Cherry Blossom Spring, Grave, Funeral

Li Mo once again picked up Kallen and leaped to another tree.

Immediately after, he scanned the spot where he had been a second ago. There was nothing there.

Thud! Thud!!

Instead, with a dull thud, two more corpses appeared under the tree.

The Impostors had fallen to their deaths.

Li Mo: ???

So careless?

What did this mean? Li Mo wasn't sure. Neither primitive humans nor Homo sapiens would act so recklessly.

This indicated that something was catalyzing the Impostors' innate properties, their ghostly characteristics.

Because humans would avoid mortal danger, but ghosts would not. Even if a bullet from the anomalous pistol was in their path, most ghosts would show no reaction and charge straight ahead.

Was it because of the black fog?

Rustle... rustle...

The surrounding leaves trembled, making a sound of friction against limbs.

When Li Mo came to his senses, he found a child's head peeking out from behind a tree trunk. Its body was hidden behind the trunk, staring blankly in his direction.

But he could confirm that it hadn't seen him.

"The pupils aren't focused, and there's no sign of attack."

"Wait..."

Humans' perception was a cut below that of many animals.

But in his state of one death, Li Mo's senses were enhanced. He had traded a portion of his emotional cognition for powerful perception.

Just like how a blind person's hearing and other senses were more sensitive than a normal person's.

Li Mo turned around and found that many more gazes had appeared in the darkness...

A hundred meters, fifty meters, ten meters, nearby...

"A bad feeling."

Li Mo muttered under his breath.

Li Mo completely abandoned the idea of using the anomalous pistol. With this many, it would be a drop in the bucket. It was impossible to suppress them all, and it might even break the stalemate of the black fog blocking the ghosts' vision.

But if he kept hiding, once the black fog completely dissipated, he probably wouldn't be able to leave this forest.

Fortunately, it wasn't a total loss. At least he knew one thing: the black fog ignored the completeness of the ghosts and blocked their vision, or rather...

Li Mo took a deep breath and slowly walked forward. He stretched out his hand, his finger almost touching the child's forehead, but the other party still had no reaction.

After a moment of thought, Li Mo took out the anomalous pistol.

The anomalous pistol was raised, its dark muzzle pressed against the other's forehead. A gentle pull of the trigger was all it would take to send it to the land of silence.

No reaction...

Li Mo memorized this phenomenon.

The black fog was probably not as simple as he had imagined. It might be blocking more things, perhaps even observation and rules.

That wasn't right either. From an objective point of view, it wasn't completely blocked. For example, if Li Mo wanted to, he could easily let Kallen touch the other party.

Then this was more like a kind of visual pollution targeting the flawed nature of all existences.

Li Mo looked up at the area in the distance where the black fog had already dissipated.

Only a force with similar polluting properties could interfere with pollutants.

The black fog was clearly another type of pollutant, so the area where the black fog first dissipated meant that there was another source of pollution more complete than the Impostors. Perhaps the source of the Bizarre Thing in this world was there.

Because pollution doesn't disappear; it only transfers, transforming into another form.

Absorption and transformation are both specific manifestations of transfer.

Going to the place where the black fog dissipated was certainly dangerous, but staying here was certain death.

Li Mo had already verified this in many worlds.

There were no absolutely safe places in the bizarre world, only relatively safe ones.

When you can't escape the pursuit of hyenas and jackals, you can choose to walk into a bear's cave to survive.

Before that...

Li Mo looked at the small Kallen with her eyes closed.

She was curled up in his arms, her nostrils letting out rapid, weak breaths, like a child having a nightmare.

Was Kallen that fragile?

Li Mo didn't understand, but he wouldn't get to know these living people based on his understanding of the original work. That was too blind.

But he wouldn't go to great lengths to understand some insignificant people either, because there was no need.

"It's better that she's asleep. When she wakes up, I'll just say Otto handed her over to me."

"No need for further explanation."

"At least with me, there's still a way to live. Returning to Vienna is just..."

Li Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. He sighed, looked at the clear crescent moon in the sky, and said with lingering fear, "There's only a dead end there."

The triumphant army was definitely infiltrated by Impostors.

And to destroy a social system, one Impostor was enough.

More terrifying than zombies, just being seen by an Impostor would get you marked. After the Impostor died, it would be reborn into a marked person and obtain all their memories.

