Chapter 139 Why, no, a long pause "For me, it seems..."
Just as a stretched string can no longer produce sound, the most intense pain arrives silently the moment it strikes.
With hugs and kisses as cover, Fu Ze's perception of pain came late, even later than the red warning that popped up on the GM system page.
As the pain officially struck, Fu Ze felt a warm liquid surge up from his lungs and finally pour into his mouth.
Salty and fishy.
Sticky.
—It's blood.
Clearly, Yuan Jianxing, who was imitating Fu Ze by pecking at the corner of his mouth, would also taste this unusual flavor.
But instead of showing any panic, he went even further, using his tongue to pry open Fu Ze's teeth and actively sucking and licking the blood mixed with saliva in Fu Ze's mouth.
As he swallowed, the icy sensation embedded in Fu Ze's body trembled slightly.
Fu Ze forcefully turned his head away from the other person's kiss, looking at Yuan Jianxing who was so close to him in disbelief.
Even though Yuan Jianxing had been constantly cleaning up the blood that was about to spill from Fu Ze, he still inevitably missed some things.
The blood that had escaped was smeared by the act of kissing, staining both of them from their lips to their chins a bright red.
"Why?"
As Fu Ze's lips opened and closed, the bright red blood that couldn't be contained in his mouth naturally overflowed, sliding down the corner of his mouth to the tip of his chin, and finally dripping onto the pendant on his collarbone.
He wanted to ask Yuan Jianxing why he wanted to kill him.
He wanted to know more about whether Yuan Jianxing knew what the consequences would be if he killed him.
Although he retrieved the [special key] and regained GM privileges.
However, since the "death and rebirth" effect is independent of the overall game's decision-making, it remains unaffected and continues to function normally.
As the CEO, Hara Kensei's move was swift and precise, directly piercing the limits of the system architecture's ability for characters to self-repair data using medical means.
In other words, he has already triggered the activation conditions for [Death and Rebirth].
With the supreme protective measure of "death in place of life," Fu Ze will not die as usual.
He will simply transfer from his current body to the body of the one who killed him, and take their place.
However, this time the object being replaced is...
Without answering Fu Ze's question, Yuan Jianxing tenderly nuzzled the other's cheek, sharing in the tears that welled up in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, this is the method we ultimately chose."
Perhaps in an effort to end Fu Ze's suffering as quickly as possible, he pushed the knife further inward and simultaneously made a horizontal cut.
"But I don't regret doing it."
As the blade cut and shifted, a large amount of blood gushed from the unobstructed wound, soaking the fabric on Fu Ze's back and beginning to stain the rest of his clothes.
Like a ferocious flower.
Due to rapid and massive blood loss in a short period of time, Fu Ze no longer had the strength to support his body.
He collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
However, the dull pain of the body hitting the ground that I had imagined did not occur.
It turned out that Yuan Jianxing had already bent down and knelt down before Fu Ze, using one arm to support the other person, and finally gently placed him on the ground.
Following Yuan Jianxing's movements, Fu Ze fell back into his arms, asking weakly, "Why...why?"
At first glance, it seems that Fu Ze asked the same question twice.
But how could Yuan Jianxing not know that the content of the two questions was completely different?
"Raven did something to me, making me an obstacle to your efforts to restore the world and save the players."
Despite stabbing his lover with his own hands, Hara Mihoshi is still Hara Mihoshi, capable of delivering the most weighty information with the most concise and calm words.
Hearing the truth he had carefully hidden being so tragically revealed to the public, Fu Ze subconsciously clenched his fingers and gripped Yuan Jianxing's collar.
Grasping Fu Ze's hand and gently opening it, Yuan Jianxing continued casually, "I've known about this for a very long time."
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Fu Ze forced himself to ask, "When?"
Like soothing a baby, Yuan Jianxing put his arm around Fu Ze's shoulder and gently shook him. "I've fallen for the narrative trick trap once, and I won't fall for it a second time."
With this prompt from the other party, Fu Ze recalled the conversation between the two of them at home after Yuan Jianxing woke up from his serious injuries.
"Becoming a GM and completing the 'Repair the [Center of All Things]' quest comes at a price."
"And that price might include me."
"You guessed correctly."
"But that was a long time ago."
Fu Ze gave a silent, bitter smile.
I never expected to be exposed so early again.
Hara Mihoshi truly lives up to his title as... CEO.
As he lost a lot of blood, Fu Ze's body began to cool down, and his senses gradually became blurred.
To make sure Fu Ze could hear clearly, Yuan Jianxing leaned close to Fu Ze's ear and whispered, "Raven bets you won't kill me."
Fu Ze thought dejectedly, "Then I did make the right bet."
In this contest from a higher dimension, I was ultimately slightly inferior.
We lost because we were too serious, too absorbed, too emotional, and because we treated every "person" we envisioned as a real person...
Faced with this defeat filled with injustice, Fu Ze certainly has the right to ask, "Why?"
But he also knew very well that many things were illogical.
