I am the former civilized hero.

Ryan glanced at her, turned around and left silently. The admiration, expectation and grief made him feel a little breathless. To be honest, Ryan hated this kind of scene the most.

Not everyone can be a hero, and not everyone wants to be a hero. The closer you get to the end, the greater the pressure that comes with anticipation, and you have to wear a thicker mask on your face.

He has done well enough, but it is far from perfect. Even though he is rational, human instinct still makes him doubt himself:

If I hadn't gone to the Quantum Sea, would those people be alive? But if I hadn't found this way, everyone would have died sooner or later.

"Ying, I want to go back to the Golden Courtyard."

The girl, who was half a step behind, was stunned for a moment. Logically, Dr. Mei stayed in Haiyuan City, and these government affairs needed to be handled by Ryan.

"Okay, I'll do those things, you take a good rest."

Ying said nothing, but walked towards another fork in the road towards the administrative district. She had been so silent the whole time, like a clear stream.

"Thank you." Ryan whispered. It wasn't that he wanted to slack off, but there were too many things going on recently and he felt a little tired. He shouldn't have looked at some photos with strong visual impact, but as the general manager he had to look at them.

The city was filled with dead bodies, with no external injuries, as if they were all asleep. The silence was creepy, and people with poor mental health would be haunted by nightmares.

Alicia was rare to remain silent. She just looked at Eden, then accompanied Ryan back to the Golden Courtyard with Qianjie.

The lakeside cottage was still the same as before, except that the vine garden at the door had turned a little withered and yellow. The door was open, and giggling could be heard. Turning a corner, Gray was seen painting in the yard, and Ling quietly took away her paint.

"Sister Ling, give it back to me!"

"No, you've been standing there for most of the day, come and move around."

"Sister Ling, you're bad!"

The two were chasing each other in the yard. Ling didn't see clearly in front of her and bumped into Abonya who was walking out of the house. She was bounced away by the airbag and sat on the ground.

"Don't tease Gresh, she is painting a gift for Blanca." The nun rubbed her chest and bent down to pick up the paint. "Blanca went to help those cities that were harmed by the Herrscher of Death. Gresh is very worried."

"I know, but I just don't want to see her depressed." Ling slowly got up and turned her head, just in time to see Ryan outside the courtyard, "Hey, Brother Ryan is back."

"Really!"

Grayxiu's eyes lit up, and she ignored the paintbrush and ran over with Ling.

Two rocket headbutts flew towards him, but Ryan did not dodge. He just used his chest to bear the two heavy blows, and then stroked the two girls' soft hair.

"Brother Ryan, will Mom be okay?"

"Has my sister come back? Why can't I see her?"

Ryan answered Yi's questions one by one, nodded slightly to Aponya, then carried them into the yard, and saw Padolfelice rushing out with potato chips in her mouth.

"Damn it, who messed up the tiles I laid with so much effort?" Qianjie roared when he saw that his small flower bed was dirty, as if it had been smeared with paint.

Grayshut immediately shrank her head and hid behind Ryan, but Aponia took the initiative to greet him: "Qianjie, I think red is too monotonous, so I asked Grayshut to add some colors."

"You know shit. Damn it, who is putting sand in the pool that I dug with so much effort?" Qianjie went out for a look and found that all the fruits of his labor were destroyed.

But even though he was cursing and angry, he didn't say much. He went into the house and came out soon wearing gloves and a shovel, looking like an old farmer.

"Cowardly cat, come over here and help me, you lazy people, you didn't even know how to prune or fertilize the leaves when they turned yellow!"

Pado was just about to say hello to Ryan, but when she heard the aggressive voice, she had no choice but to go and help.

Ryan didn't go into the house, but just watched at the door. After a while, a bright face suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Ryan, you're smiling." Alicia leaned sideways, looking as if she couldn't hold it back anymore.

He touched his face and found that the corners of his mouth were indeed curled up. Facing Alicia's teasing, he just spread his hands and said, "This so-called gift of 'true self' was given by you."

Yes, Ryan could never be perfect and inject good energy into the world, and there weren't many people he could protect, but how should I put it, the last trip with Alicia made him understand what he really wanted.