There were indeed wise people among the crowd, just like in the primitive human tribes, where some people quickly realized something was wrong with the Impostors.

But by the time they noticed the abnormality, the end had already come for the group.

Without exception.

Li Mo ran wildly, heading towards the place where the black fog was dissipating. Along the way, the Impostors followed closely behind, as if triggered by some rule.

Their heads weren't even facing Li Mo. They were running purely on instinct, and then dying in all sorts of foolish ways.

Drowning in a river;

Falling from a tree;

Plummeting from a cliff;

Being strangled to death by vines...

But just as Li Mo was about to reach the area without black fog, they suddenly stopped, like ghosts that had lost their target, wandering aimlessly in the forest.

Li Mo looked back at this scene and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"It seems there really is some special rule in the place where the black fog has dissipated. It can affect this group of Impostors from so far away."

"If the Impostors were still following, I would have to consider whether or not to risk leaving the black fog."

"After all, if I leave the black fog, I will be exposed to the ghosts and get marked."

"And then, I don't know which day an Impostor will suddenly be reborn in my body. With no reaction time at all, it's an immediate game over."

Li Mo's pace gradually slowed. For some reason, he began to enjoy slowly walking towards that unknown place.

He shouldn't be doing this. Now was not the time for this.

The night was dangerous, and walking slowly was also dangerous.

Even the destination was extremely dangerous.

Walking in the black fog, even though the sky was no longer bright, Li Mo felt an extraordinary sense of peace, as if he had walked home hundreds of thousands of times a long time ago.

"...A strong sense of déjà vu. Have I been here before?"

The surrounding forest was no longer chaotic, nor were there as many overgrown weeds and trees. There was only a lush green bamboo forest, with fireflies flying among the bamboo leaves, flickering with beautiful light.

It reflected the small stream by his feet, making it sparkle. The reflections within were faintly visible.

The gurgling sound of the stream flowed gently, soothing those already tattered souls and numb spirits.

Li Mo held Kallen, walking forward while looking around, observing the surroundings.

The only abnormality he could find was the tranquility and serenity that did not fit the background of a primeval forest.

The primeval forest at night was not this quiet. It was full of noise, and hidden beneath the brief silence were the prey lurking in the darkness, and the prey that had been captured.

But this bamboo forest did not give Li Mo that feeling.

And...

Li Mo saw a very familiar scene—

A stream flowing with golden blood.

"This is..."

Li Mo was stunned. For a moment, he even forgot to move forward, standing there in a daze, staring at the golden stream.

The brilliant color was not the light spots of fireflies, but it itself was the same concept as the colorful black and the radiant white.

In the quiet bamboo forest, a splendid golden stream flowed.

Li Mo hesitated for a moment, then walked along the stream.

Reason told him that this was very dangerous. Following a bizarre phenomenon to its source would eventually lead to confronting the source Bizarre Thing.

An existence that even Impostors shied away from was naturally not something he could resist.

But... it felt very reassuring, like a long, long time ago.

So long ago that he hadn't experienced his first death, hadn't gotten that life-changing notebook, and was living a normal student life on Earth.

At dusk, walking home.

The setting sun cast a molten gold, brilliant afterglow, shining on the stream by the roadside. It was just as captivating, making it impossible to look away.

"A well-intentioned bizarre rule? Is it to awaken the softness in my heart, or something else?"

Li Mo thought quickly, not completely lost in gentle memories.

And the act of thinking itself was enough to prove that this strange phenomenon was by no means an instant-death rule.

"I can still think, and I can choose to leave. There's no extra coercion."

"The thermometer is honest, though. It dropped directly to over thirty degrees below zero and is still falling. This means there is indeed a Bizarre existence ahead that I can't contend with. But the fact is, if the other party is really that powerful, I should have been within its attack range long ago. Or did I miss something, not directly triggering its attack rule?"

"What a headache. The last time I saw the thermometer drop so drastically was when Ghost Kiana's true form appeared before me."

Li Mo shook his head, feeling at a loss for the first time.

He tried to connect the Impostors with the Bizarre Thing that created the golden stream, but the result was not that they were unrelated, but that the relationship was even shallower than his own with the Impostors.

Apart from coexisting in the same forest, there were no more direct connections.

"Retreat, or continue forward?"

Li Mo stood there, talking to himself.

"Forward."

