I'm not Yingjie

Her reaction was exactly the same as Raven's. She was first puzzled by these people who seemed like memories, and then she was attracted by what they were watching.

A fire truck was spewing cold water into a shopping mall that was ablaze.

Fire?

"Oh, look at that child. It's so miserable. His parents rushed in and he still hasn't come out half an hour later."

"Something must have happened."

"What happened?"

"What else could happen... (whispering) Death."

Mei felt like she was in a dream, confused and disoriented. After hearing some fragmented conversations, she hesitantly dragged her feet towards the crowd.

Tongues of fire were like demons from hell, hovering over every window of the mall. The orange-red flames burned everything in sight, and the turbid smoke gradually dispersed the white clouds.

She seemed to sense something, which made her walk to the front and look at the small figure standing at the front of the crowd.

He looked expressionlessly at the mall engulfed in flames. The flames illuminated his face and the high temperature made his skin red.

Then he noticed something, turned his head, and made eye contact with Mei.

The empty eyes made Mei's body tremble.

It's hard to describe what was contained in those eyes.

Mei didn't see any sadness in them, no, no emotion at all appeared in those dark pupils. They were like a mirror, and when one looked deeply into it, one could only see oneself.

The sense of déjà vu that this sight gave her reminded her of someone.

Soon the firefighters arrived, took the boy away, put him in the car, and then rushed to put out the fire.

"What irresponsible parents! They abandoned their own child for someone else. That child is so pitiful."

"Hey, don't tell me, look at that child's face, there's no sadness at all. Maybe they usually abuse the children and hope they die."

Mei felt like her head was about to split apart. She covered her head with her hands and opened her eyes wide, as memories came flooding back.

Alone...Rumors...Leaving...

On the day her father left, did she feel the same as that child? She felt that the whole world had abandoned her, and she was left alone, crying.

But then she met Kiana and more companions, and she was no longer alone...

Mei took a deep breath and suppressed the memories she didn't want to recall.

Now is not the time to think about those things, we must find the raven as soon as possible.

She took a step back, away from the group.

And with just this one step, the scenery before her eyes distorted and changed again.

In the strong glare, she blocked out the sunlight, lowered her head and saw "that person" standing in front of her.

Mei put down her hands in surprise and looked down at the little boy who was just far away.

He raised his head, his expressionless face was like a painted mask, cold and terrifying.

Chapter 17: The Innocence of Children

What happened again?

Mei looked at the frosty-faced little boy in front of her with doubt and uncertainty. This scene really gave her some PTSD.

"..." However, this time the little boy did not draw his knife and stab her like "Lin" did last time. He just stared at her quietly. Even though his eyes were a little scary, he did not make any other movements.

The crowd around them also disappeared. The strong light just now seemed like an illusion. What hung above their heads was a bright white moon, and the moonlight fell on the deserted street and on the shoulders of the two.

Due to the fact that she has no weapons and cannot use her Herrscher power, Mei is extremely cautious about everything at the moment, especially sudden situations, she will immediately become alert if there is any problem.

"Who are you?" she asked the little boy quietly, standing on tiptoe.

The boy didn't seem to notice her little action, and said in a childish voice, "...Lin."

"Lin?" Although Mei had already guessed that this boy was most likely the man in the helmet who often glared at others with a gaze that could cut diamonds, she was still a little surprised when she actually confirmed it.

Judging from his appearance, Mei can only describe him as cute. Most children of his age seem to look like this, but his respectful and distant temperament is even more prominent now than in the future.

"..."

"You... today..." Mei realized that she shouldn't do anything radical to a child. Even though the child didn't look like a child, she prepared her lines and tried to ask in a gentle tone, "Are mom and dad okay..."

"They're dead." Xiaolin replied coldly.

"..." Mei was stunned for a moment and asked, "Aren't you sad?"

"This is the path they chose, why should I be sad?"

"..."

Unusually cold, or it could be said that Mei did not see any humanity in this child. The helmeted man in the paradise who occasionally told some not-so-funny jokes and cheated people was more emotional than this child.

He seemed to be just narrating an insignificant matter, and his eyes showed no signs of having cried or of about to shed tears.

Xiaolin's stomach growled, and he looked up and asked, "Do you have money?"

"You are hungry?"

"Let's go. There should be some restaurants that are still open."

……

"Did you sneak out?"

Mei couldn't help but ask as she looked at Kobayashi who was eating rice with tea.

"...Didn't you stop me?" Xiao Lin quickly finished a bowl of rice, put down his bowl and chopsticks, picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, and glanced at her with his black pupils.

"What do you mean?"

"You were the one who kept me there during the fire and wouldn't let me leave." Xiao Lin placed his hands on his knees. "Do you have multiple personality disorder or amnesia?"

"..."

Mei understood.

The time skipped in this space is not necessarily connected to the previous and next period, and you may be put into it and interact with the people inside.

"Are you so confident following me?" Mei asked back.

"My best case scenario is that I'll be sent to an orphanage. You look rich in your clothes and you're interested in me. I think I can listen to you talk about what you want to do to me."

This little guy is so calm that he doesn't seem like someone of his age.

"Whatever... I won't do anything to you." Mei's attitude towards children was naturally different from those riddlers in the paradise of the past who were always making sarcastic remarks to her and making riddles. She smiled gently and said, "But Xiaolin, can I ask you some questions?"

