Chapter 63: Goodbye

More than twenty minutes later, Charles and the two children finally reached the bottom of the slope.

"Big Sis, I want to go one more time!"

Lukas waddled toward Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an, his snowboard still strapped to both feet, swaying from side to side like a little penguin.

Xia Jiuwei reached out and gently pinched his chubby cheek.

"Of course. One more run for you."

Lu Nian'an summoned a shadow, which carried Charles and the two children back to the top of the slope.

After a dozen or so runs, Charles finally helped Lukas and Elena take off their helmets and protective gear, then joined them in an energetic snowball fight.

The sun gradually sank toward the horizon, washing the deep blue sky with streaks of violet and amber.

Eventually, Charles lay down in the snow beside the two exhausted children.

Watching the sky slowly darken, he smiled and said,

"It's getting late. Time to head home."

"...Can we do just one more run?"

Lukas was clearly exhausted, yet still reluctant to leave.

Charles chuckled.

"Alright."

"But only one last run."

Picking up the protective gear beside him, he carefully helped Lukas put everything back on.

"Elena, do you want one last run too?"

She nodded eagerly.

Charles smiled and fitted her with her gear as well.

Meanwhile, Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an headed to the bottom of the slope, waiting for the three of them to finish their final descent.

Not long afterward, the family slowly glided down the mountain once again.

When they reached the bottom, Charles led the two children over to the pair.

"Thank you."

"Thank you both for making this wish come true."

"So... you're heading back now?" Lu Nian'an asked.

"Yeah."

Charles nodded.

"One last run was enough."

Lukas nodded seriously.

"Now it's time to go home."

"Then let's head back."

Shadows spread outward from beneath Lu Nian'an's feet, forming a three-dimensional sphere that enveloped all five of them.

As the darkness slowly dissolved, they found themselves standing inside Charles's house once more.

Elena looked down at the snow boots on her feet and frowned slightly.

She immediately took them off.

"Dad, Lukas—we take our shoes off indoors."

Her gaze then shifted to Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an.

"We're fine."

A shadow silently crept across the floor from beneath Lu Nian'an's feet, wrapping around both of their shoes.

When it withdrew, their snow boots had already been replaced with indoor slippers.

"What about your boots?"

Elena tilted her head curiously.

"They've already been put away."

Satisfied with the answer, Elena gathered her own shoes, Lukas's, and Charles's, neatly placing them in the shoe cabinet before grabbing Lukas's hand and running downstairs to the basement.

Just as Charles was about to speak, Xia Jiuwei beat him to it.

"Our deal is done."

"Thank you for letting us experience two days of life in the apocalypse."

"Huh?"

Charles blinked.

"Only two days?"

"Yep."

Xia Jiuwei smiled.

"For experiencing life in a post-apocalyptic world, two days is actually enough to see quite a lot."

"Especially watching you deal with those raiders with a gun."

"It gave me plenty to think about."

Then she added,

"But before we leave, there's one thing I'd like to ask."

Charles nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Your electric vehicle's battery, all the electronics in your house..."

"In another decade or so, they'll start failing one after another."

"When I offered you a wish yesterday, why did you choose to take your children skiing instead of solving those problems?"

Charles thought for a moment before smiling.

"Because those problems never really end."

"I still worry about them."

"But I believe I'll eventually find a solution."

He paused.

"Besides..."

"The kids are still young."

"If I can't even give them happy childhood memories..."

"I'd be a pretty terrible father."

As he spoke, he led the two women downstairs.

Pointing toward the two little ones happily playing a board game, he smiled.

"Look at them."

"They're adorable."

"As long as they can grow up happy..."

"That's enough for me."

Xia Jiuwei quietly looked at Charles.

For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw her grandfather standing before her once again.

A thought crossed her mind.

Then she made a decision.

"Lukas, Elena."

"Come here for a second."

The two children immediately ran over.

"What is it, Big Sis?"

Lukas looked up curiously.

"We're leaving."

"So before we go..."

"I have a gift for you."

Hearing that the two sisters were leaving, disappointment immediately appeared on the children's faces.

But the moment they heard the word gift, their eyes lit up again.

"What kind of gift?"

"What kind?"

Xia Jiuwei slowly raised her right hand.

Dark Under-Reality energy shimmered with iridescent colors as it flowed gently from her palm, spreading toward Charles and the two children.

Lukas and Elena curiously watched the strange black energy.

As it gradually merged into their bodies, a faint warmth spread from deep within them.

Both children instinctively made little grimaces.

Charles, however, simply looked at Xia Jiuwei in confusion.

Before long, the final traces of Under-Reality energy completely disappeared into all three of them.

"How do you feel?"

Xia Jiuwei asked with a smile.

"I don't feel anything."

Lukas puffed out his cheeks.

Elena nodded in agreement.

Among the three of them, however, the one who noticed the greatest change was Charles.

He slowly looked down at his own hands.

"It feels..."

"...like I've suddenly become ten or twenty years younger."

Xia Jiuwei smiled.

"Then it worked."

"You'll all live long, healthy lives."

"So don't die too early."

She looked directly at Charles as she said the last sentence.

Then she reached for Lu Nian'an's hand, ready to leave.

After taking only two steps, she suddenly remembered something and turned around.

"Oh, right."

"We'll come back again someday."

"You won't mind having us visit again, will you?"

Charles smiled and shook his head.

"Of course not."

The two children waved enthusiastically beside him.

"Big Sis, you have to come visit us again!"

Under the watchful eyes of the little family, Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an vanished without a trace.

Charles stood there for a long time, staring at the place where they had disappeared.

Even after spending several days with them, he still had no idea what kind of beings they truly were.

But he knew one thing.

For the rest of their lives, his children would always remember the two older sisters who had brought magic into their childhoods.

This time, the two of them returned to their own apartment.

The moment they stepped inside, Xia Jiuwei said excitedly,

"Let's get some sleep, then tomorrow we can go back to the zombie world and collect more Abilities!"

Lu Nian'an, however, didn't answer immediately.

She instructed the clone puppet she'd left at home to bring over her laptop.

An email was displayed on the screen.

"It's an invitation from the Incheon Group."

"They specifically invited me to visit Korea."

She turned the laptop toward Xia Jiuwei.

"Will you come with me?"

Xia Jiuwei puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy with the idea.

Lu Nian'an smiled.

"It's not like we're giving up on collecting Abilities forever."

"I'm just asking you to come to Korea with me first."

Halfway through the sentence, she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh."

"And we'll be flying first class."

The moment those words left her mouth, Xia Jiuwei's expression changed instantly.

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

Lu Nian'an nodded.

"And while we're there, we can travel around Korea too."

"We can go anywhere you want."

Xia Jiuwei's eyes sparkled.

"Then we're leaving tomorrow!"

"Alright."

Lu Nian'an opened her phone and checked the available flights before booking one for the following afternoon.

Knowing her own sleep schedule, there was a good chance she'd sleep right through a morning flight.

Once the tickets were booked, Xia Jiuwei immediately pulled Lu Nian'an over to start planning their trip around Korea.

The two of them chatted excitedly until late into the night before finally climbing into bed, completely satisfied.