Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Chapter Sixty-Five: The World Rejects Me

Goodbye, doll.

The person who connected to the communication did not see Mei's face; the communication was merely a pre-recorded audio message.

Shen Liang hadn't seen Mei for three days. Theoretically, Mei should be in the command building trying to help the survivors, but at this moment, the background noise was very lonely and cold.

He paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Klein.

“The time has come,” Klein said in a low voice. “Seventy-two hours have passed. I can tell you now, because everything is beyond repair. The aircraft has already taken off.”

"Goodbye, doll. This audio may be a farewell, or it may be a final goodbye. The difference lies in whether we can come back." Mei's voice was as calm as usual, but Shen Liang realized something almost instantly, and a huge fear exploded in his heart.

"As you hear this audio, we have already landed on the moon. The distance between the Earth and the moon is 400,000 kilometers, and it will take the spacecraft 72 hours to reach the lunar surface. When you look up, we are exiting the spacecraft."

"Actually, the Moths that chase the flame are not without the ability to foresee the end. We can even estimate the time of its arrival down to the minute. But I'm sorry, we have to keep it from you. Because you can't know when the end will come. If you did, with your intelligence, you would have gone with us no matter what."

“But that won’t do. Victory or death is what adults do. Doll, you are a child, and children have their own script. You’ve always been an obedient and good child, and you’re very smart. You should know that if we can’t stop the end, everyone will die. Whether you come or not makes no difference.”

“You are the son of immortality. You are the only one among us who can live without hibernation. The Honkai doesn’t even consider you to represent human civilization. You are the only ‘exception’ we created. Among all the salvation plans to restore civilization, only Doll has the highest success rate, far exceeding that of the Sands of Time, the Ark, the Fire Seed, and even the Stigmata.”

“You will hate us, you will be afraid, you will resent us. But doll, you can cry in despair, but you cannot give up. No matter how cruel we are to you, you must keep going.”

Shen Liang took a deep breath, unwilling to listen any longer, but Klein stopped him, calmly saying, "Baby, listen carefully. This is their final mission for you. No matter what your emotions are, you should listen carefully and not betray the resolve of those who are going to their deaths."

"fart!"

The black-haired boy, whose public image was always either well-behaved or aloof, shouted, "Bullshit! Bullshit!"

Klein ignored his tirade, silently gazing into his eyes, and whispered, "They will die. The odds of winning against the End are practically zero mathematically. If we had another eight years to wait for the Moon Thrones to be mass-produced, there might have been a glimmer of hope, but not now. They are charging into death, and you must live even more. You can't act recklessly, you can't give up on yourself. Child, people have to grow up. Fourteen years have passed; it's time for you to grow up."

These few words seemed to drain Shen Liang of all his energy. He pressed his hands on the table, remaining silent.

Mei's recording is still playing.

"What you should do now is stop thinking about us and get the mission done. Take over my responsibility. From today onwards, you are the commander-in-chief of the Moth Chaser. Remember that you are responsible for many people and cannot act recklessly."

"Danzhu, Cangxuan, and Huali, who are responsible for the Fire Seed Project, remain on the ground. You are one of the few who can operate the Divine Key. You must protect them and bring all their sanctuaries down to the Earth's core."

"If we die, Su will initiate the Hengsha Project. His physical body will die, but his spirit will ascend to a higher dimension to monitor which of the countless worlds on the Imaginary Tree can learn the ability to fight against Honkai."

“Kevin is the strongest among us, and even the End will most likely not be able to kill him immediately. He will return to Earth alive, and he will initiate the Stigmata Project tens of millions of years later. It is a very cruel plan, but if Kevin insists on going his own way, no one can stop Kevin... Doll, according to his choice, you will become the lock that restricts him in the future.”

"Our artificial intelligence Prometheus will invade the Honkai and give it a 'will'. It was originally a natural disaster, but we should give it the will of the 'Honkai God'. With a will comes a weakness. After all, natural disasters are merciless, but the human heart is unpredictable. In the next era, you must unite all the survivors... You are the Child of Fire, you cannot forget, you promise me... you must promise me."

"Finally, don't worry... We left behind the Paradise of the Past, where someone is waiting for you. You won't be so lonely, you won't be in so much pain... Someone will be there to protect you... You are not... an unwanted child."

The woman's calm tone could no longer be contained, and the sobs in the recording gradually grew louder.

