Chapter 585: Dissipation

Inside the transparent boundary, Lu Dou curled up in midair.

His white shirt was torn badly, his hair spread out, and all his power had vanished.

The hand that once could drag thousands into the same life network now struggles to lift.

Chu Che stood at the boundary.

The doctor's lab coat had no wrinkles, the gold-thread glasses still perched on his nose bridge.

He pushed his glasses, first glanced at Lu Dou's pupils, then swept over his chest's rise and fall.

"Vital signs aren't too bad."

"You won't die yet."

Lu Dou lifted his head, panting a few times.

"You kept me here just to say this?"

"No."

Chu Che raised his hand.

A chair floated up inside the transparent boundary, and stable support appeared beneath Lu Dou.

Lu Dou did not sit.

He stared at Chu Che, the grayish lines at the bottom of his eyes not yet fully faded.

"You're not killing me—what do you want from me?"

"One person."

Chu Che answered directly.

"To be precise, it's someone who still has independent thinking and is willing to pay a price for an idea."

Lu Dou smiled.

"You don't have plenty of people in your hand?"

"Each of them is more useful than me. For example, the former Gospel Church leader, Sai Men."

"Their uses are different."

Chu Che walked a few steps closer.

Space had no concept of distance, but each step he took brought him nearer to Lu Dou.

"Sai Men is responsible for creating variables."

"And you, Lu Dou."

Chu Che stopped in front of him.

"You are responsible for proving what an ideal becomes when pushed to the extreme."

Lu Dou fell silent.

These words carried no humiliation, nor mockery.

Precisely because of that, they made people feel uneasy.

Chu Che had never regarded him as an enemy.

From the Square to the Qiu Ce Yuan, from three thousand infected to Lu Dou exhausting all his consciousness, those struggles, sacrifices, choices—here with Chu Che they were merely observational data.

Lu Dou lowered his head to gaze at his empty palms.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Be my proxy."

Chu Che's tone remained gentle.

"I won't kill you."

"I can also return your power to you and give you new authority."

"Manic laughter is merely low-grade emotional pollution."

"Crown fragments are merely defective goods."

"If you're willing, I can let you grasp a more complete set of rules."

Lu Dou lifted his head.

Chu Che continued speaking.

"You may not agree with my way."

"You may even keep your theory."

"I only need you to observe humanity for me, recording how they will choose between order, freedom, suffering, and desire."

"You once wanted to eliminate suffering."

"I can give you a chance."

"Not by relying on three thousand people, not by relying on a city, nor by forced assimilation."

"But by relying on my way."

Lu Dou stared at him.

"What about the price?"

"There is no price. You just need to work for me."

"Specifically?"

"When I need you, stand at the position I designate."

After hearing that, Lu Dou lowered his head.

He did not rush to answer.

The image of his sister lying on a hospital bed surfaced again.

That face was very pale, and the numbers on the monitor kept jumping.

The doctor said they had done all they could.

Those people were all teaching him to accept.

Accept death.

Accept helplessness.

Accept that the world is just like this.

Later, he refused to accept.

So he studied people, studied emotions, studied groups, studied why suffering always falls on the weak.

He thought that if he took away choice, humanity would no longer hurt each other.

But when people fell in the Square, when the students of Qiu Ce Yuan tore at each other, he still did not stop.

Because the plan had already come to that point.

He would not allow himself to stop.

To stop would mean his younger sister had died in vain.

Lu Dou suddenly asked, "Will you let my younger sister come back?"

Chu Che looked at him.

"Cannot."

Lu Dou laughed.

"You are surprisingly honest."

"Medically, a promise that cannot be made ought not to be spoken."

"Then can you make me forget her?"

"Yes."

"Erase her from my memory, so I no longer remember her death, nor what I have done."

Chu Che pushed his glasses.

"Also possible."

Lu Dou closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened them again.

"Then never mind."

Chu Che did not urge him.

Lu Dou raised his head, his tone light.

"You are right."

"I made choices for many people."

"I turned them into what I hate most."

"No sorrow, no fear, no right to refuse."

"They laughed, they embraced, they infected each other."

"I once thought that was happiness."

"But now it looks hard to watch."

Chu Che gave no comment.

Lu Dou continued.

"But I will also not be your Proxy."

"Because there is no difference between you and me."

"You are stronger than me, your methods are cleaner, and you speak more pleasantly."

"But you likewise stand above humanity."

"You also decide for everyone how they should live."

Chu Che answered, "Humanity needs management."

"Humanity also needs freedom."

Lu Dou looked at him.

"If they have no right to freedom, then no matter how long they live, they are merely being kept by you."

Chu Che's expression did not change.

But Lu Dou saw something in his eyes.

"Not anger."

"Nor being offended."

"It is more like a doctor looking at a patient who refuses treatment."

Lu Dou laughed.

"Are you very disappointed?"

"A little."

"Because you lost a qualified tool?"

