Another Side.11·[VON]

Foreword:

[Perhaps we have a brother who, sailing on the solemn sea of life, encounters danger and his ship sinks. In his moment of despair, he will see these footprints and be inspired.]

[ --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]

[Part 1: Never Gone]

In the cold and lonely sea, materialism transformed back into the fire-man Surter.

Having lost the steel suit made for it by its human partners, the exposed metal sheets and steel cables creaked and groaned.

Power outage, flooding, running out of ammunition and food, energy depletion.

Ahead lay a deep ocean trench, and further still, the gates of Niflheim; it seemed we would never reach that place.

The power control center where Meteor was located was completely destroyed. Not only was continuing combat impossible, but even returning to Red Star Hill was a problem.

They were more than 60 kilometers away from the beach and had to climb steep cliffs with sharp seabeds.

A Xing and Xue Ming had broken their spines. The brute force of the Universal Elixir alone could not heal such severe nerve damage. They lay flat on the platform in front of the ammunition storage center to rest and adapt to their new bone and nerves.

3301 stayed by the employer's side, afraid that the shooting star would disappear in the blink of an eye.

She swept her bangs aside, revealing a tender look in her golden, beast-like eyes, still glistening with tears.

Further away, Xia Xia and A Ling broke a compressed biscuit in half, each taking one.

"A Ling, do you think we'll make it back alive this time?"

"This is tough," Su Ling said, leaning against the control panel, half-paralyzed on the ground. Her mental energy had reached its limit. She looked at the conveyor belt of the right arm's combat unit—there was a golden light in that direction.

These light sources are Canaan units of the fully automated auxiliary repair system, but the little Canaan are rapidly becoming incapacitated. In the duel with [Thunder], they were bombarded by strong electric and magnetic forces, and suffered greatly under the spiritual pressure of Niflheim. They have done their best to help Surter manage the injury to his right arm and prevent seawater from seeping into his torso. They have no more power left.

Xia Xia Tian said innocently, "A Ling! It seems like we can finish the tasks on our wish list ahead of schedule!"

A Ling: "Which one are you talking about?"

Xia Xia: "To be buried together!"

A Ling: "You have to eat one bite at a time, and do things one step at a time. Taking it slow will get you faster."

On the other side, A Xing lay sprawled on the ground, too afraid to move his lower body. Even the slightest movement of his buttocks caused a dull, aching pain from his wounds. This nerve pain would likely last a long time until his brain re-established a strong connection with his lower limbs.

He looked at Surter's heart, then at 3301's tear-streaked face.

"Teacher San San, why are you still crying? I've come back to life, haven't I?"

3301: "I'm so happy!"

A Xing smiled, winking and showing his white teeth. "Teacher, thank you for liking me."

3301 choked up. "You're welcome."

A Xing: "Hehe. That's great! To have your love! I feel like I could die right now without any regrets."

3301 raised his hand to strike, but stopped mid-air. He gradually slowed his hand and gently stroked his employer's face.

She couldn't understand how these hopeful words, like hammer blows striking the door of her heart, could come from the mouth of this big boy.

When A Xing said these words, did he hesitate or feel panicked for even a moment?

This little brother probably has no idea how hurtful those sweet words are to the girl.

She stopped speaking and simply stayed quietly by the shooting star's side.

So A Xing asked Xue Ming.

"Ming Ge, shouldn't we go home?"

"Um."

"Can't walk anymore, huh? The Fireman has used up all his energy."

"Um."

"My armor's gone too, I can't face my fellow villagers with my bare bottom showing."

"Um."

"I almost died, Ming Ge."

"Thank goodness there isn't."

"I saw you crying. What were you thinking then? I'm so curious I'm about to explode."

"."

"Why aren't you saying anything? You can't even say 'hmm' anymore! Ming Ge, are you shy? I'm a very crybaby—but I'm not ashamed at all."

Meteor turned her head to look at Xue Ming's profile.

"When I was little, I was fourteen years old and hadn't started puberty yet. My voice was still like a girl's, and my classmates called me effeminate, and my teachers said I had a girlish voice. They laughed at me, but I couldn't find a reason to refute them. I felt very wronged, so I immediately burst into tears. But tears didn't shut them up; instead, they made me feel even more wronged. My mom told me not to worry, to drink milk every day and exercise regularly, and that I would definitely grow into a man. But..."

Meteor got more and more excited as she talked, grabbing the hands of Teacher San San and Xue Ming.

"But Mommy also said that not only should I grow up, I should also take my tears with me and never leave them behind—being able to cry is a superpower. Whether I cry for myself or for others, it's my strength, not a weakness that others can laugh at."

