"Screw you, Ming Jun, you'll never be someone worthy," [Malice] cursed while spitting out more blood.

  "Brother, can you go on your way faster? You're ruining the moment," Ming Jun coughed out blood and rolled his eyes.

  "Ming Jun!!" [Malice] couldn’t bear it and shouted his name in anger.

  Just then, the cat walked forward and slapped [Malice] across the mouth as he lay on the ground.

  "Who—" [Malice] tried to look at the attacker, but he turned to ash in the next instant.

  "Ah— the ground got dirtier," Ming Jun spat.

  "Can you shut up already!" Shae Harris resisted the urge to smack him.

  She tried to carry his body away and found it surprisingly easy to drag his limp frame—

  but that only made her heart ache more.

  "Hey, let me lie down a little," Ming Jun weakly patted her arm.

  "If you have the energy to spout nonsense, then you can stay awake," Shae Harris glared at him, though the threat was lost behind her tears.

  "Don’t worry, spouting nonsense doesn’t require any life force," Ming Jun smiled weakly.

  "You—" Shae Harris, who was looking away, turned back to meet his eyes.

  But the sight of his battered appearance and weak smile tore at her heart.

  "Anyway, I’m not giving up," she said, holding his body tighter.

  "Old man Yi, can you help me a little?" Ming Jun turned to Yi Zheng with a silent plea in his gaze.

  Yi Zheng looked upon the scene silently and nodded.

  He walked over to Shae Harris and gently, yet firmly, tore her away from Ming Jun.

  "Hey, let me go!" Shae Harris struggled, but the hands that held her down felt like steel.

  She could only turn back to Ming Jun’s body with a desperate expression.

  Ming Jun was now being laid on the ground with Wei Zhi’s help.

  Mori Aoi walked over to Shae Harris and nodded at Yi Zheng.

  Yi Zheng quietly released his hold, and Shae Harris rushed forward immediately—

  only for Mori Aoi to stand in her way and wrap her in a tight hug.

  Shae Harris trembled in her arms but didn’t struggle.

  Her gaze, however, was fixed on Ming Jun.

  "Thank you," Ming Jun smiled at them. He found he had been doing that a lot in his last moments.

  "Was I cool?" Ming Jun suddenly asked again.

  "Really cool," Wei Zhi said softly, his eyes red.

  "Amazing," Mori Aoi tried to smile, but that only made her tears flow harder.

  "You were super handsome and amazing, so if you die, I’ll kill you!" Shae Harris blurted, not thinking about anything.

  All she could feel was the heavy ache in her heart.

  "How can you kill me when I’m already dying?" Ming Jun retorted.

  "Dare to try it!" Shae Harris weakly waved a fist.

  "It’s not about wanting to try—it’s that I don’t think I have a choice here," Ming Jun rolled his eyes.

  "Excuses," Shae Harris huffed.

  "I don’t think any excuse could be that exaggerated," Ming Jun looked at his body and raised an eyebrow.

  Just then, a snicker was heard.

  Ming Jun turned to see Mori Aoi covering her mouth and hiccuping.

  "Sorry, I wanted to laugh, but I ended up holding it in and choked back a sob—so now I’m hiccuping," she said between small hiccups.

  Puff—

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  It was like a switch had been flicked. The atmosphere became lighter.

  The four of them burst into laughter for five minutes straight.

  Yi Zheng had his lips curved into a small smile.

  "Are we crazy?" Shae Harris said, running a hand through her hair.

  "I think it’s the whole world that’s crazy," Wei Zhi murmured.

  "Did you guys ever think something like this would happen to any of us?" Mori Aoi said softly.

  "I certainly didn’t. Honestly, I never thought much about how my life would go.

  I had no dreams, no aspirations, no sense of motivation.

  The world was a blur, and I was just lying on a river, floating wherever it flowed.

  I believed my life would be worthless until the end.

  No friends.

  No family that cared.

  No one I cared about.

  In my plans for the future, I’d endure and endure until I couldn’t anymore.

  Then I met you guys.

  And it felt like the world burst into color.

