Chapter 1796: Ahead of Time

Wen Ruoshui had a dream.

In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to the scene of his final meeting with the other seven Sovereigns before he went into deep sleep.

"Then... the [Deep Sleep Plan] is hereby finalized." At the round table, Lu Xun stood up slowly, his gaze sweeping over everyone one by one. "If we are lucky, in over three hundred years, perhaps some of us will be able to see each other briefly... If we are unlucky..."

Lu Xun didn't finish the second half of the sentence. He remained silent for a long time before speaking again:

"In any case..."

"Everything is for the sake of humanity."

The Eight Sovereigns bid each other farewell for the last time, then left one by one to return to their respective bases.

Wen Ruoshui clearly remembered that the sky was azure that day. He stood in the corridor looking out at the sky, a gentle warm breeze brushing against his cheeks... It felt like just an ordinary afternoon, giving one the illusion that they weren't about to sleep for hundreds of years, but merely taking an afternoon nap.

When the sun set behind the mountains, they would wake from their slumber, gather together leisurely, have a hearty hotpot, and chat about their work at their respective research institutes and their recent troubles.

But in reality, they had determined the fate of humanity for the next three hundred years... It was all so unreal, like a dream.

"Nice weather, isn't it?" Just as Wen Ruoshui was lost in thought looking at the sky, Lu Xun walked to his side.

He wore a white lab coat, his hands resting on the railing as he looked at the sky with Wen Ruoshui... His expression was calm, but Wen Ruoshui could read a faint weariness in his brow.

Wen Ruoshui was silent for a long time before speaking: "Old Lu, there is something I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Distribute a portion of my sleep potion to everyone else."

Lu Xun was stunned, then frowned at Wen Ruoshui. "What did you say?"

"Dr. Chu emptied himself to create these life-extending sleep potions... The total amount of potion is limited." Wen Ruoshui paused for a moment. "I don't need to live that long. If I use less, everyone else can use more, and the duration of the deep sleep can be longer."

"You..."

"I promised Director Chen." Wen Ruoshui turned his head, looking seriously into Lu Xun’s eyes. "I must be the first person to sacrifice myself... Only then will he have a chance to restart the world."

He looked at Wen Ruoshui with a complex expression:

"But Director Chen has already... What if he doesn't come back?"

"I believe in him."

Wen Ruoshui’s tone was calm, but his eyes revealed absolute determination.

Lu Xun fell silent. After an unknown amount of time, he sighed softly...

By doing this, Wen Ruoshui was essentially betting his own life that Chen Ling would return... But even Lu Xun didn't hold much hope for that. Chen Ling had been missing for too long; it was highly likely he had already perished in the Grey Realm. Over the years, they had tried every possible way to contact Chen Ling, only to end up with nothing.

But seeing the look in Wen Ruoshui’s eyes, Lu Xun nodded:

"...I understand. I will secretly modify the potion quotas."

Wen Ruoshui said "hmm."

Immediately after, the scene around Wen Ruoshui began to pull away rapidly. Lu Xun, the Tian-Shu Base, the azure sky—everything drifted away from him, and his consciousness fell into a haze, wandering once again between wakefulness and dreams.

Following the relatively complete memory dream were fragments of dreams.

These dreams had no logic, appearing only as fragmented projections of Wen Ruoshui’s subconscious.

At times, he dreamed of himself sitting by a turbulent sea, the towering waves like dark clouds rolling toward him, the pouring seawater drenching him completely, bone-chillingly cold;

at times, he dreamed of a figure in an imperial robe embroidered with golden dragons descending from the firmament, a hand covering the sky reaching out to grab him, his body bound by chains, unable to break free no matter what, only able to watch helplessly as the giant hand enveloped him;

at times, he dreamed of a back wearing a theatrical robe walking toward a sea as black as ink, his figure sinking into the darkness bit by bit, as if he couldn't hear no matter how much Wen Ruoshui shouted, drifting further and further away...

Countless nightmares occupied Wen Ruoshui’s mind. He watched the back in the theatrical robe finally sink into the deep sea, gritting his teeth, calling out that person’s name over and over again:

Director Chen!

Director Chen!!

"Director Chen!"

Bang—!!

With a painful cry echoing in the darkness, the glass of the sleep pod shattered suddenly.

A large amount of liquid flowed from the gap, and a figure in a white lab coat stumbled out. Perhaps due to the insufficient sleep potion, he was still not fully awake. After murmuring "Director Chen" twice more, he collapsed toward the wet floor.

In the next second,

a pair of strong hands held his figure steadily.

Water droplets fell along Wen Ruoshui’s wet hair, blooming on the shoulder of the theatrical robe. Wen Ruoshui felt a hand gently patting his back, and a gentle voice sounded in his ear:

"...I'm here."

The familiar voice pulled Wen Ruoshui’s consciousness back to reality rapidly. He was stunned...

He looked up abruptly, seeing a familiar face come into view. Strands of sunlight shone through the gaps in the base, illuminating the person, a pair of cinnabar-like earrings swaying silently in the light.

"Direc...tor Chen?"

"It's me." Chen Ling spoke softly again. "I'm back."

I'm back.

These simple four words fell into Wen Ruoshui’s ears like a heavy stone hitting the ground... He stood there blankly for a long time, a smile finally appearing on his pale lips.

Establishing the base, the intersection of the Grey Realm, the invasion of Calamities, the Emperor’s surprise attack... Over these three hundred years, they had experienced too much. They had fought hard in the darkness, enduring so much bitterness, helplessness, and unwillingness. Back then, it was Chen Ling who gathered them together, but during those hardest days, he hadn't appeared.

At this moment, Wen Ruoshui felt as if he had thousands of words, but when they reached his lips, they turned into just one sentence:

"Director Chen... we waited for you so hard..."

Chen Ling was silent for a long time. "...I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry. Back then, you stayed in the Grey Realm alone to save us. It was us who were too weak... and couldn't help you with anything." Wen Ruoshui was completely awake now. He stood up, his gaze as gentle as water.

"It's enough that you're back."

He took a deep breath, scanned his surroundings, and suddenly, as if remembering something, asked in confusion:

"By the way..."

"Why are you here? How did you know I would wake up at this time?"

"...I didn't know when you would wake up." Chen Ling smiled. "So I came early and have been waiting here for you to wake up... This time, I didn't want to be late."