newbobooks Chapter 755: The Flame (8)
Chapter 755: The Flame (8)
"Star Core Hunter?"
Late that night, the genius hacker girl came to the door as expected, and saw that the person who broke the record that afternoon was a girl who was even younger than her.
When Xing saw Silver Wolf, a smile as bright as the sun immediately spread across her face. She extended her hand to Silver Wolf and said, "Operation Star Hunter will be a cosmic open-world game, so...will you join us, Miss Silver Wolf?"
The rules can be broken at will and the goals can be freely defined. This is what makes the game so interesting.
"How about it? Want to join us and play some really fun games?"
"interesting."
Silver Wolf was a little arrogant at first, but when she looked at Xing's expectant face again, she got the answer, "Okay, I'll join... the Star Core Hunters."
She reached out and gently held Xing's warm little hand.
"Great!"
Xing jumped up almost immediately with joy, her little face filled with pure joy, "Now the last piece of the Star Core Hunter puzzle is complete~" her eyes were filled with excitement. You know, both Firefly and Blade are powerful frontal breakthrough players, both of whom belong to the fierce attack type, which means that their team especially needs a reliable hacker to ensure survival.
Just like that, Silver Wolf became the last member of the Galaxy Hunters. As the top hacker in the universe, he was naturally extremely reliable.
"Auntie Silver Wolf! Come quickly~ I'm stuck at this level QAQ"
"I told you not to call me aunt," Silver Wolf said fiercely as he stuffed the osmanthus cake into Xing's mouth, and then threw the handle into her arms rudely.
Xing opened her round eyes, looking at Silver Wolf innocently and aggrievedly, her cheeks puffed up as she chewed sweet pastries like a hamster.
"Look at what I'm doing, logging in," Silver Wolf couldn't wait to turn on the game console and logged into her account skillfully. Today she had to get back at the top in the game she was best at.
Xing said vaguely: "I can beat my aunt with one hand~"
For a moment, the only sound in the rest area was the fierce clicking of keys. The two sat side by side on the same sofa, holding the controller and fighting in front of the screen all day long.
Recently, Xing's physical condition had a brief period of improvement, which made Kafka feel a little relieved.
But Kafka was worried that Xing's condition would worsen, so she let her stay in the base to recuperate most of the time. Even if she went out, she was not allowed to participate in any dangerous missions. At most, she could go out to relax under the banner of tourism.
"Just treat it as a field reconnaissance before taking action."
This was the reason Kafka gave to Elio. She took Xing on a field trip a month before the mission began, and eating, drinking and having fun were inevitable during the process, which resulted in the funds being used up before the operation began.
Fortunately, both Firefly and Blade are very reliable. One has Molten Knight and can evacuate easily, while the other cannot die at all and can run away by holding on to the exhaust of the starship.
As the most mysterious and majestic boss of the Star Core Hunters, Elio could only watch helplessly as the exquisite cat food on his plate turned into ordinary cat food, and even the usual dried fish snacks were gone.
"Cat~" When Xing gets tired of playing games, he will hold Elio in his arms and play with him. His big eyes are always full of tenderness.
Silver Wolf watched helplessly as the boss, who was always so mysterious when assigning tasks, was now lazily acting coquettishly in Xing's arms. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Perhaps noticing the silver wolf's subtle gaze, Elio meowed awkwardly, pretending to be just an ordinary kitten.
"Silver Wolf, everyone said that Xing should have a good rest," Liuying saw Silver Wolf dragging Xing to play video games all night long after returning to the base, and a look of helplessness appeared on her beautiful face.
Silver Wolf curled his lips and was about to retort, "She was the one who insisted on dragging me into the fight," but Liuying was quicker than her.
Like picking up two little chicks, Liuying grabbed Xing and Yinlang by the back of their collars one by one and lifted the two little ones up from the sofa.
Xing seemed to have long been accustomed to Liuying's behavior, and just showed a coquettish smile. Yinlang felt a little embarrassed, but still muttered proudly about returning with a great victory today.
"You two, go get some sleep!"
Liuying pushed both of them back into the bedroom and turned off the lights herself. After finishing, she returned to the living room and sighed softly.
"I rarely see you sigh." Under the moonlight, there was still a glass of red wine on the table by the window, but this time Kafka just stared at the sea of stars.
"Um..."
Liuying didn't turn around, but just responded softly. After a long silence, she said softly, "Maybe... it's because I've experienced all of this before."
"You mean entropy?"
Kafka naturally knew about the miracle born from Firefly. It was undoubtedly a terminal illness in the entire universe. Even if the patient could survive in the medical cabin, there was still a risk of dying completely at any time.
But Liuying was lucky. She received An Ming's blessing. That immortal blessing completely cured her entropy disorder, and it was a miracle that could not be replicated.
"Xing's current state is called a last gasp of life," Liuying said in a low voice, with a hint of self-blame in her eyes that was hard to conceal.
"Yeah... I know everything."
Kafka's fingertips touched the red wine glass, and she looked into the eyes reflected in the wine. Her voice was as soft as a sigh.
She is Kafka, and also a star core hunter with a company bounty of over 100 million credits. She has experienced countless life-and-death crises along the way, but has been unable to save the life of an ordinary girl.
Kafka is like an ordinary mother, watching her beloved child's life slip away, but she is helpless and cannot do anything to change it.
All the signs began six years ago when Kafka noticed something abnormal about Xing. Xing was still little at that time. The girl always covered her mouth with her hands while coughing. Although she would soon recover her usual smile, no medicine could completely cure the disease.
Later, Xing was given a comprehensive physical examination using the medical equipment in the base, and the conclusion was that Xing's life was fading away bit by bit.
Disappearing without any destination, as if vanishing out of thin air, slowly deprived the girl of her life.
