Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 704 A Flood Spanning Thirty Years
"Save people?" Lin Yilin asked.

They started by talking about saving people, which left people a bit confused.

"What happened to Niu Qianliu, Leyang?" Baishi asked anxiously.

"Was that person originally called Niu Qianliu? As for the 'Leyang' you mentioned... does that refer to me?" The man in the rain asked hesitantly.

This performance left Shiraishi completely dumbfounded: "Who else could it be but you..." He wanted to ask that question, but his words trailed off and he fell silent.

That's it.

This is what he feared would most likely happen.

Zheng Fan and Lin Yilin were now completely certain of their previous guesses—the man in the rain whom they had met briefly on Metro Line Zero was none other than Niu Qianliu and Bai Shi's friend who had stayed behind in the Water World during the Water World Incident and whose whereabouts were unknown.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that the other party doesn't remember Shiraishi?
Of course, it's normal for someone not to remember something after such a long time, but if they've even forgotten their own name, we can consider the possibility of memory and consciousness regression.

However, Zheng Fan has other perspectives.

“Your condition is very different from when I last saw you.” He spoke through Lin Yilin’s body. “Although your strength is temporarily in the same state as before, you are internally deficient. You are no longer the spokesperson. You are only left with a layer of ‘tranquility’ logic. It’s a serious degeneration.”

The man in the rain nodded: "It's because of that person."

"Who turned you into this?"

“Yes, the subway had just reached Waterworld Station, and I wasn’t planning on going back. Although that should be my origin, I had already left it and didn’t want to go back. So I didn’t get off at the station, I just sat on the subway and watched… and then that strangely dressed person found me.”

“We talked for a while, and he sounded like he was talking to an acquaintance, but I didn’t remember him mentioning anything. Until the very end, he said he could take me to places I didn’t even know I wanted to go.”

The man in the rain paused for a moment: "I was still hesitating, but he attacked me directly, without giving me a chance to resist. I thought I had long since lost my physical form, and even my self-awareness was immersed in stillness, hardly capable of any further fluctuation. But he easily took away my symbol of representation, and then... let me find this face again."

He gently stroked his face, seemingly still somewhat confused about it.

"What about him?" Bai Shi put Xu Leyang's matter aside for the time being. At least he was here. Even if he had no memory of him, it meant that Niu Qianliu's original plan had been half accomplished.

“I didn’t expect him to do something so outrageous, directly seizing my symbol of representation… He took advantage of the fact that the Zero Metro was located at the Water World Station at the time, and through some means, connected the two Water Worlds in different times and spaces, instantly usurping the authority of the world master and removing me from the Water World.”

"Tsk, no wonder it's that guy." Zheng Fan knew that this kind of decadent middle-aged old man was hiding something big.

The ruler of the world, and the ruler of the water world at that, could seize power so easily, and in such a bizarre way.

But if you ask him, he can figure out exactly what Niu Qianliu's methods are.

The small illusionary realm that he accidentally scared out of existence was cultivated for this purpose. Although its nature shifted towards fear due to being scared out of existence by Zheng Fan, its fundamental ability to conceal itself was still cultivated according to Niu Qianliu's wishes.

Illusions are parasites of the dark world, directly inheriting its myriad forms and complexities. Niu Qianliu perfectly utilized this malleability, much like how Eliadoske valued Metro Zero and nurtured it into a Noah's Ark with distinctive Dadu characteristics. Niu Qianliu didn't even bother to find suitable nurturing partners; instead, he pieced together the conditions himself. Originally, it would have taken considerable effort for those illusions to be nurtured within his body and merged into a dream world, but Zheng Fan helped him achieve this in one step.

"He's in danger now... Is it the backlash from the Water World?" Shiraishi asked.

It's obvious that the world-ruling authority of such a large-scale, powerful symbol of the world isn't something that can be used or discarded at will. Let alone being usurped through such means.

“No, he was very well prepared. After I was removed from the symbol of ‘rain,’ he directly took over the symbol and replaced me. The water world, in this back and forth, even benefited from his methods and was strengthened to some extent. There is no reason for it to retaliate against him... But it wants to retaliate against me.” The man in the rain gently touched his forehead and said sadly with his eyes downcast.

"I've forgotten when I became a lamplighter. I only remember that I've been in that endless world of water since I became conscious. Even though I have nothing, there's always an urge telling me that I don't belong to the water world and that I need to go somewhere else. But another kind of instinct, which can be called rationality, reminds me that I can't go back."

Yu Zhongren recounted, "With conflicting feelings, I came into contact with and rode the Zero Subway. And after that, I never returned to the Water World."

"But I am the representative of the Water World. My departure, and even the subsequent burial of Metro Zero, which temporarily cut off my connection with the outside world, severed my link with the Water World. Losing my representative out of thin air is equivalent to being stripped of a part of my symbolism. Even death would only bring back the symbolism, but I took the symbolism with me. The will of the Water World has been searching for me and will not let me go. The restart of Metro Zero has given it the opportunity to find me again."

The man in the rain, his mind still foggy, added, "These are the chain reactions caused by my past actions that I only understood after I regained my human form. In my previous state, my consciousness wasn't so clear, and my thinking was very limited."

"It's obvious that she's a very simple riddle maker," Lin Yilin agreed.

However, the atmosphere did not ease because of his interruption. Shang Xia blinked and asked, "Is this the reason why it has been raining so frequently lately?"

"Did Niu Qianliu take the blame for the Water World's revenge? Or did the Water World catch up with this subway train because of you and Niu Qianliu?" Bai Shi asked immediately.

The person in the rain slowly raised their head: "Yes."

Shiraishi felt a suffocating sensation wash over him.

Together they saved Dadu, making heavy sacrifices and changing the life trajectories of these three chosen ones. But judging from the current outcome, it seems they only delayed the disaster.

At this moment, the subway train is carrying the "Dadu" that Eliadodike insisted on, and because of Xu Leyang and Niu Qianliu, the great rain and flood from thirty years ago are catching up with Eliadodike's Dadu again.

This is a pursuit that spans thirty years.

Since that great flood, the water world has become very calm, with moderate and suitable rainfall, and there may not be a meteorological disaster every few years.

When it comes to temper tantrums, most people immediately think of a violent world.

But only those who experienced the impact of Waterworld thirty years ago can understand.

The true nature of the water world is unpredictable, extremely violent, and even harbors malice towards most.

(End of this chapter)