When There Were Still So Many People?

Zhu Yufeng sensed something was off. To be precise, after arriving at the stronghold, he felt that people were looking at him strangely... He looked at Hen, who gave him a thumbs up, then walked over and patted Zhu Yufeng on the shoulder, saying, "Keep it up! Even if it was just a momentary impulse, it shows your feelings are there. You have to believe that your relationship will only get stronger."

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Ah, he knew what was going on. He had felt like someone was looking at him and Elysia, but he had paid attention a few times and hadn't seen anyone nearby. This could only mean that either the other party had strong counter-surveillance capabilities, or they were looking at this area from a very far distance with binoculars.

This ridiculous tactic has already been used by that bunch of idiots led by Nahamah...

So, it was Hen who was peeping at you back then, right?

Although he knew someone was spying on him, at that time... the atmosphere was right. He was currently in the body of a young man who had just come of age and hadn't even had the Fusion Warrior surgery yet, so sometimes he was easily... carried away.

On the way there, neither he nor Elysia dared to look at each other. In fact, even Elysia hadn't expected that she would take the initiative...

Looking at Zhu Yufeng's speechless expression, Hen knew that this guy had reverted to his old self, not talking much and not showing much emotion. However, no matter how mature he usually appeared, he was still a young man who was not even twenty years old... To be honest, he was surprised at that time. He originally thought that it would be Elysia who took the initiative, but it turned out to be Zhu Yufeng?

However, judging from their expressions when they arrived, it's surprising that they actually had moments of awkwardness. One is an overly outgoing social prankster, and the other is an overly indifferent social scumbag. It's truly remarkable that they could produce such expressions.

Hendu wanted to post the photos from that time to the Aifeng Party group chat, but he only thought about it and didn't intend to take any action. After all, such behavior was ultimately wrong and might cause some unnecessary trouble for the person involved.

Hen looked at Elysia again. To him, Elysia had always been his most trusted junior. Although she was a bit eccentric and her mission reports were always a headache, there was no doubt that she was a reliable junior.

He even suspected he was starting to see Elysia as another daughter, so when he discovered Elysia liked Zhu Yufeng, his first instinct was to scrutinize the boy. And the boy ultimately didn't disappoint him, whether in terms of his achievements, character, or reliability, except... this boy attracted far too many girls...

Hen suddenly felt a pang of emotion. That little girl from back then had now reached this point. He remembered the first time he had any interaction with Elysia was during the investigation of Vostok -51. A few years later, that little girl had joined the Fire Moth and become a reliable warrior...

Zhu Yufeng and Alicia both looked at him with expressions of emotion.

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Here it comes again, that piercing gaze from Yue...

Elysia: "..."

Although I'd seen Hen look at me and Feng like that before, this time was a little different, and I still felt a little embarrassed...

"Maple," Kevin walked over, "Do you have time now?"

Hen immediately snapped out of his reverie and looked at this junior in his team, who was also reliable and capable but unfortunately had a different stance, with some wariness. He never expected that Kevin was actually a deeply hidden Maple and Feng-Lilith Faction! If Lilith hadn't joined the Fire Moth, and if this guy hadn't been talking about Maple and Lilith in the Fire Moth, he wouldn't have known there was such a formidable rival.

Speaking of this, we have to mention Feng again. Did he really save the world in his past life? So many girls like him: Elysia, who fell from the sky; Lilith, his childhood friend; Pardofelis, the younger one; Sakura, the older one; and even Vill-V and Mobius, who are only a fine line between genius and madness...

This makes you want to complain that this guy must have all sorts of weird girls around him...

"Yes, there is..." Zhu Yufeng was pulled away by Kevin before she could finish speaking.

Elysia watched as Zhu Yufeng was pulled away. She wanted to stop him, but when she thought of what had happened before, she felt that she might need a little time to adjust... So this time, she would let Kevin go for the time being. Any normal person could see what Kevin, this single-minded, simple-minded creature, was up to.

So it seems that besides Hen, Kevin was also present at the time...

