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If he had a choice, he would prefer to stay here and hang out with young people like Zhang Chulan, especially since even Feng Baobao is here now.

However, looking at Old Chen's smiling face, he knew that he obviously had no choice. After hesitating for a while, he could only nod and leave the room with the old man with a bitter face under Zhang Chulan's gloating gaze.

Click...

The door closed with a click.

May leaned against the door, looking at Erzhuang sitting in front of the bed, and suddenly asked, "Is he... really alright?"

"Ah..." Erzhuang glanced back at May meaningfully, then let go of Liu Xiaojiang's hand that had been holding his, and then... turned around and slapped Liu Xiaojiang's stomach with a 'smack'!

"The person's already gone, what are you pretending for? Get up right now!"

"..." The people inside the room.

however,

Just when everyone thought that Erzhuang might have lost his composure because of Liu Xiaojiang's unconsciousness and the fact that the situation was different from what they had expected,

Liu Xiaojiang's injuries healed at a terrifyingly rapid pace after the slap. In the blink of an eye, he slowly sat up from the bed, scratching his head and smiling somewhat embarrassedly at everyone.

"Haha... Everyone's here. I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting. It's a good thing Erzhuang's slap woke me up in time, otherwise I don't know how long I would have slept. It's rare for me to be able to relax and sleep so soundly."

"I (my mother) don't believe your nonsense!!!" Apart from Erzhuang, even Chen Duo and Feng Baobao in the room echoed the others and said such unrefined words. Obviously, no one present believed that Liu Xiaojiang had really been asleep from beginning to end.

After all, Old Chen had only just left, and this person woke up immediately... What a coincidence!

However, when they saw Liu Xiaojiang wake up and noticed the relaxed smile on his face that was different from usual, the people in the room, after initially criticizing his behavior, were also easily infected by this extremely relaxed smile.

The smiles on everyone's faces may be slightly different, but the relaxed look... is completely genuine.

Chapter 822 Year-End (Final Chapter)

After a few months,

Lianmen Port, near the company's Northeast Regional Branch.

Liu Xiaojiang took off his usual black Taoist robe and did not wear his favorite sportswear. Instead, he stood at the port like an ordinary person, wearing a cotton coat for warmth in winter, looking at the floating ice that had appeared on the sea due to the low temperature.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you're getting all free time..."

A car suddenly stopped not far away, and Old Man An got out of the car with his cane, with Charles still following closely behind him. It was clear that he had come here specifically to meet Liu Xiaojiang.

Upon hearing this,

Liu Xiaojiang, with his hands in the pockets of his cotton-padded coat, smiled and turned to look at Old Man An, who, despite using a cane, walked with remarkable agility compared to his peers, and said:

"It's been more than two months already. Haven't you gotten used to your body yet? Why would you need a cane to support your walking? When an assistive device gradually becomes a burden, getting rid of it... will only make things more convenient for you."

"Hmph, isn't this all your doing?" Old An came to Liu Xiaojiang's side, not thinking that the other party had a hidden meaning in his words, because he knew that Liu Xiaojiang was now a free spirit who didn't care about anything.

"I was originally planning to take this opportunity to rest, but it hasn't been long since things were over, and you've already woken me up from that comfortable state, forcing this old man to continue working with Old Chen. Can't I have a chance to take a vacation?"

"Hehe, the capable should do more, after all, you arranged everything yourself, and you have more experience in that position. Young people are not suitable to step up and take charge at this time." Liu Xiaojiang said with a smile and shrug.

"Although Old Chen is quite capable, he is such a tough old man that he is clearly more suitable for handling external affairs. As for internal affairs, whether it is controlling people's mindset or cultivating reliable young people for the future, no one is more suitable than you."

"You want Elder Chen to take over your position and handle the subsequent issues. He may be able to continue to carry out your wishes, but in the future... what kind of young people do you think an elder like him can cultivate to inherit all of this?"

"I don't want my peaceful life to be disrupted again after only a few decades of good days because of the appearance of an extreme guy like Su Cheng."

"and……"

Having said that,

Liu Xiaojiang turned to look at the cargo ship that was sailing away from the port in the distance and said, "Old Chen may know what is most important, so much so that even his relatives are not as important as the land beneath his feet, but he is still an ordinary human being with flesh and blood."

