Why can't humans do it too?

"So didn't I already say that?" Xin Ke interrupted Su Er's monologue, raising her voice to say, "Since we're looking for a partner, we naturally need to find someone we don't dislike~"

"...Don't you still have your compatriots? The other forest elves and fairies are also your allies, right?" Suer retorted in a low voice.

"Those soulless puppets?" With a familiar, disdainful smile, Xin Ke openly displayed her contempt for her compatriots and allies. "They simply cannot understand—but they don't need their understanding, and I don't need anyone's understanding..."

He jokingly recounted how his compatriots danced under the orders of their foolish god, and their short-sighted and narrow world. In Suer's eyes, Xinke was standing high above, looking down on those insignificant ants like a god.

Suddenly, he remembered the time when the two of them rescued the forest elf prisoners in the goblin city, and how the forest elves trusted Xin Ke and were full of gratitude towards her... and Xin Ke's kind demeanor at that time.

The nobility in the eyes of compatriots is nothing but indifference, and the etiquette in various places is merely scrutiny. Whether pioneers or successors, they are all just equally worthless beings—they always wear the same unchanging friendly smile to everyone.

He doesn't fit in with anyone.

However, she did indeed lead the forest elves to a safer and stronger life, bringing them glory and protecting the weaker forest elves—Sull suddenly realized that he could see Xin Ke even less clearly.

The more you know, the more confused you become, like a fog that you can only see but can't touch.

“This world means nothing to you, doesn’t it, Mr. Monkey?” Unaware of what Su Er was thinking at that moment, but keenly perceiving Su Er’s deepest thoughts, Xin Ke bluntly said, “Compared to the radiant world you described, do you really prefer this dilapidated and gloomy world?”

"..."

He couldn't deny her words; rather, they completely struck a chord with him. To Suer, this world couldn't be worse—it was the worst of the worst.

Satisfied with the changeable expression on Suer's face, Xin Ke smiled and continued, "If Mr. Monkey can't bear to part with those humans who resemble you, then you can leave them here to keep you company... As for the help you need... um..."

“All you need to do is provide me with your unique and ingenious ideas…isn’t that what a partner should do?” Xin Ke said lightly, snapping her fingers with a cool flourish. Her gaze remained fixed on Su Er’s eyes, as if urging him to answer.

...While saying they're looking for a partner, do they actually rely on their own strength?

Suer smiled bitterly to himself.

Containing his emotions, he silently lay back down on the ground, curled up close to the campfire, his head well covered by the robe that had been lifted up again, leaving only Suer's muffled reply coming from within.

"...Let's focus on surviving first."

There was neither agreement nor refusal, or rather, this itself was a form of refusal; Suer was avoiding the issue.

The campfire was still crackling, and after a long while, a faint reply came from outside the cloak.

"...The ruins of that city may have been completely destroyed by the aftermath of the great war."

A simple sentence made Su Er's heart, which was still asleep, suddenly tighten. What Xin Ke said was exactly the possibility that he was trying his best to avoid thinking about.

That would mean that all their struggles would become a joke, a grain of sand in the flood of tragedies in this great war.

"No way," Suer retorted almost immediately, deceiving him with absolute certainty, "It definitely won't happen."

"Get some rest, we'll set off after you wake up," Su Er said, forcing himself to clear his mind.

We must not hesitate, we must not panic, and we must not leave any gaps of weakness.

He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep quickly, but the image of Xin Ke's charred skin kept flashing through Su Er's mind, and the words of concern stuck in his throat—just go to sleep.

Chapter 122 Choices of the Past

"Mr. Monkey...do you hate me?"

An annoying voice came from behind. Suer never knew this woman could talk so much. Had she really gone crazy after collapsing from the cold and pain?

How could someone ask such a weak question...

Although he was cursing in his heart, in reality, Su Er kept his lips tightly closed, with only wisps of white breath flowing with his heavy breathing.

The once boundless dark clouds overhead had disappeared, along with the constantly falling black ash. With these obstructions gone, even the temperature in the air seemed to have risen considerably, though Suer wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

Because of a huge, insurmountable circular pit blocking his way, he had to expend more energy to go around it... Haha, as if he had a lot of energy.

