Yong Xin and Ian

I remember now.

I remember everything...

Jie La Er's memories, which he had been chasing for ten years, all returned to his mind at this moment.

"Why..." he whispered, "Why is this happening?"

"It seems you've finally remembered, Father." Yong Xin pointed to his mutilated face and smiled. "As for why... do you really not know? This is... the price."

Jie La Er's pupils narrowed slightly. "The price?"

"Now that you possess that eye, you should be well aware of the 'price' involved, right?" Yong Xin said softly. "Outsiders can indeed use Visas's power, but it's not for nothing. You have to give something to gain something. You told me not to die, and I certainly won't die, but you said you'd come back to save me—your obsession, your memories..."

He paused.

"It could only be taken away as a price, and then you were forever trapped in that place you always wanted to return to."

Hearing Yong Xin say this, Jie La Er clenched his fists tighter and tighter, the veins on the back of his fists bulging out one by one.

He was angry.

But the source of his anger lay with himself.

How could he forget?

How could he forget?!

How could he forget his mission? How could he forget that his son was still waiting for him?

Bai Wei naturally sensed Jie La Er's immense emotional turmoil.

To be honest, Bai Wei never expected the truth to be like this.

The [Domination] on Yong Xin was actually given to him by Jie La Er, and Jie La Er lost a part of his memories as a price for Domination... To be precise, it wasn't his memories, but his soul, only those memories were stored in his soul.

Bai Wei had naturally seen the spirit that had suddenly walked towards Jie La Er earlier.

Jie La Er's soul has been lingering in the Land of Corruption for many years, unable to leave, just as Jie La Er outside has been unable to find the truth of what happened back then.

But now, that lost part of the soul has returned.

If Bai Wei is not mistaken, it should be related to his "Spirit Summoning" the day before yesterday. He made the entire abyss move much closer to Lyra, and perhaps that's when the influence was generated.

Jie La Er's memories and obsessions finally caught up with him.

Although Bai Wei didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Because he noticed that Jie La Er's hand holding the sword was trembling, even though he had swung the sword at Yong Xin without hesitation just now.

But Bai Wei didn't say anything, he just watched.

After taking a few deep breaths, Jie La Er gradually calmed down. He looked up at Yong Xin and asked in as calm a tone as possible, "So what happened next?"

"And then I survived," Yong Xin said, still smiling. "Father, do you know just how powerful the [Domination] is?"

He casually picked up a piece of his own flesh from the ground and showed it to Jie La Er.

"You should know what happens if you stay in the Land of Corruption for too long," Yong Xin said. "My flesh, bones, and even my brain are rotting. I should have been like those pioneers who are forever buried in the Contaminated Land, my whole body decaying and rotting, and then becoming part of the Land of Corruption. But you forbade me to die, or rather, [Domination] forbade me to die. So it keeps forcing every part of my body to return to normal, and then... to work normally."

He released his grip, and the flesh immediately flew back onto the mutilated cheek, making the face almost whole again.

"This is [Domination]," Yong Xin said softly. "It wouldn't let me die. Nothing in this world could kill me, not even the Contaminated Land, so I survived and... eventually returned to Lyra."

Jie La Er looked into Yong Xin's eyes. "Then why didn't you come to find me?"

Yong Xin laughed again, "Father, have you forgotten that in this Land of Corruption, it's not just the body that rots? For everyone lost in this Land of Corruption, isn't it their spirit that first begins to rot?"

Jie La Er's heart skipped a beat.

"My body couldn't die, but my spirit..." Yong Xin tapped his temple with his finger, "Was constantly being attacked and tormented. I was almost going crazy back then, and I even wanted to commit suicide immediately, but..."

Yong Xin paused for a moment, then looked at Jie La Er again.

"As I said before, if you won't let me die, then I can't even kill myself."

The moment Yong Xin finished speaking, he suddenly became ruthless and plunged his finger into his temple with a "plop".

