dmims Chapter 21 A Vow Amidst the Ruins and a Belated Fatherly Love
Chapter 21 A Vow Amidst the Ruins and a Belated Fatherly Love
Chapter 21, a high-energy chapter, "The Vow on the Ruins and the Belated Fatherly Love," has been updated! Read it now!
The laboratory on the third basement level is now a pile of rubble. Broken glass, blown-out control panels, and charred cables hanging in mid-air. The air smells of burning and blood. The alarm has stopped, but your ears are still ringing, like someone has a swarm of bees inside.
Yue Mianmian knelt on the ground, her knees covered in shards of glass, seemingly oblivious to the pain. She clung tightly to Mo Runshu, as if afraid he would vanish if she let go. Her hands were cut in several places by the broken glass, blood dripping from her fingers onto Mo Runshu's lab coat, seeping and mixing with the bloodstain on his chest, making it impossible to tell whose it was. She poured her soul power into his body while calling out "Brother Mo," her voice hoarse from shouting.
Mo Runshu leaned against a broken control panel. The panel was completely dented, the screen shattered into a spiderweb pattern. He was leaning against it, his back undoubtedly embedded with shards of glass, but he didn't utter a sound. His chest ached; each breath felt like someone was twisting a knife inside. But he could bear that pain. Another pain, however, was unbearable.
Wu Lin is gone. He was taken away by Xu Tianqi.
When Yue Mianmian saw him open his eyes, she quickly came over and used her sleeve to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. The blood was already half-dried, and when she wiped it, it spread out in a large patch, looking even more frightening than it actually was. "I'm here, don't talk, the medical team will be here soon—"
"It's no use." Mo Runshu gently brushed her hand away. It wasn't force, just a light touch. "I know myself. A few bones are broken, and my internal organs were shaken, but it's not fatal. What's fatal is something else." He paused, catching his breath. "I lost."
He wasn't looking at her when he said this; his eyes were fixed on the large hole above his head. A pipe dangled from the hole, and sparks flickered from it.
"I lost completely. I used the Federation's best technology, all my brainpower, thinking I could help him keep that thing under control. I thought I was the only one I could rely on. But he just took a zither, played a few notes, and overturned everything I'd worked on for years. The moment his music came out, the Golden Dragon King's madness subsided. What I couldn't control, he just played a couple of notes and it was gone. What is technology compared to divine power? I was like a child, trying to outdo an adult with my toys." He paused. "Could you even win?"
Yue Mianmian's lips trembled. She bit her lip hard, trying not to cry out. "So we just accept it? We'll let Wu Lin take him away? He's one of Shrek's men, what if—"
"No." Mo Runshu took it, his voice not loud, but his tone was firm. "He may be arrogant, but he's not bad. He values talent. He looks down on the path I've taken, thinking it's too narrow, and he wants to teach Wu Lin his own path. What's that path called? Carefree, I don't know. But he won't hurt that child. I'll bet my life on that."
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.
"Mian'er. You used to say we didn't have a child. Wu Lin is one. Whether you acknowledge it or not, he is. I can't abandon him just because I messed up once." His throat suddenly tightened, as if something was stuck there. He swallowed hard, preventing that thing from coming out.
Yue Mianmian helped him up, and he used the support to stand up. His legs were trembling, but he stood firm and didn't sit down again.
"Brother Mo, your injury hasn't healed yet—"
"I know." He gasped for breath, the blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth. "But I can't fall. If I fall, who will he come back to? Xu Tianqi can teach him skills, he can teach him how to exert force, but he can't teach him anything else. He can't teach him where to go when he's homesick, he can't teach him who to turn to for support when he's bullied. Those things can't be given by music. Someone has to be there. No matter how much time passes, they have to be there."
He glanced at the empty operating table. The chains on it were broken or bent, still damp with sweat. He stared at the table for several seconds without saying a word.
"I want to become stronger," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like it was being squeezed out between his teeth. "Not by those things. By myself. Cultivating my martial spirit, increasing my soul power. Xu Tianqi is level ninety-nine, right? I'll cultivate to level ninety-nine. If he's a demigod, I'll try to reach the threshold of godhood. I don't believe I can't. One day, next time, when he encounters something like this again, I'll stand in front of him, not lie behind him."
When he said those words, there was a light in his eyes. Not the burning kind, but the cold, metallic kind. If you were there, you would feel that this person was different.
Yue Mianmian didn't speak. She stepped forward and took his hand. Her hand was cut and sticky with blood, but he didn't pull away. She gripped it tightly.
"Okay. Whatever you want to do, I'll be with you. We'll bring him back. No matter the cost, no matter how many people we offend, we'll do it."
Mo Runshu glanced at her and reached out to touch her face. The touch was very gentle, unlike usual. He doesn't usually do such things in front of others, but he did it today.
"I've wronged you all these years. You've been so busy with things on that side that you haven't taken care of the family. From today onwards, I'm not going to be that speaker anymore. It's not that I'm resigning, it's that I'm not taking it seriously anymore. I'll just be his father. I want him to know that no matter how high he flies, as long as he looks back, we'll both be standing behind him. We're not going anywhere."
He took a deep breath, and his chest ached slightly as he inhaled, but he didn't frown.
"Pass down the order. Seal the news. Tell everyone the experiment failed and the person is missing. Everyone involved must sign the strictest confidentiality agreement."
Yue Mianmian asked, "What about Xu Tianqi?"
"Ignore him. He took away a problem, but also a hope. I'm going into seclusion. You and the elders handle the affairs of the Federation. Pass on my words: no one is to move without my orders."
Yue Mianmian looked at him. He stood there, his clothes torn and covered in blood, his voice unsteady, but when he said, "I want to be his father," it was genuine. You could feel it. It wasn't a slogan; it was the sound of someone picking up their broken heart and mending it anew.
He turned around and took one last look at the ruins. The lights were still flickering, casting a dim glow on the operating table. His lips moved, his voice barely audible.
"Wait for me. Dad will become very strong. Strong enough to back you up. Next time we meet, I'll show you that I'm not just a teacher. I'm also your dad."
He stood there, his back to Yue Manman, his shoulders trembling slightly. He didn't wipe it. Yue Manman didn't move either. She knew he didn't want her to see. She just stood there, waiting for him to turn around on his own.
Ten thousand meters above the clouds.
Xu Tianqi, carrying Tang Wulin, had already flown out of Mingdu's territory. Heading east, the wind was strong, but the person in his arms remained unawakened. He glanced down; the face was deathly pale, but the features had matured, no longer childish. He looked for a few seconds, then said nothing.
"The bloodline of the Golden Dragon King is really hot to handle," he muttered to himself, his voice carried away by the wind. The zither in his hand trembled, as if in response.
"Mo Runshu was a bit hasty and his methods were clumsy, but his heart was sincere. I've seen too many hypocritical people; he's not one of them."
He lifted the child in his arms slightly. Tang Wulin's head rested on his shoulder, his breathing light but even.
"Now that it's in my hands, I'll handle it. The road ahead is long, just don't let me down."
He reduced the light from the instrument and slowed down. The eastern sky began to lighten; dawn was approaching.
A thin, blue light traveled through the clouds, like a stroke drawn on the cloud. Then it vanished. The wind died down, but the cloud remained, slowly rolling on, leaving no other trace.