Nothing joyful had happened, yet he inexplicably felt a urge to laugh as he mechanically moved forward. From that moment on, Suer made his own judgment.

I guess I really did go crazy too.

"Those stupid Skywing races, are they just going to fire away like they're taking a dump?!" Finally, he couldn't hold back his anger and cursed. Even though it would take some effort to talk, Suer just couldn't take it anymore.

If given the chance—he meant if given the chance, he would absolutely give those stupid Skywing races a good punch! And stab them a few more times!

Suer could even see the city that Xinke had described, right across from these huge, bottomless circular pits, only a few kilometers away in a straight line. However, because of the traces left by these Skywings, he had to take a very long detour.

【Sky Strike】

Simply put, the Skywing species uses enormous energy to bombard the ground, leaving a bottomless crater in the earth.

What Suer said was just an angry outburst. The scene of this land being wantonly ravaged was the place where the Skywing race killed a Fantasy race after losing twelve members. Let alone crossing over, just seeing the uneven terrain with huge drops made him feel desperate.

If those twelve Skywing creatures were still in front of him now, he wouldn't even have time to run away, let alone give them two punches.

"Hahahaha, yes, yes, that's it! Mr. Monkey already understands, right? The Skywings are such ugly monsters~", Unlike the resentful Suer, Xinke laughed so hard on his back that she bent over backwards, causing Suer's already unsteady body to sway.

"Hey! Don't move!" Su Er hurriedly steadied his swaying body and shouted. He was truly helpless. His body was already close to being disabled, but this painful reality did not seem to bring the woman the slightest worry. On the contrary, she became even more unrestrained.

Then, as expected, she fell down... At this moment, Su'er's weak body was already struggling to carry her forward, so how could she possibly withstand such deliberate shaking?

Fortunately, the black ash that had accumulated on this spot had long been blown into the pits by the wind, so the two of them did not feel any deep pain. Before they could even berate the crazy woman, Suer hurriedly tried to get up again, but when she tried, a hand pressed down on her chest and pushed her back down.

Not understanding the meaning behind Xin Ke's sudden action, Su Er turned her head in astonishment to look at her. Had something unusual happened?

Without explanation, Xin Ke simply lay down calmly on the ground, her eyes fixed on the red sky above. The manic laughter from before had vanished. This woman seemed to have two different faces, switching with her mood.

“You know it yourself, don’t you, Mr. Monkey?” Xin Ke’s voice suddenly became extremely calm. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be going through all of this. You might have been able to survive there for a long time by relying on the food you collected.”

—Why are you suddenly bringing this up?

Without attempting to get up under Xin Ke's exertion, Su Er quickly thought through the situation and soon came to a conclusion.

"There's no point in talking about this, is there? Can anyone go back in time and change the future?" With no interest in going along with the crazy rant of a forest elf, Suer pushed away the hand that was pressing on his chest and sat up.

“If I hadn’t met you, I might have encountered other races or wild beasts in that desert and died long ago. Thinking about it that way, aren’t I still alive and well now?” Turning around, she knelt down and stretched out her hand to Xinke. Suer wanted to help her up again. “Assuming that such a thing will not happen is completely meaningless. Get up quickly. We should walk a little further while the weather is still nice.”

Looking at the hand reaching up to her and listening to the heavy breathing of its owner, Xin Ke didn't grab it; she simply turned her head to the other side.

“Mr. Monkey, you’ll have to walk the rest of the way alone,” Xin Ke said calmly and quickly, looking at the city on the other side. “All the defenses there have been breached, and the leftover food from all those years should be enough for you to survive for a long time…”

"Huh? What illness has struck this time?" The initial surprise on Su'er's face had turned into impatience. She tried to forcibly pull Xin Ke up from the ground. "You've said that once enough. Didn't I already say it—"

“Unlike when I was cold before, I’m very clear-headed now,” Xin Ke interrupted Su Er’s words by forcefully raising her voice. She almost rudely slapped away Su Er’s outstretched hand, her six-pronged pupils glaring fiercely at him. “I know exactly what I’m saying. This isn’t some self-destructive behavior after being defeated by reality and having an emotional breakdown. In fact, Mr. Monkey, you know that yourself, don’t you?”

