Important Notice: We currently have no translators working on EH, if you wish the series to continue please use the JOIN US menu to apply. Lesson 4: Tears, aside from smiles. Translator: Wryn, Ryuuku Proofreader: Arc Dark Sun walked out of the toy shop, unhappy that he was unable to get his hands on the model as it wouldn’t be finished that day. Under the microchip’s guidance, he entered the BBQ shop he had visited a few times with Ezart. It was almost 8pm. The dinner crowd had finished their meal, while the late-night crowd had yet to emerge, so there weren’t very many people in the shop. He sat down and simply said to the waiter, “I want a portion of everything.” “Our portions are quite large,” the well-intentioned waiter warned, surprised. “I’ll still take a portion of everything,” Dark Sun flatly repeated. Seeing his good intentions rebuffed, he could only rub his nose, cursing in his heart, “May the food bloat you to death and the bill bankrupt you. Wait till you’re in urgent need for the toilet, I’ll hang the ‘Maintenance’ sign outside and kill your bladder, too!” The waiter deliberately ensured that dishes of food flowed out of the kitchen at a rate much faster than usual. His efficiency wasn’t better than usual by just a notch or two either. In no time, Dar’s table was filled with plates. They even had to shift several tables next to his to fit all the food. Eventually, Dark Sun was surrounded by a ring of food. Dark Sun started grilling his meat. His actions were swift and precise. He placed the meat on the grill without leaving a single empty s.p.a.ce. After a while, he flipped the meat over and waited a bit more. After all the meat was cooked, he piled the meat onto his bowl before filling the grill with meat again. Subsequently, he devoured half his bowl of meat, pausing only to raise his head and flip the meat on the grill. He lowered his head again and continued eating. After finishing the meat in his bowl, he would sweep the meat off the grill and into his bowl in one go. Then, he would place meat on the grill again, before lowering his head to eat what was in his bowl…. As a mountain of discarded plates began to stack up, the staff in the shop all stared in shock at their only customer. He repeated these actions again and again as the ring of plates surrounding him rapidly disappeared. “When my subordinates came back to report to me that you were eating here alone, i couldn’t believe it!” Dark Sun slowly raised his head to look at the person speaking to him. That person was standing near the door and was quite far away from him. “How unusual. I’m surprised that your brother isn’t hiding you away like a precious gem, heh! Daren ‘Solaris’.” The person spoke to him as he walked over. Dark Sun stood up and moved into his battle stance. When he was a few steps away, Shain Baylian stopped in his tracks. In a lazy tone, he asked, “May I please have the honour of speaking with you?” Dark Sun’s expression was cold and he didn’t respond. The smell of charred meat wafted through the air from the grill. “Don’t be tense, I only wanted to ask you something. Be a.s.sured that I will not hurt you,” said Shain Baylian, before laughing at himself, “Ha! I’m afraid I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to. Moreover, I didn’t bring anyone along with me, and I can’t beat you. That should be sincere enough, right? I only want to ask you something!” Seeing Dark Sun’s impa.s.sive response, Shain Baylian’s heart sank. He coldly said, “It’s regarding my father!” Dark Sun declined outright, “I have no obligation to answer any of your questions.” Shain Baylian was silent. He knew what Daren was saying was true. Daren was really strong and the power of the one behind him was even more frightening. He had nothing to bargain with to make him answer his questions. “I think this is rather funny, myself… but when I was buying this, I asked the staff and he told me that you haven’t bought it yet, so I bought two.” Shain Baylian dug through his bag and took out a box. Clearly written on the cover was ‘Love Simulation Game Platinum Limited Edition 8.5’. What on Earth… The surrounding staff’s mouths began to twitch up at the corners. Originally, the atmosphere had seemed really tense, as if they were about to start a fight, but now some love simulation game had come flying in out of nowhere? That thing wouldn’t be able to make that cold customer agree