Volume Five: Return from the Other Shore - Chapter 481: That Girl · G (End)

Since you're so troubled, would you like to hear my advice?

Givinia's heart skipped a beat.

The sky above her head was torn apart, and a giant eye peered through the crack, looking down upon everything in the world—she had never felt this way in her life.

Who exactly is this man who calls Yusuo Zai?

"There's no need to be so wary. You must be tired too. Take a break while you listen to me."

"Thanks..."

Givinia felt incredibly relaxed, and her restless heart calmed down slightly, although the resentment in her heart had not yet disappeared.

"Actually, your troubles all stem from a contradiction: the enhancement of your superpowers takes time and cannot be accelerated, while at the same time your desire for revenge is fading. Before you become strong enough to carry out your revenge plan, your hatred will completely fade and disappear."

"... Yes."

"Then all we need to do is resolve the conflict."

"You mean... to become strong enough before the hatred disappears?"

"Yes."

"If it were truly possible, why would I be troubled? After all, my superpower can only grow stronger over time; it can't be trained... So, it's impossible."

"However, turning the impossible into the possible is not difficult; aren't humans the most intelligent of all beings, capable of making the impossible possible?"

"Then what should I do?"

"Well..."

Yusuo Zai shifted his legs, finding a more comfortable sitting position on a large, relatively smooth pebble. The puddles on the ground had soaked his dusty shoes, and the loose collar of his T-shirt revealed his prominent collarbone, making his unhealthy complexion seem even more pronounced.

No matter how you look at it, it seems like a low-income person struggling to survive.

Only the empty eye socket of the left eye gave people an unusual sense of oppression, and something seemed to be wriggling in the darkness deep in the eye socket.

"According to your calculations, by the time your superpowers naturally evolve to the point where you can even set your sights on that lady, you should be almost 200 years old, right?"

"Yes..."

"And you only have now"

15 years old.

"It should be correct."

How many people in the organization know about you?

"I tried my best to avoid contact with others throughout the year."

Do you believe that anyone other than me, at a higher level, knows of your existence?

"Probably not..."

"OK, that makes things much easier."

Then, Yusuo Zai revealed his plan.

It was like the babbling of a three-year-old, completely beyond Givinia's imagination.

"If we Stop Time of your body and emotions, and only allow your 'superpower growth' to change normally over time, and then thaw you after 170 or 180 years, you will be able to have both power and maintain your hatred, thus resolving the conflict."

"... ha?"

"Didn't you understand? Let me explain again—"

"--No, no, no, I understand! In short, in short, you freeze everything about me except my superpowers, leaving only my superpowers to grow naturally, and then you unfreeze me after more than 170 years?"

"Yes, isn't that obvious?"

"But... but... this is too much! You mean you want me to wait all these years for this!?"

"For you, it's just a good night's sleep. When you wake up again, many years will have passed. By then, your superpowers will have grown to the level you desire, and your body will be exactly the same as when you were fifteen. Most importantly... note that I've frozen 'everything about you except your superpowers.' In other words, your emotions, your heart, and the filthy hatred within you will remain exactly the same after you wake up. They will never fade or disappear."

"But... isn't this going too far?"

"Oh? Tell me about it?"

Givinia was already somewhat confused. Since becoming involved with this man named Yusuo Zai, everything seemed to be slipping out of her control. No, she couldn't let herself be led by the nose. She could find loopholes, raise objections, or even resort to unreasonable arguments—she had to resist!

"Think about it, if I simplify my problem to its absolute limit, it's simply 'unable to obtain the desired power within a limited time,' right? If that's the case, why go through all this trouble? Freezing time, letting the power grow on its own, and then thawing—why not just find a way to obtain the power directly?"

"You're right, but... I made this suggestion because I meant well."

Yusuo Zai chuckled softly, a smile unlike his previous dry one. For a moment, Givinia had the illusion that his lips had suddenly split open to his ears, which startled her. But upon closer inspection, there was nothing strange about it; he was just smiling normally.

Yusuo Zai seemed to notice the fleeting fear in Givinia's eyes, but continued, "If you simply want power, just make a wish to me, and I'll give you as much power as you want. Whether you want to pay the price or not is up to you."

But—the tone shifted,

"But my proposal has been carefully considered. Its greatest advantage is that it guarantees your power will be entirely your own, not a gift or handout from someone else. And a simpler, more common method... Are you sure? Are you sure you want me to infuse you with power? Are you sure you want to use the power I give you?"

"..."

How could there possibly be a choice?

Normally, who would accept the power of such a bizarre individual?

"If you had maintained that level of caution until now, you would definitely have chosen to believe in your own abilities."

"... Sigh, fine, whatever you say..."

"Then the deal is done, and we're happy with the cooperation."

Yusuo Zai stood up from the rock, but immediately tripped over a small stone and almost twisted his ankle. He shrugged, brushed the dust off his clothes, and extended his thin hand to shake hers. Givinia could feel that his hand was full of calluses, dry skin, and hard bones.

