What does it mean that the group members have given me back the light?

He pondered silently for a moment, then slowly drank the last of the tea in his cup before politely placing it gently on the table, making a crisp tapping sound.

"I understand."

Gu Nuo stood up, as calmly as if she had just heard nothing more than tomorrow's weather forecast. "It's getting late, I should go back."

"Don't you have anything else you want to ask?"

Watching the other person walk step by step to the door, Kirino Makio finally couldn't help but ask.

Gu Nuo's hand was already on the doorknob. He turned around, frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked a question that Kirino Makio had never expected:

"After I died... did that light continue?"

"……Have."

Kirino Makio was visibly taken aback. He adjusted his glasses, his voice tinged with confusion: "But is this all you care about?"

"how is this possible?"

Gu Nuo shook his head: "I am very interested in more details of that battle, but since you can't see more, forcing it is just asking the impossible."

No, you know that's not what I meant.

Kirino Makio didn't understand why he was so calm: "I mean...aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Afraid."

With a slight sigh, Gu Nuo said softly, "I must be the most afraid of death among all the current candidates."

He believed he was telling the truth.

Compared to the previous generations who fought to the death against alien beasts, he was a candidate who, from the very first day he inherited the Trust Evolver, thought he would definitely retire after this battle.

When fighting alien beasts, how to kill the opponent without taking any damage is the question he thinks about the most during the battle.

He was so cautious that, over the past few months, he has managed to perfectly conceal his identity right under the noses of the TLT's high-ranking officials who are obsessed with human experimentation, like a shadow moving between light and darkness.

He felt he was already terrified of death, but...

"Didn't you ask me before, 'Is humanity worth saving?'"

"I still can't answer that question right now, but... there are some things that have to be done."

Gu Nuo looked at Kirino Makio's stunned eyes and smiled:

"Furthermore, I have no intention of giving up the struggle. I will try to find more opportunities to survive. If you see any changes in the future, please let me know."

……

……

In the end, only Kirino Makio remained in the room.

He sat quietly in the armchair, with used teaware and unfinished snacks scattered on the coffee table in front of him. A faint aroma of tea lingered in the air. The setting sun shone through the gaps in the curtains, cutting out streaks of light and shadow on the floor, and dust motes floated slowly in the beams of light.

"A turning point in the future...?"

Kirino Makio muttered to himself, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the back of the chair.

Just then, a figure appeared on the opposite sofa without warning—as if he had been sitting there all along, only to be noticed now.

"What a good kid."

The figure smiled and spoke, his voice as gentle as a familiar old friend: "Was it him who healed your leg?"

Kirino Makio was not at all surprised by this uninvited appearance, and if Gu Nuo were still here, he would definitely recognize this sudden visitor as Hayata, his new teacher of "Gentleman's Etiquette".

"It's such a pity that such a gentle boy is going to die so soon."

Hayata elegantly poured himself a cup of cold tea, took a small sip, and showed an expression of appreciation:

"But...human beings aren't worth him going to such lengths for. Wasn't that the conclusion we reached when we first met?"

A gentle smile played on his lips, but his gaze seemed to pierce through time, reflecting that rainy night of despair—

The sobbing young girl supported her father's limp body with her tender shoulders, while the man dragged his numb legs, moving inch by inch through the mud.

The rain blurred their figures, but it only made their despair all the more vivid.

"Those who know when to yield are those who are wise." This is a proverb that I really like.

Seeing the other party remain silent, Hayata was not annoyed; his voice remained elegant and composed:

"How about it, just like when we first met, the conditions are the same, I can grant you any wish."

"Whether it's killing someone, saving someone, or even ensuring the boy's safety, I can help you achieve it."

His language had a seductive rhythm, and every word was like a carefully prepared poison.

"On the condition that... you sell this planet to me."

Kirino Makio remained silent for a moment.

Then, he suddenly hurled the teacup on the table at the other person! The white porcelain teacup passed through Hayata's figure as if through a phantom projection, and finally crashed into the wall and shattered, leaving a dark flower-like stain on the wall.

Hayata remained silent, only raising his eyebrows and smiling at him.

"Don't look down on me."

Behind the glasses, his eyes were already burning with anger.

"And don't... underestimate that light."

-----------------

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Chapter Thirty-Nine: The White... Shrine Maiden?

As the sun sets, the orange-red afterglow shines through the tram windows, bathing the carriage in a warm hue. The returning tram sways gently on the tracks, making a rhythmic clattering sound.

The blue-haired girl, Hachi, leaned against the window, listlessly gazing at the fleeting street scenes outside. Her soft hair swayed gently with the swaying of the carriage. Her slender fingers unconsciously drew circles on the window, her brows furrowed slightly, and finally, she let out a long sigh.

"Hey~~"

The sigh, tinged with obvious melancholy, was particularly clear in the quiet carriage. She leaned limply against the window as if all her strength had been drained, even her usually bright eyes seemed dim.

"...Doesn't she... look a little strange?"

Gu Nuo asked Himegami Karen beside him in confusion. Ever since he took the little girl Xiao Kui home, the girl he had seen, Yanami Anja, had been looking so listless. He almost thought that it was the other person who had heard the death prophecy, not him.

"As expected... Nono, you noticed too, right?"

Himegami Karen frowned slightly, her voice filled with obvious worry:

"I've never seen Xingcai look so melancholy. When we were buying fried noodles in front of the station building, she didn't choose the extra-large portion, but the extra-large portion. That's so unusual."

