Chapter 202 Falling Apart
I've never felt anything particularly strongly about killing. Whether it was killing those strange people in the past or repeatedly killing so many guards and researchers just now, I felt nothing. Because they were enemies, killing them was all too natural. Even weeds need a crack to grow out of a rock, but I find it difficult to find any space in the ground that would allow me to feel any melancholy or sadness.
Looking at the charred remains and the melancholy expression on Lu Chan's face, I sensed a strange shift in my state of mind regarding the killing of Chen Long. In the past, I felt like merely a tourist in this bizarre world; now, I seemed to have truly become a part of it. As for why I felt this way, I couldn't quite understand it myself.
The young girl, Lu Chan, quickly noticed what I was holding.
"This is...?" she asked hesitantly.
I held up the silver metal badge in my hand.
"You mean this? This is something left behind by Chenlong. For some reason, my flames couldn't burn it... Do you know what this is?"
"You said this was left behind by Chenlong..." Her expression became complicated with mixed feelings, "...Yes, I know what it is. It's a national first-class demon hunter medal."
"A Class A National Demon Hunter?"
I feel like I've heard this term somewhere before.
By the way, Zhu Shi mentioned this to me a long time ago. Those at the Cheng level of Wuchang are also called "National First-Class Demon Hunters." It's just that demon hunters believe they are above the authority of the state, so they don't take this title, which includes "state," seriously.
“Only those who have made significant contributions to society and reached a high level of power will be officially awarded this medal by the national leadership. There are very few Undead who are qualified to receive this medal, and even fewer who are willing to accept the awarding ceremony. This is because some of them believe that secular regimes are not qualified to award them medals,” said Lu Chan, the young girl. “In recent years, only Chen Long, myself, and a female demon hunter who is skilled at manipulating blue lightning have received this medal. The medal itself does not have any special power; it is merely an ornament made of precious metals.”
"So, this is Chenlong's medal? Then why can it withstand my flames?" I wondered.
“No, this should be my medal,” she said, her voice ambivalent.
"Yours?" I asked, puzzled.
She held out her hand to me, and I handed her the silver medal.
“When the past Lu Chan escaped this Humanitarian Division outpost, he secretly retrieved his Impermanence Sword, but abandoned this National First-Class Demon Hunter Medal here along with his dreams. This is proof of severing ties with his past self—from now on, 'Lu Chan' will never fight for mortals again.” She looked at the silver medal in her hand. “As for why the medal can withstand your flames… I think it's because this medal is my true form.”
“The main body…” I tried to process this information, “You mean, because this medal embodies Lu Chan’s dream, therefore…”
“Objects can hold people’s memories. In the past, Lu Chan abandoned his dream by discarding this medal. Therefore, this medal is the source of my ‘phenomenon’,” she said.
I see. Because Lu Chan, the girl, is on my flame whitelist, this medal won't be harmed either. That makes sense.
"But Chenlong actually carries my discarded medal with him, he..."
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. In any case, Chenlong is dead. Even if we were to discuss his unknown inner journey, he wouldn't come forward to tell us, right? No, even if he were alive, he certainly wouldn't admit anything.
I felt that perhaps it was better not to tell the young girl Lu Chan that Chenlong's soul had been refined into "slag".
"Since this is your physical container, will this medal help you continue to exist after the destruction of the independent reality space?" I asked.
“Perhaps the longing that is the root of me can coexist with the medal, but I, the ‘dream incarnation’ who can talk and interact with you, am destined to disappear.” She said without changing her expression. “However, as long as I have this medal, I should be able to return my ‘dream’ to that Lu Chan outside.”
"How exactly do I do it?" I asked tentatively.
“It’s very simple, just give him the medal,” she said with great certainty. “The dream that he abandoned along with the medal in the past will return to him along with the medal.”
"However, once I go to the real world, I will disappear as quickly as sugar in warm water. Even if we could find a way to delay the disappearance a little, as a dream bubble, I cannot move matter in the real world. I can only ask you for help with this."
"Zhuang Cheng, can you help me?"
Without hesitation, I said, "No."
