Chapter 66 Fungal Remains Frenzy 27 What if it were possible?
Nanmen Jue seemed to chuckle.
Looking into Deng Erhuai's eyes, filled with deep regret, she felt no strong resentment or anger, only a weariness that she couldn't express.
It seems that no matter what she tries, she cannot change the deep-rooted mindset of the reincarnators. Her request is like asking them to risk their lives to protect a game character—it's absurdly ridiculous and impossible.
She didn't blame Deng Erhuai, nor did she blame Hong Chenxi for not listening to her. It would be too pretentious to blame others in the face of life. In the end, it was because she didn't choose the path that was better for everyone, and she couldn't blame anyone else.
“I said from the beginning that we could never be comrades,” Nanmen Jue said. “Don’t follow me anymore. I can’t let go of life and death. If I were to go on a killing spree for Hong Chenxi, you would be the first to die.”
She lowered her head and touched Zhang Zhi's head gently, saying, "Don't be afraid, I won't send you there."
She really wanted to go to the quarantine facility to find the letter her sister had left behind, but seeing Zhang Zhi's frightened expression, she changed her mind.
After saying that, she continued killing the parasites, ignoring the few people standing there.
The aura she exuded was so resolute that even Mo Gui didn't immediately follow.
Even after she had walked away, Deng Erhuai was still in a daze. As Nanmen Jue's figure became increasingly blurry, she belatedly realized that her eyes were blurry.
Nanmen Jue didn't say anything harsh. Her last sentence might have been a threat, but compared to her usual speaking style, it was even quite gentle. She simply cut ties with them calmly, as if all the time they had spent together had never existed.
Amidst the intense bitterness, Lu Yunxiao gently patted her shoulder and said, "Don't be sad. I think Nanmen said these things to protect us."
"What?" Deng Erhuai asked, choking back tears.
She suddenly remembered that it was Lu Yunxiao who had guessed Nanmen Jue's true intentions before, and had almost made Nanmen Jue angry. She quickly wiped her eyes and looked at him hopefully.
Deng Erhuai wasn't the only one looking at him like that; everyone was eagerly waiting for his analysis.
“Uh…” Lu Yunxiao suddenly felt a bit of pressure. “We all know that Nanmen is surrounded by trouble. Not to mention others, Cheng Xiuye and the mechanical girl have both made enemies with him. If they are not dead, Nanmen will probably not be at peace.”
“We can all help him!” Deng Erhuai said, “but he probably won’t believe it.”
Lu Yunxiao shook his head. "He won't drag us into this. That's what he did from the beginning, but none of us understand his intentions."
Guan Junren suddenly realized something and was completely stunned.
He recalled Nanmen Jue's drastic change in attitude after entering this world. At first, she ignored him and treated him like an ordinary passerby. He was too foolish to insist on seeking an answer from her, which led her to say those sharp words.
She wanted to push him away! Because she knew she was surrounded by danger, she didn't want him to act like they knew each other; she was protecting him!
Guan Junren trembled. In that instant, his mind became incredibly clear, and he understood everything.
He was lucky; when he woke up, he met Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao. These people had no bad intentions. After learning what had happened between him and Nanmen Jue, they just comforted him, saying that Nanmen Jue, that kind of murderous maniac, was bound to have such a strange temper. He just thought she was deliberately humiliating him and didn't think about it in detail.
What would happen if he only encountered people like Shan Peng and Cheng Xiuye?
Nanmen Jue saved him several times, which shows that he cares about him. If he were that kind of person, he would be used, and Nanmen Jue would be hindered by him, and might even be injured or killed because of him...
At this moment, he had no doubt that Nanmen Jue would turn a blind eye to his life or death. In each life-or-death crisis, she gave the same answer.
The others didn't notice Guan Junren's stunned expression. Wei Chongru continued his analysis: "So now, besides his own troubles, he has Zhang Zhi as well. In this world, this can be considered a top-tier trouble..."
“A huge problem.” Lu Yunxiao pinched his high nose bridge and frowned. “What happened at the Furnace Base will definitely spread, and Zhang Zhi’s special ability will also spread. At that time, there will probably be a constant stream of people coming to our door, not only reincarnators, but also the military.”
Everyone fell silent.
Although I had always been aware, intentionally or unintentionally, of Nanmen Jue's dangerous situation, it was only upon closer inspection that I truly understood what she was facing.
But it was her own choice.
Guan Junren and Deng Erhuai's suggestions did not harm anything except Zhang Zhi's interests and the life of a small NPC girl. However, Nanmen Jue would rather make this decision by cutting ties completely than make himself feel any better.
Mo Gui didn't participate in the conversation, but kept watching the direction Nanmen Jue had left in the distance. At this moment, he said, "Do you think Brother Jue will be scared?"
The others were taken aback.
Is Nanmen Jue afraid? This is a question that cannot be answered. No one can associate Nanmen Jue with the word "fear." She always walks on the edge of life and death with a smile, doing all sorts of things that others would consider crazy.
