A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 242 Childhood Moonlight
The phone kept ringing; it was Qin Wei calling.

"Aren't you going to answer?" Amamiya Nene asked, tilting her head.

"I'm not answering."

He turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.

Looking up, one jeep after another with police lights whizzed by, and in the distance, men were being pinned down on the beach by police, making it seem like someone was on vacation.

Quinn sat on a high point in the village with his parrot, a branch left by Ningning's father leaning diagonally beside them. The bright moonlight shone on their shoulders, casting long shadows, making them look like heroes returning to their homeland, carrying dragons and longswords, listening to the refreshing sounds of the sea breeze and waves.

"What did you talk about when you had me imitate his voice on the phone?"

Amamiya Nene looked at his profile. He was looking into the distance, his gaze seemingly unfocused, his expression nonchalant, as if he hadn't made that phone call at all.

"very curious?"

"Ah."

"Heh, I won't tell you."

Amamiya Nene raised her little paw and kicked him, feeling ticklish as if she were being scratched by a foxtail grass.

"You're chatting with your dad and don't want to tell anyone else?"

"How did you figure that out?" Quinn's feet were dangling off the roof, swinging back and forth, looking quite relaxed.

“You two look alike, don’t you?” Amamiya Nene felt that Quinn was treating her like an idiot.

"I'm different from you."

Quinn raised his hand to the moon, holding it straight up so that his palm blocked his view, then slightly parted it to let the moonlight seep through his fingers into his eyes. He used to play like this when he was a child, feeling like an astronaut measuring the Earth-Moon route with a telescope.

The sun looks strange, but the moon is still the same as I remember.

"All my memories of my father in my entire life don't compare to what I've had in these past few days. I was too young when he died, so young that I don't even remember how I felt. He was surrounded by a group of police officers, crying as he hugged me—that was when he said goodbye to his family before his execution. Because he refused to say anything, he couldn't even unlock his handcuffs. My mother had to support him while he hugged me, afraid that his limbs would make him drop me."

Quinn lay down on the roof tiles, using the branches as a pillow, and began to murmur as if telling a story from another world.

“When my dad was brought back, he was already ashes. Before the seventh day after his death was over, my mom also passed away. She suffered cardiac arrest, and the forensic doctor concluded that she had overdosed on drugs. Because of this, my grandpa never forgave my mom until he died. He felt that my mom had lied to him, that she had no idea what my dad had done and that she was a bad woman. But my grandpa was a good old man. In the end, he still buried the couple together, and they can still sweep the grave together every Qingming Festival.”

Quinn picked up the little parrot that was trying to touch his head with its wings, placed it against his chest, and stroked its smooth, black feathers with his fingers like he was petting a plush toy.

"I'm not sad. Unlike you, I won't be heartbroken if someone dies and their body isn't found. My memories of my parents are just two mounds of earth behind the village, overgrown with waist-high weeds. Approaching them, you'd be met with a pungent, untamed smell of weeds. You had to use a sickle to cut them, and even pull out the roots. Actually, cutting weeds was quite stress-relieving."

"Both of them were mistaken for drug dealers, huh, understand?"

Amamiya Nene was somewhat puzzled.

In Taymouran, there are also addictive drugs made from coca leaves, as well as more potent arcane potions. Some wealthy and powerful individuals, when they tire of these, will even seek out nature spirits like nightmares and succubi to hypnotize themselves, pursuing pleasures that do not exist in the mortal world within their dreams.

Selling such drugs is not illegal in most countries, but because they are difficult to cultivate, they have not become widespread and cannot replace tobacco. They are only popular among adventurers and young people in a small area. In times of war, they may even become supplies for the front lines. Apart from the Church of God, which opposes hedonism and morally condemns and prevents its believers from using them, almost no one cares about this.

“My world is different from Temuran. There’s no such thing as a priest or pastor curing drug addiction by reciting a few prayers. But the production capacity is the opposite. You can plant it in a flowerpot. Once you get addicted, your life is pretty much over.”

"Historically, my country was almost destroyed by opium, so I'm particularly strict about it. My dad was a bastard; he wasn't even allowed to be buried in the village cemetery after he died. He had to be buried somewhere in the middle of nowhere behind the village. Ha. Serves him right."

