Collapse Iron: My Past Life Revealed, I Was Everyone's White Moonlight

Chapter 35 With Himeko, 1. Under the same night...

Behind the observation window.

I forgot to press the shutter button on March 7th; I was so engrossed in looking at the glass that I just stared in a daze.

Although it was just a competition, neither side was really serious.

But Lu Li... actually defeated Dan Heng?!

Himeko held her coffee cup in mid-air, looking thoughtfully at the two people in the training field.

Walter leaned back in his chair and slowly exhaled.

"Ms. Himeko."

"Um?"

"He doesn't just have the power of words."

Walter's voice was very low.

"That sword technique wasn't aided by any destiny power; it was pure skill and pure instinct."

"Just based on this combat intuition alone, his strength is already greater than that of an ordinary Fate Walker."

"And then there's his ability to use words of power..."

Walter didn't finish speaking, but Himeko understood.

She put down her coffee cup and smiled slightly.

"So the most capable person on our train is actually that logistics guy who's always talking about retiring?"

Most importantly, Lu Li has been on board for two years.

None of them noticed.

If it weren't for the fact that he was exposed by the Sky Curtain this time, Lu Li would probably have continued to hide.

Walter did not deny it.

Inside the training pod, Lu Li put the knife back on the weapon rack and stretched his wrists a couple of times.

No fatigue, no soreness.

His physical condition is even better than when he first came in.

That's outrageous.

Even though his mind was completely blank, once he picked up a knife and entered combat mode, his body was like a completely different person.

How can I describe that feeling?

It's like you've forgotten how to ride a bicycle, but as soon as you sit on it, your feet start pedaling by themselves?

"One more time." Just then, Danheng's voice interrupted his reverie.

Lu Li turned around and found that Dan Heng had already re-established his fighting stance.

"...Danheng, aren't you tired?"

"Not tired."

"I'm tired."

After glancing at the data on the large screen next to him, Dan Heng looked at Lu Li and said, "Your heart rate, breathing rate, and muscle condition show no signs of fatigue."

Lu Li: "...When did you learn to read these things?"

"Himeko showed me your medical report yesterday."

Lu Li gritted his teeth.

Wow, I didn't realize he had done so much preparation behind his back.

"Come on." Dan Heng raised the tip of his spear, aiming it at Lu Li.

His tone was flat, but Lu Li read another meaning in those eyes.

The will to fight.

Lu Li stared at Dan Heng for two seconds.

Forget it.

There's no way to avoid it anyway.

He drew his longsword again, twirled it in his hand—and almost dropped it.

"Ahem." Lu Li hurriedly gripped it again, coughed awkwardly twice, and then looked at Dan Heng opposite him with a serious expression.

Dan Heng: "..."

Dan Heng's eyebrows didn't move, but Lu Li felt that the corner of his mouth twitched.

Behind the observation window, March 7th finally remembered to press the shutter.

"Click."

On March 7th, his eyes lit up when he looked at the photos he had just taken.

In the photo, Lu Li is standing in the center of the training field, holding a knife.

The sleeves of the logistics uniform were rolled up to the forearms, making the exposed lines look much neater than usual.

Although her expression still had that "I don't want to work" look.

But for some reason, it looks just like that scene in the sky...

On March 7th, I quickly dismissed the thought and put the camera away.

Inside the training pod, the second round of sparring began.

……

Nighttime, inside Lu Li's room.

Lu Li lay on the bed with his eyes closed, as usual, spread-eagled.

A moment later, Lu Li opened his eyes and sighed.

I can't sleep...

It's not that I can't sleep, it's that my body won't let me sleep.

Advanced cultivators recover their physical condition much faster than ordinary people.

He practiced with Dan Heng for a full four hours during the day; in the past, he would have collapsed into a puddle of mud long ago.

But now, he's ridiculously energetic.

Lying in bed is like a fully charged phone, the screen is black but the background processes are running like crazy.

"...I give up."

Lu Li threw off the covers and sat up.

Since I can't sleep, I might as well go for a walk.

He slipped on his slippers, didn't turn on the light, and pushed open the door in the dark.

The emergency lights in the train corridor emitted a dim orange glow, and the carpet absorbed the sound of footsteps.

At this time, March 7th would have been asleep long ago. No light was coming through the crack in Danheng's door, and it was pitch black on Walter's side as well.

He was the only one on the entire train who was in a state of high spirits.

Lu Li walked along the corridor to the connecting section of the observation carriage, where there was a large porthole.

The train was still parked in its berth at the Black Tower space station, and through the window, one could see the lights on the outer wall of the space station and the slowly rotating azure star in the distance.

He leaned against the window frame, staring blankly out the window.

Then he smelled coffee.

"Can't sleep either?"

Himeko's voice came from the other end of the corridor.

She was wearing a dark red long dress, her hair was loose and untied, and she was holding a steaming cup of coffee.

The navigator's aura from the daytime was gone, and he looked much more casual.

"Hmm." Lu Li moved aside to make room for her by the window. "I practiced too hard during the day. My body isn't tired, but my brain is."

Himeko walked over and leaned against the other side of the window frame, taking a sip of coffee.

"Danheng told me."

"What did you say?"

"It means your consciousness can't keep up with your body's reaction speed."

Lu Li was taken aback. "He can even detect this?"

His exact words were, "It felt like someone else was playing for him."

Lu Li: "..."

This is exactly how he felt.

During his daytime sparring sessions with Dan Heng, he felt a strange sense of disconnect as the sessions progressed.

While his mind was still thinking about "how to block this shot," his hand had already prepared the knife.

While his mind was still hesitating about whether to retaliate, his footsteps had already cut to Dan Heng's side.

It's as if another soul lives inside his muscles.

A soul that is far stronger and far more ruthless than his.

"Are you scared?" Himeko asked.

"No," Lu Li thought for a moment, "it's just... weird."

Himeko glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

The two stood quietly for a while.

The lights of the space station outside the window flickered on and off slowly, like breathing.

"Sister Himeko."

"Um?"

"How many lifetimes do you think a person can have?"

Himeko paused for a moment while holding the cup.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Just thinking." Lu Li's gaze fell on the azure planet outside the window. "If what's on the sky is really my 'past life'... then I've lived two lives."

"The first life is spectacular, but in the end, it burns you to ashes."

"I don't remember anything from my second life; I was wiping tables and making coffee on the train."

Lu Li scratched the back of his head. "Do you think this counts as... a loss?"

Himeko did not answer immediately.

She turned her head to look out the window, and spoke after a few seconds.

"You feel you've been cheated?"

"Well... not really." Lu Li sighed. "It's just that I think that 'my past life self' was pretty silly."

"Clearly so strong, yet he insisted on risking his life."

"He's not stupid."

Himeko's tone was flat, yet brooked no argument.

"A person is willing to go to such lengths for another person not because they are foolish."

"It's because he found something more important than living."

Lu Li turned to look at Ji Zi.

The dim orange light from the corridor shone on her profile, and her amber eyes were gazing at the starry sky outside the window.

Himeko, with her hair down and wearing loungewear, looks quite different from how she does during the day.

Although he lacked some of the navigator's authority, he gained something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"But you ask me how many lifetimes one can have..."

Himeko looked away, lowered her head, and took a sip of coffee, her voice tinged with amusement.

I don't know the answer.

"But if there really is an afterlife... I hope I'll still be on this train."