"I don't expect anything," Juren said. "Just the chance to try something better."
The silence that followed stretched long but was not empty. It was a silence heavy with choices yet to be made.
Xin and Wuying exchanged a long look, their eyes speaking what their mouths didn't.
Xin finally cleared his throat.
"You say this ship has no strength," he said, "but it still has a spiritual barrier. It still resisted intrusion. How do we know there's not a trap deeper inside?"
Juren didn't argue.
"You don't. I could try to convince you otherwise, but you wouldn't believe it. So I won't bother."
The bluntness made Wuying blink, caught off guard. Not because it was hostile, but because it wasn't. It was honest. Too honest for someone trying to manipulate them.
"Then why are you still here?" Xin asked, quieter now. "Why not abandon ship when you had the chance?"
"Because this was my post," Juren said. "Because someone had to be the last. Even if I didn't want the job."
