Fu Hua's father had practiced martial arts for several decades.
His powers of observation were naturally extremely sharp.
At the very least, compared to Hua, who was now only fifteen years old, he could notice more…
And see more of what lay beneath.
For example: the lingering sense of age in the eyes of the "Hua" standing before him.
At this moment, Fu Hua's father felt very strange.
The one standing in front of him was clearly his daughter.
Of that, he was completely certain.
But while he could clearly feel that closeness thicker than blood, he also, very strangely, felt as if he were facing a…
How should he put it?
An old senior.
One who somehow stood a generation below him.
Yes.
It was exactly that strange and contradictory a feeling.
So much so that…
"You…"
Fu Hua's father looked at the clothes this daughter was wearing.
A hospital nurse's uniform.
"…"
There were even more strange points now.
There was nothing he could do about that. In the end, he was only an ordinary person.
Even after studying martial arts for several decades, he had still been injured and hospitalized after encountering a single Honkai zombie.
His knowledge and strength were both still at an ordinary person's level.
He had never stepped into the extraordinary.
Even so…
"Come sit."
A kind smile still appeared on the middle-aged man's face.
He had clearly noticed something.
But precisely because he was her father, he said nothing.
Fu Hua, on the other hand…
"I…"
She was still somewhat hesitant.
Just now, after Xiao Shi had forcefully dragged her inside and she had unconsciously spoken those words of return, that burst of emotion had passed. Once it did, she began hesitating again.
Fortunately, right then…
"Old Timer, if you keep being this fussy and indecisive, I'm going to start making trouble again."
Inside her mind, Xiao Shi's almost teeth-grinding "threat" sounded faintly.
"Right now. Immediately. Either you talk properly by yourself, slowly and honestly, or I'll use Fenghuang Down and hit our dad with the full treatment…"
Hua's father: …Well, that was something.
He had suddenly gained two little daughters meant to warm the heart.
Only one was still frosted over, and the other…
Leaked wind through the lining.
"Tch."
Xiao Shi clicked her tongue.
Of course, she was deliberately saying something scary.
Angry words meant to frighten only Fu Hua.
Perhaps Fu Hua could also see through her intention at a glance.
But as long as this little push was there…
"In short, even if your mouth is clumsy, even if you don't trust yourself, you should at least trust our dad."
"That's all I'm saying. Do what you want."
Having said that much, Xiao Shi no longer said anything unnecessary.
As for Fu Hua…
It had to be said that after Xiao Shi used the dumbest, most direct method to forcefully shove her forward, the heart that had still been tangled finally relaxed a little more.
And so, the feet that had stopped in one place for far, far too long finally moved again after so many years.
For the first time…
She stepped forward by her own will.
No longer carried along by anything outside herself.
The purest step she could take.
"Dad."
She came to the side of her father's sickbed and slowly sat down.
Then…
"I want to tell you a story."
Fu Hua spoke with an uncharacteristic nervousness, almost timid.
"It's a little long."
Seeing her like this…
"All right. I'm listening."
Father Hua smiled. "I'll always have time to chat with my good daughter."
Hearing that, Fu Hua smiled too.
On this day, after crossing a long span of years, a daughter more than fifty thousand years old…
Once again had someone she could pour her troubles out to without fear.
His name was: Father.
A harbor for her heart.
At the same time, on the roof of another building across the road from Chancheng First People's Hospital's inpatient building.
"This is fine too, isn't it?"
Ling Ke stood at the edge of the rooftop.
He seemed to be growing more and more fond of places like this, high enough to look far into the distance.
However, this time, he had not come here alone.
There was another person beside him.
Kevin Kaslana.
This white-haired young man (?) was, like Fu Hua, a "returnee."
He had already gone to North America and made contact with that boy who loved superheroes, as well as the boy's childhood friend.
Although he had not told the two of them MEI's plan in full, and had only revealed various matters related to Honkai…
Even the shallowest information was still enough to draw in the future "Daybreak."
In short, the newborn World Serpent had gained several more comrades.
And now, Kevin had come alone to Shenzhou.
Originally, he had planned to follow the action plan MEI had given him, first making contact with Hua's father and explaining the situation to him.
But he had not expected that halfway there, Ling Ke would suddenly appear and directly block his path.
Looking at things now…
"Yes."
With Kevin's eyesight, even with a large road between them, he could still clearly see everything inside the hospital room through the window.
How long had it been?
How long had it been since he had seen that gray-haired girl (?)…
That comrade…
Smile?
Perhaps she had smiled before.
But that kind of smile, one that came from the heart and rejoiced for herself…
He had never seen it.
Looking at it this way…
"This really is fine too."
Kevin spoke his true thoughts.
Then he turned his head toward Ling Ke, who stood beside him.
"You…"
"Is it unexpected?"
Ling Ke did not meet his eyes. He only continued talking at his own pace.
"Kevin, Kevin. Even you fall into the usual assumptions sometimes."
"The world has always been this ironic."
"A good person, even if he spends his whole life doing good deeds and helping others…
"Or a person with great achievements, even if he once brought countless compatriots glory in a field where they had never had it before…
"As long as they fail once, or even simply fall short for one moment, slander and abuse will come surging back like venom, mad as the tide."
"On the other hand…"
Ling Ke's gaze narrowed slightly, his eyes full of mockery.
"An evil person like me can erase billions of lives with a wave of my hand…
"No. If we count the entire history of the Current Era, that number becomes even more terrifying."
"Of course I know that among those people, most were innocent."
"But I still did it. Because my position had already turned entirely toward myself."
"I am that kind of…
"Villain."
"And now, someone like me merely acts on a whim, gives a little push from the side, and helps a father and daughter long separated reunite, and I can still receive gratitude from those nearby, even… approval."
Only at this point did Ling Ke look at Kevin.
His words carried a deeper meaning.
"Being a good person is hard, Kevin Kaslana."
"Harder still to be a hero."
The corner of his mouth curved up slightly.
"After all, a villain only needs to think about how to act without restraint, how to do whatever he wants."
"But a hero…
"A hero has far, far too many things to consider."
After saying this, he turned away.
As he did, he patted Kevin on the shoulder like an old friend he had known for years.
"Do your best, Flame-Chaser of Deliverance."
"The road ahead of you may not be any easier than the one you walked before."
His words carried a double meaning.
"The malice of the world is not so easily erased."
"And my 'script' is not that gentle either."