to anything, right? “Okay, give it to me and I will go with you,” Dark Sun stated matter-of-factly. “……” Even Shain Baylian was dazed for a moment. He had run out of options so he thought he’d just try it, but he never really thought Dark Sun would actually go with him because of a game… It’s not like he was trying to abduct a kid! Dark Sun moved closer to Shain Baylian and took the box from his hands. He simply said ‘let’s go’ and went to the counter to pay the bill. Only after Dark Sun had paid did Shain Baylian realise that Dark Sun had already left the store. He quickly followed after him. “Do we need to call the police?” After the two left the grilled meat shop, one of the staff inside quietly asked, “Does this count as kidnapping?” ＊＊＊ Dark Sun easily found a quiet place close by that would be a good place for them to talk. It was the arena where Ezart used to fight; the abandoned sports field. Now, there was no arena compet.i.tion on. The entire field was dead silent and dark. The only light was from a nearby building just barely giving enough illumination to be able to see the path in front of them. It definitely was a good place for secrets and to silence those who may divulge secrets. Dark Sun went to the stands and sat down on one of the rows. He opened the box holding the love simulation game and took the thin upgrade disk. He slotted it inside the simulation game console and turned it on. Shain Baylian followed after and sat down next to him. Once he saw Dark Sun operate the love simulation console, he hesitated. But he still went along and took out his own love simulation console. The instant he pressed the ‘on’ b.u.t.ton, a girl with neat and straight black hair appeared. She had cat-like green eyes and wore a cool and handsome outfit. She was a beautiful girl that was only the length of an arm. Shain Baylian proudly said, “This is my Octavia, what is yours called?” Dark Sun raised his head and looked at the girl in Shain Baylian’s hands. He replied, “Xiao Ai.” “What a boring name… Her appearance is probably lame as well.” Shain Baylian was in the middle of snorting when he happened to see that Dark Sun’s love simulation console had finished upgrading. Then, a little girl with pink hair and pink eyes appeared. Her eyes and face were round and plump. He couldn’t help but let out a scream. What was with that appearance! It was an appearance that only a paedophile would pick! Dark Sun addressed his concerns and replied, “Ezart helped me set Xiao Ai’s name and appearance.” “What?” Shain Baylian revealed a disgusted face. With disdain, he said, “So that guy is actually a paedophile! How disgusting!” The two of them started playing with their respective simulated girlfriends. “How do you give birth to children?” Dark Sun finished reading the manual but it only talked about getting a boyfriend, getting married and then you’ll be able to give birth to children. Such unclear instructions made him at a loss as to what to do. “That! It’s really annoying. You have to choose from one of the social networking options, such as attending more b.a.l.l.s and meet a few men. Afterwards, you’ll have to date them for a very long time to be able to get married and all that stuff. Only then can you have children.” Shain Baylian glanced at Xiao Ai and warned him, “You set the girl’s age to be extremely small and thus she won’t be able to get married until she grows older. She could probably at most only be able to go on dates and have a boyfriend but it’s impossible for her to have children!” However, Dark Sun still chose one of the social networking options. Shain Baylian exclaimed, “Hey! Did you know that two love simulation consoles can become friends?” “I know.” Dark Sun nodded. He remembered everything in the manual from the first to last word, so how could he not know that there was a function like that. It was only that until this moment, he had not met anyone who played a love simulation console that could allow him to use this function. “Give it to me.” Shain Baylian didn’t say anything unnecessary and proceeded to grab the love simulation console from Dark Sun’s hands. Then, he joined the ports between the two love simulation consoles. Initially, they were two separate love simulation consoles, but now they had joined together and become one. There were two girls curiously observing each other. “Who are you?” Octavia gave a sidelong glance at