Chapter 115: Miscalculated You

Chapter 115: My Miscalculation of You

"No matter how much flesh she loses, it will regenerate. She will always be Luolimasi, eternally young and immortal. So, compared to my shattered life, what is her minor suffering?"

"Why should she be granted eternal life while I wither day by day before her eyes? Why should she possess an endless lifespan while I am left with but a sliver of existence? What good is a promise to love only me after I die? Once I am truly gone, what meaning would such a vow, of uncertain truth, hold? Who would even remember it?"

"If only she had revealed her true identity when we first met, no matter how beautiful or captivating she was, I would have fled far away, never to cast another glance! Then I would have had the chance to marry a wife who, though perhaps less beautiful, was gentle and virtuous. I could have had my own children and grandchildren, a family to grow old with, and the dreams I was meant to fulfill!"

"But it's all too late!" Garan shook his head, retreating backward. "She swore to love only me in this lifetime, and made me utter the same vow. No matter how subtly I hinted at wanting to part ways, the state she would enter always filled me with terror."

"I was trapped, with no way out—it's all her fault! She ruined my life, so what's wrong with using her flesh to research life-extending drugs?" Garan's voice remained aged, but his affected tone twisted into one of furious resentment. "Since she claims to love me so much, then I shall simply embrace her love!"

"If I, too, could become immortal, wouldn't I be able to continue loving her? Wouldn't I be able to stay with her forever?"

"If I could live forever, even if I no longer truly loved Luolimasi, she would still be the most perfect companion, wouldn't she? Who could refuse an immortal wife, eternally young and beautiful? Though we cannot have children of our own, with sufficient lifespan, we could adopt and nurture exceptional children over the long years, watching them grow old, and witnessing generations of their descendants."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Garan suddenly asked, as if addressing Su Bai, or perhaps himself.

"Regardless, I loved her—even madly so. Before our wedding night, I was willing to defy the entire world for her! The only thing standing between us was that cruel disparity in our lifespans. So, everything I am doing now is merely to remove that obstacle, isn't it?"

"But you left Luolimasi Hotel. You left Luolimasi," Su Bai stated with certainty, looking at Garan. "If you had stayed in the hotel all along, Luolimasi would have known you were here."

"After all, if I told her I would return, she would wait here for me indefinitely," Garan said, his tone matter-of-fact. "A few decades might be a mere blink for a non-human like her, but for me, it was a long enough period to grow old."

"The outside world is shrouded by the red moon, and everything has undergone cataclysmic changes. Everything is becoming increasingly terrifying. Ironically, if it weren't for the keepsake she gave me at our wedding, I might have perished out there or never found my way back." Garan pressed his hand to his chest, where Luolimasi's gift seemed to still rest.

"Even more ironically, she still wanders the hotel every night, searching in her own way, completely unaware that I returned long ago." Garan sounded both self-mocking and as if trying to persuade Su Bai, who might be contemplating burning him alive. "You see, she doesn't love me as much as she claims!"

"If one truly loves someone, how could they fail to notice my presence for so long?"

"Still, I want to remain in the hotel and continue the experiments. I've witnessed the horrors of the outside world and have no desire to leave again." Recalling the world under the red moon, Garan's expression grew as fearful as when he saw the blue flames.

"When I returned, those people had already found the lab on the sixth floor and the notes I left behind. They even began to continue the research I had abandoned halfway."

"It wasn't a bad thing. Some of them were more suited to research than I was—more ruthless, more willing to sacrifice those around them." Garan glanced cautiously toward Cheng Xun and the others. "Given a little more time, they might genuinely develop a drug that extends life without any side effects."

"Then why leave that notebook... I understand." Su Bai took a deep breath and stepped back, looking at Garan with unconcealed disdain. "Your capabilities were limited, preventing you from continuing the experiments. So, when you discovered Cheng Xun and the others were proceeding, even using cruel methods to select subjects, you chose to stand by, perhaps even secretly providing assistance."

"Until now..." Su Bai's hand brushed the side pocket of his apron, where he had stored two syringes from the lab containing a liquid with a 99% success rate. "You knew Cheng Xun's experiments were on the verge of success, which is why you deliberately placed that notebook in my path."

"Ah!" Lian Xiangyu, standing nearby, suddenly exclaimed. "It was you who knocked and left the notebook earlier!"

"..." Shen Donger kicked the clueless fool beside her, signaling him to shut up.

Ignoring the interruption, Su Bai continued, staring at Garan behind the counter, "You left that notebook not to help these humans, but because you never wanted them to truly succeed in creating that drug. Your goal from the start was to eliminate Cheng Xun and the others at the final, critical step of the experiment!"

"Even if I hadn't shown up, you would have found a way to disrupt their work at the last moment." Su Bai's thoughts gradually fell into place, giving him a clearer understanding of the man named Garan. "And if the people you found failed to eliminate Cheng Xun, you could always turn to Luolimasi for help, couldn't you? You still believe she would do anything for you."

"I thought I was rotten enough, but I never expected... Ugh." Lian Xiangyu couldn't help muttering to himself before being kicked again.

"Perhaps," Garan didn't deny it. "I could complete the final step of the experiment myself. After all, Luolimasi is my precious wife. Those despicable creatures seeking immortality through her flesh and blood—it's impossible, and I will never allow it. However..."

"I thought I had calculated everything, but I miscalculated you." Garan's gaze at Su Bai even held a trace of hatred. "What kind of terrifying being are you? Someone like you... a being like you is special even in that horrifying outside world. Why come to this insignificant place to meddle in such affairs?"