Chapter 22.1 - The Ignorant Don’t Feel Fear
Rain continued to pour downwards, moreover becoming heavier and heavier. Li walked aimlessly through the rain, not knowing where she should go at all or what she wanted to do. She was walking in the middle of the rain, and had already walked for several hours. The rainwater had already left her completely soaked, the rainwater dripping along her hair down into her collar, following her body, and then ultimately gathering on the ground into puddles.
The rain carried snow, bits of ice, and many other things. Snowflake fragments landed on her body. At first, it still melted from her body temperature, turning into rainwater, but eventually, it no longer melted away, instead solidifying into a layer of frost on her hair and brows.
The sky was about to brighten, but the surroundings was still covered in an expanse of darkness. There were no people in sight, nor were there any street lights. This was Dragon City’s abandoned region; the environment hadn’t been renovated, no roads constructed, and no people living here. There was only darkness within this area of a few square kilometers. Walking here, apart from the sound of wind and rain, there was only the sound of footsteps echoing through the building. It was as if she was the only person left in this entire world.
After walking and walking, Li suddenly noticed that there was no road left ahead of her. Unknowingly when, she already reached the very top of an abandoned building. The railing had long been eroded away by wind and rain over the years. A few steps further would take her over the edge. Even though this building only had seven floors, not that tall, the street below was full of rusted vehicles, numerous steel bars, as well as scattered pieces of concrete. Moreover, Li’s current stamina had already dropped to an extremely dangerous degree, with her defensive strengthening ability unable to display even half of its power. If she fell down, she would most likely be seriously wounded.
While standing at the edge of the roof, Li suddenly felt a strangely wonderful feeling. Her body began to sway back and forth in the darkness full of icy rain and cold winds, the roof beneath her seemingly gone soft as well. The darkness in front of her seemed to possess a faint attractive force, one that wanted to pull her down.
Perhaps falling like this wouldn’t be too bad… this thought suddenly emerged in Li’s heart.
Before joining the Black Dragonriders, Li was already a commander that led several hundred soldiers. Murder and arson could be said to be a common occurence to her. Even though she wasn’t old, her awareness was actually extremely firm. She immediately woke up from the enticement of falling into darkness.
However, when she woke up, what awaited her was even greater suffering. During that battle against the Scorpions of Disaster, Li already made the preparation of never coming back to Dragon City. However, she still returned alive. Perhaps after hovering between life and death for a long time, one would become extremely weak, and Li was no different. She truly wished to see Su, wishing to hug him.
However, what she saw was Su bringing back a girl, an abilityless girl who, no matter which angle you looked at it from, was more beautiful than she was.
Li’s legs went soft. She suddenly knelt down on the ground. Her hands were already holding the brink of the rooftop. If she headed another 20 centimeters forward, she would fall. Li hung her head, and just like that, she knelt down on the rooftop, allowing the great rain to completely soak her body.
She suddenly raised her head towards the endless darkness ahead, and then she screamed with all of her strength! In the blink of an eye, the scream became choking sobs. Only at this moment did Li begin to cry!
Suddenly, a light ka sounded behind her. Then, a weak light broke through the darkness and coldness, lighting up Li’s face.
Li restrained her sobbing, and then she stood up to look backwards. Even though her eyes recovered their sharpness, they were still full of loss and perplexity. What was behind her only surprised her. It didn’t give her any sense of danger.
Less than two meters behind Li’s body, Li Gaolei completely hid his neck within his raised collar. In his mouth was a cigarette, and his hands held a lighter. He was currently using his spacious hands and body to block the wind and rain, trying to stop the lighter’s weak flame from going out. He lit the cigarette, and then he took a deep breath. Only then did he put away the lighter. He held the cigarette in his hands and gave it a regretful look.
Under the frigid darkness and icy winds, the cigarette’s flame looked especially weak, but it was the only source of warmth.
Li instantly grabbed the cigarette in Li Gaolei’s hands without thinking and took a deep breath. She didn’t say anything.
“Finished crying?” Li Gaolei asked.
Li only released an en sound, and then she began to gloomily smoke.
Li Gaolei took out another cigarette, but this time, he couldn’t light it no matter how hard he tried, so he could only helplessly put it away. He raised his head and looked into the pitch-black sky. “If you finished crying, then that’s good. We should go back as well. Even though this damn place is supposed to have gone through radiation filtering, standing too long in the rain isn’t some good thing.”
Li shook her head rather blankly and said softly, “I don’t want to go back.”
Li Gaolei didn’t seem to be surprised at all. He instead asked, “Then do you want to go back to Roxland, or do you want to find a random place?”
“I don’t know! Don’t ask me!” Li scratched her hair in a distressed manner.
“Alright, then I won’t ask.” Li Gaolei laughed. He then began to work at that already half gone cigarette, finally successfully lighting it this time. He took another deep breath, and then after slowly exhaling, Li Gaolei suddenly asked, “During leader’s recent battles, did you feel anything different?”
Li wasn’t a girl that was extremely attentive. When she heard Li Gaolei’s question, she unknowingly entered a stupor. She struggled to think things through, but she couldn’t think of anything different. She could only speak purely through her feelings, “It seems like he has been injured quite badly?”
“I heard from Julie that there were two times where he almost couldn’t be saved! Do you still remember Julie? She is a nurse at the general’s private hospital, someone you should know. She is quite a good person, and rather friendly as well. During the two days I was resting in the hospital, she was always suggesting that I take her out to dinner. Perhaps I should grab this chance... “ Li Gaolei sounded like he was in rather high spirits.
Li suddenly flung the half smoked cigarette into the distance, watching as the bit of embers drew out a glaring arc before disappearing into the rainy night.
Li Gaolei had a rather surprised look on his face. He followed behind Li. “Hey, weren’t you preparing to leave?”
“That idiot was fighting until he didn’t care about his life at all. If I don’t stay by his side and watch him a bit, he might not even return next time!” Li didn’t even turn around as she spoke. She didn’t walk down the stairs, instead directly jumping off the rooftop and walking into the distance with large steps.
Li Gaolei’s Combat Domain abilities were ordinary. He didn’t have that kind of ability to directly jump off, so he could only stand at the edge of the rooftop and watch as that somewhat weak but extremely stubborn girl headed into the distance. He chuckled and said to himself, “Perhaps I really should ask Julie out for dinner.”