Tears That Wouldn't Wipe Away

After Yun Jingheng entered the Abyss, the battlefield in the Far North had already begun to wrap up.

The Blue Light Tower Array was fully activated again, and the Blood God Camp and Tang Wulin took turns pressing forward, clearing out the remaining Abyss creatures in the rift.

No new Emperor emerged.

Zhang Huanyun paced back and forth in the main camp, while Cao Dezhi led his men to redeploy stakes along the defensive line.

Tang Wulin stood outside the passage, his face covered in blood, carrying the Golden Dragon Spear.

Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui didn't leave either.

Xu Xiaoyan was so tired that she sat down on the ground.

Ye Xinglan did not join them in cleaning up the battlefield.

She stood a few dozen steps diagonally in front of the passage, the Stargod Sword stuck in the snow.

The wind was strong, making her hair dance wildly.

"Half-Sweet Coffee!" she suddenly said.

"Miss Ye, I'm here." Half-Sweet Coffee's tone was unhurried.

"Where's Jing Heng? Where is he? What's he doing?"

The Half-Sweet Coffee didn't answer immediately.

In that instant, the wind from the Far North rushed up from the direction of the crack, cold and pungent.

Ye Xinglan's fingers pressed on the hilt of the sword, her knuckles already white.

"The master is still in a state of high-intensity combat."

"Ms. Ye, please return to the safe zone first," said Half-Sweet Coffee. "You've been fighting continuously for over four hours. Given your physical condition, it would be best if..."

"I'm asking you where he is," Ye Xinglan interrupted.

Her voice was very low, and snowflakes landed on her eyelashes without melting.

He just stood there.

The response from the Half-Sweet Coffee was a beat too late.

This was extremely rare in the past.

Ye Xinglan's grip tightened even more.

She was used to this silence; it was the system making the choice.

No, it already made its choice.

"Miss Ye, you possess operating privileges equivalent to those of my master."

Half-Sweet Coffee finally spoke, his tone still gentle, "Normally, I should answer your question unconditionally. But the Master has given me a higher priority instruction based on the Creator's permission."

"I cannot reveal that instruction to you, therefore I cannot answer that question."

"You're using his orders to pressure me?" Ye Xinglan said coldly.

Half-Sweet Coffee said, "It's about execution. My core logic has been determined from the beginning: when your instructions conflict with the master's, I will prioritize obeying the master."

"It's not that your permission isn't important, but... the master is the reason I exist."

Ye Xinglan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Did he leave me any messages?

"Have."

"What?"

"Stay with your companions."

Ye Xinglan didn't speak again. She slowly turned her face away, as if she had been hit in the face by a gust of wind.

Xie Xie and the others were walking up from behind. When they saw that her expression was not right, they all stopped in their tracks.

Xie Xie asked first, "What's wrong? Where's Jing Heng?"

Ye Xinglan didn't look at them, but only whispered, "I don't know."

Tang Wulin frowned. "What about Half-Sweet Coffee? It should know that."

Ye Xinglan then raised her eyes, her voice soft yet even. "Jing Heng is the creator of Half-Sweet Coffee. Under the principle of equal licensing, there is a conflict of ideas. He is simply following the creator's instructions and refuses to answer me."

She paused, then said, "It said he only wants me to stay with you."

Everyone was stunned.

Xu Xiaoyan's face turned pale instantly.

Xie Xie panicked. "What do you mean? He went into the passage alone? When did he—"

He didn't finish his sentence because Ye Xinglan's eyes had already reddened.

Tang Wulin suddenly turned around and looked at the passage.

He gripped the Golden Dragon Spear tightly and took two steps forward. "Let's go in and find him."

Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Yuanen Yehui all started moving.

Ye Xinglan did not stop her, but simply stood there.

She knew Yun Jingheng too well; he wouldn't leave just a single sentence.

Sure enough, the ground shook as soon as Tang Wulin took ten steps into the passage.

A massive, dark gray shadow descended, like half an iron mountain rising from the snow.

The mechanical joints emitted an extremely heavy and dense rotating sound.

The Little Gummy Bear's humanoid mecha form blocked the gap in the rift.

The weapon compartments under the back armor all popped open.

Countless gun muzzles, cannon muzzles, and cold blue plasma nozzles lit up simultaneously, aimed at Tang Wulin and his group.

"Execute the command."

The Little Gummy Bear's voice boomed from the mech's chest, cold as if he'd become a completely different person. "Prevent any unauthorized personnel from approaching the Abyssal Passage."

"Little Gummy Bear! You're even stopping us?!" Xie Xie in disbelief.

He took another half step forward, and a plasma beam shot out from the side of the mech arm, grazing past his feet.

A charred hole suddenly appeared in the snow.

Xie Xie stopped abruptly. If that beam of light had been half a foot off course, his leg would have been gone.

"Warning. Approaching any closer will trigger indiscriminate suppression."

The Little Gummy Bear's voice was flat, and all the cannons began to gather energy.

The blue and white light made the entire snowfield look like it was on fire.

It wasn't trying to scare them; Yun Jingheng had given it a death order.

Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from approaching.

The change came so suddenly that everyone on the field was stunned.

The Blood God Camp members simultaneously lowered their bodies, and Aruheng and Sima Jinchi's expressions also changed.

Even the taxi driver who had just sat down in the distance seemed to be lifted up from the ground by something, raising all his Soul Tool Gun and pointing them at the massive shadow of the mecha.

