[rcenary, why not use grenades?!]
Watching the wounds on Jack's body multiply, Master Zero couldn't help but want to remind him.
That's right, Jack clearly carried half an armory with him, equipped with rifles, shotguns, and grenades aplenty. Why insist on using close-range combat to deal with the pursuers? It doesn't align with the rcenary's battle principle of "prioritize self-preservation"!
For a mont, Master Zero couldn't quite understand.
But soon, it realized the reason.
The "people" in the red and white teams, which were the pursuers, although seemingly real, were normally not corporeal.
Only when humans touch them, triggering their "dissolution" threshold, does their flesh and blood form appear.
In such circumstances, using firearms or grenades for long-range attacks is aningless, because no matter the weapon used, you must first touch them, endure the dissolution, before causing harm.
Jack had already done everything he could; he was relentlessly fulfilling his promise — life over money, loyalty above life.
The real key lay with Yun You, whether she could conquer the heart demon before Jack dissolved to death.
[Co on... co on, Yun You!]
Master Zero gritted its teeth, cheering the little girl on in its heart.
[I know breaking the heart demon might be tough, but no matter how hard or bitter, we can't bow our heads, right?]
[You can lose to anyone, but you must not lose to yourself!]
Master Zero's voice echoed constantly in the girl's ears.
But... it never truly reached Yun You's consciousness.
...
Illusion Realm, Ho.
Faced with her "imaginary" parents, the little girl cried, unable to hold back, pouring out her long-suppressed suffering like popping beans.
Pain, sadness, loneliness, hatred...
Never had Yun You lost control like this, speaking all her long-held words to the parents before her.
Only in front of her parents could the little girl let down all her defenses.
Even though she knew the people before her were just false illusions, she couldn't muster any defense.
This was an instinct etched deep within Yun You's soul.
And the couple rely listened quietly, accepting the girl's emotions just as before.
"Ah You..."
Only when Yun You finished recounting everything she had experienced over the past year, did Yun Jiang slowly begin to speak, tenderly wiping the mud and tears from the girl's face.
"Dad thinks you've done well enough; there's no one more outstanding than my daughter in this world."
"In fact, all these years, our greatest worry has been what Ah You would do when the day cos that we must leave."
"Will Ah You eat als on ti? Will Ah You get cold? Can Ah You find sothing to sustain herself... Can Ah You truly take care of herself?"
"Every ti we think of these things, your mom and I can't eat or sleep well."
At this, Yun Jiang sighed, a trace of guilt flashing in his eyes.
"We've always taught Ah You to be kind, to be a pure and friendly child. But we know better than anyone how terrible this city... and this world is. Pure kindness has no soil to grow here."
"We haven't taught Ah You how to survive independently here, which is a dereliction of duty on your mom and my part."
"So regarding this, we... are conflicted, and very torn."
"A child who loses protection early on can only survive here by becoming a ruthless wolf in the most cruel ways. But we don't want Ah You to beco like that... A kind child who would grieve for a long ti over a small animal's death, turning into such a monster."
"This is our selfishness, and our regret that we can't let go despite having no regrets."
"However..."
Jiu Xiang, beside him, took over the conversation.
"However, the current Ah You also proves our worries were unnecessary."
"Even after leaving us, Ah You is still living well, a girl who, no matter how many difficulties she faces, would never bow down."
"Ah You has beco a remarkable person, a girl who will only get better and better."
"And more importantly..."
Jiu Xiang embraced the little girl, eyes filled with tears but with a bittersweet smile on her lips.
"More importantly, our Ah You remains as kind as before. Even when she had to don a ruthless, violent armor for survival, her core never changed."
"Never changed."
"Ah You is the most outstanding person in this world. We are proud of you."
"But...!"
Yun You suddenly lifted her head, wiping her eyes hard, but no matter how she wiped, the tears wouldn't stop falling.
"But I can't abandon you! I can't do it!"
"My master once asked , when the day cos that I have avenged all my enemies, how will I live..."
"I couldn't answer him, because revenge is my everything. You are the reason I remain in this world! I don't even know how to live in a world without you and without a target for revenge..."
"So, even knowing you're not real, knowing I must make a move against you to leave here, I still can't do it..."
Yun You drew the two daggers from her waist, but her wrists trembled uncontrollably, the blades always pointed at herself.
"Dad, Mom..."
"Ah You doesn't know what to do... because there's no one else in this world who can help like you, who'd be willing to give all their life to Ah You..."
Listening to the girl's helpless sobs, the "false" Jiu Xiang and Yun Jiang were silent.
After a mont, they gently held Yun You's hands, as if cradling a treasured gem, within their warm palms.
"Ah You."
Yun Jiang lowered his head, speaking softly: "Dad, you see, is an incapable person."
"When you were just born, I promised you and your mom that I would give you a good life away from the pollution of the Bottom City, to live in the Central City and Upper City, to eat delicious food, and drink uncontaminated water and milk."
"But as you grew up, Dad gradually realized I was just a normal man, not that capable, unable to fulfill those promises."
"Couldn't earn money, couldn't buy clean food and water, couldn't trade for a big house... couldn't even protect you and your mom."
"Dad's useless, unable to do anything."
"But at least..."
Yun Jiang slowly lifted his head, his gaze as gentle as always.
"At least, your mom and dad are willing to give up everything for Ah You."
"Everything..."
"Rember this well, Ah You."
Jiu Xiang also lifted her head, and with her husband, said clearly and slowly...
"You won't be alone."
"Your mom and dad will always be with you, never leaving..."
As the last words fell, the two images called "parents" guided Yun You's hands holding the daggers, inch by inch, into their own chests.
Their expressions remained gentle, but filled with determination.
Determination to give up everything for Yun You.
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