Chapter 130

Frank narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I just want you to face reality. You can't protect them on your own."

The man finished speaking and clapped his hands. Over twenty thugs instantly emerged from every corner of the amusement park.

Frank frowned at the man and said with certainty, "You don't actually want to take Aurora away."

The man's body stiffened slightly. The smile on his face slowly faded. "I don't know what you mean by that."

"If all you wanted was Aurora, you could have grabbed her and left immediately."

Frank's eyes showed confusion. "What are you really after?"

He couldn't figure out what this man was trying to do.

The man reached down and touched his leg. His expression twisted for a moment, and he said quietly, "Watching people like you — the privileged ones — get crushed into dust. That's my greatest pleasure."

Frank narrowed his eyes. This guy did all this just because he was messed up in the head?

He still felt like that reason wasn't convincing enough.

"What are you all standing around for?" the man shouted.

The twenty-plus thugs rushed forward in a mob, armed with all kinds of weapons. They looked like they'd been thrown together at the last minute, with no coordination whatsoever.

Frank clicked his tongue, muttered "what a hassle," and stepped forward to meet them.

In under thirty seconds, all twenty-plus thugs were on the ground.

He looked at the man in the wheelchair across from him and said, "My confidence comes from my ability."

The man's face turned ugly. He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly.

Frank walked toward him step by step. Then the man suddenly burst out laughing.

Frank frowned and stopped, looking at the man with undisguised contempt. Had this guy already lost his mind?

"Mr. Moore, you really are smart, and your guess was right. I wasn't trying to take her away. I was going to send her to Rebirth."

Rebirth?

Frank froze for a moment, then it clicked. "You were going to kill her?"

He quickly looked over at Aurora, who was tied up nearby. Seeing that her expression was calm, he felt a little relieved.

"No, no, no." The man raised his right index finger and wagged it gently. "I was going to set her free — to help her escape this filthy world and leave behind that useless body of hers."

The words sounded strange, yet carried a oddly familiar feeling.

It reminded him of an organization that seemed to be everywhere.

Frank narrowed his eyes. "Are you with the Saints Organization?"

The smile on the man's face vanished instantly. He stared at Frank for a moment, then broke into a twisted grin.

"You really are smart."

The man's voice turned mechanical and cold. He clapped a few times, as if applauding Frank.

"Hello, Frank. Congratulations on finding a clue."

"But unfortunately, the trail ends here. I look forward to our next meeting."

As his words fell, the man's head drooped gently. Frank stepped forward and pressed two fingers against the man's neck.

The skin beneath his fingers was still. No pulse at all.

Frank wiped his fingers on the man's clothes with a look of disgust, then pulled his hand back.

He untied the ropes binding Aurora and Sophia. Sophia immediately grabbed his arm.

"Frank, I don't know what they injected into Aurora. All I saw was that the liquid was light red."

Frank thought back to what the man had just said and frowned as he looked at Aurora.

Aurora was completely calm. She smiled and said, "You don't need to look at me like that. I know I'm going to die soon. I'd say I have about five or six hours left before it's over."

Aurora was far too calm about it. Frank's expression was unreadable. Beside him, Sophia's eyes went wide.

"If you knew, why didn't you dodge it?" Sophia's eyes filled with tears.

Frank caught the key point in that question. Aurora could have dodged the injection — but she hadn't.

He said nothing about it and simply asked, "Is there anywhere else you want to go? Since we've got the whole place to ourselves, we might as well try everything."

But Aurora shook her head. "Let's go back."

Two hours later, they returned to the North American headquarters. Aurora was taken straight to the ICU in the medical wing.

Sophia stood outside the ICU looking in at Aurora, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, Frank. I didn't take good care of her..." Sophia said, her eyes red and swollen.

Frank pressed his lips together and said, "Don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. She wanted to die. That was her choice."

Inside the ICU, Aurora's life was draining away rapidly.

Two hours later, her skin began to shrink and crack. Her hair turned white, losing its softness and shine, looking like dried-out straw.

Quinn and Isla stood outside the ICU looking in at Aurora, both with complicated expressions.

They had both spent time with Aurora before. When they heard she was dying, they came to see her — to be there for her final moments.

Quinn's lips moved a few times before she spoke. "I thought she was finally about to start a new life. I never expected it would end this fast."

Isla gently patted Quinn's shoulder. "Look at her face — she doesn't seem to be in much pain. Maybe to her, freedom wasn't what she wanted most. She just wanted to be free from it all."

After Isla said that, Quinn felt a little less heartbroken. She nodded and stood in silence, watching through the window.

Another half hour passed. Aurora's trembling hand reached out and pressed the button beside her bed. She looked out the window at Frank.

Frank was caught off guard for a moment, then put on protective gear and pushed open the door.

He walked to the bedside and watched as Aurora tugged at the corners of her mouth, managing a weak smile with great effort.

"Could you plant a tree next to my grave?" Aurora's voice was barely above a whisper. "I know you can make it happen."

Frank didn't ask why she wanted a single tree instead of a bed of flowers. He simply gave a quiet nod.

"Sure. Anything else?" His expression was calm.

"Could you get me a pink urn? Thank you."

He nodded again, silently accepting Aurora's request.

Aurora looked toward where Sophia was standing and said softly, "Tell her not to blame herself too much. I was the one who wanted this so badly. My existence was a mistake to begin with."

With that, she beckoned Frank closer with her hand.

Frank leaned in slightly. She said something to him in a very quiet voice. Then she closed her eyes and went still.

Frank straightened up and looked at Aurora's body. His eyes darkened. What she had just said was brief — but it sent a chill through him.

The heart monitor beside her showed a flat line. Through the door, Frank could hear Sophia's muffled sobbing.

He got up and walked out. First, he told the doctor waiting outside to take Aurora's body for cremation. Then he turned to Quinn and the others.

"Quinn, take Sophia back. Isla, don't go yet — I need to talk to you."

Quinn said okay and put her arm around Sophia, who was still blaming herself, and guided her toward the elevator.

Frank watched them leave, then turned to Isla and said in a low voice, "You're a biologist. Do you think it's possible for humans to achieve digital immortality — preserving the mind forever?"