After half a second of hesitation, Li Mo made a decisive choice.

He had already made up his mind in the haunted mansion. No one can escape forever, especially him.

Li Mo's pace quickened slightly. The path he walked on left golden footprints of the same color as the stream, emitting a faint light in the dark night.

Before long, Li Mo's reflection appeared in the stream behind him, as if it were the Li Mo from a dozen seconds ago, taking the same, unique steps.

After another dozen seconds, the same phenomenon occurred again.

One after another, Li Mo's reflections appeared in the stream, their steps unified as they advanced into the depths of the bamboo forest, holding a little girl who had fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion.

The stream flowed downwards. Li Mo knew very well that his altitude was gradually decreasing.

After walking for a long time, the ground finally flattened.

The bamboo forest had also turned into a cherry blossom forest, with cherry blossoms falling in profusion, fragrant and beautiful.

Pink petals fell into the stream, floating away with the clear water.

The ground under his feet became much softer, the thick soil covered with magnificent petals.

"We're here."

Li Mo didn't reach the end of the stream. A building appeared ahead: a cave.

But that didn't surprise Li Mo. This kind of strange phenomenon was always accompanied by some strange obstacles.

Just like the Wuling man who discovered the Peach Blossom Spring.

At the end of the forest, where the stream began, there was a mountain. The mountain had a small opening, as if there was light inside. So he left his boat and entered through the opening. At first, it was very narrow, just enough for one person to pass. After walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up.

Li Mo walked into the cave. It was much larger than the small opening in "The Peach Blossom Spring," but Li Mo didn't rush in.

Instead, he cast his gaze to a grave at the intersection of the cave and the stream.

"Who would build a grave by a stream? The current would carry away the sand and soil, and the grave would become unrecognizable in no time."

"Was it some enemy's bad idea?"

With curiosity, Li Mo walked forward and bent down, wanting to see the name of the poor soul carved on the tombstone.

"...A prank?"

Li Mo's brow furrowed slightly. There was no name carved on the tombstone, but it "corresponded" to everyone's name.

Unlike a traditional tombstone, which would have the deceased's name and the identities and names of the rest of the family, and no epitaphs.

There was only a simple sentence:

—To the me who has come here.

Li Mo stood up and swept the thermometer around for a long time. The thermometer only showed no warning near the grave, returning to a peaceful temperature.

"Strange thing... why am I suddenly remembering the experiences from previous supernatural incidents?"

The blank memorial tablet, the missing corpse, the ghost bride buried alone, the empty ninth room...

Li Mo seemed to have never really discovered... his own "final whereabouts" in those memories.

The corpse in the main hall was just something left behind when Ghost Kiana restarted time, not his final resting place in memory.

That wasn't right either. It seemed there was one, the one that was digested by the Cocoon of Finality until only a head was left.

Wait a minute...

"Where did my head go in the end?"

"And Kiana's head after she traveled through time?"

Li Mo was suddenly jolted awake, realizing a blind spot he had never noticed before.

That is, all the "himselfs" in his memory had never been properly buried in a complete ceremony.

Why had he never seen his own resurrected self after a Bizarre revival?

Li Mo's gaze returned to the grave.

He had a faint urge to dig up this grave. His intuition told him that as long as he dug up this grave, he could indirectly verify one of his incomplete conjectures.

"If I'm not mistaken, even if there's a coffin in this grave, there's no body."

"Although I don't know why, I always feel that something I can't resist is approaching. I've had this feeling since I returned from the Bizarre Sprout world. MEI's behavior has also become very strange. She's like a madman who's so tired she can't breathe but still insists on running wildly, completely disregarding her own physical and mental feelings."

Li Mo said, placing Kallen against the wall of the cave.

"I must find a way to figure it out. That thing is closely related to me, and MEI doesn't want me to notice."

"She was only willing to tell me after two missions. That's too slow."

"What is she hiding from me? Aren't we the best of companions? We swore to completely trust each other..."

Li Mo decided that he must dig up this grave today to find out the truth.

"If the thermometer had given a warning, I might have been hesitant, but since it shows normal, I have no choice but to dig."

"Please forgive my recklessness and impoliteness..."

Li Mo first bowed three times to the tombstone with sincerity, and then... BAM! He kicked the upper part of the grave, sending dirt flying.

Using his hands to dig bit by bit without tools was too slow. He didn't like that inefficient method.