He couldn't create a beautiful world, but it was within his ability to protect the peace around him, and for him, that was enough.

"Let's go, let's go help Qianjie clean the yard, and don't worry, Grayxiu, Blanca will be fine."

Ryan took off his coat and hung it on the rocking chair, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to clean out the fish pond.

The artificial sunlight gradually dimmed, and the neon strips hanging on the bushes also lit up. Soon, the white shirt was covered with dust. The remaining dust of travel disappeared in the work, and the worry about the Ruler of Constraint also disappeared with Qianjie's scolding of "you are in the way" and "get out".

The lake water poured in, and the colorful lights were reflected in the small fish pond. Ryan wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaned on the hoe, and glanced at the "old farmer" who was in the same posture next to him. Seeing his dusty appearance, he couldn't help but covered his mouth and laughed.

"What are you laughing at? You are in such a mess yourself." Qianjie cursed. Seeing Grayxiu bring the fish tank and pour the goldfish into the pond, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes. "Do you feel better now? When you are upset, you have to work hard. When you are tired, you will forget everything."

Ryan was a little surprised. He rarely heard Qianjie use long sentences. He smiled and said, "Why, you are here to counsel me too?"

"Get lost. You were the one who shamelessly helped me. But how can I put it? People like you and me who have no roots take some things very seriously." Qianjie cursed while looking up. The sky could not be seen from here at all.

"A rootless person? That's right, you are from heaven, I am from outside the heaven, we are similar in some ways. If you want to integrate into a strange world, you must have something to worry about, and a passer-by has no sense of living."

“This concern is a weakness, but also a source of strength.”

Qianjie turned his head quickly, his eyes clearly asking "how do you know my identity?", but he didn't ask in the end, because he already understood some things.

If Ryan hadn't wanted to save himself and others, he wouldn't have risked his life in the South American battle. He would have died just by stepping on the corpses of his companions.

It's impossible for him to create a miracle with zero casualties, but he can do his best to protect his friends.

The mask hid his expression, and the look of approval only lasted for a moment before turning into a snort.

"Get lost, who is similar to you?"

......

"Hehe, I really want him to have a competition with Mebius to see whose mouth is harder. The winner can get a trophy in the shape of a duck."

Alicia covered her stomach, trying her best not to roll over with laughter. As soon as she came out with the juice, she saw Qianjie being arrogant.

"You'd better keep your voice down when you say bad things about people behind their backs. Qianjie's face is darker than the bottom of a pot. Be careful or he might jump over and beat you to death." Ryan glanced sideways and saw Brother Jie quicken his pace back into the house. He didn't know how to vent this anger.

If Kevin were here, he would be beaten for no reason again.

He was thirsty, so he took a glass of juice, drank it in big gulps, and immediately put on a mask of pain.

"Hey, how much sugar did you put in it? It's too sweet."

"Just a little bit." Alicia tasted it herself and showed a happy expression, "How sweet it is. The world is already so broken, life should have a little more sugar to be full of sweetness."

"Eating too much sugar will make you fat."

"Ryan, you're so annoying sometimes." Alicia pouted and pinched the flesh on her belly. "I haven't gained any weight at all, not at all."

In fact, Alicia is not fat at all, at most she is a little plump, but she is too greedy and is used to complaining to Mebius, so Ryan always feels that she will get fat.

Before he could strike further, his mouth was covered by a soft hand.

"Stop talking!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Seeing Ryan nod, Alicia let go with satisfaction, holding the man's hand and walking to the other side of the small garden.

There were a few orange trees planted here, with blood-red words hanging on them: "A thousand calamities of planting, those who move will die!" There was a wooden swing next to the tree, and on the ground of the swing there were a few pieces of orange peels that had just been eaten.

They were really not afraid of Qianjie getting angry, and they ate all the cooked ones. Ryan suddenly remembered the taste of the juice just now, and looked at Alicia dimly.

"What are you looking at me for? I asked Padok to pick them, but this greedy little cat actually ate two."

Ryan was even more upset, thinking that it was so shameless to let Padua take the blame. It seemed that he knew that Qianjie could scold her, but he liked the little timid cat the most and would always lift her up high and put her down gently.

