Chapter 131 (1/2)
”Clone?” Chang screamed. ”And XVII?”
”You are right, XVII.” The nursing bottle emptied, Qing Shui gently swung his arms. ”Is it strange? Someone who cloned himself?”
”It's strange to me. But if this is the XVII, how many clones have you made so far?” Chang asked.
”Seventeen in total. This is the youngest. And the oldest is already three years old.” Qing Shui waved his hand at Chang. ”Come with me, I'll show you something.”
”All right.” In this state of darkness and chaos, they left humanity behind for a fict.i.tious land of peace - Qing Shui's hidden lab.
As Chang expected, more transparent gla.s.s containers were stored in here, and they were filled with clone babies, one per each. Looking back and forth between the babies and Qing Shui, an unspeakably strange feeling rose in Chang's heart.
”They are all you?”
”They are all me. The survival rate was poor, only seventeen of them survived.”
They walked to the end of the hallway where Qing Shui placed his index finger on the fingerprint scanner. The bulky door opened inwardly, revealing soldiers looking after the children. The oldest ran around and seemed to be three or four years old. The youngest was the one in Qing Shui's arms.
”Out of these seventeen children, can you take three with you?” Qing Shui pointed at the oldest three children. ”Qing, Shui, Shui Qing, come here!”
”Hi, papa.” The kids sneaked out from the soldiers. Their ages seemed close to each other, meaning that they were all about three years old. Running and walking on their own wasn't a difficult task for them.
”Take them for me, please. They are easy to take care of since they are the oldest of my clones.” Qing Shui pushed on their backs gently. ”I have made arrangements for the others already. These three shouldn't bring you a lot of trouble as they are just as the same as me... They will be offering great help in the future.”
”What about you?”
”I am staying.” Qing Shui drew a long breath of relief. ”I want to meet the Willow.”
”Are you crazy?” Chang shouted loudly. His voice was so high that it scared some of the infants. ”No! I am not allowing this, you are seeking death!”
”I have my own plan, please don't stop me.”
”I know you always have plans and you are thoughtful in every aspect that I know. But seriously, I think you are making an unwise decision.” Chang frowned as if he would never loosen his brows until Qing Shui changed his mind. He pulled his friend's arm.
”Let's leave here, please. What do you think you are doing? Seeing the Willow means you'll die right away! This isn't a joke anymore! I believed that you weren't afraid of the Amphibias, fine! But how dare you say that you want to confront the Willow? And you, are you sure that you can handle the consequences? Qing Shui, this isn't cool, this is unnecessary sacrifice and I won't let this happen!”
”I... I wanted to talk to it since a long time ago. I've made up my mind, and in the best scenario, I can probably keep my life!” Qing Shui pulled his arm out from Chang's grasp. ”What is it thinking? Isn't that fascinating?”
”Well, I want to know what is in your mind!” Chang patted his forehead, eyes closed. ”How many brains do you have? One! And do you know how many brains it has? A million or even more! Do you think it has the need to negotiate with you?”
”It has.” Qing Shui took out a vial, which Chang remembered - Evil Moss.
”Okay, How is this going to help?”
”Of course it is helpful. I grew a lot of them in my experimental field. They are my best bet if I detonate this inst.i.tute. This will be the biggest threat to the Willow.”
”I am still confused. The Willow is almost almighty as far as I know.” Chang wasn't persuaded.
”Well, even this won't cause death to it, but it will negatively impact its power for certain. It won't kill me immediately, and this is my bargain with it,” Qing Shui said.
”And then what? I don't see any meaning in you talking to it.”
”I have my own plan,” Qing Shui repeated. He didn't want to give out additional explanations. ”You don't need to attempt to stop me, no one can convince me to give up.”
”...” Chang didn't have anything else to say and responded with a long silence.
He knew it, he knew it with his heart that there was absolutely nothing he could do. He thought Qing Shui's decision was the dumbest that he's ever made, but he had no power in changing that.
”Why don't you leave? Is there anything more important to you than your own life?” These fragile words sneaked out from Chang's lips.
”There is. You guys. You guys are more important than my life.”
”What?”
”I said family is more important than anything, even my own life.” Qing Shui smiled wanly. An expression that was never seen by anyone.
”Do you know how much I cherish the relations.h.i.+p between the three of us, you, Jing, and me? I cherish it more than any of you, and I had never had this feeling before. It's amazing to have somebody that still remembers me, to still have somebody that I can take care of.