Forces of Temptation

Eternal Day

Nan Zhou was bitten by the queen as set by the author.
However, in the author’s setting, Nan Zhou should still be an ordinary person at this time.
It was a setting contradiction.
There was a program error.
Then they could only skip the contradictions and give a result that could be justified by both sides.
In the comics, the ending of the queen wasn’t explained.
Nan Zhou was the only one who walked out of the house and came to the street alive.
In other words, he was still alive after being bitten.
Meanwhile, in the real world of the comics, the time that Nan Zhou had transformed into the light demon was no less than his sister.
Moreover, he had been active outside on the day of extreme sunlight all year round. The light bacteria in his brain had developed abnormally and was healthy and thriving.
Therefore, for the sake of justifying both sides, the so-called ending could only lead to one.
The light bacteria in Nan Zhou’s brain was originally thinly attached to his brain. It criss-crossed and formed a complex and tortuous model inside his skull.
At this moment, the glowing brain touched the light bacteria trying to invade aggressively.
In the micro-universe, it was like two planets colliding with each other. There was a silent explosion.
Nan Zhou’s light bacteria received high-intensity stimulation and achieved an almost explosive secondary growth.
The moment when the flowing light bacteria spread out like peacock tail feathers, Nan Zhou’s five senses reached their peak.
He was controlled by the unknown force that pushed him to walk out.
He could see the dust dancing in the infinite daylight.
He could see the light filaments refracting in all types of arcs in the air, as if they were threading a needle.
He heard the fibers in the wooden floor being pressed out, bending and rebounding as his feet stepped on it.
He heard his sister fall to the ground.
It was loud as if hitting his heart.

