Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 373 Man in the Rain

The rain curtain suppressed all sounds that tried to penetrate it. People in the rain were like the continuous drizzle; when they tried to reach out and touch the rain, they could only feel the slightly cold raindrops on their hands, but they couldn't grasp anything.

The man in the rain silently observed the streets of the capital city before him. The city, already reduced to ruins, was further disintegrating under the tremors. The distant roars and the occasional shockwaves that swept by relentlessly smoothed out the ripples caused by the earthquake.

No matter how much time has passed, this city seems to remain the same...

A black arm reached out from behind it. It was oblivious, or rather, it had never cared about any attempt by an outsider to touch it.

Because it's impossible no matter what...

Snapped!
The sound of its own shoulder being gently patted was so clear in its ear.

It was touched.

The person's steps in the rain came to an abrupt halt, finally stopping.

"I've been calling you for ages, if you heard me, at least give me a reply." Zheng Fan walked around from behind it to in front of it, quite certain that the other was deliberately ignoring him and everything around it.

However, Zheng had ample experience in being ignored, so he was quite patient.

At least compared to most people, this man in the rain can still be touched, right?
The person in the rain slowly turned their head. Their face, obscured by the raincoat and hood, was not clearly visible, but Zheng Fan could feel the gaze emanating from them.

"Hello, I'm Zheng Fan." Zheng Fan tilted his head and began with a self-introduction, showing utmost politeness.

"Are the black branches already reaching this far?" The other party didn't remain silent and quickly spoke, but it was a vague riddle right from the start.

"You can tell me whatever you want to do. What I'm more curious about is what you're doing?" Zheng Fan asked directly upon seeing this.

Upon hearing this, the person in the rain paused, seemingly somewhat surprised that Zheng Fan would ask it this question, but it did not refuse to answer, saying, "I'll take another look at Dadu, which I haven't seen in a long time, or rather, I'll just find a place to wander around."

"Did you get off the subway?" Zheng asked in return.

"I boarded the subway from somewhere else, and I'll come and see where it is now if I can get off." The person in the rain spoke softly, in a neutral voice, neither male nor female.

"That's it."

"Tree branch, what is the purpose of your existence here? Are you an extension of the will from the depths of the black world, or a fragment that accidentally fell off?" the man in the rain suddenly asked.

"My name is Zheng Fan." But this is where Zheng Fan's focus lies.

"...Zheng, Fan? Is that the name you gave yourself?"

"That's my real name."

The man in the rain seemed somewhat surprised: "A distinct personality, you're not quite what I expected. Or perhaps you've somehow gained another life? Well, you are special."

“I also think I’m quite special,” Zheng Fan nodded proudly.

Ignoring Zheng Fan's reply, the man in the rain continued, "Although it's black, upon closer inspection, you have many other colors on your body, which makes you look quite dazzling from certain angles."

"You should consider this a compliment," Zheng Fan thought, feeling that the wording was a bit odd.

"Rain like me is transparent and colorless. After a while, it evaporates with the water vapor and quickly leaves no trace. In the end, I am just a tiny passerby in this world."

“I think the traces you left behind are quite significant.” Zheng turned back to look at the path Yu had taken.

Those who fall because of the quiet rain, and those who are reborn in the rain, are not insignificant passersby in the rain.

"This impact is negligible in the grand scheme of things, just like this rain is only a small, localized shower. Our existence is insignificant to the world. My only hope now is to travel with this train to the end of Dadu's history and see what Dadu looks like then," the man in the rain said casually, seemingly unconcerned.

"That's a rather romantic way of putting it," Zheng Fan said, not denying the other person's point but instead imagining it along that line of thought.

He was also somewhat curious about the end of the history of Dadu, whether it was the end of the past or the end of the future.

But no matter which end it is, it's still too far away, so it's just something I think about.

"What exactly are you?" he asked the man in the rain, posing the most crucial question. "Time has passed too far. On the forgotten subway, many passengers left behind have also forgotten their past. Because these memories are of no use to the passengers; they only add to their torment and diminish their existence."

"To put it bluntly, you've forgotten, haven't you?"

The person in the rain seemed to choke for a moment, then said, "Tree branches..."

"It's Zheng Fan."

“Zheng Fan… Our essences are very similar, but I belong to that water world that I have forgotten and that has forgotten me, while you come from the depths of darkness.”

“I can’t be sure about this, not because I’ve forgotten, but because I never had this memory or awareness.”

"The colors on you are so dazzling that I envy you a little, but these colors are useless on this subway. No matter what this subway was born out of, it now carries the will of passengers like me. This is the road to cleansing colors, where all impurities are stripped away on the subway, leaving only the purest part of itself, and then we travel together to that end."

After listening to the man in the rain, Zheng Fan asked with some confusion, "Why?"

“It’s like Noah’s Ark for this world,” the man in the rain replied.

When will the great flood come?

"It will come. This city will never become the ship of the new world. Or rather, it once was, but now it's in ruins."

Both of them looked at the city, which was covered in rubble, without prior arrangement.

On this point alone, it seems that a consensus has been reached.

"I don't know, but if this is the price of continuing on this journey, I won't get on. Whether it's a person or anything else, digging into the essence is a boring and meaningless thing, and returning to simplicity is even more unnecessary. I don't understand, but fortunately, I'm not here to buy a long-term ticket," Zheng said, turning his gaze back.

"...What a surprise, these words came from a tree branch..."

"It's Zheng Fan."

"...For someone like you to say this. Is this really the personality you should have?" The man in the rain seemed to be sighing, with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"There are all sorts of illusions in this world, so it's not surprising that I'm one of them," Zheng Fan said calmly.

"This may not be a conceptual issue. But it doesn't matter. I'm curious how long you can hold on. The colors on you seem rich, but they are ultimately not stable. Including your personality, it may eventually become something unnecessary."

"...Let's wait until we really don't need it anymore before we talk about it."

The man in the rain nodded: "I don't have much time left, I should get on the bus and go back. If you see me anywhere else next time, please don't hesitate to say hello."

Although its tone was as calm and indifferent as the rain, without any particular expectation, Zheng Fan didn't refuse since it had said so: "Okay."

After saying that, the person in the rain quietly left again, taking with them the tranquil yet unsettling rain.

Boom!

A loud crash was heard, and the two objects, tumbling and twisting, smashed through the rubble and flew to Zheng Fan's side.

Upon closer inspection, it was a jumble of garbled text and the word "Lossway".

Wow, even though it's unofficial history, seeing these two things side by side makes this history quite unofficial.

So who did this?
Zheng turned his head and saw the red-haired woman with a smile that was just as bad as his own.

"Hmm? What are you standing there for? Have you found the person you're looking for?" Luo Ye raised an eyebrow when he saw Zheng Fan and said without any politeness.

Zheng Fan looked at Luo Ye, inwardly complaining.

He hadn't even done anything yet, and it turns out that this unofficial history suddenly became so wild because of the history itself?

(End of this chapter)