Operator #16 · [Behind the Mirror]

The scenery outside the window gradually became unfamiliar, and the sky and earth darkened together.

The low pressure system in midsummer brought clouds to the earth, and a thunderstorm could fall at any moment. The sun had long since hidden its rays, and the car was starting to get hot.

Sixty-Three gradually became quiet and silent.

He heard the hum of the air conditioner fan starting up, glanced at the street scene outside the window, and the buildings rushing by were still so unfamiliar to him, from birth, growth, old age to impending death.

This may be the farthest he has ever traveled.

This feeling of unease is somewhat different from simply traveling far away.

When Ming De personally drove to pick up Sixty-Three, his mind raced with countless possibilities in his pursuit of a sense of security—but this was the only outcome he could not accept.

Was this all a dream?

Was this really a dream?

"I've mustered so much courage, I'm fully prepared to embark on this journey, to live a thrilling and exciting life from the very beginning—Boss, and you're telling me I'm dreaming?"

In a place extremely far away, beyond the commercial buildings, in the even more distant sky.

There were large patches of dark clouds, with swirling swirling patches of black, gray, and white within them, their outlines and shadows reflecting each other. The last glimmer of sunlight peeked through, about to fade away.

Ming De said, "I learned from Victor that FE33031 defeated you, along with Claudia Ars Duran and Wood Plark. I'm also very curious about how you lost; your soul power is so strong—yet the result was unexpected."

When talking about what happened on the hellish flight, Ming De also found it unbelievable.

"Sixty-Three, from the very beginning you've treated everyone as tools, going to great lengths to repeatedly use the Regret Pill' to hold this ceremony for your own peace of mind."

The car was parked on the congested street, and when Ming De had a moment to spare, he turned around and told Sixty-Three a long story.

"The reason for your failure is very simple, really simple. You may have long forgotten what I said to you when I personally handed you the Universal Elixir."

Sixty-Three asked excitedly, "Which sentence?"

Ming De grinned and said, "I hate your arrogant gaze, that haughty look that makes me want to vomit."

Sixty-Three was astonished and bewildered. "."

Ming De continued, "I am not the Taowu beast of FE204863, I am Ming De of FE33031. I know nothing about what you encountered in that parallel universe or how your personality changed—but there is one thing I am very clear about."

"Jiang Xueming overcame this weakness, while you were defeated by your arrogance."

"This popsicle kid was originally just like you, suspicious and indecisive, like a wild wolf separated from its pack—at the beginning of the journey, this kid trusted no one and listened to no one, just like a sensitive and suspicious stray dog."

"On the plane, you manipulated others, controlled their destinies, arbitrarily changed the ending of the story, and showed no respect for the free will of life—you almost thought you were a god."

"Then this duel is not a knightly contest between you and Jiang Xueming, or between you and Wood Plark."

"On either side of the chessboard, the players who control the pieces are actually my Red Mountain Stone and your Regret Pill."

"Duran was originally on your side, Flavia should have been tied to her, Billy and Fuyanni, Benjamin and so on, almost everyone on the plane, every element should have been at your disposal—because you can turn back time, you had so many opportunities, so much time, to understand their personalities and preferences one by one, to break down their psychological defenses, to use them as your talismans, to help you complete this ritual."

"But you gave me almost all the chess pieces."

"I am the lucky goddess of the brave. When people face the oppression of the powerful, the injustice of fate, and the tragic end of life and death, as long as they can muster their courage—I will surely respond."

"Sixty-Three, the Regret Pill won't make you braver."

"No!" Sixty-Three retorted, "No matter how powerful the enemy, I have never been afraid! Because..."

Before the guy could finish speaking, Ming De interrupted, "Because you can do it all over again—"

"--Just because you can try again, that's not courage, that's escapism. Escaping from shameful failure, escaping to another new universe, that's running away. It's not courage or love that sustains you. On the contrary, it's fear that sustains you."

Lightning flashed intermittently in the clouds, a deep, rumbling sound like the growl of a wild beast.

Lightning flashed, illuminating Sixty-Three's bewildered profile and his perpetually solemn, perpetually furrowed-brow, thoughtful eyes. Ming De continued—

"--First of all, I want to congratulate you, because you have completed this ritual. Jiang Xueming's awakened soul power is not a [Regret Pill], and his special ability is not to reverse time. He will never, ever walk the same path as you. Perhaps, from the very beginning, he was not on the same path as you. Your worries are unnecessary."

The vehicle started again, and Sixty-Three no longer dared to argue with the BOSS, nor did he want to explain anything anymore.

