I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Less than half an hour after the global live stream ended, all the screens went black again simultaneously.

That hoarse, metallic sound rang out again.

It only said one sentence.

"Xu is just the weakest one among us."

"You cheer for him, wasting time on a war you can't win."

"On the night of the next full moon, the Black Tide will destroy all your defenses at once."

"Surrender is your last chance."

"I won't give you a choice next time I do a live stream."

After the screen went black, the world remained quiet for a long time.

That silence was more suffocating than any explosion.

The newly ignited hope, like a newly sprouted flame, was doused with a bucket of ice water.

The sentiment on the forum has shifted again.

Some people say that Gu Yan won with great difficulty, and Xu Huanhuan was only the weakest. Just how terrifying is the strongest being in the Black Tide?

Some people say, "Just surrender, at least you'll still be alive."

Pessimism, like a gray fog, once again enveloped every refugee camp.

Just then, the United Nations World Centre issued its second announcement.

Fu Shiwei, Fu Wanqing, and the other seventeen candidates for the God-Making Project completed their Source Crystal Fusion ahead of schedule and officially emerged from seclusion.

Cecilia, on the other hand, was delayed in leaving seclusion because her spiritual power was not yet stable.

This message was like a match struck, creating a small glimmer of light in the gray fog.

People have something to talk about again.

Some say that with twenty compatible individuals plus Gu Yan, humanity might not be without a fighting chance.

Some say that no matter how many adaptors there are, they can't fill the mouth of the Black Tide.

Gu Yan personally went to the airport to pick up Fu Shiwei and Fu Wanqing.

He stood in the arrivals area, the wind blowing the hem of his military uniform.

This time he wasn't wearing a mask.

He no longer needs to hide.

The whole world knows he is still alive.

The transport plane landed and the cabin door opened.

Twenty people walked out one by one.

He recognized the two people walking at the very back from a distance.

Fu Shiwei was still wearing that dark blue knight's uniform, his back straight as a knife.

Fu Wanqing was dressed in the deep red formal suit of the Fu family patriarch, her long pink hair fluttering gently in the wind.

Fu Shiwei saw him first.

She paused, her amber pupils suddenly narrowing.

Then she started walking towards him again.

Her pace quickened, faster and faster, until she was almost running.

She rushed up to him, stopped, and looked up at him.

Her lips trembled slightly, but her voice remained as steady as her hand holding the knife.

"Gu Yan".

She only called him by his name.

Before Gu Yan could speak, Fu Wanqing pounced on her from behind.

She clung to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Her body was trembling violently, and her tears soaked his collar.

She cried for a while, then suddenly looked up and kissed him hard on the left cheek.

Then she turned to Fu Shiwei beside her and said.

"now you."

"Don't just stand there."

Fu Shiwei's ears turned slightly red.

She glanced at Gu Yan, then tiptoed and gave him a very light kiss on his right cheek.

After the kiss, she immediately stepped back, turned her head away, and pretended to look at the control tower at the end of the runway.

Gu Yan supported Fu Wanqing, who was clinging to her, with one hand, and touched Fu Shiwei's hand very lightly with the other.

He said.

Welcome back.

On the way back to the camp, Fu Wanqing held onto Gu Yan's arm the whole time.

As she walked, she talked, saying that she dreamed of him when she was fusing with the source crystal. She dreamed that he was standing in a vast expanse of white light, and no matter how much she called out to him, he wouldn't turn around.

She said she woke up suddenly and found her pillow covered in tears.

Fu Shiwei walked on the other side, listening quietly, occasionally glancing at Gu Yan.

Her gaze was light, like a feather, falling on him and then moving away.

Back in the room, Gu Yan poured them some water and then sat down.

He remained silent for a while, then said everything that needed to be said.

Fu Yunshu's death.

The seventh line of defense has fallen.

The collapse of the global front.

The rise of the surrender faction.

He spoke slowly and calmly, addressing each point one by one.

But with each word spoken, the air in the room grew heavier.

When Fu Wanqing heard the news of Fu Yunshu's death, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

She lowered her head, her long pink hair obscuring her face.

After a long time, she finally spoke in the softest, most delicate voice.

"What did Grandma say in the end?"

She said to tell Wanqing that her grandmother had not retired.

Fu Wanqing's shoulders trembled slightly.

She didn't cry out loud, but buried her face in her hands.

Fu Shiwei sat down next to her, reached out and pressed her hand very lightly on her back.

She didn't say anything, but Gu Yan noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly.

Fu Yunshu meant more to them than anyone else.

That's not a matter of blood relations.

That was more than 20 years of nurturing and protection.

It took Fu Wanqing a long time before she raised her head again.

Her eyes were red, but she forced a smile.

"Grandma didn't retire."

"Then we can't back down either."

Fu Shiwei nodded.

Her voice remained calm, but with a very faint hoarseness.

"We will defend the wall that she failed to defend."

Gu Yan looked at them, and felt as if something had gently bumped into her heart.

They had just come out of the pass and were already carrying such heavy things.

He took them out for a walk, wanting them to get some fresh air.

Behind the camp was a patch of grassland untouched by artillery fire. The grass was withered, but the setting sun still shone on it with a golden glow.

The three people walked side by side, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.

Fu Wanqing walked for a while, then suddenly stopped and turned to face Gu Yan.

Her face was still streaked with tears, but her eyes were already shining.

she says.

"Gu Yan, do you know?"

"During the months I was fusing with the source crystal, I thought about one question every day."

"If I find you're still alive after I get out, what's the first thing I'll say to you?"

"I've thought about it a lot."

I want to yell at you, I want to ask you why you didn't come back sooner, I want to tell you I miss you.

"As a result, at the airport just now, I didn't say anything, I just cried."

"How embarrassing."

Gu Yan reached out and wiped away the fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's not shameful."

You look beautiful even when you cry.

Fu Wanqing burst into laughter through her tears and playfully punched him.

"Glib-tongued."

"Who did you learn from these past three years?"

Gu Yan did not answer, but looked at Fu Shiwei.

Fu Shiwei stood a few steps away, the setting sun casting a pale gold hue on her profile.

She noticed his gaze and turned her head.

Her eyes were calm, as calm as a lake reflecting the red glow of the sunset.

she says.

"Gu Yan, I've been to many places in the past three years."

"Nordic Europe, England, Berlin."

"Everywhere I go, I place a white flower in front of the local martyrs' monument."

Others thought I was commemorating the soldiers who died in battle.

Actually, I'm commemorating you.

"I always feel that as long as I remember you, you're not really dead."