"I think Brother Nanmen will be scared," Ji Chengying whispered.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Ji Chengying shrank back, but her tone became firm and bold, "He is not a cold-blooded murderer. No matter how many times you say it, I cannot associate this identity with him. He only killed bad people. He is a person with feelings. He can laugh, feel pain, feel sad and heartbroken. He almost shed tears for Sister Hong."
The image of Nanmen Jue with red eyes flashed through their memories, and everyone's eyes were filled with mixed emotions.
“His hands were icy, but his body temperature was very obvious,” Ji Chengying said. “Besides, he was the younger brother of that white-robed saint.”
This statement reminded everyone that so much had just happened that no one mentioned this explosive news.
The fact that the White-Robed Saint and Nanmen Jue are family is as unbelievable as the idea that Nanmen Jue is a great person, but both of these things are actually true.
“I think something must have happened in that world that Nanmen destroyed.” Ji Chengying’s eyes were firm. “The main god isn’t human, so how can we believe his words? That’s why the entire reincarnation space is bullying Nanmen now, just because of a crime that’s hard to say whether it’s true or not.”
"Then do you believe what Nanmen said, that these reincarnation worlds are real?" Guan Junren suddenly asked.
"If the main god is lying, and Nanmen is the victim, and everything is reversed, then could the truth of this matter also be the opposite?"
...
Nanmen Jue acted quickly. Even though she had to protect Zhang Zhi, these newly born low-level parasites were no match for her. She spent a morning walking around the base, cutting the mycelium and killing the parasites, and she managed to clear up the situation almost completely.
Having walked around, she had witnessed all the pain and misery firsthand. She even saw the lame girl she had met in the archives before. She didn't remember her name, but she remembered her face. When she saw her, the girl was lying under the collapsed wall, her face pale and lifeless.
She wasn't infected; it was only after the building was bombarded and a whole section of the wall collapsed on her frail body. She was limping and couldn't escape no matter how hard she tried, so she was trapped underneath, half of her body torn to pieces and turned into a bloody mess.
Zhang Zhi was no longer frightened by such a tragic scene. She leaned close to the silent Nanmen Jue and whispered, "Brother, why do you feel guilty?"
Even Zhang Zhi knew that Nanmen Jue couldn't save everyone, and she had no obligation to save everyone.
“Things shouldn’t be like this.” Nanmen Jue’s voice was hoarse. “This is a very strong and safe base. They should be living peacefully here. She should be at this time, holding her breakfast, opening the door to the archives room, and starting a day of tedious and peaceful work, instead of lying here with no one to even collect her body.”
Zhang Zhi looked up as if sensing something and saw Nanmen Jue's unprecedentedly vulnerable expression.
Like a rose covered in frost, Nanmen Jue's expression lost all its arrogance and sharpness. She lowered her head in a daze, her lips slightly parted, her eyes red at the corners, and her eyes filled with tears, but she did not let them fall.
“…This internal strife started because of me,” Nanmen Jue said softly. “Cheng Xiuye wanted to kill me, so he gathered half of the army in this base. Hao Hong wanted to protect me, so he gathered the other half. Then the smell of blood and flesh attracted the mother tree. In the end, it was these ordinary people who paid the price.”
It wasn't them who were damned, it was her.
She seems to be a jinx, bringing bad luck wherever she goes.
None of this would have happened if she hadn't come to Forge Base.
She wanted to say these things, as if confessing her sins to a god, but she was in too much pain; all her wounds seemed to ache at once. She slowly squatted down on the ground, still tightly holding Zhang Zhi in her hand.
Just now, Zhang Zhi treated her like a piece of driftwood in the water, but now Zhang Zhi has become the straw that supports her.
She cannot fall down, she cannot collapse; Zhang Zhi still needs her.
A small, soft embrace enveloped her; Zhang Zhi held her head and back, gently patting her back.
“It’s not your fault, brother. The fault lies with those bad people.” Zhang Zhi suppressed her sobs, her voice still trembling with tears, but she comforted him gently like a little adult. “You are a very, very good person. You wanted to save everyone, which is why you are in so much pain. You didn’t kill them, and you couldn’t have saved everyone.”
Nanmen Jue suddenly grabbed her clothes, "What if I could have saved them?"
Zhang Zhi was stunned: "What?"
"What if I could have sent everyone away before all of this happened? To a world without parasites, without mycelium, without people like Cheng Xiuye?" Nanmen Jue's expression turned somewhat crazed, muttering as if possessed. "I could have done it, but I didn't. I was afraid. If I had done it, I might have died, so I gave up on that possibility from the beginning..."
"Brother Nanmen!" Zhang Zhi cried out, "There's no way that's possible!"
Nanmen Jue fell silent, her hands trembling slightly, her expression cold and pale.
“Yes, there is,” she said softly.
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