Time passes, and things change.
The pain and struggles of the past seem to have gradually faded from everyoneโs memories.
With the rise of the new generation, words like “strategy” and “death” have become distant.
Itโs as if this world has always had endless food, inexhaustible energy, with no need to toil for survival, and everyone possesses limitless choices.
Wu Xiaomi gazed out the window, admiring the neon lights, even more dazzling than before, and let out a gentle sigh:
“This is what Kang Jie wanted to seeโฆ”
The mood in the living room behind her instantly grew heavy.
Ah Lei leaned back on the sofa, the corners of his eyes moist: “Itโs a pity he never came back.”
“I miss that hotheaded kid,” Han Nuo said.
“I wish that young man from back then could see this,” Huang Xiao also wiped her eyes, “I still remember his high-spirited speechโit gave me hope when I was most lost.”
“Yeah, itโs a pityโฆ”
“Pityโฆ”
Crack.
“Pity your ass!”
The blond twin-tailed girl punched Ah Lei in the face, gritting her teeth: “Itโs your fault I turned out like this, you know?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Ah Lei effortlessly caught the girlโs fist and pulled her onto his lap, “You just donโt know how lucky you are! There are so many people whoโd kill to become a cute girl and never got the chance!”
“I paid a heavy price to make the Revival of the Witch happen for you, so whatโs a little side effect?”
“Kang Jieโs” cheeks flushed with anger.
She turned her head away, sulking all by herself.
Oh, rightโshe and Ah Lei had gone to register yesterday.
It was voluntary.
“We havenโt met in person for ten years, have we? Tonight we have to party hard~” Ah Lei lifted
Kang Jie high, “For our adorable Jie-ge~! For Earth!!”
Unfortunately, nobody really responded to him.
“We see each other every day in-game anyway,” Han Nuo lazily rolled over, “Whatโs the big deal about meetingโฆ”
“Thatโs different, in-game is in-game. But here, this is the real world we saved with our own hands,” Ah Lei held his head high in pride, “How could the sense of accomplishment be the same?”
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Huang Xiao hurried to answer the door.
“Am I late?”
With blazing red hair but wearing a white lab coat, hands in her pockets and a cigarette dangling from her lips, Miss Nuo walked in.
“Your timing is perfectโnot a second early or late.”
She was always like this.
Never early, never late.
Sometimes people couldnโt help but wonder if she used a bionic robot to handle her daily affairs, which was why she was always so punctual.
“Soโฆ whatโs tonightโs activity? Getting dead drunk and reminiscing about our old heroic deeds?”
“Thatโs so lame.”
“Totally.”
After a long silence, Bai Xiaozhi suddenly made a suggestion.
Everyone looked up at her in astonishment.
Nerrifa, at the very end, had left the strategists with memories too heavy to bearโno one wanted to look back on those days.
It meant reopening a wound cut to the bone.
“I donโt mind.”
“But they probably see us as mortal enemies by now.”
One by one, everyone chimed in.
Though they didnโt want to relive those times, it had already been fifteen years.
The feelings werenโt as intense anymore.
So what if they went to take a look?
Once said, it was done.
Wu Xiaomi opened the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window in front of her and used a remote to summon a small Peace.
The little Peace stopped at the window.
Everyone boarded the ship.
In the blink of an eye, they had arrived at Nerrifa.
Yetโฆthe scene before them took them all by surprise.
After the royal family collapsed, no new royals took their place.
Order remained undisturbed.
Peace and tranquility reigned everywhere.
The once imperial capital had become a vast lake, with a water park on its shores.
Now, anyone could come and play here, even in what was once the Queenโs Forbidden Grounds.
“So thatโs how it is,” Miss Nuo saw through it at a glance.
“Nerrifaโs situation is actually pretty similar to present-day Earthโresources are abundant, so there arenโt many conflicts. There isnโt much need for rulers or law enforcement here.”
“So even if Forest Rangers slack off in the woods, thereโs nothing much to worry about.”
The people here had little ambition.
Maybe because theyโd existed far longer than humans, the competitive instincts in their genes had long been washed away.
