Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 115: When the Rain Stops
At the moment when Monday started spewing water, Luo Duan left Sigma’s body.
It was an extremely painful process. For all these days, Luo Duan hadn’t eaten, relying solely on the energy provided by Sigma to survive. Completely detaching from its body was like a plant uprooting itself from the ground.
His feet didn’t revert to their original state; they directly transformed into two pools of erosion. With the support of the water flow, Luo Duan managed to stay upright without falling.
He saw Shu Jun detach from inside Sigma and crash into the water with a relaxed expression. At that moment, Luo Duan realized one thing clearly—Sigma had lost, and he had lost his most powerful weapon.
He felt neither anger nor despair, or rather, he couldn’t even find the initial fiery anger within him. Both pain and hatred carried a heavy dullness, as if covered in thick moss.
‘How strange,’ Luo Duan thought. He had expected his emotions to be more complex when witnessing such a scene.
Luo Duan raised one hand as the torrential downpour of erosion intensified. Murky water surged, forming enormous waves that knocked down one person after another who couldn’t maintain their balance. The rushing water continued to impact the mounds of soil and rocks at the edge of the deep pit, intending to submerge everyone hiding in the fortifications within.
Several wind blades flew past as Luo Duan controlled the water column, lifting himself higher.
“Being in Sigma for so long, you still have strength remaining. Impressive.” Luo Duan’s voice was steady, as if engaged in casual conversation.
Shu Jun used wind to lift himself up and barely stayed face-to-face with Luo Duan. Luo Duan wasn’t wrong—suppressing Sigma had drained Shu Jun of his physical and mental strength. He had very little energy left, even to conceal it.
The water catastrophe on the ground showed no signs of stopping. The turbid water surged faster and faster, and a massive whirlpool took shape. The downpour was so relentless that everyone’s heads remained lowered. Within Luo Duan’s sight, hundreds of pale bodies floated up to the surface, bobbing up and down with the water current.
“Let me tell you what will happen next. Even if you can reveal all the suffering of the synthetics publicly, these people won’t understand. They will only remember me and everything I brought. These people don’t even empathize with their fellow beings outside the city, so why would they care about us?”
Luo Duan took a step back, turned his head, and evaded several wind blades.
“What’s this? Planning to lecture me about morality?” Shu Jun forced a smile. “That’s unlike you.”
“I’m on the verge of death, that’s all. My body has become like this, and without Sigma, I won’t survive for long. I just wanted to warn you, if you’re hoping for reconciliation and coexistence… I’m telling you clearly, it’s impossible, at least not in this generation.”
“It seems like you don’t have any standing to care about the remaining people,” Shu Jun said without mincing words. “I’ve said before, I only intend to do whatever it takes to keep them alive, without thinking too much about it. By the way, if you stop now, maybe I can still find a way to save you.”
Luo Duan chuckled briefly. “Compassion for your compatriot?”
“You always like to bring things to the emotional side, but romance won’t win wars.” Shu Jun sighed. “Lao Luo, if you stop right now, I will take you back and discuss the punishment for ‘killing team members and plotting against your compatriots’. As for the humans… Having you in my grasp would serve as a certain kind of deterrence.”
“…Actually, I’ve been thinking all along, you’re crazier than me. Look at our positions. The heavens really know how to play tricks on people.”
Luo Duan shook his head. This time, he created a water shield to counter the frontal assault and neutralize the weakening force of Shu Jun’s wind. If things continued like this, he wouldn’t need to dodge anymore.
“Shu Jun, I won’t stop. How many of them have died? Tens of thousands out of millions, that’s not enough, far from enough.”
Shu Jun remained silent, his expression complex.
“But in this way, I can be at ease.” Luo Duan’s tone suddenly changed. “You really didn’t involve others in this war. That’s good. You haven’t reached the point of obeying humans to the extent of losing your sanity.”
Shu Jun stared intently into his eyes without responding.
Luo Duan’s killings were silent. More accurately, leveraging his advantage in abilities, his destructive power was on par with Sigma. Under their feet, cries for help and wails of despair echoed, and Shu Jun pursed his lips.
