"There's been a situation."

Yu Shu spoke hesitantly, stumbling over his words.

Just recently, in New Spring Town, the first case of an infection 'death' due to the spiritual plague has emerged...

Ji Jue remained silent, for a long time, and slowly stood up.

He walked out the door.

.

.

The market was eerily quiet, with a security line already set up.

In the distance, some people still looked on in fear, the shock yet to dissipate. Thanks to prior preparations and arrangements, the death of the infected did not cause large-scale chaos and panic.

The crowd had been evacuated and addressed as soon as it was discovered.

The stalls still had soup boiling, yet behind the table, a frail man lay on a chair, curled up, seemingly unable to wake up, with no sign of life left.

A brief afternoon nap from which he never awoke.

It seemed as if he was still lost in a dream, with a slight curve at the corner of his mouth.

As if he was smiling.

In the silence, only the sound of a large pot of soup boiling down into vapor, with steam rising gently. The rice cakes on the bamboo basket, yet to be sliced, had already stuck together.

Ji Jue looked at the face on the reclined chair, finally recognizing the familiar features and traces from the past, in a moment of sudden realization, remembering this man once invited him for rice cakes.

Only, back then, his smile was too shrewd and mature, hard to distinguish whether it was flattery, reverence, or tearful gratitude.

Now, he seemed much more at ease when smiling.

"...Wasn't it said that the vaccine was administered?" he turned back to ask.

"The vaccine isn't a hundred percent guarantee," Yu Shu's expression was complex: "If both body and soul are too weak, resistance will also be lacking... besides..."

He paused, letting out a silent sigh.

This body was already running on empty.

His blood and vitality were weak, breathing difficult.

Like a candle flickering in the wind...

Even without this incident, who knows when he might have died, the so-called spiritual plague, was just the final gust blowing through.

Ji Jue turned back, looking at the market manager who had just arrived: "What's his situation?"

"Oh, it's him."

The market manager was momentarily stunned after realizing who the deceased was, his expression complex, as if he had already anticipated it, letting out a soft sigh: "At least he'll suffer less, it's a sort of release."

Ji Jue was silent for a moment, his voice growing cold: "Was there any extortion?"

"No, no, nothing like that, in our market such things don't happen, even if they did, the security team would have broken them up," the manager quickly explained, wiping sweat, and lamenting: "It's just that this guy worked too hard, selling rice cakes from morning till night, taking out trash at midnight, and every time he went to Cliff City, he brought back a pile of bits and pieces to sell, he did it every day... We've told him many times, his body couldn't take it, but he wouldn't listen.

I've heard that at the Coast, it's piecework plus base salary, and he joined many times, all the recruiting people knew him, each time they only advised him to come back, too old to handle it.

Just a few days ago, he asked me about delivering goods, whether it was profitable, fortunately, I stopped him."

"Was he in debt?" Yu Shu asked.

"Yes, a bit, but who isn't in some debt these days, though his gap was quite large."

The manager had a few workers sweeping respond, speaking over each other: "Besides making money to pay debts, he still had to treat his wife's disease, that moss thing..."

"Lichen disease?"

"Right, that thing a few years back, where no family outside the city missed death."

"Lost everything, couldn't find medicine, I heard apart from his wife, everyone else in the family was gone."

"Pitiably so."

A smoking old lady leaned on her broom, shaking her head: "Just a few days ago, his wife also passed."

"Wasn't it said that she had recovered?" The manager was also startled: "Last month, he rejoiced for quite a while, even gave me candy..."

"Originally, she was near recovery," the old lady glanced at him, speaking softly: "But with such things happening, it's inevitable. If you ask me, he had suffered enough, couldn't hold out any longer, right?"

Yu Shu was stunned.

His eyes lowered.

Long before going to the Thousand Islands, he had reviewed records from the Chongguang Church.

Over centuries, countless reports of spiritual plagues were vast as the sea, among them, just the records of dream loss filled several shelves, with dozens of large-scale outbreaks, all during times of chaos and between wars.

Compared to the severe situation where the entire island fell silent recorded therein, today's situation was merely a minor skirmish.

According to the Chongguang Church's statistics, the incubation period of dream loss was often very long, sometimes even including asymptomatic carriers, while the causes for its outbreak were diverse, the most common reason, however, was only one...

— A desire to die.

After losing all attachment to life, a longing for death emerges. As consciousness gradually evaporates, the self departs with the dream, never to be seen again, leaving behind just an empty shell in the mortal realm.

Never again feeling pain.

In the silence, Ji Jue stood, silently, gazing at the tranquil face marked with wrinkles. It seemed as though he was still immersed in a dream, all the sufferings and creases smoothed out into a gentle curve, slightly bent.

Exhausting a lifetime's worth of smiles.

"Mr. Ji..."

Yu Shu gathered his courage, calling out softly.

"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile yet."

Ji Jue slowly shook his head, "I was just thinking… at the very end, what did he see?"

Yu Shu's lips moved slightly, for some reason, suddenly recalling: back when at sea, with the barrel of a gun pressed against his face, that moment of his own.

The bodies drifting in the ocean, songs in the mist, it felt as if there was an unprecedented peace calling out to him...

When the end comes, what is felt surprisingly is not fear and reluctance.

But some form of relief.

"...Perhaps happiness."

He instinctively murmured softly.

Looking at that face.

The suffering had ended, from then on, no more worries.

That's why there's a smile...

"Happiness?"

Ji Jue seemed to smile.

He finally turned back, looking at him, but there was no smile on his face, his eyes were pitch black: "A world where happiness is only felt in death, doesn't anyone think there's a problem?"

"..."

Yu Shu was caught off guard, silent.

His fingers trembled slightly, instinctively closing.

Under such a gaze, he wanted to answer but could not speak, nor find the words.

And Ji Jue had already turned and walked away.

Leaving resolutely.

Unbearably so.

.

"Isis."

"Sir, I'm here."

"Prepare Mercury for me, start the workshop, adjust the sequence, mobilize spiritual reserves, and open material libraries four and seven..."

"Understood, preparing for large-scale alchemical engineering, preheat starting."

Isis finally inquired, "The project name?"

"."

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