Chapter 1145
Gendo Ikari: NTR!!!
Cui Ming bent down and gathered some dry twigs. With a flick of his fingertips, a small flame ignited, quickly building a campfire. The dancing firelight dispelled the surrounding chill and darkness, casting dappled light and shadow on his indifferent face, softening his sharp features. He sat casually on a rock beside the campfire, his eyes slightly lowered, lost in thought.
Ritsuko slowly sat down opposite him, her gaze fixed on Choi Myung, her eyes filled with complex emotions. The man before her had shed the bloodthirsty sharpness of battle, yet still possessed a detachment utterly different from his real-life persona, his silence unfathomable. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask several times, but swallowed the words back, choosing instead to remain silent with him, the crackling of the campfire the only sound at that moment.
The silence lasted for a long time, but Ritsuko finally couldn't suppress her doubts. Her voice was soft but firm, breaking the tranquility: "Those were..." She didn't finish her sentence, but clearly conveyed her question—those strange, giant ants were definitely not ordinary monsters. Cui Ming's words, "the souls of the defeated," filled her with even more curiosity.
Cui Ming glanced at her, his gaze calm and unwavering, as if she had asked about something trivial. He spoke slowly, his voice low and carrying a hint of world-weary indifference: "Nothing, just the ghosts of the defeated from the past, nothing more." His tone was understated, deliberately avoiding the key point, unwilling to utter another word about the past.
Ritsuko frowned slightly as she looked at his reluctance to speak. She could sense that Choi Myung was deliberately hiding something; behind that nonchalant answer lay countless untold stories of the past.
She didn't immediately press for answers, but simply watched the campfire quietly, observing Cui Ming's blurred profile in the firelight. Her curiosity grew stronger—she wanted to know what kind of battles and past this man had experienced to be able to describe such a tragic scene so casually.
The hidden world consciousness watched with great interest, its fluctuations filled with anticipation: Ask! Keep asking! Dig deep into his past! It deliberately maintained the stability of the dream, without causing any trouble, just waiting for Ritsuko to break the deadlock and gradually uncover Choi Myung's sealed past, allowing this hidden emotion to grow stronger in the process of exploration.
The world consciousness in the shadows watched with great interest, its fluctuations filled with anticipation, secretly pleased with itself: This dream wasn't just made up randomly! It had specially gone to Gada to gather material for the Wood World, bringing over the apocalyptic atmosphere and monster forms exactly as they were, all to use this unique scene to pique Akagi Ritsuko's curiosity, gradually closing the distance, and guaranteeing that it could help Cui Ming win her over!
If it were any other method, the World Consciousness would have plenty of options—unfortunately, Cui Ming deeply resisted methods of forced intervention like hypnosis and consciousness alteration, making its bottom line very clear. Otherwise, with its abilities, Akagi Ritsuko would already be completely dependent on Cui Ming at the conscious level, clinging to him obsequiously! Thinking of this, the World Consciousness couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, but it could only suppress the urge to act directly and continue to observe this game of "winning through atmosphere."
The silence around the campfire continued to spread. Ritsuko stared at Cui Ming's indifferent profile and finally couldn't help but break the deadlock, asking with a stubborn tone, "So, what exactly is this place?" She was unwilling to just get the words "the soul of a loser" and insisted on finding out the truth about this strange space.
Cui Ming lowered his eyes to look at the flickering flames, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the barrel of Raven's gun. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "This is... the world of the mind, my world of the mind, and also a battlefield." He glanced around, a rare hint of relaxation in his voice, "It's unusually quiet here." "You call this quiet?" Ritsuko's voice instantly rose, her face filled with disbelief as she turned to look around—behind the broken wall not far away, several strange monsters were peeking out, their green eyes fixed on the two by the campfire, gleaming with bloodthirsty ferocity. This was hardly quiet.
Cui Ming followed her gaze, his tone flat to the point of being cold: "It's nothing, we're all just ingredients." He paused, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, and added, "Of course, if you lose, you'll be the ingredient." There was no hint of a joke in his words; it was as if he were stating a predetermined rule.
Ritsuko's heart tightened, and she subconsciously clenched her fists, trying to remain calm as she asked, "Do you need to eat in the dream world?" She simply couldn't understand why there would be such a thing as "ingredients" in this space of consciousness.
“No need.” Cui Ming succinctly denied, standing up and dusting off his robes. His red scarf flashed a sharp arc in the firelight. “I was just talking about the apocalypse.” In those years of fighting and reincarnating in various worlds, food was extremely scarce. Anything edible was considered food. This understanding, ingrained in his bones, had long become a habit.
He looked up at Ritsuko, his tone returning to its initial aloofness: "Alright, you should leave now."
Ritsuko was taken aback and quickly stood up, her face full of confusion: "Uh, how do I leave?" She looked around and saw no trace of an exit except for ruins, campfires, and lurking monsters.
"Just leave like this." Before Cui Ming finished speaking, he raised his hand and gently pushed Ritsuko's shoulder. There was no violent force, but it was as if some kind of switch had been triggered. Ritsuko felt the firelight in front of her shatter instantly, and the surrounding ruins, cold wind, and monsters all turned into countless specks of light. Her consciousness was pulled away by a gentle but irresistible force, and she was quickly pulled out of this space.
"Ugh," Ritsuko suddenly opened her eyes, her chest heaving slightly, her breathing still a little rapid. What came into view was the ceiling of Misato's bedroom, sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains, carrying the warmth of the morning, a stark contrast to the cold, desolate world of her dreams. She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her shoulder, as if the sensation of Choi's shove still lingered. Her mind was filled with the indifferent, sharp figure from her dream, and the words, "My inner world is also a battlefield."
The doubts and curiosity in her heart grew wildly like vines, and Ritsuko could no longer suppress her restless thoughts—she wanted to see what the man, so gentle and composed in reality, yet fiercely battling in the world of his mind, looked like now. What kind of past did he hide? And how were everything in her dreams connected to him in reality?
Ritsuko wanted to see for herself, desperately wanting to understand everything and uncover the hidden secrets behind that man. She tiptoed up from the bed, moving extremely slowly, careful not to wake Misato beside her. She only wanted to find Choi Myung alone, hoping to catch him when he was off guard. (End of Chapter)