"Ask." Xiaolin nodded calmly.

"Do you remember the details of your life with your parents?"

"can."

"What's your father's favorite dish?"

"I like to add more soy sauce when grilling eggplant."

After asking some basic common sense and life questions, Mei confirmed that Kobayashi's memory was complete and he was not just a simple projection or clone. He also had no idea that the city he lived in was a virtual space.

In other words, it is unrealistic to ask Kobayashi for clues about this space.

While she was thinking about the next round of questions, Kobayashi, who simply answered the questions, asked calmly: "Are you trapped somewhere, or do you think this world is fake?"

"You..." Mei opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"The questions you asked were very leading, as if you wanted me to notice some contradictions myself. And you mentioned several times whether I felt there was something wrong with this city and my experience. It wasn't hard to guess." Kobayashi looked at the empty restaurant. The boss hadn't come out for a long time after he went into the kitchen. The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Mei straightened her expression and said, "What if I say 'yes'?"

"The world you see is different from the world I see. The characters in the game don't feel that they are in a virtual world. It's impossible to find a way out from me, just like you can't control the game characters to come into reality."

Mei saw some of Lin's shadow in Kobayashi. His excellent analysis and judgment, and his calmness about his situation, made this child more special than he seemed.

"If you really think you are an outsider, then the key to finding your way out should also be something outside."

Kobayashi cleaned up the dishes, jumped off the chair, and looked up at Mei's pretty face.

After his guidance, Mei suddenly understood and stood up from her chair and looked at Kobayashi.

In fact, Kobayashi's face becomes cuter the more you look at it. Maybe it's his transcendent temperament that adds points to him. Mei couldn't help but reach out and touch his head, and he didn't resist and just took it as a reward for a meal.

"Xiao Lin, what are you going to do in the future?" Mei asked with some pity.

Having lost his family at a young age and living alone ever since, he is even lonelier than I was when I was a child and younger too. Even though he is precocious and doesn't look like a child, people still feel sympathy for him.

The answer has already been found in Lin's body, but she still wants to know from Xiao Lin's mouth at this time what path he is going to take.

Xiao Lin thought for a moment, looked out the door into the night, and said softly, "...Go save more people."

"Why?" Mei asked in surprise.

"Because I saw there were still people trapped inside."

Inside? Are you talking about the fire?

"My parents saved a lot of people, but many others died in the fire, and they also sacrificed their lives there, so I think I should save more people in the future."

At this moment, the little boy seemed to have turned into a truly innocent and naive child, saying things that only children would take for granted.

Mei suddenly understood that Kobayashi was not indifferent to his parents' death, nor was he confused about their abandonment of him. On the contrary, he believed that his parents' choice at that time was correct, and he should continue this correctness.

Xiao Lin looked into the distance. There were no stars in the night sky, and it was as dark as the pupils in his eyes.

Mei's nose was sore. She reached out and hugged the child, sighing and stroking his head: "Do you want to cry?"

The child turned his head and looked at her blankly.

"I do not know."

The child's tears dripped onto his hands like pearls from a broken string.

Chapter 18 The truth is approaching

"That's really strange..."

Raven stood in a corner of the game room, holding a drink and looking at two guys sitting in front of the arcade machines with their fingers dancing wildly.

If she could take a picture, she would really like to take this scene back to her paradise. After all, Lin and Kevin playing arcade games in the game hall with smiles on their faces sounded like a horror story.

Two months have passed since her conversation with Lin. To be precise, the time in this space has advanced two months.

The time of this space will change at any time, and the location will also change over time.

During these two months, she watched how Kevin used his enthusiasm to gradually make Lin accept him, and then step by step they became friends. If she told this process to other people, they would definitely think it was a fairy tale.

She noticed that Lin was a person with many contradictions. He had both unusual and ordinary qualities, but those qualities often conflicted with his ordinariness. For example, he could easily believe that Raven was a man from the future, but his personality was not at all like that of a whimsical middle school boy.

He also shows interest in the future that Raven talks about, but gives up directly after knowing that it is impossible to go to that future.

It probably feels like this: emotion and rationality coexist in the same aspect of a person without any conflict.

And the most crucial way to leave has not been found yet.

"Have these two never done anything serious?" Raven threw the drink cup into the trash can and sighed. She couldn't remember how many times she had seen these two skipping classes to go out and play ball, sing, row boats, play games... Their lives and entertainment were incredibly rich.

By the way, even though Lin skipped classes every day, his grades remained high, while Kevin's performance curve was a bit pale in comparison.

Kevin, who was sitting in front of the arcade machine, poked Lin's elbow and glanced at the raven in the corner of his eye: "Lin, I've wanted to say this for a long time... Do you know that female student? Why do I feel like she's following us every day?"

"She is from the future." Lin, who was wearing a mask and dressed in casual clothes, manipulated his character to steal blood when Kevin was distracted. "Ignore her."

"Um... okay." Kevin turned his head back in confusion, only to find that his character had been worn out by Lin until only a trace of blood was left.

"Fuck! Lin, you are so despicable!"

While Kevin was busy operating, Lin also took the time to look at Raven, watching her sigh and thinking for a while.

……

"busy?"

"If I had nothing to do, would I stay with you two all day?"

After sending Kevin away, Lin came to Raven.