Before Tomorrow Arrives

"Bronya, what's going on?" Seeing Kiana pull Mei away to silence her, Shu turned to the other "witness" who had been left behind.

Bronya, abandoned by Kiana: "…"

Bronya didn't speak. She just looked up at Shu, pointed to her chest, then crossed her arms, extended them, and mimed pressing something in the air. Then, she pinched her nose with one hand, propped her chin with the other, and opened her mouth.

Just as she did this, Kiana rushed back, dragging a resigned Mei along with her. She scooped up little Bronya, tucked her under her arm, and hurried off.

Shu: "…"

Had Kiana done something to wrong him?

Confused, Shu crossed his arms, pinched his nose, still unable to figure it out. Finally, he turned and entered another elevator.

He was truly tired. He had been abruptly awakened after twelve hours, even though his physical data suggested he could have easily slept for three days and nights.

Moreover, he had just eaten his fill, the perfect time for drowsiness to set in.

And he needed to think about how to gather more [Hope] during the livestream. Otto's battle plan required a significant amount.

That guy even wanted him to promote Fire Moth on camera, encouraging more people to join…

Does he really think I'm some kind of all-powerful wish-granting machine?!

Before he knew it, Shu was lying in the same bed he had woken up in. The moment his head touched the pillow, sleep claimed him.

*[A scarlet hell.

Countless bodies lay scattered on the ground. Shu couldn't see their faces, but he could tell who they were.

The white body remained pure, the gray body seemed to have fallen into dust…

His gaze swept over them, taking in the gruesome state of each corpse, yet still unable to discern their expressions.

What would they say? What would they think before becoming like this?

Shu thought this for the second time, silently watching the bodies, walking forward without a word, and kneeling before a familiar form.

The body suddenly thrashed, rising and grabbing Shu by the collar. Shu didn't resist, letting the hand pull him down.

"You… could have… saved them!"

This time, the voice seemed to belong to someone else, familiar yet utterly strange.

It was filled with intense emotion, but Shu felt nothing.

He gently raised his hand and grasped the hand clutching his collar, making it loosen its grip, yet still suspended in the air.

"This time, I will protect everyone." Shu whispered this promise.

He saw a pair of bright pink-purple eyes emerge from the mist, looking at him with suspicion.

Those eyes seemed to contain the brightest stars and the deepest oceans, holding so much, yet only hatred for him.

But this hatred quickly vanished.

Shu felt the hand in his grow heavier. He heard a sigh.

"May your words become reality…"

Shu lowered his eyes.

"May we… never meet again."]*

In the darkness, Shu opened his eyes. What he had seen and heard in his dream receded like a tide.

Only the warm tears in the corners of his eyes testified to the emotions he had felt.

Three seconds later, the lights in the room clicked on, the sudden brightness forcing Shu to close his eyes again.

The designers at Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical were good in every aspect, but why did they design the dormitory lights to turn on the moment someone opened their eyes? Was this to prevent the employees from sleeping in?

It had to be said, the damned lamp designers had succeeded.

The sudden light banished any lingering drowsiness.

Shu sat up with a sigh, put on his slippers, draped a jacket over himself, and left the room.

The [Hope] within him had recovered to about two-thirds of its previous level, with no further increase.

This was probably the current limit… It seemed everyone's approval of him had reached a threshold. Any further, and he would have to become their surrogate parent…

That wasn't realistic…

Glancing at the clock in the corridor and the closed or occasionally open, lit doorways, Shu confirmed it was nighttime.

A few hushed conversations abruptly stopped as he passed the open doors. Shu felt three burning gazes…

University students really have a lot of energy… to stay up late even in this situation…

Shu closed his mouth and quickly left.

He needed a place to practice what Otto had taught him. The eleventh floor was a good option, but Ethics and the others were currently occupying it.

Shu didn't want to go there either. Although the [Champion] was "dead," and Shu couldn't sense any feedback from it, watching the AI mechs working on the [Champion]'s remains made him feel a bit… uneasy.

Speaking of which, Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical wasn't just underground. The building had over fifty floors above ground, which housed the offices and various laboratories.

Shu hadn't seen the above-ground levels yet… wouldn't it be nice to take a look now?

With this thought, Shu entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

Bored, watching the floor indicator jump one floor every three seconds, Shu stood for about two or three minutes before the elevator finally stopped.

Opening the door revealed the deep, dark night sky. The moon, shyly covered by a black velvet blanket, was fast asleep.

The starless night was particularly oppressive, but compared to the confined indoors, the night sky lacked that stifling feeling. Instead, it felt vast and boundless.

This was the rooftop of Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical. The four metal characters of "神城医药" (Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical) were mounted on a frame at the edge of the rooftop, their neon lights flickering in the night.

These four characters will soon change…

Shu thought, then noticed a figure sitting on the "医" (Medicine) character of "神城医药."

Shu's pupils constricted slightly. He silently placed his hands behind his back, took two steps closer, and finally recognized the person sitting there.

Shu thought for a moment, walked to the bottom of the "药" (Pharmaceutical) character, looked up, and asked,

"You seem to have something on your mind, Natasha."