Chapter 41 - 40·TE·No Method can Save

Chapter 41: Chapter 40·TE·No Method can Save"That’s correct, Big Brother," Duoduo slowly lifted her head.

Those eyes, originally clear as water, always twinkling with innocence and naivety, were now filled with a fervent and manic flame:

"—My dad and mom killed me, and in turn, I also killed them... This is fair, I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with it."

"That’s right," Su Ming’an said, "You’re absolutely right; it’s all Boss Rabbit’s fault."

Yu Ruohuo’s gaze became somewhat peculiar; she detected obvious sarcasm in Su Ming’an’s tone of voice.

Meeting evil with evil... There never was such a thing as innocence. That was his thought.

"As for the final point," Su Ming’an said, "The unpalatable mushrooms, having been eaten by many, are probably the so-called colorless mushroom virus antidote. And the tasty mushrooms should be the perfect purple vaccine made from your blood..."

"...That’s too cruel," Yu Ruohuo clenched her fists tightly, "Even though, even though it’s one’s own daughter, how could one go to such lengths..."

"Because of the greater good."

She finally saw the look that the young man cast upon her.

"To save, for the world, even if it means sacrificing one’s own daughter, it doesn’t matter—the headmaster didn’t possess the right to take his daughter’s life, but everyone’s expectations forced him to do so. He took on the deepest and heaviest evil, and even the most perfect antidote could not redeem him," Su Ming’an’s eyes shone intensely for a moment: "Simply put, it’s the sacrifice of the individual for the greater community. But, if we look at it from a moral and ethical perspective—you shed genuine remorse and tears for the victim, you feel this is a sin. But actually, one person’s sacrifice for everyone’s advancement—such things do not really warrant talk of right and wrong."

"But..." Yu Ruohuo always felt something was wrong.

"What you see is a scene where both sides have failed. But what if the headmaster had succeeded? The world would not be as it is now; countless people would be alive, everything would be thriving, with no more lives on the verge of vanishing..." Su Ming’an stared at her, "—If standing in front of you now was not pitiable Duoduo, but another, a little girl who escaped the apocalypse and should have been living happily under the sun after losing everything, would you still feel genuine sympathy and kindness for Duoduo?"

Yu Ruohuo was momentarily at a loss for words.

When gazed upon by those seemingly all-seeing eyes, her lips seemed sealed.

...She could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

"So, to argue about such things is essentially meaningless," he said.

Su Ming’an withdrew his gaze: "However, the headmaster also had his selfish motives—he fed Duoduo the precious perfect cure, but he himself didn’t manage to take it in time and became a zombie when the apocalypse broke out. He intended to let Duoduo never be troubled by the virus after the experiment ended, but it turned out she didn’t make it..."

Everyone is sacrificing.

This affair, perhaps everyone is wrong, but from a holistic perspective,

It seems like none of them are wrong.

The bandage-wrapped little girl’s eyes grew even darker.

"So that’s Big Brother’s thinking," Duoduo said with an exceedingly low and slow voice: "I thought the kind Big Brother would at least feel a little pity for me."

"Pity is useless," Su Ming’an said.

Duoduo suddenly lifted her head.

The gloom over the high window had finally cleared away, and the golden sunlight slowly spilled down, casting a beautiful golden edge over her petite figure.

Facing Su Ming’an’s indifferent gaze, she slowly revealed a genuinely warm smile:

"However, the deduction is perfect," she said with a laugh, and the crisp sound of applause echoed through the entire empty room:

"—Congratulations, Big Brother, you’ve perfectly passed through the peaceful route."

At the same time, Su Ming’an heard the simultaneous announcement from the system.

"Broadcast," Su Ming’an’s eyes filled with earnest anticipation.

Upon hearing "perfect pass" that moment, he felt a sense of relief, and then, that weight that had always been lurking behind him seemed to no longer be as oppressive.

Mizushima Kawa Sora, a powerful presence on the Hall of Fame, mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Eni Lushu, yet what she prided herself on was not her direct Combat Power, but her Wisdom, which was crazily lauded by the audience.

She had quickly gathered all the clues beforehand and then avoided the world chessboard stage that could have led to her failure, heading straight for the Second Hospital.

After clearing the Second Hospital, she arrived at Duoduo’s room and also made her deductions.

