Volume 2: Winter’s End
On the other side, the perplexed Lie Yang finally reacted, seemingly thinking of something, and rushed forward, grabbing Qu Yan’s collar. “Is Qing Meng’s disappearance also because of you?”
Qu Yan coldly looked back at Lieyang, not denying it. Lie Yang was instantly furious, landing a punch on Qu Yan’s face. After taking a hit, Qu Yan raised his hand to free himself from Lie Yang’s grip, his voice as cold as ever. “It’s the same dead end, but Blue-Eyed Ones bear more and get abandoned. They need Blue-Eyed Ones for their transformation, so Blue-Eyed Ones have to struggle in this cold world. Do you think surviving under the Frost is a favor? It’s just chains. And Qing Meng, she went to a place without chains, where she wouldn’t see those ugly faces!”
“I agree with this statement! Just like now, even though we can choose to transform, I’d rather live a lonely life in this frozen world with my loved one than choose to transform and return. Perhaps this thought is extreme, but some things are only understood when experienced firsthand. We have no right to resent, after all, we were born into this, but we can choose our way of life.” The man with blue eyes held the hand of the long-haired woman, calmly expressing his thoughts.
The room fell into a brief silence. Shu Xun wasn’t sure if Qu Yan and the man with blue eyes were thinking correctly, but indeed, as they said, only those immersed in it could feel the despair. Shu Xun recalled the scenes he once saw on the monitors, the man smiling mockingly after standing all night holding a corpse before leaving, perhaps laughing at the angel sent by the gods to save humanity but killed by panicked humans. An angel that, having failed its mission, lost the ability to return to the divine realm, left alone, drifting.
Seeing Shu Xun lost in thought, the man with blue eyes broke the silence. “Although I don’t know where you come from, it’s evident that, at least for now, you haven’t hindered me. The Frost has arrived, there’s no turning back. The absolute freeze cast by the Blue Ice Butterfly won’t thaw without enduring thousands of years. What else do you want to know? Ask away. Even if you take the LP potion, given the different constitution, I speculate that you won’t survive too long under the absolute freeze. After all, it is extremely stringent, too strict to allow anomalies like you to survive for too long.”
“It? What is it?” Shu Xun cut to the chase, asking.
The man with blue eyes smiled. “You can call it the consciousness of the world, or the consciousness of the Blue Amber Crystal. The crust deep within this planet is entirely made up of Blue Amber Crystals. That’s also where the Blue Butterfly is born and returns. The Blue Amber Crystals have self-awareness, as you should have noticed. Rather than saying the Blue Butterfly dominates the planet, it’s more accurate to say that the Blue Amber Crystals chose the Blue Butterfly, allowing them to achieve such accomplishments.”
Shu Xun pulled his hair and nodded his little head, continuing to inquire. “Has a third-party force invaded this world?”
The man with blue eyes fell silent for a moment. “I cannot give you a precise answer. I have intuitions in that direction, but I cannot find concrete evidence.”
This answer seemed to disappoint Shu Xun a bit. In his speculation, since finding the Winter’s End wasn’t a victory condition, and resolving the Winter’s End also seemed impossible at the moment, the victory condition might be identifying the invaders. However, the surveillance footage seen in Micro City and the drawings made by Qing Meng led Shu Xun to speculate that there wasn’t just one invader in this world. But for now, even among the Blue-Eyed Ones, the awakened directions differed, and the perceived worlds were different. At least Qing Meng saw more, and Shu Xun couldn’t guess the reason for this difference.
“If there are no further questions, then farewell. I hope you find the answers.” The man with blue eyes stood up, preparing to leave, his tone more sincere than before.
“Where are you going next?” Bai Ya couldn’t help but ask, then continued, “Your mental abilities are quite high. You’ve probably guessed our identities. According to interstellar regulations, as long as it doesn’t affect the evolution of other planets, you can choose to live in another entirely new world.”
“No, I’ve been too busy before the apocalypse and didn’t have the chance to take a good look at this world. Now, I have enough time to explore outside.” This time, the one who spoke was not the man but the elegant long-haired woman. She turned her head to look at the silent Qu Yan and smiled as she spoke, “Aren’t you leaving?”
Qu Yan slightly raised his head, his eyes cold.
Shu Xun still couldn’t hide his anger. He hummed and turned his head, but after a moment, he still walked to his little backpack, taking out a potion and a piece of Blue Amber Crystal. Instead of going to Qu Yan, he stubbornly stared at him.
Seeing Shu Xun’s actions, Qu Yan’s expression went blank for a few seconds. Then, a smile appeared in his eyes. His body emitted a faint blue light, instantly transforming into a phantom of light blue butterflies, disappearing on the spot. At the same time, outside the house, regular and familiar footsteps could be heard. Nuan Dong slowly walked into the room under everyone’s astonished gaze, then squatted in front of Shu Xun, touched his little head, and with a voice that melted everything, said, “You won, I choose to trust one more time. You’re indeed a special existence.” Something special could always make a bit of hope sprout in the silent hearts, casting a bit of beauty in the gloomy world. Wasn’t this the nature and unique ability of children?
