Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

Chapter 184 The Guiding End

“Wilding?”

Chenxi called out softly, but the person in his arms did not respond, only continued to hum softly and hug him even tighter.

Now that there was no one else around, Chenxi could freely let her emotions show. She affectionately stroked Virtue's little head and patted her back, her voice as gentle as a mother soothing her child to sleep.

"I'm very sorry……"

Before she could finish speaking, Virtin suddenly covered her mouth with his finger, and when she looked down, she saw her stubborn little face raised high.

"It's okay, as long as you're still here, I don't want to... hear apologies."

On countless rainy nights, this was the sentence she said most often to friends she had met in different eras. And every time she uttered these words, it meant that friend would leave her forever.

She didn't want Chenxi to say those words to her, or for him to say them to her at this time. It would make her hard-won peace of mind agonize again.

Chenxi chuckled, holding her index finger with one hand and cupping her cheek with the other, gently wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes with her thumb.

"I promise this won't happen again, okay?"

"Ah."

After a soft sob, Virtue sat up, wiped away her tears, and returned to her usual calm and capable self.

"Chenxi, what are we doing now? Since you have the ability to take me away, why do you choose to stay here?"

"Because, there's someone I want to win over at Rebuilding. Her ability to resonate is amazing, and you've met her before."

"Mistletoe?"

"It's her. I know her story and I can see her current confusion. Perhaps with just a little push, we can have another strong and reliable teammate."

"So what do we do now?"

Chenxi stared into Virtue's eyes, reached out and gently rubbed her slightly deflated tummy, and smiled:

"That's it for now, let's eat first."

……

"You two don't seem to have much of an appetite. Perhaps you'd like to try the red wine-braised gold bars and boiled silver coins?"

Forget-Me-Not watched Chenxi and Wilting cutting their steaks with knives and forks at the table, yet not putting any in their mouths for a long time. The sarcasm in his words was obvious. However, his expression remained largely unchanged as he spoke, unlike when he first met him, when he seemed expressionless.

"The torrential rain syndrome has turned money into food in people's eyes... It's absurd."

"How did they manage to eat those gold bars? Cutting them in half wasn't easy."

Mistletoe picked up where Wilting left off, and said with some heartache.

"Of course, it can't be compared to meat, poultry, and vegetables. But humans are indeed not to be underestimated. In such a short time, they have launched a series of brand-new products for the new dietary system. A fruit peeler that can scrape off the rough surface of gold, a blowtorch that can quickly melt gold nuggets, a cutting board that can hold banknotes in place when cutting vegetables. ... Hahaha, I can't help but laugh."

"I cannot experience the lives of those who were filtered out by the 'storm,' and I truly do not know... what they use to fill their stomachs, or what they use to exchange and circulate. Under the 'storm,' money still determines their lives... This is truly the most ironic proposition of our time!"

Forget-me-not's words made no attempt to hide his excitement and schadenfreude, but his current demeanor unconsciously overlapped with certain figures from the past.

"Why criticize them? There is no real life under the 'torrential rain'."

“There is no real life…Miss Virtue, you look very sad. I don’t understand.”

As Mistletoe was still struggling between reason and conscience, she maintained basic politeness and goodwill towards Si Chen, the foundation's founder, whom she had only met once.

“This charred, withered branch…it must have come from a rowan tree, right? I’ve seen this tree in Ireland and southwest England. There, it’s called ‘Quickbeam,’ which comes from Old German and means ‘alive.’”

Forget-me-not's gaze grew increasingly dangerous, but Virtin continued speaking as if he hadn't heard her:

"The rowan tree is a vigorous plant that thrives even after being transplanted from far Europe to North America, growing into a vast forest. On the most dangerous days according to the Celtic calendar, people would wear garlands and berries of the rowan tree in prayer for its protection and life."

"It was just a sudden fire that destroyed everything. Just like this 'torrential rain' that came out of nowhere."

"I don't recommend that you continue talking."

Forget-Me-Not's face had completely fallen, and her tone was full of gloomy threats and warnings.

Just as Veltin was about to continue, Chenxi stopped her, and then, seeing that Forget-Me-Not had recovered its good look, Veltin continued:

"People are like this withered branch, their lives abruptly ended; they invent new cooking utensils, they laboriously eat softened gold bars, they sell food that has lost its value... They try to understand life using their own logic—"

"Because people just want to live as long as possible, not go back to the past!"

"Watch your words, Chenxi!"

I had completely lost control of my emotions and was loudly berating the two people who had already pushed the food off the table.

"But... why isn't going back to the past real life?"

Chenxi ignored the forget-me-not's frantic barking, and instead gazed calmly at the mistletoe's hesitant, trembling eyes, saying:

“Miss Mistletoe, is this little rowan twig truly alive? You used a mystical spell to freeze it at the moment it was burned.”

"...!"

Mistletoe's pupils contracted sharply, and a breath of cold air, which she had just gasped out, wafted through her gently swaying body.

“If you remove its spell, it will certainly no longer look like this. I think Miss Mistletoe should know very well... the fate of every tree is to face tomorrow.”

“Enough! You’re disgusting… This isn’t the place for you to spout bureaucratic platitudes and platitudes. Since you haven’t gotten used to life outside the authorities yet—let our believers guide you and help you get used to the reshaped order more quickly.”

As if they had been waiting for this moment for a long time, Forget-Me-Not clapped its hands, and the pitch-black Reconstructed Apostles emerged from the shadows hidden in countless rooms. Their numbers seemed to be greater than what Chenxi had seen in the game's storyline.

But none of that mattered. Chenxi shielded Virtin behind him, drew a dagger from the void, and as he swung it, the radiance of mystical magic engulfed all the apostles that had emerged. Finally, he slashed off Forget-Me-Not's glasses.

The gold-rimmed round glasses fell to the ground, the lenses shattering into several pieces that could never be pieced back together, reflecting the forget-me-not's hideous and terrifying face.

"How dare you...!"

In the scuffle, the vase on the dining table was overturned. The withered branches fell to the side, as if breaking free from some spell, with a faint, damp green seeping from their charred skin.

"You shouldn't touch other people's belongings. Look at what you've done!"

Looking at the withered branches on the ground that were already showing signs of green, mistletoe lowered her head and remained silent for a while before slowly speaking:

“I’ve heard that rowan trees are often planted near Welsh cemeteries because they help the deceased find their way to the afterlife, so they don’t linger in the world and haunt the living. But I used to hope…”

As she said this, mistletoe glanced subtly at the enraged forget-me-not, then dropped the subject:

"Never mind. The mystical spell on it has been lifted. I don't like things that other people have touched, so you can take it."

"it is good."

Chenxi didn't hesitate at all, because he knew that the most important step had already been completed.

……

Only two figures remained at the large dining table.

"You've treasured that withered branch for so long, is it alright to just give it to them like this?"

Mistletoe looked at the forget-me-not, who had regained her composure, and remained silent for a moment. Instead of responding to his words, she asked directly:

"Is there something you want to tell me that you asked me to stay?"

"...Yes, I received instructions from the guide."

Forget-me-not assumed that mistletoe's disregard for her was due to her recent loss of a beloved possession, and without further investigation, she revealed her entire plan.

"Our next plan involves you. Come with me."