"You... big liar!" Xiao Yi mumbled through their intertwined lips and teeth.

"Xiao Yi," Huo Li was still reluctant to let go of the youth's lips, "Say it again—who do you love... hm?"

Furious, Xiao Yi threw a heavy punch into Huo Li’s abdomen, trying to push him away. Huo Li groaned in pain, taking the hit head-on, but instead of letting go, he only hugged the youth tighter.

"Xiao Yi, don’t move. Let me hold you for a while." Huo Li buried his head in the youth’s neck, his voice carrying a hint of daze. "You don’t know... when I saw that barren planet explode into fragments before my eyes, I..."

Huo Li gave up on speaking and simply held the youth tightly. Xiao Yi lowered his head and rubbed his face against Huo Li’s, successfully soothing this poor, traumatized big shot.

It took a long time before Huo Li finally released the youth. He sat on the chair and pulled Xiao Yi onto his lap. Huo Li's expression was filled with doting affection as he gazed at the black-haired youth whose large eyes were still watery. Then, he reached out a finger and gently touched the youth’s swollen lips.

With a sharp slap, the black-haired youth swatted away the offending hand in annoyance, then asked, "How did you find out the difference between me and that Black Thread replica? I imitated it so well!"

Huo Li looked at the youth with deep affection. "Xiao Yi, you are the most precious gift in my life. Even if you turned into ashes, I would still—"

The black-haired boy cut him off. "Don't talk nonsense!"

Huo Li chuckled, wrapped an arm around the youth, and let him lean against him before confessing, "When I went downstairs, I sensed a brief fluctuation of mental power. At that moment, I didn't think you had really returned. But when I showed killing intent toward what I thought was the 'replica,' I saw that 'replica' took a step back timidly!"

Huo Li: "Xiao Yi, you don’t know—I almost rushed toward you in excitement. But I was afraid, afraid that even this solid proof was just an illusion created by my overwhelming expectations. So, I treated you as if you were a real replica and spoke a long string of harsh words. When I heard you answer, 'Yes, sir,' I finally confirmed it was really you!"

Xiao Yi tilted his head in confusion. "How? Why didn’t I notice any flaws?"

Huo Li rubbed the youth’s head and carefully explained, "The replica may not have memories, but its genes and instincts are identical to yours. Xiao Yi, if you suddenly lost your memory and woke up in an unfamiliar place, and someone showed intense killing intent while speaking to you with utter contempt, what would you do?"

Xiao Yi suddenly realized and slapped his forehead in frustration.

Huo Li placed a light kiss on the youth’s cheek, then chuckled. "So, if it were truly a clone, even if I suppressed its abilities, it would still resist with all its might. That kind of timid expression would never appear on your face—unless you were acting."

The black-haired youth glared at Huo Li indignantly. "Are you saying I acted too cowardly, and the stand-in had more backbone than me? Are you praising that Black Thread replica?"

Huo Li looked at the bristling youth and clarified, "The second time I went downstairs, it was to eliminate that substitute. If I hadn’t realized it was you, I would have already killed you! But it’s true—I can control Black Thread’s mutation, but I didn’t dare to tell you..."

Black-haired youth: "I can use your psychic ability too. During the mechanical apocalypse, I just wanted to heal your injuries. I didn’t expect that after copying you again, I’d somehow copy your psychic abilities as well."

Huo Li: "I originally thought I would never use this ability."

Xiao Yi: "Me too."

The two of them stared at each other innocently.

After a few seconds of eye contact, they suddenly burst into laughter!

"Hahaha!" The black-haired youth laughed so hard he was gasping for air. Between breaths, he said, "If we had been honest with each other from the start, would the Interstellar Federation and the Parasites even be considered enemies? We could’ve wiped them out with just a wave of our hands!"

"Xiao Yi, I was just afraid of losing you." Huo Li adjusted his legs, pulling the youth, who was about to slide down, back into his arms. Turning his head, he said, "If you knew that I could remotely control all Alien limbs, including yours, but you yourself couldn't even sense it, you’d definitely be scared. Not of me, but of the feeling that an Alien gene is beyond your control."

"This should be called double distrust." The youth chuckled. "Our precarious relationship was maintained by lies from both sides. So that’s why you kept emphasizing that you couldn’t control Black Thread’s mutation! And, of course, I always pretended to let you remotely control the Guardians, even saying I was afraid their Black Thread links would get tangled together... Hahaha!"

Huo Li watched the youth laugh so freely that he couldn’t resist pecking him lightly on the face again before saying, "Maybe this distrust goes to a third level."

The black-haired youth tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The Main System," Huo Li hinted.

The black-haired youth scoffed, "The Main System is already powerful enough. What else could it do? Don't tell me it’s secretly building its own faction in the shadows?"

Huo Li chuckled. "No, I mean its abilities, not its actions."

The black-haired youth dismissed it. "If you're talking about how it can bind anyone without the host’s consent, I already knew that! Before binding a Savior, it always went through the trouble of negotiating conditions first and gaining their agreement before proceeding. That whole act of politeness was just a front! When 2d14 bound me, I never agreed to it."