His burning palms felt like a ball of fire.

"Ming Ge, when I was wandering in front of Niflheim, I missed you and all of you so much. It seemed like my story was over. At that moment, my will to survive couldn't overcome the sea. My Madness Index skyrocketed, and nothing seemed right to me."

"When I set off, I seemed to have a very strong thought in my mind: as long as we bring our head chef back and the coffee shop is fixed, everything will fall into place. You can be at the front desk, Jason at the back, and I'll be responsible for listening to the stories of the people coming and going. Later, I felt relieved before the Gate of Death. It seemed that it didn't matter whether [JoeStar] had me or not. Once the thought of giving up crossed my mind, at that moment, my soul left my body and died completely."

"Ming Ge, I've never seen you cry. It's like you're the one who doesn't Death God in our duo. So I'm curious, what are you thinking when you're crying? Can you tell me?"

Xue Ming: "It's hard to describe that feeling."

Meteor: "[Difficulty] is nothing to you. Just try your best, and you'll definitely succeed."

Xue Ming: "I healed myself with the Universal Elixir, only to find that the cockpit's conveyor belt had lost power. So I climbed up the cabin's passageway to my torso and saw through the observation window that your right leg was completely shattered."

Meteor: "Hmm"

Xue Ming: "At that time, I felt that something was very wrong, because my Master of Ceremonies had died in the same way before—his body was trapped in sharp steel, with foreign objects piercing his spine or brain, and even Universal Elixir would hardly work."

Meteor: "Hmm"

Xue Ming: "I was extremely anxious and rushed to find you. When I saw your body, I felt like the sky had fallen, and I even had hallucinations."

Shooting star; "What illusion?"

"It was a very powerful mental stimulus," Xue Ming described, then recounted another story. "The malevolent spiritual pressure of Niflheim assaulted my mind at that moment; I felt as if I were bewitched by something—"

"--I experienced a brief period of dizziness, followed by waking up at the Cheung Sha Wan Health Centre."

Meteor: "Huh? How did you get back there?! Isn't this the place where Bailu stayed?"

"Perhaps it was a dream. I had a dream in just a few dozen seconds." Xue Ming covered her forehead, recalling the bizarre hallucination. "The doctor told me that I was finally cured."

"I went to ask the doctor, 'What kind of rehabilitation? What exactly has been rehabilitated? Do I have a mental illness?'"

"Then the doctor continued, 'Mr. Jiang Xueming, after your sister passed away in a car accident, you have been receiving treatment at the Cheung Sha Wan Health Centre, and you have finally woken up today.'"

"I just find it incomprehensible. One second I'm still immersed in materialism, and the next second I'm suddenly back in Hung Hom?"

"The doctor spoke as if it were the truth, and he brought up your story again: Meteor—you and Bailu died in a car accident. The newspapers, the news, and even the recording of a program on Canxing Radio from eight months ago all reported on this."

"And when I heard the news, I went crazy."

"The doctor told me to live a good life and stop thinking about the past. The underworld, the Nine Realms Station, the Universal Elixir, or the Madness Butterfly —these are all hallucinations in my mind, a dream."

"I also saw a black cat sleeping on the windowsill, its belly up, sunbathing. The nurse who fed it looked exactly like the Hunter King."

"A junior traffic cop from the Hung Hom district thought I was good-looking, so she stayed by my side to take care of me. Like Brother Qi, she liked to secretly kiss me while I was asleep, and it was all caught on CCTV."

"When I rolled off the hospital bed, I realized how weak my body was. In the months I spent in a semi-conscious state, all the muscles in my body had been lost, leaving me like a skeleton. The feeling of weakness and powerlessness was so real that it almost deceived my brain and shattered my will."

Meteor: "Ming Ge, your body is protecting you. People often hallucinate or deceive themselves when they experience extreme mental shock."

"It couldn't fool me; I woke up quickly." Xue Ming continued describing the scene in her dream, "Because the cat in the dream spoke to me, telling me to get in the car quickly and wake up soon."

He held up the Red Mountain Stone given to him by the BOSS.

--This was Ming De's life-saving talisman, which pulled Xue Ming back to reality from the hazy dream.

Meteor: "And then?"

Xue Ming: "When I saw your body, it was almost completely cold, and even your eyes were starting to lose moisture and deform. I finally realized that there was no way to save you. At that time, I didn't cry. I was just immersed in huge shock. Whatever others said, I immediately did it—when Teacher A Ling wanted lightning, I couldn't help but go and tinker with the generator."

