You say the cataclysm only comes after you've cleared the entire dungeon?

Luo Zeyan's gaze did not waver, remaining fixed on her face as if trying to see through all her pretenses.

He was straightforward and honest: "All of it."

The moment those two words were uttered, he clearly saw the halo in those peach blossom eyes tremble slightly.

It instantly returned to stability, as if it were just his imagination.

"So—" Lou Fengyue tried to appear calm, but her hands, hidden in her pockets, unconsciously clenched. "What do you want to ask?"

"no."

Luo Zeyan met Feng Yue's slightly surprised gaze from upstairs, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

"If you don't tell me, I won't ask."

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before her, and hearing his deep voice speaking such considerate words, Lou Fengyue merely pursed her lips and gently looked away.

"I'm going back." She turned and walked towards the escalator.

"Lou Fengyue." Luo Zeyan grasped her wrist, his large hand completely enveloping her slender wrist. "Are you avoiding me?"

Luo Zeyan has always been a straightforward person; he has always said whatever comes to mind since he was a child.

During his adolescence, he practiced sports, and every day he did nothing but train and sleep. Sports competitions are straightforward and decisive, so he never learned to be subtle or roundabout.

After graduating from university, he joined the army. In that place where all he had to do was obey orders, his straightforward personality of reporting things directly when something happened continued.

He had been keeping this question in his mind for several days, and now he finally found the opportunity to ask it directly.

Lou Fengyue paused, turned to look at him, but did not reply.

"Let me tell you a story." Luo Zeyan took a deep breath, as if he wanted to pour out all the secrets he had kept hidden for so many years.

"When I was in my first year of high school, there was a girl in my class who looked like a soft, fluffy white dumpling. She always smiled carefree at everyone she met. Her drawer was always stuffed with all kinds of snacks. Every time I passed by her seat, she would take out some snacks and hand them to me, asking me with a smile if I wanted some."

"Her smile was so sweet, like a cream cake. Her eyes were always sparkling, like they were filled with stars. I thought to myself, 'Such a lovely girl, I wish I could hug her.'"

Luo Zeyan smiled slightly when he saw Feng Yue's stunned gaze from upstairs.

"This girl is not only very generous, but also has a very good temper. Her classmates give her nicknames, but she doesn't get angry. But I don't like those nicknames, and I don't like people labeling her based on her appearance, so I always argue with them."

"She was very popular. Every day after school, someone would pick her up. It was a tall and handsome boy who seemed to be a good student. The boy was the same age as her, and I thought he was her boyfriend."

"If I had mustered the courage to ask her directly who that boy was, perhaps on the day we were divided into classes in our second year of high school, I would have told her—"

Luo Zeyan released her wrist, stood up straight, and stared intently into those peach blossom eyes, as if trying to probe into the depths of her heart.

He enunciated the second half of the sentence slowly and deliberately: "Lou Fengyue, will you be my girlfriend?"

Lou Fengyue was stunned; her mind felt like it had been filled with cement, and all the parts of her brain had stopped working.

Which component malfunctioned first?

It's probably the ear.

It must be because I haven't rested well these past few days, and I'm having auditory hallucinations.

As her breathing stopped and her chest began to feel oxygen-deprived, Lou Fengyue suddenly took a step back and gasped for breath.

"Don't joke about this kind of thing." Her voice was colder than usual, deliberately creating distance.

"I'm not joking." Luo Zeyan looked down at her, put his hands in his pockets, and said, "I asked my teacher about it when I was in my senior year of high school. I found out that you were going to apply to Linjiang University, so I came to Linjiang City."

"But I never imagined Linjiang was so big. In ten years, I haven't run into you even once."

Lou Fengyue pursed her lips and slowly lowered her eyes: "What are you trying to say by saying all this?"

Her baseball cap obscured her eyes and eyebrows, so Luo Zeyan couldn't see her expression, but he could still sense that she didn't really want to talk about the past.

"It's nothing," he said. "It's a bit inappropriate to talk about these things in the end times, but I'm afraid that if I don't say what I've kept hidden for ten years, I'll never have the chance to say it again."

Lou Fengyue remained silent for a long time.

After a long time, Qin Qian lifted the curtain and came out, leaving from another direction.

Eventually, all the lights in the courtyard were turned off, leaving only the faint glow of the emergency lights.

She looked up at his blurry silhouette in the darkness.

Then, he took out the Soul Furnace and handed it over.

"Here, take this."

Luo Zeyan glanced down at the small, exquisite sandalwood incense burner she was holding in her palm, but did not take it.

"What is this?"

"A fire-type exclusive item, the Soul Furnace. It automatically generates one ash at midnight every day. Rub the ash in your palm, and your ability strength will be greatly enhanced for 12 hours." Lou Fengyue paused, then added, "I don't need it."

Luo Zeyan picked up the small sandalwood incense burner, examined it for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze back to her face: "Is this your... response?"

Lou Fengyue looked away, her voice soft: "You are currently the strongest person in the superpowered team. There might be missions later that require your help."

Luo nodded in understanding and put the Soul Furnace into the pocket of his down jacket.

Seeing that he didn't ask any more questions, Lou Fengyue glanced at him and quickly turned her face away.

"Luo Zeyan."

"Um?"

"I used to...like you."

Luo Zeyan's pupils trembled, his lips parted slightly, and his heart was pounding like crazy.

Lou Fengyue took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, and looked up to meet his eyes, continuing, "Back in high school, you brought me a bowl of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, and a box of painkillers. Now, we're even."

Not only should all grudges be settled, but even the budding feelings of adolescence should come to a complete end with the arrival of the apocalypse.

When we meet again in the future, we will only have the feelings of "old classmates" or the cooperation of "comrades-in-arms".

Luo Zeyan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, finally just calmly tugged at the corner of his lips: "I understand."

Lou Fengyue said nothing more and turned to leave.

The hand clenched tighter and tighter in the pocket, the nails digging into the flesh.

The slight pain reminded her that none of this was an illusion.

When the apocalypse came, Luo Zeyan confessed his feelings to her... or rather, he confessed his feelings to her when she was sixteen.

If we had met again sooner, perhaps we would have had the chance to get to know each other again and rewrite the ending.

But, no if.

She experienced the terrifying trial in another world that, in the name of a "game," caused the deaths of ninety-two of her compatriots.

Besides the Chosen Ones, there are many NPCs inside.

They are like real people; they get sick and cry out in pain.

At first, she tried teaming up with a few superhumans, but when the zombie horde arrived, they pushed her out and ran away.

She later miraculously survived, then found those people and killed them one by one.

She has witnessed the ugliness of human nature and experienced betrayal.

I no longer have the courage to trust others, nor the courage to entrust my back to anyone other than my family.

Even if this person is the white moonlight that you have secretly loved for more than ten years.