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Chapter 258: Chapter 258: The Grand Finale
She truly loved Han Yi, but why... did she always feel like there was something missing between them?
Han Jiaojiao dared not tell Han Yi because in her eyes, Han Yi had been too good to her... If she complained about anything, it would only make Han Yi worry.
Han Jiaojiao began to have misgivings.
Later, she finally realized the reason.
—Han Yi’s death anniversary was approaching.
This was absurd.
The two of them were together every day, yet she always remembered the date of his death and never dared to forget. Perhaps in her mind, her brother had split into two people, one by her side, and one living in her memory.
She couldn’t forget the dead Han Yi. He had given his life for her, and she shouldn’t forget him.
Han Jiaojiao decided to go there and have a look.
She was heavily pregnant and not fit to travel far, a capricious request. When she raised it with Han Yi, she was extremely nervous, but to her surprise, Han Yi agreed immediately.
Seeing the astonishment on Han Jiaojiao’s face, Han Yi said with a slight smile, "The base recently captured a spaceship; even very remote places can be reached and returned from in one day."
Seeing that she was still stunned, Han Yi smiled and gently pinched her cheek, "Where do you want to go? I’ll make arrangements, and we can leave tomorrow."
Han Jiaojiao lowered her head with some guilt and answered in a constrained tone, "It’s just an ordinary place, but... I used to live there for a while, and lately, for some reason, I really want to go back and see."
She did not dare say it was the place where he had once died.
The next day, Han Yi indeed arranged everything. Before departure, the four Space-Time Beasts clamored to come, but they were too big; any one of them would fill half of the spaceship with their thick vines, and Han Yi would also bring bodyguards and various attendants, so in the end, they only took Pepper, the smallest in size.
The spaceship was fast and safe. Upon arrival, looking down from the air, they could see abandoned buildings and desolate roads, and... a narrow sewer entrance.
A Psychic Type Superpower User said, "Boss, Madam, below is an abandoned Alien Species nest, there are no aliens left, it’s very safe, we can land anytime."
Han Yi looked at Han Jiaojiao, who was staring through the now-transparent floor at the sewer entrance below, and slowly nodded.
"Let’s land," Han Yi commanded.
The spaceship stopped in a relatively open area, others stayed back, and Han Yi accompanied Han Jiaojiao to the vicinity of the sewer, Pepper appeared to be in high spirits, constantly cooing beside Han Jiaojiao.
This place made Han Jiaojiao feel unfamiliar. There were no signs of explosions... everything was different from what she remembered, she even doubted whether she had had a nightmare to mistakenly believe that her brother had died...
Han Jiaojiao raised her head and looked around at the buildings before finding a few traces of familiarity from her memories.
Han Yi kicked a small stone buried in the snow, speaking in a relaxed tone, "I thought you had something you needed to deal with."
Han Jiaojiao blushed slightly, knowing he was referring to Qin Nanyi’s head. She had begged Han Yi to take her on a distant trip to deal with Qin Nanyi’s head just like now.
"I just... don’t want her to come back," Han Jiaojiao responded, her expression blank, "I don’t remember where I saw it, but it said that after death, the soul gathers at the top of the head, and at that time, sealing the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, preventing the soul from dispersing, then exposing it under the blazing sun for forty-nine days... Finally, burn it with fire, the soul disappears in smoke, never to reincarnate."
She had exposed it for forty-nine days, but... she didn’t want to burn it at the base, this was the place where she lived with her brother, she didn’t want to see any trace of Qin Nanyi, not a single one.
Han Yi looked at her somewhat amused, "That sounds like something out of a ghost movie, why take it seriously?"
Han Jiaojiao knew all too well that it was just a movie plot, not to be taken seriously, but her heart couldn’t help but be afraid... after all, she had come back, hadn’t she? What if Qin Nanyi came back just like her? What then?