I thought she would be surprised or even angry to hear this reply, but to my surprise, she remained calm.
"Why?" she asked patiently.
“To me, the ‘Lu Chan of the past’ was merely a ‘person from afar’ whom I had never met,” I said. “As for the current Lu Youxun, although I can see that he has something to hide, he has genuinely helped me, and we are slowly getting to know each other. I will not kill the ‘current him’ to bring back the ‘past him’.”
She pressed further: "Just because he's nice to you, does that mean you think he's a good person now? Since you also admit that he has ulterior motives... no, ultimately he's a transcendentalist, while your friend Zhu Shi is a pacifist. They'll eventually have an irreconcilable conflict."
"You'll definitely stand by Zhu Shi's side, right? Don't you think we should help Lu Chan outside regain his self-awareness as a pacifist before they clash? This would benefit not only Zhu Shi, but also you, and even more so, society."
“I’ve never thought Lu Youxun was a good person, but generally speaking, I think he’s still on our side for now. Maybe he’ll become an enemy in the future… but that’s a matter for the future. At worst, we can fight him again then.” I said, “You might say I lack foresight, but I don’t intend to use what might happen to someone in the future as a reason to settle scores with him now, since he hasn’t done anything yet.”
"Is that so..." She closed her eyes, "I don't want to sacrifice those nearby for those who are more valuable 'distant ones'..."
“You have helped me a lot in this matter. If you have any other requests, I will do my best to help you.”
I thought about it and realized that it would be really unfair of me to do nothing for her.
“No, we’re just fighting side by side for a common purpose. We’re helping each other out, and neither of us owes the other anything.” She opened her eyes. “However, if you really feel bad about it, could you grant me this request?”
"Go ahead," I said, adopting a more serious attitude.
She looked me over carefully, then smiled slightly and said, "Zhuang Cheng, please just stay true to yourself."
"What?" I asked, surprised.
She had many valuable requests, but she only said this one sentence.
I almost forgot that her prototype was a man; at this moment, she really looked like a young girl.
Just then, the ground we were standing on suddenly began to shake violently, and space itself became blurry. At first glance, I thought my eyes were blurry. But I quickly realized the cause of this phenomenon.
This is the phenomenon that the independent reality space was on the verge of destruction, as mentioned by the young girl Lu Chan. It seems that Chen Long truly is the pillar of this independent reality space; once he dies, the stronghold will face destruction.
Meanwhile, the power of regeneration continues to repair things throughout the base, and the spatial blurring is quickly being reversed; however, the earthquakes persist. My sea of fire hasn't disappeared either, wreaking havoc everywhere, struggling against the power of regeneration. Normally, the power of regeneration would reset the near-destruction independent reality to a perfect state, but now it's stuck in the middle, neither rising nor falling.
At this rate, the independent reality space will remain stuck in this turbulent state. While it's unlikely to improve, whether it will worsen or stagnate is currently unknown. However, we have a good way to quickly push it to destruction.
That is to kill the owner of this secret outpost of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau.
This location was very close to the laboratory where Dr. Silver Mask was located, and we quickly arrived at the laboratory and stepped inside.
Doctor Silver Mask stood inside as if he had been waiting for a long time.
He didn't seem to have any good fighting skills, yet he didn't panic and hide. I think it's because he knows very well that it's useless for him to run away. Now, I, who have spread the sea of fire to every corner of this stronghold, am the true ruler of this place.
I manipulated the sea of fire that filled the area, sweeping towards Dr. Silver Mask; while the power of restarting surrounded him like an impenetrable force field shield, keeping the flames out.
Seeing this, I immediately used the second method, just like I did with Chenlong, using the light emanating from the flames as a medium to directly ignite Dr. Silver Mask. Since I can now see him normally with the naked eye, it means his rebooting power hasn't rewound all the light. As for the reason—whether it's due to some principle making it difficult to do, or simply because he can't spare that much power for the time being—I have no idea.
However, he had been supporting Chenlong from the rear with the power of restart, and he must have seen clearly from an outsider's perspective how I manipulated light to kill Chenlong.
He had clearly figured out a way to counter my move in a very short time.
(End of this chapter)
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