...Is that too little?

Gu Nuo felt she had too much to complain about, so she remained silent. Himegami Karen, on the other hand, continued to murmur with a worried tone, her head bowed:

"What...what exactly is this monster?"

"?"

"Ah... I'm sorry for saying something strange."

Seeing Gu Nuo's surprised expression, Himegami Karen seemed to suddenly realize that she had said something strange, and quickly waved her hand to explain:

"I think I heard that word when I was listening to Anzu and Aoi talking just now, but I don't know if I heard it wrong..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually lowered, tinged with confusion: "It seems like the monsters won't be appearing anytime soon, which might disappoint Anzu... Nono, do you know what monsters are?"

"It's probably something like the Godzilla movies."

Gu Nuo subconsciously pretended to be stupid. He turned his gaze back to Banami Anna, wondering what this group member who could play the game without her was trying to do by looking for monsters.

It's not like she accidentally obtained the genetic material of some ultimate life form in some chat group, and now not only does she have the ability to capture and control monsters, but she will also be forced to participate in a dark duel between her own kind soon. If the monster she controls is defeated and dies, she will also be a super unlucky person who will die with it, right?

"Hmm... I have a feeling that you two are hiding something from me..."

Himegami Karen's voice carried a hint of disappointment. Her pink hair swayed gently as she lowered her head, and her gaze darted back and forth between Gu Nuo and Banami's toes.

What happened?

She didn't know if Gu Nuo had noticed that not only Xingcai, but even he himself, after talking to Xiao Kui's father, still had a worried look in his eyes.

That barely concealed worry shrouded his eyes like a thin mist.

However, neither Xingcai nor Gu Nuo had any intention of discussing it with her at this moment.

This made Himegami Karen feel... that she had failed as a friend.

We're all just high school students. Can't we even confide in our friends about the difficulties we encounter?

No... does that mean they never considered me a friend at all?

Himegami Karen thought to herself with a touch of sadness.

She raised her head slightly, only to find that Gu Nuo was staring at her.

???

Time passed slowly, and the questioning gazes were ignored. Ji Gong Hua Ren felt uncomfortable under Gu Nuo's focused gaze.

She felt the temperature on her cheeks rising subtly, and even keenly sensed that Nuonuo's hand was reaching towards her without her noticing. Her heart pounded like a rabbit in its chest.

Huh? Why? So suddenly?

Various blush-inducing speculations swirled in her mind, and a blush quickly spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears, even tinging her neck with a faint pink hue.

As Nuonuo's slender fingers drew closer, she held her breath nervously, instinctively closing her eyes. Her long eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings, awaiting the imagined touch.

However, the expected sensation did not occur; instead, a strange cry of pain rang in my ears: "It hurts!"

Himegami Karen opened her eyes in confusion, and what came into view was the image of Gu Nuo tightly gripping the wrist of a middle-aged man. The man was twisting his face and trying to break free, but Gu Nuo's fingers remained as still as iron clamps.

"Isn't it inappropriate to do this kind of thing on a tram?" Gu Nuo's voice echoed in the carriage.

All eyes of the surrounding passengers turned to him. The man's face turned pale and then red. He awkwardly shook off his hand and slunk away to squeeze into other carriages.

"Are you alright?" Gu Nuo asked Ji Gong Hua Lian.

Himegami Karen wanted to bury her burning face in her collar, her voice barely a whisper: "Th-thank you..."

She couldn't bear to think about why she had instinctively closed her eyes just now—this was the third time Nono had helped her out of a predicament today, how could she possibly do something like what she was imagining?

"Damn, that guy runs so fast..."

When Banai saw Anzu immediately looking indignantly in the direction the man had fled, and seeing that he had disappeared at the junction of the carriages, she stomped her foot in annoyance.

She turned back to her best friend and said in a comforting tone, "There are always people like that on the train. Karen, you need to be more careful about your surroundings in the future."

As Himegami Karen looked at the two men's concerned eyes, the previous awkwardness gradually gave way to warmth.

She gently pursed her lips, a slight moisture welling up in her eyes, her voice tinged with a tentative, cautious tone:

"We...are friends, right?"

"I was just having these wild thoughts, thinking that none of you considered me a friend..."

She lowered her head shyly, her voice growing softer and softer until it almost blended into the clatter of the tram, "But now I know that you've always cared about me."

When Banami saw Anzu, she was slightly taken aback, then a warm smile appeared on her lips as she gently patted the top of Anzu's head: "What nonsense are you talking about? Of course we're friends!"

Gu Nuo was stunned for a moment, and then nodded silently.

Himegami Karen smiled happily, her eyes still glistening with tears, yet her smile was exceptionally radiant. With such a friend by her side, what was there to worry about?

The tram slowly pulled up to the platform, the very stop where Himegami Karen was getting off.

She waved vigorously to the two people inside the tram, her face beaming with a smile, and stepped off the tram with light steps.

"Hmph, let's go home."

In a good mood, Himegami Karen hummed a little tune and headed towards her home.

She felt she had fully regained her 8k beauty aura. The setting sun cast a long shadow over her, her pink hair swayed gently in the evening breeze, and her skirt swayed gracefully with her light steps.

The moment she stepped out of the station, a sudden, sharp pain shot through her temple, causing her to stop in her tracks. Her vision began to blur, and a faint, indistinct phantom appeared without warning.

Ok? ? ?

In a daze, Himegami Karen saw the appearance of the phantom.