First remove the surface soil, then use his hands to directly dig away the soil above the coffin, and then he could open the coffin directly.

This was called—courtesy before force.

Li Mo used his hands to constantly wipe away the soil on the coffin, and finally found the black coffin he had expected. It was of the same material and type as the black coffin in Ghost Kiana's world...

"Is it really such a coincidence?"

Li Mo hesitated for a moment, then gripped the coffin lid with both hands.

In his state of one death, Li Mo easily opened the coffin. When he looked inside again, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

"Nothing?"

Li Mo remembered the words on the tombstone—To the me who has come here.

Don't tell me you want me to lie down in it, you Tomato!

"Although I really want to curse, forget it. Fortunately, this is just a joke. I hope... this is just a joke."

Li Mo gave a wry smile, turned around, and obediently put the coffin lid back on, then refilled the soil to form a small mound.

As for that inexplicable tombstone, experience told Li Mo it was best not to touch it.

There might be some touch-and-die rule.

Li Mo picked up the sleeping Kallen. In his memory, Kallen and Otto had been running around in the primeval forest for a long time. Otto didn't carry much food, and most of it was eaten by Kallen.

Even so, Kallen was still not full. She had been running for days and nights in this winding terrain in a semi-full state, and her physical strength had been greatly consumed.

In addition to her blindness and her father's unknown whereabouts, she had completely fallen into a state of exhaustion, and some of the small noises Li Mo made were completely ignored.

Li Mo looked up at the cave. There was a faint light inside.

It was just as recorded in "The Peach Blossom Spring."

Although the teacher always emphasized Tao Yuanming's longing for a beautiful pastoral life and his weariness of the pursuit of fame and fortune in officialdom when teaching this lesson.

But it couldn't stop the fantasies of a teenager in his teens about the strange and bizarre world of ghosts and gods.

When Li Mo was in school, he had heard some conspiracy theories about the Peach Blossom Spring from his classmates.

"The houses were neat and orderly."

Wars were frequent in ancient times, and it was unlikely that the houses in the countryside would be neatly planned, so the situation of neat and orderly houses was unlikely.

In Chinese customs, the dead were highly respected, so graveyards were usually neatly planned to show respect for the dead. So was the "neat and orderly houses" a perfect architectural design of the Peach Blossom Spring, or was this place actually a huge cemetery?

"At first, it was very narrow, just enough for one person to pass. After walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up."

At first, it was very narrow, and it only became spacious after walking a few dozen steps. This was very consistent with the structure of a tomb. Of course, it could also be a coincidence.

"After he came out, he got his boat and followed the route he had come by, marking it everywhere. When he reached the county town, he went to see the magistrate and told him what had happened. The magistrate immediately sent people to go with him, and they looked for the marks he had made, but they got lost and could not find the way again."

After the fisherman came out, he couldn't find it even though he had made marks. Perhaps the people in the Peach Blossom Spring were actually dead people. How could the living find a place of the dead?

"Maybe I should write 'The Tale of the Cherry Blossom Spring' after I get out, the kind with a hint of suspense," Li Mo joked. Fortunately, he had studied hard in school. If this time it was really related to the Peach Blossom Spring, he would have some understanding of it. It all depended on whether the situation inside matched up.

Li Mo carried Kallen and walked into the cave, looking down at her from time to time.

"She's sleeping so soundly. Do all Kaslana family members look the same when they sleep?"

Her soft, silvery-white hair fell on his shoulders. The tip of her nose was red from the cold wind, and her lips were slightly parted, revealing her small teeth.

Li Mo pinched Kallen's small face. Her beautiful sleeping face always reminded him of another white-haired moeblob.

"Kallen Kaslana, when you wake up, the world may have undergone a dramatic change. Cherish this one and only beautiful sleep you have now."

"I have a premonition that after I enter, the night will not be too quiet..."

The cave was silent.

After Li Mo walked into the cave, the cherry blossom forest outside changed its appearance. The golden stream turned black, and the corpses of humans and animals writhed within it.

A foul stench filled the air.

The countless beautiful and colorful pink cherry blossoms turned into white paper money fluttering in the sky. When they landed on the ground, they turned into stinking copper coins.

A few human teeth appeared near the entrance of the cave, embedded in the walls.

And on the simple tombstone, a blank memorial tablet and a brazier appeared.

