Life Goes On

"Wake up, it's time to get up."

The car slowly pulled into the airport parking lot. Lin Wei casually paid the fare, and then, under the driver's somewhat dazed gaze, got out of the car, opened the back door, and woke up the still-unconscious girl.

"Ah… where… where is this?"

The girl, still sleepy-eyed, climbed up from the long back seat, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, muttering to herself in confusion.

"Why am I here?"

Lin Wei looked at her and softly asked,

"Do you remember what happened before?"

"I remember, I was kidnapped by someone, taken to… taken to… why can't I remember?"

The girl's memory suddenly stalled at this point, and then she suddenly shuddered, looking with some fear at Lin Wei, who was standing quietly outside the car door. This voice and this face gave her a strange sense of familiarity, and she unconsciously shrank her body towards the other car door.

"Please, don't kill me… I'll give you anything you want! I have… I have…"

The girl frantically searched her body, but there was nothing on her, making her increasingly frightened.

Lin Wei looked at her with pity, sighing. Who could have imagined that this pitiful girl, like a startled rabbit, would turn into something that would stop at nothing in hell?

"If you can't remember, then don't force yourself."

Lin Wei comforted her in a gentle voice.

"Don't misunderstand, I won't hurt you. You've been rescued now."

The girl paused her movements, cautiously looking at him, somewhat incredulous.

"I'm a friend of your father's. He asked me to come and save you."

Lin Wei took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to her. It was a family photo of three, well-preserved.

"Look."

The girl lunged forward, snatching the photo as if grabbing for dear life, and then carefully held it in front of her, staring blankly at it. Then, "Patta", a large teardrop fell onto it, soaking her sunny smiling face in the photo.

The girl seemed to wake up from a dream, hurried and confused wiping the water stains from the photo on her clothes, afraid of damaging the precious happiness in it. Then she hugged the photo and burst into tears.

She didn't know why she wanted to cry so much, but she just couldn't help it.

People around had already been attracted by the crying and started looking over here. Lin Wei snapped his fingers, and they all nonchalantly turned their heads back.

"Thank… Thank you…"

After crying for a while, the girl finally felt a little better. She clutched the photo tightly in her hand, unsure whether she should return it to Lin Wei.

"Keep it yourself, it's also returning it to its rightful owner… Keep it safe, don't lose it."

Lin Wei saw through her thoughts and made the decision for her. Watching her carefully and quickly put away the photo, he then softly said,

"Go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll see your father."

The girl was no longer afraid of Lin Wei and obediently nodded. Soon, she felt drowsy, and as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep.

Then, she opened her eyes again, nimbly got out of the car, closed the car door, and stood obediently beside Lin Wei.

However, her eyes were indeed hollow and lifeless, like a puppet without a soul.

"Forcibly digging out a piece of memory is still a bit crude, and not very stable… Let her release it a bit first, and then slowly adjust on the way back… Heh, I wonder how Otto does it, I really want to learn from him."

Lin Wei muttered to himself, suddenly scoffing, and then burst into laughter, which turned into a sigh as he laughed.

"Lin Wei…"

Yae Sakura sensed that Lin Wei's mood was not good. Being soul-connected, she understood Lin Wei's feelings at this moment, so she just called out softly, letting him know that he was not alone at this moment.

"I'm okay. Sakura… tell me, in my current state, can I really still be called a 'human'?"

Lin Wei pointed to the pitiful girl beside him, who was manipulated at his will.

"This girl is right. In the eyes of these real ordinary people, I have really become a complete 'monster' now."

The gap between himself and the generally defined "human" was fully revealed at this moment. She had no power to resist in front of him.

"If this is considered a monster, then I have long since become one, a monster five hundred years earlier than Lin Wei."

Yae Sakura also sighed softly, then smiled, saying gently,

"Isn't this a good thing now? If I had today's strength earlier, then those tragedies back then would have had a different story and ending…"

"I know, Sakura. I'm happy that you can now speak so frankly about those painful past experiences. It shows that you have truly walked out of those deep shadows. I'm happy for you."

Lin Wei smiled, then self-deprecatingly smiled again.

"As for me? Just worrying myself for no reason… I just suddenly feel that I can no longer return to the simple life I once yearned for."

Finding a job, working from morning to night, living a mundane life –

This is the uneventful life of the masses, and also the way the world was originally supposed to be.

But now…

"If you can't go back, then you can't go back. Life goes on anyway, doesn't it?"

Lin Wei put away his regretful thoughts and started walking towards the airport, the controlled girl following closely behind.

"..."

