Chapter 31: Tomorrow Will Be Better

Chapter 31: Tomorrow Will Be Better

The next morning, at the White Tower.

Qin Shu was still fully armed, and Wang Le was still very excited, but without any of those weird shenanigans, Qin Shu entered the White Tower safely through the staff passage.

He went to see the doctor who had given him his last physical examination.

That middle-aged female guide had once been a student of Mr. Zhang Qingyuan, and her research focus happened to be "deep linking."

The two sat down in the office, and the doctor looked over his clothes.

A very loose black hoodie.

For some reason, the doctor seemed very relieved.

"Mm, ahem, Colonel Qin, let's get down to business."

"Deep linking creates a physiological and psychological dependency between both parties, so in clinical cases, most dissolutions occur due to the death of one of the two. These materials are not open to the public. Please come take a look..."

An hour later, the black-haired sentinel held a stack of documents, deep in thought.

"So, Doctor, you're saying that for a pair of sentinel and guide who have been deeply bonded for three years or more, their mental domains have adapted and merged, and breaking it would cause severe damage?"

"That's correct, Colonel." The doctor pointed to several diagrams. "For the guide, the harm is relatively controllable, but for the sentinel, the damage is far more serious."

"This is why the Empire has made both forced establishment and forced dissolution of deep links criminal offenses. It's no different from ruining a person."

"Can the damage be repaired?"

"Yes, but it requires time and systematic treatment. The sentinel needs to rebuild a self-stabilizing mental mechanism, which is usually difficult..."

Qin Shu looked thoughtful.

The doctor hesitated for a moment: "You said you're consulting on behalf of a retired comrade. A sentinel who has been on the battlefield has a more fragile mental domain than an ordinary sentinel. Does your comrade have any combat-related trauma?"

"Yes, quite severe PTSD."

"PTSD means the mental domain's self-repair ability has already been compromised. This situation requires special consideration..."

Qin Shu only half-listened to the rest.

Half his attention was elsewhere, starting from when the doctor said "deep linking creates physiological and psychological dependency."

So could it be that Li Wuya fell in love with him because of this?

But that didn't make sense—why hadn't he fallen in love with Li Wuya?

Maybe his mental domain was more stable, so the effect was less on him?

"...Colonel, are you listening?"

Qin Shu: "...Sorry, I spaced out."

The doctor sighed: "What I just said was indeed a bit too academic. Anyway, from a medical perspective, my personal opinion is that even if feelings have soured, I wouldn't recommend your comrade dissolve the link with his guide."

"Retired, with PTSD, multiple near-death experiences. Dissolving such a deep link would be extremely difficult and dangerous. Let them think it over carefully."

Qin Shu rubbed his chin: "What if the guide is willing to cooperate for the entire recovery period?"

The doctor gave him a knowing look.

"What's wrong?" Qin Shu asked, bewildered.

"If they're willing to cooperate through such a troublesome recovery, then why dissolve it in the first place?"

"Uh... well." Qin Shu was truly stumped. Finally, he answered solemnly, "Because the world is a big place, and that guide wants to go explore it, so he might not have time for my comrade."

The doctor: ?

They discussed some other issues, and Qin Shu stood up.

"One last question, Doctor. Do you think that if a sentinel was saved from near death by his guide through deep linking, could he develop a kind of dependent love?"

The doctor facepalmed.

Why would someone ask a doctor a question like that?

But she still answered: "The dependency you mentioned is valid. Just like animals instinctively seek shelter during a disaster, humans subconsciously associate rescue with survival."

"But deep linking can't create something out of nothing, like love. Either that sentinel is confused, or he's just bullshitting."

"Besides, as you said, it's been three years already. Why deny the time they've spent together because of an answer from the past?"

Qin Shu looked thoughtful.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll pass that on to my comrade."

"Alright, but aren't you two just divorced? Where does General Li get all these romantic entanglements?"

Qin Shu: ?

He didn't catch the doctor's train of thought for a moment.

The doctor added: "And based on looks, Colonel Qin seems more likely to attract romantic interest."

Qin Shu: ??

He explained for ten thousand words that he had no romantic interest, and another ten thousand words that there was nothing between him, Li Wuya, and that nonexistent guide. Then, the doctor, now impatient, shut the door on Qin Shu.

Unwilling to watch his long-gone reputation drift further away, Qin Shu gloomily put on his sunglasses and mask and sneaked out of the White Tower.

The moment he stepped out of the staff passage, he knew it was bad—not a single person in sight. There wasn't going to be some final boss ahead, was there?

A familiar silhouette.

Well, whether it was a 'final boss' or a 'final gay', there was no difference. Qin Shu sighed and walked over anyway.

They were already divorced, so it was like a cold war that had only half thawed; he could afford to get a little closer!

Besides, he had something to say.

"Can I take you home?"

Qin Shu got into the car.

The car started slowly, the scenery outside gradually passing by.

Qin Shu folded his arms, waiting for him to ask that question.

Ten seconds, one minute, three minutes.

"Why aren't you asking me why I came to the White Tower?"

Ask, accept, and say it aloud.

Li Wuya heard himself ask, "Why did you come to the White Tower?"

"I came to the White Tower to ask about how to dissolve the deep link."

