Chapter 154: Accident

At this moment, the Steward System was speaking to Lin Zhongqing.

"Is there truly no other way?" Lin Zhongqing had not actually left; she was standing right there in the corresponding location within the realm of the spirit-plasma.

Through the translucent veil of spirit-plasma, she gazed out at the real world, her eyes complex and conflicted.

This brother, whom she had competed with since childhood, could no longer continue the rivalry. It was not that he lacked the perseverance to go on, but rather that he had encountered an insurmountable crisis in this perilous world.

"No, there isn't. Unless I sever my bond with you and bind myself to him instead. If we do this, his soul will merge into the rules of my system and receive healing. Of course, if we take this path, it will be impossible to ever unbind the system from him again, because once severed, he would still die, rendering all previous efforts entirely meaningless," Dongfang Yitong explained.

This was a harrowing dilemma.

Should she forsake the system and grant her brother life, or go with the flow and shed a few hypocritical tears?

The choice was agonizingly difficult.

What she was being asked to abandon was not merely a system, but infinite possibilities for the future, along with a lover who had once been as close to her as her own skin.

To an ordinary person, giving up either one would be unbearable. How much more cruel was it to demand the sacrifice of both simultaneously?

She could not help but feel a surge of hatred toward fate.

A fate that had always favored her with smooth sailing had suddenly pushed her directly to the edge of the abyss.

No matter which option she chose, she would plummet into the dark depths.

Was this the most ruthless and severe form of retaliation?

As expected of an evil entity; it knew that simply killing a person held no real amusement, especially since countless humans perished every moment—time alone would achieve that end without the entities even lifting a finger.

Yet, the torture of her inner soul was the most agonizing punishment of all.

Her brows were tightly knitted, and her fists clenched so hard that her fingernails dug deep into her flesh.

For the first time, she truly understood the sorrow of the weak.

Those patients who abandoned treatment due to poverty, those individuals forced into agonizing dilemmas—how had they ever survived those dark moments?

Time was running out for her to make a decision, though perhaps delaying a choice indefinitely was, in itself, a form of choice.

......

However, what the Steward System told Fan Bei was an entirely different matter.

"Actually, there is another way to save him, and that is for the brother and sister to trigger the system achievement: 'Blood is Thicker than Water'. But the two of them have harbored a lingering resentment toward each other for too long, and I cannot point it out directly. If I spell it out, they will never be able to trigger it successfully."

"As long as Lin Zhongqing makes the choice to save him, this achievement will be unlocked, and the ability of soul sanctuary can be shared. Then everyone will be happy."

Fan Bei nodded in agreement; he had already thought of this possibility, much like how Xiao Bai shared Da Bai's system space.

Regrettably, he had tried to hint to her long ago about blood being thicker than water, but she had stubbornly refused to listen. Otherwise, today's scene would never have unfolded.

This was only natural, of course, as people are the hardest to persuade—especially when going against their own stubborn pride. The more one tried to advise them, the more fiercely they would crash against a brick wall before finally turning back. They had to figure it out for themselves; this was not something that could be resolved by reading a few inspirational chicken soup quotes.

Back in the room, the three people who had just heard Lin Zhongqing's final testament all looked at Fan Bei with complicated emotions.

Everyone knew that Lin Zhongqing was entrusting his final legacy to Fan Bei. The reason he hadn't entrusted it to his own sister was likely due to his lingering, defiant pride.

They found it hard to accept this cruel reality, yet this was the apocalypse. They had witnessed countless tragedies of families torn apart and homes destroyed; to have survived until now was already a stroke of immense luck.

Take Fan Bei, for instance: out of an institution of three hundred people, he was the sole survivor, and even that was only because of his unique traits.

Just as the dawn of peace appeared to be breaking and they thought everything was finally turning for the better, their greatest pillar of support had suddenly collapsed.

"Shitou, you aren't going to die! I won't allow you to die!" Hou Juejue cried out in a low voice, collapsing to her knees beside the bed.

"Brother Shitou..." Lin Xiaolü could only wipe away her falling tears.

Lin Xiaohong remained silent, keeping her head lowered as her mind raced.

Inwardly, Fan Bei sighed. This was a classic case of character determining destiny.

If Lin Zhongqing had been a despicable villain with treacherous intentions—had he, like Xie Bo, attempted to scheme for Fan Bei's assets, however insignificant they might have seemed back then—he would be dead a hundred times over by now.

Because Fan Bei would have kicked a man while he was down—no, capitalized on his misfortune... wait, no, the proper term should have been eradicating evil to the root.

Yet, despite everything, Fan Bei still intended to offer him a chance at survival.

"Sigh, Brother Lin, actually the most appropriate person to entrust your legacy to is your elder sister. You should let go of your resentment. Things have already reached this point; why must you hold on to that stubborn pride? Are you trying to prove that even at the end, you never lowered your head to her or admitted defeat?"

Lin Zhongqing said nothing, his face drained of all color and utterly defeated.

He looked at the three weeping women, and finally, slowly nodded.

"I know... I know you're still watching. I admit defeat."

This simple sentence seemed to have exhausted every ounce of his remaining strength, and he immediately lost consciousness, slumping forward.

......

Naturally, Lin Zhongqing was still watching.

She had heard those words and understood that he had finally let go completely. Throughout his life, she had never once heard this stubbornly proud brother utter words of surrender, not even when their father had beaten him so severely that he could not leave his bed for three days.

Yet, at this moment, she felt not a shred of happiness; instead, a faint, lingering bitterness remained.

Why?

Why couldn't you have stayed unyielding to the very end? If you had, making this choice would have been so much easier for me.

She found herself thinking: Didn't Li Shimin kill his own blood brothers, his own eldest brother? And they were born of the same mother, all for the sake of mortal power!

In the end, didn't history still praise him? People even went so far as to maliciously slander his brothers and tailor television dramas to completely blacken their names, ignoring historical facts entirely.

Historically, his eldest brother, Li Jiancheng, had rendered monumental contributions that were by no means inferior to Li Shimin's. Furthermore, he possessed an equally noble character, loved his soldiers like his own children, and excelled at recruiting wise and talented individuals.

And what she held in her hands—something capable of saving her brother's life—far surpassed the mortal realm!

In his later years, Li Shimin's former brilliance vanished in his desperate quest for immortality, reducing him to no different from an ordinary mortal.

As for what she possessed now, to say nothing of immortality, even achieving the status of a Buddha or an immortal would be well within her reach in the future!

Right now, she was effectively the undisputed ruler of the Earth.

Should she follow the example of Li Shimin?

In truth, her situation was far better than Li Shimin's; she hadn't been the one to kill her brother with her own hands, and she would certainly handle his posthumous affairs properly, ensuring he left with no regrets.

The only regret, perhaps, was that he left no offspring.

Yet, despite turning all these thoughts over in her mind, she still could not step over that mental hurdle. After all, she was an equally proud person. She did not want her reputation stained with such an unwashable smudge. If she could watch her own flesh and blood die without lifting a finger, how could she ever stand tall above others?

"Dammit! Hateful! You vile evil entities, I see your retaliation, and I will remember it forever!"

She ground her teeth and said.

"Dongfang, go save him. And tell him—this life of his was granted by me!"

It was an unexpected twist. Fan Bei was genuinely surprised; he had not anticipated her final decision. She had actually chosen to let go of the system's power.

Indeed, human nature was far too complex.

It was entirely irrational and defied all his predictions, yet she had ultimately made this choice.