363: Chapter 364 The Last Two Days and "The Cicada's Farewell"

Cicada died at dawn on the second to last day of the countdown.

Before he died, he did two things.

The first was to teach the detailed activation method of that "Seed Crystal" to Senior Brother Zhang and Silver Thorn. Activation required three conditions: first, a specific consciousness frequency; second, sufficient energy input; and third... Little Girl being present.

"Why is she needed?" Senior Brother Zhang asked, puzzled.

"Because those 'Sprouting Seeds' have been slumbering deep within the hosts' consciousness for three hundred years," Cicada said, his voice growing weaker. "They need a 'pure resonance' to wake them up. In this place, the purest thing is that child."

Senior Brother Zhang was silent for a few seconds before nodding.

The second thing was asking Wen Youyi: "Is there anywhere here where one can see the sunrise?"

Wen Youyi had people carry him to the hillside on the east side of the town. It was the same place where he had watched the sunrise himself a few days ago.

Cicada lay on the stretcher, looking toward the east. His face was already a terrifying shade of ashen grey, but his eyes were very bright.

"Is it beautiful?" Wen Youyi crouched beside him.

Cicada didn't answer, merely staring at the horizon as it grew brighter; his lips moved slightly.

Wen Youyi leaned in to listen and heard him saying:

"Three hundred years... I haven't seen the sun."

The sun rose.

Golden light spilled over the hillside and onto Cicada's face. His eyes were closed, and the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly, as if he had finally waited for something.

Then, he passed away just like that.

No last words, no struggle—he just quietly closed his eyes in the sunrise.

Wen Youyi sat beside him for a long time.

Behind him, Lin Jiang, Aila, Zhao Iron Pillar, and the others stood silently; no one spoke.

"Bury him next to Firefly," Wen Youyi finally stood up, his voice raspy. "On the tombstone, write—'Cicada, 7th Generation Liaison of Cracked Eye, Friend of New Homeland'."

"What about the epitaph?" Wang Wu asked.

Wen Youyi thought for a moment and said:

"He watched the darkness for three hundred years for us; we watched the last sunrise for him. That's enough."

When Cicada was being buried, Little Girl came.

She stood before the new grave, holding Bright Fur Ball, tilting her head as she watched for a long time.

"Little Girl, it's time to go back," Madam Liu called to her softly.

Little Girl didn't move; instead, she crouched down and placed her hand on the soil of the grave.

"He's still here," she said.

Everyone was stunned.

"What do you mean?" Wen Youyi walked over.

Little Girl thought for a moment to organize her words: "His body is gone, but there's a little bit of... sparkly stuff still in the dirt. Very, very small, like fireflies."

Wen Youyi looked at Silver Thorn.

Silver Thorn's "eyes" flickered a few times, and then it said: "Faint consciousness residue detected. Not a complete Soul, just... a final trace of obsession."

"What is the obsession?"

Silver Thorn fell silent, seemingly analyzing. Then it said:

"To see this world again."

Wen Youyi was silent for a long time.

Then he said to Little Girl, "Can you help him bring that 'little bit of sparkly stuff' out? Take it to the forest, to the trees, to any place where he can 'see'."

Little Girl nodded, pressed her hand against the grave, and closed her eyes.

Bright Fur Ball also jumped down from her shoulder, crouched beside her, and pressed its small silver paws into the soil.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.

Little Girl opened her eyes and smiled.

"He's gone."

"Where did he go?"

Little Girl pointed toward the distant Experimental Forest: "Over there. A tree invited him to live in its leaves, so he can bask in the sun every day from now on."

Wen Youyi looked in the direction she was pointing.

In the forest, a silver-blue tree was swaying gently in the morning light. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, looking like countless golden fragments.

Cicada.

He finally saw it.

On the final day of the countdown, New Homeland became quiet instead.

There were no meetings, no drills, no emergency mobilizations. When Wen Youyi woke up in the morning, he found the people in town were all doing the same thing—

Staring blankly.

Some were sitting at their doorsteps, looking at the sky. Some were crouching on the ridges of the fields, staring at the rainbow potatoes that had just begun to sprout ears. Some were leaning against trees, eyes closed, basking in the sun.

Even Zhao Iron Pillar hadn't gone to the training grounds; instead, he was crouching at the entrance of the blacksmith shop, turning a newly forged blade over and over in his hands.

"Not going to check the equipment?" Wen Youyi walked over.

"Checked it," Zhao Iron Pillar said without looking up. "What needed sharpening is sharpened, what needed replacing is replaced. Checking again won't change anything."

