Losing the only dependence of life, collapse came with it.
Freedom?
That was utterly impossible to possess.
They were pitiful test subjects, destined from birth to never leave this place.
Her sister was gone, Yi Qi cried bitterly as she recalled their promise that they would always be together. Thankfully, she now had the ability to fulfill it. When Mr. Su had captured her, she stole a small knife from his pocket.
The blade repeatedly pierced her neck as Yi Qi struck hard, for she was never afraid of pain.
Her swaying body crashed to the ground, Yi Qi coughing up more blood. She gasped for air with difficulty, her tear-filled hateful gaze fixed upon Yuan Jianghai, determined not to let him save her!
Yuan Jianghai said, "What a pity, I wanted to observe the subsequent symptoms of your illness."
The manservant said, "Lord Yuan, shall we save her?"
Yuan Jianghai said, "No need, I have other substitutes. They have fulfilled their purpose; they are good children."
People left the room.
Soon, someone would come to clean up the mess. Luoyi and Yi Qi would be thrown into the incinerator, burned to ashes then dumped into the river to be carried out to sea, disappearing forever as if they had never existed.
Yi Qi still had some breath left, crawling painfully to her sister's side and tightly grasping her still-warm hand.
Scenes from the past replayed before her eyes.
Damn it!
Her own evil nature deserved no good death, but her sister was kind!
Why did her sister meet such an end?
So unfair, too unfair!
On the verge of death, Yi Qi heard a rustling sound, like an electronic signal being interfered with.
[Ding!]
[The system has been fully activated, host please make a wish]
Yi Qi kept coughing up blood, her breath growing fainter.
Make a wish?
What was this? An auditory hallucination?
If she could truly make a wish, then she hoped her sister would be free in her next life!
[Ding!]
[This wish has a possibility of being fulfilled. After experiencing 99 lives over 1,800 years, the host will create a second world line where her sister will leave the lab after being born and greet freedom]
The last trace of strength dissipated into nothingness, the light fading from Yi Qi's eyes as she died, but with a smile on her lips.
A group of people in protective suits entered the room, the two small corpses placed into body bags, the blood wiped away as they wheeled the cart out.
An unusually high number of children died today, corpse after corpse stacked together sent into the incinerator.
Three hours later at the first light of dawn, the diligent servants dragged a cart to the riverside, dumping the ashes and bone fragments into the water.
The surging river flowed endlessly, with countless children's remains cast into it.
In the dim light, the cold wind kept crying out, resentment merging into the river's currents towards the sea.
[Ding!]
[System message: Clue ends]
Time accelerated, dust settling back into corners, graffiti fading, all things growing old.
Tears streamed down Luoyi's cheeks, the last missing puzzle piece now in its proper place, everything connected. She knew who she was and her past.
Most importantly, Luoyi remembered that the system came from her sister.
In the second world line, Luoyi was sent to the Yuan family at birth, becoming the sister to the five Yuan brothers, while Yi Qi remained in the lab. Without Luoyi, she quickly fell ill and descended into darkness, forgetting her original intent.
For the wish to truly be fulfilled, one must maintain that pure intent, or tragedy would still unfold.
So in the second world line, Luoyi died at 18 years old.
Recalling her past experiences, Luoyi had teetered on the edge of darkness many times, nearly falling in.
It was such a close call, fortunately she withstood the trials.
Luoyi remembered the voices in her mind before:
"Luoyi, Luoyi, my dear sister, don't let the darkness consume you..."
"Let's go, leave this place."
"You are the only beauty in my life, so live on in the light for me."
She finally understood what those sorrowful calls meant.
There was a way to merge the world lines - she had to return to the room where her sister died and make another wish!
Luoyi ran to the door, trying to push it open, but it was locked from the outside. Yuan Si's desire to control her had always been strong. She pounded on the door with both hands, but the soft foam could only make a dull thud.
No one outside could hear her shouting from in here. Luoyi could only wait.
The time she could revisit was also limited - she had to make the wish before returning!
Time ticked by second by second as Luoyi grew increasingly anxious, pacing around the room. After taking a few deep breaths, she calmed down a little.
It'll be okay, the hardest part was already over.
Descending into darkness was simple, just let anger vent, but persisting in the light was most difficult.
This was the last darkness before dawn.
She would definitely succeed in making the wish!
"Click!"
The sound of unlocking!
Luoyi watched as the heavy iron door slowly opened, light from outside piercing through.
When it was half open, Luoyi rushed out, colliding head-on with Yuan Si's bony, wiry frame, causing a painful gasp.
No time to care about that now. Luoyi strode forth, following the route from her memories, moving forward without pause.
A few manservants tried to stop Luoyi but dared not harm her. After some flustered gesturing, they failed to catch her.
Past memories merged with the present scene.
Luoyi saw many children, either standing or sitting, their gazes seeming to transcend time and space as they silently watched Luoyi running, waiting for her to reach the starting point and end this tragedy.
Most were "defective products" abandoned by parents, others were civilian children abducted.
No wonder those people hated the Yuan family so much, spending decades for revenge - all because of Yuan Jianghai's sins.
More pitifully, these victims were deceived and used by Yuan Jianghai to attack Yuan's Father, like the Su sisters.
Luoyi kept running, pushing through layer after layer of obstacles.
She actually disliked running - it was too strenuous, her throat would taste bloody, her legs would tremble afterward, and feel sore the next morning. But now, she ran like a joyous fawn, towards a beautiful new future.
Behind her, the manservants pursued her relentlessly. She could not slow down, she had to focus intently on approaching her goal.
After rounding the final corner, a weathered door appeared.
"Whoosh!"
Luoyi yanked it open with force.
A musty, damp smell of mold assaulted her nostrils. This room had been converted into a storage room, cluttered with stacks of cardboard boxes, dilapidated and ancient.
She closed the door and locked it.
Luoyi panted, her heart pounding. She had reached her destination!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The pursuing manservants pounded frantically on the door, trying to break in.
Ignoring them, Luoyi continued forward. She could sense this room's uniqueness, as if countless threads were entwined here. With every step she took, space and time twisted a little.
Reaching the center of the room, where a pool of blood had once stained the ground, a tragedy had occurred. Yi Qi had held Luoyi's hand and made the first wish.
She wanted her sister to be free.
[Ding!]
[System prompt: Host has inherited influence over this world line]
[Assessing possibility of world line fusion]
[Ding!]
[There is a possibility of success]
[Please make a wish, Host]
Luoyi raised her arms, feeling immense resistance, an invisible force pulling at her. The causal lines of three worlds converged on her tiny frame.
Space continually twisted and tore, the stacked cardboard boxes instantly shredded to fragments. The terrifying void expanded, assimilating anything that fell into it.
The floor cracked and collapsed in chunks, the void already lapping at Luoyi's feet.
Luoyi remembered.
Her wish was for everyone to be saved, not just Yuan's Father, Yuan's Mother, and her five brothers, but also her sister Yi Qi and those poor victims.
She had forgotten many things, but this one wish, she could always voice.
She shouted, her voice piercing the first rays of dawn, pure and clear.
"World!"
"Grant my wish!"
"Let everyone be saved!"
The three worlds split by tragedy differed in a thousand ways, changing in myriad forms. Yet the sole, sincere heart that traversed between them never wavered.
All causalities entwined around Luoyi, contracting and pulling the world lines together to merge.
She was so small, a mere speck of dust before the entire universe.
Yet she was so resilient, traveling through time and space alone, bearing the weight of everything.
Pain, oppression, struggle, sorrow, and finally, life blossoming towards the sun.
The void disappeared, light bursting forth.
Luoyi's wish at last received the world's response.
