"Hey, you surnamed Tian, what are we doing now?" Prince glanced at him sideways. "You really believe that fortune teller's words that much?"
"Let's sit down and wait," Old Tian sighed. "In this world, her words are the most trustworthy."
Hundreds of meters away, Fireworks sat under a large tree. Sweat beaded on her forehead, clearly from the strenuous climb, but her cheongsam remained spotless, exuding an air of elegance even while seated. Seeing Peacock approaching from afar, leaving Chen Xiao in front of her, Fireworks glanced at Peacock, smiled slightly, a complex emotion in her eyes: "Alright, thank you. I need to be alone with him for a while. You can leave now. Hmm… go somewhere far away."
Peacock answered every word the fireworks said and immediately turned and flew away.
Suddenly, only Yan Hua and Chen Xiao remained in the forest.
Fireworks sighed, slowly stood up, and walked to Chen Xiao's side. Chen Xiao remained motionless, like a clay sculpture.
Fireworks gazed at Chen Xiao silently for a full minute, then suddenly sighed softly, as if talking to herself, and murmured, "Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao... Alas, amidst so many changes, you have ultimately come to this... and it is the worst possible outcome."
A hint of helplessness flickered in her eyes, and her tone carried an overwhelming sense of guilt. Even though she knew Chen Xiao couldn't hear her, she whispered softly, "Don't blame me... I didn't want this to happen. But now that you've become like this, I can see your future... If I don't stop it, the future... will be a disaster! Countless lives lost... You, alas, why is your fate like this?"
"Your first change was with that girl named Zhang Xiaotao. On the ship, in such a chaotic situation, I spotted her at a glance, and I saw that her future fate was intertwined with yours. I thought then and there, if I could keep her by my side and prevent her from encountering you on the ship, perhaps we could change the future. But... I never expected that you would still end up on the lifeboat we were on. That's just fate."
The second variable was that you were originally on the verge of death from your injuries during the shipwreck. I was by your side the whole time, but I didn't save you. I just stood by and coldly watched you suffer, watching you succumb to your wounds. It wasn't that I was heartless or malicious, but… Chen Xiao, I saw your future. It was the first fork in the road. One path led to death, where you would die from your injuries at sea. The other… was Zhang Xiaotao! She was a variable in your life. At sea, she took meticulous care of you, doing everything she could to save you, enduring hunger and hardship herself to keep you alive. And in the end, you survived!
Do you know what? You were supposed to die at sea. But because of Zhang Xiaotao and that Japanese girl, you survived!!!
The third variable was that Japanese little girl. She fell into the sea, and in such a vast area, she was washed ashore on the small island where we are. As a result, she brought with her an angel potion, which not only saved your life but also killed the thugs.
Your fourth variable is me, Fireworks! On the ship, the sea goddess originally came for me; her orders were to capture me and bring me back. I deliberately let Peacock leave my side and then fled alone. That way, without Peacock's protection, we might have been more likely to die. But fate is unchangeable; on the island, Peacock eventually found us! Just when the sea goddess was about to find us, she arrived.
The fifth variable is the Sea God! She will influence your fate, so I had the Peacock stay behind to stop her, and then we would leave together by boat. But unfortunately, the Sea God caught up with us halfway there and captured you. I knew then that I had failed again; I still couldn't change your destiny. You are still connected to the Sea God. And the Sea God has a far more profound impact on you!
If she didn't know you, she wouldn't have gone to your city to look for you. If she hadn't gone, she wouldn't have been able to gather four S-rank powerhouses to provide their blood for your evolution!
The sixth variable in your fate is still the Sea Goddess! If she hadn't gone to find you but mistakenly stopped Zhu Rong and Gong Gong on the way, then if Zhu Rong and Gong Gong had returned earlier, even if they couldn't stop Lin Kunlun, they could at least have found him a day earlier! If things had been a day earlier, if the kidnapping of Lin Kunlun had been resolved a day earlier... then General Tian, Lin Kunlun, the Sea Goddess, and Prince, the four S-class beings, wouldn't have gathered together at the same time.
The seventh variable in your fate is that Prince kidnapped you and the Sea God together. Why did he kidnap you and the Sea God? Precisely because of your special relationship with the Sea God! If he hadn't coveted your special ability to subdue the Sea God, he wouldn't have kidnapped you, nor would he have made you drink the blood of four S-class experts, causing you to evolve.
"It's all fate!"
Chapter 243 [This is it, right now!]
The fireworks' eyes grew brighter and brighter, their flickering gaze carrying an indescribable helplessness and sorrow.
