Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 592: You've Worked So Hard All This Time

While the two outside engaged in an earth-shattering duel, Yu He's secret chamber remained unscathed.

An eerie atmosphere permeated the air.

The three of us fell silent at the same time.

Rather than being surprised or taken aback, it was more like simply not knowing how to respond.

Blood Fiend possesses an irresistible charm that appeals to both men and women—I already knew this, as evidenced by the countless women who were infatuated with her, including Tianlu, the Sick Spider, Madam, and Neumann.

But what about men?

If she can charm even women, men must be even more irresistible. From two hundred years ago to now, countless men have probably fallen for her.

But so far, among the men I know who were connected to Blood Fiend in the past, there doesn't seem to be anyone who was very close to her, nor anyone who clearly fell in love with her.

Her old partner, Huang Huo, only felt that she was a business partner; Jili seemed to have no interest in her at all; Gustav was only loyal to Jili; Francis, the Revolutionary Army from two hundred years ago, was just a collaborator with respect.

After going through it this way, it seems there really isn't one.

Aside from one person who slipped through the net, there's another person who, according to conventional thinking, would be the first to be eliminated.

"Try to think about a wonderful but very old question, everyone."

Yu He gently stroked the coffin containing the Blood Fiend, his movements so tender, as if he were caressing the most precious thing in the world.

"How much do you think it would cost to buy back a human life?"

His smile grew increasingly indifferent, while the inexplicable light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Human potential is infinite, and the end of any possibility holds varying amounts of wealth. Unless the other party has been driven to a dead end, it is impossible to measure the value of a person's life."

I couldn't help but take a few steps back, and Haoyue gently took my hand.

"If we change this question... think about it, if I wanted to bring back a lost life, how much would I have to give up?"

"You..."

I glanced at Yu He, then at the Blood Fiend in the coffin, and then back at him.

"... You're crazy."

"No, I'm not crazy. I know exactly what I'm doing."

He gently closed his eyes.

It felt like a dream.

"After the first week, I was in pain, grief, regret, and in a daze."

"In short... it's probably about resentment. Resentment that we didn't create more memories together, resentment that we only realized our love after losing her forever, resentment that we didn't even glance at her more, or say a single word to her more."

"If only I could see her face again, if only I could hear her voice again, if only I could continue playing with her and playing with Little Nuonuo, if only... But what's the point of saying all this now? Isn't it incredibly foolish to hold onto hope for someone who's already dead?"

"Just then, I suddenly remembered things that had been buried by the long, comfortable life, and the things that I, who had always been looked down upon, was capable of... Yes, I am Yu He, the man who unified the Spirit Star economic circle, the one who turned the impossible into the possible, one of the organization's high-ranking members. Why should someone like me, like a useless mortal, lie on the ground and weep bitterly?"

"... So, this is your masterpiece? You 'created another her' just so you could see her again!? Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, so this brings us back to the initial question," Yu He rubbed his middle finger and thumb, "What do you think is the right amount of money to buy a human life? This question is meaningless, so I've never seriously considered it before, but now I have to, because the first thing to do is—"

He pointed to the Blood Fiend in the coffin.

"Restore her body."

"Impossible! Her body has long since—"

"--Don't let your own biased views blind you. It's true that her physical body was completely destroyed, but that doesn't mean it disappeared completely. I personally went to the site of her final battle on the South Spirit Continent and spent a lot of money to finally extract a small amount of Blood Fiend's blood sample from the remains, as well as some flesh remnants that were no bigger than a fingernail."

"Huh...?"

Blood sample? Residue?

"This is where it all began. Although I don't have the ability to regenerate a physical body like Blood Fiend, my own abilities are more versatile—'Under certain conditions, by paying the corresponding amount of money and using certain operations, one can skip the process and directly obtain the desired result.' This is the most fundamental essence of my abilities."

It's such a convenient ability that it leaves you speechless.

"So what I need to do is actually very simple: just keep putting money into it. So I have to figure out exactly how much money I need to invest to bring her back to life."

"..."

I was speechless.

The statement sounded problematic no matter how you looked at it, yet you couldn't find any reason to refute it.

Although the summary is "men use money to win back women," which is quite cliché, it is indeed Yu He's ability, and also the simplest, most direct, and efficient way for him to achieve his wish.

Moreover, what he wanted to win back wasn't a woman's heart, but her life.

"The initial raw materials were so limited that recreating her body was a hundred times more difficult than I imagined. The value of Blood Fiend's body far exceeded my expectations, but... it was also understandable. Putting everything else aside, the 'beauty' of this body alone is priceless. Even disregarding that beauty, its superior performance is second only to Gustav's in the entire organization; it's an extremely powerful weapon. And most importantly—I wanted to 'recreate the original Blood Fiend,' not 'create something resembling Blood Fiend,' otherwise it would be meaningless. My capricious request increased the difficulty by dozens of times. But, fortunately—"

With a click, the coffin lid disappeared on its own.

