Chapter 114: 112 Nursery Rhyme (Combined)

It was evident that the owner of the speedboat was quite wealthy, as it was equipped with many external devices, though most were flashy and impractical, such as expensive brand-name speakers worth tens of thousands, televisions, and the like; these things were not important and would only increase the burden.

Drake and Li Nuowei were still very gentlemanly; they could have thrown everything they cleared out into the sea, but they still moved the items to the shore, hoping the boat owner could retrieve their lost belongings. Li Nuowei even left an IOU at the end, though he signed it with Drake's name.

"Why did you leave my name?" Drake asked with some dissatisfaction. Stealing the boat was clearly that kid's idea, and besides, if they were going to steal it, what was the point of leaving a name?

Li Nuowei said solemnly, "I'm still a student."

"You're a damn university student, not a grade schooler!" Drake was slightly angry, but considering this guy had saved his life a few times, he chose not to bicker too much with this little madman.

The speedboat drove into the fog. The surrounding mist was as thick as a boundless wall. Aside from the seawater along the way, the two could see nothing else. Occasionally, they could see a few treacherous black reefs appearing on the sea; they were natural traps, the sneaky malice of the Grim Reaper, but Li Nuowei's driving skills were excellent, and he could easily and nimbly bypass them almost every time.

"How long have you been learning this?" Drake asked curiously. As a multi-talented detective, although he also knew how to drive a speedboat, he was by no means as slick as Li Nuowei.

Li Nuowei chuckled and explained, "It took me a week to learn how to drive it, but it took two years to practice to this level."

"You shouldn't be getting involved in this matter every time you reincarnate, right?" Drake took a deep look at the other person and guessed, "I think as a student, you shouldn't have that much time to specifically learn these things."

He guessed that most of Li Nuowei's knowledge and skills came from learning during the reincarnations.

"That's right." Li Nuowei admitted generously, "In order to solve the Abnormal events currently happening in Liuhua Port, I have made many preparations, such as learning to drive various types of vehicles, studying various histories, regional languages, and ancient scripts, etc. Honestly, only after truly experiencing all kinds of learning will you know what you have a special talent for."

"I see." Drake nodded. It was indeed as he had speculated. He crossed his arms and said, "I agree with your view; many things can only be known after trying them to see if you are suitable for doing them."

As he spoke, Drake asked the question he had always wanted to know, which was also a question Li Nuowei had always avoided. He took advantage of the relatively gentle atmosphere and asked: "You have the special ability of Death Reincarnation and have experienced thousands of reincarnations. I think most of the people who have appeared in your life should be no different from the unremarkable NPCs in a game to you. You have countless better ways to live, so why wade into my muddy waters? Is it really just as simple as repaying a debt of gratitude?"

Li Nuowei was driving the boat, the sound of the engine cutting through the water between him and Drake. After a long silence, he replied: "I think you might have some misunderstandings about me. It is precisely because I possess this ability that I cannot simply treat everyone in this world as an NPC, nor can I treat every life as a game.

No matter how many times I die and start over, my impression of death is profound. Every feeling of death is a devastating blow on a spiritual and mental level.

Most people only have one complete death experience, but I have experienced it thousands of times, and every time is still fresh in my memory.

Reincarnation does not allow me to ignore death. Although I may become numb to the act of living, I cannot fade the shadow that death casts over me.

Of course, in the repeated reincarnations, I have also understood that there are many things in this world that are even more cruel than one's own death, and that is watching others die.

If I had always left the Abnormal events in Liuhua Port alone, regardless of whether I tried to escape this city or chose to let things rot and develop as they would, the amazing thing is that you could always save my life at just the right moment, even if I had deliberately stayed away from you. We always meet by fate; heh, even if it is the ill-fated connection of death..."

Drake listened carefully to Li Nuowei's self-deprecation, was silent for a moment, and said: "Can you tell me under what circumstances I saved you?"

