The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
Ye Xiao was awakened by Ling Chen. The familiar warmth and scent around him were comforting, and it took him a while to fully regain his senses.
"Is it dark outside?"
"Yes, it's dark. Our Little Fuzzball should get up for dinner now." Ling Chen smoothed his hair and studied his face with a hint of curiosity. "Are you hungry?"
Ye Xiao touched his stomach. "I am."
Ling Chen teased him, "I thought so. You were biting me in your sleep earlier. I wonder what you were dreaming about."
Ye Xiao tensed and sat up quickly. "Where did I bite you? Does it hurt?"
Ling Chen leaned in close before whispering by his ear, "You bit my heart. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s ticklish."
Realizing Ling Chen was teasing him again, Ye Xiao felt a bit embarrassed. He got out of bed and said, "I... I’m going to eat something."
Ling Chen followed him. "I’ll come with you."
Hearing this, Ye Xiao quickly walked around the foot of the bed and stood in front of Ling Chen, worried. "But you’re injured! The doctor said you shouldn’t move around!"
Ling Chen shrugged it off. "This injury is nothing." He swallowed the words, "I can jump, run, and sprint 800 meters without a problem," and instead said, "But the wound does hurt, and it might reopen."
Ye Xiao grew even more concerned. He circled Ling Chen once, then firmly held onto his arm. "I’ll support you. Let’s walk slowly."
In the dining room, Jiang Cancan was munching on a chicken leg, puzzled. "Why hasn’t Chen Ge arrived yet? Didn’t he text that he’d be here soon?"
Jian Lan, who was tearing apart a steamed bun, suddenly nudged Jiang Cancan with her elbow and gestured toward the door with her chin, signaling him to look.
As soon as Jiang Cancan turned his head, his eyes widened, and he hissed, "Damn it, Chen Ge is pulling that trick again—pretending to be weak to win Little friend’s sympathy!"
Bai Hengyun, sipping a cup of coffee, followed their gaze and asked curiously, "Does that blockhead often do this?"
Jian Lan whispered, "Yeah! He even acted all fragile before." and then mimicked in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, my wound hurts so much, and my arms are weak. I can’t stand properly!" The exaggerated tone made it sound comical.
Bai Hengyun clicked her tongue in amazement. "I thought someone with Ling Chen’s intimidating aura, which could scare kindergarten kids in seconds, was destined to be alone forever. Who knew he’d learn to act?" She looked at Ling Chen with newfound interest as he approached before finally echoing Jiang Cancan’s sentiment, "Men really are all pigs!"
For a moment, the only person in the dining room spared from the sweeping criticism was Jian Lan, who continued tearing her steamed bun.
Ling Chen sat down in a chair, and Ye Xiao took a seat beside him with his face filled with concern. Bai Hengyun couldn’t stand it and started talking to Ye Xiao. "Did you sleep well?"
Ye Xiao nodded. "I slept very well."
"You’re too thin. Eat more meat, and don’t forget the vegetables. Also, drink some milk. If there’s anything you want to eat, just let me know. I’ll make it for you."
Ye Xiao’s ears turned red. He wasn’t sure how to respond to such kindness and just mumbled, "Thank you."
Bai Hengyun found herself liking Ye Xiao more and more, and, correspondingly, her disdain for Ling Chen grew. When she saw Ling Chen trying to eat from Ye Xiao’s spoon, she kicked him under the table in disgust. "Don’t you have your own hands?"
Ling Chen’s shamelessness was as thick as an armored vehicle. "I’m injured."
‘You’re injured in the abdomen, not with a broken hand!’
Bai Hengyun sighed inwardly: It’s indeed better to have given birth to a club!
After dinner, the group casually held a meeting in the dining room.
Bai Hengyun held her coffee cup and first looked at Ling Chen, "The Regional Core has already started the relevant tests."
Ling Chen responded with a "Hmm."
Shortly after he woke up, he noticed that the Regional Core he carried with him was missing. When he inquired, it turned out Bai Hengyun had taken it.
Bai Hengyun glanced at the time, "I have twenty minutes of break left. Feel free to ask anything, and I’ll answer if I can."
Jiang Cancan was the first to speak, "Professor Bai, are the higher-ups really in trouble?"
Bai Hengyun nodded, "Yes." Her tone carried a hint of lament, "Sometimes I wonder if I’m too stubborn or if they’re too adaptable."
She set down her coffee cup before resting her elbows on the table, "Initially, it was me and a few other professors who discovered that D Zone was continuously expanding. In about two years, it could occupy nearly half of Noah World. D Zone is filled with Chaotic Data Streams, with unpredictable seasonal changes and sudden temperature shifts, making it completely unsuitable for ordinary people to survive."
Jiang Cancan nodded.
Having wandered in D Zone for so long, they were well aware of its dangers. Even they had to stay on high alert 24/7, and the chances of ordinary people surviving there were slim.
Jiang Cancan asked, "After reporting to the higher-ups, did they ignore it?"