  Suddenly, I had a reason to wake up in the morning.

  A reason to eat.

  A reason to live.

  I had hope.

  I had friendship.

  I had a life.

  As dark, scary, funny, and twisted as it was—

  it was beautiful to me.

  Sure, I wasn’t some protagonist with an overpowered ability,

  or someone people looked up to.

  Heck, after you guys, there’ll probably be no one else in the world who cares about my death.

  But I’m happy.

  Because I understand now that I don’t need to be special.

  I don’t need to have a sense of worth.

  I’m not the smartest or the strongest or the most handsome.

  But I’m your friend.

  I’m the guy who washes the dishes because Shae Harris and Wei Zhi don’t know how.

  I am a person who is obsessed with anime and manga.

  I’m an otaku.

  I’m also the person who fought a monster and won.

  These things might not be important—and neither am I—

  but you guys need me.

  You want me in your lives.

  You care about me.

  You’re crying because of me.

  And that… that is the most important thing in the world to me.

  I don’t need to feel important because you guys need me.

  And I’ll always, always need you too.

  Honestly, I feel so cheesy I want to cover my face—

  but my hands are melted.

  Still, I do love you guys.

  Shae Harris, Mori Aoi, Wei Zhi, and even Old Man Yi—

  I love you all.

  Heh, turns out anime was right, even if it’s cringe—

  friendship really is the strongest bond in the world."

  "Yeah, it’s really cringe," Shae Harris wiped her tears and chuckled.

  "I love you too!" Mori Aoi blurted, her voice too loud from embarrassment.

  Then she covered her face and hid behind Wei Zhi.

  "I’m sorry, but I don’t swing that way," Wei Zhi shifted away and chuckled.

  "Don’t slander me just because I’m dying! I already have someone I like!" Ming Jun glared at him.

  "Really? Who is it?" Mori Aoi poked her head out excitedly, clutching Wei Zhi’s sleeve and swinging it unconsciously.

  Shae Harris froze.

  Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears.

  "That… that… Alright, I’m not going to be a coward, even as I’m dying," Ming Jun struggled to sit up.

  Shae Harris couldn’t hear anything else—she was focused solely on him.

  "Hiss… it’s too painful," Ming Jun winced and lay back down.

  "Guess it’s not meant to be," he sighed wistfully, staring at the sky.

  Everyone else: speechless.

  Shae Harris blushed and stomped over to him.

  Then she kicked his side without a word.

  "Ow, ow! I was wrong!" Ming Jun curled up and shivered pitifully.

  "Who cares about you—hurry up and die already!" Shae Harris said in an erratic tone, her face still flushed.

  "Stop hitting—stop hitting! I’ll speak!" Ming Jun waved a hand in surrender.

  "I said I don’t care what your answer is!" Shae Harris stomped on his arm one last time before stepping back.

  She claimed not to care, but Ming Jun could sense danger from her squinted gaze.

  "My old virgin heart is shy—look for yourself," Ming Jun blushed as he passed her the black phone from behind his back.

  Shae Harris snatched it and checked.

  Then she yelped and tossed it back immediately.

  Her eyes darted left and right, refusing to meet his, but the deep red on her face betrayed her feelings.

  The phone landed squarely on Ming Jun’s face as he turned to peek.

  "If you want to reject me, just say so—no need to get physical," Ming Jun grumbled, grabbing the phone and looking away in mock sorrow.

  "Who said anything about rejection? And next time, don’t put your face where I throw something!" Shae Harris huffed.

  "Yes, yes… I should’ve just pulled my head off instead," Ming Jun said sarcastically.

  "You stupid fatty, I just accepted your confession and you’re still being like this?" Shae Harris rolled up her sleeves, ready to punch him.

  "Hey—hey, I’m dying here—

  wait, did you just say you accepted my confession?

  Really?" Ming Jun froze mid-defense, eyes wide with a smile growing on his face.

  "Yeah. It’s as true as my fist that’s about to gently educate you," Shae Harris smiled while raising her fist.

  Ming Jun: Ancestor, I’m sorry.

  He immediately put on a submissive expression.

