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Chapter 1587 Final Chapter: Guarding the Coastline: "OE: Die from the Ocean (11)"

"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Tatsumi. He and his friends fought for their ideals and upheld justice."

"At that time, the world was controlled by cruel generals and ministers, and nobles oppressed ordinary people at will, and the world was in chaos."

"Faced with tyranny, Tatsumi and his friends united and defeated the evil general and minister. From then on, no one could separate them. In the end, Tatsumi and all his companions lived happily ever after..."

Su Ming'an leaned against the bed, gazing at the snow outside the window.

All year round, the landscape is covered in snow.

A thin layer of fog had covered the windowpane. He stretched out his finger and drew a small, clear watermark on the glass, and the white world outside the window instantly came into view.

A spiderweb-like network of multi-level transportation hubs, high-speed maglev trains, and delivery drones shuttling between buildings...

A holographic billboard suspended in mid-air plays festive preview images, with the golden number "21" flashing and rotating continuously.

In street corners and alleyways, various high-tech decorations have quietly appeared. A young girl stopped, looked up, and took a photo of the changing light and shadow of blessings in the air, a pure smile on her face. In a glass shop window, a giant virtual mascot dressed in festive attire danced against a backdrop of swirling snowflakes, attracting several children bundled up tightly.

Su Ming watched all of this quietly until Lin Yin by the bedside finished reading the story.

"...Is that really the story?" Su Ming'an asked softly. His memory didn't recall it that way.

“Yes, this is a story similar to ours.” Lin Yin patted her chest to assure her, then picked up a bowl of brown liquid: “Alright, now that you’ve heard the story, it’s time to drink your medicine.”

"...You really treat me like a child."

"That's because you didn't listen to us. If Yamada Machiichi hadn't notified us, were you planning to bleed to death by yourself?"

"And what about you?" Su Ming'an said, "You want to be the president of the wet nurse association, so why do you want to get involved in politics, which you don't like?"

"..." Lin Yin had nothing to say, she just snorted heavily.

They are all the same, and no one should try to blame anyone else.

"Come on, drink your medicine, open your mouth..." Lin Yin coaxed a child, picking up the medicine bowl.

“I can drink it myself.” Su Ming’an took the bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and his expression fluctuated.

"Here, Luto, I brought you some candy." Lin Yin then took out the candy: "If you're suffering, just say so and ask us for candy. Don't suffer alone."

"How old are you?"

"Trying to use your age to intimidate me? We're all your older brothers and sisters now!" Lin Yin said, hands on her hips. "Since you've traveled through time, your age doesn't count as normal growth at all. You'll only get younger than us!"

Su Ming'an was silent for a moment, the sweetness of the lemon candy melting in his mouth, and he suddenly said in a hoarse voice:
"So, you'll all get older than me...?"

As if she had touched on something taboo, Lin Yin's expression changed.

She suddenly couldn't breathe.

"You...you've taken your medicine, get some rest. I'm going back to work. Eleven will take over to take care of you later..." Lin Yin hurriedly turned and left, not wanting to face this topic.

They will all get older.

As for Su Ming'an... as the World Tree, his time has been frozen.

A moment later, the black-haired woman pushed open the door and entered, only to see that Su Ming'an had already left the bed and was sitting in that damned chair, starting to have his blood drawn.

Eleven's expression changed, and then she silently walked to his side, watching him conduct the experiment.

"Don't rush me to rest. I know my body. I'm sick now, which is a good opportunity to study the data under the microscope..." Su Ming'an exhaled the hot air and observed the slide under the microscope.

"I won't rush you," Eleven said calmly.

“Hmm.” Su Ming’an lowered his head and continued.

Half an hour later, he suddenly swayed and fell to the side. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Eleven, as if he had been prepared, immediately stretched out a hand and easily caught him.

His body was frighteningly light; in just a few months, it was as if his flesh and blood had been hollowed out. When Eleven's fingers touched the hard bones, he felt as if he were holding a skeleton, something he could easily support with one hand.

She lowered her head, took out a towel she had prepared beforehand, wiped the blood from his cough, carried him back to the bed, and laid him down flat.

Ever since Su Ming'an fell into a coma that day, Yamada Machiichi, that big mouth, called everyone over. They reached an agreement at his bedside that more than a dozen people would take turns caring for him.

……

[On December 25th, this group of people came to the banquet. I had this idea of ​​going back in time and erasing them all. If I could just stop Yamada Machiichi, would they not find out I was here?]

[December 26th, oh well, I finally got sick. If I could go back in time, maybe I wouldn't have gotten sick.]