The life of a star is like clear water held in your hand, leaking silently through your fingers. You can't find the source...and you can't plug the gap.
Perhaps even earlier...when Xing was abandoned by her parents as a baby, her fate was already determined.
Kafka just didn't want to believe that fact.
The final script clearly wrote the girl's ending. Elio told her at the beginning: "This girl will not live past the age of eighteen."
Elio is not cold-hearted, but he knows better than anyone how solid the trajectory of fate is. Instead of investing too much emotion before the inevitable separation, it is better to let go early... and forget each other in the vast sea of stars.
But she still wanted to give it a try.
To try to change the fate of this child, so that her story is not all about misfortune.
Even just once, Kafka wanted Xing to have a...less sad story.
Elio's script originated from the end, which records everything that is destined to happen in the future, which is the so-called fate... an unshakable destiny.
But fate can never be changed, just like the stars in the sky. Who knows that the brightest star has died countless years ago, and what is left now is only the light of the past.
Outside the living room, in the shadows of the corridor.
A small hand was clinging tightly to the edge of the half-open door, its knuckles turning white from the force, and its fingers trembled slightly.
It was as if all the strength was drained away in an instant, and it slid silently along the edge of the door, and then quietly retracted.
Kafka seemed to have sensed something and unconsciously glanced in the direction of Xing's bedroom, but found that there was nothing there and the door was still tightly closed.
Perfect fit.
...
...
"Mother Kafka...you haven't told me about your hometown yet."
Xing sat in Kafka's arms, holding a star map produced by the company in both hands. This map only depicted a tiny corner of the known universe, but its complexity far exceeded the boundaries of Xing's cognition.
What's more, her hometown may be in a more distant star field. How far is that?
Xing has very vague memories of his childhood. He only knows that he has been at the Star Core Hunter base since he can remember, and he has always loved playing with Elio.
She remembered that Kafka always sat on a chair not far away, holding a book in her hands...or perhaps holding a glass of red wine, and her gentle eyes would quietly look at her.
Later, she met Sister Liuying, Uncle Ren, and of course Aunt Yinlang. Everyone was very kind to her and was like family to her.
Everyone has different personalities and comes from all over the world, but it is this family that gave her a home, a small harbor of incomparable warmth.
Xing looked at Kafka with clear eyes, "Could it be... somewhere much, much farther away than here?" Her fingertips fell on the unknown edge of the map.
After a moment of silence, Kafka gently held Xing's hand and placed it on a distant planet that no map had ever reached.
How could she forget that day, when, like any other day, she had finished her mission and was preparing to evacuate, she heard a baby crying in the trash can.
That is the beginning of the story and the starting point of Kafka's encounter with Xing.
Xing's eyes visibly lit up for a moment, even though the planet was just an inconspicuous corner and didn't even have an official name.
But that's where she was born.
To Kafka's surprise, Xing was unexpectedly calm after learning about her hometown, and instead showed a somewhat relieved smile.
Her hometown no longer had anything to do with her. She just wanted to be with the Star Core Hunters forever.
Regarding her own life experience...Xing actually didn't care. To be more precise, she had already guessed the beginning of the story. It was nothing more than a poor abandoned baby meeting his real family.
Xing does not hate her parents, and she is even grateful to them for allowing her to meet the Star Core Hunters. It is really great to meet Kafka on that starry night.
Elio once said that she was an unfortunate child, but she didn't think so.
Xing feels that he is the luckiest person.
"Xing..." Kafka did notice something from Xing's eyes. How could she, who understood people's hearts, not see it?
"I'm fine, Mama Kafka."
Xing's smile is still as warm as the sun. Even if death is the inevitable ending, she never regrets meeting everyone.
Kafka raised her head after a moment of silence, and there was only a trace of heartache in her eyes, which were always elegant and mysterious.
This child has been very smart since he was young, so there may never be any point in deliberately concealing the truth.
Xing's face looked a little pale. It was rather that her symptoms had become more and more obvious in the past few years and were no longer just coughing.
A little bit of exercise will make you sweat easily, and late at night you will always feel cold all over. In the worst cases, you will even cough up bright red blood.
Xing Hui stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring blankly at his pale face and the bloodstains gradually spreading in the sink.
Death is never far away for stars.
Ever since she was abandoned at birth, she seemed to be very close to death.
"star."
Ren's words were still as concise as ever, but there were always many complicated emotions in his eyes when he looked at Xing.
Sometimes...the curse of immortality is a blessing to others, and the life he hates is also the future that Xing can only hope for.
Ren even seriously consulted Kafka, asking if Xing could continue to live, even if the price was his immediate death.
Fate is truly a cruel thing. A sinner like him can bear the curse of eternal death.
A warm and innocent girl like Xing should have had a happy childhood like all her peers. Her past was tragic enough, but why... God wanted to deprive her of this last happiness.
They don't even have the small right to live.
"Uncle Ren, you're back?" Xing showed a familiar smile, but that smile was quickly covered by the pain emanating from his body.
"You said before that you wanted a handy weapon."
Blade dragged out a long box from behind his back with one hand. Traces of tempering and other things could be vaguely seen on it. "I used to have some experience in forging."
Xing squatted in front of the box in surprise, and gently opened the box with both hands, revealing a pure white long sword inside.
In the past, he had forged a pitch-black sword, which meant to bring hope and dawn, but now this pure white sword was simply a blessing for the girl in front of him.
I hope she can have a tomorrow.
The tomorrow after today, and the day after tomorrow, just live like this forever and ever.
Xing pursed her lips tightly, and crystal drops could not be stopped from falling onto the blade, sliding down from both sides like stars.
"Thanks…"
"I love so much."
Xing stroked the sword named Tomorrow. She was smiling, but tears couldn't stop falling.
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Make up~~~~~~