"I'm sorry... Doll."

"I'm so sorry... for making such demands on you, for letting you see us like this, and for letting you be born into such a sad world."

"This world is truly awful, but... while it's not good, it's not all that bad... It's gentle, at least... we've tried very hard to make it a little gentler in your heart..."

"Take our will, our mission, our lives, and entrust them to you."

Mei's voice was filled with unprecedented sorrow, and she choked up so much that she couldn't speak.

"You are the proudest mark we have left in this world. I love you, baby."

Shen Liang lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, and unconsciously snapped the edge of the pear wood table in half.

“Let’s say goodbye. If we don’t see the Herrscher after we arrive on the moon, this recording probably won’t be released. If we do see her… let’s release it directly. After all… we need to give Doll some time to retreat.” Mei said in a low voice, suppressing a sob.

"I'm sorry, I love you~" Alicia's voice jumped in first, still so cheerful, as if she were doing something very small. "You'll forgive me, right? You'll, you'll, right? Ah, if you don't forgive me, I won't become a ghost to find you."

"Waaaa, baby, I'm so sorry, but Paddo, I will always love you the most! I buried all my treasures underground. Tens of millions of years from now, you have to dig them up for me and share them with me!" Paddo.

"It's a little embarrassing to say this in front of so many people... I love you, Doll, remember me." - Sakura

"Tsk, I actually have no regrets. I've basically finished all the engineering projects I wanted to get involved in, so there's no hope for me to study life anymore. The only regret I have is about you, baby... I'm a little sorry, I wanted to be the first person to let you experience being a father, but I've tried adjusting my genes so many times and still haven't succeeded." - Wilvi

"Come on, I'm more disappointed than you. Let me speak first, go away. Doll, those sweet words aren't suitable for us to say between us. Snakes are immortal creatures, and your immortality was given to you by me. Maybe I won't die? Maybe I can even resurrect myself and show you when you come to the moon and dig up my corpse. Just kidding... Your eyes must have suddenly lit up over there, but that's impossible. Resurrection requires a lot of energy around, and the moon doesn't have enough energy for me to absorb... I really miss you. In the end, you've already built your harem with the Herrschers, and I still haven't devoured you. It's a pity, I've been held back by all sorts of trivial matters. You were already grown to the size you like... Hmm, if all else fails, you can replace Klein's doll shell with one of mine. Huh? I hit a nerve, didn't I? You've always treated Klein as my substitute, haven't you? After all, we look a lot alike, and you don't dare to jump into my bed on your own. But you can't do that anymore. Treat Klein well, don't overuse her just because she's a doll. She's your senior and fiancée."

As Shen Liang listened to the giant snake's endless taunts, he felt as if his head was about to split open. All sorts of strange thoughts and fragments of memories—warm, sweet, ambiguous, and alluring—filled his mind. Countless memories flickered endlessly, and the more beautiful and joyful they were, the more uncontrollable the pain became.

“If you were just a little braver, I would have no regrets, Eve.” Möbius’s tone softened as he continued, “I’ve always loved you, little one. Next time you see an older sister you like, be sure to make the first move. Only by getting her into your mouth can you avoid regrets. Don’t disappoint the person who’s been waiting for you.”

Following closely behind were many more, many of whom were fusion warriors who had been brought to the moon together. Although they might be relatively weak, they were already the backbone of the Fire Moth. Many of them also had an inseparable connection with Shen Liang. One by one, commemorative recordings played, with women of different ages and tones gently saying "I love you." Desdovia, Blanca, Himiko... all sorts of people were leaving their final memories.

Some laughed, some cried, but no one hesitated.

Shen Liang always knew he was just an egoist driven by selfish desires. He was never the savior of humanity portrayed in official propaganda; he was not a hero. The real heroes had already set off, charging towards a certain death, with even a girl as delicate as Maomao trembling with fear as she rushed to the front lines.

Heroes exist to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

Shen Liang is not a hero. He doesn't see the majority of people, only the few who surround him... His world is very small, but today, his small world has left him for the sake of the big world.

This is the difference between heroes and ordinary people.

Shen Liang, a mortal, once possessed everything, but mortals cannot understand heroes, so in the end, they will still lose everything. The gap between the two races is so vast that Shen Liang can only follow the script of fate arranged by the heroes... He has never truly understood his genetic archetypes, nor has he truly understood why the Fire Moth is given the name of "savior" by the world.

