bookrebus Chapter 335 Immortals, Cancer Cells
Chapter 335 Immortals, Cancer Cells
"Or rather, when you have the opportunity to make a choice, please don't let yourself regret it..."
Qiong watched the words disappear silently, completely disregarding the seriousness of the trial: rather than wasting his brainpower repeatedly pondering unclear points, he might as well hurry up and finish as soon as possible...
By the way, what about the little dragon?
"Hey, where are you?"
Qiong looked around and found himself on the roof of a building, with a view of the surrounding houses and streets—but he couldn't see Xiaolong.
Where's the dragon? Isn't it with me?
"Hey, can you hear me? Huh? Mei?"
Qiong, who had only intended to call out to Xiaolong, crouched down, placing her hand on the scorching concrete roof as she called out, her eyes scanning the crisscrossing streets and alleys. However, she didn't spot Xiaolong; instead, she spotted Raiden Mei carrying a shopping basket.
In the market ahead, Raiden Mei, with her high ponytail, was talking to a vendor who had just set up a canvas tent. Were they haggling over a price? Driven by his longing for his girlfriend and guided by his intuition, Sora lightly leaped from the rooftop, plummeting to the ground like an arrow released from a bow—please, this is the trial grounds, how could he possibly die from a fall? Besides, he's in good shape, he's not afraid of falling!
The approaching brick road rapidly magnified in Qiong's vision. Just before touching the ground, he slightly bent his knees, landing steadily, and then ran towards Mei's location—that Nahera, surely she wouldn't deliberately make Mei not recognize him, right?
"Mei!"
"Qiong?"
When Mei turned around, she was still clutching half a skewer of unfinished... tricolor dumplings?
Upon seeing Sora, Mei didn't even bother with the sugar stains on her lips. She stuffed half a string of tricolor dumplings into her shopping basket and went straight up to greet Sora.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
"Long time no see? Well, you could say that..."
Qiong nodded stiffly. Although he knew that this Mei was the Mei from the trial, he felt a pang of guilt after following his intuition to stand in front of her. How was he going to deal with the fact that he had actually betrayed her?
When I get back, I'll take the Dragon's Roar from the box... no, I'll spend some pocket money to ask Old Yang to remake Dream Heart? I'll give Dream Heart to Mei, and if I make another mistake, I'll let Mei cut me with a knife...
"Yes, it's been almost half a month since you last said 'see you later.' Is this how you dragonborn people all perceive time?"
"No, it's not that I don't have a sense of time—"
Qiong was about to explain when he suddenly remembered that this was a trial and that he was a Dragonborn Pioneer. But when it comes to Dragonborn Pioneers, the one who comes to mind first is definitely the brains of the pioneering team, the enlightened Dragon Lord Dan Heng.
"Hmm... I believe there are definitely dragonborn who have a better sense of time than the dark-skinned dragon princess..."
【Huh? What do you mean?】
Nahera's voice rang out at an inopportune moment.
"Nothing... No concept of time is irrelevant, you are immortal beings blessed with eternal life... What's going on? My mouth?"
Qiong suddenly raised his hand to cover his mouth, his fingertips clearly feeling his lips opening and closing uncontrollably. But words that were not what he wanted to say rolled out from deep in his throat, with a tone that was absolutely not his own, cold and ruthless.
"Nahera, what are you doing!"
Qiong was immediately furious. Trial, trial, and he was being given a choice and told not to regret it. He thought it would be like the first trial where he could do whatever he wanted, but instead they interrupted him.
This trial is a joke!
Mei, who had been smiling, became expressionless upon hearing "Sora's" words, and simply looked at him calmly.
"Immortality... Qiong, do you really think that being immortal is a good thing?"
"...Of course it's a good thing. I've seen too many short-lived stars who suffer from the inability to accompany each other. Separation and death are inevitable for them. But the immortality you stars possess is the antidote to most of their suffering. Time is nothing but cyclical sand for you; pain and death are all illusions..."
Qiong tried to stop himself from speaking, but he couldn't stop Nahera.
I'm so angry!
“But Sora, I am very uneasy. I have a feeling that if things continue like this, not only our Inazuma Castle, but the entire Izumo Kingdom, the entire Teyvat continent, and even the entire Lakada... If what I fear comes true, I am afraid our star will fall into an abyss of no return.”
