Chen Shu slowly closed his eyes and said, "Alright, everyone, please return. I have my own decisions..."
The others were slightly startled, and then were about to speak again, but a gentle force permeated, gradually dispersing the crowd.
Chen Shu himself then teleported away, disappearing from the rooftop.
He feared that if he stayed any longer, he would lose his composure...
As he left, people could only leave, but they did not give up. Instead, they sought out Gu Lan and other official leaders, hoping they could persuade Chen Shu to leave.
At this moment, Chen Shu did not go far, but returned to his home.
His father was sitting quietly on the sofa, and his mother was busy in the kitchen, just as usual.
"Dad..."
Chen Shu's eyes were a little red, and he spoke, wanting to say something.
"Son, you're back?"
Father Chen, with a smile, said, "Sit down quickly, your mother made a table full of good food today..."
Chen Shu was slightly stunned. Seeing his father's demeanor, he could only suppress the words in his heart for the time being.
After a while,
Mother brought out dish after dish of steaming hot food.
Although not as good as the dishes cooked by Da Li, it exuded a sense of homey warmth.
Mother, with a gentle smile, said, "Try it quickly, you haven't come home for dinner in so long..."
Chen Shu nodded upon hearing this and began to eat the food heartily.
His parents simply watched him, their eyes filled with affection.
After a while, Chen Shu cleared more than half of the dishes on the table before slowly raising his head.
He looked at his parents' expressions and spoke again,
"Dad, Mom..."
Before he could finish speaking, his father interrupted him,
"Son, do what you want to do!"
Father Chen's face was calm as he slowly said, "Dad believes in you, just like seventeen years ago..."
Chen Shu's expression faltered, and he couldn't help but think of his distant high school days.
Back then, he had just awakened his system and made the first important choice of his life, which was to transfer from the ordinary class to the beast tamer class.
Such a huge change, logically, his parents would strongly oppose, especially since there was only one year left until the college entrance examination.
But his father did not stop him at all; instead, he supported Chen Shu's decision.
Now, time flew by,
His father's face had aged, but in Chen Shu's eyes, his father was still the same as he remembered, unchanged.
Chen Shu fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.
At this moment, his mother wanted to say something but held back forcefully, her eyes unconsciously welling up with tears.
"Dad, I understand..."
Chen Shu slowly stood up, finally giving his parents a deep look, and turned to leave home.
As Chen Shu left, his mother could no longer hold back and sobbed,
"What are you talking about!"
His mother, weeping, said with a tone of accusation, "What if the child makes the wrong choice?!"
"What is right and wrong?"
Father Chen Ping sighed and said, "It's all up to the child himself."
Now, Chen Shu stood on the scales of life and death.
In front of him was his own life, and behind him was the lives of all humanity.
Any word from those around him might change Chen Shu's decision, leading to different outcomes...
Chen Shu left home and then found his former teacher, Shen Wushuang!
He was too confused at the moment and desperately wanted a word of guidance...
"Chen Pi, you've always made the right decisions. Teacher believes in you!"
Teacher Shen's words were like his father's, without any interference, not even a suggestive remark.
Chen Shu found more people, including old Professor Ye Qing, Governor Fang Wei of Nancang, Teacher Liu Feng, and Principal Qin Tian...
He had asked every elder who had ever taught him...
Most of their answers were the same as his father Shen Wushuang's: the decision was up to Chen Shu himself.
They would support him unconditionally and only hoped that he would not bear any psychological burden...
However, a minority had different answers.
"Chen Pi, leave..."
Liu Feng looked at his student, a smile appearing in his eyes.
"Teacher..."
Chen Shu looked at Liu Feng, momentarily stunned speechless.
He had never forgotten that from the day he became his student, Liu Feng had always made him take the Zhenling Army Guards as a role model, wanting to change his temperament.
But now, at this critical juncture, Liu Feng was actually telling him to abandon humanity and leave alone!
At this moment, Qin Tian spoke up,
"Child, leave! Your survival is hope!"
"Principal..."
"If you leave, we can survive with you. Don't hesitate any longer..."
According to human decisions, Chen Shu could bring his relatives and friends with him.
He couldn't save hundreds of millions of people, but saving hundreds or thousands was not a problem, and he could even roam freely on the Ancient Imperial Continent.
At this moment,
A smile appeared on Qin Tian's lips, as if he was happy to be able to save his life.
But Chen Shu could see the bitterness in the depths of the other's eyes...
Qin Tian had dedicated his entire life to protecting humanity.
For such a person, although life was precious, there were many things that were more important than life...
But now, to allow Chen Shu to leave without any burden, Qin Tian and others were willing to abandon their beliefs and leave with him.
This was also a great sacrifice.
"I..."
Chen Shu looked to the side, trying his best not to lose his composure, but his eyes had begun to redden.
"You are the ferocious bandit of Nanjiang. Being indecisive is not your nature!"
Liu Feng said from the side,
"Survive, and then avenge humanity. That is the most correct choice!"
"..."
Chen Shu took a deep breath, bowed to the two, and turned to leave.
At this moment, Chen Shu no longer asked for the opinions of his elders,
Instead, he went alone to the deepest part of the ruins.
He used the power of the ruins to activate his god's perspective, allowing him to easily see all the humans within the ruins.
He saw people writing farewell letters at home, people crying while holding their families, and people maintaining a long silence...
Naturally, there were also people blaming Chen Shu for being selfish, and people mocking the foolish righteousness of others, as twelve percent of them had chosen for Chen Shu to sacrifice himself...
But Chen Shu calmly swept over these things, without any emotional response.
If it were his past self, he might have felt angry, but now, he understood that human nature was complex and could not be blinded by a single leaf...
His gaze shifted, looking to other places,
He saw more people approaching the official departments,
They appeared anxious and pleaded for official powerhouses to come forward and persuade Chen Shu to leave quickly...
"Perhaps I was too selfish before, only seeing the coldness and selfishness of human nature..."
Chen Shu looked at the various scenes of people in the ruins, and a faint realization appeared in his eyes, his entire person unknowingly undergoing a change...
Now, he could see the brilliance of human nature...