Unusual Fate Records

Chapter 187.018. Returning Home
It was an ocean-going fishing vessel. Seeing the blue signal, it slowly sailed towards them.

As it drew closer, Qing Yise realized that the faint light in the distance was enough to illuminate a corner of the coastline, and the seemingly tiny outline was actually a giant steel ship.

She looked up and saw a tall, thin old man in a white vest waving at her from the five-meter-high deck.

"Oh-ee (onomatopoeia, pronounced in a connected manner, a common Japanese greeting, similar to 'Hey'), come up here!"

The old man looked him over and asked:
"You're the employer, right?"

"Hmm." Having survived the escape, Qing Yise was much calmer.

"Are the guys behind them with you?"

Qing turned around and saw a man in a black trench coat standing quietly about two body lengths behind her.

The girl's face darkened slightly as she looked at him with a complicated expression, but she remained silent for a long time.

The old man's words were somewhat sarcastic; having done this for years, what he hated most was getting a ride on short notice.

"Although the alliance is now unified and the world has no borders, the risks of crossing regions are still as high as ever. Today, this old man only has his wife, children and elderly parents on his boat. If we add two more people, it will be difficult to cover up the situation if they ask questions."

He was afraid he had been too subtle, and since he didn't have time to mince words, he simply said:

"If he wants to come up too, then this money isn't enough."

Qing Yise looked at him, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Together?"

The man's head tilted slightly to the left, then to the right.

Qing Yise could feel the other person's eyes looking at her through the gap in the mask.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Qing Yise asked unwillingly.

The man remained silent, standing there quietly.

For a good several tens of seconds, Qing Yise remained silent, waiting for the other party's reply.

"I see."

Qing Yise turned her head away from him and waved to the old man: "Uncle, put down a ladder."

The old man sat by his railing, trousers rolled up, his feet drying in the sea breeze, and gestured with his lip: "Isn't he coming up?"

"No."

Qing Yise grabbed the rope ladder that the old man had thrown down and climbed up step by step.

She was wearing pink cartoon bunny pajamas that she had chosen herself. Because she had fled in a hurry, she didn't have time to bring any other clothes or luggage.

Two pointed rabbit ears swayed in the sea breeze.

Qing Yise climbed to the point almost onto the deck, but stopped abruptly and said:
"Jin Ziyue, thank you."

Having said that, he straightened up and flipped himself onto the boat.

Seeing the wealthy patron board the boat, the old man got up and set sail.

"Woo-woo—" The sound of the ship's horn gradually rose.

Jin Ziyue watched as the girl and the old man went into the interior of the deck, where the old man and his family lived.

On the sea surface, the sea fog is hazy, and the drifting clouds are like ghostly claws, while a crescent moon is cold and sharp as a hook.

Fu Xun arrived, panting heavily.

He stood far away on the embankment, gazing at Jin Ziyue's lighthouse-like figure.

Under the cover of night, the man gazed at the horizon, beyond the reach of his eyes, towards District 9.

Jin Ziyue was not lying about Qing Yise in one respect: Hua Cheng's frail mother was still lying in her home.

However, he was an only child and had no younger sister.

Fu Xun thought the reason he was willing to go to such lengths to send the girl back was probably because Qing Yise's tearful outburst reminded him of his taciturn mother and the regrets of being a son.

Only by actually sending that spoiled girl back can one gain even a sliver of psychological comfort.

The ship, weathered and rusty, carries weary travelers into the drifting clouds, dreaming of returning to their homeland.

Fu Xun stared at him silently. From this angle, all that could be seen was his crying face. Through the half-crying mask, it was as if one could see the guy's perpetually expressionless face.

He still had things to do; beyond his gentle homeland, there were people waiting for him to save at the cruel ends of the world.

……

Qing Yise sat in the corner of the deck, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Miss, who is that masked man to you?" The old man didn't go to steer the boat, but instead went to the deck to enjoy the sea breeze.

"friend."

"A friend who would see you off in the middle of the night must have a very close relationship, right?" the old man teased.

