Chapter 603

The days without her Master were truly unbearable.

That night, as the silver-haired girl gazed out at the horizon…

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

Could she take her Master and leave this world?

A world without her Master was not the world she wanted.

But…

Her permissions had been restricted, and she could no longer alter this world.

So Liguang made a decision—

She would go and take a look at the edge of this world.

She had never tried swimming as far as she could before, had she?

“Master, I’m going to swim a little farther out and take a look!”

At daybreak, she leaped into the sea!

She swam desperately toward the rising sun!

…She was so tired!

Her old body, which had never known fatigue, had allowed her to roam the entire sea without the slightest effort.

But now, in a human body, she had to surface for air after swimming only a short distance.

Still, she refused to give up. She kept swimming!

So slowly.

Her arms and legs were sore and heavy, and her breathing had grown ragged. Yet the horizon before her still seemed just as far away, without coming any closer at all.

This world seemed to be much larger than she had imagined.

Was she simply swimming too slowly?

Or…

Had this world grown larger?

Even though she was the one who had created and altered this world, she could no longer sense its edge.

Until, at one moment…

“Bang!”

A sharp pain shot through her forehead, as if she had slammed into a pane of invisible glass.

“Ugh…!”

Her entire body was thrown backward. Her nose stung so badly that tears sprang to her eyes!

Struggling to stay afloat, she wiped her face and gasped for breath as she looked ahead.

…This was it. She had reached the line where sea and sky met.

This was the end.

Although an endless sea still stretched out before her…

She tentatively reached out her hand, and her fingertips touched that invisible wall.

She could not push forward even half an inch.

She pressed against it with all her strength, pounded it with her fists, and even rammed her body into it…!

The wall did not budge.

She felt so wronged!

This was a world she had created for her Master. Why was it trapping her?

At once, a flash of blue light burst across the vision of her left eye!

She tried to call upon the authority that had been sealed away!

But in the next instant, an overwhelming sense of helplessness seized her entire body once more!

Her strength vanished in an instant, and she plunged downward!

Seawater flooded over her face. She thrashed about in the water several times before finally surfacing again…

“Cough, cough…!!”

She began coughing violently!

As she stared at the sky just within reach yet impossible to break through, her eyes slowly reddened.

She wanted to see her Master smile at her.

She wanted him to rub her cheeks.

She wanted to leap into his arms and squirm around.

But the wishes that had once been within easy reach had now become so difficult to fulfill…

Hic…

…

By the time she swam back to the offshore platform, she was utterly exhausted. She lay sprawled, dripping wet, across the deck.

Her Master had surely seen her in this pathetic state again.

How embarrassing.

But at that moment, she barely had the strength to crawl back to her feet.

“Master…”

She panted, her cheek pressed against the deck, her voice hoarse.

“This world has been locked away.”

The sea breeze was gentle as it swept across her soaked back, chilling her enough to make her shiver.

“Liguang can’t open it, and she can’t end it either.”

“This place…”

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until even she could barely hear it.

“Has become our cage.”

But her Master heard her.

Because new markings began to appear on the floor in front of her.

[It’s all right.]

[Even if it’s a cage, you’re here.]

Liguang stared at those crooked words, and suddenly her throat tightened.

She buried her face in the crook of her arm. After a long while, she murmured:

“But… Liguang wants to talk to Master. She wants to hug Master.”

Her voice grew softer and softer.

“Am I being too greedy…?”

More words appeared.

[I’m greedy too.]

[We’ll find a way together.]

Liguang raised her head, sniffed, and forced herself to smile brightly at the empty space before her.

“Yeah! There has to be a way!”

…

…

Liguang went to sleep.

Her breathing gradually settled into a steady rhythm, blending with the rise and fall of the waves like a wordless lullaby.

Fang Qi sat beside her, his back against the outer wall of the wooden cabin, staring up at the sky in a daze for a long, long time.

The moon was bright, and the stars were plentiful. The sea was utterly still.

It was so quiet.

He lowered his head and looked at Liguang’s sleeping face.

Her eyelashes trembled faintly in the moonlight. Her small mouth was slightly open, and one hand still clutched the hem of her cream-colored swimsuit…

Even in sleep, she seemed filled with unease.

Fang Qi drew a deep breath.

…I can’t let this go on any longer!

She relied on him so completely. She loved him so deeply. Every night, she tried to find his position by scent…

When she could not find him, she would curl up into a ball and continue sleeping.

