Chapter 19: Six Suns (The End)
He Qingzhou ran quickly, but the dome had edges and limits. By the time Jian Yuntai had cornered all of them against the wall, they had nowhere left to retreat.
“Don’t think I’m easy to bully!” He Qingzhou snapped, unable to restrain his anger, turning back furiously.
Jian Yuntai leaned on his knees, panting heavily, his voice deep: “We’re running out of gauze. Someone hoped I wouldn’t get hurt.”
“Ah?” He Qingzhou didn’t understand.
Jian Yuntai didn’t expect him to. Straightening up, he curved his eyes into a smile. “Cooperate?”
“…!” He Qingzhou’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
The surrounding players glanced at He Qingzhou, their expressions complicated. Weren’t we supposed to be the ones he’s targeting with his ultimate? So what exactly was he running from before?
※※
Jiang Jiu’s group looked grim.
“Mr. Jiang, do you think they actually plan to team up against us?” a nearby player complained. “I agreed to deal with Jian Yuntai at first, but I never said we’d take on He Qingzhou too.”
Seeing the complaints pile up, Jiang Jiu snorted coldly: “Impossible! Stop worrying. Don’t you understand He Qingzhou yet? He’s arrogant and overbearing, looking down on everyone. What leverage could Jian Yuntai possibly have over He Qingzhou—”
Before he could finish, Jian Yuntai extended his hand, a pale, steady hand hovering in front.
He Qingzhou stepped forward and took it.
“You said it was impossible, and yet… they really teamed up!” The players around Jiang Jiu were shocked and panicked. Jiang Jiu himself felt incredulous. “Why was I shouted at like a dog when I went to find He Qingzhou, but Jian Yuntai comes and succeeds instantly? How did he do it?!”
Once Jiang Jiu realized the situation, it hit him like a bucket of cold water. His hatred-fueled mind finally cooled, and a trace of fear crept in.
Especially seeing the hesitation on the faces around him, his heart sank piece by piece.
On the other side, He Qingzhou’s face was bewildered as he held Jian Yuntai’s hand. Suddenly, an electronic chime sounded in his ear:
【Player Jian Yuntai shares a hidden mission with you.】
【Note: As a second-wave explorer of the hidden mission, you will only receive thirty days of survival time as a reward. No unknown weapons will be granted.】
【Do you accept the gift from player Jian Yuntai?】
【Yes or No】
“!!!” He Qingzhou was stunned.
The surrounding players saw his expression and were puzzled, but soon the reaction spread. Their expressions mirrored He Qingzhou’s perfectly, as if copy-pasted.
“A hidden mission? Damn, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a hidden mission this close to me!” One player gripped Jian Yuntai’s hand like it was a priceless treasure.
Others realized and sheepishly admitted: “No wonder the three of you were acting against the mission. At first, I thought you were crazy… now I see it was my own stupidity.”
They hadn’t deliberately lowered their voices, so Jiang Jiu could hear everything.
The players around him grew even more hesitant. Already unable to beat He Qingzhou, charging in now would be suicide. And with the hidden mission as an added temptation, their regret reached the point of green intestines.
Some players with extendable abilities immediately ran from Jiang Jiu’s side, shouting: “Bro, I didn’t do anything before. Is it still possible for me to join you now?”
“Still in time. Still in time,” Jian Yuntai said, smiling, his tone gentle and persuasive.
The rest of the players wavered as well. After the second one defected, Jiang Jiu’s face hardened. He barked: “Anyone who betrays me now, I’ll buy your head for a high price once we leave this instance!”
Silence fell over the dome. Only Jinjin puffed and exhaled, while the helicopter circled above.
“….”
Jian Yuntai snorted lightly. “Seeking your own destruction.”
Jiang Jiu had spent the whole instance recruiting and using others’ abilities to boost his own prestige. Life had gone too smoothly, and over time, even his brain stopped working properly.
Did he really think free treatment meant everything? Speaking like that at this moment was just pushing his people into enemy hands.
The players who had already defected reacted quickly, rushing forward and shouting louder than anyone: “Kill him! Kill him! Then he can’t buy our heads!”
