"Brother Duan Chen, long time no see."
Seeing Duan Chen's lack of reaction, Jia Yunlian repeated herself, her smile still radiant.
"Although this appearance is quite good, I prefer the real you."
"Jia Yunlian..."
Duan Chen didn't know what emotions filled him as he called out her name. He only felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, much like when he saw Gao Tiankai's "betrayal."
Did the Jia Yunlian before him, like Gao Tiankai, have some unspeakable difficulty?
Duan Chen wasn't sure, and he dared not believe easily anymore.
"Captain, do you two know each other?"
Yuan Qingqing and the others' eyes flickered between the two.
Jia Yunlian chuckled, "Of course, we know each other. Don't you agree? Brother Duan Chen, Niya even mentioned wanting you to be her dad."
"Holy crap!" Jun Ci couldn't help but exclaim.
"Spectacular," Hill commented.
"Long time no see. It seems you're doing well, with so many companions by your side."
Jia Yunlian was smiling, yet Duan Chen saw that her smile didn't reach her eyes. Looking closely, a trace of sorrow could be discerned.
"Is this the choice you made after staying in Mirror City back then?"
Duan Chen remembered that when he left with Jia Yunlian, she had looked at him with the same gaze.
Why, after all?
All of them!
Was this so interesting?!
Gao Tiankai too!
And you!
Why did it have to be this way!
Duan Chen roared silently in his heart. He began to regret accepting Wu Suowei's authority. If he hadn't chosen to become a Royal Chess Piece, if he hadn't delved too deep into Mirror City, if he hadn't learned too much about the Evil God, could he have lived like an ordinary Spirit Hunter, taking missions when they came, being idle when there were none, and gathering with friends for drinks, living a comfortable life?
But what about now? Look at what everything has become!
Old Zhang, Gao Tiankai, Jia Yunlian... the friends around him were all leaving him!
Unknowingly, Duan Chen's eyes were filled with hatred.
"Duan Chen?" Hill called out softly, pulling him back from his thoughts.
Jia Yunlian didn't have telepathy and didn't know what Duan Chen was thinking. Duan Chen, currently disturbed by his emotions, couldn't recall needing to read Jia Yunlian's mind.
"Brother Duan Chen, it's been so long. Let me see how much your skills have improved. Otherwise, Sun Xiaoxiao and those guys always brag about how amazing you are. If I don't experience it myself, how will I know if you've improved?"
Jia Yunlian smiled, wielding her long whip.
You Jiawei was the first to attack, throwing a punch!
"Slap!"
Jia Yunlian raised her left cheek to block. Although her vision was filled with nothingness, she distinctly blocked a fist.
"I was talking to Brother Duan Chen, you don't get to interrupt!"
Queen of Thorns' expression changed. Her blood vine whip struck the ground with a sharp crack, reverting to her tigress-like demeanor and temporarily deterring You Jiawei.
Not to mention Yuan Qingqing, Jun Ci and Qin Nanyuan were also injured in their previous battles with her, their spiritual energy not fully recovered. At this moment, the only one capable of fighting Jia Yunlian was truly Duan Chen.
"Jia Yunlian!"
Duan Chen roared, gripping Thousand Illusions Pandora, and fired two shots in her direction.
"Hmph!"
The blood vine whip was unexpectedly resilient. After only two swings in the air, it knocked down both bullets.
"Captain!"
Yuan Qingqing finally reacted, the rice in her hand still not delivered to Duan Chen.
His spiritual energy was indeed depleted. Duan Chen quickly ate a couple of mouthfuls.
"Sequence 030: Void Domain!"
Open!
Gentle seawater permeated the area, casting a Void Domain within another Void Domain. Jia Yunlian had to admire Duan Chen's abilities and imagination.
"Here, it's just the two of us. No one will disturb us!"
Duan Chen's face was cold.
"I couldn't ask for more!"
Jia Yunlian's blood vine whip moved with the flexibility of two tentacles. From afar, it looked as if two black and red tentacles had grown out of Jia Yunlian's hands.
"Crack! Crack!"
"Sequence 008: Visual Analysis!"
Future paths became incredibly clear in Duan Chen's eyes. A line that could directly bypass the two blood vine whips and reach Jia Yunlian's abdomen suddenly lit up.
This was the path to the future he had seized!
Duan Chen gritted his teeth and threw a punch!
"Sequence 021: Phantom Strike!"
This was exactly what he had replicated using his Illusory Pupil, an ability belonging to You Jiawei, and he used it without hesitation.
"Bang!"
The fist struck the abdomen forcefully. Jia Yunlian's beautiful face contorted for a moment, then she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Pfft—"
Duan Chen held nothing back with this punch.
...
The Temple.
"Hahahaha..."
The Silhouette Monster burst into laughter while watching the influential scene, staggering from side to side. Wu Suowei's mouth twitched at the sight.
"Ah... who would have thought? The successive deaths and betrayals of his friends have created cracks in Duan Chen's heart. Soon, he will return to the embrace of the Evil God!"
"You're quite confident in yourself."
The patterned chains on Wu Suowei had disappeared. He sat there listlessly, munching on a Jianbing Guozi.
"Hmph! Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
The shadow stopped its mockery and asked tentatively.
Wu Suowei replied vaguely, "Guess."
Impossible!
Duan Chen's state of mind had already begun to waver. With just a little more prompting now, he was sure Duan Chen would definitely be on his side.
And he, Wu Suowei, would be defeated again in this 1000th timeline!
Thinking this, the Silhouette Monster felt a little more at ease.
Wu Suowei, on the other hand, wore a faint smile.
"What is it, it seems your tricks are just this much."
"What do you mean?"
The Silhouette Monster said in a deep voice.
"Literally."
"Duan Chen will not always go downhill. He will make his own choices, and that choice will be much better than what you offer." Wu Suowei continued eating his Jianbing Guozi, mumbling words the Silhouette Monster couldn't understand.
"You're talking nonsense?"
Wu Suowei literally farted.
Right in front of him.
He let out a.
Fart.
The Silhouette Monster turned to stone.
"No matter what, I've won this game," Wu Suowei swallowed the last bite of Jianbing Guozi and tossed the trash towards the Silhouette Monster.
"You..."
He dared not mention the word "fart" again.
"Hmph! If Duan Chen comes to me, he will only gain, not lose further!"
"Gain what? Gain a fart?"
Wu Suowei looked inexplicably confused.
"Get out!!!"
If the Silhouette Monster had legs, Wu Suowei would likely have been kicked out of the temple by now. He looked at the scene before him and sighed silently in his heart.
Please, Duan Chen, I believe in you, and I believe in your choice.
For the 1000th timeline, he needed a perfect ending.