I, the Lord of the Fifth Heavenly Throne, flow out of all things!

Duanmulian is also one of the key protected figures in this research institute, but the person nominally responsible for protecting him is Liu Zi.

Duanmulian and Liuzi entered Phoenix's room together, which made the soldiers on guard curious, but they did not suspect anything.

"You're really too hardworking..."

Standing at the door with Erica and Liu Zi, Duan Mu Lian looked at the straight back of the girl in the room and sighed helplessly.

Shiyin's slender white hands kept tapping on the keyboard without a pause.

The three monitors in front of her were constantly displaying large amounts of data as the girl continued to type on the keyboard.

Since he promised Erica, he will definitely do it.

And it was not a difficult task for him.

Although he is not one to show mercy or sympathy to anyone, nor will he help others casually, he can just use it as another way to divert attention.

Shift your focus to the little things.

"Please, Lian-kun."

Erica smiled and nodded to Duanmulian, with no intention of entering the room, leaving the space for the two of them.

Liu Zi thought for a moment and stayed outside as well.

As the door closed, Duanmu Lian slowly walked over to the soft bed not far behind Shiyin and sat down.

Looking at the petite girl's back, he was silent for a moment and then asked:

"Erica, please let me celebrate your birthday."

Duanmulian's words, as expected, received no response.

But he knew that Shiyin had indeed heard his words, and the evidence was that the other party's smooth typing movement paused for 0.1 second.

“I have never experienced a birthday, nor do I like celebrating one, but I also know that birthdays are meaningless if you are not happy.”

Especially the day of one’s birth, it is really not something worth celebrating.

Both he and Shiyin are good.

I'm afraid you don't think there's anything worth celebrating on your birthday, or any reason to be happy.

"Da da da da da..."

Shiyin still did not respond, and the only sound heard was the typing sound of the keyboard echoing in the room.

Duan Mulian didn't mind at all that Shiyin didn't respond to him, and just muttered to himself:

"The only time I can feel happy is when I can forget all the worries, responsibilities, and past life-and-death battles, and concentrate my mind on how to kill the enemy, and the deadly threat of being killed by the enemy, which makes me feel alive."

This is probably because his soul was deeply touched by the domineering nature of the golden beast.

In a life-and-death battle, Duanmulian would, contrary to his usual behavior, talk trash and become extremely excited and agitated.

Why? Because at that time, there was no need to think about anything else, and it was impossible to think about anything else.

Just think about fighting his mother!!

Refreshing, refreshing, very enjoyable!!

But this feeling cannot last forever, it comes and goes quickly.

The feeling of returning to reality after it’s over is like drowning in the water and struggling to swim to the surface to breathe, only to fall back into the suffocating water.

"Your observation is very sharp. On the first day I met you, I also realized that you saw some truth in me." Duan Mulian raised his head, looked at Shiyin's back, and said in a deep voice: "Can you tell me what you saw?"

"...empty."

A clear, childish and majestic voice finally responded to Duanmulian's words.

Shiyin slowed down her typing on the keyboard because today's work was about to be completed, so she was still able to spare some time to listen to the words of the man behind her.

To be honest, she was also surprised. She didn't expect Duanmulian would come to her because of Erica's request.

His eyes were clearly so empty, as if he didn't care about anything or anything... so cold that it made people feel uncomfortable.

At the same time, Shiyin didn't expect that Duanmulian's condition was worse than hers.

You can only feel the reality of being alive in the moment of life and death... I really didn't expect that the man behind me would have such a past.

And Shion also understood the resonance between her and him.

That's the feeling you get when you're both in prison and see a fellow prisoner serving a longer sentence.

"Empty... That's a very accurate assessment."

Hearing Shiyin's answer, Duanmulian laughed softly.

Everyone's emotions are clearly flowing into my heart, but I feel like it's a bottomless pit, with only money going in but not out, making it difficult to respond.

So it's like empty, there's nothing.

"After hearing what you said before, I now have a new opinion of you. Do you want to listen to it?"

Shion continued to type on the keyboard and spoke in a soft, childish voice without turning her head.

"All ears."

"Your heart is like a colander. Everything that enters your heart keeps leaking out. What you lack is not something that can fill your heart, but something that can fill the holes..."

It was still a very sharp statement, no, it was a statement that shook Duanmulian's heart.

The words seemed to tear apart all his outward appearances and point directly to his inner essence.

There was nothing wrong with what Shiyin said.

His heart is like a colander; whatever he touches, whatever he tolerates, whatever he gets, keeps leaking out.

This is the truth of Duanmulian's empty heart.

"Compared to my broken colander heart, your heart is probably like a wingless bird without wings, or a caged bird deprived of the right to fly freely."

I didn’t use my mind-reading ability before, and I still don’t use it now.

But just by looking at Shiyin's back while she was working, Duanmu Lian also realized the truth in the other's heart based on their mutual resonance.

They both long for freedom in different senses.

