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Half a year later.
A cold, desolate sea wind swept across the vast, boundless ocean.
Each gust was like a venomous blade that was capable of stripping flesh and blood from anyone it touched.
The sky was a pale, icy white. Perhaps due to the extreme cold, the air along the coast seemed to have frozen solid.
The three-kilometer stretch of sea near the beach had completely iced over, with the innermost few hundred meters forming a thick layer of ice and leaving no trace of flowing water.
But on this day, at this very moment, dozens of massive black Mutated Beasts emerged from the sea one after another. Led by two exceptionally large Mutated Creatures at the front as they stepped onto the seemingly fragile ice and slowly making their way to a spot 100 meters from the beach before coming to a halt.
Even an Evolved Being with an Ability Value exceeding 1000 would feel a chill from this howling wind.
Half a year had passed since those blood-soaked days of battle.
The once upright spine of the young man had been forged into a sharp sword. Even with a scabbard covering it, the fierce aura could not be completely concealed.
Behind him stood nearly a hundred Evolved Beings, each exuding a dangerous and formidable presence with their eyes wary and vigilant as they watched the Mutated Beasts that had come ashore.
The front row of twenty individuals each held a long A-10 Killing Machine, a weapon capable of inflicting fatal damage even on an S-Class Mutant.
The Mutated Orca's grotesque and ferocious face still bore a long scar with its flesh torn and unable to heal. Though it no longer oozes pus or blood, the wound had not fully closed despite the creature's powerful regenerative abilities.
The Killer Whale lowered its head to gaze down at the tiny humans.
Jing Xia slowly raised his head to meet the gaze of the colossal beast that was hundreds of times larger than himself but there was not a trace of fear in his eyes, only calm and composure.
The two stared at each other for a long time, until finally, the Killer Whale spoke first: "Humans, Zone B has been completely frozen by the ice. We agree to the conditions you proposed earlier. Let the cooperation begin."
Jing Xia looked at the terrifying beast without fear, and with his voice firm and resolute: "I'm sorry, but that agreement was from half a month ago. Starting today, our terms need to be adjusted. You must capture the group of low-level Mutated Beasts that wreaked havoc on the Jiaodong Peninsula ten days ago and ensure the safety of the coastal regions of China..."
"Don't push your luck, humans!" The Mutated Conger Eel roared with its voice shaking the air. "The strength of their subordinates is not much weaker than ours. With your weapons, they are no match for you."
Jing Xia's expression grew colder: "What we demand is zero casualties."
"You!" The Conger Eel angrily lashed its long tail and slammed it against the ice. The impact caused cracks to spread across the ice like shattered glass.
The Mutated Orca stepped forward to block the Conger Eel and prevent it from acting out in its rage.
"Fine, we agree to your conditions. But what about ours?"
Jing Xia turned to speak with another Evolved Being, then turned back to face the Killer Whale before shouting, "Within ten days, you handle the matters in the Jiaodong Peninsula, and we promise to melt the ice within one kilometer of the East Sea's coastline.
"Agreed!"
The vast Mutant Beast Army turned away from the smooth, icy surface.
As the towering behemoths fully entered the ocean, the Mutated Conger Eel finally couldn't hold back its roar, "Tiger! The strength of those traitors is not weak. If we fully engage with them, it would be extremely disadvantageous for us!"
In the half-year of wits and courage against humans and the traitorous Mutated Beasts, the Mutated Conger Eel was no longer as naive and immature as before. Though it was no longer reckless, it wasn't particularly clever either, which had caused it quite a few setbacks.
The Mutated Orca suddenly halted its advance with its large, bell-like eyes glaring at the furious Mutated Conger Eel. Behind them, the vast army of high-level Mutant Beasts quickly came to a stop and did not dare to make a sound as they obediently stood still.
The Killer Whale roared, "All life within a hundred nautical miles has perished. Humans have methods to deal with this terrifying weather. Can you conjure one up for me?!"
This statement was so reasonable that the Mutated Conger Eel, despite its seething anger, had no way to refute it.
It knew well that this cursed weather had gradually turned colder starting seven or eight months ago, and five months ago, there was a global temperature drop.
