Chapter 68
The base was unusually quiet late at night, with only the laboratory lights still flickering regularly. Wen Ling walked in with two cups of freshly brewed herbal tea and found Miao Weizhen standing in front of Xinglan's consciousness container again, her fingertips tracing the outline of her sleeping sister through the glass.
"Keith said this tea helps you sleep." Wen Ling handed the cup over, "You should rest."
Miao Weizhen took the teacup, his eyes still fixed on the container. "Her consciousness is 0.3% more active than yesterday. Anthony said that's a good sign."
At that moment, the lab's main screen suddenly flashed red. Anthony's panicked voice came over the communicator: "Minister! Your Highness! Come quickly!"
When they rushed into the control room, they saw that Xinglan's consciousness data was fluctuating violently. The previously stable light curve became chaotic, and the light of the container began to flicker.
"It's the Federation!" Anthony's fingers moved rapidly on the console. "They've activated the hidden protocol of 'Luofeng Reverberation' and are remotely eroding Miss Xinglan's consciousness!"
Miao Weizhen's face turned pale instantly: "How complete is it?"
"85%... 83%..." Anthony's voice trembled. "If it falls below 80%, there's no going back!"
Wen Ling immediately retrieved the system logs and discovered that the Federation had used the newly established Restoration Alliance communications network as a springboard. "They've been waiting for this opportunity..." he muttered.
"Activate the highest authority." Miao Weizhen had already walked towards the connecting cabin. "I want to go in."
"Minister! The current system is too dangerous!" Anthony was sweating profusely. "The Federation has planted a consciousness trap in the system!"
Wen Ling silently walked to the other connection cabin and put on the neural connector with a swift movement. "I'll accompany you."
"Your Highness!"
"Doctor," Wen Ling turned around, a determination never before seen in her green eyes, "Xing Lan is not only his sister, but also the hope of all of us."
The moment the connection was activated, Wen Ling felt his consciousness being torn to pieces. He fell into an abyss of painful memories.
"elder brother--!"
Xinglan's shrill cries echoed through the void. Countless fragments of memory, like sharp lenses, reflected a heartbreaking scene:
The girl was trapped in a laboratory chamber, the blue light of energy overload burning her nerves; she curled up in a dark corner, scratching counting marks on the wall with her fingers; she hummed the nursery rhyme that Miao Weizhen taught her to the void, her voice broken and untuned...
"Xinglan!" Miao Weizhen's voice trembled. He tried to rush towards those memory fragments, but was entangled by more dark memories.
When he was forced to sign the traitorous treaty, every mark the pen made on the paper felt like a cut to his heart. Late at night, he sat alone in front of Xinglan's photo, letting memories consume him. In those darkest moments, he was almost swallowed by endless loneliness...
"Weizhen." Wen Ling's voice penetrated the darkness like a warm current.
His consciousness radiated a soft yet resolute light, and the dark memories that had tried to erode Miao Weizhen receded like a tide. "Look at me, I'm here."
They continued to move forward in the maze of memory. Suddenly, the scene changed, and this time it was the echo of Wen Ling's memory -
Young Wen Ling knelt before his parents' coffins, his tiny shoulders trembling as he clutched a shattered imperial emblem. Wen Xunyi caressed his head lovingly, only to push him toward his own death the next moment. Imprisoned in the Rusty Harbor of the Yellow Springs, the young prince experienced his first bitter taste of betrayal...
Wen Ling subconsciously wanted to block out these memories, but Miao Weizhen gently held his hand.
"Let me see." His voice was unusually gentle. "Your pain is part of me."
In each other's deepest pain, their consciousnesses were closer than ever before. Finally, in the deepest part of the maze of memories, they found the core of Xinglan's consciousness.
Behind a transparent energy barrier, Xinglan's consciousness curled up into a ball, wrapped in black data chains. She looked only twelve or thirteen years old, exactly the age she had been when she disappeared.
"Xinglan!" Miao Weizheng rushed forward and put his palm on the barrier.
