Cyber ​​Sword Immortal Iron Rain

"Do you think humans are too innocent and beautiful? They will not change just because of such an illusory future. You know as well as I do how destructive and malicious humans are."

Fang Bailu:

"A 'man from the future' who keeps saying he doesn't believe in the future...it's really a bit ironic."

"There will only be more radical changes in morality, culture and law - the succession and change of human beings is unstoppable."

"If the human body can be completely replicated, would destroying another person's body still be considered murder?"

"If human individuals can survive forever, would life imprisonment be a more painful punishment than the death penalty?"

……

Patient Zero:

"If you can't come up with a better solution, I'm afraid I'll have to say goodbye to you."

He still held the small remote control in his hand: wrapped in a cheap and rough plastic shell, it looked not much different from an old-fashioned electric bicycle remote control.

Fang Bailu:

"Why not just do it - erase my existence... or as you say, launch me into 'another world'?"

"Or even directly separate all the remaining humans?"

Patient Zero:

"You don't need to test me. I can tell you directly: there are not many times left for 'goodbye'... just like my life."

"So before I die, I hope someone can recreate the method of 'separation' - until all humans still in this world can be separated again."

He took off his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his clothes. There were marks left by the temples on both sides of his eyes.

"Or maybe there is a better solution for humans... that would be good too."

"The best thing would be that you would support me in doing this - then I can leave with peace of mind: you can say goodbye to me."

"You are right. Our current technological level is not enough to reload 'Farewell'. I don't want to waste the remaining times."

Fang Bailu:

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid your wish won't come true. I think the so-called 'parting' will only make everyone die alone."

……

Patient Zero:

"I see...I understand what you mean."

The previous anger seemed to have exhausted Patient Zero's strength; he now looked even older than when the conversation began. But what he said was far more aggressive than before:

"You just wanted to wait. You even said I was a human chauvinist, but you are actually even more insane than me: you imagined an impossible wish -"

Fang Bailu interrupted him:

“Almost impossible.”

Patient Zero seemed not to have heard his interruption and continued to speak. He spoke with great emphasis, as if he wanted to use his words as a sword to chop Fang Bailu:

"——An impossible wish, treat it as a distant mirage; still hope that in the distant future, humans can replace you, like a deus ex machina, and turn this illusory city in the desert into reality."

“This is not some ultimate solution that will bring happiness to all mankind: it is a procrastination you impose on yourself to avoid failure indefinitely… You refuse to accept reality itself, refuse to endure the suffering and pain that reality brings, and refuse to accept the world as it is.”

"Don't try to refute me with words like 'so we should commit mass suicide by separation'! You know what I mean."

"So what if I'm lonely? Not only are we lonely as individuals, but we are also lonely in the universe. So what? Is there anything unacceptable?"

Tears welled up in Patient Zero's eyes and flowed down his trembling, aged skin.

……

Fang Bailu stood up and walked to the side of Patient Zero. He stretched out his hand and patted Patient Zero's back:

"No, I don't want to be alone—and neither do you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed and tried to save us all in your way."

"The idea I described to you before about the end of the universe and time collapse - whether it is nonsense or fantasy, it gave me direction and allowed me to see the light in the distance... It allowed me to believe - believe that the future will one day exceed my understanding."

“I believe that human beings are born into this world to be happy, no matter what the definition of happiness is: even the birth of human beings has no meaning at all.”

"And humans are such greedy and cunning creatures - they will move towards their goals, regardless of the cost and means; so they can do it."

“I want them all to be happy—whether they are the ones who are still breathing now, the ones who will be born in the future, or the ones who have lost their lives in the past; I want them to be happy in every moment of their lives, even if it is divided into the smallest unit of time.”

“I don’t intend to create a paradise made of chemicals and hormones; a paradise made of electronics and dreams is not my choice: humans still have a long and promising future, they will find the best path and the most transcendent happiness. And they will eventually share this gift with each other and themselves.”

"Even if the universe was created from chaos beating drums and blowing flutes, that wouldn't change anything."

“I’m not presenting you with an optimal solution that overrides your own ideas: I’m just telling you what I’m going to do and what I expect.”

"I am insignificant. So I have to put my faith in humanity itself."

"I believe in humans."

"What else can we believe in?"

……

Patient Zero

"Now what? What are you going to do now?"

Fang Bailu sat back in his chair and looked at the dim light rising on the distant horizon:

"I will give them long life, and give it to all the people on earth. Then we will see."

……

……

Chapter 361 The Long Goodbye (Part )

……

……

Fang Bailu looked towards the rising sun - this bright orange-yellow fireball cast a long and deformed shadow for him and Patient Zero:

"No matter how you say it: in essence, separation symbolizes eternal loneliness and true and complete death. I think I know why the clay man is so persistent in wanting to reconstruct the past - although, it is only a false past."

"And you would pursue something like this... I still can't understand it, and maybe I never will."

