Ruan Chen spoke calmly, but if you looked closely at her eyes, you could see a hint of excitement and madness in them.
Nan Jing had imagined many possible reactions and responses from Ruan Chen, but he never expected Ruan Chen to have this kind of attitude.
So it wasn't until long after Ruan Chen left that Nan Jing came to his senses. He even forgot to say goodbye to Ruan Chen who had said goodbye to him.
Of course, he also overlooked Ruan Chen's suppressed excitement as he said, "I really hope that on the day all of this is completely destroyed, I can stand at the highest point in the world and look down on this scene—who knows, I might even add fuel to the fire."
As she said this, Ruan Chen could no longer suppress the urge to smile, her lips curving into an excited smile, as if she were very pleased. She then skipped away.
The first thing Nan Jing did after regaining her senses was to call Duan Jingfu.
Duan Jingfu sat alone in the laboratory of the Martial Arts Research Institute. The screen in front of him was filled with dense flowcharts, which looked like a timeline upon closer inspection.
He answered the phone, "With my studies..."
Before he could finish his sentence, "Was the conversation pleasant?", Nan Jing's irritable voice reached his ears.
"Hey Duan, what have you done to this good kid? Can you stop focusing solely on grades? Have you spared some time to care about your students' mental well-being? Do you know how much influence Ruan Chen wields? We can't even imagine the consequences if she gets out of control!"
Duan Jingfu pulled his phone away a bit, quickly turned down the volume, and a fleeting sneer crossed his face before he spoke.
Nan Jing paused to catch her breath before continuing, "Do you know what she said to me today? She said that human civilization doesn't seem to have any reason to exist!"
"Do you know how nonchalant she sounded? It was as if none of this concerned her! As if the life or death of this civilization had nothing to do with her!"
"Her eyes were lifeless, cold, and devoid of vitality, just like... 'them'!"
Duan Jingfu finally mustered the courage to speak, "Does it have anything to do with her?"
Nan Jing was taken aback by the sudden question and asked in return, "What?"
“I say, what does the world’s civilization have to do with her? You know her background better than I do. She came from a poor neighborhood in Meicheng. Before she was twelve, every day she worried about whether she would have enough to eat the next day and whether she would get beaten up. I think she must have thought about the question of life and death very early on.”
Nan Jing fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, as Duan Jingfu continued.
“Old Nan, what were you doing at your age? You worry about the future and survival of this civilization because your Nan family has worked in the research institute for nearly a thousand years. Almost every member of your Nan family was born into a privileged position, with the best education, superior talent, and outstanding family background—life was a pleasure for you. Of course, you would naturally worry about the life and death of this civilization because it is closely related to you.”
"And what about Ruan Chen? What has this civilization given her? A childhood filled with beatings, only receiving an education after the age of twelve, her stepfather wanting to sell her to a brothel for men's amusement, the brothel even being her mother's source of income for raising her, her mother dying early, her biological father using her as a pawn, her older siblings trying to kill her more than once..."
Duan Jingfu's face was gloomy as he recounted the past in one breath, and finally said, "I think if you had experienced all of this, you would also feel that the life or death of this civilization is insignificant—perhaps you would be even more extreme than her."
"After all, Ruan Chen still harbors a cold kindness towards the world."
"No one pulled her out of the mire when she was struggling—except for another of my students, so I don't think any of you have the right to ask her to do anything in the name of the life and death of this civilization."
After a long silence, Duan Jingfu hung up the phone, and Nan Jing didn't say another word.
The boy who had been sitting in the corner finally stood up and walked over to Duan Jingfu. "Teacher Duan, let's continue."
The timeline on the screen began to scroll again, reflected in the boy's eyes.
Duan Jingfu spoke up, "You heard everything, didn't you?"
Fu Jianzhi did not deny it, "Teacher Duan, it seems you want me to hear this."
What choice do you hope she will make?
Fu Jianzhi shrugged indifferently, "I hope that every choice she makes will be based on her own heart."
Duan Jingfu shifted his gaze from the rapidly moving timeline and glanced at Fu Jianzhi. "If you really thought that way, you wouldn't have hinted to her to choose Beijing University of Technology back then."
Fu Jianzhi smiled but did not answer. The smile seemed to be shy, yet it also carried an indescribable possessiveness.
Duan Jingfu also focused his attention back on the timeline calibration, but then said casually, as if unintentionally, "If you really respect her choice, you shouldn't have appeared in Meicheng when she was twelve years old."
Fu Jianzhi's gaze suddenly turned cold, and his somewhat shy, innocent smile vanished in an instant. The look he gave Duan Jingfu was now filled with an aggressive killing intent.
"Teacher Duan."
His voice was soft and hoarse, almost threatening. The Zhanlu sword on his little finger sensed his intention and emitted a faint blue light.
Duan Jingfu was not intimidated by his threat and remained calm. "Fu Jianzhi, do you think she will hate you when the timeline converges and she understands everything?"
Fu Jianzhi's eyes were dark. "I think... she would wish I were dead."
"Perhaps, if Ruan Chen is smart enough, she will realize that what you did was right—hesitation only leads to more trouble. If you had spared this poor woman, she would have died tragically sooner or later. You just moved the timeline of this matter forward by fourteen years and also gave her a stepfather's life. After she understands this, she might thank you."
Fu Jianzhi stroked Zhanlu, "Professor Duan, you've talked too much today. Let's end our research here. I'm worried that if we continue, you'll say more things I don't want to hear."
Nan Jing locked herself in her office and thought about it all night.
In front of him was all the information he could find about Ruan Chen, from her birth until now.
Everything Ruan Chen experienced can be traced here.
This is thanks to Ark's powerful computing and data retrieval capabilities.
Nan Jing believes he has found the root cause of what Ruan Chen said yesterday.
She was desperately craving love.
Forcing Ruan Chen to make any sacrifices is unrealistic, so Nan Jing decides to save this civilization indirectly.
He devised a detailed plan, which he named the "Ruan Chen Rescue Plan".
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