Blood Fiend's body was exposed to the air.

"--Overcoming all sorts of difficulties, watching her develop from a few remnants into a rudimentary human form, and then to her current appearance, just for this, any amount of money invested would be worthwhile. She is no longer a piece of dead flesh; she has a heartbeat, she breathes, and all her life responses are excellent."

But--

"Wait, I have a question!"

"Oh?"

"Why are you going through all this trouble? Why can't you just ask Jili directly?"

As I spoke, I looked directly into Yu He's eyes while subtly tugging at Hao Yue's clothes.

You mean...?

Haoyue touched my hand to indicate that she understood.

"You know, right? With Jili's ability to recreate time, he could easily 'recreate' the dead Blood Fiend. This would be the most perfect resurrection of the dead. Even if the recreated Blood Fiend is not allowed by the World Will, as long as she stays hidden in the Void Space, she'll be safe once the Leader's grand plan is completed, right? Then you and she can get along in the new world like before. Isn't that the most ideal ending?"

But I was rejected.

"Right? So—what?"

"I said, I was rejected by the Leader."

His tone suddenly became dry and emotionless.

"I've done everything I can, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him. I want to persuade him, to make the Leader understand that this is just a small thing for him, that it's a good thing for me, for him, and for the organization, that as long as everything is done within the Void Space, there's no need to worry too much about the World Will, that Blood Fiend has the value to warrant this, that I'm truly eager for this... But he just keeps refusing, his attitude so stubborn that even I can't understand it. I really don't understand him..."

This is also the key reason why I decided to rely on myself for everything – that's what he said.

I think we can't delay any longer.

(Bright moon, Sick Spider, take action!)

"I've had enough of your nonsense!"

I raised my hands, and a crimson tide of blood surged forth, from which countless Blood Beast flew and pounced on Yu He.

"Hey, it's not very polite to suddenly attack someone."

"You have no right to say that!"

The Blood Beast at the forefront crackled and snapped, its body breaking into pieces. It was unclear what Yu He had done—but it didn't matter! It was just a smokescreen anyway! Just as the Blood Beast lunged at Yu He, Haoyue also shot out like an arrow, tightly holding the still unconscious Little Butterfly in her arms!

(Hurry, Haoyue!)

The Snow Moon streaked through the air, surrounded by a dazzling light—not the Gold Silver Orange runes, but a pure white that gave a sense of holiness. To be on the safe side, she directly used the power of the Truth Incantation!

The walls of the secret room were slashed and torn apart, easier than tearing tin foil. Blood-smelling air wafted from the other side of the wall—it was outside! Haoyue was also taken aback. We hadn't expected that the other side of the secret room wasn't the building's interior or some kind of mechanism; we could actually leave the secret room directly through it! But now, further speculation was useless. Haoyue gave me one last look, a resolute gaze, then hugged Little Butterfly and leaped out!

(Good--!)

Seeing Haoyue and Little Butterfly leave safely, I immediately released a crystal shield to completely block the torn wall and made all the necessary preparations to prevent Yu He from giving chase! It will work; the enemy only has Yu He, while I and Sick Spider are on my side. Haoyue will return to support us as soon as she settles Little Butterfly, not to mention Xiao Wu and Sin Annihilation are waiting in the wings!

"Sorry, Yu He, your silly, melodramatic unrequited love story was actually kind of touching, but unfortunately, I'm not into that kind of thing. No matter how sincere you are towards Blood Fiend, it doesn't change the fact that I'm going to take care of you right here!"

To this, he simply blinked and said—

"Oh oh?

Oh what?

Can't we have a little tension?

Or are you just too confident?

Besides— the Planet Will was stolen right before your eyes, you know? Is it really okay to do nothing?

"... What are you thinking?! You always talk to yourself with such a calm expression. Are you just going to let Little Butterfly — the Planet Will— escape like that? And... why didn't you stop Haoyue when she ran away?"

"If you're going to talk about it... well, there's no need." He shrugged.

"You seem to have misunderstood. The Planet Will isn't that important to me. She's just a tool I used to delay you before Blood Fiend's body was fully completed, much like those discarded pawns from the Extra Weapon."

"... Huh?"

Tools to delay us?

"Furthermore, I hate doing useless work. Whether it's the Planet Will or Miss Haoyue, there will naturally be more suitable people to handle it."

A more suitable person?

"Most importantly--"

He smiled.

His mouth was wide open.

A sinister smile, even more cunning than that of a shrewd businessman.

"--You've really worked hard all this time, you Sick Spider."

"How!!!???"

At this moment,

The chill that had been lurking in his body for who knows how long suddenly erupted.

I lost all my strength and collapsed limply to the ground.

Lying face up to the sky.

The Sick Spider, with its cold expression, stood beside me, looking down at me.

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Shocking! Unexpected! Change!

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