Who wants to become a god? Aren't you all forcing me?

#502 - Chapter 501 Live Well

"You have five minutes. No funny business during that time. The surveillance cameras are on, and someone will be here watching you. You know the consequences if we detect anything out of the ordinary. Understand?"

Zhou Lian's expression was stern, his tone icy.

Li Chenqiu nodded in agreement: "Understood."

Zhou Lian gestured behind him: "Take him away!"

"Yes, sir."

A man and a woman stepped forward, leading Li Chenqiu towards the place where Li Ji was being held.

The others present went with Zhou Lian to the monitoring room.

...

The walls of the prison cell were spotless white, the faint silver light reflecting everything clearly. Li Ji sat cross-legged on the ground, his body pierced by several thick iron chains. Everything was as it had been days ago, but Li Ji was not.

Without a supply of human blood, he was now emaciated, his face withered. The exposed skin was like parched earth, wrinkled and clinging to his bones, devoid of life.

Thump, thump, thump...

A series of footsteps came from outside the prison cell, sounding like two or three people, approaching from a distance and stopping outside the cell.

Li Ji, who was sitting cross-legged, acted as if he hadn't heard anything, his head drooping, motionless. If it weren't for the faint, mosquito-like breathing that could be heard, anyone would have thought he was dead.

Li Chenqiu's heart trembled as he watched this scene. He raised his hand and placed it on the glass window, slowly sliding down until he was squatting on the ground. He used as calm a tone as possible to call out: "Boss."

Li Ji's body suddenly trembled, and his half-closed eyes slowly opened, his unfocused gaze gradually solidifying. He stiffly raised his head, his dark, dull eyes reflecting a familiar and handsome face.

In an instant, the coldness on Li Ji's face melted like snow meeting the scorching sun, receding at a visible rate. The corners of his mouth rose into a warm curve, and he smiled as easily as usual: "You're here."

Li Chenqiu's eyes instantly turned red, his heart filled with a surge of bitterness. He nodded: "I'm here."

Li Ji tremblingly raised his hand, tugged at his prison uniform, covered the iron chains piercing his body, avoided Li Chenqiu's gaze, and said slowly: "Your second brother and I have burdened you. I'm sorry!"

Li Chenqiu covered his mouth, stammering: "No...no burden. I'm the one who harmed you. It's all my fault...my fault. I shouldn't have brought you to Star Plucking Academy..."

"If you hadn't come to Star Plucking Academy and had stayed in City 11, nothing would have happened. It's all my fault. I'm sorry...Boss!"

Bang!

Li Chenqiu's knees hit the ground, tears finally flowing uncontrollably from his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and shattering on the cold ground.

A look of heartache appeared between Li Ji's eyebrows. He tremblingly raised his hand, as if wanting to touch Li Chenqiu's head through the glass, but the cold reality suppressed his hand.

"Xiao Qiu, it's not your fault. The fault lies with your second brother and me. We deceived you..."

Li Ji interlocked his fingers and said with his head lowered: "I was too selfish. I wanted you to always be my employee. I wanted you to always follow behind me, eat the food I made, and spend the salary I paid you.

I wanted the three of us to stay in that fried rice restaurant forever, always arguing over firewood, rice, oil, and salt. So...I concealed my identity as a Resurgent, concealed my strength, concealed my name, concealed...everything.

So you don't need to blame yourself. Being locked up here is the retribution I deserve. After enjoying so much peace for so long, falling to this state is also a reasonable thing."

Li Chenqiu pursed his lips and, after a long silence, opened his mouth and said:

"Boss, I don't blame you for deceiving me. If you didn't deceive me, I wouldn't have been able to work for you... Do you think we'll ever have the chance to return to that fried rice restaurant?"

Li Ji paused, then smiled helplessly: "My work there was illegal. What's there to miss about those few dollars an hour? Besides, you're so rich now, I don't want to hire you anymore. How can an employee be richer than the boss?"

"Boss, that's not what I meant. I wanted to ask...will you ever return to City 11?" Li Chenqiu's pupils trembled slightly, staring intently at Li Ji.

Hearing this, Li Ji's eyebrows drooped, his mouth opening and closing.

"Is it impossible?" Li Chenqiu's eyes were on the verge of breaking.

"Ah..." Li Ji sighed softly, shaking his head: "I can't go back. I don't need to prepare ingredients early in the morning anymore."

Li Chenqiu closed his eyes and nodded silently, his thin clothes revealing his slightly bent back, drops of scarlet flowing from between his clenched fists.

"You have one minute left." The man standing beside him glanced at his watch, reminding him.

Hearing this, Li Ji put away the sorrow in his eyes and showed a kind smile like a friendly old neighbor, saying gently:

"Don't be sad, everything will get better. My life is coming to an end, and the last good things are you and your second brother. But your path has just begun, and there are people like me waiting for you ahead.

In the future, if you encounter anything interesting, write a letter and burn it with your fire. I look forward to reading about the good things you encounter. A person's path won't be too long.

Oh, right, under the kitchen cutting board, there are my own fried rice tips. If you're free, you can learn them. You can make fried rice yourself when you're hungry. There are several new types of fried rice that I just developed. Remember to try them."

Li Chenqiu leaned on the glass wall and slowly stood up: "Okay, I will learn them, and I will try them."

Li Ji smiled: "Then remember to write a review after you eat it and burn it for me. I haven't asked anyone to taste it yet!"

"Yes, I will definitely write a very, very long one, and the words will be very beau..." Li Chenqiu's voice suddenly paused, and he swallowed hard, continuing: "Very beautiful, the kind of beautiful that can be framed."

Li Ji forced a wide smile on his bloodless face: "Then I'll have to look forward to it."

"Okay."

Li Chenqiu's face bloomed with a smile, and he nodded forcefully.

The man next to him stepped forward: "Li Chenqiu, time's up. It's time to go."

"Boss, I have to go. Goodbye...next time."

"Be careful on the way."

"I will."

After saying that, Li Chenqiu turned around and walked towards the door at the end of the corridor. He walked very slowly on this short distance of less than a hundred meters, and Li Ji watched for a long time, as if wanting to engrave his back into his mind.

Just as Li Chenqiu was about to walk out of that door, Li Ji suddenly called out to him.

"Xiao Qiu!"

Li Chenqiu's body froze, and he stopped.

"You, you must live well!" Li Ji shouted in a hoarse voice.

Without turning his head, Li Chenqiu shouted: "Boss, I will live well. I will live better than everyone else. Don't worry!"

Bang!

The door closed, and the corridor fell into silence. Li Ji wiped the tears from his eyes with his fingers, drooping his head, and the prison cell fell into coldness again.