CH 123.2

Chapter 123.2 – A few years later

Curious people also asked the members of the Wild Rose Theater troupe about Shi Yuan and Lu Tinghan.

At this moment, Cheng Youwen had a very small stage in a corner of the city, serving as the starting point for a new theater, waiting to grow in the future.

He leaned on his cane, muttering and flipping through the script. His newborn grandson crawled on the ground, clapping and giggling, babbling.

—Scientists combined inhibitors and fusion agents, inventing a new potion with significantly enhanced effects. One of the benefits was that mutants and mole people no longer had to endure pain and could live peacefully, just like ordinary people.

“Where did you all come from…” he drawled, “Every day, people come to inquire about the story. Are they that idle? Go away, quickly!”

The visitor resentfully tried to go back when Qin Luoluo appeared with tea.

She laughed and said, “Don’t mind him, he’s always like this. You can ask me instead, but I won’t tell you the details. That’s private, you know.”

She was very old, yet her eyes still twinkled with cunning like a fox, revealing traces of her once radiant beauty.

This visitor was an intern journalist who wanted to write a report about those two individuals.

He followed Qin Luoluo and asked many questions.

Qin Luoluo answered each one. As they walked through the corridor, she suddenly pointed, “Look.”

It was a wall covered with gilded plaques, each bearing the names of theater troupe members.

The journalist saw Cheng Youwen, Qin Luoluo, Wolfgang, Tracy, and Isabella… and in the center, on an exquisitely carved nameplate, was Shi Yuan’s name.

Qin Luoluo said, “Cheng himself carved this. Despite his appearance, he really cherishes Shi Yuan and always says he’s the best lead actor.” She paused for a moment, smiled, and continued, “You know ‘The Martyr,’ right? It’s still our most acclaimed stage play, but we haven’t performed it again.”

“Why?” the journalist asked, puzzled.

“Because no one can replace Shi Yuan,” Qin Luoluo explained. “He will always be one of us. ‘The Martyr’ had its perfect performance, so let it remain at its peak.”

Continuing forward, the journalist asked many more questions.

Finally, he asked what it was like when Shi Yuan and Lu Tinghan were together.

“What was it like?” Qin Luoluo sat at the tea table, resting her head on her hand. “I often saw them together before, and… there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.”

The journalist clearly wasn’t satisfied with this answer. He said, “But they are both extraordinary people.” He tried to describe, “Like great heroes.”

“They were indeed special,” Qin Luoluo laughed. “But what were you expecting? Just imagine everything that people in love do, and that’s what they did. Forget about the savior and the martyr, they were no different from any ordinary couple. Love doesn’t distinguish between the mundane and the extraordinary.”

So the journalist stopped asking further questions.

He left with his notes, expressing his gratitude to the theater troupe. Qin Luoluo walked arm in arm with Cheng Youwen, standing in front of the theater, waving and bidding him farewell with a smile.

Decades of time whirled by.

The never-ending struggle against monsters continued, with blades, guns, blood, and sacrifices. Then cities were rebuilt, and people lived in peace and prosperity, with xuejian flowers blooming everywhere.

They often mentioned the past.

They always recalled that rough yet brilliant story.

They looked back at the path they had traveled while steadfastly moving forward.

And time rewound 75 years ago, 251st month of the Alliance.

At that time, everyone had just settled in Elton. Within the city, an aged elder sat on a couch, facing the fireplace, slowly flipping through a yellowed document.

President of the Alliance, Chai Yongning.

He moved slowly, knowing that his time was nearing its end. He had already made arrangements for what was to come. Now he enjoyed the tranquility of his twilight years.

“Rustle, rustle…”

His old fingers touched the paper as he turned page after page.

It was a psychological assessment report of the Abyss Watcher, and the name in the column read “Lu Tinghan.”

As a Watcher, Lu Tinghan had participated in command against regulations, and his evaluation was extremely stringent. These reports spanned over a decade, and each page was unequivocally marked as “No abnormality.”

Chai Yongning continued flipping through.