“Su Cheng was, after all, his own grandson, and in the end, he died directly at my hands.”

"Even if he is very rational, he will inevitably want to get closer to his family one day. After all, being rational for too long... once the long-suppressed emotions really erupt, it will be terrifying."

"Even if humanity cannot defeat me, no matter how much an ordinary old man struggles, he cannot resist the so-called general trend of the world. But after all, he was once a person like you, willing to give up everything for this land. Accidents... should still be avoided as much as possible."

"I wonder why you would have such a thought. After all, once some foundations are laid firmly, it's difficult for them to change in the future, no matter what happens." Old An looked at Liu Xiaojiang with some surprise, and then looked at the cargo ship that was leaving the port in the distance.

"Old Chen is still the tough nut to crack that I know. Once he has completely carried everything out according to my wishes, even if he changes his mind in the future, he will only be treated as an enemy. So... you don't want him to possibly go that far in the future."

"Xiao Jiang, haha... When did you become someone who puts others first?"

"Before waking you up, Mr. Chen did indeed make things very convenient for us. It's not really about considering others first; I was just trying my best to maintain this peace," Liu Xiaojiang immediately shook his head and said.

"Is that so?" Old An smiled upon hearing this, but did not dwell on the topic further. Instead, after watching the cargo ship completely leave the port and sail out to sea, he said:

"By the way, thanks to you, recently those barbarians outside have been sending their own people over every few days to learn about our new relationship with the supernatural beings. It seems they want to use our methods to deal with the supernatural beings on their side."

"After all, they have witnessed firsthand the enormous benefits that could be gained in various aspects of life after the barriers between ordinary people and superhumans were gradually eliminated, thanks to the involvement of superhumans. To put it bluntly... they were just envious."

"Hmph, what good is it if they're just envious?" Liu Xiaojiang scoffed.

"Even if they figure out how we treat the superhumans, they still won't dare to trust them like we do. Don't forget what they did to those superhumans before, just to save themselves trouble."

"If they want to maximize the role of the Outcasts like we do, the problems they face will only be more severe. Moreover... while they are willing to trust the Outcasts, whether those Outcasts are willing to trust them is also a big question."

"Aside from what they did to the aliens, the ideas and culture that those barbarians uphold will only make it more difficult to manage each person than it is for us. To put it bluntly... it's almost impossible for them to get started in this area."

"Moreover, even if they manage to get started in this area after several generations, every step they take afterward will be subject to the backlash of the past, and if things go wrong, it may even exacerbate the conflict between ordinary people and superhumans."

"This is actually a good thing for us," Old Man An couldn't help but laugh.

"Furthermore, in those places you visited before, the number of superhumans willing to abide by their old rules has completely disappeared, and the lineage of superhumans has been destroyed by your own hands. Even if there are capable people in the future... they will only be some innate superhumans that are difficult to control."

“Without any lineage or ‘education’, those born with superhuman abilities, in the kind of ideology and culture they usually advocate, might at best become immature heroes, and at worst become big troubles hidden in society.”

"Moreover, in my opinion, given their strong emphasis on individualism, heroes... are more like 'monsters' that only exist in imagination. After all, only the 'strong' can live better in their kind of place."

"Yes, that's true." Liu Xiaojiang was born on this land, so he could never truly like the barbarians outside. He didn't have any saintly feelings about the old man's words.

However, after noticing that snowflakes had started falling from the sky and sensing that a heavy snowfall was imminent,

He immediately lost interest in talking to the old man in the cold wind, so he took his hands out of his cotton-padded trouser pockets, adjusted the scarf that Erzhuang had knitted for him, and said:

"It's going to snow heavily soon. If you don't want to take a plane, you'd better take a car back to the capital as soon as possible. That way, you might be able to have a good New Year's celebration at home tomorrow night. Otherwise... you might get stuck here in Lianmen Port because of the heavy snow."

"Heh, you really have no respect for the elderly. Shouldn't you be polite and invite this lonely old man back for a New Year's Eve dinner?" Old An shook his head and smiled bitterly.

“They’ll be coming to my house tonight, and they’re all young people. But if you really want to join in, I don’t really mind. How about… would you like to come back with me for New Year’s Eve dinner?” Liu Xiaojiang said with a smile.

