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Chapter 1280: One Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy Seven· "Thank you, Phoenix."

"boom--!!"

A strawberry candy fell to the ground, and a dazzling light exploded in the corridor, blocking the pursuing robot.

"This way!" The blue-skinned robot took the lead. Facing the maze-like mechanical corridor, he knew the way accurately and quickly, leading Noel through the small door, through the dog hole, and into the ventilation duct...

In the narrow space, the puppet silk played its best role, and the bullets and artillery fire were thrown back, exploding into fireworks one after another. The pursuers were led around by Noel like dogs, and were so tired that smoke came out of their pores.

"Come up there!"

The two men rushed into the ventilation duct, and Noel immediately blew up the passage below. With the sound of bricks and stones collapsing, the sounds of pursuit finally stopped.

"It's a little safer now, follow me." Lan Qi crawled forward.

A cool breeze blew in from the vents, and Noel yawned. He had grown up before he was fully developed, and his body was lacking in nutrition, so he felt drowsy now.

In order to avoid falling asleep, Noel looked at the iron legs moving in front of him, perked up, and started talking casually:
"Lan Qie, have you ever thought about buying yourself some clothes?"

This was a casual question from him, as clothing is usually a good topic to boost spirits.

"Ah?" Lan Qi was stunned, the mechanical gears in his brain turned a few circles, as if he had never thought about this problem. He subconsciously felt shy and scratched his exposed iron skin: "No, no. Aren't we running for our lives? You actually care about this."

"It's better to chat while crawling than to crawl in silence." Noel walked forward: "If you are too nervous, your calf muscles will be stiff when you run later."

"Um, oh..." Lan Qie's brain was unable to wrap around. He was just the most common model, with an outdated chip and old-fashioned parts. He knew he was stupid and couldn't keep up with other people's thinking. He could only respond as best as he could: "The temperature sense is fixed, so I don't need to wear nice clothes... Turn ahead."

"Hmm." Noel looked at Lan Qie and kept himself awake by chatting: "I think you look good in a suit. You have a tall and straight figure."

"Ah...really?" Lan Qie was a little overwhelmed. He had always been in contact with cold machines, doing the same work day after day. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him like this. He could only squeeze out all his energy and come up with the best response: "...Thank you."

Yes, the best response in his program is to say thank you.

Saying thank you is the most sincere response and it will never go wrong.

"Keep talking to me or I'm going to fall asleep," said Noel.

"it is good."

"Tell me about Rowatha?"

"I don't really understand either. I've been working here since I was conscious... and I've never been outside. The mechanics who went out on field work told me that the sky outside is blue and the grass is green, but I don't know what it's like..." Lan Qi said shyly.

"So you do the same thing day after day, no rest, no food, 24 hours a day."

"Yes... The Machine Lord often tells us that if we don't do it, there are plenty of people who can do it." Lan Qie's voice echoed in the ventilation duct: "Occasionally we will take a half-hour break, and then I will lie on the floor and chat with my companions. We will imagine together that as long as we work hard, we can sleep as long as we want in the future, and we can eat whatever mechanical fluids we want... If we work harder today, we will have a better life in the future."

"……after?"

"After we work until we are no longer fit, we will be sent to the surface to live a free life."

"But you chose to escape."

"Yes." Lan Qie's voice lowered:

"Because the Lord of the End of All Things showed me the truth in my dream... All those companions who were scrapped and retired were dismantled into parts. The happiness we longed for... did not exist at all."

"From the moment we were born, we were just tools. The harder we work, the more work we will have to do, allowing the Master of the Machine to live a better life."

"So at that moment, I woke up. Why should I live a life that I can see the end of? Why should I wear myself out until I die? The first time I saw you, I thought of today's escape plan. I want to use your strength to escape together."

"So what do you want to do after you get out?" Noel gradually understood Lan Qi's thoughts.

"I want to see what color the sky my companions talked about is... I also want to taste the peach-flavored mechanical juice. I heard it's delicious. I've only eaten tasteless things..." Lan Qi's eyes moved up slightly. He was daydreaming, and his cheeks made a clicking sound of mechanical friction.

"It seems that the God of the End of All Things is really a good person." Noel sighed.

