He has been reincarnated through countless worlds, adorned with billions of mythological terms!

Yun Nian's door was still closed. He pushed the door open, pulled the ugly rabbit out from under the bed, dusted it off, and put it back in her arms.

She instinctively clutched it, rubbed it against her face, and fell asleep again.

Yun Yi sat down by her bedside, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.

He no longer needs sleep—after the transformation, his body no longer needs any form of rest; energy is drawn directly from the void and never runs dry.

But he still closed his eyes, because if he didn't, he had nothing to do.

Yun Nian woke up in the early morning.

She sat up in bed, rubbed her eyes, and was stunned to see Yun Yi sitting by her bedside.

"Brother, have you been sitting here all night?"

"no."

"You're lying, your clothes are all wrinkled."

She stared at him for a while, then said, "Brother, you seem to have changed again."

"no."

"That's a lie."

Yun Yi didn't speak.

Yun Nian nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

She crouched down, put on her shoes, picked up the ugly rabbit, and walked towards the door.

"Let's go have breakfast."

"Sister Liu said she's making wontons today."

Yunyi followed her out of the dormitory.

The morning light shone from the east, casting two shadows on the ground, one long and one short—the long one was Yun Yi's, and the short one was Yun Nian's.

Life goes on, and everything remains the same.

When Yun Yi returned to the base, Zhao Yuanshan was cursing in the command center.

"Shen Wuyi sent a message."

Zhao Yuanshan placed a letter on the table.

It wasn't electronic communication; it was a handwritten letter. There was a crease on the paper, as if it had been folded and unfolded repeatedly.

"He said the Wuji Squad has moved."

"Five people have disappeared in Greenland, and satellites cannot find any trace of them."

"But he deduced their destination—Linhai City."

Yun Yi picked up the letter and glanced at it.

The handwriting on the paper was exactly the same as the invitation Shen Wuyi had given him before, neat and tidy, with no flaws whatsoever.

The last line of the letter reads:

"They'll probably arrive in about a day."

"I'll be waiting for you in the north."

Yunyi folded the letter and put it in his pocket.

"one day."

He turned and walked out of the command center, standing on the playground.

Yun Nian was playing shuttlecock in the distance when she saw him come out and ran over.

"Brother, are you leaving again?"

"Um."

"Where to?"

"North."

"Where is Mom?"

Yun Yi paused for a moment:

"Um."

Yun Nian stuffed the shuttlecock into her pocket and patted the dust off her clothes:

"Then I'll go pack my things."

"Need not."

Why?

"No need to bring it."

Yun Yi looked down at her. "This time it'll be quick."

Yun Nian looked at him for two seconds, then smiled:

"it is good."

She ran back to her dorm, took out the ugly rabbit, and left everything else behind.

The rabbit was quite old; the fur on its ears was worn down, and there was a stitch mark on its belly—Yun Yi had sewn it for it; the stitches were crooked but sturdy.

She stood in front of Yun Yi, holding a rabbit:

"Let's go."

Yunyi squatted down:

"Come up."

Yun Nian climbed onto his back, clasped her hands on his chest, and buried her face in his neck.

Exactly the same as before.

Yunyi stood up.

His wings spread out behind him—not ten meters, he only spread them out two meters, that was enough.

With a gentle push, he rose into the air.

Yun Nian tightened her grip slightly, but she didn't scream or show any fear.

She buried her face even deeper, her breath warm against his neck.

Yunyi flew north.

On the ground, the barracks grew smaller and smaller; the soldiers running on the parade ground became ants, the tents became grains of rice, and the tanks became matchboxes.

Yun Nian peeked out from his shoulder, glanced down, and then shrank back down.

"Brother, it's so tall."

"Afraid?"

"I'm not afraid."

She buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled, "My brother's here, I'm not afraid."

Yun Yi did not answer.

He increased his speed, the air being cut through the edges of his wings, producing a low whistling sound.

He covered a day's journey in less than an hour.

To the north, a refuge.

Looking down from the sky, the shelter no longer resembles a shelter.

The concrete building was cracked from the inside by something, and flesh-colored substances, like tree roots, like blood vessels, like something that was growing, grew out of the cracks.

The entire building is wrapped in a semi-transparent membrane, and light flows across the surface of the membrane, like breathing.

Yun Yi circled once above the shelter before landing.

When his foot stepped on the membrane, it didn't break, but instead dented slightly and then bounced back, giving him a gentle push—not a rejection, but a test, as if someone had pressed on the sole of his foot to confirm his identity.

The membrane tore open, just big enough for him to pass through.

Yun Yi went inside, his wings folding.

Inside was the shelter's corridor, exactly the same as it had been three years ago—white walls, green floor tiles, and the emergency lights on the ceiling were still on.

But there were cracks in the wall, and light shone through them—golden light, the same color as the mole between Yun Nian's eyebrows.

He walked down the corridor, past the numbered doors—A07, A08, A09.

The doors were open, but no one was inside, and the bed was covered in dust.

A12 is at the end of the corridor.

The door was closed.

Yunyi stood in front of A12.

Yun Nian slid off his back, stood on the ground, hugged the rabbit, and looked up at the door.

She didn't speak, but her hands were trembling—not from the cold, but because she could feel something waiting for her behind the door.

Yunyi placed his hand on the doorknob.

The metal was cold, but his fingers didn't hesitate; he twisted it and pushed the door open.

The room is exactly the same as it was three years ago.

Three beds, one bathroom, one TV, and one table.

The window on the wall was still open, and the wind was blowing in from outside, lifting a corner of the curtains.

A person is sitting on the bed.

Wen Ruotang.

She leaned against the headboard, wearing the same light blue nightgown she had worn three years ago, her hair loose and hanging over her shoulders.

Her face was very pale, so pale that you could see the bluish veins under her temples, but her expression was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool. Her eyes were closed.

Yun Yi stood at the door, looking at that face.

Three years have passed, and she hasn't changed—she's exactly the same as when she left three years ago.

But her body has changed. It's not a matter of losing weight or gaining weight; her body is no longer a "body".

Yunyi's perception told him that the part of her sitting on the bed was only a small part; the rest—inside the walls, under the floor, above the ceiling, the entire building, the entire shelter, and the entire underground rock strata—was all her.

Wen Ruotang's eyelids twitched.

Then she opened her eyes.

It's golden, just like Yun Nian.

Her gaze was somewhat vacant.

She first glanced at Yun Yi, as if confirming something, then her gaze fell on Yun Nian behind him.

She stared at Yun Nian for a long time, and her empty eyes showed obvious signs of change.

Then he laughed.

"Nian Nian".

Her voice was very soft, as soft as the wind blowing from afar, "You've grown taller."

Yun Nian's tears fell.

She stood at the door, holding the rabbit, tears streaming down her face, but without making a sound.

She bit her lip, trying not to cry out loud.

Then she ran over, threw herself into Wen Ruotang's arms, and buried her face in her chest.

Wen Ruotang raised his hand and placed it on her head, his fingers running through her hair gently, one stroke at a time, just like three years ago.

"Mother."

"Um."

"I miss you so much."

"Um."