"Wait, wait, wait, Brother, it's not what you think!" Ren Yi felt a hint of foreboding.
Although he really wanted to see Dr. Lin get beaten... cough, although his brother clearly misunderstood something, Ren Yi felt he should take responsibility for his own actions.
He hurriedly interrupted Ren Man's train of thought.
"Dr. Lin was actually a huge help this time; I even have to thank him properly when we get back!"
Ren Yi became completely honest, recounting his entire experience in the Three Cities World to Ren Man from beginning to end.
It was just like countless evenings coming home from school, sitting on the back of the electric scooter, rambling on to his brother about trivial school matters.
Only this time, the location of the sharing was far too surreal, the content was a bit explosive, and Ren Yi's tone was more than a little sheepish...
They seemed to stay in this strange space for a very long time, until Ren Yi felt his throat go dry.
He had mocked Azure earlier for dying because of too much talking, but as he spoke, he realized he had become a chatterbox himself. Talk about a quick slap in the face.
Ren Man just listened quietly, not interrupting him once, his face showing little emotion.
Only the depths of his eyes occasionally flickered with slight ripples.
After Ren Yi finished, there was a moment of silence before Ren Man spoke slowly.
"Azure?" He chewed over the two words, his gaze sweeping over the frozen raindrops nearby.
"Brother, do you know about that world? According to Azure, it should be a high-tech world with a mental power system," Ren Yi asked curiously.
Asking if his brother knew someone named Azure was unnecessary. First, he didn't even know if the name was real, and Ren Yi didn't think the guy would be famous.
Ren Man tilted his head, thought for a moment, and shook it.
"No."
After a pause, he asked leisurely, "Where is it?"
Ren Yi belatedly realized his brother was asking where the Azure World was.
"Uh... it's probably gone. Azure was a survivor of that world," Ren Yi said awkwardly.
Then, his heart stirred, and he quickly inquired.
"Brother, so do you know the effects of this mental system? Lu Zihan seemed to have been hit by it; will he be okay?"
To this, Ren Man only gave a faint reply, "The Alliance is there."
That meant it wasn't a problem. Ren Yi felt the last heavy stone in his heart drop.
"It's a good thing Azure didn't choose Old Lu. Otherwise, if he had actually succeeded in merging, it would have been pretty disgusting," he couldn't help but complain to Ren Man.
Ren Yi imagined Lu Zihan shouting with a pious face, "Merge with me and reach the peak of Anomaly life," and couldn't help but shudder.
However, before he could even witness such a terrifying scene, Auntie Lu Qing probably would have skinned Azure alive...
Looking at it that way, the way he let Azure die was a bit too gentle.
Ren Man suddenly said, "He doesn't understand. He hasn't seen you."
"Huh? What?" Ren Yi was stunned, looking confused.
Seen what? What didn't he understand?
Ren Yi felt like his brother's train of thought was jumping too fast this time; he didn't follow.
Ren Man lowered his eyes slightly and pondered for a long while, seemingly trying hard to translate his thoughts into a language Ren Yi could understand.
Finally, he only managed these four words.
"He would explode."
He understood now, but Ren Yi suddenly felt a bit stung.
His brother likely meant that Azure's understanding of rules and Anomalies was only skin-deep, and he hadn't even seen Ren Yi's true form.
Thinking about it, it was true. From the start of the Three Cities Meeting, Azure had only ever seen the "Mo Ming" skin.
He didn't even understand what the essence of an Anomaly truly was; success was impossible.
"Brother, are you saying Azure couldn't digest me? If he forced it, he'd just explode on the spot?"
Ren Yi's tone carried a hint of imperceptible grievance.
Ren Man nodded.
So, did he not need to make things so complicated earlier? Could he have just lied down and let Azure eat him?
Since he couldn't be digested anyway.
Never mind. Given Azure's appearance—flesh tentacles covered in eyes—it was just too disgusting.
Ren Yi suddenly felt he understood his brother perfectly. It wasn't that he didn't have a cleanliness obsession; his boundaries just hadn't been crossed before.
"Then... if Azure had seen my true form, maybe he wouldn't have targeted me?" Ren Yi couldn't help but ask.
This time, Ren Man shook his head gently, his tone carrying a bit of uncertainty.
"Perhaps... I don't quite understand."
Well, it was indeed a bit much to ask of an Anomaly.
Azure's logic was far too twisted. Ren Yi felt that he, or any normal human, probably couldn't understand it, let alone his brother, whose essence was entirely non-human.
The atmosphere grew quiet again. Ren Yi hesitated for a moment, and that feeling of sitting on pins and needles began to creep back in.
There was one thing his brother hadn't mentioned, but it hung over him like a sword of Damocles, keeping him uneasy.
It was like accidentally breaking a vase at home as a child—scared out of your wits but not daring to confess.
You could only wait anxiously for the parent to come home, dreading the moment they'd find out, waiting for that roar from the bedroom before they came out to settle the score.
But now, the "parent" had already "entered the bedroom," yet it was silent, as if he hadn't noticed a thing.
Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Brother, do you not care that I triggered your... uh, that rule?"
Saying this, Ren Yi felt like he was flirting with death.
Ren Man didn't answer immediately. He just looked at him quietly with a gaze so deep it made Ren Yi's whole body stiffen.
...Until he saw the corners of Ren Man's mouth quirk up into a slight curve.
Ren Yi felt even worse.
"I thought you'd be able to hold it in longer."
Ren Man seemed to have had his fill of watching his younger brother's restless, defensive state and finally decided to let him off the hook.
"So, you don't care?" Ren Yi asked, holding his breath.
"I care," Ren Man replied calmly.
Ren Yi's relief was instantly choked back, and he sat up straight.
Ren Man slowly lowered his eyes, and the smile on his lips faded.
"【Do not feel pain】."
He emphasized it again.
"Do not... feel pain."
Ren Yi was stunned. He realized that Ren Man's two identical sentences seemed to have two different meanings.
He had originally thought his brother cared more about him triggering the rule.
But now it seemed what he cared about was the "pain" involved in that process.
There was a big difference between the two—one was the process, the other was the result.
All he cared about was that Ren Yi had felt pain.
Ren Yi felt his nose tingle.
At that moment, Ren Man looked up again. His gaze swept across the surrounding pitch blackness where the world once existed.
His tone was sincere and gentle, almost filled with benevolence.
"You must understand, this outcome is a good thing."
"...For them, and for us."
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