MLQC CN: Chapter 37, Xu Mo’s Route (Part 4 of 5)
“This time, you’ll be the one to bring me home.”
This part is so sweet I’m melting ⛄️ I also like this CG! Xu Mo’s CGs for this chapter are so pretty and heartwarming.
Read the other parts here:
Summary of Chapter 37, Parts 1-4
Chapter 37, Xu Mo’s Route (Part 1 of 5)
Chapter 37, Xu Mo’s Route (Part 2 of 5)
Chapter 37, Xu Mo’s Route (Part 3 of 5)
Dedicated to @superlemniscate.
~Please don’t repost this translation in any way.~
As reported in the news, the time to the comets’ impact was the same as our original estimation. The situation had not improved.
The broadcast of “Judgment Day Miracles” got golden reviews, better than all our past shows had ever gotten. In these few days, no small number of researchers, local and overseas alike, had come to join in the research effort.
Turning off the television, I drew a deep breath. Just as I had calmed myself down and was preparing to leave the house, my phone vibrated twice.
[MC]: Xu Mo? I’m preparing to come over now. Are you in the lab already?
Xu Mo: I’m not going into the lab today.
Xu Mo: I’m preparing for the last stage of our project now. I hope you’ll be able to complete it with me.
[MC]: Of course I can—you’re forgetting that I’m your Special Assistant after all. So, what do you need me to do?
A soft laugh sounded from the other end of the phone.
Xu Mo: Calm down. Go downstairs now and head to the central research hub.
Xu Mo: Hmm? What are you laughing at?
[MC]: It’s nothing. I was just thinking that this is all too familiar.
Xu Mo: Now that you mention it, I seem to remember all those times too.
[MC]: I’m here, why don’t I see you?
Xu Mo: Do you see a black box? It should be under the tree.
[MC]: Mmm… I’ve found it. This is… an empty fountain pen case?
Xu Mo: There’s only one more step to go. But I need you to complete it.
Xu Mo: A word of warning first, however. The road from here on may be bumpy, but I have faith in you.
[MC]: …What do you mean by this? Where exactly are you now?
Xu Mo: I’ll be waiting for you here.
Xu Mo: [MC], remember what you said. After all this has ended, you must bring me home.
Before I could wrap my head around what was going on, the line went dead.
In utter confusion, I looked at the empty case before me. Then inspiration struck. Removing the fountain pen from my pocket, I slotted it into the case—
At the same time, an announcement rang out in the park: “100 seconds remaining to the Judgment Day preview.”
[MC]: Judgment Day preview? What’s going on…
Just then, raindrops fell again, but this wasn’t the gentle drizzle that I had seen previously. A few seconds later, the ground beneath my feet started shaking.
Looking at the lush greenery around me and the sudden changes which had just occurred, my brain frantically started putting the pieces together.
The selection of seeds Xu Mo had previously spoken about, the cruel rat race of evolution in the forest, the supposed last stage of the project… And, the Judgment Day preview.
This giant forest was the actual coliseum of life. In the impending “Judgment Day preview”, only the seeds and plants that survived would continue to live on.
[MC]: I know where it is!
Turning, I started to run towards the place I had guessed. But the road ahead of me was filled with obstacles.
As the countdown ticked mechanically on, the ground started shaking increasingly frequently. Cracks even appeared! The drops of rain that fell began to hit the ground heavily, so that the soil began to turn into mud.
I ran through area after area, forests and streams—all these places I had previously visited with Xu Mo.
The ground beneath me gradually turned slippery. One careless step made me almost lose my footing, but I regained my balance in time. As I bent over with my hands on my knees, panting for breath, I looked up.
The night cherry blossom shone a dazzling pink that lit up the entire night sky, as if guiding the path I should take.
Now I knew—all this time, he had been reminding me.
Raising a hand, I brushed away the raindrops that had fallen on my face. Then, picking up my pace, I started running without any more hesitation.
In those bygone days, when you pushed me away again and again, you were actually hoping that I would catch up with you.
I had felt lost, I had doubted, I had hesitated, and I had lost faith in myself. But, thankfully, I had never given up.
I had kept on running, not to stay where I was, but to get nearer to you, to understand the world you saw.
