Chapter 95: Illness

Chapter 95: Illness

Inside the safety zone, there was silence at this time.

This world, overly simplistic to begin with, seemed never to have known the sounds of birds, beasts, or insects. And now, even the occasional soft whispers of the night had vanished, leaving only a silence as profound as death.

The people inside the sleep capsules did not open their eyes.

The guards patrolling outside the capsules lay scattered around.

Then, in this silence, rhythmic, exceedingly soft footsteps began to sound.

The man was dressed in simple casual wear, with a volunteer service apron tied around his waist.

He looked competent and domestic, but what he held in his hand was enough to send shivers down one's spine at a mere glance—

He tossed one of the small spheres into a sleep capsule.

Seconds later, the capsule erupted in a fierce blaze!

The person inside the capsule being consumed by flames seemed to emit a final scream, or perhaps died silently within the firelight.

In any case, with the burning of this sleep capsule, the person inside was left without a spark of life.

The capsules in the safety zone were arranged in rows and columns, with each row tightly connected and each containing three layers.

Thus, when the capsule in the middle of this row ignited, the fierce flames licked directly at the neighboring capsules on both sides and above and below.

As the capsule in the very center burned down completely, those surrounding it began to catch fire as well.

This single small fireball ignited the entire area like a spark on a plain covered with dry grass.

This small fireball consumed at least fifty lives in this single row alone.

The roaring flames even lit up the pitch-black sky.

The person who was walking did not stop; rather, he proceeded like a king surveying his territory, intending to inspect each area of his fiery kingdom step by step.

He consecutively set three rows of sleep capsules ablaze.

Finally, he stopped before setting the fourth row on fire.

Another awake person appeared in front of him in the silent, dark night besides himself.

"Ah, Brother Chen, to think you're still able to stand before me. I'm somewhat surprised, yet it doesn't feel like a surprise."

Xiao Yao looked at the person blocking his way, sighed softly, and then smiled.

"From the moment I first saw you, Brother Chen, I felt you would make it to the end."

"Now it seems, my intuition was entirely correct."

Chen Sijin looked at the young man in front of him and sighed lightly: "On the contrary, I'm the one who's surprised. I originally thought of you as someone who would never fall ill. Now, it appears your 'illness' is the most severe."

Yao Yan sharply looked up, his voice taking on a sinister tone: "I'm ill?"

"Hahaha! You actually say I'm ill!"

"Chen Sijin, you're nothing special after all!"

"You're not wrong! I am the only one in this city without illness, who will never be ill!!"

"Do you think what I'm doing now is crazy? Cruel? Do you think I'm being unreasonable?!"

Yao Yan sneered: "I'm merely cleaning up this damned world!"

Chen Sijin watched him without speaking, merely raising his eyebrows slightly.

Yao Yan, with a stony face, looked at him: "Isn't this short span of ten days enough to show you that this world will eventually be completely overtaken by the virus?"

"No one can escape 'illness'. Given that, wouldn't it be better for them all to die in their sleep? Dying amidst sweet dreams is far better than dying in madness and agony, isn't it?"

"And..." Yao Yan paused here, not continuing further.

But the expression in his eyes at this moment was not much different from the crazed, furious Chen Sijin of a few days ago.

"If it were me from yesterday, I might have somewhat agreed with your statement."

Chen Sijin slowly began, "After all, I was still mad yesterday."

"But now that I am sober, all your arguments lack one crucial reason."

Yao Yan looked at him darkly, "What reason?"

Chen Sijin shrugged, "Did you ask for their opinions before deciding they should die?"

Yao Yan, who had been expecting a powerful justification, nearly laughed in disbelief at Chen Sijin's response.

With a fierce wave of his hand, countless sparks flew from his palms, explosively landing on the unburned sleep capsules behind him, instantly igniting a myriad of towering flames!

"Utterly ridiculous! I want them to die, so they must die! Why should I bother asking for their opinions?!"

And without thinking, one knows what their answer would be.

Human beings, after all, are creatures that cling to life and fear death.

Chen Sijin quirked his mouth: "But if they wish to suffer through to the end, clinging to that sliver of hope, doesn't that make you profoundly evil?"

Hearing this, Yao Yan burst into laughter.

"Having entered this world, what kind of fool still hopes for a sliver of hope?"

"Human greed and desire are ceaseless! Always clawing for that sliver of hope!! Fighting over cancer, over unknown infectious diseases, over earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides!!

Fighting with people, with things, with nature! Even! Competing day and night, vying for the universe!!"

Yao Yan's voice grew louder and colder.

"But what have they truly fought for?"

Chen Sijin looked at him: "They have fought for splendid civilizations and the stars in the universe."