"Because you gave up the chance to keep proving yourself."

Lu Dou shook his head.

"I think I have already proven myself."

He paused.

"I also don't want to be your thing."

Chu Che looked at him.

Lu Dou raised his hand, his fingers touching his own forehead.

There was no crown there anymore, nor any rules.

Only the last point belonging to his consciousness remained.

"If I merely survive without following my own path, living is worse than dying."

"Your Divine Majesty."

"You will never understand human suffering."

After those words fell, Lu Dou did not speak again.

He sat back in that chair, leaning against the backrest, and lifted his gaze to the empty space above.

He was not afraid of death.

From the day his sister left, he had already kept himself in that ward.

Later, the one who remained alive was merely someone seeking justice for her.

Chu Che stood where he was, silent for a long time.

Lu Dou was excellent.

Obsessive, intelligent, with strong execution, and also possessing sufficient infectious power.

Such a person, if he stands in a direction, can pull many people forward.

If he goes the wrong way, he can also lead even more people into the depths.

But Lu Dou had already made his choice.

Chu Che would not waste time persuading a second time.

He raised his right hand.

Many fine gray lines appeared on Lu Dou's body surface.

Those lines passed through space, extending back to Earth.

One end was connected to the comatose students in Qiu Ce Yuan.

One end was connected to the infected in the New Order Square.

There were also more lines leading to the crowds he had contaminated.

Lu Dou saw those lines, and his breath halted for a beat.

"What are you going to do?"

"Sever the life link."

"After you die, they will not be affected."

Lu Dou froze.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you do it earlier?"

Chu Che lifted his hand and pushed his glasses.

"Because you didn't give me a reason to do so back then."

Lu Dou stared for a few seconds, then let out a low laugh.

"I see."

"I used thousands of people as a shield."

"You let me cling to this shield and walk into a dead end."

"Mr. Lu, any treatment requires the patient's cooperation."

"You were not cooperative then."

Lu Dou did not retort further.

The gray lines began to detach from his body.

The process was slow.

With each line withdrawn, a batch of infected on Earth lost that forced happiness.

The life links of thousands were undone, restoring them as independent individuals.

Lu Dou's forehead beaded with sweat, yet he did not call a halt.

He closed his eyes, letting those gray lines leave his body.

When the final gray line snapped, his whole body went limp.

"Are they free?"

"At least they are free from you."

"Pretty good."

Lu Dou said softly.

"Pretty good."

Chu Che raised his hand.

A small patch of darkness appeared in his palm.

There was no impact, no extra fluctuation.

Lu Dou looked at that patch and suddenly asked, "Where will I go?"

"Nowhere."

What will I leave behind?

Chu Che looked at him.

You will be remembered.

Lu Dou laughed.

This smile had no danger, no pollution, and no control over anyone.

It was just an ordinary curling of the lips.

That's enough.

Chu Che paused for a moment.

I probably will never forget you in my lifetime, Lu Dou.

Lu Dou raised his head.

That really is... my honor.

Chu Che clenched his five fingers.

Lu Dou's body began to scatter.

His white robe first turned into fine dust, then his long hair, flesh, and lingering gray-white patterns.

No pain.

No struggle.

He sat there, maintaining his final posture.

The glowing dust drifted away, merging into the boundless darkness.

Lu Dou disappeared.

Inside the transparent boundary, only that empty chair remained.

Chu Che stood for a moment, raised his hand and withdrew the boundary.

Then he turned around.

Earth.

Outside Qiu Ce Yuan.

The gray barrier cracked open without any omen.

Cracks spread to the edges, and in the next second the entire barrier turned into debris and dissipated.

Jiang Yuan, guarding outside the school gate, lifted his head, his right hand already pressing on the card bag.

The barrier is gone.

Su Ming stared at the time monitor.

The values were rapidly dropping.

The contamination chain has been broken.

Qin Zhixia raised her mechanical prosthetic arm.

Go in to save people.

Jiang Yuan was the first to rush into the school gate.

The playground was filled with lying students.

In the corridor, those who had been laughing wildly lay scattered, some clutching their heads, some covering their faces, some staring blankly with eyes open.

No gray mist.

No strange tales.

No Lu Dou.

Not even a trace of battle could be found.

Liang Wen leaned against the wall, staring at the empty hallway.

He left too cleanly.

There wasn't even a farewell shot; the audience experience is poor.

Su Ming walked to the front of Building Three, looked up and glanced.

Stop the nonsense, go check quickly.

Jiang Yuan quickly walked through the corridor and pushed open a classroom door.

Inside, several students had already returned to normal.

Someone dazedly asked: "Jiang Team, did I just fall asleep?"

Jiang Yuan did not answer.

He lifted his gaze toward the end of the hallway.

It was completely empty.

Lu Dou did not appear, nor did he leave anything that could explain what had happened.

The entire Qiu Ce Yuan was left with only the ground full of unconscious people.

It's very strange.