"Why are you so shameless, wanting to hear a beneficiary describe your heroic deeds?" Li Nuowei frowned at Drake after hearing this, displeased.

Drake bared his interlocking sharp teeth and laughed: "Hahaha, just consider it satisfying my curiosity. I also want to know how I became obsessed with you on different reincarnation lines."

Li Nuowei curled his lips but still satisfied Drake's curiosity, "Before I first experienced the ability of Death Reincarnation, that is, when I went to the hospital to visit a female classmate I liked, just as I was about to be killed by her, you, who were investigating the missing persons case, also arrived at the hospital and saved me from her hands."

"Wait, what exactly did you do that your crush wanted to kill you?" Drake looked shocked.

Li Nuowei glanced at the other person and knew from Drake's teasing eyes that he had actually guessed the truth, but he still explained: "I wish I could have done something. Unfortunately, she was a Jiaoren Disease Patient just like you, and at that time, she had basically completed her transformation and completely lost human rationality. She killed the nurses and doctors, and naturally wanted to kill me too."

"After that, although I luckily escaped a disaster with your help, on the night of the meteor shower a few days later, a thick sea fog like today's drifted from the sea to the shore, and hidden within it were towering beasts that came stepping on the waves. The tsunami swept through the city, and countless residents died in the flood. Although I was lucky enough to avoid dying in the tsunami, I eventually escaped the city submerged by the tsunami with your help as you were about to transform into a fish-person... Well, although I didn't survive that time either, I was captured and eaten by other fish-people." Li Nuowei recalled his first experience with some emotion.

"Later, I entered the reincarnation for the first time." Li Nuowei narrowed his eyes and continued to recall, "I thought it was a real nightmare I had, but it wasn't until I went to the hospital to visit the person I liked again and encountered the same situation that I finally confirmed I wasn't dreaming. However, I wasn't mature enough at that time, and I was a bit reckless. After you saved my life again, in order to figure out what kind of Abnormal event was happening in this city, I plunged headlong into this deep abyss and finally died at the hands of that taxi driver."

Drake also remembered that remnant of the Anhai Divine Society. After listening to Li Nuowei's calm description, he felt a deep resentment from it. He didn't know how much psychological trauma that taxi driver had caused this child that time, or how much trouble he had caused the other person in different reincarnation lines, which made Li Nuowei unable to help but want to send him to heaven "ruthlessly."

Drake listened to Li Nuowei recount his help on different reincarnation lines; almost every time it was a life-saving grace. Even if Li Nuowei gave up going to the hospital to see the girl he liked, the two would always meet in the same city, and then he would save his dog's life.

When he heard Li Nuowei mention the fifty-seventh time he saved him, Drake interrupted him and asked: "In those reincarnation lines where you avoided this Abnormal event, I shouldn't have been there, right?"

Who knew, Li Nuowei looked at him with a complex expression and said: "Yes, I was. In those reincarnation lines, I married the same wife, and it was precisely because of those times that I finally understood the Abnormal Curse of 'Jiaoren Disease'."

"I believe you have guessed it too. That's right, my wife, like you, carried the descendant bloodline of the cursed members of the Anhai Divine Society. My wife and children were with me when I was forty-two years old, on the night when another meteor shower appeared. They returned to this city that had already been submerged by seawater. On the way to save them, I met a special fish-person with lewd behavior."

"Yes, don't look at me with that strange gaze; I described it quite accurately. Don't be modest either. I can tell you frankly that the special fish-person was you. You are a special fish-person who would awaken the side of your human memory when you were full. You helped me a lot on the way to finding my wife and children, and it was also from you that I learned the origin of the Jiaoren Disease."

"In the end, you helped me find my wife and children, but you also lost your life because of it..."

Drake finished listening to Li Nuowei's account, stunned and lost in thought, his mind unfocused, his eyes slightly dazed. He really couldn't imagine that his connection with Li Nuowei was so deep that even after he turned into a fish-person, he could still save his whole family.