"Let's talk, Elysia," Hen said, looking at Elysia.

Elysia looked at Bihen with some doubt, but still nodded in agreement.

On Zhu Yufeng's side.

Zhu Yufeng looked at Kevin with a hint of helplessness and said, "Kevin, you were watching it back then too, right?"

Kevin was looking at him with such a serious expression, and considering what Hen was thinking, it was obvious even to a fool what this male version of Kiana was thinking.

"When... when did you and Elysia progress to this point?" Kevin asked, puzzled. He'd been keeping an eye on things since the Fire Moth, and everything had seemed normal before. Could it have been during the trip to Australia? Of course, he'd have to stay close to Maple and help Lilith out more; Lilith alone couldn't possibly defeat Elysia!

And speaking of Australia, Eden was there too...

Sigh, this clueless guy always breaks my heart.

Zhu Yufeng squinted at Kevin: "Would you believe me if I said the atmosphere was right, the feelings were right, and everything just happened naturally?"

Kevin: "..."

He actually wanted to say he didn't believe it, because Mei had never taken the initiative before... As for kissing, he only remembered it happening once, and that was before the Fusion Warrior surgery when he took the initiative. Mei neither objected nor approved, but later, considering the side effects of her own surgery, she didn't even think about it anymore. As for hugging, it wasn't until after the War of Finality, when he and Mei hugged for the last time at the end of their lives, that he saw Mei's true feelings revealed.

But... after all, that's Mei, and in some ways, she's a one-of-a-kind girlfriend...

After a moment of silence, Kevin spoke again, "What are your thoughts on Lilith and Elysia?"

Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment, then said, "They... are like two opposing sides, at least that's how I see them."

"No, that's not what I meant." Kevin said, somewhat speechless. Besides... are Lilith and Elysia really opposites? He couldn't see that at all. At most, Lilith might just be a little more selfish Elysia. Could that really be considered opposites?

At least he resonated with Lilith's thoughts. Regardless of the world, he only did it because Mei needed him to do so. Therefore, he had to overcome the Honkai and achieve the goal of "saving the world." Lilith felt the same way. Regardless of the survival of humanity, she would only unconditionally support Feng's choice.

Zhu Yufeng looked at Kevin, thought for a while, and then said, "Kevin, do you have some misunderstanding about Lilith?"

Lilith seems to have a very low opinion of Kevin, which isn't entirely incomprehensible, given that Lilith did play a positive role in Kevin and May's relationship, although her ultimate goal was to get May and Kevin to side with her when it came to choosing a spouse...

"Maybe," Kevin said. "My interactions with Lilith aren't actually that many. I could never understand Lilith as well as you do, because she was your right-hand woman, someone who stood by your side. But no matter what... she ultimately helped me and May. From my perspective, from my previous life, why are you still having such a hard time making this decision... it's really something I don't quite understand."

"Indeed, you're right..." Zhu Yufeng lowered his eyes. "In your eyes... no, to be honest, I have indeed failed Lilith. She was the first to confess to me and has supported me through that difficult time all along... So, I don't deny that Lilith is a special being to me, just like Elysia."

So, have you really let go of the Tragedy of Binding?

Kevin wanted to ask Zhu Yufeng this question, but he ultimately chose to remain silent. He knew that Zhu Yufeng was an emotional person, and given her personality, the Tragedy of Binding Zhu Yufeng distress were truly difficult for her to let go of completely. It was because of this incident that he felt that if Zhu Yufeng and Elysia couldn't overcome this hurdle, she might as well go and live with Lilith. If there was a rift between them from the beginning, it would eventually surface in the future.

But he remained silent. The Tragedy of Binding wasn't just the rift between Zhu Yufeng and Elysia, but also the thing Zhu Yufeng cared about most. There was no need to bring it up...

"Are you thinking about the Tragedy of Binding?" Zhu Yufeng looked at Kevin, her expression gradually fading.

Kevin expressed his stance by remaining silent.

