Me! Cleaner!.

Chapter 1271 Fu and Fate
Are you sure you're not mistaken?

Lying on her back next to her other self, gazing at the void above that completely isolated her from everything, the woman in the white dress weakly nudged the woman in the black robe.

"It feels like more than half a month has passed, why hasn't Leon come to rescue us yet? Are you sure he's really realized something's wrong?"

"I am sure."

The woman in black robes beside him, who had kept her eyes closed the entire time, calmly continued counting her heartbeats as she answered:
“Only when it comes to paranoia, you never need to doubt him. I even have a feeling that Lyon is already prepared... Besides, it hasn’t been long since we were ‘reclaimed’, only a little over two days.”

Huh? It's only the third day? It feels like it's been at least two weeks!
"Because time doesn't really exist, it's just something we get by comparison. And in this desolate prison, there's a lack of reference points to judge the passage of time, so your estimation of time is naturally prone to errors."

"I don't understand..."

After blinking somewhat blankly, Bai Qunfu asked in confusion:

"Since there's no reference point, how did you determine how much time had passed?"

"There is just a lack of reference points, but there are still reference points."

After correcting her other self's statement, the black-robed Fu, who had kept her eyes closed, pressed her hand to her chest and then explained in a calm voice:

"Although I can't see the sunrise or sunset, my heart has been beating about 190,700 times since I was taken back. Excluding the part where the rhythm was disrupted at the beginning due to the intense emotional fluctuations, it was exactly in the early morning of the third day, when the sun and moon began to alternate."

"..."

Is this even possible?

Somewhat stunned, Bai Qunfu listened to her other self's method of timing. Involuntarily, she touched her chest, wanting to try out this method, but…

It feels like I still have a knife stuck in my heart!
Upon touching the hilt of the knife stuck in her chest, the white-clad Fu, whose job change timer had failed, couldn't help but darken. She then glared at her other self with a sullen face and said irritably:

"Hey! We're about to be 'reclaimed' by someone, why haven't you drawn your ceremonial sword yet?"

"Since we're all going to be 'recycled' anyway, what difference does it make whether we pull it out or not?"

"..."

Ugh, why is my future self so annoying?!
(〃＞ dishes＜)
"Let's just not pull it out!"

After lying with the black-robed Fu for half a month... After lying there for more than two days, the fear of "herself" in the white-skirted Fu's heart dissipated a lot. In addition, there was no one else to talk to in this void, and it would be strange to remain silent if everyone did not speak.

So after turning away and sulking for a while, she couldn't help but turn her head back, gently nudged her other self, and whispered, "..."

"Hey, do you think Leon can really make it in time to save us?"

"..."

"It's not that I don't believe you, but can he really be a match for those weirdos?"

Recalling the strange abilities and circumstances of the original races, Baiqun Fu couldn't help but say with unease in her eyes:

“Leon is just a human like us, but even the weakest among these Roots remnants are probably stronger than the Pillar God, right? Even if he really realized something was wrong and followed that ‘dream’ here, wouldn’t he be able to defeat those monsters?”

"probably not……"

Upon hearing the question from her other self, Black Dress Fu hesitated slightly, then shook her head and said:
"Lyon's attitude lately has been rather strange. He seems to have too little guard against the Root Races, and is even able to tolerate their omnipresent spying..."

Based on my understanding of Leon's character, he must be holding a very powerful trump card, enough to allow him to achieve a crushing victory against most of the Roots' descendants; otherwise, he wouldn't be acting so relaxed.

The woman in the white dress asked in confusion:

"He still has a trump card? What trump card?"

"A trump card is a card that cannot be easily revealed to others. If even I, your enemy, know your trump card, can it still be called a trump card?"

After glancing at her own silly appearance, the woman in the black dress shook her head and said:
"Just wait and see. Leon is a tough guy, but he's much softer than he seems. He might not come to save me, but he'll definitely come to save you."

I think so too... He must care about me quite a bit?

Recalling Leon's meticulous care for her, Baiqun Fu nodded in agreement, unable to resist a slightly "sweet" silly smile, but quickly realized it was inappropriate and hurriedly straightened her face again, saying:

"No, no, no, it's not just me, he'll definitely come to save you too! We'll come together then! Hahaha!"