The barrier rippled, revealing the ultimate test set by the Federation:
"In exchange for your most painful memory."
"No," Wen Ling wanted to stop him, but Miao Weizhen had already put his hand on the barrier.
At this critical moment, Wen Ling placed his hand on Miao Weizhen's hand.
"Use mine," he whispered. "My memory holds the purest light."
The barrier greedily absorbed Wen Ling's memories——
Even after his parents died, he still believed this world was worth protecting; when betrayed by his loved ones, he chose forgiveness and understanding; in the desperate situation of Huangquan Rust Port, he never gave up hope. Those warm memories burned through the chains of darkness like sunlight, and the barrier shattered under the weight.
"This is impossible..." The system's voice became distorted, "Such pure consciousness..."
The barrier shattered. Miao Weizhen's consciousness transformed into a warm light, gently enveloping Xinglan's fragile consciousness.
"Brother," Xinglan's consciousness emitted a faint wave, "You are finally here."
"I'm here." Miao Weizhen's consciousness was choked with sobs, "Brother has been waiting for you."
As they exited the system, carrying Xinglan's consciousness core, the lab erupted in excited cheers. Within Xinglan's container, the dark aura dissipated, and a warm, steady light emerged.
The most surprising thing was that a clear and familiar voice came from the container's communication channel:
"Brother," Xinglan's voice came through the speakers. Although it was electronic, it was full of life. "I had a very long dream."
Miao Weizhen placed his palm against the outer wall of the container and said in a choked voice, "The nightmare is over."
Xing Lan turned her voice towards Wen Ling: "Are you... His Highness Wen Ling, whom my brother often mentioned in his dreams?"
Wen Ling also placed her hand on the container and replied gently:
"Yes, I'm Wen Ling. Welcome home, Xinglan."
Xinglan's voice was filled with laughter: "It's great... Brother is no longer alone."
At that moment, everyone in the lab had tears in their eyes. Ah Yuan quietly wiped away tears, Han Zhong turned his face away, and even Luo Yan's mechanical prosthetic eye was flashing an unusual light.
After a long period of separation and pain, Xinglan finally returned truly—although she was still not fully grown, her consciousness was intact and clear, and she was able to think, remember, communicate, and even feel love.
Outside the window, the starlight falls gently, as if the entire universe is blessing this reunion that transcends life and death.
After Xinglan's consciousness stabilized within the container, the lab gradually became the warmest place in the base. Like a plant finally seeing the sun, she recovered at an astonishing speed.
That morning, Wen Ling walked into the lab with breakfast in hand and found Miao Weizhen already there. He stood before the container, his fingertips lightly touching the glass, whispering something to Xinglan. The morning light filtered through the porthole, gilding his hard, cold features with a soft, golden edge.
"...When he was in Huangquan Rust Port, he was clearly in danger himself, yet he still cared for the sick miners." Miao Weizhen's voice was unusually gentle. "Even when he was under surveillance, he secretly delivered medicine to them."
A rippling blue light rippled through the container, and Xing Lan's chuckle came through the speaker: "So His Highness Wen Ling has always been this... gentle person?"
Wen Ling coughed lightly, and the two of them noticed his arrival.
Miao Weizhen took the plate, his fingertips accidentally brushed against his wrist, and the halo in the container immediately rippled with warm golden light.
"What are you talking about me?" Wen Ling raised her eyebrows.
"I'm talking about a certain idealist who overestimates his own capabilities." Miao Weizhen responded lightly, with a hint of ridicule in his brown eyes.
The aura of Xinglan rippled gently. "My brother said that when you were in Rust Harbor, you nearly exposed your identity while trying to save a child you didn't even know."
Wen Ling was slightly startled: "The child has a high fever..."
"You could have done it in a more covert way," Miao Weizhen said calmly as he cut the food on his plate, "but you insisted on taking the risk yourself."
Wen Ling looked at him: "You even know this?"
"Every move you make," Miao Weizhen pushed the cut food in front of him, "is under my surveillance."