This move was so reckless that even Jiang Jiu’s allies would have scolded him for stupidity. The antlered and bird-type Sinister Monster Types shared glances, each seeing regret in the other’s eyes.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they would regret this a thousand times over. They never imagined that simply because of free treatment, they could lose their lives!
The number of Jiang Jiu’s followers dwindled.
Finally, the antlered Sinister Monster Type stepped forward, eyes filled with hope: “I want to… ah!!!”
He didn’t even finish his sentence before he screamed abruptly, clutching his head and collapsing to his knees.
Viewers in the livestream gasped in shock. Many didn’t understand what happened at first, but when they saw the screen, they instinctively covered their mouths, unable to look away for a long time.
Young Master Xue blinked and flashed!
And he brought Jian Yuntai along with him!
The two had no verbal communication, but just through eye contact, they were perfectly synchronized.
Even though Young Master Xue had almost no energy left to flash, he carried Jian Yuntai and tossed him right beside the antlered Sinister Monster Type.
Jian Yuntai didn’t disappoint. He rolled forward, gripping both arms of the creature and twisted with all his strength, snapping the sharp antlers off. For evolved Sinister Monster Types, their mutated limbs were both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.
With the antlers broken, the creature howled in agony, frozen and unable to move.
“Relax,” Jian Yuntai said calmly to the stunned onlookers, nodding slightly. “I’m not touching you. I’m only targeting him.”
“……”
“……”
The dome was utterly silent.
The bird-type and speed-type Sinister Monster Types looked as if they could already see their own fates, their expressions utterly dejected.
Under everyone’s watchful silence, Jian Yuntai dragged the antlered Sinister Monster Type’s leg, hauling him all the way to Jinjin.
Slap—
He threw the antlered Sinister Monster Type down.
Fatty’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the Sinister Monster Type. A few seconds later, he picked up a stone from the ground and strode forward.
“Meow… meowww~”
Jinjin’s voice was weak, its crimson vertical pupils flickering faintly.
Jian Yuntai leaned forward and gently rubbed Jinjin’s large head. He frowned at the gash on its belly and spoke softly: “Good boy. Let Fatty take you out for the best Sinister Spirit Type treatment.”
In an instant, Jinjin shrank, snuggling into Jian Yuntai’s arms, whining in a pitiful, coquettish voice.
“…” Jian Yuntai pressed his lips, stifling a laugh.
Watching this, the livestream viewers finally understood: Jian Yuntai was helping Jinjin get revenge.
Their jealousy practically bubbled over.
“Another day of envying Jinjin qaq”
“I didn’t think much of Jian Dadan before, but seeing this—wife! Pet me, I’m sweeter than a cat!”
“Never expected to witness such divine friendship before entering the stream wuu… Fatty and Young Master Xue, they haven’t known the wife for long either. Why is he so good to them? Jealous 555555”
“Jian Dadan isn’t really being nice to them, he’s just being nice to the little kitty. Jinjin is truly a winner in life (lemon emoji).”
Note: lemon Is sour, sour is jealous.
Besides the flood of envious fans, many viewers were seriously analyzing the situation.
“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Monkey He cooperate with someone. A once-in-a-lifetime series.”
“Monkey He is guaranteed to profit this round—literally flying high for 30 days! If I were him, I’d wake up laughing from sleep hhhhh.”
“I’m a little worried about the wife—he keeps holding his stomach. Looks like he might be a bit unwell.”
No one had mentioned this before; their attention had been on Jinjin. But once someone brought it up, everyone noticed something was off.
Jian Yuntai’s face was pale, and his steps seemed a little unsteady.
It really looked wrong.
Fatty assumed it was because of an injury to Jian Yuntai’s right chest and kept urging him toward the launch area.
But Jian Yuntai was unusually stubborn.
“Didn’t you say? If I don’t see a Sinister Spirit Type die with my own eyes, it’ll always resurrect in a way you wouldn’t expect.” In saying this, Jian Yuntai’s vision was already darkening slightly, but he continued stiffly: “I want to see it die with my own eyes.”
