The price of escaping the academy was Ye Xue's severe injury and unconsciousness. Rin held her, like a wounded lone wolf, running frantically through the endless night. He avoided city surveillance and evaded the organization's pursuers, relying on his past life's familiarity with the underground world, and trekked arduously towards a forgotten corner.
After an almost极限 escape, Rin finally brought Ye Xue, sneaking into a remote underground city—"Lost Town".
This city was deeply hidden underground, its air permeated with dampness and decay, yet also filled with the hustle and bustle of a bustling street. Neon lights flickered in dimly lit passages, and various strange cyborgs and gene-mutated individuals moved through the streets. There were no academy rules here, no organization surveillance; it was a lawless place, a forgotten corner of the world.
The residents of "Lost Town" were mostly former organization uncontrolled test subjects, discarded failures, and drifters weary of the constraints of the surface world. Bearing their own scars and secrets, they eked out an existence in this darkness, forming a unique underground society.
Rin settled Ye Xue in an abandoned clinic. Her spine had been hit by the energy gun; though not immediately fatal, her condition remained critical. Rin, relying on his past life's medical knowledge, barely managed to stop the bleeding and treat her wound, but she remained in a deep coma, her life force faint.
Rin tightly held Ye Xue's cold hand. He knew that here, he couldn't provide professional medical assistance. He needed to find a more skilled doctor, or a way to awaken Ye Xue.
Just as Rin was anxiously searching for clues, a hunched figure slowly entered the clinic. It was an elderly man with white hair, dressed in worn cotton robes, his face etched with the marks of time, yet his eyes were remarkably wise and deep.
"Young man, your companion is in a bad state," the old man spoke hoarsely, his gaze falling on Ye Xue with a complex emotion. "However, the fact that you brought her here indicates an extraordinary bond between you."
Rin sharply looked up, warily observing the old man. He could sense a special aura from the old man, not killing intent, but a weathered wisdom, and… a ripple that was similar to, yet distinctly different from, the organization's energy signature.
"Who are you?" Rin asked coldly.
The old man slowly walked to a dilapidated chair and sat down. He ignored Rin's wariness and softly sighed: "Who am I… once, I was the 'Blade of Demise Recorder'."
"Blade of Demise Recorder?!" Rin's heart pounded. This was an extremely secretive position within the organization, responsible for documenting all information about the "Blade of Demise," including their birth, growth, missions, and ultimate… "demise"!
If he truly was the "Blade of Demise Recorder," then he must possess a wealth of secrets about Rin and Ye Xue!
"Don't be nervous. I've been away from that godforsaken place for a long time," the old man said faintly, as if reading Rin's mind. "I no longer serve them."
He looked up at Rin, a hint of pity in his eyes: "Your arrival here is guided by fate. The purest bloodline of the 'Blade of Demise' flows within you, but your 'rebirth' was no accident."
Rin's body trembled violently. He stared fixedly at the old man, urgently asking: "You… what do you know?!"
The old man extended his gaunt hand, pointing to the unconscious Ye Xue, his voice low and powerful, every word like a hammer striking Rin's heart:
"Your rebirth was… bought with her life."
"What?!" Rin's pupils sharply constricted!
The old man's words, like a thunderclap, exploded in his mind, instantly shattering the last vestiges of pretense deep within him.
"The 'execution' back then was not a simple elimination," the old man continued, his voice tinged with the pain of memory. "'Blade of Demise' was too powerful to be completely purged. The organization hoped to decompose your power through the 'Demise Project' and 're-infuse' it into other test subjects. But she… she, for your sake…"
The old man paused, a hint of respect and sadness in his eyes: "She used all her authority, even at the cost of her own life, to steal the core data of the 'Demise Project,' reversing the flow of 'Demise Power,' redirecting the very power intended to decompose you back into your body, thereby forcibly instigating your 'rebirth'!"
"And she herself… in exchange, as a price… was completely 'purged' by the organization, her memories erased, her mind re-molded, becoming the 'Cold Moon' of today."
In Rin's mind, Ye Xue's painful pleas in the memory fragments, the scene of her taking a bullet for him, and her dying words, "In this life… please… forget me"… All the pieces, at this moment, completely came together!
It turned out that everything he had was bought with Ye Xue's life! Her "betrayal," her "amnesia," all the suffering she endured, was for him!
Rin abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with boundless remorse and pain. He had doubted her, resented her, yet she had always loved him with her life, protecting him!
"She… why would she do that?" Rin's voice was hoarse and trembling. He couldn't comprehend Ye Xue's ultimate sacrifice.
"Because of love," the old man calmly replied, his eyes deep and clear. "She loved you so much that she was willing to endure anything for you. And you, you were her only faith."
The old man's words, like morning bells and evening drums, thoroughly awakened Rin. He had always thought himself heartless, thought himself a lonely "weapon," but it turned out that he was the one who was deeply loved and protected.
"That's why she was called 'Cold Moon'," the old man looked at Ye Xue again, a sigh in his eyes. "That was the organization's mockery of her, and their fear of her bond. They thought erasing memories would erase everything."
"But they were wrong," the old man looked up at Rin, a hint of expectation in his eyes. "'Blade of Demise,' your rebirth was no accident. It was she who opened the first door to the old world. Now, you should know what you're fighting for."
Rin's gaze fell upon Ye Xue's pale and peaceful face, his eyes no longer confused, but filled with extreme tenderness and resolve. He tightened his grip on Ye Xue's cold hand, feeling her faint breaths.
He would fight for her. For all the pain she endured, for all the price she paid, for the "new world" she hoped for.
"Recorder… is there any way to save her?" Rin's voice was hoarse, yet filled with power.
The old man smiled faintly, gesturing for Rin to look at a dusty medical cabinet: "Though Lost Town is remote, it has its unique resources. However, this is all I can tell you. The rest of the journey you must walk yourself. And you, you will open more 'doors to the old world'."
Rin's gaze fixedly met the old man's, then shifted to the unconscious Ye Xue.
He knew that Lost Town was only his first step into the "old world." And this "old world" concealed a grander secret than he imagined, and also concealed the true destinies of him, Ye Xue, and the entire organization.
A journey of redemption, revenge, and truth had just begun.