RNP Chapter 4579 The Day of Brightest Day (38)
Chapter 4579 The Day of Brightest Day (38)
Chapter 4579 The Day of Brightest Light (Thirty-Eight)
“Joseph…Joseph…”
Joseph shivered with cold. He heard someone calling his name, but there was no one around. Only knee-deep snow and the constant falling snow. He kept walking towards the tower, leaving a trail of footprints behind him.
“Joseph… wake up… Joseph…”
The voice continued to echo. Joseph began to recall something. It sounded like his father. This was not good.
He recalled the first time he met his father: behind that smiling, caring face lay countless secrets hidden in an immense labyrinth, like a collapsing building about to crush him.
It was as if his beloved father had transformed into another monster overnight. Joseph began to recall more. He huddled under the covers, shivering, and saw his father mowing the lawn outside the window, saw the blood seeping from the labyrinth of his mind and dripping from his fingers, saw chaos and death.
So when he went upstairs to tell him a story, the boy screamed and hid under the covers, refusing to come out. The man simply said, "Did you have a nightmare? Okay, I'll come see you again tomorrow morning."
Then, Joseph gradually learned to avoid eye contact. If he didn't look, he knew nothing. Facing the human heart was simply too ugly. It was truly tragic to learn this from his own father.
He gradually mastered and utilized this ability before his father's choices ruined his life. He became a powerful mind manipulator. Anyone who met his gaze would have their mind taken over. No one was immune.
As he grew older, Joseph sensed that even his father might be controlled by him. But he wouldn't do that. So he always avoided his father's gaze and tried to avoid contact with him.
Today's events were truly unexpected. And the unexpected that befalls him is never pleasant. If it were just Slade Wilson, perhaps he could have tried. But with Schiller Rodriguez added to the mix, this trip to Egypt will likely be the greatest ordeal of his life.
As consciousness gradually returned, Joseph slowly opened his eyes, initially unable to adjust to the bright light. But soon, a pair of blue eyes flickered in front of him.
Joseph closed his eyes, turned his head to the side, and helplessly reached out to push away the large man in front of him. But the man was like a wall; Joseph couldn't budge him at all. So, he subconsciously said, "Slade Wilson..."
"I'm your father!" he roared. "Don't you dare call me by my full name!"
“Death knell!” Joseph shouted, “Get away from me…”
The shock and sadness in his blue eyes were almost overflowing. Joseph moved his dry lips and whispered, "Don't take my oxygen..."
"Uh, sorry." Deathstroke seemed to realize he'd gotten a little too close. "You..."
Joseph lowered his eyes, looking at the hand receiving the IV drip, then looked up at the IV bag above. It was probably medication to replenish sugar and electrolytes. They probably thought he had fainted due to heatstroke.
Joseph took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pain in his head. Deathstroke leaned closer and asked, "Are you alright? Why did you faint?"
Joseph was about to say something when the door to the ward was pushed open, and Schiller walked in and asked, "How is your son?"
“He seems to have gone mad,” Deathstroke said worriedly. “You’re right, I don’t know him well enough. He’s completely different from before.”
“You shouldn’t have said that in front of him,” Schiller said. “The doctor said he has a bit of heatstroke, but it’s not serious, he should be fine in a bit. His two companions are very worried, should we let them in?”
“No,” Joseph suddenly said, “Sir, could you please leave for a moment? I have something to say to him.”
This time he didn't try to look at Schiller, but Schiller glanced at him, nodded, and turned to leave. Joseph looked into Deathstroke's eyes, while Deathstroke was completely unprepared.
"Ugh!!!" Deathstroke let out a low groan of pain. Joseph also seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant; his face turned pale, and he frowned in pain.
“It still doesn’t work…” he said softly, glancing at his father with a hint of reproach, shaking his head, and turning his head away.
"What the hell!" Deathstroke clutched his head. His head was buzzing, but this time it was physically. The instant he'd locked eyes with Joseph, it felt like he'd been hit on the head with a hammer—even more painful. After all, his skull was much harder than most people's; ordinary blows were ineffective. But this time, it felt like a whisk had been thrown into his head, and he felt like his brain was being churned apart.
He leaned against the bedside, catching his breath, and looked at Joseph, saying, "So you really have superpowers? Why didn't you tell me?"
“You didn’t tell me you were Deathstroke either,” Joseph said weakly. “I don’t want to discuss these old stories with you, Mr. Wilson…”
"I'm your dad!!!" Deathstroke said angrily, "Why have you suddenly stopped calling me dad?! You didn't act like this even during our worst arguments!!!"
“What’s wrong with you?” Joseph said. “Do you think you look like my father right now? If I call you Dad in front of strangers, what kind of relationship will they think we have?”
