Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Tamo only understood everything after they had completely merged, almost a week after Helan's death.

The dragon race was destroyed, the world collapsed, and all life on the planet turned to dust in an instant.

Tamo was struck dumb. He stumbled and ran to the dead planet. After searching for a long time, he finally found Helan's dragon body, which was mostly rotten, under the sand.

His face was disfigured, half of it festering flesh and half of it remaining as bone.

Tamo knelt before Helan's remains. He seemed lost in thought for a long time before finally extending his stiff arms and silently embracing Helan.

He Lan... He Lan...

He held the skeleton beneath him tightly, using force but not daring to use too much. In the end, he simply pressed down on the back of He Lan's head, burying his head between his own neck and his own.

He used to hide under the hard exterior of the silver ball, only daring to pretend to be soft in order to make He Lan like him more.

And now... he actually killed him with his own hands.

【He Lan...it hurts a lot, doesn't it? Does it hurt? Don't stay silent, I'm back, I'm back...don't be afraid...】

Tamo comforted her softly, his palm stroking Helan's back, slowly moving downwards, touching numerous wounds and scars along the way.

Regret and self-blame nearly drowned him. Tamor turned his face away, and as he sobbed, he tasted a strong, metallic taste of blood in his throat.

It's okay...it's okay...

Tamo gently stroked Helan's tangled, dirty hair, completely unconcerned about the dried pus and blood on it, his head bowed and his voice trembling.

It's okay, we still have a chance... He Lan, we still have a chance...

He is the main system; he has the ability and the power to resurrect a person—if he wants to.

Tamo picked up Helan and carried the remains back to his private space, slowly wiping away the tears on his face along the way.

They still have a chance.

He may have missed out in the past, but there is still a long time ahead, and he will have another chance to make up for it.

Tamer had always thought it would be like this.

He hid Helan's remains in a sealed space, infusing him with life and energy every day. Day after day, year after year, until Helan's decaying body began to slowly repair itself, growing clean and intact flesh and blood.

After an unknown amount of time, He Lan finally recovered and opened her eyes one day.

Tamo was overjoyed. He stood awkwardly beside Helan like a child who had made a mistake, his expression tense, not daring to show too much emotion.

【He Lan.】

Tamo spoke cautiously.

He Lan was in a daze, his face as pale as paper. He turned his face stiffly when he heard the voice: "...Who are you?"

Tamer paused. "He Lan, I am Su Hui. Do you remember me?"

“Tracing back…” He Lan’s pupils moved, his shattered soul slowly merging, as did the memories mixed in with it.

“Su Hui…you are Su Hui…” He Lan reached out to Tamo, “Let me touch you.”

Tamo stood obediently in place, letting Helan's palm touch his face, adjusting his appearance as usual to make it soft, like the fur of some kind of beast.

He Lan slowly touched Tamo with his fingertips, his eyes open, aimlessly sensing the sensations beneath him.

“Su Hui…you are Su Hui…” He Lan murmured twice, his palm moving downwards, tracing an arc that was not quite a sphere.

The thing squatting in front of him wasn't a sphere, it was a person.

He Lan's expression froze. His hand stopped beside Tamo's face, and without warning, he suddenly grabbed Tamo's neck with his other hand.

"You liar, you're not him!" He Lan's face turned fierce, his tone filled with obvious hatred, each word hammering at Tamo's nerves. "You killed him, I remember you...you killed him! You're not him...not him!"

Tamo's mechanical exterior was almost undamaged, but He Lan's grip on his neck still made him feel the pain of suffocation.

He stared blankly at He Lan, then suddenly snapped and gripped her wrist tightly.

【How can I not be him? He Lan, I remember everything from before. In the year 573 of the Dragon Clan, on the banks of the Siren River, I first met you. After that, I've always been with you. I…】

Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped hard across the right cheek. He Lan was weak and didn't have much strength, but the slap still made Tamo dizzy.

He pressed down on the seat next to him, and after a long while, he mechanically turned his head to look at He Lan again.

"You're not him, not him..." He Lan's blind eyes were filled with confusion. He retreated to the corner, picked up the sharp knife beside him, and pointed it directly at Tamo. "You killed him! It was all you! It was all you!"

Tamo blinked his dry eyes, looked at He Lan, and suddenly laughed amidst the ringing in his ears.

He Lan, it's only right that you hate me.