“You’re as stubborn as a bull!” Fatty had no solution. A sudden idea struck him, and he pretended to scoop out eyes with his hands, miming it in front of Jian Yuntai’s gaze.
Then he pressed the empty air toward his own eyes, feigning surprise: “Hey! How did your eyeballs get into my eyes? My eyes just got ten times bigger!”
“…” Jian Yuntai looked at him in bewilderment.
“Go on, then.” Fatty pushed him into the cave. From outside, he called out, “I’ll watch it die for you.”
Before Jian Yuntai could react, he had already been pushed several steps back, re-entering the launch area.
Jinjin grew large again, its massive body blocking the entrance, the long fluffy tail still swaying in the doorway. Even if Jian Yuntai wanted to leave, he couldn’t.
He had no choice but to turn and look back.
The launch area was quiet. Song Yulu glanced sideways at him. The blue glow from the computer screen behind her faintly outlined her slim silhouette.
Jian Yuntai, like a mischievous student caught by the headmaster, called out: “I’m not hurt! Don’t worry, your gauze will be saved properly.”
Song Yulu curved his lips. “I know.”
Jian Yuntai held his stomach, nearly leaning on the wall as he walked. When he got close, exhausted, he sank onto the stairs. Hunger had nearly blown his composure, and only seeing the progress bar reach 95% calmed him slightly.
“Is there anything to eat?”
“No.” Song Yulu replied coldly.
Jian Yuntai deliberately tried to scare him: “If not, I’ll just have to eat you.”
To him, threatening to eat someone sounded terrifying enough—it was literal cannibalism! Yet Song Yulu didn’t flinch. His face flushed, even his ears turning red.
He turned away, neither looking at him nor speaking.
“…” Jian Yuntai was utterly baffled.
A few minutes later, as he felt himself growing drowsy, a bony, articulated hand appeared before him. It held a white porcelain cup filled with fresh, sweet milk. The enticing aroma drifted directly to his nose.
“Drink.” Song Yulu tilted his head to avoid Jian Yuntai’s gaze, looking at the monitor. “About fifteen minutes left. The last artificial sun will launch then.”
Jian Yuntai took the cup of milk. Ignoring how hot it was, he drank it straight down.
As he drank, he quietly exhaled in relief.
Even though he felt he had reached his limit, fifteen more minutes was something he could still endure.
He recalled that before entering the instance, the inspection team had told him that after a successful run, someone would meet with him to discuss the Sinister Types.
At that time, all his questions would likely be answered, including what serious crime he had committed on his birthday. Yes, even now Jian Yuntai could not imagine what major offense he might have committed.
As he pondered this, a voice came from the wheelchair.
“After the sun launches—” Song Yulu’s gaze remained fixed on the computer screen as he pursed her lips and asked, “Is there anything you want to do?”
“Eat a proper meal.” Jian Yuntai didn’t hesitate.
Song Yulu smiled and nodded. “Good.”
Jian Yuntai set the empty cup on the stairs and asked, “What about you? What do you want to do?”
Song Yulu hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…?” Jian Yuntai looked at him, puzzled.
“Doesn’t matter”—what kind of strange answer was that?
He had expected Song Yulu to confront the law enforcers directly, to clear the research institute’s name. Or perhaps to find a quiet place, living a simple, untroubled life.
But he had said, “doesn’t matter.”
Jian Yuntai shook his head slightly in his mind, thinking that this person could probably go worship in a temple; his temperament was far too indifferent.
When the progress bar reached 98%, the monitor showed that Jiang Jiu had died, and Fatty was cleaning up the aftermath. Jian Yuntai finally relaxed completely, secretly anticipating the hidden mission reward.
This was going to be his first weapon!
He hoped for some luck—ideally a storage-type gadget. That way, he could stash food in it and never worry about starving again.
Of course, if it were some other weapon with better damage, he wouldn’t complain. Could it possibly be a gun?
Jian Yuntai was daydreaming about the possibilities, trying to decide where to start testing it, when a soft cough sounded at his ear.
“Cough… cough cough…” Song Yulu pressed his fist to his lips, frowning. “I need to inspect the serum fog. I can’t walk up the stairs—can you carry me up?”