Deathstroke paused, stunned. It was only now that he realized: he had become younger, now looking only a few years older than Joseph. No one could possibly believe he was Joseph's biological father. If Joseph really called him "Dad," then the relationship between the two, as everyone imagined, might not be so healthy.
"Ahem..." Deathstroke said, "Sorry, I forgot. I just haven't gotten used to it yet..."
“Just don’t forget to come in when Kelden and Nana come in later,” Joseph said. “Also, what’s up with your friend?”
"You mean Schiller? I lost a bet to him. Not only do I owe him a favor, but I also have to help him find some artifacts later. Luckily you're alright, so I can focus on my work."
Joseph closed his eyes tightly, as if to say, "I'm tired, let it all end." Deathstroke, still there, continued to ask, "So when did you find out?"
“Seven years old,” Joseph said. “That’s when I realized I had superpowers.”
“Good heavens, so early.” Deathstroke rubbed his forehead. “So that’s why you’ve never caused me any trouble?”
Joseph seemed unwilling to speak to him. Deathstroke, somewhat annoyed, reached out and ruffled his hair. Joseph raised his voice, saying, "Don't touch my hair! I've told you so many times!"
"It's a pity you didn't inherit my straight hair. Your curly hair looks messy." After saying that, he stood up and said, "Since there's no way to explain our relationship, I won't bother you and your friend anymore. Just stay here and wait for me to finish work so I can pick you up and take you home."
“Don’t go,” Joseph said. “Come back.”
Deathstroke grinned, sat back down, and said, "You really can't live without me. Little Joseph, I know you were scared on the plane..."
Joseph looked utterly dejected. He said, "Don't go looking for any artifacts, especially not with that Schiller. He's dangerous."
"Of course, who isn't in danger here?"
"He'll be a big problem."
"It's not necessarily bigger than me."
Joseph slammed his fist on the bed railing. Deathstroke was taken aback. He had never seen Joseph act so violently before. Even when they argued, Joseph's angriest moments were limited to sarcastic remarks; he had never actually hit anything.
"I'm sorry, I just..."
“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain. I know you’re feeling terrible,” Deathstroke said. “Your graduation trip is ruined, you’re in the hospital now, and you can’t even reunite with your father…”
“That’s not it at all,” Joseph said. “Can you stay away from that Schiller guy? Break up with him now?”
"Why won't you let me stay with him? Do you think I can't handle him?"
“Of course you can’t.” Joseph frowned deeply. “He’s not as simple as he seems. He’s killed just as many people as you have.”
“Oh, really? He has so many enemies?” Deathstroke raised an eyebrow and said, “I know you’re a kind kid and can’t stand the indiscriminate killing. But the dead can’t be brought back to life, so don’t dwell on it.”
The atmosphere around Joseph became one of utter speechlessness. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're the one who kills for money, but he's different. He..."
“He’s doing it for revenge, I know,” Deathstroke said. “But in reality, there’s no difference. Neither is more noble than the other. Why bother arguing about who’s better when they’re outlaws at large?”
Joseph seemed to have finally lost all his strength, and shut his mouth, no longer speaking. Deathstroke stood up again and said, "I know you're worried about me. But if I were so easily defeated, I wouldn't be alive today. I can imagine how shocked and heartbroken you were when you found out I was an assassin, just like when I found out you were a superhuman. In that case, let's call it even. Your mother certainly wouldn't want any conflict between us, so think of her, okay?"
After the death knell left the ward, Schiller was waiting outside. He was talking with two of Joseph's friends. The two young men seemed to like him very much, and the three of them were having a pleasant conversation.
"Alright, we should probably go now." Deathstroke put on a mask, preventing the two young men from seeing his face. The two men were startled by his strange appearance and hurriedly ran into the ward.
“Let’s go find that damned artifact,” Deathstroke said to Schiller.
"So you just left him here like that?"
“I’m just here to make sure he’s safe,” Deathstroke said. “The problem is, being with me isn’t necessarily safer than him being alone. It won’t be long before someone comes looking for me. I can’t let them find out about my relationship with Joseph, or we’ll be in trouble.”
“You haven’t talked to him much,” Schiller said. “Since you admit you don’t know him well enough, why don’t you communicate with him more?”
"I'm just running away from something, okay? Mind-reading master?"
Schiller laughed and said, "We're going back to Cairo. You can tell me more about it on the way."
"Then why not start now? If I really overcome my urge to run away, I might not go back to Cairo with you."
“I can’t help you with that,” Schiller said. “And you don’t realize that any analysis I do for you will only cause you more trouble. But you still want to hear it.”
Deathstroke thought for a moment, then asked with some confusion, "Yeah, why?"
"Because you're not interested in psychology at all, but in me. That's why you believe whatever I say."
The death knell is speechless.
(End of this chapter)