“Once we leave this place, we can be together forever.” Li Andy lied, but his expression was sincere.
“But if I leave… I won’t exist anymore.” The shadow responded vaguely.
Li Andy frowned slightly.
Indeed, Meilin in her shadow state was closer to the underlying code and knew some of the reincarnation world’s conditions.
“It’s alright, Father has a way to save you. Do you trust Father?” Li Andy coaxed softly, but the Bible in his hand had already quietly opened.
The shadow was silent for a long time, the lines on her face chaotic and intertwined.
After an unknown period, the footsteps of the living Meilin gradually approached.
Sophia bit her lip, gripping her revolver, ready to reset everything at any moment.
“I trust Father…” The shadow suddenly said.
Li Andy couldn’t help but be stunned; in a trance, he seemed to see a smiling face amidst the chaotic lines.
“Meilin….”
At this moment, the lines shattered.
The shadow waved at him, and countless black specks flew up like dandelions, drifting into the distance with the spring breeze.
“Father, goodbye….”
Li Andy opened his mouth but said nothing.
Without the shadow’s embrace, the lantern in his hand brightened a few shades.
Behind them, Meilin’s joyful voice rang out:
“Are you… the rescue team?”
Li Andy turned around, and she became even more excited, shedding tears, throwing away her old-fashioned lantern, and rushing into his arms:
“Father! Wuwu… It’s so good that you’re alright!
“Let’s go out quickly; Mother must be very anxious waiting.”
“Go out?”
Li Andy turned back in a daze, finding that the previously blocked tunnel had been cleared at some point, and a white pillar of light fell from the end, dividing the space.
At the spot where the shadow figure had squatted, a tiny skeleton, clutching a rusty lantern, was curled up at the edge of the shadow, just a palm’s width from the light.
The Ouroboros had lost its tail and its head.
The Yin and Yang fish, separated by water, one always black, one always white.
Meilin in Li Andy’s arms also quietly vanished.
He pressed his somewhat empty chest and led the two of them into the light.
… …
… …
Li Andy squinted, gradually adapting to the strong light of the environment.
Wind and sand blew, and they were already in a wilderness.
“We’ve reached the fourth level; this should be the last one,” he said.
Yuquan Youxi nodded and began to release Specter Nun to scout the surroundings.
Sophia hesitated and struggled for a long time before finally unable to resist asking:
“Andy, do you really have a way to save… Meilin?”
Li Andy looked at the girl’s gaze, which held a hint of hope, and sighed softly:
“If you’re talking about the main body of that skeleton, I can’t do it, because she has been dead for who knows how long.
“Moreover, she might not actually be named Meilin.
“Did you… forget my warning?”
When saying the last sentence, Li Andy frowned slightly.
“I didn’t forget!”
Sophia bit her lower lip and repeated,
“They are not human; do not empathize.”
Li Andy paused, then smiled and pinched her cheek:
“I said don’t empathize too much; I didn’t tell you to be heartless.
“Sensibility and empathy are proof that we are normal people.
“Those who go to extremes are either lunatics or perverts.”
“I… I was just summarizing; I know what you mean!”
Sophia puffed out her cheeks, her small mouth slightly pouting, but her heart felt much lighter. So much so that she even forgot to swat away Li Andy’s mischievous pinching hand.
Amidst their playful banter, Youxi had already finished her reconnaissance, opened her eyes, and pointed in one direction, saying:
“Brother, there are many… human-like things over there.”
Human-like things meant they were not human.
Li Andy let go of Sophia, activated Mad Blood, and holding his sister Youxi, leaped onto a high rock.
Looking down from above, he saw a strange battlefield.
It was strange because neither side’s warriors were human.
On one side were stone spears, wooden bows, and daggers;
On the other side were hunting rifles, bayonets, and revolvers.
Both sides howled and clashed, the scene novel and amusing, looking like a toy war.
“For our homeland, kill these evil invaders!”
“For freedom, wipe out these primitive barbarians!”