"That's fate. And today, there's yet another variable."
Fireworks' gaze fell on Chen's face.
Her sigh was soft and tinged with helplessness: "You're a good young man. I knew that the first time I met you. You're kind and brave. You have the courage to step forward and help others when needed. You're a very good person. If you weren't... I wouldn't have made this choice!"
I, like fireworks, spent my entire life trying to see through fate. I saw it, yet I couldn't change it. When the choice came, I couldn't refuse, nor could I resist. That's fate!
Your fate is the most peculiar I've ever seen. Your destiny had many crossroads, many possibilities. Unfortunately… when I first met you, I foresaw many different destinies for you. Unfortunately, in the end, you still ended up on this path.
This might be a coincidence. But among so many coincidences, you still arrived at today. Today's outcome is the worst I've seen. Perhaps, it's also inevitable...
When we were stranded at sea, I considered killing you with my own hands. If I had killed you then, it would have been all over. None of the subsequent changes or the future disasters would have occurred! But at sea, my heart softened. I witnessed your bravery and kindness, your selfless rescue efforts, your courage. So, although I remained silent and didn't intervene, I couldn't bring myself to kill you. My thought at the time was… that there would be other variables in your fate, perhaps waiting for the next one.
Perhaps if you had chosen a different path, you wouldn't have ended up with the worst outcome. So, you didn't die at sea!
While the prophetic power of fireworks is remarkable, it is not omnipotent.
The opportunities Chen Xiao faced were like choices at the crossroads of fate.
He took it one step at a time. If he had made different choices in the situations he encountered before, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
For example, in the prehistoric underwater ruins, if he agreed to the pimp computer's request to mate with the sea god, then his relationship with the sea god wouldn't improve. The sea god would be brainwashed after mating and left in the prehistoric ruins by the computer to reproduce. Then, the sea god would end up in K City, and the four masters wouldn't engage in a chaotic battle.
A single, different choice altered a chain reaction of fates that followed...
There are many, many similar choices. Some things may seem like trivial matters at the time, but a casual choice made on a whim can lead to vastly different outcomes.
Even, for example, when he was in Japan. If he hadn't made that one wrong decision and gone for a stroll in Tokyo the day before leaving Japan, he might not have even met Prince. If he hadn't known that old madman.
Then that bastard birdman wouldn't have ended up in K City.
And so on and so forth... It was as if at one crossroads after another, an invisible hand of fate was guiding Chen Xiao step by step toward the "worst outcome" that the fireworks had foretold.
Looking at Chen Xiao, Yan Hua's eyes showed a hint of struggle, but after this brief struggle, her eyes became more and more determined, and finally turned into a calm and distant look like an abyss!
"So... I can't wait any longer." Fireworks seemed to be giving a bitter smile: "I've softened my heart too many times. So, I must do this today."
"If fate is fair, then a good person like you shouldn't die. If you die, your family and friends, those you've helped, and those who love you will all grieve and be saddened for you—if fate is fair!"
But sadly, fate is never fair, never has been. This world has no fairness, and never has! So, Chen Xiao, I hope you won't hate me, don't hate the injustice of fate. You shouldn't have died, but many who shouldn't have died have. You're not the first, and you won't be the last.
"I'm helpless. I see your future. Now, you're standing on the edge of the worst possible outcome. This is the last chance to stop you. If we can't stop you now, once you wake up, you will become a disaster for this world! And no one will be able to stop you!"
I saw everything about your future, things that were terrible! Bloodshed, death, slaughter, turmoil… I'm sorry. Although these are things of the future. I shouldn't judge you for things you haven't even done yet. But… I had no choice. This is fate.”
Finally, the fireworks reached Chen Xiao's side.
She carefully stood up, slowly extended a hand, and gently pressed it against Chen's forehead.
"Phoenix will hate me..." Fireworks seemed to smile faintly. She looked at Chen's face, her expression returning to calm. Moreover, her tone carried a hint of death.
"I'm sorry, Chen Xiao, because... I'm going to kill you. Right here. Right now!"
...
Lin San and Prince stared at each other coldly. The old man looked at Poseidon with a meaningful gaze. He had already taken out the cell repair fluid and distributed it to everyone, including Poseidon.
The original plan for this trip was to forcibly take Chen Xiao back, so naturally, they brought a considerable amount of cell repair fluid, a type of wound medicine. When the old man saw Chen Xiao walking back step by step from the woods, he was taken aback for a moment, then stood up: "Why did you come back alone?"