Chapter 555: Offering to the Departed

From beginning to end, Cheng Shuili never turned back to give him a glance.

Jack opened his mouth.

He suddenly wanted to ask a question, one he had been wanting to ask ever since the day the server-wide first was taken by her.

Why can you beat me? On what grounds?

But his lips moved, only spitting out a few broken sounds.

Those sounds dissolved in the wind, unheard by anyone.

Jack's head tilted slightly, the corner of his mouth still bearing an unformed curve. His fingers loosened, and the last drop of blood slipped from his fingertip into the soil at his feet.

Wind blew in from afar, stirring up a few pieces of charred paper ash.

The ash settled on him for a moment, then was carried away by the wind.

In the World Channel, a notification popped up.

"Player Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji successfully killed Freedom Wing's leader, the dashing White Eagle! Leader dead, Freedom Wing vanishes from the long river of history!"

For some reason, this time the notification had a golden border.

"?????"

"Wocao wocao wocao wocao"

"Freedom Wing is gone? Just like that?"

"Dashing White Eagle? That server-wide second? Killed?"

"No, wait, a force as big as Freedom Wing just disappears like that?"

"Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji... again this person..."

"Is there a class monitor to summarize what actually happened?"

"Simply put, Black Feather terminated Freedom Wing, Lao Da beheaded it personally, over"

……

Within the former Freedom Wing territory.

At the moment the leader died, a red flash swept across all members belonging to Freedom Wing.

That was the system's forced unbinding mark.

The next second, they were pushed out of the territory by an invisible hand, all being whisked beyond the border.

Some staggered to steady themselves, some fell flat, and many stood where they were, staring blankly at the road before them, a road they knew all too well.

That land no longer belonged to them.

On the main building of the territory, Freedom Wing's emblem faded bit by bit, like pencil marks being erased slowly with an eraser.

A few seconds later, the emblem vanished completely, replaced by a blank plaque awaiting a new owner to inscribe a name.

"I..."

Someone opened their mouth, not knowing what to say.

They were free.

No longer members of any faction.

Yet at this moment, not a single person felt relieved.

Members of Black Feather walked out of the territory.

They still carried the scent of gunpowder; some bore guns, some carried knives, some poured healing elixirs into their mouths as they walked.

Ailin pushed through the crowd, sprinting to Cheng Shuili's side.

"Lao Da!" her voice brimming with excitement, "We won! Freedom Wing is gone! That Jack... that dashing White Eagle, finally—"

Her words halted.

Because she saw Cheng Shuili's expression.

No smile, no sense of relief, not even any emotion a victory should bring.

Cheng Shuili stood there, still holding the scarlet long sword, wiping its blood bit by bit.

Her eyes were dark as night, revealing nothing of her thoughts.

"Lao Da?" Ailin called out cautiously.

Cheng Shuili withdrew her gaze.

She sheathed the sword, turned, and walked back into the territory.

"Clean the battlefield," she said, her voice even, "tally the spoils, count casualties, assign personnel to take over defense."

Ailin froze for a moment, then promptly replied, "Yes!"

She turned to leave, but couldn't help glancing back.

Cheng Shuili's silhouette receded, Black Feather members passed by her, some nodding, some calling her Lao Da, she responded to each, yet her steps never halted.

Ailin always felt that this Lao Da, Cheng Shuili, was completely different from before.

Now she seemed to bear a heavy responsibility on her shoulders, unable to relax for a moment.

……

Guang Hui's tomb was placed on a gentle slope behind the manor's rear hill.

That spot had once been wasteland, overgrown with weeds and jagged rocks. Cheng Shuili had it cleared, then personally selected a modest yet upright tree, planting it beside the tomb.

She said Guang Hui didn't like flashy places; a quiet spot was enough.

The tomb was simple, a stone tablet engraved with the name and birth‑death dates. The dates used the calendar of the previous world; Cheng Shuili calculated for a long time before converting them correctly.

Behind Guang Hui's stone tablet stood many plaques of Black Feather members.

They either died on the road, bitten by monsters.

Or they perished in an Instance, or in disasters.

Either that, or they die in some declaration of war.

There are not few steles here; they are thick and dense, like a cemetery.

Cheng Shuili stood before that forest of steles, motionless.

Wind blew from behind the mountains, bringing the chill of early autumn, stirring the loose hairs at her forehead. She did not reach to brush them away, just stood there, her gaze moving from one stele to another.

When Chen Qing Shan arrived, what he saw was exactly this scene.

Chen Qing Shan stopped three steps behind Cheng Shuili and did not move forward.

He made no sound to disturb her, merely standing there quietly, his gaze sweeping over the forest of steles.

Sunlight leaked through gaps in the clouds, falling on those stone steles, drawing long, long shadows.

Before some steles lay withered flowers; before others lay rusted weapons; before still others there was nothing but a handful of fresh earth.

Cheng Shuili's motionless back resembled another stele.

After a long time, long enough for Chen Qing Shan to think she would not speak again, she suddenly spoke.

"Chen Qing Shan."

"Here."

Cheng Shuili did not turn her head; her gaze remained on those stone steles.

"What do you think they were thinking in the end?"

Chen Qing Shan fell silent for a few seconds.

"I don't know." He said, "but I know they followed you without regret."

Cheng Shuili said nothing more.

Tonight, starless and moonless, Black Feather Leader Cheng Shuili lit a fire before the forest of steles.

To offer sacrifices to the departed spirits.

By the time Cheng Shuili returned to the vehicle, it was very late; after Jake's death, his supplies were scattered all over the ground.

At that time Cheng Shuili was busy returning to the territory, with no time to examine closely, so she had Su Rui move the items into the vehicle for temporary storage.

Now Cheng Shuili finally has free time to examine these spoils one by one.

Besides some relatively rare vehicle cards, upgrade materials, and props, there is also something extremely familiar.

Civilization Fire Seed Fragment.

However, this fragment has been used.

Moreover… Cheng Shuili searched Jake's supplies several times, but found no trace of a blueprint.

It seems it was not left behind with those supplies.

Cheng Shuili felt a moment of regret, then proceeded to examine the interface of the Civilization Fire Seed.

Now… she should already have four in her hand, right?

Cheng Shuili originally only wanted to check the number of fragments, but unintentionally glancing at the description page, her gaze seemed drawn in and she could not look away.