Xiao Ai and slowly but succinctly said, “Vulgar girl, didn’t you know that before asking for someone else’s name, you should first state your own? Xiao Ai timidly said, “M-My name is Xiao Ai.” Octavia gave Xiao Aia measuring glance before she unwillingly responded, “Octavia.” Xiao Ai cowered back to the boundaries of her own love simulation console. But then not long after, when she saw that Octavia had taken out some makeup and started applying it to her face, she became curious. She walked over to try and see but she wasn’t brave enough to talk to Octavia. “They don’t get along.” Shain Baylian looked at them and came to this conclusion. However, it wasn’t really anything surprising. Since from one glance it was obvious that the two girls were completely different people. They were exactly like Dark Sun and him. It was impossible for them to ever become friends. “Yeah.” Dark Sun closely watched the two love simulation consoles because the microchip reported that the natural reaction/emotion of anger was slowly going down. Xiao Ai’s love simulation console popped up a few options: What would you like Xiao Ai to do? 1. Play with Octavia 2. Ignore Octavia 3…….. Dark Sun chose the first option. Then, the game revealed more options to choose from. 1. Chat 2. Put on makeup together 3…… Dark Sun continued and chose to chat. Xiao Ai asked, “Octavia, can I play with you?” “I really hate him.” Dark Sun raised his head to look at Shain Baylian. The last few words were spoken by Shain Baylian. At that moment, he had already stopped looking at the love simulation console. However, Dark Sun didn’t understand who he was talking about. Shain Baylian didn’t explain who this “him” was. He only complained with vigor, “His number of rules for etiquette kept increasing, he liked people kneeling before him and he would suddenly slap people for no reason….” As Dark Sun listened, he continued to choose options for Xiao Ai. “What makes me even angrier is that he kept threatening to send me back to my family and dismissing my eligibility as his successor.” Shain Baylian was so angry, he was practically shouting. Dark Sun realised who he was talking about. It was Yue Baylian. Only he could dismiss Shain Baylian’s qualification for succeeding the Lunaris Alliance. However, Dark Sun didn’t care who Shain Baylian was referring to. He only accepted Shain Baylian’s conditions of listening to him talk in exchange for the upgrade disk. He had taken the upgrade disk and thus, it didn’t matter what Shain Baylian was talking about. He would still listen to it until the end. “He would always threaten me! Dismiss, dismiss, dismiss! Does he have nothing to say to me besides that! I’m only a successor and nothing else?” Shain Baylian yelled in annoyance. He ran out of breath and had to recuperate for a while. Seeing that he wasn’t talking anymore, Dark Sun lowered his head and concentrated on his love simulation console. Octavia arrogantly replied, “I don’t want to play with you! I hate you!” Xiao Ai sadly asked, “Why do you hate me?” Shain Baylian dejectedly asked, “I can’t help but believe that he hates me.” Dark Sun coldly but straightforwardly answered, “If he hated you, he would directly annul your qualifications for being the successor or simply kill you. There is no reason for him to let you stay.” Shain Baylian’s expression seemed like he was stricken with melancholy. He sat there in shock for a bit as he hid in his face between his knees. Seeing this, Dark Sun continued to play with his love simulation console. Octavia said in contempt, “Because you look like an idiot.” Xiao Ai retreated back into her own love simulation console and crouched down on the ground as if she was about to cry. A notification was shown on the love simulation console: Befriending failed. Would you like to: 1. Try again 2. Fight with Octavia 3…….. Dark Sun hesitated for a moment. Then, he pressed 2. Xiao Ai immediately jumped up and flew into the other love simulation console. She loudly shouted, “I’m not an idiot! Octavia is an idiot!” “What did you say?” Without delay, Octavia boiled with rage as her face grew redder and redder. Hearing the fight within the love simulation consoles, Shain Baylian couldn’t help but chuckle, “I really am an idiot as well!” Dark Sun once again directed his attention towards Shain Baylian. He had earnestly fulfilled his part of the exchange; listening to him talk. “Every