"No," Bai Hengyun replied with her eyes filled with sarcasm, "They acted secretive while simultaneously seeing it as a golden opportunity, a chance to alter the fate of humanity."
"They want to extend human lifespan, continuously, even to the point of immortality."
Jiang Cancan was stunned, "Wait… is it just me, or is this logic completely off?"
Jian Lan understood. She put down the bun in her hand, "D Zone is essentially a bug in the Noah System, and the Noah System itself can’t fix it. They want to exploit this bug to stir things up, right?"
Bai Hengyun confirmed, "Exactly. We’re currently in a virtual world, but no matter how real it feels, we’re all made up of data. The real world and Noah World are interconnected. As we age in the real world, we also age in Noah World. If we fall ill or die in Noah World, the same happens in the real world."
Her fingers lightly tapped on the table, producing a rhythmic sound, "Therefore, they’ve come up with an extremely naive idea."
Ling Chen frowned, "They want to control the Noah System by mastering the Regional Core, and then use Gene Fusion to extend human lifespan, even to immortality?"
"Yes," Bai Hengyun explained, "They naively believe that as D Zone continues to expand, Chaotic Data Streams will flood Noah World. When that happens, the internal logical laws of Noah World will become ineffective. By using Gene Fusion Technology to modify the genes responsible for short lifespans, they can extend life and allow them to live forever in this peaceful world."
Jiang Cancan’s eyes widened, "Holy crap, that’s insane! It’s impossible to achieve!"
Bai Hengyun took a sip of her coffee and calmly remarked, "The world is always full of idiots."
Jiang Cancan raised both hands in agreement, "Can Ye knows how absurd this idea is! First, if the data stream in the Noah World becomes completely chaotic, the Noah World will definitely collapse! If the Noah World collapses, what’s left to play with?
Second, the Noah World itself has inherent logical laws. For example, if you take medicine when you’re sick, it will work. If a person is cut with a knife, they will bleed, and if they lose too much blood, they will die. If no one can die anymore, and getting cut with a knife doesn’t matter, then the logical laws can’t hold up, and the Noah World will collapse too!"
Jiang Mu, who had been silent until now, chimed in, "Moreover, the Noah System World is only a temporary haven for humanity. One day, we will have to leave it."
Jiang Cancan nodded repeatedly, "As expected, there are always idiots in the world!"
Ye Xiao was drinking sweet milk and listening attentively to their conversation.
He seemed to understand a little why Noah wanted to make a deal with him—perhaps in the original timeline, the Noah World collapsed for these reasons, and Noah wanted to save itself, which is why it sought him out and made a deal with him.
Bai Hengyun sighed, "From ancient times to the present, 'immortality' and 'possessing great power' have been too tempting for humans. Even if the possibility seems remote, countless people will go mad for it, like moths to a flame that are willing to make enormous sacrifices."
Ling Chen pondered for a few seconds and asked, "Then why did the higher-ups keep making concessions when dealing with Holy Judgement?"
"Because of a technology," Bai Hengyun didn’t hide it. "You should all know that, at this stage, gene fusion technology is still imperfect, with a high failure rate. Even successful experiments will slowly die due to rejection not long after. This situation, of course, doesn’t meet the expectations of those ambitious individuals."
The group recalled the experiments they had encountered in the research institute, as well as the slit-eyed people following Harrison, and their feelings became somewhat complicated.
Jiang Cancan raised his hand, "Is it because Holy Judgement has more advanced technology?"
"Pretty much." Bai Hengyun leaned back in her chair with her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup. "It’s said that there’s a drug that can solve the rejection problem, but I think it’s mostly a fake bait, specifically designed to lure in those brainless fools."
Hearing this, Ye Xiao remembered that the people from Ephemera had also heard similar news—he wondered if A Jiu was still alive.
Holding his glass, Ye Xiao zoned out for a moment, then thought of something, "So after I left Silver Blade, I was captured by Holy Judgement. They probably thought I was someone who had achieved perfect gene fusion without any rejection. But I never underwent gene fusion. They studied me for a long time but made no progress, and eventually, they relaxed their guard on me."
He spoke calmly, but everyone present could imagine what kind of experience that must have been.
Ling Chen placed his hand on the back of Ye Xiao’s neck to gently comfort him, his voice hoarse, "After you found a chance to escape, you came to find me, right?"
Ye Xiao nodded, "Yes!"
Hearing Ye Xiao’s answer, Ling Chen felt even worse than when he had been scratched by the mandrill.
Memories long buried resurfaced.
He still remembered Ye Xiao carefully wrote stroke by stroke in his palm, "I will definitely come find you in the future."
He had kept his promise, but Ling Chen hadn’t recognized him.
Ling Chen suddenly felt that his mother was right—he really was a blockhead.
Finally, Bai Hengyun set down her empty coffee cup. "What we need to do now is thoroughly analyze the Regional Core of D Zone, suppress its expansion, and give humanity a few more years in this virtual world to catch their breath and regroup."
