Chapter 12

"Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!" Osamu Dazai gagged theatrically. He simply couldn't watch any longer. "That guy's full of nasty schemes! Just dump him already!" Damn it, why was he carrying that guy on his back? An Xinyi was far too good-natured!

"What does he mean, consumable? What does he think he is?!" Ranpo was furious. "An Xinyi is An Xinyi! Even if every one of them is different, they're all still An Xinyi!"

Ayatsuji Yukito snorted. "Busybody." He should have just left that thing by the roadside.

Fyodor: "..." Somehow, he felt the masterminds were really ganging up on him.

Atsushi Nakajima ventured hesitantly, "Whatever the case, treating yourself like a tool isn't right."

Kyoka Izumi nodded in agreement, the tuft of hair on her head bobbing.

Chūya Nakahara felt a little uncomfortable watching this, too. After all, the Demon's reputation here was terrible, and even knowing they weren't the same person made it hard to separate the two. "This guy really is a good person." But wasn't his mindset a little dangerous?

Koyo Ozaki raised her sleeve. "He seems to have strong self-destructive tendencies." Still, it was understandable. Any ordinary person subjected to all this would have gone mad long ago.

Mori Ougai and Santoka Taneda exchanged a glance. It seemed An Xinyi was the sort who didn't care about himself at all. Of course, if he even dared to clone himself, what wouldn't he dare to do?

Satoru Gojo clicked his tongue twice. "If he spawned a cursed spirit, even I would find it a real headache."

Those were the obsessions of countless An Xinyis across countless cycles. Even the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, probably couldn't compare.

"That's why I like him." Ryomen Sukuna grinned widely.

An Xinyi started keeping a rat.

This rat looked sweet and well-behaved, but he was a little too quiet.

Perhaps Fyodor was simply watching with cold indifference. Nothing in this world had anything to do with him anymore.

An Xinyi felt a headache coming on. Come on, his own mental state wasn't exactly good, let alone good enough to look after someone else.

And that was with constant replacements. He had to admit that Zero was both a genius and ruthless. Anyone forced to face the apocalypse over and over would go insane, yet Zero had actually managed to preserve An Xinyi's mental state through cloning.

After all, even with the same memories, every clone's awakening was a new birth. That was when his mental state was at its best. As for an An Xinyi who had broken down, he would naturally seek to be replaced.

So Zero, who bears it all, really is a freak.

So thought An Xinyi 948.

An Xinyi could be called a genius in scientific research, but he was utterly hopeless at raising someone else, just like in that particular cycle... Never mind. All An Xinyi could do was imitate ordinary people and care for Fyodor in every possible way.

He couldn't be too hard on himself, either. Honestly, he was only a few months old. Wasn't he a baby, too?

He couldn't understand.

Fyodor couldn't understand An Xinyi's actions, because he could tell that An Xinyi wanted nothing from him. He simply hoped Fyodor could have a better life.

This contradicted the beliefs Fyodor had held for years. Nobody was kind to someone else for no reason.

An Xinyi didn't concern himself with Fyodor's thoughts. In truth, besides taking care of Fyodor, he had plenty of other things to keep him busy. After all, even DD couldn't handle everything.

Humanity's situation was still deteriorating.

Radiation everywhere, contaminated land, and a collapsed social order.

Mutants roamed the ruins like feral dogs, their eyes bloodshot as they searched for anything that could keep them alive. They didn't even know what they were living for; all they had left was the instinct to survive.

Those who hadn't mutated huddled in bases, muddling through their lives without knowing what tomorrow would bring. Even though some people with vision tried to salvage the situation, they ultimately failed.

But what was even more frightening wasn't the external threats. It was what lay within.

Humans were a species remarkably skilled at infighting. Even the apocalypse couldn't make them stop.

Conflicts between mutants and non-mutants, between superhumans and ordinary people, between financial magnates and high-ranking officials and everyone else.

The current situation was like sitting on a powder keg. It could explode at any moment.

And that wasn't even the worst of it.

An Xinyi knew perfectly well that he had a way to deal with nuclear contamination. But humanity had lost hope... Besides, he didn't know whether there were any other deadly sources apart from the statue designated "S016" this time.

In this dark universe, humanity was far too insignificant.

The humanity of this world was beyond saving. An Xinyi understood that better than anyone. He couldn't turn the losing battle around, and barring anything unexpected, other terrifying things were approaching Earth.

Bad things never came alone. That was a lesson he had learned from countless resets.

But he still hadn't reset.

Because... for now, he couldn't abandon Fyodor. For now, he couldn't abandon this world.