"I don't know whether He is a good person or a bad person, but at least He showed me another new possibility and gave me another choice... turn right ahead."

"After we get out, I'll take you to try some peach-flavored mechanical juice, and you'll introduce me to the Lord of the End of All Things. How about that?" Noel suggested.

Lan Qie's circuits were running at high speed. After a moment, the temperature of his iron face rose slightly, which seemed to be a manifestation of overthinking. He lowered his head in embarrassment and stammered:

"… and suits."

"Okay." Noel smiled, "There's also a suit that will suit you."

"Yeah." Lan Qi replied in a low voice.

The Tin Man had never worn anything so exquisite, but his friend was a good judge of taste. Whether it was peaches, blue skies, or fine clothing, people who loved life always knew better than the tin frame they were born into.

Although their first meeting was just helping each other escape, at this moment, Lan Qie felt Noel's kindness and enthusiasm. This was not reflected in the chattering of words, but the warmth radiated from the inside out by this blond boy, which made people feel warm even without touching him.

"Thank you...my friend." This was the first time Lan Qi met such a person. His numb life almost made him become a piece of rigid iron.

"My name is Phoenix." The blond friend smiled.

"Thank you...Phoenix."

If there really is a phoenix that can rise from the ashes in this world, it might be someone like the blond boy.

Lan Qi lowered his head. He had something he didn't tell Noel. It was a sentence he couldn't help but admire when he first saw Noel in the nutrient tank.

——From the first sight, he fell in love with that intuitive beauty, the beauty of the ancient mythical beast.

This touch of beauty spread to the dial of his mind and even to his mechanical brain, making him mistakenly believe that he possessed the sensibility of an organic life.

Although his bold escape plan was mixed with a desire for freedom, what was indispensable was that he really wanted to help this beautiful creature escape.

The machine that was born in shackles has rotted away in the numbness of day after day. In fact, even if he escaped, his machine would not be able to function for long.

But the Phoenix, who was born to belong to the sky, should not fall into the nutrient tank and rot with him.

——If he acts with such thoughts in mind...

Lan Qie turned his head and glanced at the flowing golden hair behind him, which looked like bird feathers. The boy's blue eyes were slightly bright, purer than his cloudy artificial eyes.

——Does it mean that his mission is not to become a monotonous and numb part, but to pursue what he desires? For example, aesthetics, sensibility, or freedom?
"It seems there is an exit ahead." Noel looked up.

"it is good."

……

【<苏明安视角>·2025年4月5日16:25】

My chest was heaving slightly, as if something was expanding and contracting.

Fu En should have felt sad for Qi Jue's betrayal, but he was more excited and passionate about seeing his idol... so much so that he rushed forward without hesitation, completely forgetting his own weakness. There was only one thought in his mind - he had to protect his idol!
"Let go! Let go of my idol!!!" Fu En covered his bleeding wound and stumbled forward.

Xi Ting didn't even bother to respond with a glance. Her arm turned into a sharp sword and pierced Fu En directly without any surprise.

Blood flowed all over the ground.

"You don't know your own limitations." Xi Ting said calmly, and fixed his gaze on Su Ming'an: "The noisy thing has disappeared, we..."

The next moment, her eyes widened.

Su Mingan's shoulder suddenly bleeds profusely, but Fu En is still alive.

……

[Noah's Chain (Gold):
Effect 2: You can select any player to share any damage he/she receives in the next 10 seconds. The cooldown time is minutes. 】

……

Su Mingan saved Fu En.

Fu En is the only person on the platform who can move, and he can see the location of Aini and Tianyu.

"Fu'en, you take them away, I will hold Xiting and Lotasha back." Su Ming'an shouted to Fu'en.

Fu En gritted his teeth and immediately rolled and crawled down.

He never thought that the first time he met his idol in his life would be like this.

Xi Ting narrowed his eyes. "Should I say you are arrogant or confident... Little Magpie. Your enemy is a god and an emperor. Do you really think you can hold out until your companions leave? In fact, there is no need to go through so much trouble. As long as you nod and join us, everything will be perfect."

Su Mingan shrugged: "I want to, too."

...Unfortunately, his main mission is to kill the goddess of life.