At first, they thought it was a good thing, as the humans on land were suffering.
Marine life was naturally well-adapted to temperature regulation, and the ocean temperature was always higher than that of the land. So, most of them initially approached the issue with a sense of schadenfreude. Until—
The ocean also began to freeze in large patches.
This bizarre and terrifying cold weather seemed never-ending, with temperatures continuously dropping and causing many confident Mutant Beasts nestled in the ocean to suffer a great setback.
Humans had long since improved their living conditions through technological innovation, but the Mutant Beasts first lost their food source in the form of non-mutated animals.
By this point, holding onto the creed of refusing to cooperate with humans had become utterly laughable.
When survival itself became a challenge, who would care about these external inter-species conflicts?
Thus, for survival, the Mutant Beasts split into two factions.
The first was led by the Conger Eel and the Killer Whale, the two most powerful SS-Class Mutants, who advocated for cooperation with humans.
The second was led by some powerful S-Class Mutants, who were determined to eradicate humans and seize their resources for survival.
The majestic and imposing figure of the Killer Whale led a dark mass of beasts towards the center of the ocean.
No matter how grand and magnificent they were, in the vast expanse of the sea, they were just tiny black dots lost in the blue and laughably insignificant.
They were powerful, but not more powerful than nature.
Humans might not be as strong as them, but they had to admit that in this war against nature, it was humans who emerged victorious.
They had adapted well to the world, to Earth, using their intelligence to secure their survival and thereby driving these Mutated Beasts—into a dead end!
"Tiger..."
A faint, helpless voice sounded, and the Mutated Orca turned its dark head to look.
The usually flamboyant and domineering Mutated Conger Eel now hung its foolish head in desolation and sorrow, a far cry from its earlier spirited demeanor.
The Mutated Orca was slightly taken aback: "Hmm?"
The Conger Eel sighed deeply and continued, "Without the King, can we really do nothing?"
This question left the Orca silent for a long time. Eventually, it replied, "If the King were still here, I believe it would make the same choice. We possess supreme strength, while humans have absolute intelligence. Their Special Abilities are gradually catching up to ours, and the strongest among them can already defeat me. Moreover... they have weapons."
The Conger Eel protested urgently, "But that's against you! That human can only defeat you because he has the advantage of his Special Ability. If he fought me, it might just be a draw!" Its tone grew increasingly frantic as if it were putting up a desperate resistance: "He would never be a match for the King, no human is a match for the King! You know the King's terror—it only takes one glance from it to..."
The Conger Eel's voice suddenly stopped.
It looked at the Mutated Orca's deep, sorrowful expression and slowly understood what the other meant.
It lowered its head again before swimming forward slowly and muttering softly to itself, "You're right, the King ultimately... lost to humans."
The vast, boundless sky seemed like a giant white bowl turned upside down.
The extreme cold had drained the air of any warm hues, leaving only a pale, lifeless color.
After about half an hour, when they had likely moved beyond the range of human detection, the group of Mutated Beasts gradually slowed their pace.
The Conger Eel remained silent while swimming forward on its own, its strange and eerie demeanor a stark contrast to its usual self.
"I think... the King is still alive."
A voice so faint that only the Conger Eel could hear suddenly whispered in its ear. Startled, it turned its head and immediately met the Orca's calm, serious gaze. Through those murky beastly eyes, the wound on its right eye was glaringly ugly.
The Conger Eel hesitated for a moment before asking, "Tiger, what are you saying? If the King were still alive, with its power, it wouldn't just abandon us and let humans oppress us like this!"
"Our relationship with humans isn't like that; it's cooperation." the Orca sighed helplessly before explaining its plan for what felt like the hundredth time.
Seeing that the Conger Eel showed no signs of agreement, it didn't press further and continued, "I never believed the King would die. I always thought it would return, someday. And look at my wound—it still hasn't fully healed. That's the King's power. Because it hasn't died, it can still maintain this, right?"
By the end, even the Mutated Orca felt its words were a bit forced.
Its tone carried a hint of doubt, and it even hoped for the listener's agreement, though it knew full well that this unqualified listener's mind was a complete mess.