White paper money fell into the brazier and burned fiercely, as if mourning the dead.

Shadows flickered nearby, and the shadows of many people appeared.

It was as if...

The cave was the entrance to the coffin.

What Li Mo had stepped into was actually the real path to the tomb.

————

Nagazora City.

"Have you decided?"

MEI leaned against the wall. Dazzling sunlight streamed in from the window lattice, making the floor shine like golden quicksand, suddenly spreading out to fill more than half the room.

In the shadows, her heavy dark circles made her look like she hadn't rested for days and nights. Her eyes were half-open, and she stared thoughtfully at Shigure Kira, who had packed her luggage.

"Although there aren't too many side effects from passing through the eerie cave at just the right time, in the long run, no one can guarantee that they won't get lost."

"I'm not worried that Li Mo will get lost there. He can't get lost. Even if he touches the wall, I have a way to save him."

"But you're different. You're just... a normal person with no rules binding you. A living person's combat power is meaningless against bizarre rules. you should be very clear about this."

MEI took a small brown bottle from her pocket. It had no label or instructions. She casually took out two pills and swallowed them.

The bitter taste did not change her expression. She was already used to it.

Shigure Kira shrugged and smiled helplessly, but her expression was still bright and lively.

"Don't worry. With the instrument's assistance, I won't go astray. There were no problems last time. Practice makes perfect. This time, passing through the eerie cave will only be smoother than last time."

Shigure Kira looked very confident. MEI's eyes narrowed slightly, and she opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something to this clueless girl.

"Counting the time, there are still two months of proper time," MEI said without warning. Her voice was very low, but Shigure Kira still heard it.

"Senior MEI? What are you talking about? What proper time?" Shigure Kira asked.

MEI hesitated for two seconds, then walked out of the shadows and came directly in front of Shigure Kira, looking at her slightly bulging lower abdomen:

"You are pregnant. From a secular point of view, you shouldn't overwork yourself by running around. This applies to both you and Li Mo."

"Of course, humans will regret any choice they make. There has never been an absolutely correct choice. I will not oppose or stop any of your actions. I will pay the price for my indulgence, and you, and everyone else, will bear the consequences of your own free will."

"But before you go, I want to ask why?"

"Why give up a chance to rest and nourish your baby and return to your own world? You will definitely have a lot of things to deal with after you go back. The Schicksal Overseer of that world won't let you relax."

Having personally experienced all sorts of supernatural incidents, that Otto Apocalypse must be very anxious.

There was an uncontrollable variable in the plan, so he would definitely question Shigure Kira a lot and demand a lot from her.

At least she wouldn't get a break before giving birth.

After hearing MEI's question, Shigure Kira looked up. Her fair fingers looked particularly translucent under the sunlight. She pressed them to her lips and let out a soft hum.

"Emmm..."

"Senior MEI, what do you think love is? Is it two people being inseparable, you are me, and I am you? I am the universe, the universe is me, you are just an extension of my life, not an independent individual."

"Or is it that two people in love have to give up themselves for each other, constantly piecing together the appearance that the other person needs most?"

MEI shook her head. "Unfortunately, I haven't done much research on this topic and can't give you a sufficiently correct answer."

"I don't know what love is, nor do I know how to truly love someone. I can only follow existing formulas and add a little bit of my own selfishness to help the person I love."

"Regardless of the consequences, regardless of the cost."

"All morals and rules in the world can be blindly trampled upon until I achieve my goal and help the other person realize their wish, even if... he doesn't appreciate it, and even resents me for it, swinging the angry blade at my neck and easily cutting it off."

MEI said firmly.

Shigure Kira's mouth twitched. As expected, the thinking of geniuses and madmen was different from that of normal people.

"Uh... Senior MEI, you seem a bit extreme."

MEI did not deny it, but asked back, "What about you? What is your understanding?"

Shigure Kira walked to the window and propped her hands on the windowsill.

Although Nagazora City was in ruins, Shigure Kira was still reminded of the bustling and prosperous city of the past, lively and brightly lit.

The starlight could only play a supporting role. The world was a stage for the singers.

The dozen or so years of leisure after her rebirth were still vivid in her mind. Companionship, busyness, chasing dreams.

Every day for more than ten years had been tiring. There was rarely any free time. She was either busy or on the way to being busy.