"Stubborn." Xi Ting grabbed Su Ming'an with a bone claw, with a look of contempt on his face, obviously not taking Su Ming'an's fighting ability seriously.

Su Mingan raised his eyes.

...Si Que, this is the friend you asked me to meet. He is indeed very "friendly".

Although he did succeed in meeting the goddess of life, in a sense, Si Que really did not find the wrong person...

At this moment, Xi Ting suddenly sensed a hint of danger. This was her sixth sense, which she had honed through thousands of battles, calling out to her -

Why did she feel dangerous? Si Que in his normal state was no match for her.

The next moment, she knew.

A sudden drop in gravity pulled at her arms, and she suddenly felt dizzy. Sticky mud flowed all over her body, and extremely negative emotions exploded in her heart.

Sadness, anger, despair, pain...

Before she could catch her breath, she felt the air around her begin to fluctuate and tear apart.

"boom--!!!"

Su Ming'an stepped on the puppet silk, slid lightly across the vibration area, slid from the stage to the stage, and landed gracefully in front of the Goddess of Life.

There was a violent vibration behind him, mixed with the sound of bones breaking, and blood-red words floated on the damage interface.

……

[HP-3721! (Weak spot attack! Critical attack! Position suppression!)]

……

Xiting was lying on the ground, his skeleton was shattered and several ribs were broken.

Gravity suppression + judgment + full mana space vibration. This is the most stable and fiercest attack that Su Mingan can launch now.

His fighting power was enough to fight against a third-level god. His previous avoidance of the emperors did not mean that he could not defeat them. Xi Ting thought she could easily deal with him, but she did not know that she was not facing a weak and helpless bird, but a super jellyfish.

The mighty Undead King was knocked to the ground by the Super Jellyfish with one hand.

Su Ming'an switched to the bright state and drew out the sword of Alman.

Qi Jue in front of him tilted his head, his emerald green hair swaying: "You are very strong, Xi Ting underestimated you... But are you ready to greet me without any magic power, Si Que?"

At this time, Fu En got up from the ground and met Qi Jue's gaze.

Seeing that the situation seemed bad, Fu En couldn't help but say: "Qi Jue..."

He never thought that his knight was the goddess of life, who had been with him for eighteen years.

The descent of God when he was eight years old finally had an explanation - because the Goddess of Life was right beside him, of course She could rescue him from the height if he fell.

The past scenes flashed before his eyes, the knight's tenderness, love, and dedication... The knight always tolerated his arrogance again and again. So this time, can he let his idol go? This is his only wish...

"Qi Jue..." He spoke hesitantly, trying to beg for mercy.

However, Qi Jue glanced at him and said calmly, "Why are you still alive?"

At this moment, Fu En's voice was stuck in his throat and he could no longer speak.

He is not smart, but not stupid either. He suddenly figured out a lot of things.

Qi Jue has been protecting him for more than ten years and taking care of him in every possible way - all this was to make him a sacrifice so that the Goddess of Life could come to the world.

Qi Jue read the teachings of the Goddess of Life to him every night and patiently answered every question he had - this was to make him accept the Goddess of Life and prevent him from rejecting her too much.

Qi Jue saved him from his father's hands because... he didn't want to dirty the eyes of the Goddess of Life.

And the divine descent that he stumbled upon when he was eight years old—

"... Was the God's descent that time for me?" Fu En couldn't help but want to confirm. Qi Jue was the only person in the world who treated him well, and this concern... even if it was only a little bit of true love, would be fine.

Qi Jue thought for a moment and said, "That time the gods descended was indeed for you, to gain your trust."

Fu En's eyes brightened, almost catching the last ray of light.

——But those green eyes still didn't look at him.

"Because I was the one who pushed you when you fell that time." Qi Jue said calmly.

In God's eyes, there is only power and fellow man.

Eighteen long years for humans were just a moment in His eyes. Did He really think He would like an arrogant, confident, and irritable prince? Was it the music He played in piano class that confused him? Or was it the sunflowers that they planted together in the garden that confused him?

"I don't even like you as much as a vibrant flower. At least they understand the way of life better than you do." Qi Jue stretched out his hand:

"Goodbye."