Pure white "blood" spilled out, but Yong Xin still kept smiling.

"Just like now."

The scene was somewhat eerie and terrifying.

But in Jie La Er's eyes, all he felt was... heartache.

Because he knew all too well the feeling Yong Xin was describing.

But he didn't lose his temper because of this, and still looked coldly at Yong Xin: "What does this have to do with you not coming to find me?"

Yong Xin sighed softly, "Don't you understand? Father, in that torment day after day, I finally understood what I wanted."

"What do you want?" Jie La Er asked instinctively.

Yong Xin did not answer immediately, but slowly stood up, spread his hands toward Jie La Er, and then said, word by word, "New student."

"Newborn?"

"Yes, I don't want to live like this anymore. Living like this only brings me endless pain," Yong Xin said calmly. "So I yearn for a new life. I want to abandon this body that should have rotted away long ago. I want to be reborn. I want to truly... be reborn. Lyra can't help me with this. Only the New Pursuit Society can help me. That's why I changed my name to... Yong Xin. I just want to live again and end my current suffering."

He paused.

"So, Father, are you going to stop me?"

"You are the one who made me who I am today."

"And now, are you going to watch me live like this forever?"

Jie La Er did not speak.

Even Bai Wei could feel that his body was trembling slightly.

... It's truly a bloodless knife.

Bai Wei thought to himself.

Then he heard Jie La Er say softly, "No, I won't just stand by and watch. Since I caused all of this, I will take responsibility."

Upon hearing this, a smile gradually returned to Yong Xin's face.

But the next second, the roar of the Chainsaw Sword rang out.

Yong Xin's body split in two once again.

"I will personally send you to hell," Jie La Er said coldly. "And don't call me father. I'm pretty sure... you're not Ian."

A heavy sigh.

"As expected, you figured it out."

This time, Yong Xin did not rush to reassemble his body, but instead separated it and then pulled out several pieces of bone from his body.

Metal was embedded in those bones.

"Ian was the same back then, willing to do anything to kill me, even driving these blades into my bones in an attempt to stop my rebirth." Yong Xin smiled faintly. "But he failed, just like you are today. And I killed him, and today I will... kill you."

Having said that, Yong Xin roared and charged toward Jie La Er.

To be precise, it was as if all parts of Yong Xin were rushing towards Jie La Er with a whooshing sound, like a murderous puppet with its body disintegrated, launching attacks on Jie La Er from different directions with each part.

Jie La Er, of course, wouldn't just stand by and watch.

He activated [Overload] directly. Although the prosthetic limb perfected by Tachibana could not fully utilize the effects of [Overload], at most it was just a youth version, but it was enough to deal with the current offensive.

Jie La Er wielded the seemingly heavy Chainsaw Sword with the agility of a tree branch, swinging it continuously, the Chainsaw Sword whistling as it cut through the air.

Then came several crisp sounds and sparks as the bones shattered and flesh flew everywhere.

But it didn't have much effect, as they quickly recovered and attacked Jie La Er again.

Just as Yong Xin said.

Separated flesh will reassemble, and broken bones will reconnect.

He is immortal; no one can kill him.

What should I do?

Jie La Er asked Bai Wei in his mind.

"There are two ways," Bai Wei said calmly. "The first is my eyes."

"With your eyes?"

"Yes," Bai Wei said. "You haven't forgotten the rules of my eyes, have you?"

Jie La Er, of course, had not forgotten.

When Jie La Er faced the assistant named Terrell in the Fourth District Tower, he witnessed the true power of Bai Wei's eye.

If something can't be killed, should it just be erased?

This is indeed a very good method.

The only thing that can defy the rules is the rules themselves.

"But I don't recommend using this method." Bai Wei's voice rang out again. "Because this guy is not an ordinary person. As long as a certain part of his body is erased, he will definitely die. From my observation, even if this thing is left with only one finger, it will not die completely. It may turn into one of those strange things that jump around and lead people astray."

... A strange, bouncy thing that leads people astray?

