Endless Silver Machine

The winding stone brick road still has a unique sense of humidity in the early morning. There is no obvious dividing line. Simple houses are scattered on both sides of the road. Stairs and fences are made of bluestone bricks. Unknown green plants stubbornly grow. Green buds peeked out from the gaps between the stone bricks, and wild flowers bloomed in piles on the roadside. The bright colors formed a sharp contrast with the dark brown soil.

The wires did not pass through the ground, but were erected directly in mid-air. There are no advertising slogans or navigation maps posted on the telephone poles, because people living here do not need them.

Being at a high place with a wide field of vision, Aika immediately noticed the blue in the distance.

"Is that...the sea?"

The first time Aika saw the sea was at the open-air beach in the East District. The scenery I saw at that time was far less spectacular than here. On the calm sea, there were scattered fishing boats leaving white water marks on their sterns. Where the sea and the sky met, the white clouds seemed within reach.

"Well, we also have fishing here, so we can be self-sufficient in basic life."

This is very similar to the village where Aika and Lolo live. Should we really say that they are two families connected together?

Walking slowly along the main road, Aika followed Ling up the stairs on the roadside. In addition to both sides of the road, there were many scattered houses around. Along the way, they didn't see any residents except them.

"Where has everyone gone?"

Judging from the number of houses seen, at least twenty or thirty people can live here.

"At this time, all the uncles should have gone to sea. I don't know the specific date now, so I can't be sure..."

Ling slowed down his steps. Her eyes swept over the rows of houses and the plants and trees. These scenery were undoubtedly priceless treasures hidden in her heart. She originally thought that this scenery would only exist in her heart, but now that she saw it in her eyes again, Ling even hoped that this dream could continue forever.

Aika did not bother her anymore. He also hoped to record the scenery belonging to Ling in his heart.

"Oh, are you?"

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Aika raised her head. A plainly dressed woman stood beside their path, holding a basket filled with red fruits.

Aika was about to answer, but at that moment, Ling suddenly turned around and ran away without warning.

This move was so sudden that Aika didn't react until her figure disappeared at the corner of the stairs.

"Yeah, sorry!"

You must not follow Ling Ling in a place like this. Aika quickly bowed his head to the woman and apologized, then ran away.

"That child..."

The woman who was left there thought thoughtfully for a while, then shook her head and left.

Aika chased Ling up the stairs, but there they split into several paths in different directions.

This reminded Aika of the time when Ling and Luoluo walked into a fork in the road at the Imperial City Amusement Park, and Aika handed over the choice to Wei Xi. When I face this situation now, I realize how difficult it is.

"this is……"

When his eyes moved to his feet, Aika noticed the soft earth. There were shallow traces of wheel rolling on it, as well as some shoe prints of different sizes. If you ran all the way, the shoe prints should be relatively deep, so on the middle road, two rows of smaller footprints than other shoe prints caught Aika's attention.

There may also be footprints left by other women, but there are no such obvious differences on other roads, so I can only take a gamble. Aika continued running along the path.

…………

Ling didn't know how far he had run. She knew exactly where every road here would lead, so Ling deliberately chose the less traveled path.

There must be no way for Aika to find himself here. He left him behind.

Behind the guilt, there is also a deep feeling of regret. I have clearly said that I will not escape...

Tears rolled down her cheeks and flew behind her in the wind.

When his legs were too heavy to lift anymore and he had to slow down, Ling felt a burning pain in his chest.

The light and dark in front of my eyes fluctuated with the violent beating of my heart, and it seemed that I could hear the beating of my heart in my ears.

She put her hands on her knees and gasped for air.

In this kind of suitable weather, a thin layer of sweat broke out on my body. If I hadn't tied my long hair into a ponytail, my long hair would have been horrible to look at now.

Ling used her fingers to smooth away the hair that was stuck to her cheeks due to sweat, and looked sideways at the scenery beside her. No one would come here. Her breathing finally eased a little.

She didn't want anyone to see her current appearance.

She had simulated that situation many times in her mind on the way into the village. Why did something that seemed so simple at that time become like this...

Ling raised her head and realized that Aika was not here and would not get his "perfunctory" answer. Even if it's an irresponsible answer, Ling wants to hear his voice now.

…………

This road seemed extremely long, the scenery on both sides remained unchanged, and there was no human atmosphere. When Aika thought this, her vision suddenly became wider. He quickened his pace, and what appeared in front of him was a cliff facing the sea. A girl was sitting facing the sea. A triangular-legged easel was placed in front of her. Next to her seat was a shelf with brushes, paints and other painting equipment. Small box.