"..."

This is really... Could I have been this stupid before?
(ーー゛)
After giving her other self a rather disdainful look, the black-robed Fu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and couldn't resist giving a few more words of advice.

However, just as she was about to speak, the "black cloth" that had been covering the small jar for more than two days was suddenly ripped off, and a large amount of blazing white and dazzling light rushed in.

“Very good, we can try to extract ‘Fu’ now.”

After examining the state of the black and white lotuses in the small jar, and confirming that all substances not belonging to 'lotus' had been almost completely decomposed by the ethereal sedimentation over the past two days, 'Survival' nodded in satisfaction and then instructed the woman beside him:
"Hurry up and prepare the ritual. I've already obtained a suitable vessel from 'Evil.' If you act quickly enough, we might be able to complete the next deployment before the 'sun' rises again the day after tomorrow."

"it is good……"

Upon hearing the command to 'survive,' the woman bit her lip. Then, under the contrasting gazes of Hei Baifu—one panicked, the other calm—she picked up the small jar with both hands and placed it on the giant table covered with numerous colorless patterns. She then reached out and pressed her hand against the circular pattern on the edge of the table, closing her eyes with a hesitant expression.

"Om..."

A strange, rhythmic buzzing sounded, and starting with the mark that the woman's finger touched, the colorless marks on the table lit up one by one like a carousel, and then the entire table expanded rapidly.

As the table expanded, the small jar placed in the center of the numerous circular patterns also expanded rapidly, and like a red-hot iron ball falling into the snow, it quickly melted through the core of the stone table, embedding itself deeply and firmly.

Oh no! It's too late! Watching the patterns on the table rise up like living things and wriggle towards the outer wall of the "prison," and feeling the "suction force" of the surrounding void increasing, the white-skirted Fu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. She wanted to resist but didn't know what to do, so she could only cast a pleading look at the black-robed Fu next to her.

"we……"

"Don't move, and don't say anything. Just listen to me."

Interrupting the white-skirted Fu's plea for help, the black-robed Fu sighed with some regret, then calmly instructed:

“It seems Leon is still too late… But don’t worry too much. The process of removing everything that makes up ‘Fu’ should take more than two days, which should be enough for you to hold out until Leon comes to rescue you.”

So there's still a chance?
Upon hearing the words of the woman in black robes, and noticing that the "extraction" wasn't happening too quickly, and that some strange power was subtly "repairing" her, the woman in white robes relaxed slightly. However, she quickly realized something else and hurriedly asked:
"Wait! Why have you only ever said 'save me'? What about you?"

"I will protect you."

After glancing at her other self—whose words and actions were undeniably silly, yet somehow enviable—the black-robed Fu closed her eyes and said:
“What you complained about to Leon before was right. You haven’t done anything yet. The one who really did something wrong is me. I shouldn’t have tried to erase my past mistakes by killing you. So consider it as me owing you. This time, I’ll just pay you back.”

Give it back to me? What do you mean by "give it back to me"?
After listening to her other self's words with some confusion, Bai Qunfu suddenly realized what was happening and looked down at her chest... Countless dark light particles were surging out from the hilt of the sword, seeping into her body little by little.

Whenever the void around the prison exerts its force, absorbing some of the matter that makes up you, a burst of dark light particles will surge out from inside the ceremonial sword, replenishing the matter you lost... So this is how you intend to "repay" me? Is this why you insist on not drawing your sword?

"Don't bother, you can't pull it out."

A hand, now much more transparent, reached out and pressed down on the other self that was about to draw its sword. The black-robed Fu smiled with a relieved expression:
"Although you are stupid and annoying, you are still much better than me now. It is more appropriate for you to stay than for me to stay."

"But aren't you me? Can't we..."

“Although I am you, I am no longer you, and you are different from me. You still have people you care about, but for the people I care about, part of them have been integrated into the Roots by my own hands. As for the other part... let’s not talk about it.”

