The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

Wang Qi nodded, turned around and walked out.

Hu Lie nodded to Wu You, "Then I'll be going now."

The door was closed behind him, leaving only sunlight and quiet in the room.

A moment later, the door was gently pushed open, and a young girl wearing a black trench coat and with her hair tied in a high ponytail walked in.

Her trench coat was still very new, clearly she had just gotten it recently, and her familiar face was somewhat pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, and she looked slightly tired.

It's Hua Linlin.

After she entered the room, her gaze swept around the room and then stopped by the window.

Wu You was standing there, the sunlight streaming in from the window, casting a faint golden hue on his long, pure white hair.

She stopped looking.

Those eyes lingered on him for a long time: from his white hair to his eyebrows and eyes, from his facial features to his figure, as if trying to identify a distant, uncertain figure.

Her lips parted slightly and then closed again, a mixture of doubt, shock, and disbelief flashing across her face.

"You..." Her voice trembled slightly, "You are... Wu You?"

Wu You looked at her, not answering directly, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly. The smile was faint, but the curve was exactly the same as before.

"Long time no see, Hua Linlin." He paused, "Perhaps I should call you Comrade Hua Linlin?"

Hua Linlin's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back, but her voice still had a nasal tone: "Your hair... how come..."

The divine intervention incident in Lanhe City was described in the official public report of the Investigation Bureau as an invasion of a large number of zombie species, and it was stated that a Silver-Badged Torchbearer with the code LH-36 played a key role in resisting the zombie tide.

The specific details regarding the divine descent have been concealed, and only Torchbearers with Silver Emblems or higher-level privileges can view them.

When Hua Linlin saw the report on the investigation website, she was completely stunned. LH-36—she recognized those numbers; they were engraved on the pistol that person had given her.

So, was it he who saved Lanhe?

Now, seeing Wu You's white hair, she vaguely understood something: the price of saving Lanhe was very high.

Wu You smiled, raised her hand to brush a strand of white hair aside, and asked casually, "What, doesn't it look good?"

Hua Linlin fell silent.

She lowered her head, pulled a black handgun from the inside pocket of her trench coat, held it with both hands, and offered it to him. "Your sidearm... I'm returning it to you."

Her voice was choked with emotion, and her fingers trembled slightly.

Wu You took the gun and gently placed it next to the box beside him without saying anything.

There was a few seconds of silence in the room.

"Are you... alright now?" she asked.

"It's alright," Wu You said.

Hua Linlin nodded again, as if confirming something. Then she took a step back and bowed deeply to Wu You: "Thank you. Thank you for saving me and everyone else."

Wu You looked at the top of her head, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Living well is the best way to express gratitude."

Hua Linlin straightened up, her eyes red-rimmed, but she didn't let the tears fall. She took a deep breath and gave a somewhat forced smile. "I will."

"By the way, there's something I might need your help with," Wu You said.

Hua Linlin didn't ask what it was, but simply stared at his face and replied straightforwardly, "Tell me."

"I'm leaving Lanhe soon." Wu You turned to look out the window at the city that was being rebuilt. "You know where my home is. Please keep an eye on my parents' place for me."

"Are you leaving?" Her voice unconsciously rose a little.

Wu You didn't turn around, but simply nodded: "Yes, my parents only know that I'm missing. Remember not to let it slip."

Hua Linlin immediately understood the meaning behind Wu You's words.

He didn't "disappear"; he wanted to make that ordinary high school student named "Wu You" truly disappear from their world.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"Our work isn't something they should know about, so let's not worry them." Wu You paused, then didn't continue, only asking, "So, can you help me with this?"

"……good."

"Thanks."

A moment later, Hua Linlin turned and left.

As she reached the door, she paused without turning around. Her voice drifted from the doorway, carrying a complex mix of emotions.

There was sadness, regret, reluctance, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on: "You look beautiful with white hair too."

Before they became ability users, they were from two different worlds.

Even after becoming ability users, they are still from two different worlds.

Perhaps it's best not to meet someone too amazing when you're young.

She quickened her pace and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The room fell silent.

Wu You looked down at her long white hair, which shimmered in the sunlight.