"But let me confirm one last time, are you really going to do this? If you continue like this, you'll truly have no way out; you'll have to confront your mother, whom you both love and hate the most—"

"'Favorite' is superfluous!"

"--Alright, then it's a showdown with your most hated mother. At that point, it'll truly be a fight to the death. You have to see this through to the very end."

For the first time, a hint of pity flashed in Yusuo Zai's murky gray eyes, but this only made Givinia more uneasy.

"You don't need to confirm... You've known perfectly well what choice I'm going to make from the very beginning, haven't you? There's no turning back now..."

"... Very good... no, not quite very good, just okay. Here, take this."

Ignoring Givinia's terrified expression, he stuck his fingers into the empty eye socket, stirring them to make eerie gurgling sounds. A few seconds later, with a "pop" as he pulled the cork out of the bottle, he pulled something out and handed it to Givinia.

After taking it, Givinia almost threw it away.

It was a lump of flesh, roughly the size of a fist.

It looked like several pieces of rotten flesh had been forcibly sewn together, with protruding lines on the surface resembling nerves or blood vessels, as if they were still pulsating slightly; it was indescribably disgusting.

"What... what is this...?"

"I ate." "Huh?"

I said, "I've eaten."

"Why? Is this preparation for 'freezing my time'?"

No, it has nothing to do with that.

"..."

"But listen to me, eat it."

"... What exactly is your purpose?"

"Eat it, and then I'll do what I promised."

There is no room for rebuttal.

It was only then that Givinia truly realized what he meant by "there is no way out."

She tried hard not to look at the lump of meat in her hand, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then quickly ate it into her mouth in a few bites. The sticky texture, the rotten smell, and the seemingly fishy juice were all so nauseating. She desperately forced herself not to think about it, and just chewed it a few more times before swallowing it whole.

"Gulp... cough cough cough..."

"It's not bad, but it tastes awful, doesn't it? Would you like some water?"

"No... no need... compared to that..."

Givinia gently clutched her stomach; she felt something churning inside her, as if she might collapse and vomit at any moment. Fighting back the nausea, she looked at Yusuo Zai with bloodshot eyes—

"Have I done everything I was supposed to do? Keep your promise!"

"Of course."

In the next instant, countless barbed wires shot out from the empty eye socket Yusuo Zai, some wrapping around her body, some piercing into her body, wrapping her up inside and out like a rice dumpling.

"Sleep, sleep, my dear Givinia, when you wake up... both our goals will be achieved, and I promise it won't harm you..."

Yes, go to sleep, and wake up in 176 years.

Your stage isn't here now, it's in the future.

A year and a half ago --

"That's it. Welcome to our ranks, to our little group that's passionate about overthrowing obnoxious Leader."

The three people stood together: a man in white clothes with a sinister look, a woman whose entire body, including her clothes and even her teeth, was black and white, and a girl with long light blue hair and a very peaceful expression.

The three men extended an invitation to her, and Givinia —of course—couldn't refuse. If she refused, she was confident she could escape even if the three men killed her to silence her, but that would mean completely losing her chance, losing the status of "Madam's Direct Subordinate" that she had worked so hard to obtain after a year of awakening. Besides, it wouldn't be bad to take advantage of their success and escape the organization.

"But I have only one condition: can I listen to it?"

"I'm all ears." Huang Huo displayed the magnanimity of a powerful figure, but his hoarse, grating voice was completely out of place. Anubas just kept smiling, and Ferguson couldn't help but curl his lip—this guy who had joined at some point and only recently emerged actually dared to negotiate with the higher-ups?

But Givinia's conditions were beyond their expectations.

"My goal is to kill the lady."

So you want us to help you?

"No, I don't expect anyone's help. I will try my best not to let my personal affairs interfere with your plans, and I also hope that you won't interfere with my revenge. That's all my conditions."

"... If that's all, then there's really no problem."

"Thank you so much!"

Givinia bowed deeply, said goodbye, and disappeared.

"Lord Huang Huo, can she really be trusted? Although she is exceptionally capable, but..."

"Some things are a bit strange, aren't they? But what does it matter?" Huang Huo smiled knowingly and stretched. "People like that are often the most reliable, aren't they?"

There is no turning back now.

It would be a lie to say I've never regretted it, and it would be a lie to say I've never hesitated. With no way back, all I can do is pick myself up and move forward.

Love? Hate? Right? Wrong? I don't know when it started to get confused. When something becomes the pillar of life, its meaning also changes and can no longer be measured by simple good or bad, right or wrong.

If this is fate, then let's face it with our usual smiles, resign ourselves to certain death, and accept the inevitable end.

Reveal your identity at the crucial moment and give your annoying mother a surprise!

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Alright, alright, that concludes Givinia's short story. Please vote with your Monthly Votes!