Fear

The other two had been supports, but they were top-tier ones.

They hadn't made it to the end, dying instead on the path toward hope and truth.

Would they... meet the same fate?

They were walking the old path of Shen Nian and her team; would the same end await them?

"I don't know," Jiang Siyan said, his words cruel yet calm. "From a statistical standpoint, it's unlikely."

Pollution was simply too powerful. Even though Nan Yue was special, the amount of pollution she could devour was still far too little compared to the scale of the entire world.

"But I don't think it matters," Jiang Siyan said slowly.

"I used to think that reaching the end was everything, so the path chosen was vital."

"Whether one lived a mundane life or pursued so-called hope."

"They lead to different conclusions and require different sacrifices."

"But now, I feel that while reaching the end is a goal, it isn't the most important thing."

"The most important thing is who you are walking that path with."

Jiang Siyan looked at Gu Xiang Kai, but his gaze was actually fixed on Nan Yue behind him.

The three girls were laughing and playing, looking less like battle-hardened scavengers and more like students in the pollution world who hadn't yet left their ivory towers.

Gu Xiang Kai smiled. "You're right."

"Besides, we're different from Shen Nian."

"We have Nan Yue."

The reason they had chosen this old path wasn't because of overconfidence in their own abilities, nor was it a case of blindly following Nan Yue.

It was because of Nan Yue's uniqueness.

Her special nature allowed everyone to see the possibility of tearing through the darkness to find the truth.

This was why they followed her, why Fu Xi Ming had been willing to cooperate with the then-obscure Nan Yue, and why Jiang Siyan had been drawn to her in the first place.

"The sunset is so beautiful."

Nan Yue leaned against the edge of the pool, her features bathed in orange and gold.

"It is," Jiang Siyan echoed softly.

That evening, they went for a roasted lamb feast.

Nan Yue happily ordered plenty of wine but only managed to drink one bottle.

"Another bottle!"

Nan Yue tugged at Jiang Siyan's clothes with her greasy hands. Jiang Siyan looked at her with amusement, one hand resting lightly on the small of her back.

"You'll be drunk if you have any more."

"I won't!"

"If you get drunk, you'll throw up all that roasted lamb."

Nan Yue gave up with a look of grievance. "Then I won't drink anymore."

Compared to wine, the roasted lamb was far more delicious.

Even while eating roasted lamb, Wen Xiang Yuan remained elegant and noble. She used a silver knife and fork to cut the fragrant, crispy, succulent meat into small pieces before eating.

Jiang Siyan had intended to help Nan Yue carve her lamb leg into bite-sized pieces, but Nan Yue waved him off and simply picked up the bone to gnaw on it.

Jiang Siyan watched her for a moment and smiled.

The meal lasted until the silver moon hung high in the sky. After they had their fill, the once-boisterous feast settled into a warm, peaceful atmosphere.

"Tomorrow, let's go see the Crescent Pool."

Nan Yue hadn't drunk much, so she wasn't particularly intoxicated, and her eyes were bright.

Although she would eventually walk into the darkness outside, Nan Yue was someone who truly enjoyed life.

She wanted to see more of it.

Sitting beside her, Wen Xiang Yuan was momentarily stunned. She had a high tolerance and had drunk quite a bit without getting tipsy.

Only she heard Nan Yue's soft murmur.

For some reason, Wen Xiang Yuan's eyes suddenly welled with tears.

Since emerging from the mission, she seemed to have learned how to better control her emotions.

She had integrated more closely with the team, and everyone's emotional control had become more precise.

This was the first time Wen Xiang Yuan had shown such strong emotion since leaving the mission world.

She looked at Nan Yue's profile, seeing her filled with expectation and longing for beautiful things.

Wen Xiang Yuan suddenly felt an urge to cry.

But she held it back, saying nothing and merely gripping her own cold hands.

She was different from them.

It was hard to say who was more tragic.

But the longer she spent with Nan Yue and the others, the more her heart ached for the existence of scavengers.

The five of them set out early the next morning. Upon arriving at the Crescent Pool, they realized the place was much larger than they had imagined.

It was called a lake, but they couldn't even see the opposite shore.

The blue sky, white clouds, and golden sands were all reflected in the crystal-clear water, with small sailboats drifting in the distance.

The sand at the Crescent Pool was nearly white and very fine. Gu Xiang Kai and the others found a spot to set up the lounge chairs and sun umbrellas, while Zhu Xi Ning had already dragged Nan Yue into the lake.

Wen Xiang Yuan didn't go into the water. Like a true aristocratic lady, she put on a sun hat and sipped an iced cocktail under the umbrella.

"You're not going in?"

Gu Xiang Kai saw that Jiang Siyan had also entered the water and turned to Wen Xiang Yuan.

"I'll just watch our things."

Zhu Xi Ning had brought a lot of miscellaneous items, and Gu Xiang Kai was worried they might blow away.

"I don't really like swimming."

Wen Xiang Yuan lay back in her chair with her eyes squinted. "You go ahead."

Gu Xiang Kai scratched his head and sat down beside her.

"I don't really feel like going in either."

The two of them lay there quietly for a while before Wen Xiang Yuan turned to look at Gu Xiang Kai. "Brother Gu, is there anything you find most terrifying?"

Gu Xiang Kai thought about it seriously. "I don't like slimy monsters."

Wen Xiang Yuan was speechless.

"Are you afraid of snakes?"

Gu Xiang Kai shook his head. "Snakes aren't slimy."

"Back when we were in school doing the fear desensitization tests, the tests I entered were full of those slimy, slippery things covered in mucus. They looked like earthworms or fish."

Wen Xiang Yuan gave him a look of sympathy.

"What about you?"

Gu Xiang Kai and the others now knew Wen Xiang Yuan's identity, so they were aware she hadn't received scavenger training. Her previous blunders weren't because of poor grades, but because she had never attended school at all.

"Me?"

Wen Xiang Yuan bit her straw. "I used to be afraid of my brother."

Gu Xiang Kai thought of that man who was handsome but had committed acts worse than a beast.

"You don't have to fear him anymore," Gu Xiang Kai said pointedly.

Wen Xiang Yuan smiled. "Now, I'm more afraid of... failure."

"Failure?"

Wen Xiang Yuan turned to look at Gu Xiang Kai. "Even though I'm different from you all, what I want to do doesn't conflict with your goals. In fact, they complement each other."

"I'm afraid of failure."

"Whether it's yours or mine."

Wen Xiang Yuan's voice was soft and gentle, but her tone was exceptionally firm.

"I don't want to fail."

This was the first time Gu Xiang Kai had seen this side of Wen Xiang Yuan.

For a long time, she had lived a muddled life because of her identity. She had her own world, family, and status, caught in an awkward struggle between two worlds.

But now, she was no longer a rose drifting in the wind and rain; she had grown her own stems and thorns, no longer wishing to depend on others or seek protection.