Part 3
“There really are no problems at all. He was mutated to the point of being unrecognizable, but now he’s no different from when he was healthy.”
Everyone was very excited, and one Yongzhou staff member even had slightly moist eyes:
“This is the first instance of an Awakener being saved after their Alienation value exceeded 90%, which means Alienation isn’t completely incurable!”
“Yes, and Student Luo Shizhen used the method of cutting open the chest and purifying directly at the heart. We can also imitate this method; maybe it will be useful.”
For Awakeners, Alienation had become the greatest and most unsolvable problem.
Awakeners needed to fight Anomalies, which output Pollution. Awakeners would inevitably be tainted with Pollution, and once it accumulated to a certain point, it would erupt, and they would mutate into an Anomaly.
This was why Energy Users were so precious, because they were the only ones who could delay the Alienation of the Guardians.
But there were too few Energy Users, and they were auxiliary-system; many couldn’t go onto the battlefield—that would simply be seeking death.
Consequently, many Guardians who were unfortunately polluted in battle were mutated to over 80% before they could even be sent to an Energy User.
Some Awakeners could barely maintain their sanity at this point but couldn’t stop the Alienation from continuing.
It wasn’t that their teammates didn’t send them back in time, nor was it that the Energy Users were unwilling to save them; rather, the Alienation was too fast, and it was too late to rescue them by then.
Even using the spatial transport elevator still couldn’t catch up with the speed of an Awakener’s Alienation.
Before this, everyone believed that an Awakener who mutated to over 80% was doomed.
But now, Luo Shizhen’s act of cutting open the heart to save Lu Qiujin gave everyone hope.
Even if it had nothing to do with cutting the heart and was purely because Luo Shizhen’s talent had mutated or was stronger, the fact that he could do this was enough to hearten the entire Awakener community.
At the very least, there was now a glimmer of hope for Awakeners who mutated to over 80% in the future.
They already knew that Luo Shizhen’s body had no issues, but no one said, “Let’s go wake him up.”
Even three senior Yongzhou officials were willing to guard outside the hospital room, waiting for the child to wake up naturally.
By this time, some leadership levels and well-informed Guardians had received some news. Even the Female Awakener Center had learned of this and asked what exactly was going on and whether an Awakener who mutated to over 90% really had the possibility of being cured.
The school was currently closed, with no one allowed in or out. Originally, Yongzhou wanted to send some high-sequence Guardians to protect Luo Shizhen, but they gave up on the idea after considering that the strongest combat force, Sui An, was already there.
Because Hua Yi was of the Devourer sequence, he was also called to the school.
When he first arrived, he thought Yongzhou had received his report and decided to remove Sui An and let him be the teacher.
When he found out he was called just to be safe, he led the Zhadao members to occupy an area with a cold face and went to rest with his eyes closed.
Lu Qiujin strongly requested to take care of Luo Shizhen. Considering that Luo Shizhen had slept for so long just to save him, the camaraderie must be very unusual, so Yongzhou agreed.
A group of people, harboring anxiety, anticipation, and hope, waited until seven o’clock the next morning.
Luo Shizhen opened his eyes.
He smacked his lips, feeling happy because he had dreamed of Grandma and had eaten a lot of dried sweet potatoes in the dream.
However, he was so silly as a child, actually wanting to eat butterflies. No wonder people always said he was a fool when he was little.
Luo Shizhen was very glad that although his reactions were still slow and his grades weren’t good now that he had grown up, at least he still knew common sense like butterflies can’t be eaten.
“Shizhen, you’re awake?”
Lu Qiujin hadn’t slept all night, leaning by Luo Shizhen’s bed the whole time. As soon as there was some movement, he immediately snapped his head up.
“Lu Qiujin, you’re okay!”
Luo Shizhen was very happy to see that he was safe and sound, his eyes filled with joy.
Lu Qiujin felt a sourness in his heart, yet also a bit of happiness: “You slept for so long yourself, yet the first thing you do when you wake up is ask about me.”
He hadn’t expected Luo Shizhen to care about him to such an extent.
“Did I sleep for a long time?”
Luo Shizhen scratched his head and said with a chuckle: “Then maybe it’s because I was too tired.”
Lu Qiujin suddenly gave him a hug, and then, a moist drop fell on his shoulder.
Luo Shizhen: “Lu Qiujin, are you crying?”
“Yes.”
Lu Qiujin said in a low voice: “Shizhen, I’m not worth it. I’m not as good as you think. If something happened to you for saving me, it wouldn’t have been worth it at all.”
Luo Shizhen didn’t understand: “Am I not fine? Why do you sound as if I had died?”
Lu Qiujin lowered his eyes: “Before this, no one had ever purified an Alienated person who exceeded 90%. But you did it for me, blocking the pressure.”
Luo Shizhen patted him: “It’s fine, everyone is a classmate; we help each other out. Didn’t you also help me sweep and mop the floor? Besides, I’m a Purifier; I was supposed to purify you anyway.”
“Shizhen…”
Lu Qiujin found it hard to describe the feeling in his heart.
His parents and brother were the kind of people who, if they did one part of a task, would exaggerate it to ten.
Clearly, they weren’t very good to him, yet they spoke as if they were so good.
But Luo Shizhen, who was truly good to him, was still saying with a smile that it was nothing.
Lu Qiujin made a decision: “When I saw you sleeping for so long because of me, I thought the focus of my life should change. From now on, I only live for you.”
Luo Shizhen had already seen the clock and laughed:
“What are you saying? You sound as if I’ve slept for three days and three nights. Wasn’t it just over ten hours? When people are tired, they have to sleep.”
“And I didn’t sleep for nothing; I even dreamed of my grandma. Maybe my grandma appeared in my dream; she told me to work hard, then get married and have a child.”
He was super happy: “I haven’t dreamed of Grandma for a long time; my grandma must miss me too.”
Lu Qiujin: “…Your grandma hopes you’ll get married and have a child? Will you listen to her?”
“Of course. How could I not listen to what my grandma says? But you don’t have to listen to your parents. Didn’t you say they weren’t good to you? If they’re not good to you, you don’t have to listen.”
Luo Shizhen patted Lu Qiujin’s shoulder:
“Also, Lu Qiujin, don’t say anything about living for someone else. You are you, and of course, you live for yourself.”
“If you really feel bad and want to thank me, how about this? When my child is born in the future, you can be their Gandie?”
He thought about it and added:
“But Chu Xiao might also be a Gandie for my child. He was first, so you might have to be behind him. You don’t mind, right?”
Translator’s Note:
For those curious:
- Gandie (干爹): This literally translates to “Dry Father,” which is the Chinese equivalent of a Godfather. It implies a very close, familial bond that isn’t blood-related.
- Kingdom of Bhikkhu (比丘国): This is a reference to an arc in Journey to the West where a king is tricked into wanting to eat the hearts of a thousand children to gain longevity. A bit dark, but it fits the heart-cutting theme!
- Middle-school syndrome (Chunibyo): Refers to the “delusions of grandeur” or dramatic behavior teenagers sometimes exhibit.
I’m so curious to see how the other schools and Guardians react to the news of the 94% purification. Things are definitely going to get busy for our Shizhen!
Happy reading, everyone!
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