The aura of Xinglan rippled with joy. "In the world of consciousness, the energy fluctuations of certain people have suddenly become very warm, brother."
Miao Weizhen tapped the container glass gently: "Focus on recovery."
During these days, Xinglan became the most sensitive person between them. She could sense the cold protectiveness of Miao Weizhen melting away when Wen Ling approached, and she could also sense the peace of mind Wen Ling felt when she was with Miao Weizhen.
That afternoon, when Wen Ling was alone in the laboratory sorting out data, Xing Lan suddenly asked softly:
"Your Highness, have you ever been afraid?"
Wen Ling looked up: "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid of my brother... He's still the one walking in the darkness." Xinglan's voice was soft. "In those echoing memories, I see how he's changed over the years. He's become cold and calculating, his hands stained with too much..."
"The man I know," Wen Ling interrupted her, walking over to the container, "is the one who secretly protected the miners in Rust Harbor, the one who left me a way out even in desperate situations."
He gently placed his palm against the glass. "That darkness isn't his true nature. It's just the armor he wears to protect those important to him."
The halo of the starlight gently circulated: "Even if this armor has hurt you before?"
"It is precisely because I was hurt by this armor," Wen Ling said firmly, "that I understand the preciousness of the heart beneath it."
The laboratory door slid open silently, and Miao Weizhen stood at the door.
Xinglan's halo suddenly brightened: "Brother, did you hear everything?"
Miao Weizhen approached, his brown eyes looking deeply at Wen Ling: "I'm more curious, how did you know that those protections were from me?"
Wen Ling smiled faintly. "Because every miner who received help described him as 'Mr. Cold Eyes.' Besides you, who else in Rust Harbor deserves that description?"
A halo of starlight danced lightly around them: "In the world of consciousness, truth always emits the purest light. Just like now, the energy resonance between you is more beautiful than any nebula."
Miao Weizhen reached out and gently stroked the surface of the container. His voice was low and he asked, "What do we look like in your eyes?"
"Like two lonely galaxies," Xinglan's voice was full of poetry, "you once orbited alone in the darkness until your mutual gravity caused your orbits to intersect. Now, you share the same frequency and emit the same light."
She paused for a moment, the glow growing extraordinarily soft. "Brother, do you know? In the deepest reaches of 'Luofeng's Echoes,' when I was swallowed by darkness, it was the light from His Highness Wen Ling's memories that guided me. In that light, there was his trust in you, his tenderness towards this world, and... his unwavering love."
Wen Ling felt Miao Weizhen's fingers gently touch the back of his hand. At that moment, no words were needed. A halo of starlight blossomed around them, as brilliant as a supernova.
"Love is the brightest energy," Xinglan's voice was as soft as a dream. "In the world of consciousness, it shines brighter than a thousand suns. It is this light that can penetrate the deepest darkness and bring lost souls home."
Just then, Dr. Anthony hurried in. When he saw the three of them, he was stunned for a moment: "Uh... am I here at the wrong time?"
"Just right." Miao Weizhen's hand was still covering the back of Wen Ling's hand. "What's the matter?"
"A major breakthrough!" Anthony excitedly pulled up the data. "Based on the fluctuation pattern of Miss Xinglan's consciousness, we've found a way to stabilize the carrier of her consciousness! While we can't restore her health yet, we can allow her to move freely through holographic projection!"
There was silence in the laboratory.
After a long moment, Xinglan's voice softly rang out: "Does this mean... I can truly 'walk out' of here?"
"Yes!" Anthony said excitedly, "You can sense the outside world, move freely, and even..."
His words were interrupted by a sudden burst of light from the container, a light so pure and warm that it bathed the entire laboratory in a golden glow.
"Brother," Xinglan's voice was choked with sobs, "I can finally...truly be by your side."
Miao Weizhen held Wen Ling's hand tightly, and the two smiled at each other. In the brilliant halo of the stars, they knew that some lights, once lit, would never be extinguished.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
