Both Bai Zemin and Liao Su stayed in silence for a long, long time. So long that neither man realized when but the clear laughter and beautiful voices coming from the back yard of the villa that could previously be heard from the upper floor stopped singing.
However, the two men were fighting against themselves and both knew it even though neither of them said anything.
Liao Su was fighting against his desire of bestowing himself eternal rest and embarking on what he believed and hoped would be the path to be reunited with his family. Liao Su dreamed even with his eyes open, wishing that at the moment of his departure his beloved little princess and his queen would be waiting for him on the other side of the road in order for the three of them to travel together hand in hand.
On the other hand, Bai Zemin was fighting against logic and trying to allow his emotions to overcome his reason. Brain and reason were screaming at Bai Zemin that he could not allow Liao Su to die until he confirmed that all the reconverts possessed the skill Immune Blood from which the greatest hope of mankind could be born. Meanwhile, he was trying to suppress those shouts for comprehension to take over.
Liao Su knew that his life was necessary and that a human leader like Bai Zemin, who had saved him despite owing him nothing, needed him.
Bai Zemin understood a part of the pain Liao Su was going through as he tried to put himself in his place.
One was a man about to enter what before the apocalypse would be considered middle age while the other was just a young man not even old enough to graduate from college. However, they both possessed the same level of maturity; enough maturity that helped there to be a certain level of tactical understanding between the two despite not saying a single word for over two hours.
Gradually, the hot afternoon temperature began to drop and slowly that hot breeze began to turn into a cold wind. At the same time, the sun that burned brightly over the clear sky began to waver and its height began to descend as the stars slowly began to make their presence felt high in the skydome.
The sound of soft knocking on the other side of the door was like the alarm clock that brought the two men out of the dream world followed immediately after by a clear voice tinged with a shade of respect:
"My Lord, Miss Wu Yijun is looking for you. She said it's about tomorrow's mobilization."
The person on the other side of the door was Qin Ming, Bai Zemin's housekeeper. Her status, despite being a mere housekeeper, was so high that even the soul evolvers greeted her with smiles on their faces and did not dare to disrespect her casually. After all, she was not just any housekeeper; she was the housekeeper of the highest leader of the entire Transcendent faction!
Qin Ming was not only loyal to the death to Bai Zemin but was so grateful to him that she even vowed to dedicate the rest of her life for his sake. No matter what he wanted, she would give it to him or arrange it for him. Qin Ming, who had lived a life in hell when she fell into Lei Su's hands at the beginning of the apocalypse, now lived her life on the ninth cloud thanks to the respect and human dignity that Bai Zemin gave her.
Since even the most noble and honorable person in the entire faction respected her, what qualifications did the others have to disrespect her?
Qin Ming stood silently next to the door and even though she did not receive any response from Bai Zemin she waited patiently without knocking again to avoid being intrusive.
Bai Zemin turned to look at Liao Su and after several seconds of hesitation during which his eyes looked erratic, he finally sighed and swung his right hand.
Swoosh!
Liao Su's eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw a 9mm pistol and a golden bullet appear in Bai Zemin's hand as if by magic.
Bai Zemin said nothing and stretched his body, putting the firearm and the bullet together on the small bedside table. Then, he looked at Liao Su and nodded before turning around to leave silently.
Liao Su followed the back of Bai Zemin until he saw when he opened the door and a beautiful mature woman bowed in respect before it was again closed by him. Immediately after, the sound of footsteps moving farther and farther away could be heard by his evolution-sharpened senses until finally everything that remained was silence.
Now alone, the man who had lost everything including the will to continue living, leaned slightly to his right and without a word took the 9mm pistol and the bullet. It did not take a genius to put a bullet in the magazine of a simple pistol, and yet, Liao Su simply stared at the bullet without moving an inch for a long time.
In the end, Liao Su smiled bitterly and shook his head as he whispered looking into the distant sunset, "Luoyang, Shui Shui, excuse me…. But I think it's wrong to leave just like that after all, and I'm sure you would feel the same way. But don't worry, when my work here is done, I will personally come to meet you…. Then, nothing and no one will ever separate us again. I promise."
After saying those words, the man laid the gun and the bullet on the bed before lying on his back. He covered his eyes with the back of his right forearm before tears began to fall down his face, falling with small sounds onto the white sheets on which dark spots slowly began to appear and merge to form a larger one.
Who said big men didn't cry? Of course, big men cried too. It was just that when they needed to cry they did it from the bottom of their soul and only because the pain they felt was heartbreaking enough to overwhelm everything else.