Huo Li patted the youth reassuringly, then said, "Maybe there's even more to it... Or maybe I’m just overthinking things."

"We have nothing to do anyway, so let's go check it out!" The black-haired youth said eagerly, "Xu Yun Cheng is sneaking into Alliance Town right now, probably to get Xiao Mao out. But he killed over 600 Saviors—the Main System won’t let him go. Let’s head to Alliance Town and see if he can pull it off!"

Huo Li ever accommodatingly agreed, "Alright! I’m still bound to 099, but it’s been in a blocked state this whole time. I’ll release it now and set up a teleportation array."

Black-haired youth: "Wait! I don’t want anyone to know I’m still alive. I went through all that trouble to make the Interstellar Federation think the Aliens were wiped out—let them stay dead forever!"

Huo Li hesitated. "Then I'll go prepare a starship—"

"That won’t be necessary." The youth smirked as he grabbed Huo Li’s arm. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into thin air.

.

At this time, the Alliance Town was deserted. The translucent astral stone streets were nearly empty, with only a handful of low-level Ability Users wandering about. All the Saviors were locked in a struggle with human governments and military forces, taking advantage of the Main System’s downtime.

Xu Yun Cheng was straining to maintain his spatial abilities. Ever since Earth's apocalypse and the subsequent starship prison, his power had been in a constant state of depletion. Even after Xiao Yi helped him escape Alliance Town, he had never once let his guard down, keeping the youth’s words in mind and using his time-space abilities to block System 123’s surveillance.

It had taken him an entire week, but he had finally found a secluded, habitable planet at the edge of the universe—hidden, beautiful, and perfect for laying low.

He had already squandered his once-perfect reputation, burning every bridge with the Main System and the Ability Users. His chance of reaching the peak of the world was long gone. So, if his remaining years were to be spent in quiet seclusion with Xiao Mao, living an unremarkable life… it wasn’t such an unbearable thought.

Xiao Mao, that silly girl, still had no idea that he liked her.

Three hundred years. He had made it obvious enough, hadn’t he? Sticking by her side in every mission world, helping her rack up points, even wearing their matching couple’s necklace, always keeping it close to his skin…

Even the entire Salvation Alliance knew that Xu Yun Cheng liked cats. But somehow, she had convinced herself that all of this was just gratitude and guilt on his part.

Every time they met, she kept her gaze steady, never once glancing at the necklace hanging beneath his collar—not even once in three whole centuries.

'If I didn’t like you, why would I go so completely against my nature to do all this for you?

Gratitude? What a joke. There have been countless people I owed, and in the end, I still killed them all.'

Xu Yun Cheng struggled to maintain his spatial ability as he made his way to the front of Xiao Mao's apartment. With the last of his strength, he blocked Xiao Mao’s system, vv9988. Then, with a trace of embarrassed frustration, he took out the three roses he had prepared long ago from behind his back and rang the doorbell.

A few dozen seconds later, with a soft click, the door unlocked.

Xiao Mao froze for a moment when she saw Xu Yun Cheng, and then her expression shifted to panic. "Xu Yun Cheng? Why are you back?! The entire Salvation Alliance is hunting you down! You need to run away!"

But the moment she caught sight of the roses in his hand, she completely froze—stunned as if struck by lightning.

Hiding in the shadows, watching the heartwarming scene, Xiao Yi couldn't help but mutter, "A misunderstanding lasting 300 years… seriously? But Xu Yun Cheng killed hundreds of Ability Users, and the Main System won’t let him off. I just hope they can escape in time."

Huo Li, who had already pieced things together, shook his head slightly. "Honestly… I can't bear to watch this anymore."

Xu Yun Cheng took Xiao Mao’s hand and, with the very last of his power, teleported them both to the doorstep of their home—a secluded planet at the edge of the universe.

"This will be our home from now on," Xu Yun Cheng said in a flat tone. But Xiao Yi knew—this was just his way of covering up his shyness.

Xiao Mao was still in a daze, overwhelmed by this sudden flood of happiness. Yet, a lingering fear remained in her heart, as if this was nothing more than a fragile dream that could shatter at any moment.

"Will the Main System come after us?" she asked hesitantly.

Xu Yun Cheng himself wasn’t entirely sure. But he reassured her anyway. "We’re at the very edge of the galaxy—far, far away from Alliance Town. My abilities are nearly depleted. I’ll stop and rest for ten minutes, then continue shielding the system. Programmer have set up signal jammers all over the planet. The Main System won’t be able to pinpoint us that quickly. Don’t worry."

Xiao Mao nodded, exhaling softly as a bit of tension eased from her shoulders.

"Let’s go home." Xu Yun Cheng held Xiao Mao’s hand and led her inside.

At that moment, his time-space abilities completely ran dry. He forced himself to maintain the suppression on Xiao Mao’s system, vv9988, but had no choice but to let his own system, 0123, break through the fragile time-space barrier and come back online.

Sensing the shift, Xiao Yi instinctively grabbed Huo Li’s hand, holding his breath as they watched in tense silence.