Chapter 93: Parting Words

Neolan fell silent upon hearing those words. From his perspective, Alice coming into his life was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and yet… for the first time, he was beginning to understand what their relationship felt like from her perspective as well.

Although it felt strange and even painful to hear that she had been waiting for an opportunity to help him, the first thing he felt was… disappointment in himself.

It wasn’t because he disliked the idea of Alice helping him, and definitely not because he considered her a burden on the work he had to handle. He loved her far too much for that, and his desire to protect her had always come from the bottom of his heart.

Neolan lowered his head and thought, ‘I… never knew she wanted to stand beside me?’ Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt Alice slowly approach him and wrap her arms around him.

“Neo… I want to stand beside you as your equal. I want to help you whenever you need me. I… don’t want to be someone who is only protected by you!” she said, burying her face against his chest. Neolan looked down at her before instinctively caressing her hair and letting out a quiet breath.

“I see. I don’t think I understood your feelings to this extent, Alice. I’m sorry for that.”

He paused when he saw Alice lifting her head to look at him. “And for that matter, it isn’t your ‘opportunity,’ Alice. It is your ‘right’ as my partner to stand beside me.” He smiled and calmly finished the sentence, leaving Alice staring at his expression with widened eyes.

Her teeth clenched as tears began to fall, and she immediately buried her face against his bare chest again.

“You… are right. It’s my ‘right’ to stand beside you,” she whispered in a weak, trembling voice. Neolan nodded as he held her close, though another thought surfaced in the back of his mind. ‘I think it’s better to keep Yue’s part of the story to myself for now. Alice will literally kill me if she finds out about it right now.’

. . .

Several minutes later, Neolan was sitting on a holographic couch while explaining one thing after another to Alice. Both had already put their clothes back on and were now drinking coffee to refresh themselves a little.

As he spoke, Neolan occasionally lifted his wristwatch to display information, explaining the major tasks she would need to handle during his absence while Alice listened attentively. Although he was going to leave his clone with her, Neolan thought it was better to fill Alice in on every important detail himself.

After all, what if the clone were discovered and killed by the Nox Organization? He couldn’t be certain how Alice would react to losing someone who looked and sounded exactly like him, even if she knew it was only a clone.

More importantly, he didn’t want her to be caught off guard by an enemy simply because he had failed to explain something beforehand.

The clone sat beside Alice, across from where the original Neolan was seated. Whenever Neolan brought up a new matter, Alice would first look at him, then occasionally glance at the clone as though she was still getting used to the fact that two identical versions of her partner were sitting in front of her.

Nevertheless, she soon returned her attention to the explanation, knowing that Neolan wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of creating a clone if the situation weren’t important.

For the next thirty minutes, Neolan continued explaining the matters she needed to know. Some of the information made Alice nod in understanding, while other details left her utterly shocked. There were even moments when she stopped drinking her coffee and stared at him, wondering how he had learned something so specific or discovered a threat that she hadn’t even heard about.

However, she didn’t interrupt him with questions. She understood that he had limited time left, so she focused on remembering the information and sorting out which responsibilities she would need to prioritize.

Neolan continued with his explanations, making sure she understood the information rather than simply memorizing his instructions. He occasionally asked whether she had understood a particular detail, and Alice answered honestly whenever something needed further clarification.

Just as Neolan was about to explain the details concerning Alice’s own Physique, the system window suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Time remaining till transfer: 00:04:59]

‘Damn, it’s already time? Sigh, doing ‘it’ must have taken too much time.’ Neolan thought, placing his coffee cup on the holographic table in front of him. He glanced at Alice, who had also noticed the change in his expression, and decided not to waste any more time.

“Alice, it’s almost time for me to go. Before that happens, though, you know that you need to grow stronger, and very quickly at that, right?”

Alice nodded immediately, but her expression soon turned serious. She had already understood that the threats surrounding them were far beyond what she could handle with her current strength. Even so, hearing Neolan emphasize the urgency made her realize that whatever he was about to tell her would be important.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, only for Neolan to gently lift her chin with his hand, making her look directly at him.

“I have the perfect way for that. You will grow incredibly stronger through ‘that’ method. So what you will do is…” Neolan continued his explanation from where he had left off, carefully describing what Alice needed to do and how the method would help her improve.

As she listened, Alice’s eyes widened and her pupils trembled. For a brief moment, she wondered whether there was even the slightest chance of it succeeding, but Neolan explained that the process was much easier than she imagined.

Alice listened to the remaining details, occasionally glancing at Neolan as if she wanted to confirm that he was serious. Once he finished, she slowly nodded, taking the information to heart. She still had concerns about what lay ahead, but she trusted Neolan’s judgment, especially when it came to finding a way for her to grow stronger.

Knowing that he was giving her a way to contribute rather than simply asking her to remain safe made the responsibility feel all the more important.

Neolan looked at the countdown again and inwardly cursed when he noticed that only ten seconds remained. He had intended to explain a few more things, but there was no longer enough time to do so. “Alice, it’s finally time. I promise I’ll be back, just as I was last time.”

Alice nodded, though her eyes remained fixed on him. She had heard his reassurance, but that didn’t make saying goodbye any easier, especially when she knew there were still so many things he hadn’t told her.

As Neolan stood up in a hurry, he turned his attention toward his clone and sent a telepathic message. ‘One thing before I go. Even if you’re my clone, don’t you dare touch Alice. You understand?’ The clone nodded without hesitation, responding through the same connection. ‘I won’t. I know my boundaries as a clone.’

Neolan studied its eyes briefly before accepting the answer, then turned back toward Alice as the final three seconds began to pass.

Seeing her worried expression, Neolan softened his gaze and offered her a reassuring smile. There were countless things he still needed to take care of in both worlds, but he had no intention of leaving Alice to deal with everything alone. He had left her with the information, assistance, and means to grow stronger, and he trusted her to make use of them.

For now, however, there was only one thing he wanted her to remember.

“I will be back.”

Neolan’s figure vanished without a blur or a streak of light. There wasn’t even a fluctuation in space itself, as though reality had simply transported him back to the Cultivation World.

In an instant, he found himself surrounded by deep darkness before his eyes suddenly shot open, revealing the familiar surroundings of his cultivation residence. He took a moment to examine the room, confirming that he had returned to the same place he had left.

‘I’m back.’ Neolan thought, slowly exhaling as he sensed the surroundings. Just as he had expected, time in the Cultivation World had stopped while he was away, leaving everything inside his residence exactly as it had been. The spatial barrier formation he had constructed around the place was still functioning, with no apparent sign of interference. From the perspective of anyone outside, it should have been as though he had never left at all.

Just then, another system window appeared before him.

[Sign-In available!]

[Y/N?]

Neolan exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment. ‘This time, there are a lot of things I need to accomplish here. Before I do them, let’s get everything prepared.’ His thoughts settled as he considered the matters awaiting him in the Cultivation World.

Neolan slowly opened his eyes and answered, “Yes.”

[Sign-In successful!]

[Sign-In reward…]