"Tsk, if it's just you, I wouldn't mind bothering you, but if all the kids are going, wouldn't it ruin the atmosphere if this old man went over?" Old An said with a displeased expression.

"Isn't that still true?" Liu Xiaojiang put his hands back into the pockets of his cotton-padded coat, then nodded to Charles, who was waiting in front of the car not far away, and turned to walk slowly out of the port without looking back.

however,

"Oh, by the way, that little girl who suddenly appeared by your side recently, you know... that blonde girl who always wears shorts and flip-flops in the dead of winter and always runs to the nearby computer room, what's her background?"

"Don't worry, the Old God has disappeared. She is just herself now. As for her name... she gave herself the nickname 'Iron Ox' and always says that the contrast is a cute thing."

"tractor……"

“If you don’t have anything else to do in the future, don’t always bring Charles to my place. Anyway, with your current health… living another twenty years is quite an easy thing.”

"You brat, you clearly promised me before that you would become..."

"That would only happen if you were gone, but right now you are undoubtedly still alive and well. I'm just a nobody... what could I possibly have to worry about? Let's talk about it when there's a problem you can't solve."

"You brat, you're really like a dead pig that's not afraid of boiling water, you have no backbone at all!"

"Haha, although it's still a bit early, I'm not going to go to a place like the capital to wish you a Happy New Year. I'll just wish you a Happy New Year here in advance. You can consider this as me having already wished you a Happy New Year."

"What about your master and senior uncles? Is this how you treat the elderly during the New Year?!"

"Of course it's different. After all, my master and senior uncle won't cause me any trouble. After I accompany Erzhuang back to her parents' home, I will naturally go to Longhu Mountain myself."

"Where's the red envelope? Don't you want it anymore? If you don't wish me a Happy New Year in person, you can forget about getting it!"

"Sigh, what era are we living in? Can't you keep up with the times? WeChat... you know WeChat? You can send me the red envelope via WeChat from now on. Well... see you later!"

"You little rascal!!!"

……

He bid farewell to the elderly man who had come all the way to see him.

Liu Xiaojiang walked alone on the snowy streets at the end of the year, blending perfectly into the almost deserted streets around him.

But now,

He no longer felt lonely, because he knew that not far ahead, in that not-so-high-class little house... many people were waiting for him.

Thinking of this,

He tightened his cotton-padded coat again and quickened his pace, wanting to return to his warm home as soon as possible.

And at this moment,

"Hey! Old Liu! What are you doing out there all by yourself?"

"On New Year's Eve, you really can't stay still. You actually went out for a walk in the snow all by yourself. Could it be... that you went out to meet someone you met online?"

Liu Xiaojiang looked up and saw Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing, who seemed to have just arrived at his door. They hadn't even rang the doorbell before they saw him.

"It's almost Chinese New Year, aren't you two going to spend time with your families?"

"Hey, what's that all about? When we get home, we just lie on the sofa and do nothing. There's not much to talk about with the elders. It's not as fun as getting together with friends during the New Year. Besides, it's not like we're not home every year."

Wang Ye was dressed like an ordinary young man, except his face was red from the cold and his nose was red... He seemed not to have gotten used to the temperature in Lianmen Port yet.

Zhuge Qing still had that same smiling expression, and his opinion on not being home for the New Year was clearly in line with Wang Ye's.

"Ha, friends, huh? You suddenly show up for a free meal during the New Year, but you didn't even bring a bottle of wine... Is this what friends are?" Liu Xiaojiang glanced at the two men's empty hands and couldn't help but tease them.

Upon hearing this,

Wang Ye scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, then looked at Zhuge Qing beside him, "Tsk, I knew this guy would find fault, but you insisted on coming here empty-handed."

"Going empty-handed...that's what friends do. Bringing something either means the relationship isn't close enough, or...that you're too shy." Zhuge Qing pointed to his face and said:

"Master Liu, tell me, is our relationship good enough? Am I, Zhuge Qing, shameless enough?"

"..." Wang Ye, Liu Xiaojiang.

"Come inside."

Liu Xiaojiang ultimately ignored Zhuge Qing's 'outrageous remarks,' then took out the key from his pocket, opened the gate, and led the two empty-handed men into the courtyard. He then opened the gate and stepped directly into the summer-like indoor space.

Moreover, once the door was opened, the three of them could hear the noise inside the house even more clearly.