Looking up at Suer from the ground, Xinke pointed her index finger in the air as if she were constantly poking Suer's chest.

"You can't find enough food or rest, and you don't have the strength to carry another person to that city... You know that yourself, right?"

"..."

silence.

“If we continue down this path with this stubbornness, the only outcome will be that we all die at the city gates—while, conversely, at least one person can survive.”

Xin Ke continued to calmly recount her story.

"Isn't it better for one person to live than for both of them to die, resulting in total annihilation?"

"Oh dear~ I thought Mr. Monkey was already familiar with this kind of thing?"

Chapter 123 Release Me (Two-in-One)

Xin Ke's words were like an invisible chain that pierced through Su Er's mind, and above that chain, he even saw one familiar name after another.

"Is Mr. Monkey feeling sad now? Or is he unable to make up his mind?" As she spoke, Xin Ke turned her gaze to her leg, which was being eroded by black ash, and tried to lift it up several times but could not succeed.

“There’s no need for such unnecessary emotions. This is just a choice I had to make. In fact, if we were to switch places now, and you, Mr. Monkey, were unable to move, I would have already left you behind,” Xin Ke said calmly, meeting Su Er’s gaze.

"So there's no need to feel embarrassed or guilty... Although I've already said it, Mr. Monkey's emotions are indeed quite rich, aren't they? To have such thoughts about a perpetrator like me... Ah~, could it be that you've fallen for this body?"

With a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, Xin Ke even cracked a joke, but Su Er couldn't laugh at all. He just knelt futilely beside Xin Ke, panting heavily.

Suer had known all along, even when he woke up by the campfire and put Xinke back on his back, he knew the weight of the two of them and how long he could support them... but he never intended to say it out loud.

However, if even he could think of it, how could Xin Ke, who was more than a hundred times smarter than him, not be able to estimate it?

"Ah~, it's definitely better to say your thoughts out loud~", Xin Ke said, lying on the ground, even stretching comfortably. "For the first time, I can understand why those boring guys always like to huddle together~"

"Hmm? Still hesitating?" Xin Ke yawned gracefully and saw that Su Er was still kneeling beside her, his face full of blankness and pain. His serious expression suddenly turned into a smile, which looked somewhat charming.

"Just leave me here, and then try to live on," Xin Ke said with a calm smile, her outstretched hand enveloping Su Er's clenched fist. "It's not admitting defeat, it's just entrusting my will to you... Well, even just remembering is enough. At least someone knows that there was once a thought in this world that was not to play the boring games between the gods, but simply to end this great war..."

This was not an impulsive act born from her near-breakdown not long ago; Xin Ke was incredibly calm at this moment, and this was a choice she made with a clear mind.

"Pass it on to the other forest elves~, record it in the monkeys' books and pass it down? Whatever the case~", Xin Ke seemed to be imagining a fun scenario as she lightly drew circles in the air with her fingers. "That kind of development sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it? The feeling of living in the monkeys' storybooks~"

"...Isn't this a defeat?" interrupted her, Sul said in a hoarse voice, "You lost, you lost to the goblins, you lost to the winged race, you lost to this world... Xinke Nierbalen, you stupid fool who only knows how to talk nicely!!"

In just a moment, Suer saw Xinke's fist clench reflexively, then gradually loosen.

“If Ronnie were here, he certainly wouldn’t say something so disgraceful, would he? He would just say—you’re still alive, aren’t you?!” In a manner so rude it was almost like a fight, Suer firmly grabbed Xinke’s wrist and roughly pulled her up from the ground.

"You're not even as good as a goblin!"

Almost as if by inertia, he threw Xin Ke onto his back. Su Er could clearly feel that the woman's limbs seemed to have lost their strength. She did not resist or struggle—she was also conflicted.

Suer keenly noticed this.

Who would want to die?

"You're just dragging two people down with you to their deaths; you'll leave nothing behind..."

She still uttered negative words, but when Su Er stood up with her on his back and swayed due to his imbalance, Xin Ke's two weak arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.