Ark, they don't revolve around you

It was a black figure, with eyes deeper than the night, and a gentle smile, so soft, as if celebrating her new life today.

Zhuang Ning hugged her and kissed the girl's cheek, ignoring the fact that the blade had already fallen, cutting through the protective fibers inside, shattering the bones and severing the blood vessels.

Blood spurted out.

He twitched once, that was all, without even turning his head to look at the black enemy, he used his hands to comfort Chen Huijie, pinching her face.

He threw himself on Chen Huijie with a horrible look on his face, leaving a huge wound on his entire back. Before, Zhuang Ning had thrown himself on Shi Huaiya and blocked a fatal blow for her, but the injuries he suffered then were very different from those he suffered now. The Doctor was not those Terran Supermen, and he did not have an iron body. He was as fragile as paper, and now this piece of paper was crushed to pieces by someone.

So he became weak, breathing heavily with his eyes wide open, like a seriously injured beast wailing, but Zhuang Ning was still smiling gently.

——He wants to go home.

——He would never allow anyone to disrupt his plan.

The slowed-down moment resumed its flow, Chen Huijie fell into a daze, and was then engulfed by panic. The power was finally restored, but the man fell in front of her, roars and screams rang out, and the situation that had just stabilized became chaotic again in an instant.

She seemed not to see.

She just picked up Zhuang Ning, carefully, tears streaming down her face, just trying to stop the bleeding.

"Don't die." She didn't even care that the assassin was right in front of her, nor did she care that Wei Yanwu and the Rat King attacked at the same time to repel the inner guards. She was overwhelmed by the inexplicable sadness. She covered her wound, not wanting the blood to flow out of the wound, but the red blood still flowed, staining her clothes red, making Chen Huijie look like a flower blooming in blood.

At this moment, Chen Huijie saw the man's eyes closed, and she heard a voice in disbelief.

"I will not die."

"I haven't gone home yet—"

Chapter 40 Give Me Some Time

Zhuang Ning's consciousness flickered suddenly, and he felt really cold, as if the coldness had penetrated into his bones. He looked up and saw that he was in the structural layer under Longmen. The concrete world was covered with white frost, and at the end, the dying girl smiled brightly.

The god of death has raised his scythe against this strong warrior and this fragile girl, but the girl is not afraid.

Zhuang Ning was stunned. Seeing the familiar figure, he realized that this was just a dream.

After receiving the sleepless reward from the system, Zhuang Ning has not been able to fall asleep. Unexpectedly, he fell asleep due to serious injuries after being ambushed by the inner guards.

"If." The girl... Frost Star spoke, spitting out bursts of cold frost. She did not feel sad, but was just fulfilling her duty. "If you defeat me, I will join Rhodes Island."

Thinking that the dead water surface was stirred, Zhuang Ning covered his chest, remembering that this was the memory of the Integration Movement invading Longmen four years ago. At that time, Frost Star led the snow monster into Longmen. She was seriously injured, but so beautiful, really like a star shining in the frosty sky.

boom!

The dream changed.

The space suddenly twisted and jumped to the end of the battle. Zhuang Ning hugged the poor girl and fed her blood. Frost Star's face gradually regained its rosy color. At that moment, he felt so good because the tragedy changed and Frost Star did not die in the end.

Then the scene changed again. He was in Rhodes Island, holding a letter in his hand. Froststar left it for her. The words were full of apologies, and the room reserved for her was empty.

Froststar left and returned to the tundra. Zhuang Ning thought that there was no need for her to leave Rhodes Island quietly. He was not a bad man. The girl's mind was still on the tundra and the snow monster. Would he keep her locked up?

In the end, Froststar didn't say that she would join Rhodes Island, and her illness hasn't recovered yet.

Zhuang Ning was shivering all over, with cold hands and feet, so he wrapped himself tightly in his black coat and lay down, as if he were lying in a grave.

He closed his eyes.

He sank into his second dream.

Flame, Zhuang Ning saw the blazing flames, the rising flames melted the steel, outlining the black figure of the girl.

It was Tallulah, wielding a great sword, and the command tower beneath her feet was shaking. Chen Huijie and Amiya were fighting with her, and the two Chixiaos cut through the flames. Zhuang Ning was watching the battle from the side, and he felt that the water in his throat was evaporating.

Was this the dream he had this time? It was such a hateful cage that always made him see his former self, humble as a creeping dog, always thinking he could change something.

Tallulah was still advancing, and red flames exploded, far hotter than any known Originium technique. That was Draco's fire. In his dream, Zhuang Ning rushed into death, gray smoke poured into his throat, and he staggered, but did not stop.

I won’t die, I won’t die, he kept telling himself as he tackled Tallulah and created an opportunity for Amiya.

But at that moment, he realized that the tyrant of the Integration Movement was so fragile. This girl had the will of an emperor, but her eyes deep inside were filled with sadness and pain.

He felt distressed, and he hugged Tallulah tightly as if he was hugging his own child.

"Black Snake, get off her, you've already lost!"

The dream was shattered again.

Zhuang Ning was already very annoyed. Wake up and don’t let me look at my past self. I was very stupid at that time and didn’t know why I was fighting.

But the dream was still distorted, flowing like a revolving lantern. This time it was Chen Huijie. The girl was standing in front of the quarantine gate of Longmen. She took off the uniform of the Guard Bureau and raised the corners of her mouth in the sunlight.