The air was cold and thick, permeated with the unique bitterness and stench of the battlefield. The whirlpool beneath them grew larger and larger, threatening to engulf the entire square. Another moment of silence passed, and Shu Jun launched another sudden attack. However, his power was running low, and Luo Duan easily dissipated the onslaught by shifting his position.
“Everything is different from what I imagined.” Amidst the towering water vapor, Luo Duan’s pale skin gradually peeled off, and black erosion seeped from his wounds. “I thought the scene would be more tragic, the revenge more satisfying… I thought you would maintain your previous leadership posture and say a few more words to me.”
“Should we slow things down a bit, maybe even shout ourselves hoarse?” Shu Jun tugged at the corners of his mouth but couldn’t manage to smile. “You made a good point—our positions really don’t align. In simple terms, I’m even more pessimistic than you.”
“Your body has limited endurance, and Sigma didn’t fill you with too much negative information. But I’ve been fed the whole package, seen things I should and shouldn’t have, and I can’t forget… I understand better than anyone else that humans won’t understand, won’t care, and won’t play the game of equal coexistence. Even if there are conscious humans, they definitely don’t make up the majority. At this stage of collective confrontation, deterrence is more effective than empathy.”
“I don’t believe in humans. I only believe in one specific person. Because of that person, I can let go of some defenses and consider an outcome other than mutual destruction.”
“I seek revenge for one person, and you forgive for one person. After all this talk, we are somewhat similar.”
Shu Jun didn’t answer directly. He just sighed heavily and reached out his hand again. “Stop now. I can still take you away.”
Luo Duan didn’t move.
Shu Jun looked at him sorrowfully—his former formidable opponent was now almost unrecognizable. Luo Duan was covered in wounds, with countless erosion oozing from his injuries, as if his entire body was melting. He fought desperately, driven by the water, but the exertion of his power only accelerated the collapse of his body.
Seeing no sign of a response, Shu Jun withdrew his hand, and this time the silence lasted longer than ever before.
“I haven’t forgiven them.” After an unknown time, Shu Jun spoke again. “I’m just very fortunate—that person I believe in happens to have the power to change the situation.”
Having said that, Shu Jun repeated slowly.
“I’m just luckier than you.”
Luo Duan couldn’t reply.
The sadness in Shu Jun’s eyes was too heavy, and he quickly realized the source of that sadness—his chest had been blasted open, and his body was rapidly dissolving into erosion, like ice melting in boiling water.
…Right, there seemed to be one missile left.
How straightforward, he thought. This war was truly nothing like what he imagined, devoid of any sense of heroism from beginning to end.
He mechanically killed, and humans died carelessly, without the sublimation of pain or the satisfaction he envisioned. Even in his death, he was simply shot down like a bird.
The world went from clear to blurry, then to darkness, all in an instant.
The wind held up Luo Duan’s body, preventing him from falling. It grew colder around him, and his ears felt as if submerged in water, with all sounds fading away.
No wonder Shu Jun, barely able to move, still came specially to launch some useless attacks—it was to adjust his position, to make himself more easily targeted. That hand that reached out just now was likely his last chance.
His last chance?
Since the moment he descended upon his compatriots, ready to strike, he no longer had the right to any chances.
Luo Duan summoned his final strength and struggled twice, shifting his body to free himself from the wind’s support. Falling, his body completely shattered into erosion, raining down along with the raindrops.
On the other side of the square.
Zhu Yanchen left the smoking mech cannon; his clothes were soaked in sweat. He let out a long breath and turned his gaze to the stunned Hu Yan and Yu Jin.
Hu Yan had originally intended to come and demand answers, but now Shu Jun was alive, and chaos seemed to be ending. It didn’t seem appropriate for him, a synthetic human general, to be standing on the rooftop of the human command center at this moment.
“Take Shu Jun away from here.” Hu Yan was still pondering his opening words when Zhu Yanchen, exhausted, spoke up. “Don’t go to the settlement area, don’t let any humans come into contact with him, not even the people from the Old Fourth. He needs rest now, and the environment must be safe.”
