[Still, shouldn't I destroy its power source?]

[Speaking of this, you never actually told me the way to exterminate it. I've also been wondering if you can locate the power source for me…]

A minute passed before M finally replied.

[M: I didn't…?]

Bai Xing, "…"

[No]

[M: Ah…]

[M: Sorry, I think I was out of it at that time]

[M: I can't locate the power source. The virus conceals it away from me with some unknown method. As for exterminating it, you can do it with the weapons I gave you. If you attack it with them, though it won't die if the power source still exists, it will leave the world it's in]

[Then, it doesn't make any difference between killing it and exterminating it?]

[M: There is. If you exterminate it, I won't get my powers back in that instant. Its purpose is only to stop the virus's corruption and seal the world away from it. But when you kill it, that portion of the virus is permanently gone and the power in that portion returns to me]

[M: That's why I was surprised when a portion of my power suddenly surged into me when I was resting]

[M: I must go now. Many of the corrupted worlds still need processing for the restoring later]

[Wait, what is my current identity?]

[M: You don't have one in particular now. But you can be the prince's personal aide if everything goes right]

[?]

[What do you mean?]

[M: You'll see. Good luck, be safe]

Bai Xing pocketed his phone in confusion. Why did M say 'can be'? That means he wasn't one right now, right?

He looked around and was surprised to witness a pair of people get swept ashore by the wave a distance away from him.

To be more accurate, a pair of man and mermaid.

"…"

No doubt, that should be the Little Mermaid and the prince.

He saw the mermaid suddenly turn her head to him and immediately dove back down to the sea.

She must've noticed his lamp.

Bai Xing jogged to where the prince was left on the shore. He knelt down and checked his pulse and breathing. Well, the prince would of course be alive, but he just drowned.

"!!"

There is a pulse, but his breathing…

Bai Xing quickly put down his lamp to start doing CPR. If the prince died now, the story could possibly end right here and then. He just arrived in this story and hadn't even met Grey yet. Moreover, the next story was his last!

Sorry M, let him be selfish this once.

Fortunately, his high school trained their students about first aids for a full semester in the past. He didn't think there would come a time when he need to use it. Compared to when he needed to fix Grey's bloody wounds, he could do this much.

After 2 cycle of chest compressions and rescue breaths, the prince finally coughed out the sea water in his lungs. The amount was pretty bad. He would definitely die if left for a moment longer.

Bai Xing took off his cloak for the prince to use as a blanket. The night air was only as cold as his 18 degree air conditioner in his apartment, but for the prince who was all wet, it must be freezing.

The prince wrapped it around him and looked around, "Wh-Where…am I? Who are you?"

"You…got stranded ashore. I just happened to find you."

The prince looked at Bai Xing in astonishment, "Did you bring me back to life?"

"…"

That's a bit of an exaggeration.

"You weren't dead…yet."

The prince then remembered what happened, "My ship! What happened to my ship and the people in it?"

"…The fact that you're here…" Bai Xing didn't continue.

"Kh!" the prince hit the sand in frustration, "Is there nobody else stranded here aside of me?"

"I…don't know."

The prince tried standing up, "Then, we should–urgh!"

Bai Xing hurriedly caught his fall, "B-Be careful!" he carefully placed the prince back down, "A-Are you…alright? Do you feel dizzy?"

The prince weakly nodded, "And my legs…"

"Let me check. E-Excuse me…" Bai Xing took off the prince's boots and pulled up his trousers.

His right ankle was sprained and there was a bulging bruise on his left shin.

"I think…you broke a bone. You shouldn't move too much."

Bai Xing looked at the forest behind them. He doubted there were planks there or anything flat enough to splint it.

Speaking of which, where exactly were they??

There weren't any buildings to be seen.

Growl…

Bai Xing blinked and turned to the prince. The prince clenched his stomach ashamedly. Thinking of it, the prince should be around 16? 17? Couldn't be helped if he felt hungry and tired after experiencing a shipwreck and drowning.

"…I'll go find something to eat." Bai Xing stood up with his lamp.

He could just take it out from his phone, but not in front of the prince. He also wanted to check the directory. Maybe he could find someone here.

M wouldn't really put him in a stranded island, would he?

"Wait a moment! You do not have to." The prince hurriedly grabbed Bai Xing's trousers.

"It's fine. I also haven't eat dinner." Bai Xing let the prince's hand go and left.

Bai Xing didn't enter too deeply. He took out his phone and checked the directory first. After zooming it out three times, he indeed found an area with many people. From the looks of it, the area has a defined shape, so there should be a building.

Then, he saw a blue dot was coming their way. It would be their luck if a person from that place found them.

Bai Xing then remembered this part of the story. That building…should be the temple where the princess, that would marry the prince later, was currently at.

Then…this blue dot was possibly the princess herself.

Knowing they weren't in a stranded island, and this was all in the story, Bai Xing finally relaxed. He didn't want to ruin the prince's first meeting with the princess, so he waited in the forest until the princess found the prince.

He saw the princess immediately rushed to help the prince, but she couldn't carry the prince herself.

Bai Xing, "…"

He should probably help her.

The prince saw Bai Xing coming out of the forest and sighed in relief. After explaining to Bai Xing there was a temple nearby and the girl was from there, the three of them went there together.

Because the prince's legs were injured, he didn't have any choice but to be carried by Bai Xing however opposed he was to it.

"If you don't want to be carried now, you will be carried for the rest of your life."

In the end, the prince obediently let Bai Xing carried him on his back after his scolding. Bai Xing inwardly sighed.

Was this how it felt like to have a little brother? Or a disobedient son?

But let it be. Grey could possibly be in the prince's palace. Out of the 3 stories so far, Grey lived in the palace in 2 of them.

When they arrived at the temple, they were brought to a room by the princess. Not long after, the head of the temple appeared. He immediately recognized the prince and told them that he would send a message to the royal palace to pick him up.

In the meanwhile, the prince was nursed by the princess. Just the time Bai Xing spent in the island was officially the longest he has spent inside a story.

It was also the longest he has ever been separated from Grey. Every day, he couldn't help but scrolled at their pictures or watched the sea.

He couldn't imagine what it would be like later once he…wakes up.

He didn't know missing someone could be so torturous. He even missed Grey's harassment.

"White, you are here again."

Bai Xing turned to see the prince was walking towards him using his crutches.

The prince patted Bai Xing's shoulder, "Do not worry, my ship should arrive in a day or two. We can go home, and you can meet your family soon."

"…" Bai Xing looked at the prince, "I appreciate your concern, Your Highness. But did I not tell you not to move too much? Why are you not with Miss Lilia?"

The prince, "…"

Bai Xing sighed, "I will escort you back."

Just as the prince predicted, the royal ship came the next day. They were very glad to see the prince was alive and well and thanked the temple for taking care of him. The prince also didn't forget to tell them about Bai Xing. Bai Xing accepted when the prince offered him to be his personal aide.

And so, they finally left the island under the watch of a pair of amethyst eyes.