Meteor: "And then?"

Xue Ming: "You were shocked and resuscitated more than ten times, but you're still dead. I'm finally starting to wake up and I need to convince myself immediately—there won't be any more shooting stars, and the coffee shop we booked will be one less seat. Should we leave it empty, or just remove it altogether? I can't handle these things. These simple math problems used to be no problem for me, but this time I can't do it."

Meteor: "And then?"

Xue Ming: "Then, the lapis lazuli half-wolf pulled you back to the human world with a kiss. At that moment, I could hardly feel the tears falling. The aftereffects of the concussion made it difficult for me to concentrate. If you ask me why I cried, it's probably because I was too happy and too surprised."

Meteor: "Do you remember Teacher Victor? And Mr. Wen Bucai?"

Xue Ming: "I remember—I know what you're going to say."

Meteor: "I've never understood why they can be so good to each other."

Xue Ming: "I envy you, having so many tears to shed."

Meteor: "Perhaps the answer lies here."

Xue Ming: "I love you."

Meteor: "Better than marriage."

Before the half-wolf girl could even get tired of listening, Surter started moving again!

The loud roar startled 3301 so much she almost jumped up. She suppressed her burning jealousy, ready to unleash her anger on Jason.

She climbed back to the S1 machine in two quick steps, shouting all the way.

"Jason Megan! Do you know what?! You almost killed me!"

She was halfway through her sentence when she saw that Jason had already emerged from the thalamus!

Diamond carried his dying older brother on his back and shook his head at 3301.

Jason was ashen-faced, with filth around his mouth, and kept apologizing to 3301.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

The beast that received the blood had no idea how complex human emotions were; she only wanted to grasp what she deserved and was entitled to.

In that instant, she smelled the intense, bitter, and sorrowful pheromones emanating from Jason, and she withdrew all her manic and irritable state to fight against the negative spiritual pressure brought by Niflheim.

This man's heart seems to be riddled with holes.

--When Jason saw Xue Ming and Liuxing, his eyes lit up. He grabbed the iron bar and headed for the connection passage to the combat department, only to bump into a solid plaster waterproof wall.

[Part ②: I will transform my broken body into raging flames]

Everyone in the combat department is dead.

--No one was spared.

Nothing can survive in this ocean.

Ibrahimovic died, along with his combat squad.

To intercept [Thunder's] charged attack, Jason practically had to work with the enemy to kill them.

Wendy wasn't by his side; he had burned out completely.

--There is no more spiritual energy to drive the Soul Might.

The soldier seemed to have finally become a lonely man, until Diamond began coughing up blood, at which point Katusha took over her employer's arm and kept saying nice things to him.

"Good sir, we won."

"Yes."

"They'll be happy. They died a worthy death."

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"Think of something good, sir! You already possess Soul Might, you're a VIP! Isn't this the result you've always wanted?"

Really? I don't know. I really don't know.

Are you awake? Why don't you take a nap?

"I wish I were still dreaming."

Jason knelt before the cold stone wall, scratching at it until his fingernails cracked and bled, until he finally fainted.

This time, he might sleep even longer.

The unmanned fireman began to move, and no one knew where it was going.

People felt uneasy, but they were never afraid and remained courageous.

Getting this far is enough.

--Perhaps in the future, a brother will be sailing in this Dead Sea, encountering danger and sinking his ship. In his moment of despair, he will see these footprints and be encouraged.

Without electronic reconnaissance or sonar radar, the view outside the observation window was pitch black; nothing could be seen, and the direction was unknown.

"A Ling! Where will it take us?" When Xia Xia turned around, she saw that the all-powerful A Ling had turned into a "chicken roll," wrapped in a thick sleeping bag, and she couldn't be woken up no matter what she did.

After a long silence, an obscure and incomprehensible ancient language emerged from the heart and lungs of the man engulfed in flames.

The fire-man was speaking to them.

This was the first time Surter had spoken.

William was jolted awake from his dream and shouted loudly with his companions.

"Father is taking us back!"

The meteor immediately asked, "Can it do that?! And can it even move?"

William: "It's difficult, but we have to try!"

There's nothing left to burn. The man in the fire still has a little cerebrospinal fluid in his spinal cord, and perhaps some fuel can still be found in the fossilized crevices within his vertebrae.

A flame ignited in the deep ocean.

It gripped the protruding rock on the steep slope with one arm, and the exposed steel cable muscles broke off as they were squeezed and collided with the rock.

As it climbed onto the seabed, it looked even more like a dead person, then took steps and walked into the turbulent currents of the mudflats.