The next morning, she would wake up and call out “Master” in a cheerful voice.

But he could tell that her spirits were sinking lower and lower.

He could see Liguang every day, but Liguang…

Could only see words carved into existence out of thin air!

…He could not remain a useless man who could not even touch her.

“…”

Fang Qi clenched his fists.

But what could he do?

Over the past few days, he had tried countless methods.

Far too many to count.

At first, he had tried all sorts of simple actions.

He blew hard at the empty air, hoping his breath might brush Liguang’s bangs aside!

But nothing happened.

Then he tried grabbing at the air, waving his hands in front of Liguang, and shouting as loudly as he could with his mouth!

“Liguang! Liguang!!! I’m right here!!!”

Every day, he would shout a few times, hoping she might hear him—even if she could hear only the faintest trace of his voice.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t hear him.

Then he tried picking up things on the raft.

But the shells still could not be lifted, and the harpoon gun was like a phantom.

The only thing he could change was the raft he and Liguang had built together.

Everything else was beyond his reach.

He had also tried to call upon the permissions that should still belong to him…

He imagined himself using those permissions to communicate with Liguang, repair this damned world, and make himself visible again!

But he could feel nothing.

Neither his own three permissions nor the one Liguang had mentioned gave him any response.

They were either asleep or…

Truly locked away.

He could not touch even the slightest fragment of them.

“Sigh…”

He let out a soft sigh and lay down beside Liguang.

He could not touch her, but he could smell that familiar, sweet strawberry scent.

So he closed his eyes and began to…

Remember. Desperately remember.

He tried to recall his own past memories!

Come on…

The me who hasn’t lost his memories, come out already!

My memories, come back already!

What are you doing in there?

Your wife is feeling so down!

What are you hiding in my head for?!

He had a feeling that if he could recover his memories, he would have a way to solve this!

No…

He definitely had a way!

The future version of him had been able to lay out everything after the world was destroyed.

That bastard had arranged the entire world down to the smallest detail!

He was ridiculously powerful!

Invincible!

Someone like him…

How could he be unable to protect his own wife?

How could he have allowed himself to end up in such an absurd situation?

…He tried.

He truly tried!

His eyes squeezed shut. Sweat appeared on his forehead, and inside his mind…

Those fragments of memory were actually beginning to surge.

Wasteland. Dust and haze. A broken elevated highway. The sound of alarms carried on the windblown sand.

He remembered that underground shelter. He also remembered what he had looked like in a protective suit.

But those memories…

They were like reflections in water, shattering at the slightest touch.

The harder he tried to grasp them, the farther they slipped away.

The more he thought about them, the blurrier they became!

And then…

Pain!

His brain felt as if someone had given it a vicious squeeze! It hurt even more than carving words!

The pain made his vision go black, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hiss—!”

He abruptly opened his eyes and stared fixedly at the night sky, tears of pain welling up in them.

…No. Still no good.

His memories refused to come back!

…Damn it!

He wanted to curse.

After supporting his dizzy head and gasping for breath for a long while, he looked once more at Liguang’s sleeping face beside him, her brows faintly furrowed.

Then he turned over and looked toward the dark, black sea.

Moonlight stretched across it in a silver-white path, reaching from the raft all the way to the horizon. The waves rocked gently.

Suddenly, he thought…

What if he went into the sea?

That “deep-sea monster” had appeared in this very ocean, hadn’t it?

He stared blankly at the water.

The only change he could make right now was…

…

He hesitated for a long time.

But during the latter half of the night, he finally decided to act!

He walked to the edge of the platform and looked down at the pitch-black sea. Then he turned back and glanced at the silver-haired girl sleeping soundly…

He gritted his teeth!

He couldn’t keep being such a coward forever!

If Liguang could swim through the sea all the way to the end of the world, why couldn’t he?

And so…

He pushed off with his foot and leaped down!

The moment he entered the sea, there was no splash and no sound.

He didn’t even feel the cold.

When the seawater wrapped around him, all he felt was a strange lightness, as though he had jumped into a mass of thick fog.

He flailed twice and discovered…

He could actually stay afloat—barely!

Fang Qi’s heart leaped with joy!

Maybe this could work!

Perhaps he really could find something in this sea…

“Whoosh—”

A wave came!

A massive wave slammed into him without warning!