Here, peace was the norm; crime was the anomaly.
“Maybe this is what humanityโs world will be like in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years,” Miss Nuo said.
Is that so? That sounds pretty good.
“By the way, those two big guys we tossed here back thenโdid we help this place, or mess it up?” Ah Lei asked.
That had always been on their minds.
“Obviously helped,” Miss Nuo replied, “By destroying the royal family and returning resources to everyone, people here finally got to live in abundance.”
“Let there never be emperors and monopolies, no matter the world.”
“Yeah, no matter which worldโฆ”
โฆ
After touring Nerrifa, everyone returned to Earth.
Each took their little ships, heading home.
“Mom.”
Wu Xiaomi had just opened the door when a petite white-haired girl pounced on her.
“Tomorrowโs the Lianyi Association. Teacher wants all parents to prepare a talent showโhave you got something ready or notโฆ”
Wu Xiaomiโs expression froze.
Crap, sheโd completely forgotten about that.
Sheโd only thought about going to the reunion!
“Iโฆ Iโm readyโฆ”
“What did you prepare?”
“Youโll see tomorrow. Itโs a secret.”
The girl eyed her little mom with suspicion.
No matter how she looked, it didnโt seem reliable!
“Come on, come on, off to bedโweโll talk about it tomorrow.”
She sent her daughter off to her room and coaxed her to sleep.
Wu Xiaomi dashed back to her bedroom in a panic, shaking Bai Xiaozhiโs shoulders wildly.
“Iโm not ready Iโm not ready Iโm not ready! What should I do what should I do what should I do! Tomorrow is my daughterโs Lianyi Association! Sheโs not going to end up being the worldโs most embarrassing daughter, is she? Xiaozhi Xiaozhi Xiaozhi ahhhโ”
Bai Xiaozhi was shaken dizzy.
“I know youโre anxious, but calm down first.”
Bai Xiaozhi hugged her tightly, steadying the panicked girl in front of her.
“Donโt worry, hereโs what weโll doโฆ”
โฆโฆ
The next day.
Lianyihuichang.
Wu Xiaomi sat backstage, feeling the vibrant, youthful atmosphere of the school.
Every studentโs face was bright with easy smiles.
They enjoyed the peace of their era without a care in the world.
From birth, from as early as they could remember, this world had always been at its best.
Strategy? Death? Those were things even beyond their imagination.
“Iโm telling you, all that strategy stuff is just adults lying to kids to make themselves seem awesome,” a passing student declared loudly, chest out.
“I agree! They say the High Sequence can destroy the world, but nobodyโs ever actually used itโฆ”
“Itโs all hype, I sayโdefinitely exaggerated!”
Backstage, Wu Xiaomi heard every word clearly.
She started to laugh.
Her laughter made her forget all the pre-performance nerves and worries.
This was good.
She thought.
It was better that they couldnโt relate to that history than if theyโd lived through it.
Let it be forgotten, then,
Theyโre just kids.
“And that Wu Xiaomiโwhat a joke, that so-called Kingโs Dance of Sai was obviously just movie effectsโฆ” the brat went on.
Crackโ
Wu Xiaomiโs eyebrow twitched.
At that moment, the announcerโs voice rang out from the stage.
“Will the next parent please come on stage? The program: piano and danceโ’Little Swan.'”
Wu Xiaomi sneered, standing up with a murderous aura.
Just before leaving the curtain, she tugged at Xiaozhiโs sleeve.
“Xiaozhi, change the piece.”
“Huh? What? Weโre about to go onโฆchange to what?”
Whatโs gotten into her now?
“Change toใDance of the River Spiritsใ.”
Bai Xiaozhi froze.
That pieceโsheโd played it before, it wasnโt unfamiliar.
In fact, it was under similar circumstances.
At another Lianyi Association.
“Letโs go.”
Before Bai Xiaozhi could refuse.
Wu Xiaomi surged with spiritual energy, warping even the light around her.
She took the stage with a world-shaking presence.
Siren Dance.
Beginโ
— The End —