It only came to an end on the day she fell into the sea.

But... there would always be someone who would light a lamp and come to her side in a world full of darkness. She herself had already given up...

Thinking of this, a sweet smile couldn't help but appear on Shigure Kira's lips.

"It is to fulfill, to let you be you, and me be me."

"An interesting insight," MEI's interest was piqued. "I would like to hear more."

Shigure Kira smiled shyly and touched the sky-blue strand of hair falling from her temple, which someone had praised over and over again.

"It's just my understanding from my free time, and... I only realized this understanding after seeing your daily life."

Shigure Kira was not lying. She had not had this insight originally. It was only after she heard about the lives of the other family members from Pardofelis, MEI, and Li Mo that she suddenly understood.

"Actually, at first, I planned to stay at home before the baby was born and learn to be a virtuous wife."

"Day after day, I would look forward to my husband's return, and then cook a sumptuous meal for him when he was exhausted, serve him his favorite drink, give him a shoulder massage, and listen to him tell all kinds of strange and thrilling stories from his journey. Sometimes I would be so scared that I would tremble, and then he would have no expression on his face, but his body would be very gentle, holding me in his arms and vowing to protect me..."

"In this way, I did fulfill my duty as a wife. And what I had to do was very simple, just temporarily give up my duty as a Valkyrie and my dream of being an idol."

"In fact, I also helped Li Mo save many people, so I didn't betray the name of a Valkyrie."

"But, is that really love?"

Shigure Kira's words suddenly became sharp.

"I don't think so."

"In the haunted mansion incident, in that peaceful and serene world, I wanted Li Mo to stop taking risks and live a beautiful and happy life, to no longer have anything to do with anything related to the Bizarre..."

"To be honest... I found that when Li Mo listened to me for a period of time, I wasn't as happy as I had imagined. Instead, I felt that a part of my heart was empty. Li Mo became incomplete, incomplete, and... not as attractive to me as before."

"For countless nights, I repeatedly questioned my own heart—why? I tactfully asked many people, and their answers were varied, but none of them hit the point."

"Things like: you don't cherish it once you have it; because you are mentally satisfied, you should calm down for a while; people always long for what they don't have."

"Although that's the principle, it wasn't the answer I wanted. I never figured it out until the day Li Mo died of illness..."

Shigure Kira's voice was low, like a child who had done something wrong, her head bowed, her tender fists clenched, blaming herself for her foolishness.

MEI adjusted her glasses.

Li Mo had mentioned this information.

After Li Mo's first death in the haunted mansion incident, he had seemingly returned to the timeline of the haunted mansion world a dozen years ago and spent a relatively happy and peaceful life with Shigure Kira.

After dying due to his body reaching its limit, he entered the inner world, solved the true mystery of the haunted mansion, completed the ritual, and finally used Ghost Kiana's high stats to help him save Shigure Kira.

MEI knew that during that time, Li Mo's sensibility and rationality were separated with the help of Seele Vollerei. The sensible Li Mo might indeed have made the choice to escape.

But when he returned, his rationality also returned.

Come to think of it, if rationality could truly use its own rules completely, then it should have known that letting itself be eaten by sensibility was the only chance to "eliminate" that rule.

To forever hide the rule of "exterminating the Bizarre" deep in the soul.

"And then?" MEI asked.

Shigure Kira smiled wryly and unclenched her fists.

"My brain isn't as smart as yours, so I couldn't figure it out. I only understood after spending some time with you all."

"A living being is most charming only when it has freedom."

"I asked him to avoid contact with the Bizarre according to my ideas, to live an ordinary married life like ordinary people. That was stifling Li Mo's vitality."

"But he has that ability!"

Shigure Kira said excitedly, her ice-blue eyes sparkling with light, like a prism shone upon by the warm sun in winter.

"He can bring hope to many people like me, he can step onto a bigger stage to show his difference and specialty!"

"He shouldn't become more and more ordinary, and he shouldn't give up what he really wants to do just because he's with me."

"I love him..."

"But it is precisely because of this love that I don't want him to take risks."

"If he doesn't take risks, he won't be the Li Mo I love."

"The one who should change is myself. I should give him freedom, and I, too, must do my best to regain my own freedom. Only then will I be worthy of him."

"Self-righteous sacrifice is not love!"

