CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 93: UNEXPECTED! THE LOVE OF MY LIFE DIES, I CHOOSE TO DESTROY THE WORLD

Xia Qingxue had never imagined, not in her wildest dreams, that a simple cleanup operation would end up like this.

The opponent she had fought with all her might turned out to be the man she cherished with all her heart.

In an instant, Xia Qingxue felt her strength drain away. The imposing Valkyrie Battle Armor she wore, unable to maintain its combat state due to the turmoil in her heart, automatically retracted into her body.

Her body trembled violently before her legs suddenly gave out, and she collapsed in front of Chen Pingchuan.

At that moment, it was as if the world had lost all its color. A sorrowful, deathly silence descended, and all she could hear was the sound of her own ragged breathing.

With trembling hands, Xia Qingxue pulled Chen Pingchuan into her arms, gazing at his familiar yet strangely distant face.

The man she loved so deeply had now become a corpse, never to speak again.

"Why... why did it have to be you? Why were *you* the Black Armored Warrior?"

As she questioned the heavens, tears streamed from her eyes like a bursting dam. This partially modified, semi-human body was now exhibiting a uniquely human emotional response.

Xia Qingxue couldn’t accept the brutal reality before her. All her efforts this past year—seizing control of the Celestial Palace as quickly as possible—were all for the hope of reuniting with the man she loved and spending the rest of their lives together.

But Chen Pingchuan’s death had utterly shattered her vision of the future.

In the next moment, Xia Qingxue could no longer suppress her inner anguish. Her soft sobs escalated into gut-wrenching wails that echoed all around. The cries were so raw and desperate they sounded as if they were tearing her apart, moving even Chen Pingchuan in his spiritual state.

"You lied to me, Chen Pingchuan! You’re a liar! You promised you would wait for me! So why did you die?!"

Listening to Xia Qingxue’s accusations, Chen Pingchuan couldn’t help but feel that something was odd. How did he, the victim, end up being the one at fault?

She cried until her voice was raw and broken, but still she kept murmuring, "You promised... you promised you would wait for me."

...

Xia Qingxue gripped Chen Pingchuan’s hand tightly, as if doing so could keep him by her side, never to leave again.

But as time passed, the warmth left Chen Pingchuan’s body, and his limbs began to stiffen.

With her heightened senses, how could Xia Qingxue not understand that the man she loved was truly and utterly dead?

Yet, she chose to try again. She gently patted his face, hoping he would wake up. But how could a corpse awaken? It simply lay silent in her arms, without a sound, without a stir.

Seeing the despair on Xia Qingxue’s face, Chen Pingchuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache. He tried to console her in the lightest tone he could manage.

Hey, stop crying. Your man isn’t dead yet. If you keep wailing like this, are you trying to send me off for good? And stop slapping my face! The more you slap, the paler I get. Don’t hit a man in the face! Don’t I, Chen Pingchuan, have any dignity?

Unfortunately, though Chen Pingchuan kept speaking, Xia Qingxue, in the world of the living, couldn’t hear a single word.

Powerless, Chen Pingchuan felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him. After all, their first meeting had been nothing short of a conspiracy he had carefully orchestrated. His intentions had been completely different from hers, driven by ulterior motives. Though they had later stumbled into a relationship by a twist of fate, becoming lovers in name and deed. But Chen Pingchuan still couldn’t understand why Xia Qingxue was so deeply attached to him. If the women he met later were drawn to him because of the ’Friend to All Women’ talent he’d acquired from the simulation, that couldn’t be it. He didn’t have that talent when he met Xia Qingxue. As for that insane title, ’Quick-Draw—Savage Biao,’ Chen Pingchuan didn’t want to think about it at all. If he wasn’t mistaken, that title was the root of all his misfortune last year. It was why he was constantly being picked on by all sorts of characters for no reason, and why even his real life had been a disaster. And to think, he had once smugly believed it to be a powerful, rule-bending title. How could he have been so foolish? Every gift from fate has its price, secretly marked.

Chen Pingchuan was vexed by his immobile predicament. While he could quietly stay by Xia Qingxue’s side, the inability to speak a single word was agonizing.

No, it was soul-agonizing.

Just as Chen Pingchuan was pondering how long this state between them could last, Xia Qingxue was the first to stir. After crying for more than an hour, her eyes were lifeless and numb, the depths of her pupils reflecting only despair for the world.

Xia Qingxue began to mutter to herself.

"Since you’re gone, there’s no meaning left for me in this world. You once told me that being there for someone is the truest declaration of love."

"So, let me join you."

"No... let the entire world accompany us both. That way, we won’t be lonely on the road to the underworld."

Chen Pingchuan felt a little embarrassed. He had no idea how many sweet nothings he’d whispered to her—words he himself had never paid much mind to. He never imagined she would remember them all. Of course, he didn’t fully grasp what she meant. He just observed his first love, this girl who had changed so drastically. ’Speaking of which, babe... it’s only been a year. How did you get so formidable? No, wait, so ferocious? Have you been taking some kind of drug?’

Chen Pingchuan still had the presence of mind to joke, but the despairing Xia Qingxue acted first, gently laying his body down on the patch of ground she had just cleared.