Chapter 262 Epilogue - New World Arc (59)
If you continue like this, success is out of the question, and your own body will likely suffer as well—
[...]
Stop now. The deceased are gone; the living should move on.
[...]
I will submit a report to the project team explaining that your condition is no longer suitable for continued work. After that—
As he spoke, the young man leaned down to look at [him] in the corner, his eyes filled with seriousness. Those eyes were so beautiful.
It was as black as ink, like a mirror.
He looked at the person reflected in the image, hugged his knees, and curled himself up into a ball without any regard for his image.
Such a dejected and disheveled appearance would never have been allowed by the former him to appear before the young man in this state.
What started to change?
It started in the winter that the boy died—
Or even earlier?
He lifted his neck, which was stiff and sluggish from maintaining a single posture, as if it might break at any moment, and heard a clear clicking sound from the bones.
Like rusty parts that finally couldn't bear the weight anymore.
In addition, other parts of his body were also emitting sharp, alarming pains: his head, teeth, shoulders, stomach, and heart...
He understood that this was the result of prolonged use of nutritional supplements and medications.
As the young man subtly hinted, if things continued like this, he feared his days were numbered.
But so what?
Everyone dies eventually, it's just a matter of time... The difference is that you might die a little more gruesomely than most people.
He was thinking slowly, occasionally a few scattered words reaching his ears.
He didn't want to hear the young man say those things... things he already knew all along.
Rationally, he knew that the other party was thinking of him.
But at the same time, the despicable side couldn't help but start judging it with a petty mind.
Isn't this deliberately reopening old wounds and mocking his incompetence and stupidity?
Before even starting his business, he's already made himself look like a ghost... and it seems like it won't be long before he becomes a real ghost.
When that day truly arrives, perhaps the person before you will come to your tombstone and say, "If only I had known."
He knew he shouldn't think that way.
But my brain just wouldn't cooperate.
Just like—
He, too, couldn't help but stare at the other person's face, gradually drifting into a daze.
Although they present completely different styles, they actually have some similarities after looking at them for a while.
After all, they are blood relatives...
Seemingly disturbed by the focus in his eyes, the young man paused slightly while speaking.
When he spoke again, his usually cold tone was noticeably softer.
"After that, I'll put all my work aside. Don't you like snow-capped mountains? Then let's go see them first, or if you'd like to go somewhere else, I can go with you."
As she spoke, a hint of childlike expectation flickered in her dark eyes as she looked at him.
Even in this respect, it seems... but it's only superficially similar; in essence, they are two completely different kinds of people.
He had already confirmed this matter long ago.
so--
Why?
He spoke in a hoarse voice, almost startled by his own words.
"What?" The young man was clearly taken aback.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but laugh. Judging from the other person's reaction, he probably didn't look very good at the moment.
But what does it matter?
Ultimately—
Where I die, how I die, and what does it have to do with Senior Brother Shen? Anyway…
Halfway through his speech, he realized that his body was much weaker than he had imagined, and he was panting heavily, so he had to stop after each sentence.
Anyway, we're not in the same group anymore. Even if something goes wrong during the team changes, it's not something Senior Brother Shen should worry about. Or... have you become so nosy that you even care about what others do—?
It wasn't anyone else.
The young man suddenly spoke, interrupting him. His voice was deep and unreadable.
To me, you have never been anyone else.
The other person spoke slowly, word by word, as if trying to etch these words into their heart.
Upon hearing the sudden confession, he was initially at a loss, and after a slight reaction, he was somewhat bewildered... and even couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" The young man raised his eyebrows slightly.
I think you're right...we really don't count as "anyone else" between us.
Seemingly surprised that he would agree with his point of view so easily, the young man showed a complicated expression, a mixture of surprise and nostalgia.
Therefore, humans are truly strange creatures—it seems that we only realize the value of something after we've lost it once.
I am like this, and the other party seems to be nothing special either.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh again, unsure whether he was laughing at the person in front of him or at his former self.
But his lips were stiff, with no room to turn upwards anymore.
A certain face suddenly appeared in my mind, and my heart, which I thought had reached its breaking point, began to ache again.
He lowered his eyes, too tired to look at the similar face so close to his.
Ironically, who would have thought that one day I would be looking at this face and being reminded of someone by this very object...
After all, you were family. He was a childish boy before, and you took good care of him. Even though he's gone, given our relationship, it's always right for me to call him "Big Brother" again.
Not bad.
The three words were already on the tip of his tongue when he was interrupted by the young man's sudden action.
That's enough.
As soon as he finished speaking, his shoulder was gripped by the other person.
The young man knelt on the cold floor, pulling him tightly between his arms from top to bottom, almost trembling as he embraced him.
He lost his strength and could not move, so he could only let the other person hold him like that.
My bones felt like they were about to shatter.
That's enough...
The young man repeated himself, his brief words carrying a hint of pleading.
His breath was deeply buried in his neck; he couldn't escape it.
They could only be forced to feel the scorching heat that was completely different from the young man himself.
It was so hot it felt like it would melt away that patch of skin.
If this scene were accidentally witnessed by some childish person, it would probably cause a huge uproar...
He was thinking that he originally wanted to laugh.
I don't know if it was because I was in too much pain, but tears came up on my face before I could smile.
Large, fluffy drops fell like they were free.
My vision was blurred by tears.
He can therefore pretend to be blind to his current situation and to his own powerlessness...
After an unknown amount of time, the power binding him loosened.
His face was carefully lifted, and a pair of hands gently wiped away the tears on his cheeks.
Those hands rubbed from the corner of her lips to the corner of her reddened eyes.
The dry knuckles, carrying a faint, cool fragrance, quickly became damp.
He suddenly realized: So, being a germaphobe isn't as insurmountable as I thought...
Before he could come up with a solution, a cool sensation suddenly touched his forehead.
The other person pressed their forehead against his.
For him, such intimacy was really going too far.
But the young man seemed oblivious, only muttering "I'm sorry" under his breath.
He was bored and gradually got sleepy, and he was too lazy to argue with the other person.
In a half-dreaming, half-awake state, he seemed to be lifted from the ground and gently placed on the bed.
The last words I heard before losing consciousness seemed to be—
When we come back this time, we'll start over...
What happened next?
Those two people... [he] and that young man, have they really started over?
He remains unknown, trapped in his coffin.
All I know is that the person I'm waiting for hasn't returned yet.
That's so unfair.
He thought to himself, "Why is it that in my dreams and in reality, I can only be the one who passively waits?"
He remembered the story of the genie in the bottle.
The devil was imprisoned in a bottle for angering the gods.
Because of his arrogance and foolishness, he was manipulated by mortals and once again imprisoned in the bottle, sinking into the deep sea where the sun never rises.
Then why am I imprisoned here?
Could it be—
He, like the devil in that story, committed heinous crimes, thus angering the gods and suffering this calamity.
If that's really the case, then he's truly an indecisive god... He could have just killed him to eliminate the threat forever, but instead he left such a loose end.
It's possible that he's just being malicious.
Regardless, he silently made a wish in his heart.
I'd give anything, just to wait for the one person who can end it all.
Rescue him from his cage, or simply kill him outright.
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