The fiery glow rising from the sea reflected off the silver beach. The silver merfolk lay there and slowly closed his eyes, a faint smile still lingering on his lips, as though he had merely fallen into a deep sleep and dreamed a beautiful dream from which he would never wake.
Mr. Director stood there motionless, quietly watching the merfolk lying before him.
In the final moment of his life, the silver merfolk seemed to have fulfilled all his wishes. But Su Bai knew, Wu Heng knew, and every "person" present knew that the real Mr. Fish was not here. He still lay deep within the Red Moon Society's laboratory, in a cage entwined with flesh and blood, his consciousness fading little by little.
"I'll send you out."
The Director's voice sounded beside Su Bai's ear, low and steady.
The scenery before Su Bai began to blur. He realized he was about to be taken out of the scene the Director had created.
At the very end, Su Bai could only dimly make out Mr. Director, who had stood so straight all this time, sinking to his knees beside the silver-haired merfolk and quietly lowering his head to look at him.
He still could not touch Mr. Fish's body, which was not here.
Rain suddenly began to fall over the sea beneath the evening glow.
Who could say whether the sky was weeping, or whether the sea, too, had learned to mourn?
When Su Bai came back to his senses, he found himself on a somewhat unfamiliar street.
Su Bai looked up and saw the red moon in the sky, so he knew he was still in the Nightmare World.
In other words, after sending him out of the theater, Mr. Director had not returned him to reality, but had