[ Using “yourself” to conduct human experiments to curb natural disasters?
]
[ Solving problems using this method was very idealistic, but also equally naive.
]
[ Always dreaming of saving the world was very holy, but also equally innocent.
]
[ As times changed, Otto and Kallen would eventually grow up and face a world that was neither gentle nor wonderful.
]
[ But…
]
[ As long as you were here, Otto still had the qualification to be naive.
]
[ As long as you were here, Kallen still had room for innocence.
]
[ They would walk their respective paths ahead of what you gazed into the distance.
]
[ And you were their “fallback”.
]
[…
]
[ Your physique—no, Void Archives was very special, capable of accepting special Honkai like the Black Death without being eroded.
]
[ And you could also actively eliminate it completely within your body.
]
[ When experiments were needed, you were a standard patient; when experiments were not needed, you were no different from usual.
]
[ This greatly benefited the experiments between you and Otto.
]
[ The experiments proceeded steadily and smoothly.
]
[ To avoid going all the way down a dead end, you decided to combine Chinese and Western approaches, trying both herbalism and normal experiments.
]
[ As for the efficiency, six times a day, more frequent than eating meals.
]
[ Just like that, half a month flashed by.
]
The autumn wind rustled up, making the withering of all things even quieter.
The lights could not illuminate the cold night, yet they could still bring a trace of warmth and hope to the pitch-black world.
In a specially prepared room, Lucien and Otto, who was wearing a special protective suit, sat facing each other across a table.
“Snake-tooth grass and epimedium as catalysts, the forty-fifth medicine test.” Lucien looked at Otto, then looked at the greenish herbal medicine in his hand, frowned slightly, and then drank it all in one gulp.
Seeing this scene, Otto opposite him subconsciously leaned forward to stand up, but ultimately sat back down, collected the blood sample, and then trembling pulled out a notebook to record.
The handwriting he jotted down was crooked; he had never written such ugly words in his entire life, but it wasn’t strange either, after all, this entire notebook was filled with this kind of handwriting.
Properly handling everything, ensuring this experiment was error-free, he stood up to try checking Lucien’s condition.
But the outstretched hand was gently pushed back in mid-air by a soft golden light.
“Wait for me to adjust my own state.”
“…”
After a good while longer, the lingering warmth of pain on Lucien’s face gradually subsided, and he showed Otto a smile again.
Otto looked at this benevolent?
smile, was stunned for a moment, and then slightly nodded, returning a forced smile.
The two processed all the data and disinfected all the items in the room before returning home side by side.
Dragging his exhausted body, Otto hurled himself fiercely onto the bed, bending his arm to block his forehead.
Blocking his vision, and also blocking the light.
“Our experiment is progressing very fast, and it should succeed before long.
How about we pause for a bit?” he suddenly said.
Hearing this, Lucien, who was sitting in front of the desk feeling the night breeze and looking at the stars, turned his head back to look at Otto.
Seeing his exhaustion, it was hard not to feel heartache, but he still said teasingly:
“What, don’t you want to see Kallen cheer up quickly?”
[ Enduring pain, watching your own time decrease bit by bit—ask yourself, who could endure that?
]
[ You are also a person, and you will also feel afraid.
]
[ You are not strong; you might even lose control of your emotions over a snow globe.
]
[ Furthermore, people are all lazy; if the experiment stops at this juncture, it will be very difficult to restart it.
]
[ Therefore, you must persevere.
]
[ That was what you thought, but the words you spoke sounded completely different in Otto’s ears.
]
After hearing Lucien’s words, the exhaustion in Otto’s eyes grew even heavier, and shadows still shrouded his vision, “You care about Kallen that much?”
As his voice fell, one second, two seconds, three seconds.
Without a response for a full three seconds, Otto doubtfully removed his arm, only to see Lucien bringing his chair along with himself to the side of his bed and sitting down.
Lucien admitted that he really couldn’t hold it together anymore.
He reached out and furiously rubbed Otto’s dog head, cursing as he rubbed:
“You’re asking me?
Wasn’t it you, a filial son missing Kallen, that Kaslana running in front of your Night Butterfly to wail, saying you didn’t want Kallen to keep being sad, that I could go to such lengths?”
“With words like that, just you wait!
Next time you and Kallen hang yourselves from the ceiling beam, I won’t care at all.
Lucien’s scolding continued, and his hand movements didn’t stop either.
Otto silently endured everything, changing into a posture that was more comfortable for both of them.
Neither of them noticed the slight smile curling at the corners of their own mouths.
Time, stop, you are so beautiful.
Amidst the fussing, Otto’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier, pressing down bit by bit until they closed completely.
He had fallen asleep.
Noticing this, Lucien stopped the movement of his hand, his expression quietly changing, full of gentleness and…
benevolence?
He tucked the blanket over Otto on tiptoe, and carefully smoothed out the other’s somewhat messy, soft blonde hair.
After finishing all this, the man slumped in his chair, guarding the dim yellow light, counting his own heartbeat like an elderly person at twilight.
Only then did exhaustion dare to manifest itself from him.
“One hundred years…
is enough.”
“Otto!
Otto!”
Listening to the familiar call by his ear, Otto opened his eyes.
He found himself in pitch-black darkness.
In the distance, “Lucien” was standing under the light, waving at him.
For a moment, countless eyes seemed to grow out of the void, every single one of them staring fixedly at him.
He subconsciously swallowed, a thin layer of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, and instinctively wanted to walk to “Lucien”‘s side, heading to that place where light bloomed.
But no matter how far he walked, the distance between him and “Lucien” didn’t seem to change a bit, just like…
as he walked, the road beneath his feet also grew longer and longer.
Ultimately, he was swallowed by the darkness.
When Otto opened his eyes again, he found that at some unknown point, he had already appeared by Lucien’s side.
At this moment, he was right under the light.
But for some reason, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
Before he could figure everything out, “Lucien” chuckled and stuffed a short sword into his hand, then grasped his hand that was holding the sword with both hands.
Seeing this, Otto subconsciously guessed something, his pupils violently contracting.
“Pfft—”
The next second, the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out, the short sword stabbing straight into “Lucien”‘s chest, and Otto’s world shattered along with it.
“…Hiss!” Otto propped his body up from the bed like a reflex.
He had woken up.
The dim yellow light enshrouded Otto.
Beside him was Lucien, guarding the lamplight and gently wiping away his cold sweat with tender movements.
Feeling the sincere emotion contained in this movement, Otto let out a soft breath with incomparable peace of mind, his heartbeat and breathing, which had been disordered by the nightmare, gradually growing calm.
“Had another nightmare?”
“…Mn.”