"No, this..."
But is that really the case?
"Lithost?!"
Nahera's voice disappeared, and Sora regained her vocal cords, but then Lithost's questioning voice suddenly rang in her mind.
Don't worry about me. Use your eyes to see and feel. I will stop him... We are all the same; we both believe you will make the right choice.
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In the trial setting, Sora and Mei are not boyfriend and girlfriend but just ordinary friends. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Mei says she has to go back to cook and waves goodbye to Sora. Sora, still confused and upset about having her vocal cords stolen, is angry but... well, let's take a look at this "Inazuma Castle" first.
Then, he saw Otto and Tingyun chatting...
"Brother, is the fruit harvest not very good this year?"
"Is that not possible? No problem, I have plenty of time. I'll breed another batch next year, and I'll eventually find the best variety!"
What combination is this?
……
"Little sister, why do you insist on making singing your profession? Everyone says you sing 'it's so good it's unbelievable'..."
"Oh, let me sing for a while, sister! If it really doesn't work out, I'll go back and cook with you, okay?"
What kind of combination is this, Ryuko and Himeko?!
……
Qiong walked alone into the city, and after wandering around for half of the city, he still couldn't figure out what the world of immortality was all about. Putting aside those strange acquaintances, he only came to one conclusion: the margin for error in this world of immortality is quite high.
Because of immortality, people's precious youth is infinitely extended—but this is immortality, not abundance, and they will not suffer the demonic possession of the immortal beings. People have endless opportunities to make mistakes, and they can do whatever they want in infinite time.
But as he thought this, he seemed to see the original black and red lettering again—no, he really did see it.
"For the traveler, this was just a small stop. He soon left the immortal star and wandered the universe alone, practicing his immortality. But that star was too special, and the traveler often thought of it, so much so that the strange universe could no longer attract him... Finally, one day, he decided to return to that immortal star."
The words before him vanished, and out of the corner of his eye, Qiong noticed a subtle shift in the distant landscape: the once bustling streets became deserted in less than ten seconds. The lively market was gone, and the concrete buildings, besides looking old, were often damaged.
"What the hell?"
Qiong looked around; there were still people. But they moved as slowly as rusty gears, and when they brushed past him, they didn't even exchange glances, as if he didn't exist?
Qiong subconsciously took half a step back, her shoe hitting a broken paving stone with a soft "click".
"Hey, you stepped on it."
"what?"
Qiong turned around and saw an extremely disheveled middle-aged man lying on the ground, his cloudy eyes staring at him.
You stepped on me.
"sorry!"
……
A metallic, rusty smell filled the air, and the distant wind carried the scent of gunpowder. Otto and Tingyun, who had been discussing planting fruit just moments before, were nowhere to be seen. Where they had stood, only tattered bamboo baskets remained.
"Excuse me, what's wrong here?"
Qiong quickly caught up with a woman who was staring blankly at the base of a wall. Her skirt was stained with brown stains. Although it was impolite to comment on someone's mental state, Qiong felt that she looked like she was listless after taking drugs...
"Is something the matter? I'm resting."
Why rest instead of staying at home, but instead spacing out on the street?
"Excuse me... is this Inazuma? What happened?"
Qiong's voice sounded particularly abrupt on the deserted street.
The woman slowly turned her head. She was a young woman, but her face looked like that of a "brave warrior" who had endured three days of intense activity. Her eyes showed no emotion; she was neither surprised nor confused. She simply stared at him intently.
"Wait."
"Wait for what?"
"We await General Thunder's summons to prepare for the enemy's next attack."
She shook her head, then slowly turned back to face the wall again, as if the conversation had never happened.
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"Mei?!"
After asking around, Qiong learned that "General Thunder" was currently deploying defenses in the central square of Inazuma, and immediately ran towards the city center. When Qiong arrived at the square, he saw from afar the figure with braided hair leading Kiana and Bronya, wielding a naginata. With a swift and expressionless motion, the figure swiftly and decisively struck down the last person's arm, forcing them to retreat.
"You're Mei? It's me..."
