Even though she knew all along that it would be impossible to keep such important matter hidden for such a lengthy time.
However, Chloe never imagined that this day would arrive so swiftly.
She reached for the wound on her neck, humorously noting,
“After all, it's no big deal, every medicine in this world has its side effects, right? Especially the ones they injected into me, so potent, it's impossible not to have some severe side effects, wouldn’t you agree?”
Qin Huaibei frowned, “Don’t try and change the subject. Be honest with me, how much longer do you have to live?”
Chloe: “…”
She replied gloomily, “Why are you being so severe? Do you really wish to watch me succumb in front of you all?”
Qin Huaibei: “…”
“Take this seriously.”
His face filled with genuine concern.
Left with no choice, Chloe poured out her tragic tale.
Eliciting few teardrops.
Qin Huaibei and Daniel: “…”
They watched Chloe’s animated storytelling.
Although they knew there was a high likelihood her story was true, her pitiful demeanor, as if she wanted everyone in the world to pity her, irritated them immensely.
For a moment, they didn’t know what to say.
Silence enveloped the room.
After who knows how long, in the midst of the tense atmosphere, someone finally took action.
Anderson stood up to tend to the wound on Chloe’s neck, ever so gently.
For some reason, Chloe felt that his fingers were trembling.
However, when she turned to look, she found Anderson calm, his eyes not revealing any unrest.
An illusion?
Chloe couldn’t tell.
At the same time, Katherine turned and moved towards the Forest of Life.
Chloe noticed her, and called out, “Where are you going?”
“To fetch something.”
Since Katherine was usually calm and composed, Chloe could not determine if she was angry from her voice.
Chloe was slightly puzzled.
What could she be doing in the Forest of Life at this time?
Currently, Katherine held a celebrity-like status among the elves; everyone knew she was the ‘Holy Maiden’ dismissed a few decades ago, but also the heroine who saved the Forest of Life.
Of course, the Elder Council might have formally dismissed Katherine as the ‘Holy Maiden’, but the ‘Holy Son' and ‘Holy Maiden’ are chosen by the Forest of Life. Regardless of the Elder Council's decisions, it did not affect the benevolence of the Forest of Life towards the ‘Holy Maiden’.
Hence, no one stopped her from entering the forest.
In the ensuing silence, Chloe reached for her neck, and upon feeling that the blood had clotted, casually suggested:
“If there's nothing else, shall we go back to the tent to rest?”
The vampire soldiers had already set up the camps. There was even a tent specially set up for them, with a sign hanging from the curtain that read 'For Miss Chloe and her companions’.
Qin Huaibei did not respond. After a while, he finally sighed:
“So, you're saying, all that's left of your lifespan is one hundred years?”
Chloe nodded, “That seems to be the case.”
Qin Huaibei, not giving up, asked, “There's no other way?”
“Not for now.”
Silence ensued.
Suddenly, Daniel spoke, "I think going after the Viper Group isn't such a big deal, your health is what's important."
He sounded a bit down, "That Viper Group, as long as you really want to find them, you will."
Chloe blinked, "But the problem is, if we can't locate the Viper Group accurately, randomly searching like this is something no race could tolerate."
She tried to get Daniel to understand the stakes:
"Imagine if it were you, a guy who is not exactly a friend, even hostile, comes to your house to look for something."
"And they can't even specify where the thing is, just searching high and low on your territory, how would you feel?"
Chloe slowly explained, "You would not think that their actions are great, you would constantly suspect that they might steal from you, invade your territory while you weren't paying attention."
"You'd worry every moment, suspicion and doubt never leaving, and the final outcome of the event would probably be a big fight."
As she finished, Daniel was rendered speechless.
He opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing, finally he just swore in annoyance.
"So there's really no other way?"
Chloe spread her hands, "Not at the moment."
It really is an impossible problem.
Chloe looked around, finally saying:
"Okay, I'm still alive, don't worry too much, living another day is another day, right? I'm not going to drop dead in front of you the next second, right?"
She patted Qin Huaibei and Daniel's shoulders generously, "Go rest, it's still early, there will be a solution eventually."
"If not today, then tomorrow."
...
Finally getting everyone to leave, Chloe let out a sigh of relief.
When she turned back to look, she found that Anderson was still standing by her side in silence.
Chloe thought for a while and said, "You can also go back, I'll have something to deal with later, my dad can be really stubborn sometimes..."
Before she could finish, Chloe stopped abruptly.
The reason was nothing else, Anderson was crying.
He was actually crying!
Chloe was flustered instantly, "Hey, why are you crying?"
"Do real men cry easily? It's embarrassing if anyone finds out, stop crying, stop crying."
Chloe fumbled around in her pockets and finally pulled out a tissue for him to wipe his tears.
Anderson's whole eye socket was red, tears streaming down his face like they were free.
His emerald eyes looked like they were covered in a layer of water vapor, appearing fragile beyond belief.
Chloe had some idea why he was crying, and her feelings were mixed.
As she wiped his tears, Chloe's attention began to waver a bit.
Looking at Anderson, sobbing softly, his rosy cheeks wet with tears, she was momentarily distracted, and murmured:
"So beautiful..."
No sooner had she said it than Anderson's tears fell harder.
Chloe: "......"
She should have sewn her mouth shut.
Chloe didn't know how long they had been at it, but "Don't cry" was the phrase she repeated most frequently as Anderson tossed and turned.
Finally, Anderson managed to hold back his tears.
Looking into Anderson's eyes, Chloe couldn't help but lick her lips.
Anderson saw this and, feeling somewhat shy, averted his gaze.
Internally, Chloe swore at herself, then in an effort to play it cool, she patted Anderson on the shoulder, saying:
"What's the big deal? You're just taking this minor issue too seriously. Look, I'm still here, aren't I? I'm not dead."
Anderson appeared deeply wronged. After a long while, he managed a quiet mumble of acknowledgement.
Looking at the pitifully beautiful person in front of her, Chloe swallowed lump in her throat. It was ridiculous, she thought, that a man could look even more beautiful crying than all the beauties she had ever seen before.