  Then he glanced at the others, silently begging for help.

  Yi Zheng and Wei Zhi were seated on the ground, amused, clearly watching a show.

  Mori Aoi was the only one standing—

  smiling with bright eyes as she spoke animatedly to Wei Zhi.

  Wei Zhi turned to her, nodding softly at her words.

  "Can I take my words back?" Ming Jun rolled his eyes at his lazy friends.

  "Nope," Wei Zhi smirked.

  Then they started laughing again—

  so hard that tears streamed down their faces.

  And soon, those tears turned into sobs of farewell.

  Ming Jun had passed away—

  just like that, with a wide grin and amidst laughter.

  "It’s time," Yi Zheng said solemnly, the only one not crying.

  "Yeah, it is," Shae Harris whispered. She took it upon herself to carry Ming Jun’s body.

  She refused any help and carried him all the way to the van, gritting her teeth.

  Yi Zheng was the last to leave, glancing at the former Ming household with a thoughtful expression.

  ............

  Yi Zheng drove them to the Otaku’s Dream Store.

  Shae Harris carried his body inside, and the four of them joined hands to place it on an open coffin set on a marble platform.

  Ming Jun’s corpse had repaired itself once it touched the coffin, and the black phone was placed on his chest.

  His expression was frozen in laughter, his smile wide enough to show joy even in death.

  He was dressed neatly in his school uniform.

  The coffin stood at the center of the shop, beside a plaque that read:

  “The Worthless Protagonist.”

  No one spoke.

  Yi Zheng brought beer, and they sat in front of the closed coffin—

  drinking silently all night.

  The next day, they left the store to change into new clothes.

  "Where to next?" Yi Zheng asked, closing the van door.

  "I’ll lead the way," Shae Harris said, her cheerful self returned—

  but this time, her hand was tightly holding Mori Aoi’s,

  and her frame unconsciously leaned into Aoi’s beside her.

  ..............

  "I guess I really died, huh?" Ming Jun scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

  He was speechless to realize he’d died laughing.

  So embarrassing.

  "You did," [Death] nodded.

  "Ah, right—

  I wanted to say thank you.

  Thanks for everything." Ming Jun stretched out a fist.

  [Death] looked at him for a second, then awkwardly mimicked the gesture.

  "It must be lonely here, huh? Why don’t I keep you company?" Ming Jun chuckled as his figure vanished.

  In his place was a wooden door with intricate symbols carved into it.

  "It’s another one," [Life] appeared beside [Death].

  She opened the door and stepped inside excitedly.

  The first room was full of shelves stacked with items for anime fans—

  figurines, stickers, cosplay, and a pen that could imprint anime tattoos with a temporary or permanent setting.

  There was even the same photo booth from the convention

  and a wardrobe full of cosplay costumes.

  "Look, there’s another door!" [Life] dragged [Death] through it.

  Inside was a lounge with a soft couch facing a huge flat-screen TV.

  A small wooden table sat in front, remote at its center.

  A fridge at one corner was stocked with food, and a snack machine filled another.

  "Soft," [Life] bounced on the sofa.

  "Sturdy too," she said, trying to knock things over—but nothing budged.

  "Let’s go through the third door!" she said.

  The last room was the ground floor of the Otaku’s Dream Store.

  The shelves were lined with manga, neatly arranged by genre.

  At the center lay a coffin—

  the same position, the same plaque.

  If a photo were taken of the real coffin and this one, they would be identical.

  The only difference was the sound of a heartbeat.

  That’s right—

  the coffin before [Life] and [Death] now had the rhythmic thump of a beating heart.

  "Interesting. It’s all the same template," [Life] smiled in excitement.

  She tried to lift the lid, but it was sealed tight.

  "Now I’m truly curious about what the other three will bring us," [Life] chuckled.

  "Yes. I also look forward to it," [Death] said, his tone laced with curiosity.

  Then his figure disappeared, leaving the blue-haired woman bursting with curiosity behind.

  "Tch, runs pretty fast," [Life] clicked her tongue, then went back to the first room to continue exploring.