Chapter 41
Unlike Zhou You's madness, Gao Jie is calm at this moment.
Her temples were gray, but her back remained straight. Gao Jie's consciousness fluctuated steadily, even with a hint of fatigue from relief.
"Treasurer," she said slowly and clearly. "I, Gao Jie, accept dissolution."
She didn't even wait for the keeper's response.
"I have only one request." She paused, a rare glimmer of tenderness gleaming in her eyes, already somewhat clouded by the experience of so many deaths and deaths. "Please ensure that my granddaughter, Gao Xiangshan, can live safely in this new world."
"Dashan" is the nickname of the white tiger.
It was not a pure beast, but her granddaughter, whose body she witnessed undergoing a transformation and eventually turning into a mighty white tiger when the end of the world came.
His reason was overshadowed by his animal nature, but deep in his soul, there seemed to still be a trace of attachment to her.
During this period, the man and the tiger depended on each other for survival.
She is its old but still reliable guardian, and it is her last tie in this desolate world.
She didn't care about herself. After nearly seventy years of struggle, loss, and perseverance, she was already exhausted.
Death was more like a long rest for her.
But she couldn't let go of the mountain.
That silly "relative" who could only lick the back of her hand with his rough tongue, nudged her with his big head when she was tired, and protected her from the cold with his warm body at night.
"I'm old, I've had enough of life, and I'm tired."
The consciousness of high morals is weary.
"But the mountain is still small. It should have the opportunity to see this new world, to enjoy running and hunting, and perhaps... even meet its kind and have its own future."
She doesn't need the Universe Administration to give any special favor to the mountains. She only wants the most basic "balance" - an environment that allows her tiger to survive safely.
The keeper's response was calm and indifferent: "Accepted. Individual 'Gao Xiangshan' White Tiger Form will be incorporated into the New Era's ecological balance sequence to improve its adaptability. Interference factors have been eliminated."
There is no promise of 100% security, but it is enough.
Gao Jie took a deep "look" into the distance, as if she could penetrate the dimension, and saw that in that wild land, her white tiger was carefreely chasing a huge butterfly.
An almost imperceptible curve of satisfaction appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Then came Sui Chunsheng. She seemed a little excited, full of anxiety and an almost neurotic exploration.
Her consciousness was extremely unstable, like a tangled mess that could be blown away by the wind at any time.
"My sister! Sui Chunxiao!"
She didn't even have time to say her name. Her words, filled with pent-up fear and anticipation, rushed toward the invisible treasure keeper, "Where is she? Is she still alive? What has become of her? Is she...is she doing well?"
Before the end of the world, her sister Chunxiao suffered from severe autism and lived in her own world.
After the disaster, she went out to look for supplies, and when she returned home she found that her sister was gone.
Finding her sister has almost become her only obsession to survive.
She traveled through the ruins, dodged mutants, and dealt with orcs, just to find Chunxiao.
The keeper did not give a direct answer.
Instead, a picture slowly unfolds before Sui Chunsheng's eyes.
This is a room filled with weapons. Further inside, my sister is lying on the bed. Her face is slightly flushed, sweat is on her forehead, and she has her eyes closed, sleeping very uneasily.
Just then three girls walked in.
One of them had conspicuous long white hair. If Ji Dongzang could see it, he would recognize it as Jiang Zhijian, and he would also feel that the weapons in this room were very familiar.
The other two are Bai Jing and An Yu.
They found Sui Chunxiao who was running a fever and gave her medicine and food.
…
They left with the weapons Sui Chunxiao gave them.
Shortly after they left, Chunxiao discovered that something was wrong with her body and she began to change gradually.
At this moment she was in the yard, sometimes digging the soil, sometimes bumping into trees, and just like that she turned into an orc.
At the same time, her movements also attracted a completely mutated rhino.
It was more than twice as big as Chunxiao, so Chunxiao had to flee in a hurry.
Then the picture changes.
It was a dense, strange forest emitting a faint glow.
A chubby panda with distinct black and white fur is clumsily but nimbly climbing up a thick old tree.
Sui Chunsheng confirmed instantly that it was Chunxiao!
Its movements were instinctive like those of an animal, yet strangely it retained some of the habitual little movements of its human days.
She climbed onto a tree branch, sat down quietly, and ate an unknown fruit. In her eyes, which were surrounded by dark circles, there was an unprecedented calmness that belonged to a wild beast, even... happiness.
The screen changes again.
Several sturdy, predatory-looking leopard-like orcs spotted her, surrounded her with growls and unfriendly looks.
Sui Chunsheng's heart tightened instantly.
However, just as the leopard-shaped orc was trying to launch an attack, a tiger roar that shook the mountains and forests exploded from deep in the forest!
A huge white figure rushed out like lightning and stood in front of the panda.
It is the white tiger of high moral character, "Dashan".