"Da da...."

Shiyin tapped the keyboard a few times, finished her work, and turned off the monitor in front of her.

She walked slowly towards Duan Mulian, staring at the man in front of her with her innocent crimson eyes, and then suddenly said in a gentle tone:

"Looking at your eyes up close, they are so beautiful... Thank you so much for tolerating Erica's willfulness."

"That's not considered being willful..." Duanmulian's expression did not waver at all when she was suddenly praised for her beautiful eyes.

"But it obviously doesn't mean anything to you, does it?"

After just a short conversation with her, Shiyin understood more of Duanmulian's inner truth.

It is really a stupid prejudice of mortals that such a keen observer like Phoenix could be judged as the lowest level E.

Duanmu Lian's inner evaluation of the girl Shiyin improved a lot, and in Xuwu's eyes he could see the petite figure of the girl in front of him.

"I'm not a negative nihilist. It's because there is no meaning that I have to take the initiative to look for it."

With light in her eyes and the figure of the girl in front of her, Duanmulian didn't want the other party to misunderstand her true self.

After all, he is one of the few people who can see through his existence.

“But nothing was found.”

Shiyin blinked her deep red eyes, recalled Liu Zi beside the other party, and continued: "Or maybe you find it, but it can only plug one hole in the colander, which is still not very meaningful."

Hearing this, Duanmulian burst into laughter.

Anyway, he was convinced by the Phoenix girl in front of him.

Compared to all the Phoenixes he has known so far, Shion is undoubtedly the strongest and the one with the greatest potential. He will not be wrong.

"Shion, you are way ahead of me in this regard. Erica is a good sister."

Duanmu Lian also understood why Shiyin worked so hard and why her will and determination were so strong.

Because of Erica's existence, Shion was saved.

Although Erica did not give Shiyin a pair of wings to fly freely, she gave her empty heart a very important warmth.

Seeing that Duan Mulian could see her belief, Shi Yin showed a very gentle smile on her flawless fair face and said:

"I want to save the people living in this world, because I was raised by the gentle Erica. She never asked for anything in return, but she was still so gentle and considerate to me... So, I want to save humanity, and I hope I can become as gentle as Erica."

"And the object of your tenderness is either a single person or all of humanity. Is this the only difference between you and Erica?"

"Well...I want to prove that Erica's tenderness towards me is valuable and meaningful."

Shiyin raised her hand and gently stroked her chest, a look of nostalgia revealed in her deep eyes.

She couldn't help but recall that when she was about to be abandoned as a child, Erica stood in front of her and gently saved her.

She wanted to prove that Erica's rescue of her, named Shion, was meaningful and valuable.

“Boom—Boom—Boom!”

Hearing Shiyin's words, 'I want to prove that Erica's tenderness towards me is valuable', Duanmulian's pupils shrank, and a strange light appeared in her eyes.

At this moment, his heart, no, his [inner scene] could not help but beat violently.

The gods and demons who had been fighting non-stop all the time also paused temporarily in the midst of this violent noise.

Shiyin's sincere words made Duanmu Lian feel as if he had just woken up from a dream, and also made him see the truth of part of his heart.

Because he also wanted to prove that the countless sacrifices he had made were worthwhile.

However, he didn't just want to prove himself, he also wanted to do something, or rather, he had to do something.

So, what to do?

What can he do for his former self?

I'm afraid he can only figure this out when he faces them in person and feels what they have experienced.

"Thank you."

"what?"

Duan Mulian's sudden gratitude and the light that lit up in Xuwu's eyes made Shiyin tilt her head slightly.

Some people just can't figure out what happened to the other person, or what they've figured out.

"Your words helped me find a solution to a problem that was bothering me."

In the past, he just wanted to prove that what we had done was valuable, but Duan Mulian didn't just want to do that.

Although Shiyin's words did not help him find the answer, they made him see the direction of the correct answer.

That's why he wanted to thank the girl in front of him.

"Really? I'd be glad if I could help you."

Shiyin looked at the man in front of her whose aura of nothingness had diminished a little, and a pure smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She was very happy that she could help him.

Although they were noisy when getting along with him, Duanmulian helped her a lot in study and daily work.

"Is there anything you would like in return?"

Feeling that her condition had improved a little, Duanmulian, who didn't want to owe anyone a favor, looked at Shiyin seriously, hoping to give this girl something in return.

If he came to help Shion because of Erica's request.

Now he just wanted to help Shiyin in front of him according to his own wishes.

It doesn't matter whether it makes sense or not, he just thinks it's the right thing to do.

"You want it..."

"Don't insult my intelligence by saying 'no'."

"Well...it's not like I don't have any other requests...maybe...I..."

Facing Duanmulian's serious expression and sharp eyes, Shiyin lowered her head and pinched the corner of her clothes, feeling a little embarrassed to confide her inner truth to anyone other than Erica.

However, she took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to speak out.

“Maybe I want to leave something behind…”