"How could I forget what happened back then? Even now, when I have nightmares at night, I still dream about that scene." Zhu Yufeng said softly, "In that incident, I almost lost everything... Perhaps, this is indeed an unavoidable problem that Elysia and I will eventually face... But, from both sides' perspectives, who was wrong?"

Kevin was taken aback. Who was wrong? No one was wrong. Zhu Yufeng didn't want to deplete the high-end combat power of the Fusion Warrior and wanted to preserve his strength. Elysia didn't want to sacrifice innocent lives to gamble on a theoretically possible success.

"That's one of the reasons, or perhaps the main reason, why I never saw Elysia again after that," Zhu Yufeng recalled. "Did I hate her? From my personal emotional perspective, of course. But from a realistic perspective, was it possible for her not to make that choice? More than hating her, I hated myself, hated myself for not having enough power to change things, hated myself for being too late. After that, although I didn't hate her and understood her position, it didn't mean I could forgive her..."

Therefore, it's better not to meet again.

Zhu Yufeng raised her eyes and continued, "You also tacitly approved of her plan, do you want me to hate you too? Qianjie Kosma and the others were also involved in the battle, should I hate them too?"

"That's not what I meant at all," Kevin said.

"Let me tell you something else," Zhu Yufeng said, "Ordinary people entering the Divine Blessing Barrier die in less than a second. The number of people Vill-V calculated is only the standard number needed to temporarily disable the Divine Blessing Barrier. The actual number required, after being corrected by Rovoc, is much higher." Zhu Yufeng turned his gaze to the window. "That number is probably about half the number of surviving humans, and that's assuming no unforeseen circumstances. So, do you think I'm right, or is Elysia right?"

The possibility of betting on the theoretical possibility that the Divine Blessing Barrier of the Law of Restraint might fail is being wagered on the survival of half of humanity...

Kevin fell silent again. This was something he didn't know; if he were the one to make the choice...

I understand her position, but that doesn't mean I can forgive her.

That's why Feng didn't want to see Elysia.

Zhu Yufeng was thinking that if he had to make a choice again, he would still choose the first option without hesitation, because his indifference to the fate of the world had never changed; he only cared that the people he cared about could live.

On Elysia's side.

"It's been so long without me even realizing it..." Hen said with a touch of emotion, "That little girl from back then has grown up and has someone she likes now..."

"It has indeed been quite a long time." Elysia was thinking about the events of her previous life.

"Feng...this child is indeed a bit expressionless, but he is always good to the people he cares about. Perhaps that is his shortcoming..." Hen smiled helplessly. "He cares too much about the people he cares about, and he is too indifferent to others."

Because he's not from our world. The initial reason he came to our world was because of me, because of the Thirteen Heroes of Fire Moth. Now, he seems indifferent to this world...

Elysia smiled helplessly to herself.

"You two might actually complement each other quite well, who knows?" Hen shrugged.

Elysia looked in a certain direction, and Lilith raised her glass to her, as if inviting her to come over for a drink.

Hen also looked at Lilith, and he wondered to himself, "Could Lilith have been there at that time?"

"Looks like I might have to go talk to Lilith first," Elysia said with a smile.

"You two... sigh, your relationship is indeed a bit strange..." Hen twitched the corner of his mouth. It's just so strange, Lilith and Elysia are clearly rivals in love, but when they meet, you can hardly see any tense atmosphere between them...

"I'll go first then," Elysia said.

"Go ahead, you two probably really do need to talk." Hen nodded. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. In short, go for it, Elysia, I believe you can definitely win over Maple!"

Elysia walked up to Lilith and sat down. Before she could speak, Lilith smiled and said, "Congratulations! I didn't expect you to take the initiative."

"I didn't think about it either..." Elysia said.

"I'm going to do something about it now. After all, I'm not going to give up so easily." Lilith smiled.

"If you weren't so outrageous, perhaps... you might have succeeded already," Elysia said softly.

"No, if I don't do that, I might really have no other way to get close to him and leave a mark on his heart," Lilith said.