It glanced majestically at the leopard-shaped orcs, and the powerful sense of oppression made them retreat in disappointment.
Dashan turned around and rubbed the panda's furry body gently with his huge head. The panda responded affectionately with a comfortable, purring sound.
Finally, the picture freezes next to the panda.
She carried with her a "bag" carefully wrapped with vines and animal skins.
At this time, the bag was slightly opened, revealing a paper notebook with worn edges but well protected.
That was Chunxiao's diary, filled with every detail of her life with her sister, written in childish strokes.
The keeper's calm voice answered all her questions at the perfect moment: "Subject Sui Chunxiao is alive. Status: Healthy. Adaptability: Excellent. Has successfully integrated into the New Era ecosystem. Its cognitive model is highly consistent with the current world. Guardian Relationship: A stable relationship exists with Subject Gao Xiangshan."
All the questions have answers.
She was alive, healthy, intelligent, and adapting to the world in her own way.
I also found new partners and started a new life.
She is no longer the girl trapped in the concrete city who needs constant care, but a panda in this new jungle who is free, safe, and has powerful friends.
The huge worries and fears that were enough to crush her disappeared at this moment.
Sui Chunsheng stared at the scene in a daze, watching her sister peacefully eating the fruit, tears silently slid down her face.
Not tears of sadness, but tears of extreme joy and relief.
“…I accept decomposition.”
She choked and almost blurted out the words, her voice was tearful but extremely firm.
She could finally let go of her obsession.
The choices made by three people in a row made the atmosphere in the consciousness space increasingly heavy and weird.
The fourth figure slowly gathered, it was Xia Changjie.
Her image is characterized by her unique rigor. Her expression is complex, her brows are slightly furrowed, and it is clear that she is going through an intense inner struggle.
"I'm Xia Changjie." Her voice was a little dry, and she wasn't so eager to become a saint or a sacrifice.
Her gaze was cast upon the slightly old but well-maintained robot cat, "Pang Dahai", which she had transformed and was circling around her feet.
This was the first work she completed in her childhood, and it accompanied her through countless lonely or happy times.
Its joints make a slight "crunching" sound when they move.
In addition to Pang Dahai, behind her, there are several humanoid robots with smooth lines and silent appearance standing quietly. They are her "family" and assistants that she has created with great effort.
"I can live." She took a deep breath, her consciousness fluctuating with confusion.
"But if I don't consider them, and I die or leave, Pang Dahai, and they..." She pointed at the robots behind her, "in the new civilization, they will be regarded as useless scrap metal, dismantled, destroyed, or worse."
She loves to create, and these mechanical creations are an extension of her wisdom, emotions and the meaning of life.
She couldn't imagine that after she decomposed, Pang Dahai's pair of glass eyes, which were simulated so lifelike, would shatter under the trampling of an orc.
The humanoid robot she carefully designed would be dismantled into pieces, becoming a pile of lifeless parts.
"I choose to decompose." Xia Changjie finally made up his mind, his tone a little heavy.
"The condition is that you must accept them and ensure that they...can continue to 'exist' in the way they should."
The keeper's response remained calm, "Accepted. Individual 'Pang Dahai' and its associated mechanical creations will be placed in 'clearance mode', removed from the current civilizational iteration process, and taken into custody by the General Administration. Assignment plan: Logistics and maintenance sequence."
"Logistics maintenance..."
Xia Changjie murmured it again, with a complex smile of bitterness and relief on his face.
At least, they could survive and continue to function and be of value in some place she couldn't understand.
This may be the best ending she can give them.
She bent down and gently stroked the cold and familiar head of Pang Dahai for the last time.
Then, her body, along with all her mechanical creations, were silently pulled out and stored away.
The four people have left, and in the consciousness space, only two people from different directions are left - Qiu Lian and Ji Dongzang.
Seeing that Ji Dongzang didn't move, Qiu Lian stood up first.
Her expression was calm, almost indifferent. Facing the heroic, affectionate, or struggling choices made by the four people in front of her, there was no emotion on her face.
"I, Qiu Lian, accept decomposition."
She spoke in a steady voice, as if she was stating a trivial matter that had nothing to do with her.
There were no conditions, no hesitation, and not even the slightest trace of attachment to life or fear of death.
This overly calm attitude, on the contrary, reveals an indescribable abnormality.
The treasurer confirmed according to the procedure: "Request to accept."
Qiu Lian's figure disappeared quietly, quickly, and without a trace.
The keeper who spoke paused, and then the three keeper's left quietly.
The coordinates of the "retreat" have been quietly activated.
Qiu Lian now felt as if his whole body was spinning at high speed and he couldn't see anything clearly. It was a strange feeling that made his body very uncomfortable.
She knew she was on her way to the cemetery.
She did not go to death calmly.
She just changed her way and left first.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