After spending so much time with Fyodor, his impression of him had shifted from meaningless labels like the Demon or the leader of the Rats in the House of the Dead to the boy before him. An Xinyi didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt their relationship had improved a little.

It's like having a little brother. An Xinyi, who had always been alone, sometimes thought that.

No, two little brothers.

"What should I call you?" An Xinyi looked at the ability manifestation sitting obediently to one side, looking exactly like Fyodor. Mikhailovich...

"Mickey?" Inspiration struck.

"..." Isn't that the name of some stupid mouse? Fyodor blinked. People had always called him a sewer rat, but something about this felt wrong.

The ability manifestation dubbed "Mickey" had little objection. He obediently let An Xinyi pat his head, giving An Xinyi some consolation after never managing to pet Fyodor.

"..." Is this really my ability manifestation? Fyodor looked at his own ability manifestation, who refused to look at him at all.

Weren't Crime and Punishment supposed to be good friends? Liar.

An Xinyi keenly picked up on Fyodor's mood and smiled. "Don't you think Mickey is cute? Lots of people love Mickey Mouse."

"By the way, Fedya, have you ever watched Mickey Mouse?"

Fyodor slowly shook his head. He never wasted time on things like that.

An Xinyi smiled. "Then just wait. There should be a surprise."

When An Xinyi handed Fyodor a collection of Disney cartoons, carrying a faint smell of blood, he was genuinely surprised.

Fyodor was a little dazed. Of course he knew that the materials An Xinyi had preserved wouldn't contain anything so pointless.

Then how much time and effort would it take to find an old, childish cartoon in this civilization on the brink of destruction?

It wasn't worth it.

It was meaningless.

Yet, as though compelled by some unseen force, Fyodor still accepted the cartoons he had never spared a proper glance before and obediently sat down to watch them with his ability manifestation.

Watching the two young boys hugging their knees as they obediently watched cartoons gave An Xinyi a great sense of accomplishment.

"Hahaha, Mickey? A mouse's name really does suit him. But Mickey is so cute. How could the Demon deserve it?" Naturally, only Osamu Dazai would mock the Demon like that. Brimming with malice, he said, "Wouldn't 'stinking sewer rat' suit him better?"

"And watching cartoons, too. I never knew you were so young at heart, Fyodor~"

"Fedya, Fedya, hurry up and let me see little Mickey!" Nikolai Gogol was incredibly excited.

Fyodor completely ignored Dazai's snide remarks and Gogol's attempts to add fuel to the fire. He smiled. "At least I have someone to pamper me. Better than having no one, isn't it, Dazai?" As expected, information about his ability had been exposed. Even though he had anticipated it, it was still a headache.

Osamu Dazai's face twisted for an instant.

"That isn't even you!" Ranpo Edogawa protested. "Have some self-awareness! The great Ranpo is the best!" What could he do if they simply hadn't met? The great Ranpo wanted an all-purpose nanny, too!

Ayatsuji Yukito couldn't be bothered with this bunch of childish fools. His thoughtful expression caught Mizuki Tsujimura's attention. "Did you notice something, Mr. Ayatsuji?"

"Something caught my interest." The blond detective furrowed his handsome brows. "Zero... does that refer to the original An Xinyi? Is he still around?"

Everyone who understood what he meant was startled and began thinking it over.

Ranpo took off his glasses. "He is. He's still conscious, but he spends long periods asleep to readjust his mental state. This also seems to be one of the necessary conditions for activating the ability." His tone grew complicated as he finished.

"Then how does he bear all that suffering? If 948 has only endured less than a year, then An Xinyi, the original An Xinyi..."

Even without Ranpo finishing, everyone knew. The original An Xinyi had experienced countless cycles, countless hopeless apocalypses. How on earth had he held on?

Come to think of it, the Demon's ability actually had a physical manifestation like Mori Ougai's? Everyone present instinctively narrowed their eyes and committed this vital information to memory.

Time slowly passed. As the two of them wandered with an ability manifestation in tow, a faint glimmer gradually appeared in the boy's lifeless eyes.

At least he looked much happier.

An Xinyi was happy, too. No matter what, seeing someone regain hope was truly wonderful. Even if he couldn't save this world, as long as he could save one person, that was something truly beautiful to An Xinyi.

This way, he could stop worrying, couldn't he? He could wait peacefully for the reset... After all, keeping himself alive and avoiding replacement by Number 949 would be very difficult.

But things always went against people's wishes... More than a year after human civilization completely collapsed, humanity's hope fell from the heavens for good.

It was a magnificent meteor shower, and the last fading light of human civilization.

From then on, the light vanished from Fyodor's eyes.