"Perhaps... that's the case."
The vast and mighty procession eventually turned around to head towards the Jiaodong Peninsula.
Their silhouettes were desolate,l and their figures lonely, appearing particularly small amidst the vastness of heaven and earth.
They seemed to be waiting for the King who could lead them to appear once more, or perhaps... they were silently crying out for their future fate.
Unwilling to yield and unwilling to lose their freedom again, as a race that had gained intelligence, they demanded the most basic rights.
And now, they could only hope for the most ordinary survival.
They just wished this damn abnormal climate would end sooner!
As Jing Xia turned away from the beach with the large group of Evolved Beings, he walked at the very end. Only after confirming that the group of Mutated Beasts had truly left did he finally depart.
Before he reached the reinforced defensive embankment, he saw that person again from afar.
Just like countless times before, dressed in a crisp black military uniform while standing tall and handsome, and waiting silently for his return home.
Jing Xia couldn't help but quicken his pace and then suddenly hugged the other tightly: "Ah Chuan, when did you return from City B Base?!"
The joy of this long-awaited reunion made Jing Xia completely disregard the people still around, and with the agreement just reached with the Mutated Beasts, he happily embraced Ji Chuancheng's cold body and almost wrote "I'm happy" on his face.
Ji Chuancheng also extended his arms to gently hold the young man's slim waist.
He looked down and gazed at Jing Xia seriously for a long time and only nodded in satisfaction after confirming that the young man hadn't lost a single strand of hair, and replied: "I just returned and heard that Professor Qi sent you to negotiate. Since you accepted the appointment for negotiations, this is already the fifth time, right?"
Jing Xia nodded: "Yes. But the good news is, this time we succeeded."
Ji Chuancheng raised an eyebrow.
The two walked together through the thick embankment gate and entered the S City Base, Jing Xia said: "This time, because the B area of the ocean has completely frozen, they finally couldn't hold back. As for our demands, there have been some changes, which are..."
Ji Chuancheng listened carefully as Jing Xia spoke sentence by sentence with their steps slowing and already falling a long way behind the main group, but neither thought to catch up.
"This time... I think we have at least a year of peace." Jing Xia concluded.
Ji Chuancheng nodded gently, then suddenly and subtly grabbed Jing Xia's left hand.
His slightly warm palm immediately touched the somewhat cold temperature, causing Jing Xia to pause slightly as his steps suddenly stopped.
He turned his head to look while feeling puzzled at this suddenly strange man.
In front of the towering embankment that reached into the clouds, this handsome and silent man in black was quietly looking at him.
These eyes were the cold and lofty ones he had known for over twenty years, and this face was the profound and excellent one he had known for many years, but at this moment, upon suddenly calming down in the midst of a busy and tense atmosphere to look at, it felt both unfamiliar and familiar.
Unfamiliar were the carvings of time, familiar was the deep affection in the other's eyes that had never changed.
Jing Xia slowly felt a lump forming in his throat.
He began to recall his earliest memories.
It seemed that from that time on, this person had always been looking at him with such a gaze.
Because he had never thought too much about it, he had never noticed.
But once he started reminiscing, Jing Xia realized that in the past twenty-plus years of his life, whether it was muddled or filled with joy and excitement, every single moment had been tinged with this person's deep, tolerant gaze.
This feeling, which had been quietly sprouting in an unnoticed corner, had now matured to a point where Jing Xia felt somewhat fortunate:
He hadn't missed it, nor had he rejected it.
A gentle curve slowly formed at the corner of his lips as Jing Xia smiled and asked, "Why did you suddenly stop walking?"
Ji Chuancheng, however, answered a different question: "I don't want to leave anymore."
Jing Xia was puzzled: "What?"
The stern lines of Ji Chuancheng's face softened as he smiled faintly, eventually letting out a deep sigh. "I'm tired too, I don't want to leave anymore. If I leave again, I'm afraid I won't have the courage."
The courage to face the unknown tomorrow, the courage to promise whether he would truly survive.
Jing Xia paused slightly, then smiled helplessly, "Alright, you're not leaving."