Especially this kind of results-oriented "winner takes all, loser is condemned" mentality.
Just then, Yuan Jianxing's firm voice reached Fu Ze's ears.
"But I don't want you to lose!"
It was like a ray of light breaking through the clouds.
"You need to do what you're supposed to do."
Despite the gentleness in his words, his hands never relaxed.
"You are to save those players who chose this game because they trusted you, who belong to the same world as you, and who have real breath and heartbeats."
It might be a misperception, but Fu Ze noticed that Yuan Jianxing's speech seemed to have become somewhat disjointed.
"Don't let a piece of insignificant data stop you in your tracks."
Fu Ze's lips moved, trying to force himself to refute Yuan Jianxing's "self-evaluation," but Yuan Jianxing seemed to have anticipated his actions once again.
Reluctantly closing his eyes, Yuan Jianxing twisted his wrist, causing the blade in his palm to rotate once in the gap between Fu Ze's ribs.
Pain struck again, and at this point, Fu Ze finally lost all ability to resist.
“If I don’t use this method to end my own life, but choose another way,” Yuan Jianxing gently stroked Fu Ze’s head. “Knowing you as I do, you will definitely use your GM privileges to save me time and time again.”
Fu Ze knew that anything Yuan Jianxing had calibrated and approved would definitely be carried out by the other party.
So even if the other party doesn't kill you today to activate [death and rebirth], it will be tomorrow; in short, it will happen someday.
"Don't do things that will hurt you or deviate from your goals."
Upon hearing this, Fu Ze's eyes welled up with tears.
Even Harami discovered that "using GM abilities would harm oneself."
I really do have no secrets at all.
What kind of person are you? Don't you know that even the closest people need some personal privacy?
Using his last bit of strength, Fu Ze jokingly said in a lighthearted tone, "Then why don't you just shoot me dead? It'll be convenient for you, and it'll be quick for me too."
Upon hearing this question, Yuan Jianxing gave a wry smile, then took Fu Ze's hand and reached towards his waist.
Today he was not traveling as an executive officer, nor was he wearing his full uniform.
But inside his coat, he still had a gun tucked in.
“You said before that you had ulterior motives.” Yuan Jianxing held Fu Ze’s hand in hers, offering a warmth that was more than enough. “I did too.”
That question was already the limit of what Fu Ze could do.
So now he can only ask Yuan Jianxing with his eyes what his true motives are.
Just as Yuan Jianxing was about to speak, he suddenly felt a sharp pain, as if it were about to carve a chasm into his mind.
Considering Fu Ze's pupils, which were now occasionally constricting, and the [death-for-life] mechanism that Yuan Jianxing had previously confirmed with the other party, he knew that he didn't have much time left.
Yuan Jianxing raised his head slightly, trying to avoid losing his composure in front of Fu Ze.
"I know you'll hate me after I do this."
Fu Ze slightly moved his eyes up and down, indicating that he agreed with Yuan Jianxing's statement.
Probably no one in this world would not hate their lover's "betrayal" and "abandonment".
Even if this "betrayal" and "abandonment" possess unparalleled and unquestionable legitimacy.
Upon seeing Fu Ze's reaction, Yuan Jianxing seemed to have fulfilled some wish and tightened his arms around the other person.
"That's good. Everyone says that hate lasts longer than love."
He spoke calmly, but the two hot tears that slid down his cheeks and landed on Fu Ze's fingers betrayed him.
"It's really too much, but I really want you to remember me."
Fu Ze moved his pupils up and down once more, indicating that he would definitely fulfill the other party's wish.
He will remember Yuan Jianxing and everything about him.
But at this moment, Yuan Jianxing, who was trying his best to maintain his dignity, suddenly broke down.
After deducing the truth, he tossed and turned for several nights, constantly thinking about himself, Fu Ze, and the world.
After making up his mind to "kill" Fu Ze, he kept comforting himself with the words of the husband who "killed his wife"—that when a partner suffers an accident, the one who is still alive suffers more.
He repeatedly emphasized to himself that compared to what Fu Ze would face later, the pain he was enduring was completely insignificant.
But pain is pain, and it won't change because of any subjective opinion.
As the final battle approached, the trepidation of facing death and the fear of becoming an insignificant and fleeting existence in Fu Ze's life over time all came back to haunt him, forcing Yuan Jianxing to reveal his true thoughts.
Actually, I still don't want you to hate me.
At this moment, his voice still choked up, no longer as calm and composed as before.
The originally relatively complete sentences became even more fragmented.
This time, Fu Ze did not respond, as if he was sulking.
Knowing that the other party was "responsive to gentle persuasion but not to force," Yuan Jianxing said again, "I've given in to you so many times before, just this once, please be lenient with me, okay?"
Fu Ze still did not respond.
Trembling, Yuan Jianxing leaned down to look and found that the other person's pupils had completely dilated, like black holes absorbing the neon lights of V City.
Fu Ze is dead.
Fu Ze died in front of Yuan Jianxing once again.
