How Am I Still Alive?-Chapter 1315 - 1301: Keep Going

"It’s been a long time, brother."

When two old gentlemen meet, a pat on the shoulder is usually enough, even if there’s a flood of excitement inside, it all sums up to "long time no see".

However, seeing Brother Guan as he was now, Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but feel a sense of profound reflection.

Even for a normal person’s physiological age, Brother Guan should be just over thirty, so he shouldn’t have the appearance of a weather-beaten, old sailor with gray at his temples.

It must be the pressure and the endless trivial matters that had made him this way.

Just by looking at his face, Lu Ping’an knew that these years had not been kind to Guan Xinxian.

Lu Ping’an opened his mouth, wanting to offer some comfort, but lines like "The team won’t forget your contribution" or "Have you achieved your goal?" still felt too light to utter.

Seeing, remembering, and responding with actions, perhaps, is the way men should act.

"Have you had dinner? If you’re free today, let’s have a meal and drink some wine."

"Sure, I’ll call that Panda... You definitely wouldn’t imagine what has happened to him," said Guan Xinxian, laughing.

In the past few days, the events they had encountered were incredible... But the "young man" in front of him would probably trust him without hesitation.

"Er, has he reached the Rule-level? Like you?"

"You..." Guan Xinxian was somewhat surprised. Lu Ping’an had already known that he had just broken through after waking up.

"There are some things we might take our time to talk about..." Lu Ping’an was in no hurry; there were too many things that needed to be discussed properly.

Half an hour later, under the bridge of Redemption, a temporary barbecue stand became the gathering area for a picnic.

Originally, it was just the old men eating and drinking. However, the women also came out, and chatting naturally turned the area into a self-serve picnic spot.

The ship’s kitchen staff was busy, and the barbecue stand had both precious dragon meat and cheap fish, the scents mingling in the confusing night air.

As the night deepened, the atmosphere heated up even more.

Talking and eating, the men and women recounted old times, each eating and chatting separately.

In one corner of the deck, the men were already red-faced from drinking, and others respectfully did not disturb them.

"Lu Ping’an, you’re really outrageous..."

A gigantic Panda sat on the ground, taking up an entire area by himself, no chair could possibly support his weight.

While others used cups for drinking, this guy used a wooden barrel, which scared Lu Ping’an himself.

But now, the Big Cat gulped down wine while glaring sidelong at Lu Ping’an with his scarred, big eyes.

"Ten years ago, I figured I couldn’t beat you, and now I’ve crossed that line, yet it’s only been two months for you, and I still feel you’re dangerous, even though back then I was the one who took you through the Secret Realm..."

Xue En, upon this reunion, felt full of reflection; the stronger a professional’s spiritual intuition, the more potent it became. Initially, he just felt left behind by Lu Ping’an, but now he realized just how outrageous that year had been for him.

Less than two years at the Quasi-rule level... he had actually killed more than one Rule-level by now.

"Heh, isn’t this just the beginning? To say something that would have got me hit back in the days, to an Extraordinary, reaching the Rule-level might just be the start..."

Looking around at the men, Lu Ping’an reflected thoughtfully.

A group of old gentlemen had nothing much to say, but the only real threats to Lu Ping’an were Xue En and Guan Xinxian.

These two, probably, had already stepped beyond the Rule-level line, and not just any ordinary Rule-level.

"Non-human, huh? Is that really a good thing?"

Guan Xinxian put down his wine cup and looked at the murky liquid inside, feeling hesitant and even somewhat uneasy.

Compared to low-level professionals, the biggest fundamental difference for Rule-levels is that their very essence has "conceptualized."

They could only suffer a severe blow unless their core was shattered, which made them hard to kill. Additionally, a vast array of "special skills" endowed them with strong survival and escape capabilities.

By this time, professionals had already become "Pollution Crystals," truly non-human.

"Isn’t that a good thing?" Lu Ping’an and Xue En looked at Guan Xinxian in astonishment, seeing it as nothing but beneficial.

Powerful strength was one aspect, but truly advancing to this stage greatly loosened the noose around the necks of the professionals. Although there was still the pressure of advancement, a stable period starting from two to three hundred years had already transcended the limits of a normal life.

"What I mean is... they are fundamentally no longer the same kind. Can they still empathize with the pain and helplessness of mortals, and can they still say to those suffering, ’I understand your pain’...?"

In these plain words, there was no boasting or arrogance, Lu Ping’an sensed only deep fear and unease.

Guan Xinxian was afraid, afraid that he couldn’t empathize with the suffering of mortals, afraid he was no longer his former self, afraid that time and power had robbed him of his past will and perseverance.

He was afraid that once he could no longer feel the pain of others and no longer see suffering mortals as his kind, how could he find the motivation to continue saving them.

And his hesitation and unease, Lu Ping’an perceived... It was naturally also seen by those who had been "spying" around Lu Ping’an.

"I take back my judgment; Guan Xinxian’s obsession would have led him to the Rule level eventually, even without your power, Lu Ping’an, as long as he didn’t die too early."

Lu Ping’an actually detected "respect" in Big Cat’s tone, an extremely rare thing to witness.

After thinking it over, Lu Ping’an responded.

"...no, no, I know several Rule-level professionals, each one more like a mortal than the last, or rather, the moment you break through to Rule level, your ’will’ has been forged in steel, and to think of revising it is even harder."

Although being a member of the "low-level", Lu Ping’an was speaking to a couple of newly advanced Rule-level individuals about the differences in being highly Extraordinary.

The person before him might have already broken through that domain, yet clearly lacked guidance.

"In a sense, the existence above Rule level are avatars of obsession, becoming even more extreme....there’s no right or wrong in obsession itself."

Having received Lu Ping’an’s assurance, Guan Xinxian also breathed a sigh of relief.

Waking up from sleep, unwittingly stepping into Rule level, he increasingly felt that something was off with his body.

He feared that once the "change" truly occurred, he would no longer be himself. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Oh, that meteorite on the ship caused us to be attacked, do you know what’s going on?"

"Uh, you guys probably still don’t know about the ’fragments’..."

It was only then that Lu Ping’an realized, as the people involved, they probably didn’t know what had happened... In fact, except for the high-level individuals who could get access to the Contact Board, most Extraordinary in this world were unaware of the fragments.

Among many teams’ forces, it was also only the top-tier who knew about these...but in Lu Ping’an’s view, there was actually no good reason to hide it, especially since the person before him was involved.

Tonight, there was enough time to have a good talk.

Discussing the current situation, the experiences of the past ten years, and also the future visions.

These days, Lu Ping’an seemed relaxed, but was actually still doing his work.

Ten years was overly lengthy, and the existence of Rule level was overly powerful.

People’s hearts can change, especially those "young talents" who had reached the pinnacle of professionals.

Even if they didn’t mingle in Lu Ping’an’s team, they still had many choices, even if they returned home, they could still enjoy national treasure-level treatment.

Lu Ping’an was always the leader of the team, but now that others had become powerful and had their own voices, his authority naturally had to be diluted... In the past, the Rebirth Business Group indeed could go on without anyone, but it could not leave Lu Ping’an, who alone accounted for at least ninety percent.

He could still form a team on his own now, even directly expel members; but since everyone had become promising and had their own stance and confidence, he was willing to listen to their ideas, ideals, future planning.

He was willing to make adjustments, changes, or even compromises to keep them together, rather than pretending not to see this "internal change" and just waiting for the conflicts to erupt.

"Come, let’s talk about everyone’s future plans. I believe, while some things have changed, some things have remained the same, and we can still go on together....."