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up and approached the corner. Without even glancing at the dagger in He Lan's hand, he directly condensed his power into a spike and handed it to He Lan. Then, he grabbed He Lan's hand and quickly and ruthlessly stabbed it into his own system shell.

Ordinary blades wouldn't damage him, but this energy could.

The sound of the core cracking rang out between them, and amidst the blaring alarms, Tamo stared unblinkingly at Helan's face.

I'll give you a chance to get revenge, okay?

He Lan's pale lips trembled. He was cornered with nowhere to retreat, and he could only feel the hard, dry spot where his palm had pierced, with tiny electric currents stimulating his skin.

Familiar, yet strange.

"Why did you do this..." Tears welled up in He Lan's eyes. He raised his head slightly, staring blankly upwards. "What did you do to him? What did you do to him..."

Tamo didn't know what to say. Despite the dull pain from the sharp blade piercing his core, he slowly pulled Helan into his arms.

【He Lan, this is Su Hui. Could you... please look at me again?】

He Lan's body was ice-cold. He couldn't see his surroundings, and everything his hands touched was unfamiliar. Tamo held him as if he were a fragile object, his brows furrowed, and he whispered words of comfort to He Lan.

The air in the small space slowly became still. After a moment, Tamo looked at him again. He Lan's nose was red, his eyes were lowered as he looked down at the ground, and his body was still trembling slightly.

He Lan, I will heal your eyes, and then I will take you to a new world, a place you couldn't go before. This time, I'll go with you, we'll go together...

He Lan remained silent, his golden eyes light in color, staring intently ahead, also sensing the aura emanating from Tamo.

Seeing that his hair was damp with sweat and clung to his cheeks, Tamo reached out to wipe it away for him. But He Lan seemed startled and abruptly turned his head to the other side as Tamo reached out.

Tamor's fingers stiffened for a moment, then he withdrew them.

"I'll go out now and come see you again tonight. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

He Lan huddled in the corner, hugging his knees. His voice was hoarse, weak, and feeble: "No."

Tamo didn't speak again. Sensing Helan's resistance, he got up and retreated.

He Lan remained motionless despite the noise. Tamo walked to the edge of the small space and glanced back. He Lan's body was thin and shrouded in shadow, making it almost impossible to see his outline.

Tamo withdrew his gaze and reached out to close the only door that allowed entry and exit from the space.

It's normal for He Lan to feel unfamiliar with Tamo since he has just been resurrected, after all, Tamo is no longer the same as before.

It's okay... things will get better. As long as he's patient, everything will be alright.

Tamo composed himself, went outside, prepared his things, and cooked some dishes according to Helan's tastes from when he was in the Dragon Clan.

He ignored those rigid and exceptionally precise system algorithms, and just like with the previous silver ball, he boiled water, stir-fried it, and added seasonings according to his own intuition.

It may not be 100% perfect, but only he and Helan can truly understand its essence.

Tamo spent the whole afternoon tinkering and finally managed to make a few dishes that looked reasonably normal.

During this time, other system tasks were issued, so he went to the main control room again. When he returned, the food had gone cold, so Tamo reheated it all before taking his belongings to his small space.

【He Lan.】

He knocked on the barrier door of the space.

May I come in?

There was no answer after two knocks.

Tamer didn't care. He waited outside the door for a few minutes, then tapped on the barrier door again.

【He Lan?】

He called out several times, but there was still no answer from inside.

As time slowly passed, Tamo vaguely sensed something strange. He gripped the lunchbox in his hand, and after calling out a few more times without receiving a response, he simply tore open the door to the space.

He Lan, I...

Tamer stopped in his tracks. He stood at the doorway, his face filled with the stench of blood that permeated the room.

He Lan collapsed onto the bed, the sharp knife still clutched in his hand, stained with blood. His arm hung limply over the edge of the bed, blood flowing continuously from his wrist, taking away the little warmth his body had left.

Tamo stood at the door holding the lunchbox, facing He Lan's pale face, her golden eyes dim and filled with resentment.

He has been dead for some time.

"You are not him..."

"You won't get away with this..."

Those faint sounds, seemingly real yet unreal, lingered around Tamo's ears. Tamo blinked, only to feel his vision go black, swallowing and blocking out all the scenery around him.

He loosened his grip, and the lunchbox fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

[Tracing Back: He Lan's Resurrection (Experiment 367) Has Failed]