"We had an argument..." Han Jiaojiao looked at Han Yi and slowly said, "She tried to hit me with a vase, I dodged it, she said she was going to kill me, that even in death, she would take everything from me in the next life..."
The madness of Qin Nanyi still seemed vivid in her mind, Han Jiaojiao wasn’t afraid of her, but she truly feared the next life... If there really was a next life and her brother was taken by Qin Nanyi, what would she do?
"There will never be such a day," Han Yi gently embraced her, "she will not come back."
"Yes."
After talking for a while, she felt much more relaxed. It was freezing outside, and Han Jiaojiao wanted to take one last look at that place before returning.
She took a few steps towards the sewer, and suddenly Pepper began to emit very urgent cries, darting over to block her path, preventing her from continuing forward.
Confused, Han Jiaojiao said, "Pepper? ... I just want to look down there..."
Pepper, not only did not move aside, but also wrapped its tendrils around Han Jiaojiao’s legs, stopping her from getting closer to the sewer entrance.
All Han Jiaojiao could do was to try to pull the tendrils off with her hands, which she pulled out of her coat pockets; but just as she did, a purple tendril whipped out and hit her!
The tendril struck her hand, causing Han Jiaojiao to sharply inhale from the pain.
"Pepper!" Han Yi shouted sternly, striding over to take Han Jiaojiao’s hand to check it, his displeasure growing upon seeing the clear red mark on the back of her hand.
Han Jiaojiao quickly explained, "It probably didn’t do it on purpose..."
Pepper, looking aggrieved, withdrew all its tendrils, laying its body over the sewer entrance, covering it thoroughly.
Seeing this, Han Jiaojiao was both amused and annoyed.
However, before she could smile, she saw Pepper’s twelve tendrils undulating very slowly, emitting a low-frequency noise. Suddenly, the area around its body lit up with image after image like electronic screens, becoming more and more numerous and denser! Eventually, these flickering screens formed a crescent arc, enveloping Han Jiaojiao and Han Yi within it!
They were shocked by this scene, too stunned to take a closer look, but these images infiltrated their brains like directly implanted information, clear and direct!
The images were clearly from Pepper’s perspective. Han Jiaojiao saw herself standing on the ruins after an explosion, her back to Pepper, ignoring its calls, stubbornly raising the gun in her hand to the position of her temple—
As the gunshot sounded, an intense air current suddenly appeared around her body! Her entire body seemed to be sucked into something and vanished in an instant!
In the image, all that was left were a few limp purple tendrils on the ground, which also rapidly began to fade in color—from a vibrant purple to a dull gray... Finally, they lay motionless.
Han Jiaojiao’s heart pounded wildly, overwhelmed with sadness, tears streaming down her face. She felt she remembered something, those missing parts, she finally remembered...
When she came to, Han Jiaojiao noticed Han Yi staring at her intently. Not knowing what he had seen in Pepper’s memory, Han Jiaojiao had a thousand words in her heart, but she ultimately only wanted to say one thing—
"...I love you."
"I love you."
Han Yi’s voice rose with hers, the two gazing at each other, before breaking into laughter simultaneously after a moment.
Having used its ability to project fragments of memory, Pepper, now breathless, saw them standing in the snow, laughing foolishly, and emitted a couple of puzzled coos.
But Han Jiaojiao laughed even harder, the sulkiness in her heart swept clean, feeling unprecedentedly clear-headed!
Helplessly, Han Yi watched her, his face wearing an indulgent smile.
Suddenly, Han Jiaojiao’s expression stiffened, and her eyebrows lightly furrowed. Han Yi quickly supported her, asking, "What’s wrong?"
"...I... I think I’m going to have the baby..."
Han Yi immediately carried her horizontally and hurried towards the spaceship, "With brother here, don’t be afraid, baby, don’t be afraid..."
Han Jiaojiao’s stomach painfully contracted, but her heart was incredibly happy. She thought to herself: As long as I’m with you, I’m not afraid of anything, my brother.
The end.