The thunderous sound of footsteps, like gongs and drums, beat out a triumphant military symphony for the warriors.

The rapidly changing water pressure caused internal and external deformation of the steel parts of its body.

A fiery red skull emerged from the sea, its broken horn beneath its forehead, and beside its empty eye sockets, were markings for Soviet-made steel and a red flag.

When it reached near the sea, more than 400 meters from the Xue Ao Troops's camp, its right leg finally gave way.

It stumbled forward and tumbled, trying to prop itself up with its arms, but like a tall building collapsing, it was unstoppable and fell into the mud, unable to get up.

William then heard Surter's panting.

"Child."

"Father! Father! Father!" William raised his head nervously and excitedly. This was the first and almost last thing he said to his father as they recognized each other.

"You've found me. I've crushed your wedge. Now, you must go and give birth to your own child."

Dark red flames erupted from Surter's left arm.

It pressed onward, burning the soft mud into hard, stubborn rocks.

"There are still curses within me, I must burn them all, burn them all—that's enough, that's enough."

A stone road stretched forward, ending at the hill where the red star stood.

The man in the fire collapsed in the ocean, surrounded by the bodies of his brothers.

Not moving at all.

The leader of the Xue Ao Troops is Hydra, a capable middle-aged man. He was commissioned by the Abyssal Railway to deliver supplies to the assault team here and escort them back to the nearest station.

While chatting with waiter 9527, Brother Hydra couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Waiter, you just mentioned people from Albert Research Station and Red Star Hill?"

9527 nodded quickly. "Yes, Brother Yibu mentioned before that in order to deal with the Heaven's Ladder, the women were sent to the research station a long time ago."

Hydra immediately retorted, "Are you kidding me?"

9527: "Didn't these girls go to Albert Research Station? Did they go to the substation?"

Hydra: "There are no girls here."

Four hours later, Jason Megan woke up.

When he regained consciousness, he went mad and tried to run back into the body of the burning man to find the remains of his comrades.

He sprinted from the ruins of RSH toward the beach, only to be grabbed by a large hand on the shore.

Ibrahimovic put his arm around Jason's shoulder and neck, leading the clumsy little guy back. "Hey! Comrade! Where are you going?!"

Jason suddenly felt confused. He slapped his face hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Yibu."

Immediately afterwards, more than thirty comrades emerged from the broken walls and underground caves, along with the Master of Ceremonies.

"Hey everyone! Is everyone alright?"

Yibu put his arm around Jason's shoulder, walked around the ruins, and headed towards the entrance tower. "Everything's fine! Everyone's in great spirits!"

When Diamond arrived late, he was terrified by what he saw.

"Are Iason and his men human or ghosts?"

Just then, Xue Ming, Liuxing, and the two VIPs had packed their luggage and were preparing to return to the research station with the Xue Ao Troops's armored vehicles.

Jason seemed to have guessed what was going on, but he didn't dare to say it outright. He had always been like this. Although they were both in intelligence work, Su Xingchen was much more frank and straightforward than him.

When Xue Ming caught a glimpse of the Master of Ceremonies, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and raised his fist high.

"We're leaving!"

The Master of Ceremonies immediately said, "Great!"

Jason asked, "How did you guys survive?"

Yibu replied, "They didn't survive."

Jason: "That"

Yibu dropped Jason off at the edge of the ballast road and then stopped walking.

"You know, Iason, you should have known all along."

As the road stretches outwards, streetlights meander and twist, becoming guiding lights for travelers.

Yibu said in a low voice.

"We can all see a girl who doesn't exist—she gives us courage, keeps us grounded, and motivates us to continue fighting for this cause."

Jason suddenly started crying. He rolled up his sleeves and punched Yibu hard in the shoulder.

Yibu tried to walk a few more steps, but his tattered trousers crumbled like powder, revealing his shins and flesh, and he was forcibly pulled back.

The runes that he seized were scattered along this ballast road, buried in the base of the streetlights, which would soon become the railway of the future—carrying hope.

[Manaaz]

This rune represents the person themselves.

It also represents spiritual practice and the pursuit of enlightenment.

Jason never understood why Red Star Hill was called a "mountain".

At this very moment, the steel remains of the Fireman Surter lay on the beach, forming a mountain.

Its steel frame and muscles will become new railways in the future.

But Yibu's daughter, and the daughters of his Soviet brothers, may never come back.

Yibu pushed Jason's back and led him out.

Don't look back, don't let anyone see your tears.

Jason took a firm step forward.

-- Saying goodbye to the [Outlaw].

Until we meet again!