In That Moment, He Tried to Deny Everything He Had Learned

"It was me! Only me! I answered him! I became him! I healed Natasha's injuries! I gave him a brand new Natasha! I did what he couldn't, and he paid the price he owed!"

"That was our deal!"

[Vakh] abruptly stepped forward, grabbing Shu by the collar and pulling him up.

He gritted his teeth, pressing his forehead against Shu's.

This time, there were no plain glasses obstructing their gaze.

Shu could clearly see the divine patterns in [Vakh]'s eyes, and [Vakh] could see the faint pink-purple glow in Shu's.

"I—am Vakh!!"

"I—!!"

"Surpassed Vakh!!"

"Since you don't believe I'm Vakh, then I will surpass him! I'm better than him! I have abilities you can never reach! Like now! I won!"

[Vakh] roared, his voice so loud that Shu's ears rang.

Fortunately, his eardrums weren't ruptured again.

"Heh…"

Shu regained his composure and scoffed. Unlike [Vakh]'s hysteria, Shu's laughter was filled with disdain. He still held the same attitude, as if he had never taken [Vakh] seriously.

"Do you think… when Vakh prayed to God… what did he truly give up?" Shu looked at [Vakh]. This time, he didn't choose to attack, but instead posed a question.

[Vakh] loosened his grip slightly, looking at Shu in surprise, waiting for his answer.

"You said… Natasha was already dead… her brain destroyed by the bullet… and the Natasha you healed was a brand new [Natasha]… right…"

A sense of foreboding arose in [Vakh]'s heart. He took half a step back, his hand still loosely gripping Shu's collar.

Shu smiled at him, then deliberately slowed his speech.

"Then… since you both believed Natasha was already dead, why did Vakh still give you everything he had?"

[Vakh] froze…

Whether it was him or the original Vakh, their worldviews were the same…

Once the brain was destroyed, once the body was changed, once the body could no longer support the operation of consciousness, then that person was dead…

Vakh knew better than him what he was doing…

But… Vakh was willing to acknowledge… that that was the Natasha he wanted?

Why…

Why?

---||---

"Why is that?" On the rooftop, Shu asked Natasha with some confusion. "Why do you have this question?"

Natasha hugged her knees, a desolate smile on her face.

"That's what my brother believed… that once the body dies, the person is dead… So, did the real me actually leave with my brother?"

Natasha's eyes were filled with confusion. "Is that why no one comforts me like they used to… Did we actually leave back then?"

Shu's eye twitched.

Were they really siblings? They even shared the same view on the value of life.

Did a person change after a near-death experience? Was the person waking up after fainting the same person?

"There's no answer to that question… at least not now…" Shu scratched his head. Fortunately, his discussion with Ethics and the others had left some lingering thoughts, giving him a starting point.

"But at least, we know one thing…" Shu stood up from the "药" (Pharmaceutical) character, stretched, and looked at Natasha with a gentle smile.

"That is, even when you were 'dead,' your brother, Vakh, was still desperately trying to save you, wasn't he?"

Natasha looked up at Shu, puzzled.

"Um… but… that doesn't mean…"

"But in Vakh's heart, he had already denied that view…"

---||---

Shu looked up, staring at [Vakh] before him.

"Before he prayed, he denied everything he had ever learned… He denied everything he believed in! A person who had reached the pinnacle of biology and life, in that moment, acknowledged the existence of the soul!"

"And you… are the best proof of his final experiment! He's using you to prove to the world—the best evidence for the existence of the soul! He's telling the whole world—Natasha, is that Natasha!"

"And you—are not Vakh! You'll never be as good as Vakh!"

These words struck everyone like a hammer blow.

"The soul… truly exists?" Someone murmured before the screen.

Most of them believed in the existence of the soul, but no one had tried to prove it, and no one could prove it.

But Vakh had succeeded…

He used his life, his body, and a newborn soul to prove to the world that Natasha was Natasha, that the decay of the flesh had nothing to do with the soul!

This was the last tenderness he left for Natasha…

---||---

"Natasha… listen to me…"

Beneath the cradle of roses, Shu took a step forward.

At this moment, he finally heard how Vakh had comforted the little girl.

"Brother is leaving… to a very, very faraway place…" the little boy said gently. "Brother will find Mom and Dad, and will wait for you many years from now…"

"Without brother to protect you, you must be careful, look around, and remember to eat more meat, even though you can't stand it, but… you should eat some occasionally…"

"If you're ever tired… and miss Mom and Dad… then look at the stars…"

"Our souls…"

"Are always together…"

---||---

"No!" [Vakh]'s expression twisted. He stumbled backward, frantically tearing at the grass binding him, driving away all the creatures he had created.

He clutched his head, letting out a shrill scream.

"I'm not a lab rat!! I am a supreme being, I am a god!! I am not a plaything for your proof!!" [Vakh]'s eyes were bloodshot as he frantically tried to deny everything.

Just like Vakh had once denied everything he had learned.

But he couldn't… he couldn't abandon his worldview. The core of his thinking was the unwavering belief that he was correct…

"I am the life form at the top of the pyramid! The only true life form!!" [Vakh] pulled at his hair violently, his appearance and body undergoing grotesque transformations.

Expanding and shrinking, growing and withering.

He suddenly looked at Shu, saw the grass around Shu slowly receding, and saw a smile forming on Shu's lips.

A triumphant smile.

"Herrscher… do you know why the pyramids are so grand?"

[Vakh]—Herrscher of Evolution—stared at Shu, his eyes bloodshot, as Shu produced a test tube.

"It's because of their massive base!"

The test tube shattered. The next moment, a swarm of dark figures surged from around Shu, their buzzing filling the air and covering the sky!!