Yao Yan laughed: "But in the end, doesn't everyone still unavoidably face death? Even extinction."

"Under terminal illness, there is no survival."

Chen Sijin smiled: "Many years ago, influenza was also a terminal illness."

Yao Yan: "But in this world, humans don't have the time."

So, they must die. They will die.

Chen Sijin turned his gaze towards one direction where the fire raged, his eyes slightly cool: "That's not necessarily true."

In that direction, both saw a person engulfed in flames struggling to crawl out of a sleep capsule, desperately trying to save himself despite being on fire.

His braids were nearly burnt away, his clothes consumed by flames, scorching his skin.

Yet, even so, he was gritting his teeth, crawling towards a water tank with a look of unwavering determination in his eyes.

His will to survive in this incurable world of "illness" was terrifyingly strong.

Yao Yan sneered.

Chen Sijin, watching the braided youth struggling to crawl out, spoke up:

"So, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't need to ask for your opinion, right?"

The moment these words were spoken, Yao Yan's expression changed suddenly, with even a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Ah, if you could kill me, then of course you wouldn't need to ask my opinion."

"Only... Brother Chen, you probably can't kill me."

Saying this, Yao Yan's body gradually started to float in the air.

He slowly spread his arms, and in that instant, Chen Sijin's pupils contracted sharply—

Behind Yao Yan spread a vast and terrifying "shadow," seemingly boundless, like the endless night, like the entire sky.

Standing there now was no longer "Yao Yan," but... the core monster of this [City Without Illness].

Unbeknownst to them, they had already merged into one.

No, it would be more accurate to say that "Yao Yan" had already been completely consumed a long time ago.

"Chen Sijin... I... know you! You killed... fear and the prison of life... That trash from the prison of life is not fit to compare with me... but fear... to kill it, you should be proud."

"However... this is where it ends."

The shadow behind Yao Yan kept rolling and expanding: "Do not compare me... with those... rudimentary rulers—"

Suddenly, the expanding and rolling shadow, like a black tsunami from the heavens, crashed towards Chen Sijin, instantly engulfing him in darkness!

After the swelling shadow passed, Chen Sijin still stood in his place, but his face was deathly pale, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.

A sneer appeared on Yao Yan's face.

"Oh, human hero."

"Lift your head and look at me now."

"Remember, what will kill you is 'illness', also known as 'despair'."

"After killing you, I will become the fourth king-level devourer of the exiled lands."

As Yao Yan finished saying this, the endless shadow behind him transformed into countless screaming black souls, once again charging at Chen Sijin.

These black souls carried endless pain and a despair that would never find rest, eternally.

When the first black soul passed through Chen Sijin's body, his already pale complexion suddenly turned ashen, like paper.

Then, as the third black soul passed through him, he could no longer control himself and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Pfft, cough! Cough cough cough!"

He seemed unable to bear it any longer, his body swaying as if about to fall, yet he remained standing, refusing to collapse.

Yao Yan showed no reaction to his injury, even wearing a mocking smile: "Chen Sijin, aren't you... the savior?"

"Is the savior so helpless?"

"Why don't you use your word spirit to attack me? Is it because you can't open your mouth no matter what?"

"Or perhaps..."

Countless black souls reappeared, screaming and roaring as they charged at Chen Sijin!

"Even if you did speak, it would be in vain!!!"

Yao Yan's voice, overlapping with the voices from the shadows behind him, was piercingly sharp, causing a painful sensation in the ears.

But the most harrowing scream did not come from Chen Sijin's mouth, but from the black soul that, unbeknownst to when, he had grasped in his hand!

"Squeaaa—"

Amid the agonized howling of the black soul, the swaying youth slowly straightened up, clenching the dark object in his hand tightly.

Then he spoke: "Shatter."

Bang.

The object, akin to a heart, instantly shattered.

"Purify."

After breaking apart, the black fragments gradually shed their despairing darkness, revealing the true colors of the soul.

"...Rebirth."

He reached out to catch the crumbling souls, then brought them together.

Reborn souls then stood behind him.

Each time he caught a black soul, there was a new cycle of breaking and rebirth.

In this darkness, it was an unmistakably brilliant light.

Then, the youth took out a golden card from his chest, pinching it between his fingers and flicking it forward.

"Hey, lost lambs."

"It's time you returned to the embrace of justice."

I seldom speak, but when I do, it's a decisive strike.

The golden card erupted with intense light in the darkness, and when the light faded, "Xiao Yao" saw standing before him—

One, two, three, four, five?!

Five versions of himself, each dressed differently.

They all looked at him with incredibly critical eyes: "You look the least valuable."

"Come on, it's been a few hundred years; time to come back."