Xingtetsu: You are not included in Elio's script!

Chapter 227 Nothingness

"What...is this place? A huge black hole, and the sea...Did I...succeed..." Sha Jin held his head and woke up.

Then Sha Jin found that everything around him was pitch black.

"Unfortunately, this is not the place you expected." Huang Quan suddenly appeared beside Sha Jin and said to him.

"Nothingness...is that so?" Shajin asked with some speculation when he saw the appearance of Huangquan and this space.

"Perhaps in your eyes, I am a hidden "Messenger", but... "Nothingness" 9 never glances at anyone. It has no appearance or form, and no will. "Nothingness" covers everyone equally."

"It's just that some people go further under His shadow and are contaminated with more 'nothingness', that's all." Huang Quan's voice gradually lowered.

"That's all...my friend, you really leave me at a loss for words, so...is this my destination, the place after death?" asked Sha Jin.

“This is just a fleeting dream, one of the myriad representations of the number 9… Under the witness of nothingness, we stay here for a short while before heading off in our own directions.”

"It seems that my death is inevitable." Sha Jin said with his hands spread out.

"Even if you wish so...I cannot make any promises. Now that the goal has been achieved, I think you can be more honest." Huang Quan closed his eyes.

"What do you mean?" asked Sha Jin.

"Your performance in the park was brilliant, full of bravado... simple but practical skills that fooled almost everyone."

“No one would have thought that you would go to such great lengths, even risking your own life, just to reconfirm a fact that seemed to have been denied long ago… ‘There is no ‘real death’ in Pinocchio’s dream.’” Huang Quan opened his eyes and looked directly at the gold sand.

"What reason do I have to do this?" Sha Jin wondered.

"Because only in this way can you touch upon the secret that is more unspeakable than the murder..."

“You can go there by ‘dying in a dream’, the promised land that people always seek in this grand event… the watchmaker’s legacy, the real ‘Pinocone’.”

"How did you find out?" Sha Jin couldn't understand.

"I never expected that something I learned by accident would become the key to connecting everything."

“It’s the identity of “that person”, right?”

"It seems you know about it too."

"I can't be sure, but I'm willing to bet on that possibility. 'Murder' is a good excuse, but it's far from enough. Even if there really were one or two murders in Pinocchio, it would only affect a very small number of people and wouldn't cause any waves."

"This beautiful dream is not a vast ocean, but an isolated island. The family used "harmony" to build embankments and high walls to isolate the outside world and protect people from drowning in the sea... At the same time, with the help of this "death isolation" barrier, the unknown secrets are buried in the deep sea. In the beautiful dream without pain and casualties, those secrets will never see the light of day, unless..."

Huang Quan continued Sha Jin's words and said, "Unless someone goes to the other side of the barrier and comes back alive."

"Someone has done it. I got a hint a long time ago: if the mute is not referring to the "person who can't speak", then it can only be the "person who can't speak", the one who has survived the deep sea but can no longer come to the stage and speak... I am very happy to know that she is still in Pinocchio and is safe."

"'Hints'... aren't they 'evidence'?" Huang Quan asked.

"Unfortunately, I have no evidence. The only thing that can support these speculations is the family's honesty when facing "death". They are too generous to outsiders, which makes their attempt to cover up even more obvious."

"But you don't need evidence to doubt something, but you need to uncover the truth... For me, the former is enough. I don't need to find the memory meme, as long as someone can "kill" me like it did."

"But in my opinion, you are not completely sure. You made a city-wide broadcast to try to attract more people to join...because you are betting on the possibility that 'someone can break the barrier.'" Huang Quan looked at him.

"You are indeed very lucky. Fate has brought our paths together, and I happen to be equipped with a sharp blade, sharp enough to cut off the curtain of beautiful dreams, and at the same time cut off the "harmony" brand on you... and you are also very cunning. You deliberately designed to make us stand on opposite sides of each other, constantly repeating the words of "the envoy" in front of others, leaving me with no way to retreat. I had no choice but to draw my sword, so you can win. Luck and strategy are both indispensable."

"And in your plan, the company is always the winner, even if you lose the bet in the end... For the family, the life of an envoy is expensive enough." Huang Quan nodded slightly, as if to approve of him.

"It's a big gamble, isn't it? But let me point out one mistake: the company is not a sure thing. I do not have a backup plan for one crucial thing, detonating a star core... I can't do it. The Aventurine is too broken to even protect me from leaving the stage unscathed."

"If you don't pull out the knife at the end, I will lose everything."

"It's meaningless to discuss 'what if'. You won. You won yourself a ticket to the deep sea. After that, whether you can return from the abyss... is another gamble for you."

"Haven't you ever hesitated?" Huang Quan asked again.

"Hesitation.. of course, but I can only trust my good luck, because other than that, I have nothing."

"Wake up from this dream and go where you should go. Your gamble...is not over yet."

After Huang Quan finished speaking, he prepared to leave.

"Wait..." Shajin called out to Huangquan.

Huang Quan stopped.

"Before we part, can you answer one more question for me? As someone who has walked that path, can you tell me..."

"Why are we born into this world only to die?"

(Um.. why?)

"I never thought so, and neither do you." Huang Quan said with his back to him.

"But 'nothingness' does indeed surround you and me... and everyone."

"That's why it's meaningless." Huang Quan shook his head.

"But it is still there. If the dice of fate have always been loaded with lead, then that is our destined destination. Why should we... fight against it?" Shajin asked. Was he asking himself? Or was he asking 'non-existence'?

"My answer may not be able to dispel your confusion, because it has been with you all the way and has long been a part of your life. But you said, "Sleep is a preview of death." Why does life sleep? Because we are not yet ready to welcome death."

"So you can understand why we 'want' to be prepared. Even if the ending is already determined, it doesn't matter. There are too many things that people cannot change."

"But before that, on the way to the end, there are still many things people can do, and the "end" will therefore show a completely different meaning. Look in your pocket, your friends have already given you the answer."

"Good luck."

After saying that, Huang Quan walked towards the dark black hole and disappeared into nothingness.

Gold Sand took out the things that Latio gave him.

He looked at the contents.

It clearly says: The impossible thing in dreams is not "death" but "sleep". Stay alive and good luck to you.

"Heh..wish me good luck..."

It was unclear whether Sha Jin was mocking or ridiculing.

...