Yae Sakura quietly watched Lin Wei's soul and suddenly asked a question.

"Lin Wei… why can you always let go so easily?"

She found it hard to understand because she was the type who could pick things up but couldn't let go, tightly holding onto the burning coals in her arms, unwilling to release them. For that bit of insignificant "warmth," she was willing to endure the pain of scorched skin and rotten flesh.

Why could he do it so easily?

Lin Wei chuckled.

"Because life goes on anyway, doesn't it?"

Yae Sakura sighed and stopped speaking.

It's easy to say, but how difficult it is to do?

.........

"Here, mission accomplished."

Lin Wei led the anxious girl out of the subway station and arrived near the hotel where they had eaten last time. It was the meeting point he had agreed upon with his "old boss."

Sure enough, from afar, he could see a man standing by the roadside, anxiously pacing back and forth.

Unlike his sloppy appearance last time, he had changed into clean and decent clothes, regaining the appearance of a "successful person," presumably wanting to leave a good impression on his soon-to-be-reunited daughter.

But the haggard face with deep eye sockets still unreservedly exposed the man's true inner state.

"Dad!"

The girl couldn't contain her excitement and, with teary eyes, ran over and buried herself in her father's arms, crying.

"Xiaoyun!"

The man was also extremely excited, his hands trembling as he stroked his daughter's head, afraid that what he was seeing was just a fragile illusion. He touched her once, then again, and finally couldn't help but burst into tears.

"It's good you're back… It's good you're safe… It's good you're alright… Let's go, Dad will take you home, let's go home…"

"Mmm!"

The girl nodded, choking with sobs.

Lin Wei leaned against a lamppost in the distance, closing his eyes to rest, not wanting to disturb this rare reunion.

This journey was really exhausting. He was busy "performing surgery" even on the plane, and didn't have time to catch his breath. He should take a break now.

How tired was he? To put it this way, Pandora had completely stopped responding to his calls.

He didn't know how long had passed, already drifting into a hazy state, when Lin Wei vaguely heard someone approaching. He immediately perked up and opened his eyes.

In Elysium, Hua and Sakura had used various methods to torture him to train his vigilance. It had become a conditioned reflex.

"Thank you, Lin Wei, you saved our whole family! I really don't know how to thank you…"

The man walked to Lin Wei with his daughter, speaking incoherently. His legs bent, wanting to kneel down and kowtow, but Lin Wei raised his staff and blocked his chest, directly physically dispelling his idea.

The man had no choice but to give up. He took out his wallet from his pocket, then took out a bank card from the wallet. After thinking about it, he still felt it wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth and simply took out all the cards, stacking them together and respectfully handing them to Lin Wei.

"This is all the money I've raised for my daughter. It's not a large amount, I hope you won't think it's too little…"

Lin Wei looked at his uneasy appearance, afraid that he would refuse, and couldn't help but sigh. Then he smiled, taking the stack of bank cards with one hand, but taking the entire wallet with the other.

The girl became anxious. She felt that Lin Wei was being excessive. At least leave us some money for plane tickets home, right? But before she could speak, she was grabbed by her father's hand and had to shut up in displeasure, not wanting to cause more trouble for her father.

Lin Wei put the bank cards back into the wallet one by one. He casually took out a few banknotes from inside, without even counting how much there was, and then put the wallet back into the man's pocket, even smoothing it out for him. He smiled and said,

"Payment received. You can keep the rest."

The girl became anxious again. She felt ashamed of her previous thoughts, but her father was even more anxious than she was.

"But…"

"No buts, it's settled."

Lin Wei glanced at him, and the man's heart skipped a beat, obediently shutting his mouth. Then, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He stammered,

"But this is too little…"

"We met by chance, no need to be concerned about these things. Live well with your daughter in the future."

Lin Wei patted him on the shoulder.

"If I wanted to make money, I wouldn't care about this little bit."

The man suddenly felt ashamed, feeling like he was just an ignorant summer insect.

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

Lin Wei directly changed the topic.

"Do you plan to continue living in Shenzhou?" 

The man nodded, then shook his head blankly. The successive changes and blows had already made him feel at a loss.

Lin Wei thought for a moment and said,

"Go live in some big cities, big cities with a population of ten million or more. They will be safer."

Very unusually, in the upcoming global Honkai outbreak, these mega-cities with huge populations are on the contrary some of the few shelters.

He didn't want to say ARC City, as it was World Serpent's territory, and he didn't want to send this father and daughter into the tiger's mouth, so he settled for the next best option.

The man was stunned, then understood that this was Lin Wei's guidance, and hurriedly thanked him profusely.