She stood up. "Ling Chen, your mother is off to save the world again. Care to see me off?"
"Let's go." Ling Chen said before squeezing Ye Xiao's hand and whispering, "Wait for me to come back together."
Then, staying true to his blockhead son persona, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and headed straight for the door.
The hallway was empty, and Bai Hengyun walked with a brisk pace while smiling as she asked, "Nothing to say?"
Ling Chen smirked. "Didn’t you already see?" His smile softened, and his tone turned serious. "Mom, his name is Ye Xiao. He’s the person I want to spend my life with."
Bai Hengyun paused for a few seconds, then patted Ling Chen’s shoulder. "I’m relieved. I never thought someone would actually want you. When you were in your teens, I’d already prepared myself for the possibility that you’d end up alone."
She smiled beautifully, exuding a sharp, intellectual charm. "Ye Xiao is a good person. When you were injured and unconscious, he stood guard beside you with his Long Blade. When I arrived, he was like a little beast that kept baring his teeth to protect you."
"He’s good," Ling Chen said with his lips curving slightly before the smile faded. "Ye Xiao was taken to the Silver Blade training base when he was young. He had a hard time. Later, when I led a mission to destroy Silver Blade, I ran into him there."
Bai Hengyun was curious. "And then?"
"Ye Xiao was still very young at the time. He might have been injured because his face was bandaged below the nose, and his hair was long. I thought he was a delicate little girl. Before I left, since he couldn’t speak, he wrote in my palm that he would come find me someday."
Bai Hengyun recalled what Ling Chen had said in the dining room, and her smile faded. "Then he was taken by Holy Judgement?"
"Yeah, he was locked up for three years before he escaped." Ling Chen said with his smile bitter. "As soon as he got out, he kept his promise and came to D Zone to find me."
"But I didn’t recognize him. I even told him to his face that I didn’t remember that little girl."
Bai Hengyun took a deep breath and slapped Ling Chen’s shoulder. "You jerk! If it were me, I’d have cut you down with a blade!"
She stopped. "Alright, alright, I’m annoyed just looking at you. Don’t bother seeing me off. Go back and spend time with Ye Xiao and make things clear. He came straight to D Zone, such a dangerous place, to find you right after escaping Holy Judgement. Don’t let him down."
Ling Chen nodded. "You too. Focus on your research, but take care of yourself. By the way, where’s Dad, and Jian Lan’s grandfather and father? I haven’t seen them."
"They’re on a mission. They’ll probably be back in a couple of days."
Ling Chen sighed in relief. "Good."
Bai Hengyun raised an eyebrow. "What, did you think your dad had already sacrificed himself?"
Ling Chen was caught. "Yeah, I’d already prepared myself for it."
"You little brat, wait till your dad gets back to give you a beating!" Bai Hengyun glanced at his injuries. "There’s nothing urgent that requires your presence. Focus on recovering and your relationship, got it?"
Ling Chen lazily gave a Military Salute. "Yes, Professor Bai!"
…….
At night, Ling Chen took his medicine and lay on the hospital bed while holding onto Ye Xiao's wrist tightly. "Sleep with the Captain tonight, okay?"
Ye Xiao thought about how Ling Chen had mentioned that sleeping alone felt cold, so he nodded, "Alright."
The two of them squeezed onto the narrow hospital bed and pressed close together. Ling Chen held Ye Xiao's hand until their palms grew warm, then he finally spoke, "I'm sorry."
Ye Xiao, leaning against Ling Chen, was starting to doze off. Hearing the apology, he murmured sleepily, "Hmm? What?"
Ling Chen turned to his side with his fingers tracing from Ye Xiao's eyebrows down to his chin. "Back then... why was there a bandage here? Were you injured?"
Ye Xiao's eyes widened slightly and his eyelashes trembling as all drowsiness vanished in an instant. "Because... because the bone was injured and hadn't healed yet. There was no medicine, so I used a bandage to keep it in place."
As he spoke, the corners of his eyes turned slightly red, and he asked cautiously, "Do you remember now?"
Ling Chen felt his heart being torn into pieces. He kissed Ye Xiao's thin eyelid. "Yes, I never forgot. I just didn’t expect you to actually come looking for me."
"We made a promise."
Because they had made a promise, he had traveled thousands of miles to find him.
"My mistake, I didn’t recognize that our Little Fuzzball was that little girl." Ling Chen fell silent for a moment, then buried his head in Ye Xiao's neck. "Why didn’t I just tuck you into my pocket and take you with me back then?"
Ye Xiao's eyes curved into a smile. "Because I was too big to fit into a pocket."
Ling Chen pinched his nose. "Back then, you were so slender and clearly just a tiny thing. How were you big?" He intertwined his fingers with Ye Xiao's and clasped them tightly. "From now on, no matter where we go, we’ll be together. I won’t leave you alone again."
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