Offer yourself to me

An Yu⁠​‍‍‍‍‍⁠‌​‌‍​⁠⁠​‍⁠‍​​‌⁠‍ stood quietly to the side. It felt as though he had never seen such a gaze from Lumen before: it retained its usual proud defiance, yet it possessed an almost illusory gentleness.

He instinctively looked toward Qin Zhilu. Qin Zhilu was also watching that silhouette from behind Lumen, his thoughts unknown.

As An Yu stepped closer by instinct, Qin Zhilu removed his other glove, which he had just put back on, and gently took An Yu’s hand in his.

Time flowed silently. After an unknown interval, a strange silhouette finally crept out slowly from the depths of the thousands of circling branches.

Just as An Yu was about to move, Qin Zhilu squeezed his fingers with sudden force. “Do not alert the target.”

A bleak smile flashed through Lumen’s eyes, but his lips moved even faster, as if urging it forward, or perhaps simply pouring his heart out. Very quickly, that specific rose branch extended longer and longer. The flower buds upon it were exceptionally dense, so much so that the thorns beneath them were bent under their weight. As it stretched outward, the other equally slender shoots were mutated through several cycles by the Black Goat, yet its form remained remarkably stable.

Lumen suddenly stopped.

“Cunning traitor,” he whispered.

The surrounding air began to fluctuate gently. An Yu’s golden eyes narrowed; he was prepared to tear that object apart using space optimization in an instant.

But just as he was about to manipulate the space, the branch abruptly retracted a significant distance.

“Don’t move.” Qin Zhilu squeezed his hand again, whispering, “It is extremely sensitive to killing intent.”

Lumen resumed his vocalizations. After a long interval, the branch tentatively extended back toward him.

It trusted Lumen deeply, yet remained profoundly wary. This time, it halted several meters away from him. When Lumen increased the sound wave interference, it showed subtle signs of retracting again.

Lumen suddenly smiled.

He ceased speaking entirely. He pulled his collar up high to cover his red lips, then extended both hands, wrists pressed together, offering them to the branch.

To An Yu’s astonishment, the branch finally moved again. It coiled and circled rapidly, extending to Lumen’s front. In the blink of an eye, it latched onto his wrists, wrapping tightly around those slender joints loop after loop. Then, with a violent jerk, it hoisted Lumen high into the upper air.

An Yu suddenly experienced an extremely ominous premonition. He wanted to step forward, but Qin Zhilu held him back once more.

“We cannot help him,” Qin Zhilu said softly. “We are destined to be nothing more than spectators in this swamp.”

An Yu did not understand his Commander’s words. He could only watch as Lumen was suspended higher and higher.

The branch continued to strangle him, winding tighter loop by loop.

Thorns pierced deeply through his wrists, and fresh blood splattered down from the sky.

The genetic code of the Black Rose seemed to have already infected Lumen; tiny rose buds erupted from beneath the skin along his neck, except these buds were a vibrant, bright red—just like the clothes swaying in the wind.

Lumen must be in immense pain, An Yu thought.

Yet, the posture of the floating young man remained tranquil.

The tighter the branch strangled him, the more labored and weak his breathing became, but his limbs in the air grew increasingly relaxed and elegant.

Until the young man hung completely motionless, leaving only his red garments to flutter in the upper air.

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That was the traitorous bud selected by the Black Goat. At that final moment, it had finally been severed while its defenses were down.

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An Yu lowered his eyes in silent mourning amidst the waves of floral fragrance.

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“Just as I never imagined someone would press a gun against their own forehead.

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Before An Yu could react to the words, massive, familiar wings erupted with a loud crash. Amidst the powerful air currents, Qin Zhilu carried him as they rapidly retreated backward.

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The black cloud continued to curl, faster and faster, until a specific instant when it suddenly fell completely still.

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At the moment the thermal death occurred, there was only piercingly bright light, without the expected shockwave of an explosion or combustion. It took place with such profound silence, as if even that intense light existed merely to shield the eyes of onlookers, ensuring they could not witness his march toward total annihilation.

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“Commander—” An Yu hesitated, lightly tugging at his finger.

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Lumen lay sleeping quietly beneath the charred rose debris. His face was deathly pale, his exposed skin was covered in bloody gashes, and both of his wrists had been pierced through into a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Yet his chest still rose and fell, as if he had fallen into a deep, prolonged slumber.

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An Yu nodded. “To think a Chaotic Reaction could be controlled to this extent…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Qin Zhilu handed his terminal over and said, “I mean, he is back. Lumen—no, Zhao Ran. The Human Zhao Ran has returned.”

An Yu froze, a sudden tremor striking the core of his heart. He looked at the genetic entropy scan on the terminal in utter disbelief. Lumen’s genetic entropy was currently at only 6.2, returning him safely to the human spectrum.

“Is this entropy reduction?” he murmured in a daze.

“Yes, but also no.” Qin Zhilu slowly lifted his head, staring thoughtfully at the fluctuating, collapsing red light high in the air. “This is conspecific assimilation. He assimilated the chaos within Zhao Ran.”

No sooner had he spoken than that cluster of red light suddenly streaked across the sky like a meteor, darting toward them before vanishing in an instant.

Just as An Yu was about to say something, the terminal in his hand vibrated once more.

[Genetic entropy has reached the upper limit of measurement!]

“What upper limit?” An Yu frowned. “Did it automatically scan you?”

Qin Zhilu lowered his gaze, casting a glance at the screen. “Mm.”

“Isn’t this your personal terminal?” An Yu frowned, handing the device back to Qin Zhilu. “My terminal usually doesn’t automatically scan me.”

“Yes, usually it doesn’t.” Qin Zhilu rubbed the outer casing of the terminal with his fingers. After a long silence, he stowed it back into his pocket, his dark eyes casting a heavy glance toward the upper air as he said in a low voice, “A terminal usually only automatically measures the owner’s genetic entropy under one condition: when it perceives a change in the user’s genetic entropy, it triggers a refresh.”

“But haven’t you always—” An Yu suddenly came to a sweeping realization, lifting his head in disbelief.

The sky was completely spotless. The chaotic red light left behind by the Black Rose’s thermal death looked as though it had never existed.

“Let’s go.” Qin Zhilucalmly retracted his gaze. “Take Zhao Ran back to the main city.”

Author’s Note:

translator’s note: i’m so sad that one of the best CPs have such a short arc, i love them so much and i loved this arc ;w;