"Alright, it's getting late, shall I see you off?"

Actually, it was still early, but Lin Wei didn't want to dawdle any longer.

The man repeatedly said he wouldn't dare trouble him.

Lin Wei smiled, watching the father and daughter get into a taxi and leave. After a while, he put away his smile, and said seriously,

"Come out, you've been watching the show long enough."

Then, turning around, a girl wearing a black hooded cloak appeared there like a ghost, looking at him with a strange expression.

"It's you?"

Lin Wei laughed, raising his hand and shaking the reward he had just earned.

"Long time no see, Natasha. Let's find a place to sit down and chat over a meal? My treat~"

.........

On the other side, the father and daughter, after many hardships, returned to their home in Shenzhou, both feeling like they had been through another lifetime.

The girl pouted, to endure the urge to cry, and took the initiative to start cleaning.

Being away for a few days, the house had already gathered dust. The man also helped to clean up.

After a period of busy work, the man picked up the not-so-full trash bag and smiled at his daughter.

"little Yun, you've worked hard cooking at home. I'll go to the market to buy some groceries. We'll have a good meal tonight, consider it a welcome-home dinner for you, okay?"

"Mmm!"

The girl nodded emphatically, her smile bright and radiant, like a new beginning.

The man walked downstairs with light steps, throwing the trash into the trash can, humming a little tune as he walked out of the residential area. He greeted everyone he met along the way.

"Yo, Old Liu, so happy? Encountered something good?"

Some acquaintances were also infected by his enthusiasm and curiously asked back, but the man just smiled without saying a word.

It's hard to explain, better not to say anything.

"Hey? Still being mysterious!"

The other person wasn't angry, just cursed jokingly and left. In the end, it was just a chance encounter on the road, a casual chat. No one would take it to heart.

The market was bustling with activity, and the crowds were like weaving fabric.

The man carefully selected fresh meat and vegetables, mentally planning what to pair them with, what delicious food to make, and what else he needed to buy.

"This customer is buying so many things?"

A stall owner greeted him warmly.

"Why, did your child get good grades?"

The man thought for a moment, and also laughed.

"Yes, my daughter got exceptionally good grades, making a good meal to celebrate!"

"Wow, what a good child! Then you must celebrate properly. You are really blessed!"

The stall owner gave a thumbs up, looked at what he had bought, and kindly reminded him,

"Children are in the stage of growing, they need to supplement more protein to grow well~ What you bought are all too vegetarian! Look over there, the fish and shrimp are quite fresh. You can go over there and pick some~ You can't be careless with things for children to eat!"

The man thanked him repeatedly and walked towards the seafood area.

"Boss, give me a fish… I want this one!"

The man came to the fish stall, picked out a fish, and called out to the boss.

Looking up at the boss's appearance, the man couldn't help but pause – this person is too strange. Would someone wear a hooded black jumpsuit to do business here?

"Okay, please wait a moment."

The stall owner stood up, his voice muffled.

The man felt even more strange, not intending to chat with him. He planned to buy the fish and leave.

"Customer, catch."

The man paid, took the fish, and turned to leave.

He hadn't walked a few steps when suddenly his footsteps faltered. The fresh meat and vegetables he was carrying in both hands crashing fell to the ground. He futilely clutched his chest, falling to the ground in pain.

From convulsions to stillness.

The "stall owner" in black clothes gently walked past the fallen man, not even glancing at him. He opened a plain black umbrella and left without a word.

For those "without value," he was unwilling to offer even a word of mourning.

Only a fish was left on the ground, desperately flopping, futilely beating against the water stains on the ground,

And no one cared…

…

Late at night, the girl walked home alone, disconsolately. She disconsolately turned on the lights, disconsolately sat on the sofa, disconsolately looked at this desolate home.

She wanted to cry, but couldn't cry. She had even lost the strength to cry.

Only me left…

Only this desolate thought remained in the girl's disconsolate heart.

She didn't know how long had passed before she stiffly turned her head towards the dining room. She stared blankly for a while, then struggled to stand up and struggled to walk over.

These few steps seemed to require her to exert all her strength, as if it was extremely difficult.

Scooping out a bowl of already cold white rice, the girl stared blankly at it. After a long time, she laboriously picked up a few grains of rice and put them into her mouth.

Another moment of blankness, and then the girl suddenly started shoveling rice into her mouth like crazy, as if she had gone mad, stuffing it so full that it was difficult to swallow, choking her until tears streamed down her face.

Finally, the girl held the bowl and burst into inconsolable sobs.