"Forget it. This way you are more like a 'human'. No, you are more like a human than most people. People can be pure and flawless, but they cannot be perfect. You are better than me."

"What are you talking about, Ryan." Alicia seemed not to understand. She sat down on the swing and swung herself up high, then fell down quickly.

Ryan happened to be facing her, and saw the pink skirt fluttering, revealing a faint kitten pattern. He didn't think much about it, but only thanked the supreme blessing of classical mechanics.

"You don't treat me as an outsider at all."

"Ryan, why are you acting weird today? Haven't you recovered yet?" Alicia didn't quite understand, and then she saw the man pointing at the bottom of her skirt. Her face suddenly turned red, and she jumped off the swing, holding the hem of her skirt with both hands.

"Ellie, you're blushing."

"You were the one who was shy first, but you were kind enough to remind me. You're still a gentleman." Alicia shook her index finger, trying to save her face, and waved her hand to let Ryan stand behind her.

There are so many things.

Ryan walked over unhappily, without using any authority, and gently pushed the swing, listening to Alicia's clear laughter and sneering at the same time.

Are you so naive? Do you think I won’t be shy later on?

He raised his head slightly, and the scene in front of him could be described most accurately with one word:

The waves are rough.

The jelly seemed to be pulled by gravity, sometimes going up and sometimes hanging down. If he was not afraid of throwing Ellie out, he really wanted to try the limit of this elasticity.

Praise gravity!

Ryan shook his head gently and saw the lights on in the small house not far away and the shadows swaying in the living room. For some reason, he swallowed back the words he wanted to say to Alicia.

These things are a bit of a downer, so it’s better not to talk about them now.

Gradually, he stopped thinking about it and just admired the beautiful scenery before him, watching the dress spread out and fall like a butterfly, watching the waves go to the peak and then roll back to the trough.

"Okay, you must be tired too." Alicia suddenly turned around and saw that Ryan's forehead was already sweaty. She took out a handkerchief and wiped it for him. "Are you confused? Why don't you use Honkai energy?"

"Don't you think being an ordinary person is more rare for us nowadays?" Ryan pressed his hands on his face and smelled a faint floral scent.

"That's right. There are fewer and fewer scenes that don't require Honkai energy. So, don't you have anything you want to ask?"

"I've already asked the questions I need to ask in Paradise. Don't worry, I'm becoming more and more confident in getting through the end. Sometimes luck is amazing." Ryan smiled, and seeing Alicia's strange expression, he added, "At least, I can get through it with everyone in this courtyard."

Everyone naturally included Alicia, who seemed to be surprised and tilted her head slightly: "You went to the Quantum Sea, why do you suddenly become optimistic? You never talked about the end before."

"The success rate is too low. What's there to talk about? We have to find a way out besides survival." Ryan sat back on the swing. He caught a glimpse of Sakura coming back with a tired face and waved his hand.

The fox-eared girl also saw him, but she kept her gaze on Alicia, then bowed slightly and went back to her room.

This was even more strange. Normally, she should have come over to say hello, but as Ryan's personal secretary, she remained silent even after he returned from the Quantum Sea.

"Huh, I thought Ying was going to be jealous, but it seems that's all right." Alicia patted her chest and sat down next to Ryan, revealing a playful expression that only a young girl could have. "Okay, okay, I'm really sorry for making you endure it for so long. If you really want to ask anything, just ask it, and I will definitely answer it well."

"I told you, there's no need to ask, I already have the answer." Ryan shook his head firmly, and then his face was held down, and he could only stare straight at Alicia in front of him.

That bright face was very close, so close that he could clearly feel the hot breath she exhaled. It should have been full of ambiguity, but Ryan had the urge to use the power of rock to send her flying and turn away.

"As the general manager of the Fire Moths, there are some questions that you can't avoid, right?"

Alicia was still smiling, but Ryan's eyes moved away from that beautiful face, and his tone softened, even pleading.

"The General Manager is just a tool to me. You are the real value. Please don't go any further."

"But you bear the expectations of everyone, those people I love most, and my favorite world." Alicia increased her strength, not wanting Ryan to slip away from her hands, and then moved her mouth closer.