The originally slumbering Alt had stood up once more and, leaning on his walking cane, walked before Lin Yu.

This hunched old man positioned himself between the Life Giant and Lin Yu, preventing the colossal construct from advancing even an inch further.

Arlan was stunned for a moment before he finally spoke. "Elder Brother, you... are you alright?"

Lin Yu also looked at Alt, clearing his throat lightly as he spoke. "Ahem, apologies, Mr. Alt. I broke my promise... I disturbed your long slumber."

"But I truly had no other choice. You see..."

Alt Mercury smiled. "I understand. It's Arlan who has caused you trouble. His impulsive nature hasn't changed much in these seventy years."

Then, Alt looked at Arlan.

The towering rage that could have swallowed the entire Sleepless Sky family's banquet hall had now silently extinguished. Arlan Mercury, the powerful head of the Mercury Family, looked at his elder brother, speaking somewhat flustered and at a loss.

"Elder Brother, I..."

"Arlan, is 'Life Shaping' so easy to use that you can waste this much life force like this?" Alt pointed at the giant, speaking sternly. "This thing consumes a massive amount of life force for every second it's active... Wouldn't it be better if all that were used for research, healing, and other meaningful endeavors?"

Arlan lowered his head, speaking softly. "Alt, I just wanted to save you."

"Save me for what? I should have died fifty years ago. Having lived an extra fifty years, I should be content."

Alt stated directly. Arlan was taken aback and looked at Lin Yu.

"You actually already told Elder Brother about this?!"

Before Lin Yu could answer, Alt spoke loudly. "Am I not entitled to know about this matter?"

Lin Yu followed up at a measured pace. "Clearly, Your Excellency Arlan does not believe you have the right to know. I just asked him if he had ever sought your opinion on this, but instead, he got very angry and prepared to kill me."

Arlan said angrily, "Don't you stir up trouble here, trying to drive a wedge between me and my elder brother. What you said earlier wasn't like this..."

Old Man Alt interrupted Arlan again. "But you truly never sought my opinion—Arlan, is this how Father and I taught you?"

"As the head of the Mercury Family, shouldn't you listen to a wide range of opinions and heed various viewpoints before making a decision?"

"Of course, occasional autocratic decisions might be necessary, but when others have already raised objections, don't you even have the intention to listen?"

"Mr. Freud's words are very reasonable—for over fifty years, you never informed me of this matter. You always let me believe I was the Chosen One of the God of Life, keeping me away from the Mercury Family..."

"For fifty years—the number of times we've even met can be counted on one hand."

"In these fifty years, have you ever asked me how I was doing?"

As Alt Mercury spoke these words, Arlan was stunned.

"But, I was just afraid that you..."

However, at this point, Arlan suddenly fell silent.

The Life Giant dissipated within the banquet hall. Arlan then murmured, "Was I truly wrong?"

"Have you been living in pain all these years?"

Alt remained silent.

Instead, it was Lin Yu who spoke. "No, you weren't entirely wrong. From what I've observed, over these fifty years... Mr. Alt should have lived quite happily and contentedly."

Just from his previous interactions with Sheng Lan Kui and Sleepless Sky Huoxing, Alt Mercury seemed very satisfied with his life over the past fifty-plus years.

Although "lodging" in someone else's home, Alt Mercury probably never had much desire for power to begin with.

If he had lived in hardship, frustration, and pent-up resentment for fifty years, the current Alt Mercury would absolutely not be the image of a generous, benevolent elder he presented now.

If that were truly the case, he likely wouldn't face impending death with such composure.

As Lin Yu spoke, Alt Mercury looked at him with a bitter smile. "If you say that, how will Arlan ever agree to your request?"

"I just feel I shouldn't deceive him, and besides, he'd see through it anyway," Lin Yu shrugged. "If you want him to respect your wishes, you should honestly tell him what you think—tell him that you've been very happy and content all these years..."

Alt nodded, understanding Lin Yu's meaning.

He looked at Arlan Mercury.

"That's right, Arlan. I have indeed been very content these fifty years. The people of the Mercury Family treated me well. The five children of Sleepless Sky Yonglian and Gledo often came to talk with me... Although later they each had their own affairs and only that child Huoxing would still come to see me from time to time, because almost no one in Sleepless City recognized me, I could often wander around the Inner City... drink some tea, sample new restaurants, bask in the afternoon sun. I'm afraid most people in this city have never experienced the happiness I had—those of lower status are worn out running for their lives, those in superior positions are obsessed with power schemes, but it was I, an old man who should have died long ago, who lived each day with great ease and freedom."

"Truthfully, I should thank you, Arlan... No matter what, thank you. Thank you for expending so much effort to let me live an extra fifty years in this world—even if these fifty years had been painful, I should still thank you, because living is living—living is better than being dead."

Listening to Alt's words, Arlan pressed his lips together.

"Elder Brother..."

"But," Alt interrupted Arlan, turning the conversation. "Even though I've been happy these fifty years, I am not one who should still be alive... Thank you, Arlan, my younger brother. Thank you for letting me live for fifty years."

"However, I should have died long ago—let me leave quietly. This is my choice, my insistence."

As Alt spoke, he gazed quietly at Arlan.

Arlan looked at his elder brother, and in a daze, it seemed as if he had returned to fifty years ago.

He remembered many things—from childhood, adulthood, recent times...

Arlan thought of that night when he first learned Alt had suddenly fallen critically ill, thought of the joy of success after secretly holding the ritual in the Great Wasteland, thought of the hardships of spending three years in the Great Wasteland planting and cultivating those "alchemical life constructs" to fulfill the divine contract, and let out a long sigh...

"Elder Brother, bringing you back was truly, truly not easy."

"It's just... after Father and Mother passed away one after another, I really didn't want to lose you back then."

Alt stepped forward and gently patted Arlan's shoulder. "You've worked hard, younger brother..."

"But from now on, you will have to walk the path alone—I've seen it all. You've done very well these fifty years, with a clear conscience towards me, towards the Mercury Family, towards Sleepless City."

"And, we will always reunite again."

Arlan looked at Alt and suddenly chuckled wryly. "Alt, are you trying to talk about ghosts and the afterlife or something... Even if it's false, you were formally the nominal Chosen One of the God of Life."

Alt laughed. "Have to give you some hope, and give myself hope too... because I've missed Father and Mother for a very long time."

The two brothers laughed for a long time. Finally, Arlan's smile gradually faded, and he spoke reluctantly.

"Then... goodbye, Elder Brother."

"Mmm, goodbye, younger brother."