“Oh, okay,” Hu Yan responded dazedly.
“Hurry. Someone will come up here soon, and Shu Jun won’t last much longer either,” Zhu Yanchen said with a rare sense of urgency in his voice. “Quickly!”
Startled by his shout, Hu Yan extended the stone platform immediately. The military on the square was still busy rescuing people from the flooded areas and had no time to pay attention to this audacious synthetic human. Zhu Yanchen’s judgment was quite accurate. Just as Hu Yan reached Shu Jun’s side, Shu Jun dispersed the wind, causing his entire body to collapse.
“What about A’Yan?” Shu Jun mumbled in a dazed state after he steadied himself on the stone platform, clearly having exhausted a considerable amount of energy.
“He’s fine.” Hu Yan quickly picked up rubble from the ruins and swiftly headed towards the outskirts of the city. “He told me to take you away quickly.”
Shu Jun didn’t say anything. He let out a heavy sigh, and the sadness on his face not only didn’t dissipate but deepened.
“Since this is what he wants,” he muttered, “…Let’s go.”
“W-Why, shouldn’t we stay?” Hearing the strange tone in Shu Jun’s voice, Hu Yan almost hit the brakes on the spot.
However, Shu Jun had already fallen asleep.
Hu Yan spun in place for a few rounds, let out a sigh, and ultimately started walking towards the hiding place in the dense fog.
After sending away Hu Yan, Zhu Yanchen didn’t bother to dismiss Yu Jin. He simply gestured for Yu Jin to follow. Yu Jin stood dumbfounded on the square for a long time before he finally snapped out of it.
“Aren’t you… Aren’t you going to help with the disaster? Is it okay?” Yu Jin stuttered, his tongue twisting.
“With the current situation, my subordinates can handle it.” Zhu Yanchen’s mood wasn’t particularly high. “Let’s go. I have more urgent matters to attend to.”
“But… But can’t it wait until we finish cleaning up? Maybe you should take a break first. Your complexion—”
“We must strike while the iron is hot. If we wait for the situation to stabilize, it’ll be too late.”
Yu Jin reluctantly entered the command center. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would set foot in this building one day. And not only did he come here, but he was also brought along by a synthetic human. As he caught the gaze of the heavily armed soldiers in the hallway, his heart palpitated with guilt.
The command center was in no better shape than the square. The development of the war was too bizarre, and even though the command center was filled with experts, their mental state was no better than that of the civilians.
Zhu Yanchen’s destination wasn’t far. He swiftly pushed open the door and walked straight into the room. When Yu Jin saw the person by the window clearly, he almost sat down on the ground.
Zhu Sheng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the scene on the square. When he heard the noise, he slowly turned around.
“So, you’ve come to find me. Your reaction speed is quite good, worthy of being my son.” The old man’s tone was quite plain. “It was you who told Shu Jun to leave immediately… Truly leak-proof, not giving us old folks any time at all.”
“Leave you time to prepare for the war? With such a huge loophole in the player system, the three major families will be scrambling to clean up the mess—there’s no more effective way to shift the blame.”
Yu Jin was confused for a while but gradually began to understand—this time, one of the main reasons why Luo Duan rushed to attack was because the humans were ill-prepared. Now that the humans had the suppression weapons, the command center could easily reinforce them with a little time.
The situation in Y City was already dire, and it was easy to add fuel to the fire. Incite the citizens with a wave of hatred and make them hate the synths. Once people’s attention was diverted, the management oversights of the three major families could be swept under the rug, big or small.
With the suppression weapons, the United Government could even keep the player system and shift their focus to high-pressure management of the new-generation synthetic humans.
Yu Jin suddenly felt a chill, and shortly after, he almost immediately realized.
Before things spiraled out of control, Zhu Yanchen was preparing to take the initiative.
…He seemed to have stumbled into a genuine power struggle, the kind that would be written into history.
The author has something to say:
Shu Ge: Heavy-hearted.
Marshal: Heavy-hearted.
Only Monday is happily running around in the wilderness (…
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