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Sorry for late chapters 21 to 23 got problems at home...
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While all the enemies were drawn to Himeko, Chen Ran quietly circled around and found a bush where he could conceal himself.
The branches here showed signs of being trampled, clearly indicating that someone had been here and searched carefully.
He carefully set Wendy down from his back, then sighed in relief and half-jokingly said.
"I couldn't find a better place, so let's see if our luck holds, whether the heavens will take us."
Now, almost everyone was drawn to Himeko, so they were relatively safe.
But that didn't mean they were absolutely safe.
If Himeko could hold on, then everything would be fine; if Himeko couldn't hold on, then Chen Ran would have to resort to his last method: suicide restart.
He actually wasn't brave enough to commit suicide.
The feeling of having all consciousness bound was something he didn't want to experience a second time.
Wendy didn't speak, just instinctively curled up.
Whether it was winter or summer, the nights on the island were a bit cold.
Then, she suddenly felt a wave of warmth.
Chen Ran held her in his arms, apologetically saying, "Sorry, there's no place to warm up at night, so we can only cuddle together."
"It's okay."
The girl's eyes held a hint of shyness; although she couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, she still felt at ease.
She blinked, her eyes stinging from fatigue, and then asked Chen Ran, "Are you tired?"
"Honestly, a bit."
Chen Ran wasn't someone who pretended to be a hero; he said, "This is my first time experiencing something so thrilling, I'm even a bit thirsty now."
"Indeed, even the wind by the sea carries a salty taste. Don't you feel like you're losing moisture faster than usual?"
"That's why seaside houses are expensive; they depreciate quickly."
He couldn't afford to doze off yet.
So he could only find aimless topics to talk about.
As for the sound of his voice, to be honest, Chen Ran didn't care much about it.
Wendy adjusted her position in Chen Ran's arms, then leaned against him.
Listening to Chen Ran's ramblings, she smiled and said, "This is my first time doing something so thrilling too."
"Aren't you scared at all?" Chen Ran asked.
"With you here, how could I be scared?"
The girl grasped Chen Ran's hand in the night, their palms and fingers intertwined.
Chen Ran fell silent.
He wouldn't fall in love with Wendy because he knew this wasn't real. How could a love spanning fifty thousand years be real?
Moreover, even if he were lucky enough to defeat Finality in his civilization, would Wendy still appear?
He said in his usual tone, "Yeah, who told me I'm handsome and charming, giving people a sense of security? With me around, there's naturally nothing to fear."
He half-jokingly said, "If unfortunately we both die here, would that count as a double suicide?"
Wendy squirmed in his arms and shook her head, "That definitely doesn't count; I said I would protect you."
The girl said seriously, as if she was very averse to mentioning the topic of death.
Chen Ran was speechless.
He really wanted to ask how Wendy would protect him in this situation, but now wasn't the time for serious questions.
"Mm mm mm, alright, then I'll have to trouble you to protect me next."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Wendy had loosened her hand, seemingly adjusting something with her upper body, twisting around in his embrace.
"What are you doing? Are you uncomfortable?"
He asked softly.
Wendy whispered, "I'm a bit thirsty; you're right, the sea breeze is too salty, so I'm losing moisture too quickly."
"Uh…"
He was about to say something when he felt his nose get bumped.
Wendy's forehead had unknowingly touched his nose.
And by the time Chen Ran reacted, the girl's soft lips had already kissed his.
Her warm breath brushed against his cheek.
Chen Ran felt his mind go blank, and his first thought was: There's no FBI here, right?
Was he being pushed back?!
Until the girl felt the air starting to thin, they finally stopped.
Wendy lay on his chest, and Chen Ran couldn't see her expression, but he heard her voice, not without pride, saying, "Thanks for quenching my thirst, thank you for the hospitality."
Just as Chen Ran was about to say something, she spoke again, "Shh, there are footsteps."
Chen Ran instinctively closed his mouth.
After a long while, they saw Himeko parting the bushes and finding the two, looking both amused and exasperated.
"You two little ones are quite clever. It's safe now."
…
…
There were over a hundred enemies on the island, all dealt with by Himeko.
She used Sunfire to start a bonfire by the sea, then leaned against a nearby rock.
On the other side of the bonfire, Wendy and Chen Ran cuddled together.
Although Chen Ran felt very complicated about this situation, he still allowed Wendy to lean on him.
He just pretended he was raising a two-dimensional wife.
With a span of fifty thousand years, Chen Ran didn't know how to deal with it, or perhaps it didn't need to be dealt with.
After all, fifty thousand years later, there might not even be a Wendy.
Even if there was, he probably wouldn't be around anymore.
…
…
As the distant horizon began to lighten, the sea around the island revealed its true form.
The campfire had already extinguished, leaving only wisps of smoke. Himeko stood on a nearby rock, gazing into the distance.
Chen Ran opened his sleepy eyes, feeling as if he had just woken from a long dream.
He dreamt that he had returned to the real world, and Wendy had followed him there.
His eyes still stung a bit; last night, Chen Ran hadn't rested well. After all, having done such things with Wendy, it was hard for him to fall asleep peacefully.
He instinctively thought about turning over, but couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
"Hiss…"
The beach was too hard, and with Wendy leaning too close, almost half of her body pressed against him, causing a direct ache in his back.
It felt as if he had been punched and kicked in the middle of the night.
"Could it be that Himeko couldn't stand me and decided to beat me up while I was asleep?"
He took a long time to adjust to his body's state.
Still, he held back from waking Wendy.
The dawn light filtered through the girl's peaceful face, resembling a fairy-tale princess.
He couldn't bear to shatter her dream.
After thinking all night, Chen Ran understood.
Since this was just a simulated scene, there was no need to get tangled up in its authenticity.
Once this scene was cleared, it was highly likely that he and Wendy would not meet again. So whatever Wendy wanted to do now, he would just let her have it.
He couldn't take responsibility, nor could he bear such a burden.
Dreams are illusions of consciousness, so let this illusion last a little longer.
Just as he calmly accepted this outcome, a massive floating battleship appeared on the horizon.
Himeko, who was gazing into the distance, let out a sigh of relief and shouted, "Hey, it's time to wake up! We're going back to Saint Freya!"
Chen Ran's consciousness began to blur.
The simulation had reached its limit.
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