single time. Every single time, he would say that he would dismiss my qualifications of being his successor and send me back to my family. He said that at least one to two hundred times.” Shain Baylian laughed at himself, then continued, “However, he never once really followed along with what he said. What do you think? Why didn’t he do it? If he really hated me that much, why didn’t he do it?” “He doesn’t hate you,” Dark Sun replied with the most basic logical explanation. Shain Baylian’s reaction was extreme/tense. “Then why did he keep saying that he hates me? Why is that when I made a small mistake, he would always. .h.i.t me and scold me?!” Dark Sun fell silent, as he didn’t know why either. Shain Baylian suddenly jumped up, and shouted at the sky, “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you have to be so annoying?” “Sharp tongued, soft hearted b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” “You clearly like the Solaris Emperor to death, yet you kept insulting him, making a mess of everything, you big idiot!” Dark Sun lifted his head to look at him. Although Shain Baylian was no longer shouting, he didn’t look down at Dark Sun, but kept his gaze lifted to the starry sky. Maybe it was because the sports arena was so dark that the night sky seemed to hold more stars than usual. Dark Sun could even see one sparkling on Shain Baylian’s cheek. Shain Baylian was silent. Dark Sun should’ve lowered his head to continue playing the love simulator, but not knowing why, he kept staring at the star on Shain Baylian’s cheek, unable to look away. Shain Baylian asked quietly, “My father…Is he still alive?” Not allowing Dark Sun to answer, he quickly added, “I know, you announced his death, but I want to personally hear you say it. I want to hear the Solaris Emperor’s little brother say it. Is my father really dead?” Dark Sun paused for a while, before answering straightforwardly, “He’s dead.” At that, Shain Baylian also stayed silent for a while, then opened his mouth to ask, “Who…The person who killed him, was it the Solaris Emperor?” “It was me,” Dark Sun answered again. Although he should have framed some unknown bodyguard, he still chose to speak the truth. Shain Baylian lapsed into a longer silence. In the end, he wiped his face with his hand, and turned around, looking down on Dark Sun from high above, declaring, “Starting from tomorrow, we are enemies. I know I can barely even touch you; you’re very strong. You’re also the treasure of the Solaris Emperor…But I will use my entire life, use my entire life’s hard work, and I will definitely kill you! In order to avenge my father!” “But didn’t you hate him?” Dark Sun blurted out. Shain Baylian coldly snorted. “That’s none of your business! I’m allowed to avenge him, aren’t I?” “That sharp tongued, soft-hearted…” Shain Baylian growled deeply with a red face, “What did you say?!” Dark Sun lifted his head to look at him, and said, “You’re like your father.” “I’m nothing like that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” After shouting, Shain Baylian panted for a while, then growled, “Anyway, starting tomorrow, you better be careful. I will definitely have my revenge. I. Definitely. Will!” Kill him now! Prevent any future trouble. At that moment, Dark Sun’s security system activated, his fingernails silently lengthening as he stood up. Seeing those pairs of sharp nails, Shain Baylian stared coldly at Dark Sun and asked, “You killed my father, are you going to kill me too?” Dark Sun was taken aback by this question, but he continued to stare coldly at Shain Baylian, looking for the best moment to end his life in a single strike! Seeing the situation, Shain Baylian furrowed his brow, thinking to himself, Is Daren Solaris really planning to kill me? How could this be? He had originally pegged Daren Solaris as someone who wouldn’t attack him, which was why he didn’t bring a single person along…Daren Solaris wasn’t the kind of person who would kill him. Although he had killed his father, that was probably to save the Solaris Emperor! At that point, Dark Sun started to step closer, causing Shain Baylian to step backwards. He had underestimated him, or perhaps, he hadn’t looked closely enough at Daren Solaris? “I don’t want to quarrel with you.” Octavia? She had turned her head, ignoring Xiao Ai. “But I want to play with you!” Xiao Ai wouldn’t give up. Octavia hesitated, still