"But the mess Leviathan left behind still needs you to clean up."
Duan Chen knew this too.
"Monsters, calamities, the moment he revived, they appeared in corners all over the world. As an agent, it's my duty to handle these matters."
"Let's go."
"But this dimensional gate..."
Hearing him mention the gate, Wu Suowei glanced back, shook his head.
"A wisp of a soul was sealed inside this gate. Although only a crack has opened, that soul has already been released. This gate is useless now."
Still, he stepped forward and reached out to close it.
The gate that Leviathan had to smash with its head, Wu Suowei casually closed with a single hand.
Duan Chen was stunned.
Then he understood.
The boss that was suppressed inside had already escaped, leaving only the lesser monsters.
As a god, Wu Suowei certainly wouldn't be unable to close such a gate.
Otherwise, he'd be too useless.
At the same moment.
Bai Ye only discovered Leviathan's revival, the seawater rising, and the appearance of countless monsters and calamities, and realized things had taken a turn for the worse.
But at that time, he only felt a vague sense of unease in his heart and took no action.
By the time he realized the building was about to collapse, it was already too late.
His usual flippant expression vanished from his face, replaced by a look of grim urgency.
As if driven mad, he rushed back to the hotel where he had told Zhu Fanfan to stay.
But by the time he arrived, he saw the hotel entrance surrounded by monsters. He silently pursed his lips and fought his way in. One great move after another fell, almost draining him of all his energy.
But when he reached the lobby, he could not take another step forward.
Because what he saw was perhaps the most ridiculous, laughable thing in the world.
"Hey... woman?"
"Zhu Fanfan!"
Bai Ye himself didn't realize his voice was trembling.
Stumbling through a pool of blood, he lunged into the lobby. It was empty yet full.
Blood everywhere, utter devastation.
Like the ruins after a battle.
Various corpses lay scattered.
Some were monsters, some were human.
The security guards had been among the first to be impacted, followed by the guests staying there.
On a torn sofa, cotton batting drifted, mostly stained with blood.
There lay a girl in a revealing outfit, her expression tinged with regret, perhaps despair.
Her vacant, wide eyes stared at the hotel ceiling, unable to close.
One eyeball, having soaked in blood, had turned completely red.
A red eye...
"Speaking of which, Bai Ye, you're a vampire, right."
"If you're a vampire, why are your eyes black? Are you wearing colored contacts? So sly, sneaking around."
"Let me see, let me see."
"I think red eyes look better. Why aren't your eyes blood red? That would be so cool."
"Can vampires perform the Embrace? Can you turn me into a vampire too? Then I'd be ageless, immortal, and possess the most beautiful appearance in the world, heh heh heh."
"Zhu Fanfan... Stop dreaming."
"How can this be called dreaming? You don't understand."
"This is my pure maiden's heart!"
Zhu Fanfan...
Zhu Fanfan!
Bai Ye, his hands trembling, held the girl, whose body had already turned icy cold, in his arms and collapsed onto his knees in the blood.
"So cold..." His eyes were already blurred.
"So cold, Bai Ye, why is your hand so cold? Please, a girl's stomach is a very important place. Don't touch me with such cold hands, you idiot. What if I become infertile later?"
He lowered his head and looked at Zhu Fanfan's stomach, his hand almost instinctively covering the bloody hole.
But as the memory flashed back, he snatched his hand away as if electrocuted.
The next second, he froze abruptly.
He didn't know whether to cover it or leave the wound exposed to the air.
"You dead Bai Ye, you stinky Bai Ye, why aren't you coming to find me? Didn't you say you would protect me?"
"I hate you the most."
"I... hate you the most."
Bai Ye, his face a mask of despair, buried his head in Zhu Fanfan's neck. But for the first time, he didn't drink Zhu Fanfan's blood.
He hugged the cold corpse like a homeless stray dog, weeping uncontrollably.
But he was a vampire.
But he had no tears.
Duan Chen, while clearing the battlefield, saw this scene.
After a moment of silence, he walked over.
Bai Ye looked up. Seeing Duan Chen, his expression didn't change.
He simply opened his mouth slightly and said, "Zhu Fanfan is dead."
Duan Chen nodded.
"My condolences."
These two words, for some reason, struck a chord with Bai Ye, or perhaps angered him.
He suddenly stood up, his eyes as red as drops of blood, and challenged Duan Chen.
"Condolences?!"
"How can I offer condolences!"
"I originally thought... I originally thought I was right, I originally thought that doing this... I! But he killed Zhu Fanfan!"
"I..."
Duan Chen calmly interrupted, "So what?"
"How long will you wallow in self-pity?"
"My best brother is also dead."
"Two."
He held up two fingers, unconcerned, and sat down on the blood-soaked sofa. A pack of cigarettes appeared from nowhere.
"Want one?"
Bai Ye instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing the corpse in his arms, he gave a bitter laugh and took the cigarette.
"Yes."
He lit it.
He remained kneeling in the blood, holding Zhu Fanfan.
Both were silent.
Bai Ye broke the silence first.
"I'm starting to doubt whether what I've done is right or wrong."
"I've never gained anything, yet I've constantly lost what I longed for. Not only did it not come to me, but what I cherished left me."
"Should I really continue?"
He looked up at Duan Chen, as if seeking an answer.
Duan Chen's gaze was deep, "Whether to continue or not? You already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"
Bai Ye paused for a moment and gave a wry smile.
"That's right, I already have the answer in my heart."
"But there's no turning back now."
A death wish appeared in his eyes.
Duan Chen, however, shook his head, "Is there really no turning back?"
He extended a hand and placed it in front of Bai Ye.
Bai Ye looked at it, puzzled.
The hand brushed across his face. For a moment, it felt like a mosquito buzzing, and Bai Ye almost instinctively wanted to resist. But he had already resigned himself to death, and the moment he thought to resist, he suppressed it.
Then his gaze fixed on Duan Chen's hand.
But suddenly froze.