Clang—

The bottle fell from MEI's pocket. MEI was stunned for a long time before she bent down and picked it back up.

Unlike usual, where she would always analyze the essence of others' impassioned speeches, this time MEI was surprisingly quiet.

If Li Mo were here, he would have noticed immediately. Since Shigure Kira hadn't spent much time with MEI, she didn't feel anything was amiss.

She looked out the window at the burning distant star with full confidence. Perhaps one day, this brilliant star would also fall.

But before that, it had indeed illuminated many people and brought warm light.

"Starting from today when I return to my own world, the pregnant idol singer Kira Hoshi, grand debut!"

"I will also become the most outstanding Valkyrie!"

"Hee hee, of course, I will never let my fans know about 'that incident'~~ Otherwise, what if an extreme fan comes after me with a knife, and I accidentally get stressed and knock him into the wall?"

MEI: "..."

"Mhm."

MEI hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

Shigure Kira hummed a little tune and gave MEI a final farewell: "Dr. MEI, do you need me to bring you any gifts next time we meet?"

"No need," MEI said softly.

After packing her luggage, Shigure Kira left the dilapidated Nagazora City.

Watching Shigure Kira leave with her luggage, MEI returned to her bedroom, opened a certain file on her computer, and muttered to herself as she typed.

"Repeatedly crossing the eerie cave will only attract more Bizarre aura and get entangled with the Bizarre again."

"But anyone or anything that gets entangled with the Bizarre, even a god, will become unfortunate and eventually turn into a nondescript existence."

"Shigure Kira..."

MEI stared at Shigure Kira's photo and experiences in the file.

"You are lucky, and also unlucky."

MEI murmured.

She was the first, and currently the only one MEI could find in all the experimental data, who had completely broken free from the threads of the Bizarre.

These threads did not disappear, but were transferred to Li Mo through extremely special means.

But it was undeniable that the moment she was reborn as a living person, she had indeed cut the threads of the Bizarre.

"After time reversed, you were just a vessel for Ghost Kiana's descent. I hadn't considered the possibility of you surviving..."

"But since you have survived and become Li Mo's wife, just love him in your own way."

"After all... no one here has that ability."

Elysia, who would sooner or later collapse from excessive pollution;

Pardofelis, who would lose control due to Elysia's collapse;

Mei and Hua, who attracted jealousy for showing too much love;

And herself, who... because of a pathetic wish.

"Stay clear-headed... I will remember this feeling, even if everyone else forgets. I don't know if this feeling is useful, but even if there's only a sliver of a possibility... I must 'remember'."

MEI shook her head, took a few more pills, and tried to keep her mind as clear as possible.

She had already lost the concept of sleep. She had to hurry, hurry up and finish His ritual.

The Illusion Ghost had helped her, but it wasn't enough. It was still a little short...

"The ones walking in the Soul Ferrying Passage are souls, so the threads of the Bizarre will not entangle the soul, at least not at a shallow level. People like Li Mo probably have souls that are already tattered. Even if they go through Shigure Kira's process tens of millions of times, they still can't get rid of it."

"Seele Vollerei, the notebook said she would come to me. Apart from Seele Vollerei, there are still three more Bizarre Things with consciousness."

"The notebook predicted that after two missions, I could get three Bizarre Things with consciousness. This means—this time, or next time, there will be at least two or more Bizarre Things with self-awareness brought back. I need to be fully prepared."

"Mei needs a little bit of training. 'Wishing' can, to some extent, bring about miracles that I cannot."

"Although her personality is a bit weak, if she 'wishes' for 'that incident', she can take my place."

Hiss...

MEI stopped typing. Her fingers subconsciously retracted. Blood, infinitely close to black, flowed from the keyboard, with only a slight hint of red.

Sunlight shone in, and the cut on her finger was faintly visible.

It was as neat and perfect as if a knife had cut through paper.

Her vision dimmed at a visible rate. The light in the room quickly faded, and strange whispers echoed in her ears.

When MEI closed her eyes and opened them again to observe, the wound had suddenly disappeared, and there was no trace of blood on the keyboard.

Everything seemed to be just an illusion.

She wanted to adjust her glasses, but when her fingers touched the frame, the frame trembled violently.

MEI looked at the light above her head; it wasn't shaking.

She realized it was her hand that was trembling.

"..."

"..."

She was scared.

Not of the Bizarre, but of her own end.