This answer seemed to satisfy Ji Chuancheng.
His slender fingers intertwined with Jing Xia's, fitting so perfectly that not a single gap could be found.
They walked slowly together, and after a while, Ji Chuancheng suddenly asked, seemingly offhand, "How long do you think I've been working towards today?"
Jing Xia was momentarily stunned before instinctively replying, "The Mutated Beasts were able to compromise with us because probably starting from three months ago when the Research Institute invented the Ice-Melting Weapon. What the Mutated Beasts couldn't solve, we could, and that became our biggest bargaining chip. Your efforts haven't been in vain."
He reflexively thought that the other was asking how long it had taken to achieve the current "peaceful coexistence" between humans and Mutated Beasts.
But Ji Chuancheng smiled helplessly and shook his head, "I've been working for twenty-one years... no, it's twenty-two years now." As he spoke, he turned around to look down at the confused Jing Xia.
Under the young man's puzzled gaze, the usually icy Ji Chuancheng's face was filled with a tender, indulgent expression.
He reached out his left hand and gently placed it over Jing Xia's chest. Through the layers of clothing, he could still feel the warmth of the heart beating vigorously.
Thump, thump, thump.
"To make a person named Ji Chuancheng appear here and to break through the thick Ice Wall that once seemed insurmountable, I spent... twenty-two years. Finally, before I turned gray, I could see the person I've been waiting for twenty-two years to finally understand the words I've always wanted to say."
Jing Xia stood there in a daze, at a loss for words.
"You're afraid of losing, afraid of being abandoned, so you simply never accept others' kindness and build thick walls around yourself. You think you're blocking others, but in reality... you've only been blocking yourself."
"Ah Chuan..."
"Alright, there's no more 'later,' Xiao Xia."
The same deep, magnetic voice pressed heavily on Jing Xia's heart.
Ji Chuancheng's voice, much like his presence, carried an invisible pressure that made people hesitant to argue with him.
It was this seemingly aloof demeanor that made everyone see him as a cold, unapproachable figure, and they dared not interact with him too much.
But when has outward coldness ever been a true reflection of inner warmth?
Jing Xia had always known that this man actually possessed the softest heart in the world, always forgiving and embracing him with the broadest of hearts.
This thing called love had never come too late; it was just that he himself had realized it too late.
Finally letting out a long sigh, the smile on Jing Xia's lips deepened. He looked up, using the pure, cold white of the sky to reveal a peaceful and warm smile, and softly asked, "So, do you think... you've chiseled through?"
Ji Chuancheng raised an eyebrow at this. "Hmm?"
"I don't think so," Jing Xia said before turning to leave while pretending to be angry and not giving the other a chance to explain.
But Ji Chuancheng, who had long understood the other's tsundere and awkward nature, how could he let this opportunity slip?
Directly grabbing his arm and pulling him into his embrace, Ji Chuancheng, in a rare good mood, looked at Jing Xia with a smile and retorted, "How so?"
"Once you leave, you'll say you never want to leave again. Haven't you thought... of taking me with you?"
These words left Ji Chuancheng momentarily speechless. He wanted to argue but find no words to say. He could only ask in a low voice, "Then what do you want?"
"You have to keep chiseling, every moment, every place, and don't think of slacking off."
Ji Chuancheng teased with a low laugh, "Does that include the night?"
"Ji! Chuan! Cheng!"
Jing Xia, who is agile, lifted his foot and kicked towards Ji Chuancheng's waist.
Under the bright, pale dome of the sky, the two simply wrestled together, with one unleashing all his Special Ability with reckless abandon and determined to defeat the other, while the other seemed to just helplessly dodge while showing mercy everywhere, even being careful not to hurt the other.
As for the waste of Special Ability, it was just like this, nothing more.
The sky was azure and the sea was calm.
The Earth was gradually being sealed by ice, but the ice in some people's hearts had long been slowly chiseled away by others.
The world was so beautiful it was enviable, and even the unavoidable hardships of the present would one day turn to ash, shaping the most gentle and bright future.
The ice, it will eventually be chiseled away.
Translator:
The Main Text is done! Up next is the extras!