[On December 27th, while my companions' concern was considerate, it also brought many problems… They kept urging me to take my medicine. Fortunately, if I stood my ground, they couldn't do anything about it. The most troublesome one was Lin Yin; she was very firm. The best one was Shiyi; she always watched me silently and didn't interfere.]

[It snowed on December 28th. Snow is rare in the south, but since the world game started, we've seen it again and again...]

Thankfully, it won't be cold this time.

[On December 29th, while taking my medicine, I kept looking out the window. It seems to be getting more and more lively lately? Oh right, it seems my birthday is coming up again. My companions told me that people have started treating the "Lord's Birthday" like a major "human anniversary celebration," almost as lively as Chinese New Year… Oh well, let's keep it simple for ourselves. After all, I haven't celebrated each of their birthdays yet, and I feel unworthy.]

……

"I'm here, big brother!" Mo Yan arrived excitedly in the evening.

The room seemed to brighten up when Mo Yan arrived.

“Big brother, our university is super far from here, but luckily I can take the teleportation array. In a flash, I’m here. It’s amazing!” Mo Yan suddenly scratched his head: “Ah… Big brother, are you doing an experiment? Then I’ll be quiet.”

Su Ming'an nodded without turning around.

Mo Yan helped Su Ming'an with all sorts of things. Whenever Su Ming'an needed a medicine, Mo Yan would eagerly go and get it for him, working tirelessly without complaint.

"Cough...cough cough cough!"

Suddenly, Su Ming'an coughed violently, spraying bright red blood onto the lab table.

Mo Yan's face turned pale instantly, and he rushed over like a small train.

"Big brother! Big brother, let me help you to the medical pod!"

"First..." Su Ming'an pushed Mo Yan away, spitting blood as he pointed at the lab table, "First, take those glass bottles down, don't let them get contaminated...! Cough, cough cough cough...!"

The glass bottle lying in the pool of blood seemed to glitter.

Without hesitation, Mo Yan took the glass bottle, placed his elder brother on the wheelchair, and quickly pushed him into the medical pod.

The glass closed, and looking at his elder brother's pale face, Mo Yan still wore a smile:

"Big brother, you get some rest. If you want to come out, just press the button and call me!"

“No need… You do your thing… There are many… robots here that can help me…” Su Ming’an shook his head; these companions always had to do some unnecessary things.

"Big brother, remember to press the button!" Mo Yan repeated as if he hadn't heard him. He smiled and waved, put the glass bottle back into the freezer, and walked out with light steps.

Reaching the corner, in a blind spot, he suddenly smashed all the empty glass bottles on the nearby table and punched the wall hard.

He hung his head, like a dejected eagle, and remained silent for a long time.

Tears suddenly burst forth uncontrollably. He hadn't cried in a long time, not even when he fell in the heavy rain at White Sand Paradise. Now, he was like a child who had lost his candy, wiping away his tears and crying uncontrollably.

He slumped to the ground, pounding his fists against the wall, looking less like a successful hero and more like a gambler who had lost everything.

Halfway through his crying, he suddenly saw Yamada Machiichi squatting at the corner at the end of the corridor.

Today wasn't the day Yamada-cho was supposed to come and take care of things, but Yamada came anyway.

"What are you doing here? Trying to steal my time taking care of you?" Mo Yan wiped her face clean and walked over, saying this on purpose.

To everyone's surprise, when Yamada turned around, his face was also streaked with tears. His eyes stared blankly at Mo Yan, and his lips twitched painfully.

Mo Yan opened his mouth, squatted down, and stopped joking: "...Why are you hiding here, Yamada? Aren't you going in?"

“If he sees me like this… he’ll be sad.” Yamada Machiichi let out a deep breath and smiled, “You go back, I’m fine.”

He wiped away his tears and turned to leave.

……

[December 30th, tonight, all my companions came. I'm sorry, I can't get up to greet them.]

……

My 21st birthday.

Although for Su Ming'an, such numbers have become meaningless.

This is the first time since his birth that he has celebrated his birthday in a medical pod.

For the first time, he looked at his friends celebrating his birthday from afar through the glass.

Since the medical pod couldn't be moved, they activated the virtual reality system to transform the cold laboratory into a warm villa, decorated with balloons, flowers, and ribbons.

Fearing that Su Ming'an wouldn't be able to see the fireworks celebrating the birthdays of millions of people outside the window, they specially set up several large screens to display the mountains, rivers, and bustling traffic outside.

