He sat from dawn until dusk, from sunrise to sunset.
Without moving, without making a sound, as though he wanted to carve this real world deep into his entire soul, straight into his marrow.
He stared at the scenery so deeply, so deeply, that even the Mind Space had become this very scene, identical within and without.
After a long while, he said softly, "Sorry."
"No need to apologize." Shi Tiexin came to his side. "When you hit me, you're hitting yourself. Who hasn't wanted to give themselves two hard slaps?"
Old Six gave a self-mocking smile. "I'm more than ten years older than you, yet I ended up being consoled by you instead. How did you stay so calm and clear-headed? Was it because of Ten-Ring Breakthrough Sharpness?"
"You've reversed cause and effect. I'm not powerful because of Ten-Ring Breakthrough Sharpness; I achieved Ten-Ring Breakthrough Sharpness because I was powerful." Shi Tiexin crouched beside him, looking out at the desolate, decaying world with him. "A person is a piece of iron. Only by being forged again and again, struck painfully, then plunged into ice water to suffocate can they truly grow."
Old Six nodded without speaking.
Shi Tiexin suddenly nudged him with his elbow. "What did it feel like, shedding tears with your real eyes for the first time?"
Old Six sighed. "Not good, not bad. Just now, I spent a long time remembering. I forced myself to recall everything from the time I met her until now, every little detail, over and over. Even with reality laid bare before me, I still find it hard to believe Xiao Ling is a string of code. She was too vivid, too sincere. How could feelings that intense possibly be fake?"
Shi Tiexin pondered this. "If you firmly believe she has