reluctant, but clearly sighed, “Alright! You can play with me, but I’m telling you, I hate idiots like you the most.” “Hehe, you won’t hate me!” Xiao Ai giggled. “Octavia is really stubborn.” “I’m not!” Dark Sun’s advance slowed. His body was telling him that what he was doing felt disgusting, made him feel sick to his stomach. Even if he didn’t want to, he still had to kill him, he couldn’t allow an enemy to live…… Don’t kill him! Dark Sun’s steps faltered, but he still continued to close in on Shain Baylian. Don’t! Dark Sun continued to move forward, and this time his steps remained steady. No! Instead, it was Shain Baylian who stopped retreating, telling Dark Sun, “You’re crying.” This time, Dark Sun’s footsteps stopped. When he touched his face, it was wet……how could that be? Dark Sun couldn’t cry. Wasn’t the emotion switch turned off? He shouldn’t have feelings, so how could he cry? Seeing his tears, Shain Baylian hurriedly said, “Don’t kill me, I still have to avenge my father.” Dark Sun looked at him. Begging a person you want to kill not to kill you? Helping someone you hate to seek revenge? Although the words were full of hate, the actions were full of love! Dark Sun’s voice trembled, “Why are the actions of humans so hard to understand? So hard to learn?” Shain Baylian stared blankly, then coldly replied, “What a joke, aren’t you the same? You’re clearly not someone who would kill me, yet you’re forcing yourself to kill me; you’re even crying. Why are you still forcefully making that cold face? Daren Solaris, don’t be an idiot, you won’t kill me.” Is Daren Solaris……the same? Even though he wanted to smile at Gege, he had to keep Dark Sun’s cold expression. Even though he wanted to enter the toy store, he could only stand rigidly outside because he didn’t dare enter. Even though he loved Gege immensely, really liked Papa Avery, really missed eating late night meals with Ezart, really wanted to chat with Elian and the rest of them... yet because the emotion switch was turned off, he became closed off to everyone. Touching his face, feeling his entire face covered in tears, he realized he wasn’t Dark Sun; he was Daren Solaris, and always had been. Devon Solaris lifted his head, asking, “Shain Baylian, you said that starting from tomorrow you’ll be my enemy?” “Yes.” “You’ll use your entire life for revenge?” “Yes” “Then I…Can I stop feeling guilty about killing Yue Baylian?” “No need to, because I’ll make you pay!” Shain Baylian coldly announced, confidently walked past Daren Solaris, picked up Octavia, and left the sports ground. When he was leaving, his back faced Daren Solaris from the beginning to the end, as if he wouldn’t do anything to him. “I allowed someone, who wants to kill me, to go. Why? It’s so strange! Perhaps when he comes to kill me, I’ll still kill him……” Daren Solaris lifted his head to look at the starry sky, such a strange self……Was he more like a human than the Devil’s sp.a.w.n? ＊＊＊ Daren Solaris didn’t return home until midnight. He stood in the middle of the entryway and saw a few bodyguards cleaning up in the living room. The mess was now more or less cleared up, only the hole in the wall was still being fixed. Seeing the current situation, Daren Solaris felt very contrite. No matter what, he was still the cause of all this trouble. Just when he was about to enter the living room, DSⅡ coincidentally opened the secret door, bringing fresh tea into the living room. Daren Solaris stopped in his tracks in the center of the entrance, a powerful emotion rising within his heart…… I hate DSⅡ! He hated how he looked just like him, hated how he could protect Gege, and was even more obedient than himself. He hated how he followed Gege, hated how Gege called DSⅡ, little Dar……And hated Gege even more for calling DSⅡ little Dar! DSⅡ looked at Daren, and put down the tea, staring at Daren with his eyes, yet maintaining a smile on his face. Daren knew DSⅡ has already judged him to be an enemy, and a highly dangerous one at that. If Devon had not given new orders, forbidding DSⅡ to attack him, then they would already have started another death match, and this time DSⅡ would be the first to attack. The body guards, surrounding the two, tensed. Unbeknownst to the bodyguards, Daren Solaris had moved to the spot furthest from DSⅡ, which was the path leading upstairs. Kicking the wall, he jumped directly to the second floor. Everyone