D always kept complaining about the unfairness of fate toward him, but in fact, fate has always been fair and just.
It neither always favors one person nor continuously abandons another.
For D, the fact that he was able to meet Notch first was already a special favor granted to him by fate.
And after meeting Notch, the series of actions he took, from his own point of view, were without doubt the best choices he could make under those circumstances.
But unfortunately, no matter what, D was never able to truly change himself.
His restless mentality of wanting quick success and instant results was like a stubborn illness deeply rooted in his soul that could not be removed.
His greedy nature clung to him like a disease attached to the bone, making it impossible for him to break free.
Because he was overly eager to firmly seize this rare opportunity, D had no patience to slowly wait for Notch to collapse on his own.
So D began thinking hard, using every method he could, racking his brains to come up with every possible line that might push Notch to the edge of madness.
However, what D did not expect was that it was precisely because of this impatient and greedy behavior that he completely buried his last bit of hope.
The fate that had once favored him turned away without mercy.
Was this not exactly like the widely spread saying, "Villains often die from talking too much."
Actually, when D was dealing a double heavy blow to Notch's body and mind at the same time, he originally had every reason to stop right there.
But D was unwilling to patiently proceed step by step. Instead, he impatiently added another piece of dry firewood onto the blazing flames and kept talking endlessly, saying a large pile of words that he believed would definitely defeat Notch in one strike.
What he did not know was that the words he saw as deadly poison instead accidentally became a miraculous medicine, like a sudden flash of insight that completely awakened Notch from confusion.
———
Notch truly could not face the deaths of D and J. Even though Xu Yuan had warned him before, he still could not accept it.
After all, regardless of whether D and J brought it upon themselves, they originally stepped into that world full of the unknown and danger at Notch's invitation.
Their departure was something Notch could not avoid responsibility for.
With Notch's character, he simply could not excuse himself from the blame.
And when Xu Yuan warned Notch at that time, even Xu Yuan himself did not fully understand the truth behind D and J's deaths, so naturally he did not mention these details to Notch.
Notch had guessed in his heart that they might have died, but he did not know the exact reason for their deaths.
So the first few accusations D made toward Notch were like a sharp dagger stabbing straight into the softest and most fragile corner of Notch's heart.
He was instantly drowned in endless self-blame and quickly fell into the abyss of collapse.
In fact, if D had shown even a little patience at this moment and quietly waited for Notch to collapse on his own, or asked a few more questions such as how the bodies of him and J were handled, and how their families would be properly taken care of afterward, then without a doubt, these seemingly ordinary questions would have become the final straw that broke Notch's back, making him completely lose his last bit of reason and strength and collapse entirely.
But D happened to mention those living beings.
Perhaps because of a guilty conscience, he did not hesitate to place all the blame and the destruction of countless living beings entirely onto Notch alone.
However, what he did not expect was that Notch's attending doctor was Doctor Xu, and Doctor Xu had already given Notch a preventive warning before.
The effect could be described in four words, miraculous healing hands.
After that conversation with Xu Yuan, although many questions still lingered in Notch's mind, there was one piece of information that he firmly locked into his memory and could confirm with one hundred percent certainty.
The root cause that made the many living beings of that previous world raise the banner of rebellion against them was that close friend of his who had always enjoyed playing pranks.
A person with no sympathy at all, once transformed into a world god without restraint, would naturally not limit himself to small pranks anymore.
Because Notch had one hundred percent certainty about this information deep in his heart, when he heard D place all the blame for the deaths of those living beings entirely onto him,
it was as if a bolt of lightning cut across the night sky, instantly illuminating his chaotic thoughts and making him suddenly come to a realization.
It was obvious that D was carefully fabricating a huge lie in an attempt to cover up the truth.
Since this fact was already clearly laid out in front of him, how much credibility could any of D's previous words still have?
It would probably have to be marked with a huge question mark.
And even without digging into whether D's earlier words were true or not, simply analyzing the motive behind his lies was enough to make Notch completely clear-headed.
This so-called "close friend" who had disappeared for many years and left no news, after meeting again, spoke nothing but endless accusations and lies full of holes as soon as he opened his mouth.
Even worse, every one of those lies was like a sharp dagger stabbing straight into the deepest and most painful parts of Notch's heart.
Such behavior and the hidden motive behind it were already obvious without needing to be said.
At this moment, the distance between D and Notch was only half an arm's length.
Such a short distance allowed D to clearly see Notch's originally dilated pupils slowly begin to focus.
As Notch's pupils gradually gathered and focused, D's pupils did the exact opposite, slowly spreading as if he had lost control.
Fear flooded his eyes like a burst dam.
Just moments ago he had spoken endlessly and confidently, but now he seemed to have suddenly become mute, only staring blankly at Notch without daring to move at all…
Time passed second by second. For D, every moment felt long and unbearable.
Finally, Notch slowly recovered from the intense pain that had nearly taken his life. When he raised his head and his gaze met D's eyes, he immediately caught the fear and panic hidden deep within them.
And the fear and panic in D's eyes further confirmed the motive behind his actions.
Under normal circumstances, after going through something like this, Notch's heart should have been filled with all kinds of complicated emotions such as anger, confusion, regret, and more.
But unexpectedly, at this moment Notch felt only one emotion, and that was deep sorrow.
This feeling surged into his heart like a tide, drowning all other emotions.
Notch slowly raised his eyes and looked at D once again.
There was not the slightest hatred or anger in his gaze. Instead, there was complete relief and calmness.
He said softly, "You really have never changed at all…"