Though my growth wasn’t fast, not by any means, and I would sometimes stumble and fall, I had always been running towards you.
Now, I was even more sure of it: at the same time that I walked towards you, you would, too, turn and walk towards me.
From the first till this very moment, we had been walking back and forth hesitantly on countless paths, chasing and yet turning away from each other, trying to find that so-called “correct” path…
But perhaps there was no “correct” path. I just wanted to choose the path that led to you.
No matter whether it was right or wrong, I just wanted to walk to your side, walk towards you, to prove that it wasn’t wrong.
As the elevator doors slid open, I could see that familiar figure in the distance. Then, without a second’s hesitation, I started striding towards him.
He turned. Then he took one step towards me. Another. And yet another.
Xu Mo: You arrived more quickly than I thought you would.
[MC]: That’s because I ran here.
Because I wanted to be a little faster. Even if it was only by a second, I wanted to meet you earlier.
I was so out of breath that I couldn’t get a fluent sentence out. Pulling me into his arms, Xu Mo gently tucked behind my ear the strands of hair that had escaped during my run.
Xu Mo: [MC], are you still afraid of Judgment Day now?
[MC]: I’m no longer afraid.
Gazing straight at Xu Mo, I said this without hesitation.
[MC]: Because I believe in what you said. That life will never stop.
[MC]: Just like how you’ve been persevering all this time, I won’t give up as well.
[MC]: Even till the very last, I won’t give up on growing.
[MC]: All this is what you taught me.
For a moment, Xu Mo was silent. A smile tugged at his lips.
Xu Mo: I am glad to have watched you grow.
As he said this, he pressed down on a button on the wall. The wall in front of us slid apart, revealing a passage.
Walking into the passage, we were given a bird’s eye view of the entire park. Now, we were standing within an enormous glass dome. Above us was the starry night sky.
Xu Mo: We created this model forest of life, and we’ve also simulated the final moment when the comet hits.
Xu Mo: All the seeds we’re keeping will be buried in the deepest parts of the earth. Only if they escape this catastrophe will they truly survive.
Xu Mo: [MC], now, let’s have a sneak peek of what it’ll be like at the end.
Just as Xu Mo finished, an automated voice sounded all around us: Magnetic-field simulation of the arrival of the comets activated. Counting down. 10…
Throughout all of this, Xu Mo held my hand tightly. Through my palm, I could feel his warmth, his pulse, soothing my worries.
At the last second, out of instinct, I returned Xu Mo’s clasp tightly.
The vibrant life outside the glass suddenly sped up. At the very last moment, their growth was accelerated.
Vines shot up into the sky, flower buds burst into bloom, fruits grew in size before falling to the ground, where they decomposed. Alas, in a giant burst of light, all turned into ash.
The scene appearing before me was vastly different from what I had imagined.
But at this very moment, as we stood here hand in hand, watching the ashes swirling down over the garden, it was as if we had really arrived at the world’s end.
For some inexplicable reason, I could feel my nose turn runny.
[MC]: Is this really the end of life?
Xu Mo: You can see it this way, but you can also see it differently.
Xu Mo: Do you still remember what I told you when we first met?
[MC]: You mean, the Red Queen Hypothesis?
Xu Mo: Yes. Life is a circle—the scenery at the start and finish lines is the same. The very moment of reaching our destination can also be seen as a new beginning.
Outside the glass, among the flurry of ashes, a single, faint ray of light shone down from somewhere, gently kissing a new sprout that had appeared on the wasteland.
Involuntarily, I wrapped my arms around Xu Mo from behind. Resting my head against his shoulder, I closed my eyes.
[MC]: Xu Mo, do you see that light?
Xu Mo: I see it, very clearly.
A light jumped in Xu Mo’s eyes. Looking back at the girl behind him, his eyes were filled with a deep gentleness.
Colour began to spread through the scene before his eyes, blossoming through his world.
Finally, because of the girl beside him, he was able to see the colour of this world once more.
[MC]: Xu Mo, the flowers will bloom again, won’t they?
Xu Mo: But before that, you have to promise me one thing.
Xu Mo: This time, you’ll be the one to bring me home.
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