All the unease in his heart seemed to be slowly dissipating. Fate was like a cunning roly-poly toy; the harder he punched, the more vicious the counterattack he would receive.

This feeling of unfamiliarity and alienation brought a strange tranquility to Sixty-Three's heart.

Ming De, like a caring little sister next door, acts as a tour guide for her older brother, continuing to tell the story.

"Since you stole my Red Mountain Stone, I think you should have carefully studied its uses."

Sixty-Three: "No, I didn't."

BOSS: "That's where your arrogance lies."

Sixty-Three: "I simply believe it's a powerful energy that can amplify my soul power, evolve my superpowers, and fulfill my wishes, such as going to heaven."

BOSS: "What is heaven?"

Sixty-Three: "I don't know at first what I thought was a happy life, or money, lots and lots of money, more money than I could ever spend. Later, maybe it was a sense of security."

BOSS: "That's the problem, Sixty-Three. You don't even know the answer to yourself, yet you want to ask me for it. Even the followers of the Madness Butterfly know what kind of product or doctrine they are selling when they preach to people."

Sixty-Three: "I'm not seeking answers from you; I want to use the Red Mountain Stone, like an all-powerful wish-granting machine, as a wrench, a screwdriver, a nail, to fulfill my wishes."

BOSS: "Don't treat me as a tool. Sixty-Three — Red Mountain Stone is my spiritual essence. It will surely respond to you and fulfill this wish in its own way."

Sixty-Three: "Is that so?"

"Yes, that's it." The BOSS gently pressed the horn, and the cars on the road ahead immediately swerved into two lines. Teacher Victor's manipulation of dreams was becoming more and more skillful, able to create these little tricks. "You should slow down, even slower, take it slow."

Sixty-Three: "Take your time?"

"Why don't you think carefully about why this stone sent you back to 2006?" the BOSS asked. "That was the year you were kidnapped by human traffickers, and that was also the year that Meteor and Bailu were born."

Sixty-Three: "Did the Red Mountain Stone give me a second chance?"

"No, no, no, no, no." The BOSS shook his head. "No, I don't know what the Taowu beast in FE204863 is thinking. It is it, and I am me—but one thing I'm sure of. When you returned to 2006 at the age of over sixty, you had no chance to start over. Your family and loved ones have left you. You escaped to a strange place, perhaps where there are familiar people with familiar names, and familiar stories will unfold. But, Sixty-Three, they have nothing to do with you anymore. You still haven't figured out the most crucial thing. Red Mountain Stone doesn't want you to start over. The upgraded [Regret Pill] is neither a blessing nor a relief. Sending you back to 2006 is just to hope that you can go back to the past, accept reality, and let go completely."

"But I... I created Bu Liuxing!" Sixty-Three exclaimed excitedly, "I changed their lives, didn't I? I did it! I can live FE33031's life again, I..."

"Impossible, Sixty-Three. This is impossible." The Volga slowly entered the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel, and the BOSS seemed to be giving a moral education lesson to a sixth-grade student.

"If you could slow down, just a little slower, and think more carefully about why Bu Liuxing was born, perhaps you could find a way to heal your soul, find another kind of 'Universal Elixir' —your heart is already riddled with holes, Sixty-Three."

Sixty-Three seized the clue. "It's because I and Bu Mei's waiter gave each other an extra instruction!"

Boss: "What are you saying?"

Sixty-Three, his expression agitated, spoke more slowly than usual, "[You're naturally beautiful, you don't need anyone to prove it!] That's what I wanted to say to that little girl! I wanted to correct her thinking! I can't stand this kind of young, beautiful, foolish woman squandering her youth! She has so much time and so much money. When I was young, I didn't have so many choices! Yet she's wasting all these precious things to pursue something so unreal."

The boss said coldly, "But what will the final result be?"

Sixty-Three: "That waiter added so much drama to his act, even changing the salted lemon to baked milk."

A strange twist of fate transformed the arrogant lesson of Sixty-Three into a flattering compliment embellished by a waiter, and into a piece of roasted milk.

Boss: "Do you believe you changed Bu Mei's fate?"

Sixty-Three: "At least this matter concerns me."

Boss: "Did you play a major role in this?"

Sixty-Three: "Correct"

Boss: "Is it well-intentioned or malicious?"

Sixty-Three: "At least it's well-intentioned."

BOSS: "No, it should be affection."

Sixty-Three: "What is love?"

BOSS: "Hoping something will get better, hoping someone's life will become happier, without asking for anything in return—that's love, the purest form of love."