present heaved a sigh of relief. Daren Solaris originally planned to return to his own room, but when he pa.s.sed by Gege’s study, he saw the door was ajar and the overhead light was on. Is Gege still working? Could he still be…… looking for me? From the corridor, Daren Solaris peeped through the open doorway and spotted a head of golden hair spread across the black dest. What was even more stunning was…...Devon Solaris had actually fallen asleep at the table. It was only slightly past midnight. Usually, Devon Solaris wouldn’t sleep till two or three in the morning. Daren Solaris was a bit surprised. He gently opened the door and entered the study. His actions were very light, hardly making any sound. He walked slowly toward the desk. Devon Solaris was sprawled over the desk. It was obvious from his tilted face, furrowed brow, and tossing and turning that he clearly wasn’t sleeping peacefully. “Dar…” he mumbled. Daren was startled. He thought he had been discovered, but looking closer, Devon still had his eyes tightly shut. He clearly had not woken up. Gege is sleep talking? Gege is calling me in his dream! He was mildly happy. Out of curiosity, he continued to stand still, listening to Gege sleep-talk. Daren’s eyes widened as he quietly waited, wanting to hear his own name. “Dar…Sorry, Sor…” A tear slid down the Emperor’s cheek. The sleeping Emperor looked as weak as a child, or perhaps it was only at this moment that he allowed himself to be weak. Upon seeing this, Daren’s heart ached, and he couldn’t resist wiping away the tear on Gege’s cheek, gently calling out, “Gege…” Devon Solaris’s body reacted quickly, stiffening. His head jerked up as he asked softly, “Dar?” Oh no! He had been discovered. Daren’s reaction was also quick. He deliberately donned a brilliant smile. He knew that Gege would think he was DSⅡ. As expected, Devon Solaris paused, and then gave a slightly disappointed expression, unhappily saying, “Oh, it’s DSⅡ! What are you doing here? Go away.” This time around, it was Daren’s turn to pause. Doesn’t Gege like DSⅡ a lot? He even calls him little Dar. Why did he tell him to go away? And he even used the name ‘DSⅡ’, not ‘Dar’… It was at this moment that Devon Solaris discovered he had actually unwittingly fallen asleep. It seemed like he had been exhausted recently. He furrowed his brow and reached out to ma.s.sage his temple. As he ma.s.saged his temples, he looked at Daren, as if he was wondering impatiently why he was still here. After thinking for a while, he ordered, “Bring me some coffee.” “Alright.” Daren immediately nodded, and then left the study in haste, running towards the kitchen. He wanted to help Gege by making coffee, to help Gege to relax. As Devon Solaris watched him rush away, a strange feeling rose in his heart, as he had the thought, Is there something wrong here? At this point, the door to the study opened and a familiar cute face entered, smiling as it said, “Gege, the living room has been cleaned up.” An odd expression clouded over Devon Solaris’s face. It was baffling, but he could remember telling DSⅡ to help clean up the living room, so he tried asking, “DSⅡ?” “Yes, Gege.” DSⅡ jumped out from behind the door, smiling while replying energetically. Definitely, there is definitely something wrong. The recently awoken Devon Solaris was a bit confused, and he couldn’t understand what was going on. He paused for a moment before saying, “DSⅡ, bring me some coffee.” “Okay! Gege, how much sugar and milk do you want in your coffee?” DSⅡ asked as it smiled. Sugar and milk? Devon Solaris finally had a revelation and immediately ordered, “Find Avery immediately. Leave this place right now!” “Okay!” Upon receiving the urgent order, DSⅡ immediately turned around and left. Devon Solaris tapped the desk while waiting. Although his face was calm, his finger was speeding up, tapping more quickly… At last, a knock on the door, and at that very second, the finger stopped tapping against the desk. Devon Solaris pretended to look down at the doc.u.ments, and then softly called out, “Come in.” Someone entered, at the same time as the scent of coffee wafted through. That person gently placed the coffee on the table. Devon Solaris casually said, “Thank you, little Dar.” That person clearly stiffened. Devon Solaris lifted the coffee, took a sip, and said, “You can go and rest now.” “Understood.” That person stiffly left the study. After