The Dying

The Dying

Luo Changren's face was filled with unconcealed shock and disbelief. His mouth opened and closed, and several times he tried to speak, but only a breathy sound came out. At last, he couldn't catch his breath. His arms stretched out, and he collapsed into the chair, rolling his eyes back as if he were about to faint.

Xu Huo went over and gave his face a perfunctory pat. "You're not dead, are you?"

Luo Changren sprang up and grabbed his arm. He stared at him, gasping harder and harder, as if trying to squeeze the last bit of air from his lungs.

"Calm down. It's not worth dying over a couple of sentences."

That seemed to help Luo Changren recover a little, but his face was still ashen. He said, "Someone once told me that the best way to make a race stronger... was to improve its genes... But he deceived me... and killed so many people..."

"I'm a man covered in sin... I never intended to survive... Then someone else told me... to atone for my sins... I did everything I could to make amends... but she carried on the sins..."

Xu Huo listened without a flicker of emotion. "Then your life must be pretty pointless. You just do whatever other people tell you."

Luo Changren choked on his words, then very sensibly pretended he hadn't heard. "I once wanted to make the Base Station stronger... Now... I only want to save those poor people..."

"Aren't you even more pitiful?" Xu Huo looked at him. "You've spent your whole life trying to do two things, and failed at both."

Luo Changren dug his fingers into Xu Huo's arm. "You... you're not like us..."

Xu Huo watched him perform in silence. Luo Changren waited two seconds, but when