What happened now?
Mei looked at the ice-faced little boy in front of her with surprise and uncertainty. This scene truly gave her PTSD.
"..." This time, however, the little boy did not draw a knife and stab her like the previous "Lin." He just stared at her quietly. Although his gaze was somewhat intimidating, he made no other movement.
The surrounding crowd had vanished. The intense light from earlier felt like a hallucination. Overhead hung a bright white moon. Moonlight fell on the deserted street and the shoulders of the two of them.
Lacking weapons and unable to use her Herrscher authority, Mei was extremely cautious of everything around her. She immediately became alert when something seemed slightly off in this sudden situation.
"Who are you?" she quietly stood on her tiptoes and asked the little boy.
The boy didn't seem to notice her subtle movement. His childish voice uttered cold words: "...Lin."
"Lin?" Although Mei had already guessed that this boy was likely the helmeted man who often stared at others with a diamond-cutting gaze, she was still a little surprised when it was truly confirmed.
Just looking at his face, Mei could only comment that he was cute. Most children looked like this at his age, but his aloof and distant demeanor was even more pronounced now than in his future self.
"..."
"You... today..." Mei realized that she shouldn't make any aggressive moves toward a child, even if this child didn't act like one. She formulated her words, asking in a gentle tone, "Are your parents all right..."
"They died," Little Lin replied indifferently.
"..." Mei was momentarily stunned, then asked, "Aren't you sad?"
"This was the path they chose. Why should I be sad?"
"..."
An extraordinary coldness. Mei didn't see any human emotion in this child. The helmeted man in the Elysian Realm, who occasionally told bad cold jokes and played tricks on people, was more emotional than this child.
He spoke as if narrating an insignificant event. His eyes showed no trace of tears or any sign of imminent crying.
Little Lin's stomach growled. He looked up and asked, "Do you have money?"
"Are you... hungry?"
"Let's go. There should still be some restaurants open."
...
"Did you sneak out?"
Mei couldn't help but ask, watching Little Lin eat his ochazuke (tea over rice) with his head down.
"...Didn't you stop me?" Little Lin quickly finished a bowl of rice, put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and glanced at her with his black eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"You were the one who kept me where I was during the fire and wouldn't let me go," Little Lin's hands were neatly placed on his knees. "Do you have multiple personality disorder or amnesia?"
"..."
Mei understood.
The time jumps in this space might not be continuous between the last segment and the next, and she could also be thrust into a role to interact with the people inside.
"Are you so comfortable following me?" Mei asked in return.
"The best-case scenario for me is being sent to an orphanage. Your clothing looks expensive, and you seem interested in me. I think I can listen to what you want to do to me."
This little guy was truly so calm that he didn't seem to belong to this age group.
"What I want to do... I won't do anything to you." Mei's attitude towards a child naturally couldn't be the same as towards the cryptic people in the Elysian Realm who constantly threw veiled insults and riddles at her. She smiled gently. "However, Little Lin, can I ask you some questions?"
"Ask away." Little Lin nodded calmly.
"Do you remember the details of your life with your mom and dad?"
"Yes."
"What was your dad's favorite dish?"
"Braised eggplant. He liked extra soy sauce."
After asking a few basic knowledge and lifestyle questions, Mei confirmed that Little Lin's memory was intact. He wasn't just a simple projection or clone, and he was completely unaware that the city he lived in was a virtual space.
This meant that getting clues about this space from Little Lin was unrealistic.
While she was thinking about the next round of questions, Little Lin, who had only been simply answering, asked plainly, "Are you trapped in some place, or do you believe this world is fake?"
"You..." Mei's eyes widened in surprise.
"Your questions are heavily leading, as if you want me to notice some contradictions. And you've repeatedly asked if I feel something is wrong with this city and my experiences. It's not hard to guess." Little Lin looked at the empty restaurant. The owner hadn't come out since going into the kitchen. The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.
Mei composed her expression: "What if I say 'yes'?"
"The world you see is different from mine. Characters in a game don't realize they are in a virtual world. It's impossible to find a way out through me, just like you can't control a game character to come into reality."
Mei saw some of Lin's future self in Little Lin—his excellent analytical judgment and his composure regarding his situation all made this child more extraordinary than he looked.
"If you truly believe you are an outsider, then the key to finding a way out should be found in external objects."
Little Lin tidied up the dishes, jumped off the chair, and looked up at Mei's beautiful face.
Enlightened by his prompt, Mei also stood up from the chair and looked at Little Lin.
Actually, Little Lin's face looked cuter the more she looked at it. Perhaps it was the added charm of his detached aura. Mei couldn't resist reaching out to stroke his head. He didn't resist, taking it as payment for the meal.
"Little Lin, what will you do now?" Mei asked with a touch of pity.
Losing his family from a young age, now alone. He was even lonelier than she was when she was a child, and much younger. Even if he was precocious and didn't act like a child, she still felt sympathy for him.
The answer was already known from the adult Lin, but she still wanted to hear the path he intended to take from Little Lin at this moment.
Little Lin thought for a moment, looked out at the late-night street, and said softly, "...I'll go save more people."
"Why?" Mei was astonished.
"Because I saw that there are still people trapped inside."
Inside? Was he referring to the fire?
"My parents saved many people, but many others died in the fire, and they sacrificed themselves there. So I think I should go save more people in the future."
At this moment, the little boy seemed to turn into a truly innocent, naive child, saying something that only a child would take for granted.
Mei suddenly understood that Little Lin was not indifferent to his parents' death or confused about their abandoning him. On the contrary, he believed their choice then was right, and he should continue that righteousness.
Little Lin gazed into the distance. The night sky had no stars, as dark as the pupils in his eyes.
Mei's nose felt sore. She reached out and hugged the child, sighing as she stroked his head: "Do you want to cry?"
The child turned his head, looking at her in a daze.
"I don't know."
The child's tears fell like broken strings of pearls onto her hand.