For some reason, the audience seemed to be in a rush:

Mizushima Kawa Sora found two different antidotes and tested their effects, but she couldn’t determine Duoduo’s cause of death because she was missing the death photo from the real Duoduo’s file bag.

She stared at Duoduo, smiling at her, and tentatively guessed a few outcomes, but each was cheerfully refuted by Duoduo.

...Progress was stalled.

At this deadlock, she saw the bullet comments grow increasingly urgent, urging her on but constrained by the rules, unable to give her direct hints.

Mizushima Kawa Sora could guess who the bullet comments were referring to, as nearly every existing player had seen his stories in the bullet comments recently.

...Number One Player.

She had no interest in that title and even less interest in being under the constant scrutiny of billions, the subject of each of their actions. She didn’t enjoy existence under the spotlight, nor did she wish to become the perfect guiding star in others’ eyes.

She focused on the clue in her hand, and then, the most probable guess gradually took shape in her mind...

Suddenly, she heard the system notification sound.

Mizushima Kawa Sora let out a small sigh through her lips; the outcome was not beyond her expectations.

Amidst the rapidly updating bullet comments, she steadied her mind and then voiced her deductions until she became the second player to Perfect Pass.

However, the second place would not be met with a world-shaking broadcast.

The world broadcast appeared in everyone’s system bar.

Lv Shu’s advancing steps came to a slight halt, the scarlet butterfly perched on his fingertips. He gazed towards the direction of the second hospital as if he saw a bright light being ignited there.

"Lighthouse."

He savored the two words, and then a realization dawned on him: "So that’s how it is."

Like a man chasing the light, he suddenly dashed towards the direction, with all the zombies around him being cut down by the emerald blades of the Mantis, his eyes shining the instant as if he had found his faith.

...He always loved those who are kind and bright, always standing under the limelight.

To follow, or to become such a person, he was always keen to lend a helping hand, to vanquish evil, to uphold justice, and to chase after the light.

Even though his understanding of Su Ming’an was somewhat distorted, he still felt that this was the person he was looking for.

He ran excitedly towards the direction of the second hospital, the scarlet butterflies fluttering behind him, shedding beautiful glimmers of bioluminescence along the way.

Yu Ruohuo watched as Duoduo before her suddenly fell silent.

In the stillness, Su Ming’an stepped outside.

"—Wait a moment, Big Brother," Duoduo suddenly looked up. "As a reward for figuring everything out, you can take this."

She stretched out her hands, the fluorescent light twinkling, and then, a bottle containing a swaying purple liquid appeared in her hands.

...The perfect antidote.

Su Ming’an silently regarded the bottle in her hands, then picked it up.

"What’s past is past," Duoduo said with a relieved smile to him. "But if you still want to save someone, Big Brother, you can use this..."

"No more," Su Ming’an said. "There are, no more."

As he spoke, he gripped the bottle tighter and then, without looking back, walked out the door.

Yu Ruohuo glanced at Duoduo, then at Su Ming’an, unsure of what to say.

"Miss," Duoduo addressed her. "The game divided into 50,000 identical City X replicas, but there can only be one Perfect Pass in a City X, so you don’t have a chance anymore, oh."

"Ah, I know, thank you," Yu Ruohuo nodded at her and then hurriedly ran after the boy’s retreating figure.

A sudden burst of flame swept past her from behind.

Yu Ruohuo turned around to see a room suddenly engulfed in flames.

The newly repaired glass door closed in front of her, and from outside, she watched as the girl inside, aflame, moved toward a corner of the room.

—Suddenly, two corpses appeared there, a man in a white coat, and a woman of oriental beauty.

In the midst of the flames, Duoduo approached them.

With every step, her movements grew lighter, and the horrific bandages wrapped around her began to peel away, the ghastly wounds slowly vanished, replaced by a red dress and the tender, fair skin of a child.

Wearing that beautiful dress, she closed in on the corner, her black hair billowing in the blaze.

Then, all the hatred, gloom, and darkness in her eyes completely receded. Her lips curled up in a childlike innocence and attachment, and she nestled affectionately against the two cold bodies.

Yu Ruohuo stood outside, her hand pressed against the glass.

She saw the fiery tongues gradually consume everything, and then the little girl, who closed her eyes as though she had fallen asleep in her parents’ arms, vanished with the flames.

In the field of view, only the fierce, wild fire remained.