Li Nuowei looked at Drake helplessly: "Are you satisfied now? So can you understand my feelings a little bit now? It's not that I don't want to explain to you the reason why I repay your kindness; it's mainly because it's really too troublesome to explain..."

Drake came back to his senses, sighed secretly, and nodded: "I believe you now."

"However, I still think the motive of repaying a debt of gratitude is a bit weak." Drake's pale yellow eyes stared at Li Nuowei, his voice becoming a bit hoarse, "I believe that besides repaying the debt, you also have the reason of wanting your future wife and children to no longer suffer."

To this, Li Nuowei did not refute and admitted it very frankly: "Yes."

Drake grinned, "And as you said before, every death brings you great pain, and watching others die is even more painful than your own death. Let's just classify you as one of those people with a high sense of moral honor."

"When you have personally experienced the demise of Liuhua Port countless times, you clearly know everything that happened in the city and possess this magical ability, yet you cannot save this city. That should also be a kind of mental torture for you."

Li Nuowei glanced at the other person, his breathing not very steady, and sighed: "That too."

"So, in summary, you actively participating in the Abnormal events of this city is not just to save me. Although that may be a big reason, you also have the selfish motive of wanting to get rid of the Dream Demon and protect your future wife and children." Drake analyzed.

Li Nuowei said helplessly: "Is my motive really that important?"

"Important, very important." Drake said seriously. He patted Li Nuowei on the shoulder, "This means you have gained my double trust."

"You have to explain a long string of things to me every time, just to win my trust, and it takes a long time every time, right?" Drake asked with a smile.

"Yeah, your rationality as a detective makes you very suspicious." Li Nuowei also curled the corners of his mouth.

Drake gripped Li Nuowei's shoulder with a little force and said: "If this reincarnation line also fails, then when you find me next time, just recite a nursery rhyme to me."

In Li Nuowei's surprised eyes, Drake recited that nursery rhyme in New York Language.

"Above the sky, the stars have reached the time of return

The past is gone, the end has descended

The seal is broken, the ancient ruler will awaken

Humanity will be startled by the ultimate fear of all things

They will spread their respective true names

They will bring hope into the abyss and bring despair to the present world

Blindness and stupidity will dominate everything

They are the domain, they are the rules

The stars shine, all things boil

The end is coming"

They are about to return..."

Li Nuowei listened to the entire lyrics of the nursery rhyme in astonishment, then asked blankly: "If I may ask, what kind of education did you receive as a child? This cult nursery rhyme I've never heard of is completely Abnormal."

A portion of the lyrics recorded in this nursery rhyme corresponded exactly to the disaster that Liuhua Port was about to face; it was clearly full of Abnormalities, and he did not think this was a nursery rhyme Drake had just made up—not because he doubted Drake's ability, but because with Drake's current level of knowledge, he simply could not have fabricated these lyrics.

"I know it's Abnormal too," Drake said in a deep voice. He grabbed his scalp, and every time his left hand, which had grown sharp fingernails, scratched his head, strands of wet black hair fell out. "This is a song that has appeared in my dreams from time to time since I was born. Over the decades, I have gradually been able to distinguish the words that were originally unintelligible, and I have even recorded the melody."

"Like the fish-man Dream Demon that has been troubling me lately, in the scenes of my dreams, this nursery rhyme often plays on a loop like background music. I don't know why, but that singing voice possesses a contradictory power that is both terrifying and comforting."

"Do you think it could be the voice of one of your parents?" Li Nuowei guessed.

Drake stared into the fog ahead, the fog being a reflection of his inner state at this moment, and said in a low voice: "I don't know, but I hope it is. That way, at least I can confirm that besides giving me life and a Curse, they also gave me a 'warm' reminder."

Yes...

If this nursery rhyme is a reminder, then he truly should not have stepped foot onto this ancestral land...