly, his cold forehead pressed against Lu Cheng's warm neck, and his rapid and hot breath sprayed on his skin.
Lu Cheng's body instantly stiffened. He was completely stunned! This development... was so unexpected! This feeling... was so familiar! Just like the "fragile" "Lin Yao" back then, when, after being frightened, he threw himself into his arms for protection!
Is this another superb performance... directed and acted by himself?
For some purpose? To fool him again? To exploit his sympathy?
Lu Cheng's heart instantly became filled with a strong sense of vigilance and absurdity. He subconsciously wanted to push away the embrace and question what tricks the other party was playing.
However, the moment this thought arose—
A drop of warm liquid fell on Lu Cheng's collarbone without warning, instantly soaking his clothes on his chest.
Then, the second drop, the third drop...
Lu Cheng's body trembled violently! As if struck by an electric current! That wasn't sweat! That was... tears?!
Lin Yao... is crying?!
This realization exploded like a bomb in Lu Cheng's mind, shattering all his doubts and vigilance.
That absolutely rational being who always looked on from above, treating everything as pawns and emotions as a burden… That "god" who always controlled the situation and acted with ease before him… was actually… shedding tears?!
"I don't know... whether I should continue..."
Lin Yao's voice sounded in the crook of Lu Cheng's neck, his voice was hoarse and dry, with a heavy nasal tone and a deep fatigue and fear that he had never felt before.
He seemed to be caught in some kind of huge mental vortex, muttering to himself, saying words that Lu Cheng couldn't understand at all, "Once the mystery of the thick fog is solved...it will be even more cruel...ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times..."
His voice grew lower and lower, carrying with it a sense of helplessness that made Lu Cheng's heart tighten.
"By then, can I, a…absolutely rational person, really…still bear it…?"
Confused... helpless... even... scared...
How could these words be associated with Lin Yao?!
Lu Cheng's shock reached its peak! What he had thought was the most impossible thing was actually happening right before his eyes! The "god" who was always supposed to be at ease, firmly in control, and never show any signs of vulnerability, was now like a lost child, trembling helplessly in his arms, shedding tears and expressing his fear for the future.
The huge impact made Lu Cheng's brain go blank and he even lost the ability to think.
He stood there stiffly, feeling the coldness and trembling of the body in his arms, the burning sensation of the hot tears in the crook of his neck, listening to the broken and confused whispers... An unprecedented, strong desire to protect and heartache, like a surging tide, instantly broke through all his defenses.
What deception! What fooling! What dignity! At this moment, they all seem so insignificant.
Almost instinctively, he slowly raised his arms.
Then, with an unprecedented strength, with great cherishment and caution, he gently but firmly hugged Lin Yao, who was so fragile that he seemed to be broken at the slightest touch.
His palm gently patted Lin Yao's cold and trembling back, his movements were clumsy but full of power.
"Don't be afraid..." Lu Cheng's voice was low and hoarse, with a gentleness and determination that he himself had not even noticed. He tightened his arms and hugged Lin Yao deeper into his warm embrace, as if to use his body temperature to dispel the chill deep in the other's soul. "No matter what happens next..."
He paused, feeling the subtle sobs and dependence of the person in his arms, and a heavy determination that surpassed all complex emotions rose in his heart very clearly.
He lowered his head, his lips almost touching Lin Yao's cold silver hair, and declared clearly every word, like the most solemn oath.
"I'll always be by your side."
"Even if it means death."
Outside the cave, the dead silence of the rotting bone forest remained.
But in this small shelter, the cold barrier of rationality collapsed, leaving only two heartbeats that clung to each other and kept each other warm amidst huge mysteries and unknown fears.
Lu Cheng's oath, like the hottest fire in the darkness, tried to illuminate the desperate fog before Lin Yao's eyes.
And Lin Yao's silent tears and trembling hug, for the first time, were no longer a disguise, but the truest fragility and dependence in the depths of his soul.
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