"Ling!"

While shouting like this, he knew that the other person was not the person he was looking for. But for some reason, Aika couldn't resist the urge to call her that.

The girl looked sideways behind her, her long pink shawl hair swaying with this movement.

"Excuse me...what's the matter?"

Like a little rabbit that was suddenly startled, her eyes and questioning voice were full of confusion. The light green shawl added an elegant atmosphere to her.

Aika felt stuck in her throat and couldn't answer immediately. Because the other person looks so similar to the person he is looking for, but judging from the hair color and atmosphere, they are two completely different people.

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for someone... You have some similarities with her, and I unconsciously..."

"Is that so, haha."

Seeing Aika's hurried explanation, the girl covered her mouth and chuckled.

Sure enough, she and Ling are two different people, but they look so similar, are they relatives like sisters? I have never heard Ling talk about this before. In reality, this girl must be gone, so Ling kept silent.

"Excuse me...is there any way I can help you?"

The girl smiled and extended her hand to the anxious Aika.

Now the first thing to do is to find Ling. She probably knew the middle-aged woman and ran away in a hurry when they met. So now she will definitely not actively contact the crowd, but hide somewhere in the village.

"Where do you usually go if you want to be alone for a while?"

"Well..." the girl thought for a while, "My favorite place is the grove next to the greenhouse. Very few people go there."

If the two are sisters, then they may have similar ways of thinking.

"Can you tell me how to get there?"

Now we can only treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. The area of ​​this village is not small, and it is a completely unfamiliar place for Aika. If you want to find Ling who is hiding here deliberately, you may have no results until dark.

The path that the girl pointed out to her was the one that Aika thought was the least likely. If I reflect on it now, I can indeed understand the relationship. When everyone else has the same idea as Aika, the road becomes less traveled.

"Thank you. I'm in a hurry. You should go home early."

Aika had an inexplicable feeling of intimacy with the girl. It didn't feel like meeting her for the first time at all, so her tone of voice became casual.

"Can I also ask you a little favor?"

The girl did not say goodbye to Aika immediately, but made a small request.

"If it's something I can do."

"I want to include you in this painting, is that okay?"

The girl moved slightly away from the canvas. Only then did Aika realize that there was not only the sea in her painting, but also the scenery behind her.

There was obviously no need to specifically seek Aika's opinion on this kind of matter, but the girl still made her request to Aika seriously.

"I'd be happy to do it if it doesn't stain your painting."

"You won't be stained! Then let's paint you in this position..."

The place where the girl wrote is where Aika is standing now. This painting is really realistic.

"Do you need me to stay here for a while?"

"No need, I already have your appearance firmly in my mind."

The girl's eyes were focused on the canvas in front of her, and she answered Aika without looking back. It seemed that she was a child who was very devoted to one thing.

The first time a girl said this, Aika suddenly felt very embarrassed. He knew that there was no special meaning in this sentence, but Aika was also a boy in puberty, so it was inevitable that he would not care about this ambiguous statement.

After bidding farewell to the girl, he returned to the fork in the road along the original path.

It was already noon at this time, and Aika quickened her pace and ran in the direction indicated by the girl.

…………

Ling sat listlessly on the bluestone beside the tree trunk. She had calmed down now.

PDAs cannot be used in this world. There may be methods such as telepathy to contact two people who come in at the same time, but neither Ling nor Aika have asked Tutor Tara about this issue. They didn't take into account a situation as fragmented as it is now.

In the village where he was raised, Ling had no problem moving alone, but it was different for Aika. What you should consider now is how to get in touch with Aika.

He must have chased him around here, and even so, there was no way he could be found so easily. She tried calling out the Light Flame Sword in her body, and golden particles emerged around her. It seemed that she could still use magic equipment in this world.

Ling put the Light Flame Sword back into her body, stood up from the bluestone floor, and smoothed her wrinkled skirt.

When I was a child, when I was unhappy, I always liked to hide in this small forest. There is no special reason, just because few people come here, and only here can you calm down.

Now I have to say goodbye to the place that has been my sanctuary for so many years.

"wrong……"

It's a farewell...

Ling shook his head and forced himself to accept this statement.

At this moment, Ling realized that the farewell greeting of "goodbye" was much better than "farewell".

…………