"Mm." Li Wuya paused. "That's good."

Qin Shu added, "The doctor said it was a bit difficult, but there are quite a few successful cases. We can give it a try first."

According to the doctor, the difficulty seemed great, but Qin Shu didn't take it seriously.

How many impossible missions had the two of them completed perfectly? And he felt that both he and Li Wuya had tough enough lives, having pulled each other back from the brink of death countless times. Breaking a link was nothing—trying wouldn't hurt.

"..."

"The deep link is the biggest obstacle in our relationship. We have to resolve this first."

"..."

What does that mean?

A problem? Isn't this their most important bond?

No, if you treat it as a bargaining chip, you have to pay the price for it becoming a "mistake"... No, that's not right either. How could Qin Shu be wrong?

So, is this really the biggest problem?

The black-haired sentinel seemed to sigh, or perhaps mutter to himself: "A life with only me in it is too pathetic. It's better to have some freedom."

His vision gradually warped, black spots appearing.

Calm down.

Pathetic? Qin Shu always says that word.

But what's so pathetic about that? Isn't having Qin Shu walk through my life an honor? No one has ever had such an honor.

Someone was once again urging him to die—that would be the best way to avoid dissolving the deep link. But how could he die somewhere Qin Shu could see?

No, calm down.

He had to find a way to make it up to him. What could make Qin Shu happy?

War. He was happiest during war. But the Star Beast nest was gone. If he were to start a human war, Qin Shu's blade would only be aimed at him. Calm down.

Go home? That place called "Earth." Qin Shu had mentioned it once or twice before, but he couldn't find it. Countless attempts to probe couldn't reconstruct its full picture. Calm down.

Calm, calm, calm.

Qin Shu values emotional bonds. Qin Shu values trust. Qin Shu values honesty. He could slowly rebuild trust... Calm down. But was there still time?

Calm down. Qin Shu was about to leave. Qin Shu would let go of everything and start anew—

Calm down.

Wealth was just worthless paper. Power was just refined garbage. Everything he had schemed to obtain had only held Qin Shu back because Qin Shu allowed it.

Looking back, nine days. Just nine days.

After three years and two months, he only got a few hours? And then he spent nine days destroying everything precious the two of you had?

No... calm down.

Be obedient. At least, now.

No kneeling, no explaining, no creating complications, no resorting to unscrupulous means. Be obedient, remain silent, support all of Qin Shu's decisions.

Be obedient, and obedience will be rewarded.

In the chaos, he felt himself slowly edge a little closer to Qin Shu. Qin Shu didn't move away.

See? Didn't he gain one centimeter?

-

When getting out of the car, Qin Shu remembered a question: "Li Wuya, why haven't you been losing control lately?"

"Because I've been doing well lately."

Qin Shu stared at him for a long moment.

A minute later.

In the spacious back seat of the car, Li Wuya lay on the seat, watching Qin Shu, who stood outside the car door, carefully pressing his thumb against the center of his brow.

This was the least intimate mental guidance posture Qin Shu could think of.

A river of stars poured into him, filling his vision with silver stars, a drowsy chill.

"How come your mental domain feels a bit strange?"

It felt sluggish and stiff.

Li Wuya said, "I took suppressants."

Qin Shu didn't know what to say.

He now truly felt the deep link was a problem, and one that only troubled Li Wuya.

"If you lose control, you can still come to me. It's not like I blocked your comms..."

"You did block me."

"Oh... oh."

Qin Shu only felt guilty for two seconds: "So what? You bothered me so much the past few days, aren't I allowed to block your comms?"

Li Wuya had ten thousand ways to find him, didn't he?

"Of course you can, then." Li Wuya answered immediately.

"Thank you, A Shu. I'm very happy. I'll come and find you."

Li Wuya being so obedient was both uncanny and miraculous.

Qin Shu remembered another thing: "At tomorrow's banquet of that Empress, will you go?"

"Yes, I will, A Shu," Li Wuya said.

Qin Shu thought for a moment. "Then I'll come find you the day after tomorrow to break the link."

"Mm. Okay."

"..."

They were silent for a while, then Qin Shu suddenly smiled.

"See you the day after tomorrow?"

Then Li Wuya forced a smile too. "See you the day after tomorrow."

Qin Shu pinched his ear, a familiar gesture from when they were close. It felt like ages ago, even though it was recent.

His voice was as light as ever. "It's okay, Li Wuya. Breaking the link might take a bit longer, but I'll be with you."

"...Okay. Thank you, A Shu."

A bit longer—how long? Later? Three days? Five? After that? Then he'd leave? Calm down.

"I've been meaning to say—how come you got smarter after a beating?"

"..."

The silence stretched on until Qin Shu left. Finally, the tinnitus roared like thunder.

He could no longer maintain his barely clear vision. He fell to the ground, fumbled for the controller, and activated the mental shielding device.

What a pathetic sight... Tomorrow, tomorrow? The day after? Which day?

Tomorrow. The plan was ready. Everything would be settled at the banquet tomorrow.

He had already thought it through. He just needed Qin Shu to hear it, to see it—to lay it all out for him.

Today's results were good too. Qin Shu was willing to talk to him, willing to repair—their relationship. It's okay. Tomorrow will be better. Will it, though?

Tomorrow will be better.