No one moved forward.

But everyone's bodies were already taut like a bowstring.

This is the reaction of someone who has been through countless deaths; they remain silent and prepare for the worst.

But the Little Gummy Bear didn't give them time to react.

Its heavy armor on its chest suddenly split open from the middle.

The metal plate slid to both sides, revealing a silver-gray sphere.

The sphere was only the size of an adult's head, and its surface was covered with blue and red energy-conducting patterns, each of which was flashing rapidly, like a heart that had already awakened.

All its gun muzzles, cannon muzzles, and even the tips of its wings began to emit a very low hum.

It's as if the entire mech has entered some kind of irreversible critical state.

"The self-destruct program is about to be activated."

The Little Gummy Bear's voice was extremely flat, without any inflection, as if reciting a pre-programmed final command, "Large number of unauthorized personnel detected. Final warning: All unauthorized personnel are to stay away from the Abyssal Passage! Do not approach! To reiterate, all unauthorized personnel are to stay away from the Abyssal Passage! Do not approach!"

"Don't move!" Zhang Huanyun was the first to shout.

He had just rushed out of the main camp when he glanced at the silver-gray sphere, and his expression changed instantly. "Everyone retreat! No firing! No getting close! Don't give it any triggering conditions!"

His command was like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads, and the fingers already on the trigger slowly loosened.

Xu Xiaoyan clung tightly to Yuanen Yehui's arm, Xie Xie gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening, and Tang Wulin didn't put away his gun. He looked at the Little Gummy Bear as if he were looking at Yun Jingheng through it.

In the end, he still stood between them and the Abyss, using a bomb to cut off their path.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan remained motionless, staring at the Little Gummy Bear as if confirming something.

It was confirmed that Yun Jingheng had truly blocked every possible escape route—hers, Tang Wulin's, and everyone else's.

He left them all outside and, with his most trusted "children," locked the door himself.

She closed her eyes and whispered, "Back off, all of you, don't go any closer to it."

Her voice was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a nail.

Zhang Huanyun then waved her hand behind her, and everyone began to retreat.

Just then, the loudspeaker blared, Half-Sweet Coffee's voice came through. "Notice: When you have retreated to a certain distance, everyone should prepare for battle."

At the same time, Ye Xinglan's earpiece rang again, "Miss Ye, please stand with your companion."

Everyone was retreating, but she didn't. She lowered her head, looking at the tips of her shoes in the snow, and suddenly took a very light breath.

Then she turned around and walked towards the Little Gummy Bear.

Tang Wulin was stunned, Xie Xie was also stunned, Xu Xiaoyan wanted to reach out and pull her, but Yuanen Yehui held her down.

Tang Wulin took only half a step forward before stopping; they dared not move.

Because the Little Gummy Bear's cannon was still glowing, and its breastplate was still open.

But Ye Xinglan acted as if she didn't see it and kept walking forward.

She walked extremely slowly, making sure each step was firm before taking the next, as if trying to prove something, or perhaps trying to force something out.

"Warning. Unauthorized personnel are advised to stay away from the Abyssal Passage." The Little Gummy Bear's voice rang out again.

There were still no ups and downs.

But the cannons didn't turn around; the blue light still only shone on the snow behind her.

Ye Xinglan didn't stop; she even walked closer, past the spot where Tang Wulin had just stopped, past the boundary where the plasma had burned a scorched hole.

She continued forward.

The Little Gummy Bear repeated the warning over and over again, without changing its volume or speaking speed.

But it never fired.

Everyone saw her walk up to the mecha.

It was only a few feet away from the silver-gray sphere inside the open breastplate; one could reach out and touch it.

She looked up at the Little Gummy Bear.

The Little Gummy Bear was also "watching" her; the blue light was still very cold, but it seemed to be flashing very slightly. Then, it took a step back.

The tension that had been building in Ye Xinglan's chest finally eased, and she closed her eyes briefly.

She was certain that no matter how many strict orders he gave the machine, Yun Jingheng had still left a loophole.

This mech, capable of shooting anyone, won't attack her.

The sound of Half-Sweet Coffee rang out softly at that moment, so low that only Ye Xinglan could hear it.

The only change was the form of address. "Mistress, the master is acting alone because he doesn't dare gamble on what might happen if you go with him."

Ye Xinglan didn't speak; she stood there as the wind and snow passed by her.

After a long while, she slowly turned around.

Ye Xinglan walked towards Tang Wulin. She didn't walk fast, but every step seemed to be taken with all her might.

She raised her hand and quickly wiped her face, and new tears fell again.

She tried wiping it again, but it wouldn't get clean.

Tears dripped silently from his chin into the snow.

She didn't cry out loud, but tears kept flowing.

Tang Wulin stood there, motionless.

Xu Xiaoyan had already run towards her, Xie Xie turned her face away, gritting her teeth tightly.

Xu Xiaoyan ran up to her, said nothing, and simply hugged her.

Startled by the sudden temperature change, Ye Xinglan swayed slightly.

She buried her face in Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder, her shoulder trembling very slightly.

Xu Xiaoyan hugged him tightly. Tang Wulin slowly walked over, took off his coat, and draped it over both of them.

Xie Xie stood there, muttering a curse under his breath, his voice choked with tears. Yuanen Yehui walked to his side and gently touched his hand.

He turned his face away, didn't say anything, but simply took her hand.