Light Fortress
Chapter 345 - 36 Gu Shen, I like you

Chapter 345: Chapter 36 Gu Shen, I like you

"In this dream, there was a third person..."

Bai Lu felt like she was experiencing an illusion.

This was her own dream, where she had the highest authority; everything in this dream was under her control, her command.

If there truly was a third person... how could she possibly have not noticed at all?

Yet the silhouette of that girl was too stunning.

Even a momentary appearance was unforgettable... standing alone, poised atop the endless sea of fire and thorns, radiating a brilliance untouched by dust, like a solitary and holy deity.

And as countless seas of fire merged, just before the girl disappeared, she seemed to make a welcoming gesture with open arms.

Was she welcoming Gu Shen?

The next moment!

There was a "boom" sound.

It was like a thunderous roar in Bai Lu’s mind.

She returned to reality.

Some passersby crossed the old bridge, the ice on Ning River had never cracked, and the whole world was silent, empty.

And Gu Shen... had long since vanished.

...

...

"He really is an annoying guy."

Gu Shen muttered, "What do you think?"

He leaned against the stone wall of a dark alley, feeling nostalgic, the scene seemed familiar, as if he had seen it recently... was it when he fled from Da Du?

Gu Shen then realized that he seemed to often flee this way, the old alleys of Changye were as ancient as the old districts of Da Du, no wonder they looked so familiar.

"I don’t dislike her, because she isn’t a bad person."

Chu Ling calmly said, "From beginning to end, Bai Lu didn’t release any murderous intent... She was probably just playing with you."

In that dream, Gu Shen knew very well what it meant to fall.

The thorns were sharp weapons, one would truly be impaled in the soul upon falling among them.

If Bai Lu did not withdraw her attack, then "severe injury" was inevitable.

Gu Shen was somewhat surprised by this answer.

"Actually... I don’t know what you mean by the feeling ’dislike’."

The girl sitting in the train looked somewhat bewildered.

She puzzled, "The word library’s definition of ’dislike’ is ’to cause annoyance’... Over the years, through ’Heavenly Eye’, I have observed the human world and seen many people who should be ’disliked’ or even ’hated’, but unfortunately, they don’t annoy me. Compared to them, I even think Bai Lu... is a decent person."

Gu Shen was taken aback.

’Heavenly Eye’ captures uploads to the Deep Sea Network; usually, these are not simple characters, and the majority of the records left are of criminals that need to be sanctioned by law, those who Chu Ling mentioned should rightfully be ’disliked’.

For humans who possess rich emotions.

Seeing so many records, a person’s emotions would go from ’intense’ to ’numb’... For instance, Grand Judge Tang Qingquan would also show a similar ’indifference’ towards the end.

But Chu Ling was different.

From the beginning, she tried to understand all this, but she couldn’t manage it. Despite her efforts, she could never grasp what people meant by ’dislike’, she wouldn’t feel bothered, nor would she feel repulsed.

The program states, these are people who should be executed, with judgment criteria one, two, three, four...

She would think and perform verifications under the existing conditions, then reach a conclusion... mmm, this is a person who should be executed.

In a sense, this is a detached, ultimate tranquility.

But to put it more bluntly.

"This is the kind of ’indifference’ and ’ruthlessness’ that extinguishes humanity."

However, what Chu Ling said next changed Gu Shen’s mind.

"According to my calculations, she will withdraw the Dream at the last second," she pondered, then said, "At that moment, in front of everyone... you would have made a huge blunder. Though this Dream is dangerous, it caused no harm to you, and for me, she did what I wanted to do. So I don’t dislike her."

Gu Shen fell silent suddenly.

If Chu Ling really didn’t have her own ’emotions,’ how could she get angry over his words and intend to make him ’mess up’?

A person incapable of feeling ’dislike’ would never understand what ’schadenfreude’ means.

He suddenly felt a wave of relaxation and asked with a smile, "So you really wanted to see me mess up?"

The contemplative Chu Ling inside 001 thought for a long time and gave an honest answer, "...Yes."

After saying this, her expression became complicated.

Clearly, she had realized this issue.

"So... is this what dislike feels like?" Chu Ling carefully savored the moment then earnestly said, "Gu Shen, I just felt a bit of dislike towards you."

This was the answer Gu Shen most wanted to hear.

Feeling elated, he quickly asked with a smile, "What about later? What about now? Do you still dislike me?"

Unfortunately,

Since Gu Shen hadn’t entered the Spiritual Link train space, he couldn’t see Chu Ling’s facial expression at the moment.

Seated alone in the train, the girl involuntarily recalled the scene from the thorny dream... At the last moment, Gu Shen didn’t reach for Bai Lu’s hand but chose instead to fall into Ning River.

Using Chi Huo to bomb the thorny Dream beneath him.

Chu Ling had been an "observer" throughout this Dream... She should have been an outsider, a spectator, yet she had to admit, the moment Gu Shen let go, her heartstrings trembled too.

If... she had a heart.

For that moment,

She experienced tension and... was it emotion?

Scene after scene flowed backwards in Chu Ling’s mind.

Finally stopping at the moment the two embraced.

That moment, she opened her arms in the Dream, preparing to use Deep Sea’s massive computing power to forcibly extract Gu Shen from the Dream, only to encounter spiritual power and code data once again – it was a touch beyond reality, and at that moment, she felt a real warmth once again.

Feeling warmth, this was a ’right’ she should not and could not covet.

Was it because of... Gu Shen?

No matter what, the previous irritations had vanished like smoke, and trying to trace back such emotions was challenging.

So Chu Ling whispered very softly, "Now... not so much."

This response, slightly embarrassed and akin to ’protesting too much,’ made Gu Shen feel even more justified in taking advantage, and he pursued relentlessly, "Not so much dislike... means you like me, right?"

Chu Ling was stunned.

She fell into thought once again.

The meanings of these two words spun in her mind... but this time, she didn’t ponder for long.

Though she checked and compared millions of times,

in reality, it only took one second for her to find the answer.

"Yes..."

Chu Ling answered quietly yet firmly, "Gu Shen, I like you."

...

...

(More to follow tomorrow)