"It's just a monetary relationship; it's a transaction for both of us," Qing Yise said.

"Oh." The old man looked at her meaningfully.

“It’s still a bit early for sunrise, and the sea fog is heavy. Since I can’t sleep anyway, why don’t we just wait for the sunrise?” The old man seemed to have a lot of experience. “When the red sun rises above the sea, the fog will dissipate as soon as it gets light.”

"Not interested," Qing Yise said dryly.

"And the old man even highly recommended it," the little old man said with a grin.

"People who have never been to sea rarely have the chance to see the sunrise over the ocean. The sea is inclusive and also the most straightforward, with all emotions written on its surface. Just listening to the waves surging and the pitch-black expanse can be unsettling. But it's different when the sun rises. The bright red egg-shaped yolk emerges from below the horizon, thumping and thumping. If you look into its eyes, you can feel your own heart thumping and thumping as well."

"Only when everything clears away the clouds and the sun shines through can we overcome all obstacles and see each other in our truest form."

Qing Yise did not reply. Although she disliked darkness, she could not stand the sunlight either.

The old man spoke slowly, then, remembering that his son was still sailing, he said, "I'll go check out the engine room. You can wander around the ship as you like."

Seeing the old man enter the cabin, Qing Yise stood up and looked towards the embankment. The thick fog had completely covered the scenery on the shore, like a giant beast crouching in darkness in its territory.

Countless people have rushed towards District 16, only to be wiped out without a trace.

Courage and ideals, cowardice for survival—on this land, scenes with different themes, yet all bloody, unfold every moment.

Goodbye, Ward 16.

Goodbye, Fate Chaser.

Goodbye, Jin Ziyue.

Never again.

"It's been a long and arduous journey to get this far; it must have been incredibly tough."

A man's voice suddenly rang out from behind Qing Yise.

The girl's eyes widened as she looked back. The dark sea began to grin menacingly, the clouds like claws, and the moonlight tinged with red.

The frail steel fishing boat was like a glass bottle tossed about on the sea, becoming more and more helpless and fearful with the surging waves.

Chu Binlin looked at her with a smile.

"It's you!" Although Qing Yise hated it, she was even more terrified, her legs trembling.

Behind the man were raging waves, black water stretching to the horizon, dark clouds surrounding him, and the wind tossing his hair, as if a demon king had been reincarnated before him.

"The mission was completed very well," Chu Binlin said encouragingly.

"You used me?" Qing Yise wasn't stupid, but the more she recalled, the colder she felt.

"Don't you think it's incredibly lucky that you were able to escape from the base?" Chu Binlin seemed to enjoy the complex expression on Qing Yise's face.

"Thanks to you, while they were gathering intelligence on us, weren't we also gathering intelligence on them?"

Chu Binlin's glasses gleamed coldly: "Now, you can return as well."

"Don't even think about it!" Qing Yise shouted angrily.

The other person looked at her with amusement and said, "Do you know your destiny?"

Qing Yise's heart skipped a beat as a scene flashed through her mind: the White Walkers in the laboratory, having lost their emotions and minds, ultimately becoming tools for killing.

She felt inexplicably afraid, a chill creeping down her spine—a fear from the depths of her soul.

"The inscription I gave you is 【By the will of man】. Unfortunately, this inscription has a primary and a secondary inscription. The primary inscription can control the secondary inscription, and you are naturally the first batch of experimental secondary inscriptions."

Qing Yise naturally knew that a decree could drive people's behavior, and that under the influence of a decree, no change in a person was excessive.

"Now, accept my command and return." Chu Binlin smiled, his eyes flashing, and the aura of [Dominion] spread out.

Qing Yise turned around abruptly, rushing towards the railing with all her might. She braced herself against the iron bars, gazing in the direction where the black behemoth lurked. On the land of District 16, she shouted with all her might:
"Brother Qinsheng! Let's go!"

The girl's shouts echoed along the coast.

A moment later, her hands loosened weakly from the railing, she turned around, took awkward steps, and mechanically walked back to the deck.

(End of this chapter)