Yuan Jianxing didn't know if the other party had heard his last two sentences.
However, it's okay.
Yuan Jianxing pulled the blade out from Fu Ze's back and then scooped Fu Ze up in his arms.
He struggled a little to perform this familiar movement.
Because Fu Ze no longer cooperates with him.
Just as Yuan Jianxing laid Fu Ze's body horizontally on the sheltered platform and began to tidy up his clothes and appearance, a light blue semi-transparent screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
Countless unfamiliar characters were jumping around on it.
So this is the GM's control panel? Hara Miki thought.
Meanwhile, in the rapidly scrolling string in the center of the screen, line after line of extremely short statements are being forcibly inserted.
As more statements are inserted, the loading speed of the progress bar-like object at the top of the panel, which runs from left to right and almost spans the entire panel, slows down.
Yuan Jianxing's eyes widened immediately, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Fu Ze... is that you?"
There was no response from the other party, but the speed at which those sentences were inserted increased significantly.
It was like a life-or-death struggle.
Yuan Jianxing speculated that this was Fu Ze trying to stop the process of "death and rebirth".
However, no matter how hard Fu Ze tried, he could only slow down the progress bar's growth, but he couldn't stop it or reverse it at all.
"Don't bother," Yuan Jianxing said softly. "If the GM's authority can prevent [Death and Rebirth], then Raven won't come looking for me, right?"
Seemingly in response to this rational and even cold assessment, two characters that Yuan Jianxing recognized appeared on the panel.
【Shut up】
A few seconds later, two more words appeared below "Shut up".
【not good】
Yuan Jianxing was taken aback. This was the last thing Fu Ze said before replying to him, a question that sounded like a suggestion: "How about it?"
If someone makes a point of replying, it means they care.
Yuan Jianxing immediately felt relieved.
He rolled over and lay down beside Fu Ze, facing the impending end with an unprecedented calm and peace.
If Yuan Jianxing's previous understanding of this being a game world came from the power of the [Key] and Fu Ze's description, then at this moment, he realized with absolute clarity that he was indeed just a string of data.
As the progress bar increased, his headache became more and more severe.
The first thing to be lost is control of the limbs.
His hand, which was about to touch Fu Ze's face, stopped a few millimeters away from the other's skin, unable to move any further.
Next, perception disappears.
The various elements that constituted his perception—temperature, sound, light, color—all disappeared one by one, like a series of slammed shut.
In the final darkness, all his experiences, those he remembered and those he didn't, were forcibly laid out in chronological order.
From beginning to end, they are erased one by one and replaced by another memory.
As if it were a final blessing, during the period of being replaced, Yuan Jianxing also read everything that belonged to Fu Ze.
Finally, the most authentic details were revealed regarding the content that Fu Ze's descriptions had been missing no matter how he tried to fill in the gaps.
"The streets are indeed very narrow."
"Aren't you scared when no one picks you up after school?"
"They secretly fed the fish in the principal's office, and several of them even died from overeating."
"You plugged the rice cooker cord into the computer; I'm so glad you thought of that."
As the [Death and Rebirth] process progressed, Yuan Jianxing's thinking began to be gradually affected, words were missing, grammar collapsed, and his words gradually became incoherent.
"If you're being bullied, you should fight back."
Eat less oily food, more vegetables, and try to avoid staying up late.
Yuan Jianxing took a deep breath—even though he could no longer feel his breath and didn't know if he had actually made that movement.
"For me, it seems like I've never said that before." (Right, I don't think I've ever said that before.)
With his last ounce of strength, he vaguely regained control of his vocal cords.
"I."
To ensure the accuracy of his final heartfelt words, he paused for a long time after each word.
"like."
It looks like a person's entire life.
“n…”
Before Yuan Jianxing could finish speaking, the progress bar on the panel reached its end.
The word that was left unsaid became an lingering echo, faintly drifting away in the wind.
-
After an unknown amount of time, the most spectacular sunset in V City had completely passed, and the brightly lit night once again descended.
Amidst the revelry, no one noticed that two figures, head to head and foot to foot, were lying on the top of the Fengyue Building, where a promotional video was being projected.
Suddenly, one of the figures sat up abruptly.
"No!!"
He first frantically touched his face.
Upon recognizing the familiar arc, he was somewhat incredulous, and then immediately turned to look at the other person.
That's where "Fu Ze" lies.
Unlike his previous disheveled appearance, Fu Ze's face was now very clean, as if someone had specially and carefully wiped and tidied it up for him.
As if afraid the other person would catch a cold, he placed a coat under him.
The front of the coat was loosely closed by the belt.
The knotting method used for this belt is one that only executives would use, prioritizing practicality over fashion. It was ridiculed by Fu Ze, but Yuan Jianxing insisted on using a practical knotting method.
After several confirmations, Fu Ze had to admit a heart-wrenching truth—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the process of [death replacing life].
Fu Ze became Yuan Jianxing.
Fu Ze lost Yuan Jianxing.
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