Fang Qi: “!!”

He only felt himself being seized by an immense force and yanked into the air!

Then he was hurled back down!

His body spun out of control as seawater surged toward him from every direction!

The sea dragged him and tugged at his limbs!

Hey…!

He tried to shout, only to swallow a huge mouthful of water!

His vision went black at once!

It seemed that he could no longer breathe in the “sea” as he had before!

He thrashed desperately, paddling with all his strength and trying to grab hold of something, but…

There was nothing around him but water!

His swimming skills were actually decent, but in the midst of the waves… they were completely useless.

He felt himself being dragged in some direction, faster and faster!

“Liguang…!”

He instinctively tried to call out “Liguang,” but the instant the name left his lips, he remembered…

She. Couldn’t. Hear. Him!

His mind went blank in that instant!

…Am I about to be swept away?

Will I simply disappear into the deep sea, never to carve words for Liguang again?

…What about Liguang?

Would she think he had abandoned her? Would she sink to the bottom of the sea again, just like last time?

…No.

He couldn’t sink!

If he sank, Liguang would never find him again!

He couldn’t just disappear like this!

He kicked out violently!

Useless bastard!

Get up!!

…And he actually broke free from the waves.

His entire body was thrown up onto the surface! Then he sank again, only to bob back up!

“Cough…!”

He choked badly. His limbs had already gone numb with exhaustion, but…

He still fought with all his strength to paddle toward the direction of the moonlight!

The platform was far away, appearing and disappearing in his blurred vision!

He had no idea how long it took. In any case…

He finally reached the edge of the raft again!

His hands, almost completely drained of strength, clamped down on the wooden boards.

He strained to pull himself up!

Come on, hands, hold on…!!

“Splash—!”

He climbed back onto the raft.

He collapsed directly onto the deck, gasping for breath!

Lying on his back and staring up at the sky, he listened to the buzzing in his ears and gazed blankly at the stars overhead.

…That was close.

That was really, really close…!

His eyes were unfocused, and his body trembled faintly.

If he had truly been swept away just now…

He turned his head and looked toward Liguang inside the wooden cabin.

She was still asleep, her breathing steady, her little brows gently furrowed.

She looked so helpless and pitiful.

Yet she had no idea what had just happened.

“Heh heh…”

Fang Qi laughed—a self-mocking laugh.

Damn it, he really was a bastard!

He had only thought about making a change without considering the consequences!

…He had almost died.

He had almost left Liguang all alone on this empty sea!

And if he really had disappeared, never again able to carve out a response to her…

She would have gone mad.

She definitely would have gone mad.

She had no permissions. She couldn’t reload a previous save. Right now, she was just an ordinary girl!

If she lost even the words he left behind…

Fang Qi stiffened slightly at the mere thought.

Only after his body stopped trembling did he prop himself up and sit.

Looking at the silver-haired girl sleeping inside the cabin, he let out a soft sigh.

…Forget it. He couldn’t take any more risks.

He had to stay alive.

Even if all he could do was speak to her through carved words.

Even if he couldn’t accomplish anything at all, at least… he could still write a few words to put her mind at ease.

He wiped the seawater from his face, walked over to Liguang, and crouched down. Then he extended his still-wet finger—

[I’m here.]

His finger trembled slightly. Those two words took him a very long time to carve.

He stared blankly at the marks.

Yes. This was enough.

When Liguang woke up tomorrow, she would see them.

She would sweetly say, “Good morning, Master,” and laugh as she complained, “Master, you carved words again after Liguang fell asleep!”

Yes. It was fine.

After all…

That amnesiac version of him was still hiding somewhere in his mind!

He might seem useless now, but once he recovered his memories, he would be incredibly powerful!

When that happened, there was no way he would let things continue like this…!

…Huh?

Fang Qi froze.

Really?

Would he truly not let things continue like this?

Come to think of it…

Hadn’t Miss Genius said that the current situation…

Was something he himself had guided into existence?

Ha…

No way, right?

Yes, it probably wasn’t true.

How could he torment his beloved wife like this?

…It definitely wasn’t him.

So…

He drew a deep breath, his gaze sharpening.

So tomorrow, he would continue carving words for her—lots and lots of words.

And while he was at it… he would find a way to recover his memories!

That was the only thing he could do right now!

Once he could touch Liguang again…

He would kiss her cheeks until they were swollen!