Chapter 255: Taking Root in The Darkness – Stars Remain
(3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this moment, he was rather calm.
As time passed and the execution time approached, the executioner standing behind him routinely asked,
“Any last words before you die?”
“Give me a cigarette,” Li Xingchen said without hesitation. Then, a smile appeared on his face.
“You were once my idol. Your inspirational growth had always motivated me.” The executioner’s eyes were filled with anger.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, so hurry up and give me a cigarette. According to Future City’s rules, you should be able to satisfy this small request before I die, right?” Li Xingchen said nonchalantly.
“Are you worthy?!”
Just as the executioner was about to continue reprimanding Li Xingchen, a partner beside him stopped him. Then, he took out a cigarette and stuffed it into Li Xingchen’s mouth before lighting it for him.
“According to the rules, we’ve fulfilled your last wish.”
“That’s enough. 1 don’t have any last words.” Li Xingchen took a deep puff of his cigarette. The tip of the cigarette lit up.
He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of white smoke with a satisfied expression.
Seeing Li Xingchen like this, the crowd below was furious.
They all protested that a human traitor like Li Xingchen should be treated differently. What right did he have that his dying request was satisfied? They even threw small stones they had prepared beforehand at him.
Looking at the residents below, Li Xingchen felt a ripple in his heart.
1 live for you, but you see me as a demon.
An indescribable sadness mixed with anger surged in his heart, but when that kind face appeared in his mind, the hostility in his heart dissipated.
He took another deep puff of the cigarette and a smile appeared on his face again.
At this moment, it was time for the execution. The two executioners pressed the switches at the same time.
Immediately, black spiritual energy material invaded Li Xingchen’s entire body, and his eyes instantly turned red.
The mental pain made him grit his teeth.
Before he died, many memories flashed through his mind. A familiar and warm voice sounded in his ears.
“Li Xingchen, I asked you to stand beside the devil to kill him.
“I’m your pledge of allegiance. Death in this way has value. Why should you be sad?”
“Turn your grief and indignation into strength. Don’t disappoint me. I’ve already created the best starting conditions for you.”
At the beginning of the story, a couple died in an attack by a domain transcendent creature.
Their five-year-old son held his toy and cried as he looked for his parents on the streets. He became an orphan.
In the midst of hunger and cold, he met a kind old man and had a family.
The old man nurtured the boy and sent him to the Victory Academy. He watched him join a domain combat team and become a first-rate warrior.
After the boy lost his arm, he told him how to stand up again.
In the end, under the guidance of the old man, he successfully entered the Future Research Institute and became a researcher…
The old man was the former director of the Future Research Institute.
As his consciousness gradually dissipated, Li Xingchen suddenly felt a sense of relief.
The moment he killed the old man, he knew that he was already dead.
However, before he died, he felt that his former self had returned.
The scene of sitting on the mountain peak with the old man appeared in his mind. At that time, they were embracing the first ray of sunlight in Future City… The old man’s hazy face gradually became clearer under the light.
“Old man, I’ve let you down.”
At the last moment of his life, many regrets surfaced in his heart.
When I was young, 1 looked up at the stars. I felt as if I could pluck them by simply raising my hand. Today, at seven feet tall, the sky seems unreachable…
A peaceful and warm future turned out to be so distant.
Sigh, I can’t accept this…
The spark in his mouth burned to its end. Li Xingchen’s body seemed to have lost its support and hung limply.
The world did not know that this star had once taken the initiative to enter the darkness and tried its best to emit light, wanting to use itself to illuminate the entire world…
Hearing the cheers, Feng Qi clenched his fists.
The words that Li Xingchen had said to him with a smile appeared in his mind.
The situation of human civilization is worrying. It’s like a tree. The more it yearns for sunlight at a higher place, the more its roots will extend to the darker underground. That is where there are nutrients and power… We are still too weak. Only the power of the demons can defeat the demons.
He took another deep look at Li Xingchen and gave him the highest salute in his heart.
A month later, in front of Li Xingchen’s cenotaph.
Feng Qi lit three cigarettes and inserted them into the soil in front of the cenotaph. He unscrewed the lid and poured a pot of hard liquor.
“If I’m not dead, I’ll come and see you every year.”
At this moment, a voice came from behind.
“Feng Qi, shall we have a chat?”
Feng Qi immediately turned around and saw a burly man in the Future Research Institute’s uniform standing not far away.
Just as he became alert, the burly man reached out and took out his communicator.
“Channel n-11, codeword: Future.”
Upon hearing this, he couldn’t help but be stunned and subconsciously asked,
“You are?”
“The current dean of the Future Research Institute, Li Xingchen’s successor, and your next peer.”
Hearing this, Feng Qi was stunned.
He suddenly understood why Li Xingchen died.
He also understood why the Future Research Institute did not react to the deaths of Li Xingchen and the others.
Just like that old man, Li Xingchen had also chosen a trustworthy person in his hopeless situation and used his death to help him take root in the darkness.
The domain faction behind the Science and Technology Research Institute still couldn’t erase that star©.
It only returned in a different way and waited for the day to shine brightly…