Luo Yichen has already left. I feel nothing—no confusion, no regret—about working with these people. I sit quietly in the woods. By now, everyone here has fallen asleep, and not a sound disturbs the silence.
Everything I witnessed today still haunts my heart. I keep telling myself I must do something, but what can I do?
What I didn't expect was that the people from the Corpse Realm actually got involved.
Things are getting more and more complicated. I don't know what happened to the Blackfang members, but I have to figure something out—understand how all this works, and then find a way to solve it.
"Who?"
Suddenly, I stand up alert, looking into the distance. Behind a tree, someone is there. My ghost sense is spread wide—only about ten meters away, but I can feel it.
"It's me, Ethan."
The voice is deeply familiar, yet at this moment it sounds strangely foreign. It's Lily Wu. She steps out, smiling faintly, looking at me.
"Lily, you..."
I stare at her in shock as Lily Wu walks toward me, step by step.
"I felt it, Ethan. In that moment today, I remembered."
Facing Lily Wu like this, I don't know what to say, or what I should say. My feelings are deeply complicated.
"Ethan, didn't I tell you before not to come back? Why did you...?"
"I'm sorry, Lily."
Inside, something is pressing down on me. I lower my head and, in a rush, say a single sentence. Lily Wu smiles, placing both her hands on my cheeks.
"It's all right, Ethan. Let the past stay in the past. None of it matters anymore. Seeing you one more time is enough. I still... love you."
My eyes widen as I stare at Lily Wu. Her eyes are full of sorrow. I raise my hand, wanting to touch her, but it lingers in the air for a long time.
"It's the same question, Ethan Zhang. After all that's happened, why are you still here? What are you after?"
Nathan Li stepped out from behind a tree trunk. I watched him quietly; his face was full of anger.
"Nathan, you..."
"Lily, move aside."
Nathan Li shoved Lily Wu aside and stood in front of me, grabbing my collar with one hand.
"You already have another woman, Ethan Zhang. What happened between us is over—there’s nothing binding us anymore. And now you show up here, disrupting the peaceful life we finally managed to have."
"What is all this about? Are you really willing to be their test subjects?"
I roared, and Nathan Li shoved me aside.
"Even as test subjects, we’ve managed to live together here for years, laughing and sharing our days. Even if it’s all fake, even if we’re treated like animals, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re already dead, we’ve lost everything, and there’s no going back. Leave, Ethan Zhang."
I stood motionless, staring at Nathan Li. He was completely enraged, while Lily Wu’s face was full of sorrow, tears spilling from her eyes. It seemed that after yesterday, they remembered everything.
"You can’t bear anything now, and you can’t change anything. What’s done is done—you can’t change it. We’re already dead, Ethan Zhang. If you understand, then go back. Return to your world. Whatever you want, it has nothing to do with us. Do you hear me?"
I let out a quiet sound and stared at Nathan Li, slowly walking toward him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
I lowered my head and kept repeating myself. I owed them so much—they died because of me, and I couldn’t save them. At first, I didn’t know anything, and even after I learned the truth, I was powerless. Maybe Damien (Mr. Taisho) knew what was really going on, but he never told me.
"There was nothing I could do at the start—I was powerless."
Bitterness welled up inside me, and my voice choked with emotion.
"That's right—powerless. Ethan Zhang, you can't do anything, so just go. I'm begging you. As long as Lily and I keep eating the Joyfruit every day, eventually that happiness will help us forget you completely. Please, Ethan Zhang, don't disturb us again. I'm begging you."
There was reluctance in Lily Wu’s eyes. I watched her quietly, while Nathan Li stood before me, head bowed.
"Who brought you here? On your own, you couldn’t have broken free from the Joyfruit’s power."
I asked, word by word. Lily Wu shook her head, but then Nathan Li looked up.