he closed the door, Devon Solaris looked at the door to the study, drinking his coffee as he did so. For the first time in the past few days, he let loose a small smile. “Dar, your coffee is still the best.” Gege likes little Dar after all! After he dashed out of the study in anger, he flung himself against the railing, as if itching for another fight with DSII. However, DSII was nowhere in sight. It couldn’t be that he is with papa Avery? “Papa is mine too!” He shouted before jumping straight down to the ground floor, giving the collective bodyguards a fright. Under the stares of those present, he sat on the only undamaged sofa and pressed the b.u.t.ton for bas.e.m.e.nt level two. DSII was indeed in the bas.e.m.e.nt, helping Avery handle various equipment. Dar stomped towards DSII in fury. At this moment, DSII noticed Dark Sun’s murderous intent and immediately swiped the scalpel from a nearby tray. Daren unsheathed his steel claws… Despite their standoff, Theodore remained completely oblivious. He looked at the monitors, jotted down the readings and intermittently frowned at the subject on the laboratory table, as if pondering how to make his next move. “Guess I should slice off the damaged portion first. It will be bad if it affected the normal parts.” After muttering to himself, Theodore abruptly ordered, “DSII, prepare for an operation.” He hadn"t turned around when he gave the order and was completely unaware of the new presence in the laboratory. Although DSII received the order, he was in a standoff with an extremely dangerous opponent and hence was unable to make preparations. Just then, Daren spotted the subject of Theodore’s experimentation… “Yue Baylian?” Daren blurted out, so surprised that he lowered his defenses. It was undoubtedly Yue Baylian, whom he had personally killed, lying on the laboratory table. He did not look dead. In fact, Daren noticed the rise and fall of his chest, covered by a white cloth. Yue Baylian is alive! Hearing the gasp, Theodore, who had been solely focused on the subject, finally sensed that something was not quite right. He turned his head around suspiciously and saw two Dars… Theodore was stunned. He looked at the Dar closer to him, and then at the other Dar further away… “DSII?” He called out. “Yes.” The Dar, closer to him, answered loudly. Theodore returned his gaze to the Dar furthest away from him. This was the real Dar… But why is he here, and with a shocked expression to boot?! Daren sheathed his claws as he walked towards the laboratory table, gazing at the subject while muttering, “Isn’t Yue Baylian dead? I killed him…” “According to medical science, he is dead.” Theodore stared at Dar for a good while before looking down at Yue Baylian. He explained slowly, “He has partial brain damage. Fortunately, in order to treat your injuries back then, I brought comprehensive medical equipment and managed to plug him into an artificial life support system in time. That’s why he’s alive though he’s nothing more than a vegetable. But, if I can subst.i.tute the damaged portions of his brain with a microchip, perhaps he could fully recover.” “Yue Baylian could return to normal…” So Shain Baylian might not have to take revenge? For some unfathomable reason, Daren felt a little joyous. Shain Baylian was the first person whom he had played the love simulation with. Moreover, he had let Shain Baylian off. He did not want to have to personally kill Shain Baylian if possible. He felt extremely uncomfortable just thinking about the possibility of having to kill Shain Baylian out of self defence. “However, I no longer have a functional microchip at hand.” Theodore was frustrated. The microchips, originally in his possession, were all destroyed when the Solaris Emperor brought Daren home and preceded to “eternally silence” the rest by burning everything to a crisp in an inferno. That maniac with a brother-complex completely disregarded the frightening amount of money poured into that laboratory, the impact of the experimental results on the medical, scientific, and martial arts fields, or the potential monetary gains from the resultant technology. For the sake of protecting Dar’s secret, the Solaris Emperor did not even bat an eyelash before he incinerated that laboratory in its entirety. Theodore was heartbroken, but he did not dare to beg the Solaris Emperor to save at least one microchip… For all he knew, the