"I'm going to leave Longmen for a while, Doctor, and you may still be in need of a guard." She extended her right hand towards Zhuang Ning.

Zhuang Ning wanted to wave away that hand. He wanted to say that you would go back anyway, and you and I would gradually become distant.

But this dream did not allow him to change his will. Zhuang Ning held the girl. At that moment he was stunned and felt extremely tired.

Because...anger.

As fate would have it, this dream came to an end. What a dreary evening, the cicadas were chirping in the cold winter, it was late at the long pavilion, the rain had just fallen, and the setting sun was chilly.

He saw Chen Huijie gradually disappearing and returning to Longmen, where many people were welcoming her. Wei Yanwu put his hand on Chen Huijie's head, and his serious expression slowly turned into a smile. Shi Huaiya and Lin Yuxia both looked at him coldly, but when they saw her coming back, they gently hit her chest with their fists.

Chen Huijie never looked back. Why should she look back? Longmen was so lively. It was her home, her destination. She would return there sooner or later.

The darkness gradually rose above his head. Zhuang Ning said nothing. He wondered what his next dream would be.

Then he felt the heavy rain, the rain seeping into his skin. Zhuang Ning stood in the rain, holding an umbrella in his hand. The umbrella was so heavy because there was a source stone knife hidden inside. Who knew who did this boring prank.

Zhuang Ning looked around. The quaint buildings revealed a simple beauty. Syracuse, Volsini, it was indeed this desolate city. He glanced sideways and saw the lights in the cafe and saw Penguin Logistics celebrating for nothing.

Are they celebrating the success of Sora's opera?

Zhuang Ning only looked for a few seconds, then opened his umbrella and walked, strolling in the rain, through this damn dream.

He passed through darkness after darkness, leaving all the light behind. All the beautiful dreams he thought were false in the end, and only his home...

Zhuang Ning held his breath.

In front of me was an ordinary door with an old word "Fu" pasted on it.

He realized that this was his home—this was the end of the dream.

Zhuang Ning rubbed his pocket and found the key. He opened the door nervously. The house was not very clean, but the hygiene was superficial. His roommate had not returned yet, so he was alone.

Zhuang Ning suffocated. After a while, he walked slowly to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing casual clothes without a black coat. No one here would call him a doctor. His roommates usually called him dad, especially when they were short of money or when he was generous and treated them.

Zhuang Ning felt an inexplicable warmth in the corners of his eyes.

What a loser, what a waste. It's just a dream. Will you cry if the dream mercifully throws you back to your old home?

Well, I am just a waste. I don’t want to be a doctor who is above everyone else and command some crappy war.

I just cried, don't you agree?!

He took out his cell phone, opened it with trembling hands, entered the password, and then opened the group chat. He stared at it stupidly for a while and saw that his group members were indeed chatting nonsense. He smiled.

so good.

No one will rush you.

No one is going to let you die.

You are in a small corner of the city, and there is always someone who cares about you.

He took a deep breath, turned on the phone, and entered the numbers one by one.

Then, press the screen.

Hearing the long-lost voice, the person on the other end of the phone was a little surprised: "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

A familiar voice, it was his mother's voice. The end of the nightmare was truly a beautiful dream.

But dreams are just dreams after all...

Zhuang Ning put down his phone and said, "Wait for me for a while, give me some time, I will go back."

"I'll be back soon, Mom."

Chapter 41: Barrier

Zhuang Ning slowly opened his eyes.

When he woke up, he felt a burning sensation on his back. The setting sun outside the window fell on the woman's face, like a dream.

"Kyle...Xi." Zhuang Ning found that his voice was so hoarse, "How long have I slept?"

"One year."

"..."

"It was just a joke." Her tone was not like a joke at all. "It's only been half a month. Nothing happened during that time. Everything is fine."

"Half a month." Zhuang Ning struggled to get up, "Where's Chen Huijie? Is she okay?"

"It's okay." Kal'tsit frowned slightly, perhaps because she felt that this man didn't ask herself when he woke up, but asked other women instead.

Zhuang Ning finally felt relieved. He would not allow Chen Huijie to make any mistakes.

"Second question." He stroked his back, "Did you perform the surgery on me?"

"You were seriously injured at the time. No one else could take over except me. If you feel uncomfortable, I'm afraid you can only blame me for my lack of skills."

"At least I don't need to lie in the sarcophagus." Zhuang Ning said softly, feeling his physical condition. The knife almost broke his bones but did not hurt his spinal cord. This was certainly not a coincidence.

"Who did it?"

"Lord Wei is still investigating." Kal'tsit remained calm.

"Don't lie to me." Zhuang Ning emphasized, "I want the murderer's name."

"According to the investigation, it was the Business Federation and the slum bosses who opposed Chen Huijie's coming to power. They had this motive."

"They are just a bunch of mediocre people, a bunch of useless people with evil intentions. They have neither the determination to kill nor the ability to use the emperor's sharp blade." Zhuang Ning's eyes flickered: "I want the main messenger."

"The people I just mentioned are the main messengers. They are imprisoned. Wei Yanwu and Chen Huijie will not let them go easily."

"No." Zhuang Ning's face was grim. "The only person who has a close connection with them is Koschei. The immortal black snake is back again—"

He got the answer the moment he was chopped. As for the immortal black snake, Zhuang Ning could not think of anyone else except this old creature who had been planning for decades.