Sixty-Three: "."

BOSS: "Love can create many miracles. Did you think Bu Liuxing's birth was an inevitable event?"

Sixty-Three: "If only I could turn back time."

BOSS: "No, this isn't right. Sixty-Three, don't complicate simple problems. Don't be superstitious about rituals; look at the results."

Sixty-Three: "You mean, even if I do it countless times, I still can't replicate FE33031's life? There's only one Bu Liuxing; there's simply no way to copy another one?"

"If you had paid any attention in your high school biology class, you would have known that there are countless ways to express human chromosomes, and countless possibilities for the combination of reproductive cells—but only one kind of baby can be born. You have to gamble on another Bu Liuxing." The BOSS took out a calculator and repeatedly calculated the survival time of Sixty-Three, the activation cycle of the Red Mountain Stone, and the time it takes for sleep to restore mental energy. "Oh, and you also have to add the time it takes for the baby to be Quack after ten months of pregnancy. After all, only after the child is born can you be sure that this is your true love. Even if you try repeatedly and go back to 2006, following the fixed ritual process and preparing enough conditions for Bu Liuxing's birth, you would still have to try for tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years. Because the process of human mating and reproduction is that complicated. When you are still a tadpole, you have to go through countless selections, defeating tens of millions or hundreds of millions of opponents, and finally become a fertilized egg."

Sixty-Three gaped, finally despairing at the jarring and mocking "[Reset to Zero]" notification sound.

The boss continued, "No two people in the world are exactly alike. You want to create life according to your own will? That's impossible. Do you really think of yourself as a god? Sixty-Three?"

These compelling pieces of evidence all indirectly illustrate—

--Sixty -Sixty-Three. At this moment, I am in a dream, not in reality.

No matter how powerful the Red Mountain Stone is, it is impossible to combine two parallel universes and turn FE204863 into FE33031. The resulting mass-energy conversion and spacetime gravity are enormous and inconceivable, almost capable of creating heaven and earth, a miracle similar to the Big Bang.

As the vehicle entered the ring road, Sixty-Three finally realized that he was indeed living in a dream.

"Jiang Xueming's [Fragrant Dream] hit you on the head and sent you into this flawless dream. You and he have at least one thing in common—when I see these similarities, I am also amazed at how powerful the pull of fate is."

A letter from home was tossed to the front row; the striking handwriting was a silent thunderclap.

Sixty-Three grasped this letter; it was so glaring and so terrifying.

The BOSS continued, "I think every word written in this letter is like the lesson you and Bu Mei taught each other, and it should also apply to yourself. Sixty-Three, words have Magic Power; they can create spells and unleash magic. These things are all filled with [love]--"

"--You are already very fortunate; you don't need anyone to prove anything. Whatever you've lost or gained since you started here is all your treasure. Don't forget your heroic youth."

Sixty-Three clutched the letter from home, murmuring softly.

"Jiang Bailu, your brother has something to tell you."

"Brother is going to a very, very far place, 17,000 meters underground, to find a medicine that can cure your illness."

"If my brother dies, he will turn into sand, into soil, and then into rain, and eventually into the sea, following the clouds, the wind, and the sun."

"The only thing I won't do is become human again--"

At this point, Sixty-Three clenched his teeth, barely able to breathe.

"--Don't look for another Xueming Ming Ge in life, that's not me."

"I won't harbor any illusions or hope that another Jiang Bailu will appear in my life; that won't be you."

"No two pieces of beef offal in the world taste or look alike. They are all unique, just like every book I've read, every person I've met, every breath I take, and every blink I make."

"Like when we were kids."

"Like when I was a child."

Sixty-Three covered his forehead, finding it difficult to finish reading these words.

Volga rushed through the defense checkpoints of the Nine Realms satellite town and arrived at the shadowy corner of Moon Lane.

"Look at the world with eyes full of curiosity; everything is new."

"We're not grown up yet; it's too early for us to become frowning adults."

The boss got out of the car ahead of time, his movements graceful and natural. He walked to the back door of the Sixty-Three Mansions and opened the door for the Crown Prince Wang Cai.

"This is our first and last time being human."

"Bad things are bound to happen."

"Live a good life."

I will not leave you.

Ming De patted his sleeves, put his gloves back on, and performed a standard waiter's salute.

"FE204863--If you still don't believe this is a dream, I have even more irrefutable evidence."

"This is the last bit of humanitarian care I can give you."

"Your story will end when you face reality and decide to wake up."

Finally, it stopped moving completely.