“…”
Jian Yuntai looked back at the stairs, frowning slightly.
If these stairs weren’t automatic, how had Song Yulu gotten up before?
Did someone carry his every time?
Forget it; that wasn’t his concern.
The instance was about to finish, and Jian Yuntai just wanted to simplify things. He bent down and lifted Song Yulu.
“?!”
Song Yulu only looked slightly surprised at first but didn’t say anything else. His eyes stayed lowered, the faint light reflected from the screen giving a pale shadow to his gaze.
Tap tap—
Tap tap—
The sound of black boots lightly stepping on wooden stairs echoed in the quiet launch area. The noise outside—the clamor and laughter—seemed like it came from a very distant place, faint and unreal.
Once upstairs, Jian Yuntai looked left and right for a place to set his down but found none. He bent to place his on the floor.
Because he bent, their bodies were briefly extremely close, then immediately separated again.
Jian Yuntai crouched slightly, wrinkled his nose, and said, “Why do I smell… blood on you?”
The faint scent of blood was buried under the strong smell of men’s cologne, barely noticeable unless you paid attention.
Song Yulu’s lips curved into a smile. “You smell like fresh milk. Very sweet, very sweet.”
Jian Yuntai still frowned, his expression growing heavier. He reached out and lifted the small blanket covering his knees—the scent of blood intensified immediately.
Under the blanket, Song Yulu’s legs were a mess of blood and flesh, wrapped in several thick rolls of bandages. Blood still seeped faintly through, making it look utterly shocking.
“…!!!” Jian Yuntai’s pupils constricted, and he froze. “Your legs… when did your legs break?”
The livestream audience, who had been celebrating the near completion of the instance, was stunned.
What was going on?
The comment section exploded instantly:
“!!! Oh my god, terrifying when you think about it!”
“Wait—I just remembered, Song Yulu’s bookshelf wasn’t set up for disabled access. The books at the very top had no dust; he wasn’t disabled before!”
“How did he suddenly become disabled? Weren’t the research institute’s predecessors already dead? Nobody could have harmed his…”
“Could it be… he broke his own legs?! Why would he do that to himself?”
While everyone was confused, Jian Yuntai was unusually clear-headed.
Only now did he feel something was off.
Before he could say anything, the world spun. Song Yulu pressed some button, and the stairs retracted.
Jian Yuntai stepped off the two-meter-high platform and fell with a thud to the floor. The height posed no issue for him, but with nothing to stand on, he couldn’t get back up.
At the edge of the platform, Song Yulu glanced at him and winked.
“I… you…” he paused for a few seconds, then gave a resigned, light laugh. “I didn’t expect that even at the end, I’d stutter from nervousness. In the future… remember to bandage wounds.”
This was the second time he had smiled at Jian Yuntai—and the last.
“If I weren’t born in a world where the sun would go out, perhaps we could have been friends. Very close friends.”
The next second, the sphere at the top of the stairs activated, and Song Yulu entered the serum fog generator without looking back—
His entire body went into the machine.
In an instant, Jian Yuntai understood how his legs had broken.
He had been the most important raw material for the serum all along. At first, it was just his legs; now it was his entire body. Song Yulu had given his brief, precious life entirely to the artificial sun project.
So this was what he meant when he said she was chasing the sun.
【You have successfully completed the instance—Six Suns】
【Player Jian Yuntai has successfully completed the hidden mission. Total players in this instance: 137, survivors: 13, elimination rate: 81.6%. Congratulations on surviving!】
【Hidden mission rewards will be calculated shortly…】
The livestream audience was dumbfounded. Their minds were no longer thinking about weapons; they stared at the screen with wide-open mouths, frozen.
A blinding white light shot into the sky, dispersing the gathered clouds. Five artificial suns slowly drifted in different directions, moving deliberately, steadily… just like this secret and magnificent endeavor, slow but unwavering.
A light mist floated down from the horizon. The pale-colored fog shimmered under the sunlight, like tiny fairies flapping their wings, spreading new hope across the world.
Jian Yuntai stared at the sky, unable to pull himself away for a long time.
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