* * *
Bai Zemin did not know what kind of choice Liao Su would choose, however, he had made his own.
It was not his place to take the life of an innocent man, and neither would he allow someone within his scale of power to do it. But it was also not his place to prevent a person who had suffered so much as a direct consequence of all that was happening from taking his own life.
At the end of the day, Bai Zemin was just a powerful human…. But he was far from being God.
No, even God did not have the qualifications to stop Liao Su from taking his own life, and if there was any existence that thought that way, it would be immediately labeled by Bai Zemin as an arrogant bastard who had lived too long confined in a cave.
Now, everything would be left in the hands of the first reconverted human.
Bai Zemin only hoped that Liao Su would find his own answer, one that he would not regret even after death in order that whatever afterlife there was, if there was one, would be his resting place and not one of remorse.
"Miss Wu Yijun and Miss Lili are in the living room." Qin Ming reported with a faint smile.
At first, she felt somewhat apprehensive of Bai Zemin as the difference in status between the two was colossal and a single mistake on her part could cost her more than dearly; the heartlessness of the world, Qin Ming had experienced it firsthand. However, after getting to know more about the kind of person Bai Zemin was, Qin Ming stopped being so stiff and simply acted with the respect that was necessary as when an employee was talking to their boss.
"Em. Thank you for everything as always, Qin Ming." Bai Zemin nodded.
"You're welcome." She replied before excusing herself to prepare some snacks.
Bai Zemin watched her go and couldn't help but shook his head. He had told her many times that her duty as housekeeper was mainly to make sure the other maids did their part of the job well but Qin Ming always got down to business when it came to preparing his food or anything that involved him.
When Bai Zemin arrived at the first floor he didn't dawdle and immediately made his way to the living room where upon arrival he was met with the sight of two beautiful women chatting quietly.
To Bai Zemin's relief and disappointment, both Lilith and Wu Yijun had already changed out of their swimwear and were currently wearing warmer clothes, obviously prepared for the arrival of the cold night.
"The girls?" Bai Zemin asked curiously as he looked around in search of the four little angels but was unable to find them anywhere.
"Xiang Feng was taken by her mother for a last-minute walk since we will be leaving tomorrow. Luo Ning went to train her sword skill as she wanted to see if she could improve her own melee experience to diversify her attacks more with her shadow cats. Finally, Wen Yun and Wen Yan decided to follow Luo Ning for a walk around the military training ground." Lilith in her human form answered Bai Zemin's question with a faint smile.
Then, Wu Yijun blinked and while looking at Bai Zemin's face said in confusion, "By the way, did something happen?"
"Excuse me?" Bai Zemin looked at her blankly.
"Oh, it's just that I notice you happy but at the same time sad…." Wu Yijun blushed slightly and pointed out in a low voice, "I noticed it before but when your emotions are messed up you tend to rub your thumb with your index finger…"
"…" Bai Zemin lowered his head stiffly and his expression froze as he saw that indeed, just as Wu Yijun had just said, he was currently rubbing his right thumb with the index finger of the same hand.
The corner of Lilith's mouth twitched slightly for an instant and as she looked at Wu Yijun she couldn't help but stare at her in a new light. She, who was basically the existence that had been together with Bai Zemin for the longest amount of time since the apocalypse began, had not noticed this small detail about him. But Wu Yijun had, even though the time she and Bai Zemin had spent together was probably not even 1/4 of the time he had been with Lilith.
Regardless of whether this had been a result of Wu Yijun's natural observational abilities being especially high or whether it was a result of her feelings for him, it was amazing that something so insignificant and small had not slipped her attention and that she had even managed to interpret the moment as well as the reason why Bai Zemin was subconsciously making that move.
"Sis Yijun, this big sister really admits defeat this time. I take my hat off to you." Lilith smiled bitterly and sighed softly.
"Haha…" Wu Yijun chuckled somewhat awkwardly and still blushing secretly looked at Bai Zemin hoping not to look weird in his eyes.
"Indeed, something is going on." Bai Zemin sighed but shook his head as he said, "It remains to be seen the outcome of everything. Let's hope, we can only hope."
He did not say "let's hope for the best" as even Bai Zemin himself was not sure what was the best. Regardless of whether Liao Su chose life or death, probably neither choice would make him happy, but from the standpoint of mankind, it would naturally be best if he decided on life.
Although he was curious about the close appearance between the two women, he temporarily decided to put the matter aside.
"Instead, tell me about the preparations." He looked at Wu Yijun and changed the subject to one that had the ability to interfere with, "Is everything finished? We will leave tomorrow morning, there can be no slip-ups."
* * * * * * *
Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3
