Chapter 515

Chapter 515 Officer Li's Determination

Officer Li felt as if he were playing house. Eyes closed, he nodded and brought the empty air to his lips, then reached out as if flicking a lighter.

He clenched his right hand into a fist in front of his lips, his thumb flicking gently.

Indeed… Officer Li really really wanted a smoke.

Four days had passed. For a lifelong chain-smoker, each day without a cigarette grew increasingly unbearable. If he doesn't light one soon, his tobacco addiction might fade, or worse, vanish entirely.

Officer Li closed his eyes and waited, as if anticipating the spark of a real cigarette. After a few seconds, he habitually put away the {lighter} and inhaled deeply.

And then… something felt off.

A rich, slightly bitter, and sharp smoke filled his mouth. His eyes flew open, and he instinctively exhaled a stream of pure white smoke.

He realized then, with disbelief, that a cigarette was clutched between his lips.

“Huh?!” Officer Li shouted in astonishment, nearly dropping the cigarette. He caught it just in time and held it carefully before his eyes. It was a brand-new cigarette, BJJ (白将军), his usual go-to brand.

“This… this is incredible…” he muttered, turning to Zhou Six. “Young lady, when did this cigarette get into my mouth?”

Zhou Six shook her head, exasperated. “Tsk. It seems you truly have no understanding of {Reverberations}. Let me put it this way: from my perspective, this cigarette has always been in your mouth. It never disappeared.”

All the same, Officer Li was aware that the situation was not as it seemed.

There was no cigarette pack or lighter on his person, yet here he was, a lit cigarette perched between his lips. No matter how he considered it, it was utterly impossible. So this was the power of {Reverberation}?

“I think I understand now…” Officer Li removed the cigarette from his mouth, pinching it lightly between his index and middle fingers, and spoke aloud. “I just need to calm my mind… and imagine that I’m really smoking. That way, I can actually produce a smoke…”

Those walking ahead, hearing the commotion behind, turned to see Officer Li boldly standing in the middle of the road, puffing on a cigarette as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Big Ole Li,” Chen Junnan began with a smile. “Our Zhou Mo jie is quite the feisty one. I don’t think she’s your type, no?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Officer Li said quickly, waving his free hand. “This lady was teaching me how to smoke. No, wait…she was teaching me to produce a cigarette—no not right either—”

“Tsk, I’m teaching him how to use his {Reverberation},” Zhou Six snapped at Chen Junnan, her expression dark as though she were boiling with anger. “Who the f*ck are you calling {feisty}?”

“My bad, my bad,” Chen Junnan waved his hands and turned back with the others, resuming their journey.

Seeing Zhou Six so flustered, Officer Li hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Young lady, don’t be mad. You know how Xiao Chen is; he has good intentions, just a loose tongue.”

“Tsk, I’m mad at him?” Zhou Six frowned, fixing Officer Li with a cold, skeptical gaze.

“Then wh—?”

“I can only blame myself,” Zhou Six said with a cold laugh. “Had I known your only use for your {Reverberation} was to fetch cigarettes for yourself, tsk… there’s no way I would have helped you.”

“Ah?” Officer Li hadn’t expected her to suddenly turn her ire toward him, and he froze. “Young lady… you mean me? To be honest, I didn’t—”

“Tsk, no need to explain,” Zhou Six cut him off sharply. “I thought Five ge giving you the fourth position meant you’d be somewhat reliable. Clearly, I was wrong. If I had this {Probing Pocket} ability, I’d either pull out a huge amount of {Dào}, or I’d figure out a way to fetch food—anything that could help my teammates. But you? You only think about smoking.”

Hearing this, Officer Li could only shake his head with a wry smile, saying nothing.

It was not worth getting angry over being misunderstood by someone who didn’t truly know him.

He recalled his two brushes with death, and a pang of regret touched him. Had he known the exact method of activating his {Reverberation} earlier, perhaps he could have started practicing long ago.

Whether it concerns food or {Dào}, as long as he believed wholeheartedly, it would come into his possession.

At that thought, Officer Li extended his palm, gazing at it thoughtfully.

‘If it’s possible… could I even take an opponent’s heart?’ Slowly, he clenched his hand. Even after all these years as a police officer, he had never held a heart in his hand before.

How heavy is a human heart?

Is it hard or soft? Cold or warm?

‘Do I really have to hold one myself to find out…?’ Officer Li’s expression gradually darkened, tinged with sorrow. Yet he muttered to himself, steadying his resolve. ‘Don’t worry… I promised… no one will come to harm. I’ll make sure everyone escapes safely… I’ll stay behind if I have to.’

He knew he was no stronger than anyone else in this place. His only advantage was his resilience. To achieve his goal, he would have to make efforts far beyond what ordinary people could endure.

Officer Li steadied his emotions, reorganized his thoughts, and continued walking at the rear of the group.

…

Jiang Ruoxue stood in front of an abandoned warehouse, lost in thought.

Before her laid a small, blackened, desiccated body. In the corpse's arms rested a withered, dark-red flower; someone had left it in mourning.

Jiang Ruoxue crouched down, delicate fingers reaching out to gently straighten the hair atop the shriveled corpse. Her eyes moistened involuntarily.

Though she had long anticipated this day, the sadness was no less real.

The body of the young Mortal Mouse lay there as quietly as the dead flower in her arms. Too beautiful a thing, eventually claimed by the crucible of this purgatory.

As with the flower, so it was with Mortal Mouse.

Too beautiful were they, and the putrid air and decaying corpses surrounding them would inevitably corrode them completely. Death was their only outcome; not even {Hetu Phala} could reverse it.

Muscular Xiao Xiao stretched lazily behind her, stepping closer with deliberate ease. “Ruoxue, who’s this? Someone you knew?”

“This is the last piece of innocence I left in {End Point},” Jiang Ruoxue replied, curling her fingers to dab at the corner of her eyes before standing with a faint smile.

“You seem… a little strange,” Xiao Xiao murmured, concern etched on her face. “In a place like this, is there still such a thing as {innocence}?”

“Right,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “When I was eighteen, I should never have run out of the exam hall. The path of life that followed was far too harsh to bear.”

Xiao Xiao frowned at her words, releasing a long, heavy sigh.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “{Celestial Horse's Hour} is approaching.”

“Where to?”

“To inform our king,” Jiang Ruoxue replied with a soft smile. “Yan Zhichun should be at {Passage to Heaven} now.”

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TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)