"The day after tomorrow... the day after tomorrow I’ll—"
"No... no, let’s do it tomorrow, brother. I can do it."
Morioka’s smile reappeared:
"Good, that’s my dear brother."
"It’s okay. Of course, your limit won’t just be this, right?"
"You can do much more, right? This is my happiness! My happiness is to bring happiness to more people!"
"Brother, for me, you can do it, right?"
Morioka Hitomi also got determined:
"Of course! Brother’s wish is so great, I will help him achieve everything!"
"Fantastic."
...
...
March 7th.
"Damn, has political warfare escalated to the use of witchcraft?"
"Have you heard? The faction opposing evolution collectively hung themselves and left letters confessing they shouldn’t have obstructed the course of human evolution."
"So surreal!"
"In my impression, political battles were supposed to be all about digging up dirt, scheming, and mutual deception... but the reality of political battles is so straightforward and brutal, I really suspect a curse was used."
"So, are we going to usher in a glorious evolution now?"
"Who knows, we only know that the pro-evolution faction advocates responding proactively to the apocalypse, but how to respond, how to evolve, and where to start evolving from, no one knows."
Group members started discussing recent events.
This was undoubtedly a sensational event in Hujiang.
No one knew where many things started moving from.
This time, Morioka Immortal’s little fan—chose not to chat in the group.
He just privately messaged "Xiaoxing."
"I think I might have done something wrong..."
"I don’t know why those people died. They shouldn’t have died, they were lives too..."
"But brother told me, this is the necessary sacrifice for everyone’s happiness."
"I’m so scared."
Xiaoxing replied this time:
"Do you listen to everything your brother says? In the process of making people happy, what is your role? What is your brother’s role?"
This was undoubtedly a crucial question.
But having lived with his brother Morioka Petty since childhood, he completely trusted Morioka, completely believed... brother would always be good to him, brother would never betray him.
"I am responsible for eliminating others’ misfortune, and my brother is responsible for the follow-up work after I finish the ceremony."
Xiaoxing:
"So, actually, your task is the most irreplaceable, right? You are the real Morioka Immortal, right?"
Morioka Hitomi:
"I’m not, I am just my brother’s brother. Brother’s should be more important, right? After all... I don’t know who is happy and who is unhappy."
"I often feel, in this world... if someone is happy, someone else will become unhappy."
"I can’t make many judgments, I can only trust my brother."
I am just my brother’s brother. To be able to say this, he must love his brother deeply.
But Xiaoxing had already sensed something was off.
"Have you ever tried making yourself very happy?"
This question stunned Morioka Hitomi.
He had brought happiness to many people, but never thought about making himself happy.
"I... I’m very happy now, brother is happy, everyone is happy. I am already very happy."
Akiyama Sachi asked again:
"The outside world praises Morioka Immortal, but what about you? Is there any talk about you in the outside world?"
Morioka Hitomi:
"Me? Brother says, everyone loves me and respects me. I believe brother wouldn’t lie to me."
Xiaoxing suddenly felt unable to continue asking. She also became interested in Morioka Immortal.
The curator of the auction house is a very capable person who seems to know everything about the world.
Maybe soon, she could learn about Morioka Immortal from the curator.
...
...
March 12th.
Many days passed, and these days Morioka Hitomi and Xiaoxing chatted more frequently.
Sometimes Xiaoxing would slip back into old habits, intentionally talking about herself, intentionally asking Morioka Hitomi, how he felt about her revealing photos.
Morioka Hitomi’s words always carried a sense of sadness:
"Would you come to me? I want to free you from misfortune."
He was so certain, so compassionate.
That even Xiaoxing felt maybe she really had a chance.
But on the night of March 12th, about Morioka Immortal—
Xiaoxing finally found out.
"Though I wish to help you be happy, unfortunately, I cannot reach Morioka Immortal."
"But about Morioka Immortal’s methods, well, I do know a bit."
"If my information is correct, Morioka Immortal should have control over a very exceptional ghost."
Xiaoxing was shocked:
"A ghost?"
The man nodded:
"For the current Hujiang, this isn’t unusual, ghost-raising techniques, using ghosts to absorb others’ misfortune. Of course, I must admit, even in the ghost-laden Hujiang, this is an enviable method."
"Those treated by Morioka Immortal did indeed gain happiness."
"However, I’m quite content with my life at this stage. I don’t want to do certain things."
The man knew very well that there were many people with supernatural abilities in this world.
His own ability, which allowed him to return to a certain point with his memories upon death, was already quite freakish.
There was no need to provoke other ability users.
Moreover, this Morioka Immortal seemed to possess "concept-level" abilities. Constant happiness often made those around him unhappy.