Since cooking equipment couldn't be brought into the lab, they prepared the food outside and brought it in. However, no one ate the food; it just sat there.

"Three—two—one—"

"Blow a breath, Su Ming'an!"

The candle blowing was done through the ventilation system of the medical pod. Su Ming'an gently blew a breath through a tube, and the candles on the cake went out.

Everyone knows that a breath from such a distance, after passing through a long pipe, could not possibly extinguish a candle, but the candle is extinguished anyway, and who cares how it was extinguished?

The moment the candle went out, his eyes were slightly open—he hadn't actually made any wishes, because he had agreed last year that he would only be allowed to show weakness to God once, and from now on, he would have to fulfill all his wishes on his own.

"Clap!"

Fireworks soared and colorful ribbons filled the sky.

They deliberately separated the experimental equipment, and Yi Song summoned a wind wall, causing the ribbons to fall onto the circular glass in front of Su Ming'an.

Su Ming'an gently placed his fingers on the glass, as if touching something soft.

His consciousness gradually faded. The medical pod injected a recovery agent, and he seemed to have a fever, his face flushed as he watched everyone celebrate joyfully. Unconsciously, someone's hand pressed against the glass, his palm touching his through the glass.

He slightly opened his eyes; it was Yamada Machiichi.

This guy's hands were very white, and there were some small knife wounds on his fingertips. I pressed my hand tightly against the glass.

The next time he blinked, the hand that was pressed against his through the glass was Lin Yin's.

Lin Yin's wrist was tied with a red string, which swayed slightly outside the glass.

In the blink of an eye, the image pasted on the outside of the glass changed to Isabella's calloused hand.

In the blink of an eye, it was Aini's hand with slight burns.

In the blink of an eye, it was Zhao Yuan's hand, roughened by years of traversing the flames of war.

Once again, it was Yi Song's hand adorned with various bracelets.

Once again, it was Eleven's hand wearing a silver ring.

Once again, it was Mo Yan's hand, calloused from the sword.

again……

Their palms touched him one by one, as if giving him a high five, their faces passing across the glass, each pair of eyes displaying a different expression.

"Ming'an, with your mom and dad holding your hands, just hang in there a little longer, you'll get through this..."

Su Ming'an closed his eyes, and what his palm touched no longer felt like cold glass, but rather a warm embrace.

When he was a child, he was afraid of getting sick and thought it was very uncomfortable, but gradually, he began to look forward to getting sick.

Because only when he was sick would his mother let him off the hook, wouldn't hit him, wouldn't press the piano board on his fingers, and wouldn't slap him hard. Even for the smallest mistake, she would forgive him.

She would suddenly become gentle and considerate, like the mother of his dreams, softly asking him what he wanted to eat or drink, coaxing him to eat candy and take his medicine, gently stroking his head, and falling asleep beside him in bed. Every time he opened his eyes and saw her peaceful face, counting the wrinkles on her face, he felt like it was a dream.

He wished he could stay sick longer, much longer, so that she would always remain so gentle.
Why does my mother become my mother just because I'm sick?

It turns out that she was also aware that she was a child who could get sick.

"Mother……"

He reached out his hand in a daze.

At that moment, he remembered the helplessness in Lin Yin's eyes back then; she was afraid that they would grow old together, while he would remain forever.

Actually, there's no need to worry at all.

……

"Oh, right," He suddenly said, "You should have a piece of the Devil of Fun's divine essence. Your compatibility is too low. Don't use it, otherwise, even if you hold on until the end, the collapse of your soul will be almost inevitable."

……

He lied to everyone.

Survival is not without its costs.

What sustains his humanity now is the consumption of his soul. He has two choices—first, to continue maintaining his peak power and perception, continuing to recklessly traverse time, continuing to consume himself. In that case, he might only live for a hundred years, or even less. Second, to ignore everything, like a tree quietly living, maintaining only the bare minimum of mobility; in that case, he could indeed live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

He hypnotized himself, believing that during the experiment he would perceive pain as pleasure, so he would not be afraid.

"M...it's bound to happen sooner or later...?" He didn't know who he was talking to.

"If it only lasts a hundred years..."

My fingers curled slightly, and the image of my mother vanished, replaced by the smiling faces of my companions.

"Then..."

His eyes slowly closed.

"century……"

……

"Su Ming'an." In his hazy state, he heard Su Lin's voice:
"I have good news for you. Those people have discovered Zhai Xing."

"The real Zhai Xing."

"Considering that you have increased the travel speed in the small world, perhaps you will be able to go home soon."

……