After hanging up, Kong remained silent for a long time.
Dog crouched by the window, gazing up at the scattered snowflakes outside, but seemed to sense that something was wrong with Kong's mood.
"Kong, are you unhappy?"
Dog ran over to Kong in a few steps, crouched down, and looked up as he asked.
Kong closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just thinking... twenty years have passed. Does it still mean anything?"
"Mean anything?" Dog looked at him blankly, seemingly unable to understand what Kong was thinking.
"Moon City..." Kong rose and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the bustle of Moon City at night. "Twenty years. Everything is changing. Even this high-rise beneath our feet didn't exist twenty years ago."
"Dog," Kong put both hands in his pockets and looked up at the night sky, "we're people abandoned by time."
Dog didn't understand, but he could sense that Kong was lost.
"Go take Flower's place and protect Qin Manjiang," Kong said.
"Flower's really strong. Stronger than me!" Dog didn't think he would do a better job of protecting Qin Manjiang than Flower.
"But... you're better suited to it than she is." Kong turned to look at him. "Qin Manjiang is becoming dangerous. He won't eat blood food, and his mental state is getting worse and worse."
"Will he be more dangerous than Jiang Du?" Dog suddenly asked.
Kong seemed not to have expected that question from Dog. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "I don't know. During that call just now, he seemed to turn into Jiang Du. Or rather... Jiang Du is becoming part of his personality."
Dog's eyes widened.
*Would someone like Jiang Du willingly do all the work for someone else's