Jie La Er felt that the sentence sounded a bit strange, but he couldn't think about it too much because Yong Xin's attack on him was becoming increasingly difficult.

Although his Chainsaw Sword was powerful enough to sever all parts of Yong Xin, the severed parts would either reassemble or split into two and attack Jie La Er again, making it impossible to defeat them all.

With this back and forth, even with the [Overload] buff, Jie La Er couldn't keep going indefinitely.

"So if we use our eyes, we'd have to erase all of it, which is very troublesome, and your body can hardly withstand it," Bai Wei said slowly. "Therefore, I suggest using another method."

Jie La Er was somewhat annoyed. He didn't understand why Bai Wei was speaking so slowly, as if he was worried about something.

In that instant, a rib had already circled around to Jie La Er's blind spot, and then, with a whistling sound, it pierced towards Jie La Er's head.

By the time Jie La Er noticed it, it was already almost in front of him.

But just then, a swift black shadow swept past, knocking the rib away before Jie La Er could react.

Jie La Er was stunned. He turned his head and saw that the dark figure that had defused the attack was actually...

Yong Xin's right hand.

What's going on here?

Is Yong Xin's body preventing another part of the body from moving?

After a moment of distraction, Jie La Er realized something.

His eyes widened in disbelief, but he still roared at the arm, "Ian!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more flesh and blood rushed to the arm, quickly engulfing it and then reforming to resemble Yong Xin.

"Ah, you found out after all," Yong Xin said with a faint smile. "Yes, your son is still alive."

At this moment, Jie La Er could no longer remain calm as before. His eyes widened, bloodshot, and his heavy breathing even drowned out the roar of the [Overload] state!

"What did you do to him?!"

"Huh? What do you mean I did something to him?" Yong Xin tilted his head, then slowly raised his right hand. Jie La Er saw that his right hand was trembling. "I didn't do anything. He just tried to kill me, but he failed."

He paused, and then a look of reminiscence flashed in his eyes.

"Do you know? He and I should have been the closest people. After you left him alone in that place, he was all alone and helpless. He was tormented by the pain of pollution every day and by the burden of his body being broken down and reassembled. But even so, he didn't want to go back and didn't want to see you. It was because... he sensed my presence."

"Yes, he knows he's been... well, as you would say, contaminated. He thinks I'm dangerous, so he doesn't want me to go back under any circumstances."

"During that time, he tried to stop me in various ways, such as killing me directly on a soul level, but how could that be possible? The Land of Corruption is my home ground, I have an inexhaustible source of power, while he has nothing."

"He also tried to kill himself, but as I said before, [domination]... or rather, you don't let him die. So even if he ripped out his own heart, cut off his own head, chopped off his own limbs, it was all in vain. His body would just regenerate again and again. Even if he filled his body with steel, it would be of no use."

"So in the end, I won, and he... lost."

Jie La Er clenched his fists so tightly that his nails were almost pierced through his flesh.

"In the end, I returned here, as 'Yong Xin'." Yong Xin spread his right hand, blocking his view. "And he, all that's left is this... To be honest, I'm still not sure if he's still alive, or if he's just a lingering remnant, but I'm more inclined to believe he's still alive."

"And the person who brought about his tragic end..."

In Jie La Er's trembling pupils, Yong Xin's smile grew ever brighter.

"It's you, Jie La Er."

In that instant, a bolt of lightning flashed outside, illuminating the entire lobby in a pale light.

A few seconds later, the thunderous roar slowly arrived, but it seemed to explode in Jie La Er's heart, causing Jie La Er body to tremble uncontrollably, as if he were about to collapse at any moment.

But he used his sword to support his body and did not fall.

Then, he slowly spoke, as if talking to Yong Xin, yet also as if speaking to someone else, "What is the other method...?"

Bai Wei's voice slowly echoed in my heart.

"I've taken the [Domination] from his body for you to use one more time... but you can only use it once."

"You should understand what I mean."