"I couldn't fool you, after all. Even before, what happened between Lily and me was impulsive, but you found out. You've always been like this, Ethan—knowing the truth deep down, but holding back. It's true, with just our own strength, we couldn’t regain our original consciousness. It was Mr. Taisho who wanted us to persuade you."
"Is that so."
I replied quietly and sat down on the ground.
"Stop resisting, Ethan. You’re no match for them. You should leave as soon as possible. You can’t interfere with anything here, and neither can Lily or I. These days have been enough for us."
I looked at them gloomily. It had been a long time since I’d felt so powerless. My understanding of this place was still vague and confused.
After a while, I stood up and shook my head.
"Nathan, Lily, I’m not the same as I was before. I won’t compromise on what’s happening here."
"Ethan Zhang, you—"
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"Because..."
I roared, clenching my fists, and then shouted.
"I have my own reasons that I can never compromise on—and you’re part of those reasons. Life and death are fated, but are you really happy here? Living in this fabricated world, everything is fake, your life controlled by others—are you truly happy?"
The two of them fell silent, as if lost in thought. I panted, looking around.
Everything about this world filled me with a deep sense of helplessness. For the first time, I felt so powerless, unable to do anything—the feeling overwhelmed my heart.
"What is it, Ethan Zhang? Still so stubborn?"
It was Mr. Taisho. I turned my head and saw him standing more than ten meters away. Nathan Li and Lily Wu bowed their heads and greeted him: "Mr. Taisho."
"Our boss has already shown you mercy, Ethan Zhang. Let it go. Even if you don’t cooperate, gather your people and we’ll send you away. As for Rachel Lan, you’ll have to handle her yourself. She’s an unpredictable factor in this world too."
Clenching my fists, I looked at Lily Wu. My heart was filled with helplessness and sorrow. I didn’t know what to do. My fighting spirit had been completely extinguished, as if doused by a bucket of cold water.
"You heard what Mr. Taisho said—just leave, Ethan Zhang. Nothing here concerns you."
Nathan Li shouted again. I bowed my head, torn inside. My fists clenched, but I felt no strength—only weakness, as if my punches landed on something soft, unable to exert any force.
Now, the only thing that could ignite my fighting spirit was Rachel Lan. Mr. Taisho had said that as long as I was capable, I could take Rachel Lan with me at any time. I looked at Lily Wu again; her tears kept streaming down her cheeks.
"Ethan... just go. Please, just leave. Don’t—"
"Lily..."
I shouted, my whole body trembling, eyes wide as I stared at her.
"Tell me, are you really happy here? Your mother is still in the world of the living, washing her face with tears every day. And me—what am I to you, in your eyes...?"
I sat down quietly again, but then yelled once more in anger.
"What am I, really?"
Lily Wu's voice trembled as she kept shaking her head.
"It's all over, Ethan. Don't you understand? It's all over now. We have nothing left..."
"You're still here. As long as you exist here, it's not truly over. If you were really gone, or unable to speak, then it would be truly over. But now, you're here. Your existence is not a mistake. Existence itself is right..."
With a jolt, I stood up. Nathan Li was startled, watching me as I walked step by step to Lily Wu's side, looking at her.
My hands cupped Lily's cheeks, sorrow flooding my heart.
"Tell me, Lily. Say it. If you really don't want this, ask me for help. I'm Ethan Zhang, and I'm also a man. When a woman asks a man for help, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not who I was back then, not the Ethan Zhang who hadn't grown up yet..."
"I don't want..."
Lily Wu sobbed, resting her head against my chest and crying in pain.
"I want to go back, Ethan. I want to see my mother. There are so many things I still want to do, so many things I want to accomplish, Ethan..."
I clenched my fists, quietly watching Damien. In that instant, the feeling of helplessness in my heart vanished.
"Ah, that's enough, Lily. That's enough..."
"Impossible. You are important experimental subjects here, and already extremely stable. I cannot..."
With a muffled sound, the beauty in my arms was already pressed against Damien's throat. He looked at me in shock.
"I told you, I will... take them away."