Chapter 307: Beauty

Hum—!

An invisible magnetic field instantly expanded from outside the city, sweeping across Aurora City like a hurricane!

Chen Ling felt a scorching heat brush against his cheek, followed immediately by an even harsher chill... The aurora that had shrouded the city vanished completely, and the cold wind from the Forbidden Sea blew fully into Aurora City.

"...It's snowing?" Wen Shilin muttered to himself.

Chen Ling looked up and saw that the sky, which should have been flowing with aurora, was now obscured by snowflakes drifting slowly down in the cold wind... Unlike ordinary, sharp-edged snowflakes, the surfaces of these flakes resembled ever-changing clusters of particles, their forms shifting every second.

Even stranger, these snowflakes... were black.

Chen Ling raised his hand and caught a black snowflake, sensing a familiar aura from it.

In that moment, Chen Ling felt as if he had returned to the Wisteria Cafe. Frost covered the floor-to-ceiling window beside him, and across from him, the Aurora Lord was unhurriedly lifting a steaming cup of coffee, smiling at him faintly.

"...It's the Aurora Lord." Chen Ling looked up at the sky. "The Aurora Lord's soul has turned into heavy snow, covering Aurora City."

As these snowflakes fell in a flurry, wisps of faint aurora rose from the ground in the dead, frozen city, drifting slowly upward toward the sky in the opposite direction of the falling snow.

Black snow falling, aurora rising;

Chen Ling stared blankly at the scene. He knew that what was falling was the Aurora Lord's soul, and what was rising... was the redemption of the three million residents of Aurora City.

Hum—!!

A roar came from behind. Chen Ling turned to look and saw the Boundary Train parked at the platform sounding its whistle. Steam rose slowly from the pitch-black chimney, and the exterior of the train was already coated in a layer of ice.

With the aurora gone, the cold wave from the Forbidden Sea had completely flooded the city. The temperature was plummeting again; if the Boundary Train didn't leave now, it might never be able to leave at all.

"Mr. Wen, you..." Chen Ling turned back, about to say something to Wen Shilin, when he suddenly froze.

He saw that Wen Shilin's eyelashes were already covered in ice crystals. His face was as pale as paper, with only faint wisps of heat still drifting from his nose... Even so, his eyes were still fixed obsessively on the black snow and the aurora, as if he hadn't heard the train's whistle at all.

Chen Ling frowned deeply. He nudged Wen Shilin, and fine shards of ice fell from the surface of the latter's clothes.

"Mr. Wen, you need to go." Chen Ling said solemnly.

Wen Shilin was, after all, an ordinary person. Unlike Chen Ling, who had the [Blood Garment] to protect him, he wouldn't survive long in such a sudden drop in temperature. If he didn't get on the train, he would freeze to death.

Only then did Wen Shilin snap out of it. He stood up from the steps, shivering, his gaze toward the train complex.

"You should go too." Wen Shilin's peripheral vision landed on the street.

Chen Ling was stunned for a moment. He turned back and saw, at the end of the street where the black snow was falling silently, three figures holding black umbrellas walking slowly toward them... They were dressed in solemn black suits and black leather shoes. The strong wind whipped their coat tails, and on their chests, black playing cards each revealed a corner of a white character.

【6】，【7】，【Q】；

This is...

Perhaps the battle between Tan Xin and the Aurora Lord had been so shocking that everyone had almost forgotten the Twilight Society still existed in this city... They had remained quietly dormant, watching everything unfold, only taking action now.

But Chen Ling didn't understand: what did the Twilight Society want by mobilizing at this time?

The three arrived before the station steps. Chu Muyun lifted the edge of his black umbrella slightly, his face as cold as an iceberg beneath the falling snow.

"[Heart 6]." He said flatly. "Time to go."

Hearing the words "Heart 6," Wen Shilin seemed to realize something, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. He turned to look at Chen Ling, his expression incredibly complex...

Chen Ling knew his time for independent action was over. He met Wen Shilin's gaze and smiled slightly.

"It was a pleasure working with you, Mr. Wen."

"...Likewise."

Wen Shilin waved the notebook in his hand. In the corner of the notebook, a line of crooked characters had been written, looking as if they had been penned in the freezing cold, every stroke trembling—

"Investigative Reporter: Wen Shilin, Lin Yan"

"The 'Aurora Daily' will always remember your name... You are an excellent reporter, Lin Yan."

Chen Ling saw the line of text, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He glanced at the train on the platform. "Perhaps in the future, in other boundaries, we will have the chance to meet again. When that time comes, I hope we can get to know each other again... by my real name."

"Mm."

Chen Ling waved at Wen Shilin and walked straight toward the three figures at the steps... His figure, along with the three in black, gradually disappeared at the end of the snow-filled road.

Wen Shilin stood alone on the platform. Instead of turning to board the train, he bent down and felt around on Yan Shang's corpse for a while, pulling out a second ticket and clutching it in his hand.

He walked down the steps and headed straight into the alley opposite.

In the alley where black snow was falling, a woman was holding a child, curled up in front of a basin of long-extinguished fire. Having been secretly watching Wen Shilin, she immediately lowered her head timidly when she saw him walking straight toward her, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I remember you." Wen Shilin said calmly. "You are the family member of a victim of organ trafficking... I interviewed you a few days ago. Do you remember me?"

"I... I remember..." The woman's voice was incredibly hoarse, barely audible in the cold wind.

Wen Shilin's gaze fell into her arms. A seven or eight-year-old child was wrapped up tightly, with only a small face exposed, but even that face was flushed with an unnatural heat, and his breathing was growing weaker.

"...He's dying." Wen Shilin said again.

The woman's body jolted violently. She hugged the child tighter, as if trying to melt him into her own body... But even so, she herself was gradually losing sensation.

Just then, two tickets were held out before her.

"Take him and go." Wen Shilin said.

"Leave this place, take him to a warm place... Also, help me deliver this to the authorities in the next boundary."

The woman stared blankly at the tickets in Wen Shilin's hand, seemingly unable to process it. But as the whistle sounded again from the station, she stumbled to her feet... She looked at Wen Shilin in disbelief.

"Benefactor, aren't you coming?"

"I'm not leaving... I'm going to stay here and watch this city until the very last moment."

The woman wanted to say more, but Wen Shilin shoved the notebook and the tickets into her arms. "Go quickly, if you don't leave now, the train will depart..."

Seeing this, the woman trembled with emotion. She knelt on the ground holding her child, kowtowed three times to Wen Shilin, and then, with a thousand thanks, hurried toward the station.

With the whistle of the train, the steel wheels slowly crushed the frost on the tracks. Amidst the low, thunder-like clanking, it spewed billowing white steam and drove out of the boundary...

Wen Shilin watched this scene in silence, his expression finally relaxing as he smiled helplessly.

He was not Tan Xin, nor was he the Aurora Lord; he was just an ordinary person... This was the only thing he could do for the Aurora Boundary, for the continuation of humanity.

Black snow fell silently from the sky. Wen Shilin walked step by step back up to the station platform.

He sat down on the highest step, where he could see most of Aurora City... Like an infant about to fall asleep, he leaned slowly against the frozen railing, staring blankly at the city before him.

He saw the aurora flowing silently, returning to the sky. This city, which had been bustling and prosperous for hundreds of years, was as quiet as if it were asleep.

Click—

Wen Shilin pressed the shutter one last time, eternally recording this scene.

His hand holding the camera dropped limply. In this stillness and serenity, his form gradually froze into ice.

"So beautiful..."