After glancing at the woman outside whose arms were trembling and whose eyes were filled with guilt, the woman in the black robe closed her eyes and instructed her:
"In short, remember what you said to Leon that day. Whether you are ultimately rescued by Leon or you don't survive and have all your substances drained, never become me again. What... what are you doing?"

"Don't do anything!"

Like a little frog, it swam over, its legs tumbling, and pulled the astonished black-robed Fu into its arms. After blocking most of the "suction," the white-skirted Fu, whose body was trembling, gritted her teeth and said:

"I can retaliate myself for what you've done to me! You don't need to repay me like this!"

"..."

Are you stupid...? Although what you did helped me "block" the suction, the substances you lost still have to be replenished by me, right? What's the difference between this and before?
Looking at herself, who was clearly terrified but still managed to block the Void Erosion Ritual, the black-robed Fu couldn't help but shake her head helplessly. She wanted to remind her that doing so was actually not very meaningful, but after hesitating for a moment, she didn't speak. Instead, she couldn't help but chuckle and raised her hand to touch the head of her other self.

"Okay, then you can hold it!"

Although doing this wouldn't save her, it would at least slow down the rate of material loss. If she could hold on a little longer, she might be able to wait for Leon to arrive. Unfortunately, I am just one of countless 'Fu', and no matter how strong I am, I cannot resist the ritual indefinitely. I probably won't be able to wait until then.

However, just as the black-robed Fu embraced her young and innocent self, her gaze calm as she prepared to face her end, the suction force emanating from the Void Erosion Ritual suddenly stopped.

When Liang Fu looked up in surprise, she found that the woman presiding over the ritual outside the "prison" had somehow loosened her fingers and voluntarily stopped the ritual.

"Please wake up."

Seeing the slight redness around his eyes and the tip of his nose, and his stubborn gaze fixed on his 'emotions,' 'Survival,' his eyes trembling slightly, frowned and said:

"As someone who is influenced by 'emotions,' you are indeed easily affected by this kind of thing, but you might want to think about it carefully. The two 'Fu's' here are ultimately the same person. This can only be considered her self-salvation. You don't need to..."

"I quit!"

The woman, her body radiating various colored markings, gritted her teeth and slapped the table hard, erasing part of the ritual inscription she had personally carved.
"I've done so many things against my conscience just to survive! Now..."

"Yes, haven't you already done so many things you didn't want to do?"

He patted the woman's shoulder, pressing her hand back onto the table, and then said indifferently, 'Survival':
"If you give up now, wouldn't all those past efforts have been for nothing? What will become of 'Fu,' who has been repeatedly retrieved, erased, and reintroduced into the future? What meaning will her sacrifice have?"

“This is not the case! She…”

"That's one thing, and what we're doing is absolutely meaningful!"

He pressed the woman's palm and ran it across the table in the opposite direction, restoring all the ritual details that had been rubbed off. Then, 'Survival' spoke calmly:

"Survival is paramount! No moral, emotional, or rational constraints should be imposed on survival. Not everyone is like you, willing to give up survival for..."

"some!"

As the woman resisted the increasingly elaborate rituals performed on her body, she struggled and retorted:
"I don't know about others, but at least that's what 'fate' thinks! And there's more..."

“'Fate' is no more.”

"What?!!"

“I said, ‘fate’ is no longer here.”

After pressing the frozen woman back onto the table, 'Survival' said coldly:
“After the last deployment began, ‘Destiny’ has remained silent. I and others who were willing to maintain the ultimate mission found the reincarnation platform and notes she left behind. ‘Destiny’ has already reincarnated on her own... Otherwise, where do you think I got these rituals from?”

"What about her?!?"

“She can relinquish her power and memories, accepting reincarnation into a new race with only a short lifespan, but we cannot accept it! That is not survival, but another form of death!”

His cold, sharp eyes swept over the stunned 'emotions,' and 'Survival' slowed his speech, warning almost word by word:
"I chose you to help because you can do the best, but that doesn't mean I can't do it without you! If you refuse, I don't mind stripping you of your will and doing it myself!"

Remember this, I'm saying it one last time: whatever your thoughts are, at least right now, survival is paramount! Nothing else can compare to survival!

(End of this chapter)