In an instant, Kiana, wielding dual pistols, Raiden General, gripping her naginata, and Bronya, with her cannon at her side, all turned their weapons around and aimed at Sora, startling her so much that she instinctively gave a French military salute.
"Qiong?"
But soon, a look of surprise appeared on General Thunder's tired face.
"Mei, he is..."
"Kiana, Bronya, Sora is my friend. Let me talk to him alone."
After Kiana and Bronya walked away, "Thunder General" put down her naginata. Although she was tired, she still forced a smile.
"It really has been a 'long time no see,' hasn't it, Sora? Can you believe it? This is Inazuma, the Inazuma you visited years ago… One day, a shell landed in the city, and after that, the war began and never stopped."
Looking at the devastated square, Qiong had some guesses in his mind, and he decided to ask Mei for confirmation.
"Mei, what's going on?"
Perhaps it was the mention of something painful, but Mei's eyes dimmed as she gazed into the distance where Kiana and Bronya had gone.
“We have gained immortality, but the land is constant, resources are limited, and new life is still being added…”
"Has no one thought about limiting population growth?"
"Of course I thought about it! But who wants to limit themselves? At first, there were negotiations between various parties, and some even wanted to follow your example and go to the stars. But due to several unexpected events, the negotiations between Alliance Leader Walter and the others broke down..."
Qiong covered her face speechlessly: What is Nahera up to? Is she still using Old Yang's stereotypes in the trial?
[It must be stated that I am speaking from your—]
Nahera, we agreed not to interfere.
“Even if negotiations succeed, they can’t last. We’ve reached a few brief peace agreements, but those weren’t true peace; they were decades-long truces. Even with truces, skirmishes of all sizes continued unabated, and the non-aggression pact could be rendered worthless at any moment… Violent plundering repeatedly escalated into wars that broke the treaty—in the Land of Immortality, no one dies directly. Those people are willing to endure the pain of war to attack us, and their methods are becoming increasingly cruel. After all, when death is not an option, only by possessing greater violence can one temporarily gain the upper hand…”
Upon hearing Mei say this, a word immediately flashed through Qiong's mind: cancer cells.
Living for the sake of living, spreading for the sake of spreading, and never setting limits for themselves, even harming others...
Isn't that the ideology of cancer cells?!
From this perspective, could the result of immortality be cancer cells?
"but……"
Otto, whom she had just met, flashed through Qiong's mind. He was the Otto who had said he wanted to grow fruit.
"Didn't someone say they wanted to go to the stars? Why don't you unite and go to the universe? Or use technological advancements to increase food production, which would at least alleviate the conflict between humans and land, right? Did all your subsequent negotiations fail?"
Mei gave a bitter smile.
"At first, I had this idea; I also hoped to set foot on the stars. But do you know what? The people on our first rocket died."
"Dead?! Aren't you immortal?!"
"Yes, he's dead."
Mei smiled, but the helplessness in her eyes was undeniable.
"The rocket crashed shortly after launch. At first, everyone thought it was just a serious accident, but later they discovered she never recovered. Our research concluded that our planet might be like the 'spring' you mentioned—we wouldn't die here no matter what, but once we left… In short, no one dared to mention going to the stars again. As for technological advancement… all the resources were used for war; where would we find the energy and resources for research? Compared to hard work, plundering and oppressing others, forcing them to work for you, don't you find that more appealing?"
"What do you mean, 'My neighbor hoards grain, I hoard guns'..."
"Moreover, we will be hungry, but we won't starve to death. They are unwilling to control the population size, and they drive hungry people to attack us, trying to steal our food... Qiong, can you understand the feeling of hunger? The hunger is unbearable, the stomach acid feels like it's going to digest the stomach, and people are in great pain. They can't starve to death, but they can only curl up in a ball and barely survive. Our eternal life means eternal suffering. But we must also drive away those invaders who are starving to the bone, because our food, clothing, and other necessities are also in grave danger..."
Qiong didn't know what to say. He looked at the ruins of the city, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
Such immortality, like cancer cells, seems less desirable. After all, people want to live longer because they believe tomorrow will be better, and that living brings them joy and value... If the price of immortality is eternal suffering, then a finite lifespan is preferable.