However, he couldn’t look back at his sister.
Nan Zhou wandered the streets, feeling like he was forced to parade through the streets by that mysterious force.
It was a bit funny.
He thought, ‘What did I do wrong?’
As he forcibly pressed the glass piece to his throat, Nan Zhou started to seriously wonder if his resistance to the unknown force over the years was right or wrong.
What if he hadn’t wanted too much from the beginning?
What if he followed the arrangements of fate from the beginning?
He didn’t know if it was fortunate or unfortunate but the glass held against his artery didn’t cut it in the end.
Nan Zhou put down the shard of glass against his throat, gasping several times as he lowered his head.
He had used too much force so he gently wiped the bleeding area on his coat.
He had a bit of regret after wiping it.
He would have to wash it when he went home.
He saw cross-legged in the brilliant glow.
Light surrounded him from all directions and engulfed all his shadows.
He sat in the daylight like a teenager born out of the light.
It felt like he sat here alone since the day the light was born.
He would have to sit until the annihilation of light.
Nevertheless, he went home anyway.
It was because his legs were numb and his hands were painful.
He returned home quietly and went back to the kitchen first.
His sister’s body was no longer there.
The fate of all light demons who died due to the phagocytosis of light bacteria had their power sucked up by the other side. They became the nourishment of light and disappeared without a trace.
Nan Zhou returned to his room filled with the smell of watercolor paint and took out a roll of bandages.
Halfway through bandaging himself, he heard a rustling sound from outside the window.
Every day, the light demons’ self-confidence would always expand infinitely under the comfortable light environment.
It was like the common saying: after eating until full, you feel that you can do it again.
More than one light demon had climbed Nan Zhou’s window on the day of extreme sunlight to try and usurp the throne.
In the past, Nan Zhou would just twist their necks and kill them.
Yet today, he just walked to the window, opened it and looked down.
The two window climbers were 14 or 15 year old light demons.
They were full of pride when climbing up. Then they stared into Nan Zhou’s indifferent eyes and the inexplicable fear engraved in their DNA made them let go and run away.
The speed of the acceleration of gravity was how fast they ran.
Nan Zhou held the window sill that had a group of small white doves painted in blue and white watercolors by himself and stared out the window into the dazzling daylight.
All he knew and was familiar with were the few hundred people in this small town.
If he killed one then he would lose one.
He was unlikely to have new friends so he could only cherish what was in front of him.
The story was over but Nan Zhou was still alive.
A year had passed.
Two years passed.
Nan Zhou never felt the manipulation of the strange power again.
Sometimes, Nan Zhou would even ride to the edge of the small town, the lens of the world he was in. He would knock on the transparent wall and speak to the unknown power.
“Excuse me, are you still here?”
“Did you forget me too?”
Of course, no one responded.
Nan Zhou didn’t have any expectations so he wasn’t disappointed.
In the following period of time, Nan Zhou worked hard to make himself less lonely.
He no longer put the books under the pillow. He turned and read the books page by page. Reading this way gave him a normal sense of ritual.
He became an art teacher. Facing the children who had been his classmates and were now his students, he taught them how to draw still lifes, plants and animals that existed in the picture books but never appeared in town.
His students were also light demons and recognized him.
Over time, the students actually started calling him Teacher Nan.
The school started to arrange his art classes.
When he rode his bike on the street, he was occasionally greeted by students with a smile.
Nan Zhou, who had barely dreamed since he was a child, started to dream a lot after his sister’s death.
He hated the dreams.
In his dreams, the timeline was always bifurcated, chaotic and disordered.
Students would come to his house to play and his sister would extend her hand to ask the students for gifts.
Then after a while, Nan Zhou would return to his childhood.
He looked through every room and couldn’t find his sister.
Every time he woke up, he had to stay in bed for a long time before he could slowly pull his mind out of the dream.
It was because the fragments he dreamed about were things that happened in reality.
Countless boring things were mixed together and there was no meaning other than to cause sensory confusion.
It was the same loneliness and boring things.
This lasted until one morning three years later.
Nan Zhou found a strange woman in a black and white dress and rusted red ornaments. She was planting a tree directly below his window.
It was a beautiful figure he had never seen in town.
Once she finished her work, she seemed to notice his gaze and raised her face.
Under the large black hat, there was only room for nan Zhou to see the faint smile on her face.
There was a sudden burst of some type of strong hope in Nan Zhou.
He supported himself on the window frame and jumped down directly from his room, trying to catch her.
Yet the moment he landed, she suddenly disappeared before his eyes.
It was like she had never been there.
Nan Zhou looked around with no results and could only return back under his window.
He crouched down like the woman and carefully dug at the damp, fresh piece of earth.
He dug out a black oily seed.
This seed seemed to be thrown straight into his lonely heart lake, creating ripples.
Nan Zhou didn’t take away the seed and instead buried it back in place with some type of secret hope.
That night, Nan Zhou fell asleep very late.
For the first time, he dreamed of something fresh and colorful.
His nasal cavity was filled with a sweet and seductive aroma.
The aroma was very lingering and gentle as it entered through the window.
It was as if someone was calmly offering him a bouquet of flowers.
After a night of dreams, Nan Zhou opened his eyes in a rare state of extreme peace.
The fresh and lingering sweetness in the dream was too real and it seemed to extend into his reality.
Even now, Nan Zhou could still smell the faint, charming fragrance.
After lying still in bed for a while, Nan Zhou suddenly turned over, sat up and looked at the window.
A green branch poked in through the window.
Among the green leaves that were like little hands was a bright red apple.
It spread out its palms toward Nan Zhou and gently offered the red, natural fruit.
Nan Zhou choked up.
He had seen apples many times in the library’s picture books.
He drew apples with his children many times.
However, this was the first time he had seen an apple.
It was also the first apple tree in Never Town.
Nan Zhou came downstairs and circled the apple tree that had grown up to his window overnight. He curiously made several laps and touched it, his heart puzzled.
He thought it was unreasonable.
No matter what type of tree it was, it didn’t make sense for it to grow so quickly.
Suddenly, he found a line of words engraved on the  trunk.
Nan Zhou stood up slightly on tiptoe, reached out a hand and read it word for word with his fingers.”
“To my lonely childhood friend whom I have never met.”
It was windy.
The branches and leaves of the apple tree brushed against his window.
Nan Zhou repeatedly traced the word ‘lonely’ with his fingers, as if a leafy apple tree was growing in his heart. In the whistling wind, his heart was gently stroked.
Nan Zhou picked the apple that had grown into his house and ripened overnight.
He washed the apple, placed it on the table and watched it for two hours before carefully holding it.
He held it with both hands, tentatively picked a spot and took a small bite.
The apple peel had a strange grainy feel.
He bit down and his teeth were somewhat blocked.
Soon, the sweet and sour taste burst in his mouth.
Nan Zhou held the apple in a daze.
It was the first real taste he had tasted since he was born.
For him, such a beautiful taste was too complex and exciting.
He took a small bite of the apple and didn’t dare chew or swallow it.
He turned himself into a squirrel with this bite.
After a long time, he continued to move his teeth and tasted the sweet flavor.
This bite alone made him fall madly in love with this food.
If it wasn’t for his worry that there would be nothing left to eat, Nan Zhou would’ve eaten the entire tree empty overnight.
He had to force himself to stop after eating two apples.
In order to distract himself from the desire for apples, Nan Zhou picked up a sketchbook and pen.
He wanted to draw and remember this person’s appearance.
However, the sketch couldn’t accurately restore her image.
Therefore, Nan Zhou wanted to draw a huge missing persons notice.
He painted where everyone could see it.
This way, she might find that he was looking for her if she came again.
After making sufficient preparations, Nan Zhou grabbed his paint and took to the street.
The moment he heard the praise coming from behind him, Nan Zhou immediately turned his head.
Yet he was disappointed the moment he turned his head.
The person who grew the apple tree and wanted to be friends with him was clearly a woman.
Behind him was a man who was nearly 1.89 meters tall. He was tall and heroic and was half a head taller than Nan Zhou.
He was quite amiable compared to his extremely oppressive figure.
“Hello.” He said. “I am a visitor to this town. Are you a resident here?”
It was completely different from the stylized words of the residents of this small town.
His language was free and he could make his own decisions.
This was the second stranger to come to town.
Nan Zhou was slightly curious but no longer surprised.
Nan Zhou’s thinking had always been clear.
The moment the apple tree lady arrived, Nan Zhou knew that the barrier of Never Town was probably broken by a strange force.
It was just that he hadn’t found the gap in the barrier yet.
Thus, Nan Zhou planned to chat to the visitor more and asked how he got in.
In this way, he might have a method of finding Ms Apple Tree and free himself from this endless loneliness.
Nan Zhou thought about it and responded to him. “What’s your name?”
The man replied with a smile and sounded rather amiable, “Just call me Xiao Xie. How about you?”
“Nan Zhou.”
Xiao Xie stared intently at his face and smiled. “You look so good.”
Nan Zhou wasn’t interested in this person’s almost lack of social distancing.
He could perceive killing intent but he couldn’t perceive flirtation.
At the purposeful compliment, Nan Zhou blinked in confusion. “...Really? Thank you.”
Against the light, Nan Zhou looked at Xiao Xie’s face but his heart was full of the apple tree lady’s pretty lips.
Nan Zhou thought in a somewhat depressed manner, ‘She is such a good-looking person. How can I draw her so badly?’