Fang Bailu suddenly thought of a question:

"So among these kinds of separations...which one do you want to choose?"

Patient Zero also followed Fang Bailu's line of sight and looked toward the far end of the sky. The sunlight at this time of day was not glaring, and even if he looked directly at it, he only felt warm. He was still detached and tired, with a lot on his mind:

"There's not one I like, but there's also not one I can't accept. Isn't that the case with most things in life?"

Fang Bailu did not answer; he used silence to express his approval of Patient Zero's words.

……

They didn't talk for the next few minutes; they just waited for the sun to clear the horizon and for the early morning chill to subside.

Patient Zero took off his glasses—stuck the arms of his glasses into his collar and let them dangle; like a tourist on vacation in the tropics.

"Well...it's about time, I should go too; we had a great time chatting."

Fang Bailu didn't turn his head:

"So—I still haven't convinced you."

He had guessed this outcome from the very beginning of the conversation.

Patient Zero sniffed the clear mucus flowing from his nostrils - the morning chill was still too irritating for the old man - and then the mucus seemed to accidentally choke into his trachea, causing him to cough so hard that it almost broke him apart.

He put his fist to his mouth, trying to stop his violent coughing, and shook his head vigorously from side to side.

……

Fang Bailu sighed softly, and in the cold air, he turned into a small ball of white mist:

"We can talk for a long time - maybe there will always be a suitable idea that you will like."

Patient Zero finally stopped coughing and pounded his chest with the tip of his fist:

"No. I know what you are doing..."

"You didn't really try to convince me completely from the beginning, did you?"

As long as Fang Bailu wanted, he could completely and thoroughly change the idea of ​​Patient Zero in the blink of an eye; he even had a hundred ways to achieve his goal.

Fang Bailu knew this, and Patient Zero knew it as well: But that didn’t make any sense.

This time, it was Fang Bailu who shrugged:

"You were the one who asked me to convince you, why do you say it as if I am insincere?"

"I didn't even know you for a start, old man—let alone that you were trying to launch me out into space... I couldn't possibly allow you to do that; I had things I hadn't finished."

"But I know you are tired: and, besides, I am telling you the truth... it is what is in my heart."

Patient Zero stared at the sun, as if his eyes were frozen:

"Your proposal does not convince me. It is too vague and too illusory. Humans may eventually die by their own hands."

Fang Bailu didn't comment. He had already told Patient Zero everything he wanted to say:

"I think that if humans are going to destroy themselves, then let them destroy themselves. Who am I to decide their fate? The future is unknown... and in the end, everything will be different."

……

After a brief silence, Patient Zero finally spoke:

"Maybe. But you're right - whether it's rainy or sunny tomorrow will indeed affect my mood today - I still don't know whether tomorrow will be bright, but... maybe it won't be as gloomy as I originally thought."

……

Patient Zero supported himself on the armrests of the chair and stood up. He patted the oddly shaped clothing on his body to make it clean and smooth again:

"Anyway... send me away. I want to say goodbye to this world: I don't want to stay here anymore."

Fang Bailu looked at the wrinkles on that face: He didn't know what kind of story the other person had experienced - those past events, after all, had nothing to do with him.

"I thought you would leave without saying goodbye when you were halfway through your words."

Patient Zero moved forward, with the slow and sluggish steps that only an old man can take. Until he finally came close to Fang Bailu:

"When did you know that I didn't intend to 'leave' you?"

……

Fang Bailu pointed at the oddly shaped crutch of Patient Zero:

"If I were you, I would only have one 'Farewell' in my hand, and I would not waste it on you; after all, this world is rotten. If I give away the ticket, how can I get to my destination?"

"And apart from 'separation': I can't think of any other means you have to destroy me... or to truly hurt me."

"You were actually holding onto that remote control the whole time - you were planning to 'escape' from me at any time. It's like when you realize you're having a nightmare and you wake up before it becomes unbearable."

……

Patient Zero shrugged:

"Indeed, I am selfish after all. I have done everything I can for this world - it is time for me to be free... I want to have a good rest."

Fang Bailu crossed his fingers and put them behind his head, stretching his body as hard as he could:

"Future Man, Future Man... This name is like a curse. You will never be able to live in the present. So, can you see the future? That human being will fulfill all his wishes in the distant future, at the end of time."

Patient Zero laughed in silence—but the mocking desire in his laughter was no longer as strong as before:

"Hahahaha, how is that possible! I don't think such a future will exist."

"But, maybe tomorrow will be better... maybe. But, my wish is just to be alone - so there's no need to wait trillions of years."

"I leave the remote control of 'Farewell' to you. If humans can really exist that long, then one day in the future, it may be useful."

"And if -- humans can really have a happy ending... then we should find a way to bring back all the humans who have performed 'Separation'."

……

Patient Zero brushed off the dust from his thighs and buttocks, even though there was nothing there: