Choice

Nan Yue thought for a moment. Fu Xi Ming was truly worried about her, so she added a sincere reassurance.

"And you do not need to worry about me, because even if he really is dangerous, it does not matter."

"I could handle three of him with room to spare."

Nan Yue was too powerful to worry about potential dangers.

Forget the fact that Jiang Siyan had never been a threat to her, even if he were...

She could easily kill him.

Fu Xi Ming let out a long sigh. Nan Yue was still young. Given Jiang Siyan’s gloomy and self-destructive personality, he might actually be happy if Nan Yue killed him.

Wait... why was she even concerned about that!

Thus, Fu Xi Ming quickened her pace and left with the sighing Lan Jing Shui.

...

"You have been watching me."

Nan Yue snapped out of it. Jiang Siyan was standing beside her, holding a cream piping bag, looking down at her.

"Ah... I was just thinking about some things."

Jiang Siyan asked casually, "What did Fu Xi Ming say to you before she left?"

Nan Yue looked up at Jiang Siyan. When he looked at her, the sharp, cold glint in his eyes was indeed gone, replaced by a somewhat obsessive focus.

The truth about the scavenger world had indeed dealt Jiang Siyan a significant blow.

"I want to ask you something."

Nan Yue patted the seat next to her, gesturing for Jiang Siyan to sit down. He obeyed instantly.

"Do you still want to live?"

If Jiang Siyan’s self-destructive tendencies had previously been kept in check by his logic, the moment he learned the truth of his identity, even that logic had likely vanished.

This world was meaningless, and he himself was meaningless.

It was not just Jiang Siyan. Even Gu Xiang Kai and the others would inevitably have such thoughts.

After all, they were manufactured as machines and expendables. They were never intended to have their own sense of purpose.

Jiang Siyan stared down at the piping bag without speaking. Nan Yue hesitated for a moment.

"No one knows what the road ahead looks like, but if you are not sure..."

Jiang Siyan turned to look at Nan Yue, his voice low and heavy. "Are you going to abandon me?"

Nan Yue froze. How did a normal relationship conversation end up sounding like she was a heartbreaker?

"I need to be responsible for the others. And for you as well."

If Jiang Siyan was unstable, taking him outside the city states would be an extremely risky move.

A team had to have tight-knit trust to function.

Jiang Siyan lowered his gaze. "Do not worry. I am fine."

Nan Yue observed him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I believe you."

Jiang Siyan stood up to continue making the cake. After a few steps, he paused. "Regarding your question earlier, of course I want to live."

Nan Yue raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Jiang Siyan did not explain further either.

But after this conversation, Jiang Siyan seemed to have recovered some of his previous state. At the very least, he acted the same as before toward Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai.

He was proving to Nan Yue through his actions that he did not want to leave the team and could continue to adapt to it.

While they were resting comfortably in Eagle City State, the Sharp Blade headquarters in Eden was like it had been hit by a tornado.

The high-ranking members of Sharp Blade learned the truth about the world the moment Fu Xi Ming returned to Eden. Their reactions varied, but looking at the chaos in the meeting room, it was clear that few were taking it well.

Even Dongfang Yuelai, who usually greeted everyone with a smile, was now standing in the shadows without saying a word.

"So, it really is as Deputy Head He said. All that talk about hope and freedom was fake. We should have stopped looking for the truth long ago."

A red-haired woman sneered. One of her eyes was blind for unknown reasons, replaced by a metal prosthetic. The silvery, mechanical light made her appear even colder.

This was the Top 10 scavenger, Chi Yu.

Yin Qian had also shed his usual frail appearance, sitting there expressionless as he looked at Fu Xi Ming.

"So we are going to declare war on the Federation? Just with us?"

A-Xiu stood behind Fu Xi Ming. Although she was also deeply shaken, she remained firmly by Fu Xi Ming’s side.

"This is not a mandatory choice. There will always be those who choose to resist and those who choose to compromise."

The moment Fu Xi Ming spoke, the meeting room fell silent.

Since Shen Nian’s death, Fu Xi Ming had been in charge of Sharp Blade. Her words carried the most weight here.

"So the choice you have to make is what kind of person you want to be."

"I will not hold it against anyone who chooses to leave. No matter what the world becomes, as long as we are not enemies, neither I nor Sharp Blade will make things difficult for you."

"But if you want to stay in Sharp Blade and enjoy its resources and advantages, then I hope you do not forget the original purpose for which Sharp Blade was founded."

No one in the meeting room spoke. After a while, Chi Yu raised her hand.

"What about the Research Department?"

Everyone present was part of the core strength of Sharp Blade and knew the organization’s situation well.

"The entire Research Department has already agreed to stay. They are shifting their research focus to study the Federation and the monitoring operating system."

Scientists were always the most curious and persistent group. They were the ones truly willing to give everything for the truth.

Even though the truth of the world was the complete opposite of what they had imagined, it provided a broader field worth exploring.

Chi Yu curled her lip and lowered her hand.

"Those guys."

Fu Xi Ming, dressed in a black suit with her hands in her pockets, looked at the dozen or so people in the room.

"I need you to make your choice now."

...

When Wen Xiang Yuan emerged from the brain-computer interface, only Wen Shen was by her side.

Wen Shen knelt down and draped a cashmere shawl over Wen Xiang Yuan’s shoulders.

"The weather is getting cold. Miss should go take a bath first."

Wen Xiang Yuan took the tea Wen Shen handed her and took a sip. "Where is my brother?"

Wen Shen replied with an expressionless face, like a robot.

"Your uncle is here."

Someone from Dingshi Company.

Wen Xiang Yuan lowered her eyes. "I will skip the bath. I will change my clothes and head over. Since a relative has come to visit, I must host them regardless."

Wen Gan Ting was sitting in the parlor with a stern-looking man. He was the current head of Dingshi Company and the uncle of Wen Xiang Yuan and Wen Gan Ting.

Zhao Xiang.

"I do not understand why we still need to increase our investment in the Scavenger Purification Project. It is just a routine project."

There was a hint of impatience on Zhao Xiang’s face.

Dingshi Company had originally built its fortune on the Scavenger Purification Project, investing artificial humans and genetic engineering technology into it.

Working with the operating system from Saike Technology Company, they cast the scavenger world into an alternate space to purify pollution.

At that time, these two companies successfully rose to the ranks of top-tier elite families through this single project.

The young master of Dingshi Company was then favored by the person in power of the Wen family at the time, eventually becoming Wen Xiang Yuan’s father.