Solaris Emperor might have pushed him into the burning pit as well. Due to the total destruction of the laboratory and the lack of a microchip, his hands were tied when it came to Yue Baylian’s situation. However, there was no need to worry now. Theodore watched Daren, who was looking at Yue Baylian, his expression jubilant at some unknown thought; the corners of his lips gently curving up. However, he did not notice his own smile. Theodore revealed a smile as he adjusted his spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. He said in a nonchalant tone, “Dar, your brother said he wanted to kill me again just now…” Dar immediately blurted out anxiously, “What? Gege wants to kill papa again?” He turned to face Theodore, concern and anxiety written all over his face. Theodore on the other hand, looked at him without a shred of worry. He was even smiling. Daren’s expression morphed from concern to puzzlement. After staring at each other for a while, he let out a gasp of realisation before becoming fl.u.s.tered and nervous, unsure of what he should do. “This child, really...” Theodore shook his head and said helplessly, “I’d never have thought that the brutish Ezart would be the one to see things the clearest!” “What did Ezart say?” Daren blinked in bewilderment. “He said that you were just angry and throwing a tantrum, and that you’d be fine after a while.” Theodore grimaced. It really did return to normal after a while, wasting his efforts of racking his brain for DSII’s existence and the Solaris Emperor’s mobilisation of personnel in search of the covert laboratory. All these efforts were not as useful as Ezart’s remark: “Dar will be fine after a while.” “No wonder you like Ezart so much even though he gives you the cold shoulder. Even Elian and the team don’t understand you as well as Ezart, despite all their concern.” Daren looked at Theodore, not fully comprehending, but was extremely curious. Ezart understands me? “I didn’t need to worry about you in the first place,” Theodore ruffled Daren’s hair as he beamed, “You! You picked a friend who understood you best right from the start.” “Ezart?” Daren hung his head, grumbling, “But he ignored me today and went to school by himself…” “That’s because…” Theodore wanted to explain that that was due to the Solaris Emperor’s orders…. Ah! The Solaris Emperor doesn’t know that Dar has returned to normal. “Also, Elian and the rest didn’t look for me today,” Daren said grievously, tears almost falling from his eyes. “Ah!” Theodore opened his mouth wide to explain, but had a change of mind. Informing Devon was of the utmost importance at the moment, explanations and such could wait til Devon came down to explain it personally. He walked over to the phone, “I need to tell your brother that you’re fine.” Just as Theodore picked up the receiver, Daren hastily said, “Don’t tell gege!” Theodore paused and replied, “Why?” “No reason why…” Daren replied sheepishly. He laid eyes on DSII and said petulantly, “Anyway, little Dar is here. Gege is happy enough with little Dar around.” He’s acting coy… Theodore smiled bitterly, once again taking his hat off to Ezart. Theodore initially thought it was improper, but on second thought… Forget it! It’s not too late to tell him on the day when the Solaris Emperor can’t take it anymore and wants me to accompany Dar in death. Anyway, the Solaris Emperor is not stingy in the use of his BHP09 on my head. Being able to make an Emperor sweat bullets is rather nice. Theodore shrugged his shoulders and hung up. As he walked towards the laboratory table, he said, “In that case, we’ll let DSII exist for a few more days.” “What are you talking about, papa Avery?” Daren asked. “I don’t have a microchip to revive Yue Baylian, remember?” Theodore reminded him. Seeing the latter nod in understanding, he continued with his explanation, “Before you recovered, I had to experiment on DSII to find a method for you to recover, so we couldn’t touch him. But now that you’re better, DSII has no further existential value. His chip can be given to Yue Baylian after slight modifications.” Hearing that DSII might be destroyed, Daren was stunned. He looked at DSII, the latter still standing there with a smile on his face. I still hate DSII. Hate him! But... Chapter 4 END. Notes 1. (刀子嘴豆腐心) Lit.Knife mouth tofu heart. Describes a person who would be verbally harsh, but actually very soft hearted.