The report stopped at the year when Lu Tinghan turned 18, just a few months after he went to the Watchtower.

Two yellowed and crumpled reports fell out. There were tears in the upper left corners, as if they had been torn from a stack of documents.

They read, “Abnormality detected.”

These were reports that Lu Tinghan had never seen before, and he was completely unaware of them.

Chai Yongning silently looked on.

With age, one’s thinking also slows down. He spent quite a long time, allowing his memories to return to a time long, long ago.

When he saw this abnormality report for the first time, he immediately informed Su Enqi.

According to regulations, any Watcher with even a single abnormality should be highly alert—based on experience, once they have an initial abnormality, their situation will only worsen.

Moreover, it was Lu Tinghan.

He absolutely, absolutely couldn’t serve as a commander anymore.

Su Enqi smoked all day long and hoarsely said to Chai Yongning, “…How about testing again?”

Chai Yongning approved.

The second test yielded another abnormality report. It seemed that Lu Tinghan could never be a commander again.

If this news had been told to Lu Tinghan at the time, he probably wouldn’t have been too disappointed. After all, he had prepared himself when he made the decision to become a Watcher.

But Su Enqi refused.

He didn’t know that Lu Tinghan had gone to Shi Yuan for the sake of a promise, accompanying him for ten years.

He never knew about these hidden circumstances. Whenever he opened or closed his eyes, all he thought about was the child who followed behind him, with a small fire burning in his eyes when he commanded.

And Chai Yongning knew as well.

Lu Tinghan had said that he would forever stand on the side of humanity.

He wanted to protect the city, to live for it, fight for it, and die for it.

The two old friends spent another evening smoking while looking at the assessment reports.

In the end, Chai Yongning made a firm decision and said, “Then let’s give him another chance.”

So, the third psychological assessment took place.

Lu Tinghan passed the evaluation without any abnormalities. The subsequent ten or so high-intensity evaluations all ended with “No abnormality”—and even after more than ten years, no problems arose.

The situations of other Watchers only worsened.

His case was unprecedented, comparable to a miracle.

Chai Yongning and Su Enqi discussed for a long time, considering whether he could continue to command. They had many concerns and questions.

In the end, Chai Yongning said, “He has always been special.”

“Yes,” Su Enqi sighed, “this child…”

“We can’t judge him by conventional means,” Chai Yongning pointed to the report, “For others, this would undoubtedly be a precursor to infection. But for him? It’s hard to say.” He paused for a moment and continued, “It could be ‘resonance.'”

“Resonance?”

“Just as he knows what the monsters are thinking, it can also be called ‘resonance,'” Chai Yongning said, “Except this time, his resonance is with Abyss No.0.”

Su Enqi rubbed his browbone. “So, do you think he has been changed by the abyss?”

“He has returned to normal, hasn’t he?” Chai Yongning countered, “Perhaps, perhaps he simply responded to the call of Abyss No.0.”

“Why did he respond to it?”

“Who knows?” Chai Yongning shrugged and smiled, “Maybe they have a connection?” He patted Su Enqi’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should believe in his determination, believe that his willpower is enough to keep him resolute. You must—always believe in the belief of humanity. Perhaps one day, this unique individual will become our hero.”

Su Enqi was convinced.

That day, the two old friends sneakily tore off two assessment reports, folded them up, and hid away a secret that had never been spoken of.

So many years passed in the blink of an eye.

One sentence turned into a prophecy.

The flames in the fireplace leaped.

Chai Yongning reached out and tossed the yellowed old reports into the fire—

The orange-red flames embraced them. They licked at the corners of the paper, leaving behind charred marks, slowly consuming it, as if gnawing on a corroded heart.

From then on, this secret remained forever unknown.

Chai Yongning thought, perhaps there was not only “infection” as a way in this world. It truly was resonance. Lu Tinghan heard the call of a lonely soul.

Just as he changed Shi Yuan, Shi Yuan also changed him.

He could hear the call.

Eventually, he would come from the end of time and return to his lover’s side.