“Take one last look…”
Chen Shu, hands in his pockets, ambled into the school.
As he approached the teaching building, he saw a group of people gathered, seemingly waiting for him.
It was A Liang and the others!
“Hm?”
Chen Shu paused slightly, then smiled, “What are you guys doing here?”
“We guessed you’d come…”
Old Xie grinned, “We’re all waiting for you specifically.”
“Waiting for me?”
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, “What’s up, have you all made your choices?”
“Do we need to?”
A Liang retorted.
The others also smiled, gazing at Chen Shu.
“…”
Seeing this, Chen Shu returned their smiles and embraced them one by one.
No one spoke further. They simply looked at each other quietly.
They had been through so much together, forging an unbreakable bond.
At this moment, Fang Si glanced at Chen Shu and suddenly said,
“Chen Pi, how about we leave with you?”
“Huh?!”
Chen Shu froze on the spot, his mind going blank for a moment.
“Huh?”
He looked astonished, doubting if he had heard correctly. It was completely unexpected.
“Sister Fang Si said we’ll leave with you!”
A Liang emphasized again, saying,
“Not just us, your parents, Teacher Liu, Principal Qin, they’ve all chosen to leave with you!”
“…”
Chen Shu was stunned again, as if struck by lightning. It was truly caught him off guard.
He believed they would respect his choice and support him silently,
but he had never imagined that they would give up their lifelong convictions for him!
He had mentioned taking them with him before, but had never received an answer.
He had actually already known the answer.
A Liang and the others had long possessed the spirit to dedicate themselves to humanity.
After all, their ingrained belief since childhood was that if they were strong, they must protect the weak, even at the cost of their own lives.
Chen Shu couldn't influence them, and they couldn't influence Chen Shu.
But now,
they were saying they were willing to abandon humanity and willingly follow Chen Shu away…
To Chen Shu,
this felt too unreal, even a little sci-fi!
If he hadn't been in this relic, he would have suspected the group had been swapped out by fierce beasts…
“Teacher Liu and Principal Qin are willing too?”
Chen Shu’s expression was complicated, still disbelieving.
If A Liang and the others had changed their minds, it might have been somewhat understandable, as they were young.
But Liu Feng and Qin Tian were from the older generation, their ideas deeply entrenched, unshakeable by anyone.
Now, had they also changed?
“Of course!”
A Liang grinned, “We’ve already discussed it.”
“Is this an illusion?”
Chen Shu frowned and immediately summoned his rabbit.
His spatial domain spread out, but he detected no clues or anomalies. Clearly, he was overthinking.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Xiao Xing chuckled, seeing Chen Shu’s demeanor.
“It’s not what’s wrong with me, it’s what’s wrong with you all?!”
Chen Shu rubbed his head, genuinely at a loss.
“Everyone, don’t say anything for now. I need a moment to process this…”
He squatted alone in front of the teaching building, lost in deep thought.
After a while, he stood up and said,
“No, what is going on with you people?!”
If he hadn't lacked a spirit contract that dealt with mental powers, he would have suspected everyone had been brainwashed.
“What’s going on?”
Wang Jue shrugged, saying,
“With the current situation, our standing out is meaningless. It’s better to wait for the right moment to revitalize humanity.”
“…”
Chen Shu looked them over. These were his lines!
“You’re just giving up so easily?”
He frowned, saying,
“This concerns the lives of a billion humans!”
At this, everyone’s expression faltered, and a sense of heaviness settled in their hearts.
Clearly, they were not as carefree as they appeared.
“What exactly is going on?!”
Chen Shu looked at them seriously,
“Has something happened?!”
He couldn’t fathom what earth-shattering change could cause A Liang and the others to abandon their deeply held convictions.
The group fell silent, offering no answers.
Just then,
the Star Spirit of the relic appeared and whispered something into Chen Shu’s ear.
“The result of the choice is out?”
Chen Shu blinked, “Let me see.”
Instantly, a starry screen appeared before him, summarizing the choices made by humanity in the relic.
Chen Shu had initially presented only two options:
one was to abandon him, the other was to abandon all of humanity!
The majority chose the former, while the proportion who chose the latter was less than one percent, exactly as Chen Shu had predicted.
However,
his eyes now held a trace of confusion.
This was because only twelve percent of the relic's total population had made a choice.
This meant that over eighty percent of people had not provided any choice, seemingly abstaining.
And this applied not only to the Starry Sky Relic, but the voting results from the other three human relics were also tallied.
“What’s going on?”
Chen Shu frowned, not asking the Star Spirit but turning his gaze to A Liang and the others.
He had a premonition.
Their unusual behavior might be related to the voting results.
At this moment, the group remained silent, still offering no response.
“Qing Xue, you tell me. You never lie to me!”
Chen Shu looked at Wang Qing Xue in the crowd and asked sternly.
For Wang Qing Xue, Chen Shu was a beacon in her life, always guiding her forward. She would naturally not hide anything.
At this, she hesitated, glanced at A Liang and the others, and said,
“Brother Chen Shu, I…”
“Let me say it.”
Just then, Fang Si stepped forward, a hint of emotion in her eyes.
“What made us make this decision wasn't us alone, but all of humanity!”
“Hm?”
Chen Shu blinked, his eyes filled with confusion, saying,
“What do you mean?”
Fang Si took a deep breath and slowly said,
“In the last two days, too many people have approached us, hoping you would leave and preserve the spark of humanity for the future!”
“…”
Chen Shu instantly froze, unable to react for a moment.
“Then why… did you all choose to leave as well…”
“They were worried you would have reservations because of us, even affecting your future Beast Taming path…”
Fang Si said with a heavy expression, “Countless ordinary people made requests, asking us to leave with you!”
“…”
Chen Shu’s breathing hitched, and he felt a suffocating sensation in his chest.
He had no doubt about Fang Si’s words.
To make such a group abandon their deeply held beliefs, perhaps only the people they wanted to protect could achieve this.