40: Chapter 40 Apologies

Lin Yan looked at the woman in Zhao Yue's arms, whose skin was as white as snow, watched the extremely faint rise and fall of her chest, and observed the dense scars covering Zhao Yue's arms.

Many things flashed through his mind: the words Instructor Meng Yuan had spoken in the training hall, the Awakened who had fallen in pools of blood inside the Dungeon, and the wilted potato seedlings on Sister Chen's rooftop.

"In a Dungeon, the thing to avoid most is getting emotionally attached."

When Instructor Meng Yuan said this, his tone was as flat as if he were reading from a textbook. At the time, Lin Yan hadn't paid much attention; he felt his heart was hard enough. Having grown up in an orphanage, without parents, without family affection, having spent eighteen years on his own, he thought he wouldn't develop any unnecessary emotions toward any "NPC."

But now he realized that the instructor was right.

A thought did indeed flash through his mind—to let them go. To let this man continue feeding his wife here, and to let that hidden BOSS, who had never hurt anyone, continue to sleep in this high-rise building. This world was already destroyed; let the two of them rely on each other in these ruins.

But another voice immediately suppressed this thought.

Every monster in this Dungeon was a resource. The loot from the hidden BOSS, the experience, and the increased probability of rewards from the hextech system—these were all things he had to obtain. If he didn't kill the BOSS, didn't open resource points, and didn't farm monsters, how could he be stronger than others?

The Federation wouldn't give you a single extra cent of resources just because "you were soft-hearted," the Dungeon wouldn't lower its difficulty just because "you developed feelings," and monsters wouldn't just lie down and die because "you didn't want to kill them."

He needed to become stronger—strong enough to protect the people he wanted to protect, and strong enough so that the people around him wouldn't become tragedies like Zhao Yue and Li Wanqing.

This world was already ruined, but Blue Star was not. If he let this hidden BOSS go today because of soft-heartedness, what about next time? And the time after that? Soft-heartedness would become a habit.

Lin Yan straightened up.

"You all go down first," he said to Shen Bing, Ma Chen, and the others. His voice wasn't loud, but his tone left no room for negotiation.

Ma Chen was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?"

"The thing on this floor is not something you can handle." Lin Yan's gaze swept over Song Shiyu; she was still trembling, the data on that hidden BOSS having scared her quite a bit. "You can't help, so wait downstairs."

Han Yi's hand gripping his short blade tightened. Ma Chen glanced at Shen Bing. Shen Bing was silent for two seconds, then nodded.

"Let's go."

She was the first to turn and head toward the stairwell. Ma Chen and Han Yi exchanged glances and followed. Song Shiyu walked at the very back; when she passed by Lin Yan, she paused, her lips moving a few times, but in the end, she only said: "Be careful."

Footsteps headed down the stairs, growing more distant and lighter, until they finally vanished completely into the silence of the concrete.

The twenty-fifth floor went quiet.

Only Lin Yan, Zhao Yue, and Li Wanqing remained.

Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the steel plates, casting a thin beam of light onto the floor, where dust floated slowly within the column of light. Li Wanqing leaned in Zhao Yue's arms, her eyes closed, her breathing almost non-existent, as quiet as an ice sculpture.

Zhao Yue held her, his scarred hand patting her shoulder rhythmically, as if comforting a child to sleep.

Lin Yan watched this scene and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Zhao Yue raised his head. In his murky eyes, there was no fear, no anger, and not even any surprise. He just looked at Lin Yan very calmly, as if he had known for a long time that this moment would come.

"Your world has already been destroyed," Lin Yan's voice was not loud, but every word was resonant. "I must improve myself to prevent my world from following in your footsteps, so she must die."

After listening, Zhao Yue was silent for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

This smile couldn't be considered mockery, nor was it filled with bitterness; it had an indescribable, strange quality. The corners of his lips lifted gently, yet tears uncontrollably welled up in his eyes.

On his gaunt, scarred face, the expressions of crying and smiling were intertwined, like a stone statue that had weathered the ages, already covered in blemishes.

"I know," Zhao Yue's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself. "I've known for a long time that someone would come. People from the Armory Island, people from other settlements, or 'outsiders' like you—someone would always come. She is too strong, so strong that this world cannot contain her. You wouldn't feel at ease leaving her here."

He lowered his head and looked at Li Wanqing in his arms.

She seemed to feel something; her eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she didn't open her eyes. Zhao Yue reached out and gently stroked her hair, his movements slower than before, as if using these final moments to memorize the sensation.

"Wanqing," he called her.

Her eyes opened.

Those eyes were gray-white, the pupils almost invisible, but at this moment her gaze slowly turned, finally landing on Zhao Yue's face. It wasn't the look a zombie would give its prey, but rather a kind of... confusion. It was as if she were asking: "What's wrong? Why are you calling me?"

Zhao Yue used both hands to hold her hands, locking her fingers within his palms. Her nails were long and sharp, dark black, but when her fingers were held by him, those nails didn't retract, but were slightly spread open, as if afraid of piercing his skin.

"I've been thinking about a question," Zhao Yue's voice was very soft, so soft it was as if he were afraid of startling something. "Do you actually still remember me? Not whether you remember 'this person feeds me meat,' but whether you remember 'this person is my husband.'"

He looked into Li Wanqing's eyes.

"Later I realized, whether you remember or not, it doesn't matter. It's enough that I remember."

Zhao Yue pressed Li Wanqing's two hands onto his shoulders, then hugged her with all his might. His body was too thin, so thin that his ribs pressed against Li Wanqing's chest, but she didn't push him away, nor did she struggle. She just stayed quietly in his arms, like a doll being held too tightly.

"Do it," Zhao Yue said.

His voice was very calm, so calm it was like he was saying, "The weather is nice today."

Lin Yan looked at him.

Zhao Yue raised his eyes to meet Lin Yan's gaze, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward. This smile held no bitterness, nor could it be called relief; it was clear and quiet. He swallowed back all his reluctance, pain, and despair, leaving only a final shred of dignity.

"Do it," he said again, his voice trembling slightly, but the smile did not fade.

A sorrowful smile.

Lin Yan looked at that smile, looked at the hidden BOSS in Zhao Yue's arms who had never hurt anyone, and looked at the man holding his wife's hands tightly. His fists clenched, then relaxed, then clenched again.

This screwed-up world.

He took a step forward.

Zhao Yue lowered his head, looking at Li Wanqing's face one last time. She was still looking at him, and in those gray-white eyes, there was no fear, no anger, no negative emotions of any kind. There was only a quiet, dull gaze, as if looking through a layer of frosted glass.

"Wanqing," Zhao Yue said softly, "I'm sorry."

Her eyelashes fluttered.

Then her hand slowly raised, her fingertips touching Zhao Yue's face. It was cool and soft, just like a long, long time ago, when she was still alive, the way she would do every morning when she woke up.

Zhao Yue closed his eyes.