He shook his head, then picked up the bottle of clear liquid on the table that could replenish life force, took two sips, and smacked his lips, saying, "Tsk tsk, why does it taste like tea?"

Although this stuff doesn't do much for his injuries, he's drunk so much of it over the past two days that he's actually gotten used to it.

The lifespan he burns reduces his maximum lifespan, and these potions can only replenish the life force he has consumed.

Just like the maximum mana bar is reduced to one percent of its original value, these potions can only replenish mana and cannot increase the maximum mana bar.

Wu You sighed: "We can't stop gaining experience points."

. . .

More than half a month after the disaster, order has been initially restored in Lanhe City.

At the entrance of Lanxing Residential Area, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman, each carrying a bag of daily necessities, walked into the residential area from outside.

They lowered their heads slightly, their faces were somber, their expressions were somewhat blank, and their eyes revealed an unyielding sorrow.

It was Wu's father, Wu Linhai, and his mother, Cui Zhu. As they walked to the entrance of the residential area, they seemed to sense something and slightly raised their heads.

Standing next to him was a figure wearing a black trench coat, a mask, sunglasses, and a baseball cap, almost completely covering himself up.

The figure nodded slightly at them.

Upon seeing this, Mr. and Mrs. Wu nodded politely in response.

After entering the residential compound, Wu's mother asked Wu's father in a weary voice, "Do you know someone like this?"

Mr. Wu shook his head: "I thought you knew him."

They looked back and saw that the figure was still standing in the same place, facing their direction.

"They're probably waiting for someone."

They turned around and continued walking forward in silence.

The figure with a strand of white hair peeking out from under the brim of the baseball cap stood there for a long time, watching their backs.

We met but did not recognize each other.

. . .

Next, Wu You went to the Investigation Bureau's public cemetery and looked at the black and white photos on the tombstones. Among them were many familiar faces: Lin Yuan, Peng Yong, Xu Ji, Xiao Wang...

Each of them was once a living, breathing person, but now only a cenotaph remains.

Wu You remained silent for a long time, then bowed to the heroes, whether he knew them or not, before turning and leaving.

Back at the station, Wu You told Ye Yi about taking care of Lin Yuan's family. Only after receiving assurances did Wu You feel relieved.

. . .

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time to head to Yunshang Province to participate in the Jiuli preliminary selection training.

Early in the morning, the sun had just risen, and its orange-red light bathed the square in front of the Bureau of Investigation building.

Wu You sat on the sofa in the lobby, looking down at his phone, scrolling through the information on the survey app.

"Development Concepts for a New Generation of Standard Weapons, Aside from Psionic Pistols and Dark Domain Lockdown Devices"

Given that conventional firearms cannot be used in the Dark Zone and are ineffective against zombies, while their use in the real world could easily cause widespread civilian casualties, researchers have proposed a new type of weapon made using special materials…

Shocking! A certain Silver-Badged Torchbearer actually confronts a divine being head-on! (Encrypted)

In the middle of this month, an incident occurred in Lanhe City, Xilin Province, where a Thousand-Faced Corpse God descended. The strength of the descending Corpse God depends on the scale of the descent ritual, but its strength will not be lower than the ninth rank...

The preliminary training for the Jiuli tribes is about to begin; what percentage will remain?

As everyone knows, those who can participate in Jiuli's preliminary training are all Silver Badges under the age of 25, and are all geniuses carefully selected from each city. However, the proportion of those who can pass Jiuli's preliminary training is still extremely low...

Just then, the roar of a helicopter rotor came from outside, getting closer and closer.

Wu You put away her phone, stood up, and walked out of the hall.

The helicopter hovered above the Bureau of Investigation plaza, its massive rotors whipping up gusts of wind that whipped his white hair wildly.

The helicopter door was open, and Hu Lie was leaning out, waving vigorously at him, his voice piercing through the roar of the engine.

"Xiao You, let's go!"

At this moment, Wang Qi, still faintly smelling of smoke, walked out of the smoking room, tucked the unlit cigarette behind his ear, and walked over to Wu You.

The two exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

Everything in the past is a prologue.

"Set off!"