Wen Youyi crouched down beside him.

The two of them just crouched there, neither of them speaking.

After a long time, Zhao Iron Pillar suddenly said, "Boss, do you think I'll survive when the fight starts tomorrow?"

Wen Youyi thought for a moment: "I don't know."

"What about you?"

"I don't know either."

Zhao Iron Pillar was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "You're certainly honest."

"What's the use of lying to you?" Wen Youyi said. "No one can say for sure what will happen tomorrow. But there's one thing I do know—"

"What?"

"If you die, I'll definitely find a way to avenge you. If I die, you'll have to find a way to avenge me. Among us, let's not let anyone die in vain."

Zhao Iron Pillar was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Alright, it's a deal."

In the distance, Little Girl ran over, holding up a small flower she had just picked.

"Uncle Wen! Uncle Iron Pillar! For you!"

She stuffed the flowers into their hands and then skipped away.

Wen Youyi looked at the unknown little flower in his hand and suddenly smiled.

"Zhao Iron Pillar."

"Yeah?"

"After the battle tomorrow, if we're both still alive, when your blacksmith shop opens, I'll be your assistant."

Zhao Iron Pillar grinned: "Then it's a deal! Don't back out when the time comes; my shop really needs a hand!"

"I won't back out."

Under the sunlight, the two men crouched at the entrance of the blacksmith shop like two ordinary farmers, discussing future matters.

As if tomorrow were just another ordinary day.

In the evening, Wen Youyi went to the technical center.

Senior Brother Zhang was still tuning the final parameters of the Seed Crystal. Seeing him enter, he said without looking up, "It'll be ready by five tomorrow morning."

"No rush."

Senior Brother Zhang's hands paused, and he finally looked up. Data streams were reflected in his glasses, and there were massive dark circles under his eyes.

"Do you think this thing will actually work?"

Wen Youyi thought for a moment: "I don't know. But trying it is better than not trying."

Senior Brother Zhang was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Sometimes I wonder what I'd be doing now if I hadn't left the Ranch World back then."

"Doing what?"

"Maybe I'd be a Formation Cultivator in some Sect, spending every day researching how to improve the Mountain-Protecting Array, just waiting to die." He gave a bitter smile. "That life was actually quite stable."

"Do you regret coming out?"

"No," Senior Brother Zhang shook his head. "I just think about it occasionally. After thinking, I still feel that now is better."

"Better in what way?"

"Better in..." Senior Brother Zhang looked out the window. "Better in knowing why I'm alive."

Wen Youyi patted his shoulder and didn't say anything more.

On the final night, Wen Youyi didn't sleep.

He walked through every corner of the town alone: the farmlands, workshops, school, hospital, warehouse, training grounds, cemetery...

Everywhere he went, there were people.

Patrolling warriors nodded to him. Healthcare workers on the night shift waved to him. Soldiers checking their weapons in the trenches grinned at him. An old man guarding the warehouse handed him a canteen of water.

He just walked, watched, and remembered.

When he reached the edge of town, he saw Yun Zhi.

She was sitting alone on the hillside, hugging her knees and looking at the distant forest.

Wen Youyi walked over and sat down beside her.

"Can't sleep?"

Yun Zhi didn't answer, merely saying, "When I was an Observer in the Heavenly Court, I never thought there would be a day like today."

"What about today?"

"Like this," she paused. "A group of people facing life and death together, and I want to be with them."

Wen Youyi was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Then when you were in the Heavenly Court, why were you living?"

"To live," Yun Zhi said. "Literally just to stay alive. To complete missions, not be eliminated, and live a little longer. There was no 'why'."

"And now?"

Yun Zhi thought for a moment: "Now... I want to see what happens after the sun rises tomorrow."

Wen Youyi smiled: "Then let's wait and see."

A faint light began to appear on the horizon.

The last night of New Homeland was about to pass.

Below the hillside, the lights of the town flickered on one by one. Those were the early risers, preparing for the final day.

In the distance, a rustling sound came from the forest as the trees swayed gently in the morning breeze.

Even further away, the light shields of the three Law Fields slowly rose, like three translucent crowns placed upon the head of New Homeland.

Wen Youyi stood up and looked at it all.

"Let's go," he said. "It's time to head to the command center."

Yun Zhi stood up and followed behind him.

The two of them walked down the hillside.

Behind them, the sun was rising.

A new day had begun.

Countdown: The Final Day.

(End of Chapter)