Looking at his carefree yet mocking smile, Amamiya Nene felt a sudden sadness rise within her, and said sullenly, "...Why are you even laughing at your dad?"

"What's wrong with laughing? It's good enough that they don't scold him, because I didn't have a single friend when I was a kid because of him." Quinn sighed, "The kids in the village all said I was a bad kid. And they weren't wrong, because I took so many beatings for him, got firecrackers thrown at me, and were shot with toy guns. Every time I got hit, it would hurt for a whole night. Luckily, my grandpa protected me."

"Later, Grandpa died too. Before he died, he didn't mention a single word about my parents. He just told me to be an upright person and to inherit the beautiful meaning of 'Weizheng' (meaning 'great integrity'). He was incredibly long-winded."

He smiled, looked up, and asked the little parrot perched on his shoulder, admiring the moon, "So this is the childhood and past you wanted, filled with tears? What's the next part again? Gaining the beautiful girl's sympathy, thus building a closer relationship, and striving to one day enter her heart."

Amamiya Nene said mercilessly:

"Not my type, I'll just reject you." "Tsk."

"Go ahead and be even more dissatisfied!" The little parrot rolled over and lay on top of him. "But you're not completely friendless, you know. Like I said last time, the great Amamiya Nene-sama bestows upon you friendship... *beep*, a friendship card."

Her voice was unusually earnest.

The little witch always has a strange confidence about her. When she says she'll give you friendship, her conviction is as strong as a Kamen Rider putting on his belt while shouting cool lines.

Quinn was momentarily dazed.

'We're friends.'

'aibo daze! '

My brother got first place in the national competition but only got into a second-tier university. I'm so embarrassed.

'We're all fucking buddies'

"Who are you calling a murderer?! If I'm a murderer, would I kill you? Fuck—come and say it to your dad if you dare! Oh, you actually came. Brothers, I'll take responsibility for my own actions. I'm outta here."

like
That tone sounds so familiar.

It seems like people always say this to him, with such confidence, that they say things that warm people's hearts.

"Hey, give me a reply!" Amamiya Nene stomped her foot in dissatisfaction.

Quinn snapped out of his daze, smiled, and said, "I'm a little touched. I'm seriously considering whether or not to pursue you."

"From childhood to adulthood, 52 men have claimed to be serious about pursuing me, but they all failed."

You mean I have a chance?

"53."

Quinn suddenly sat up abruptly, and the little parrot slipped between his legs before he could react. Seeing his suddenly serious expression, Amamiya Nene was bewildered: "Hey, are you serious?"

His voice sounded inexplicably flustered.

Quinn grabbed a tree branch and tossed Amamiya Nene back into his hood. He watched as the police convoy drove away from the beach in the distance, practically flooring the accelerator as they roared into the city in the dead of night.

However.
The city police department, which was originally intended to interrogate the suspect, was not in this direction.

Further along this road lies the cross-sea bridge that Quinn couldn't cross even after three attempts.

On the roof of the police car leading the team.

Short and stocky, with dark skin, Lan Na Niu stood on the roof of the vehicle. The flashing red and blue police lights were like stage lights. He waved his arms, twirled and danced, changing his steps with a mesmerizing passion. If you didn't see it with your own eyes, no one would believe that such a physique could dance so skillfully and seductively, like a top-notch stripper dancing on a pole.

And those police officers driving the cars were the most frenzied, thirsty, and envious audience members below the stripper's stage—

They weren't pressing the accelerator; they were pressing the ticket to the dark path of desire!
[Lust] Fate Sequence Seven, 'Maiko'!
"Ms. B? Or who is it? This effeminate man is incredibly cunning."

Quinn gripped the tree branch and leaped off the roof. He knew he couldn't catch up on the street, but fortunately, the map of the city was firmly imprinted in his mind.

The rocky mudflats, impassable by vehicles, are the shortest straight line from here to the cross-sea bridge. Can we make it in time?
"Seriously, hold on tight."

"I already said no!!"

"I mean, I'm going to start running marathons seriously—"

A man and a bird, rushing into the night.

(End of this chapter)