Shu Xun placed the potion and Blue Amber Crystal in Qu Yan’s palm. Mist veiled his big eyes, but he stubbornly puffed out his small chest, as if wanting to appear stronger. In a resonant voice, he declared, “The squad is disbanded!”
Qu Yan’s magnetic and warm laughter rang low, gradually expanding, and he stood up after a moment, saying a low goodbye.
The blue-eyed couple left, and Qu Yan followed suit. However, the melancholic atmosphere in the room did not leave with them, especially since some people with less brainpower were already tangled up. Although Lie Yang had countless questions in his mind, he couldn’t find a starting point for inquiries. In the living room, except for Shu Xun and the expressionless Ye Qian, everyone else was in a contemplative state.
“Shu Xun! How could you let him leave so easily! We’ve been playing this game for so long, and I’ve never been played like this. It feels like being crushed by the Aborigines.” Lie Yang struggled for a long time, seemingly only now realizing that Qu Yan had already left. Suddenly, he felt some lingering anger. It seemed to be his first time playing so miserably after always relying on strength. “But what happened later? Why did Nuan Dong, no, Qu Yan, come back from outside the door?”
Evidently, there were quite a few people entangled in this matter. After Lie Yang asked, everyone focused their gaze on Shu Xun. Unfortunately, it seemed that among them, only Shu Xun and Yeqian had clear minds. They didn’t have the courage to seek explanations from Ye Qian, fearing they wouldn’t understand his concise answers.
Returning to the fireplace, Shu Xun sat on the Warm Winter Stone, propping up his chin, and answered, “Nuan Dong is a native, and he’s a regular-eyed native who awakened special abilities. I think the reason should be related to Qing Mo. Qing Mo was also involved in the development of new energy and must have come into contact with Blue Amber Crystals in his daily work. Just like Qing Meng’s parents working in scientific research led to Qing Meng awakening her abilities, Qing Mo also led to Qu Yan awakening his abilities. However, according to the previous speculation, Qing Meng’s parents’ positions were higher than Qing Mo’s. Therefore, Qu Yan’s awakened abilities are not complete. Besides, he is not a blue-eyed person, so he might not even be aware of his own abilities. After the Winter’s End, Nuan Dong left Micro Lake to seek help, but he found that the whole world had fallen into the winter. When he returned, Qing Mo had already died, right at the door of the villa, eyes wide open. At that moment, Qu Yan must have been desperate to the extreme, and the strong emotional fluctuations made him gradually realize his own abilities. Then, he embarked on the journey to find the LP Potion, encountered us midway, and manipulated the situation to gather information and test us. Guided by his experience and unconsciously influenced, he eventually arrived at Yuanhai.”
Although Shu Xun had speculated about the general sequence of events, there were still unresolved points of confusion in his mind. For instance, why did Qu Yan erase traces of his existence in the villa? It felt as if he had foreseen that someone would come to the villa, perhaps initially testing them with the Warm Winter Stone and guiding them to mistake him for a Phantom. It seemed like he confirmed they were outsiders but remained uncertain about their specific identities.
Clearly, Lie Yang hadn’t considered the skeptical part Shu Xun was grappling with. His mind was still entangled in knots. “What exactly is Qu Yan’s ability? What is his purpose? To resurrect Qing Mo? Then, why not just leave yesterday with the LP Potion? Why did he drink it himself?”
“Qu Yan’s ability is probably the manifestation of dreams, likely acting during sleep. Things dreamed about become real in reality, like that giant-sized rabbit, probably raised by both Qu Yan and Qing Mo. The one that got eaten by some people in the villa area, which is why Qu Yan said they broke their promise. Subconsciously reinforcing the image of the rabbit, aggressive in nature, signifies a subconscious desire for the rabbit to protect Qing Mo. This also indicates that when I first encountered the rabbit, Qu Yan had recently left Micro Lake. However, Qu Yan’s mental strength is extremely high, rarely losing control. The one on the Icebreaker was probably his oversight. He seemed to have realized this himself, so to fully awaken his abilities, he drank the LP Potion yesterday. Because he needed a more potent force to take the potion from us and also survive in the extreme cold of the absolute ice. Only then could he return to Qing Mo and resurrect him. Just as he said, he didn’t want to trust anyone, so he planned to act while we slept, rather than engaging in direct conflict. However, he didn’t anticipate being interrupted by the sudden arrival of the blue-eyed couple. Qu Yan’s mind is meticulous, his mental strength extremely high, and he naturally takes precautions in advance. So, although the Qu Yan in the room was controlled by him, it was an illusion created through his dreams, a safeguard in case things went wrong, giving himself an extra chance.”
Qu Yan’s thoughts were so meticulous that he left virtually no loopholes. He seamlessly traveled alongside the evolved races, positioning himself as a powerful individual, preventing easy suspicion. He carefully planned each step of his departure. In fact, with Qu Yan’s intelligence, how could he not anticipate that even if he didn’t appear in his true form, Shu Xun would still give him the potion and the raw stone? In the end, he chose to return to the room in his real form, taking away the potion and the Blue Amber Crystal that Shu Xun had given him.
Translator’s corner:
I feel so single again while reading what Qu Yan did just to find a way to revive Qing Mo ૮₍ ꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ ₎ა