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight; a hero gladly accepts it.

Finally, don't forget us, don't forget that you are children who chase the fire.

"There's still so much I want to say, but I have to board the ship now. Goodbye, my heir, my boy, my beloved."

The audio beep signaled the end of the call, and the terminal, which had been floating, landed on the table next to Shen Liang's hand.

Shen Liang looked outside; the moon hung high in the sky.

He saw that the moon was red.

Red is the color of war.

Shen Liang stood up, leaning on the table, and stumbled as he tried to run outside. When he opened the door, he saw only a crowd of refugees huddled on the ground. Everyone looked up at the seemingly insane son of a man, wondering why he was crying so bitterly.

wrong.

wrong.

Something's wrong! It shouldn't be like this!

This shouldn't be something the glorious Son of Man should experience. He is the Son of Man, loved by countless people who can't live without him, and the Fire Chaser Base can't live without him! Even if they die, they should all die together, so why was he the only one abandoned?

important?

What's the use of something important?

What does "important" mean?

Should important people live on? No, what's wrong with dying? What's there to be afraid of in death? Even pain can be reduced with the blink of an eye.

Death isn't scary; what's truly terrifying is loneliness. The most terrifying thing is being abandoned, left alone to live a solitary life in this world. He is a laboratory-made child, never truly human. Even with so many people in the world yearning for him, he is merely an artificial being… On this continent, he only has the Moths of Flame, only they love him unconditionally… Without them…

The whole world is insignificant.

Shen Liang slammed his fist into the door frame, denting the white alloy frame! But his middle finger was broken, and the pain shot to his brain. He looked down and saw his hand covered in blood. The Black Abyss White Flower hidden in his body immediately began to heal his wound.

So this is what they call the son of man.

No wonder they didn't take him along; he's so weak, yet his dazzling brilliance is all supported by ordinary external forces. He's not Kevin, who could defeat the Herrscher on his own, nor is he the genius Doctor Mei, an ordinary person who could unite the Flame Chasers to carry out countless world-saving plans.

A hit on the doorframe would have been enough to break his hand bones; if it were Kevin Qianjie, he could have leveled the entire building. His strength comes from the Divine Key, his fame is entirely due to the promotion and persona-building efforts of the Firemoth, and his wisdom and strategy are childlike and utterly inept compared to May and Möbius. One could even say that his few moments of intelligence are the kind where someone else is there to back him up; he can barely add icing on the cake, but he can't turn the tide.

He's too naive. His shining moments are always when Mei and the others applaud and laugh, saying, "Good, good, good, my little one is so great!" "He truly deserves to be our little wolfhound!" But when is there a time when we really need him?

So he can't go to the moon. And what if he did? Would you be willing to die together? There has to be some value in dying together, right? Your combat power is inferior to any other Fusion Warrior. You rely entirely on the Divine Key, but the Divine Key is most effective in other people's hands!

So you're the only one who stayed, you survived. You don't deserve to fight alongside them. You haven't grown up yet, you're still a child, not a reliable man.

understand?

This is the price you pay for not growing; people always have to pay the price for their weakness.

P.S.: Dream cycle, dream cycle, dream cycle

Ugh, I'm so angry!

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Chapter Sixty-Six: The Young Wolf Awakens

The son of man never wins everything on his own; he has so many people behind him. Now that people have scattered, he has returned to being that lonely child.

Or perhaps he was a powerless child from the very beginning, and now he's been reduced to his original state.

Shen Liang sat blankly on the edge of the rooftop, not looking down. The refugees below seemed to be shouting things like relief, humanitarianism, and responsibility, but Shen Liang didn't care.

Relief? Where is the relief? What relief?

If Mei and her companions can defeat the Herrscher of the End, then everyone can simply go home. If they die, only those who entered the shelters will survive. These ordinary humans never had the right to choose their fate from the start. It's not that the Moths are unjust, but rather that everyone is equal in the face of the apocalypse.

So go die.

He didn't actually do anything for the Fire Moth; his importance lay solely in the so-called "unconditional gene fusion ability." He was the target of the Stigmata Project, and the only individual who could survive the Honkai.

But what's the point of just surviving like this?

The whole world was ablaze, and he was walking alive in this sea of ​​fire. What was he doing? What was he looking at?