The Edge of the City

"Continue to live as an indigenous person?"

Upon hearing Yang Jia's words, Xiao Xiao suddenly had a thought.

If one can continue to live as an indigenous person, does that mean other indigenous people can also awaken and become outsiders? Then, are we all essentially the same thing? Are we monsters in human skin? Are outsiders, Shedding Skin indigenous people, and Aberrant Creature essentially the same, just having shed their disguises in a different way?

Yang Jia turned to look at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao thought of many things in an instant, but he didn't say them out loud. Only his eyes underwent a subtle change.

Yang Jia seemed to keenly notice the change in Xiao Xiao's expression. After a long while, she nodded slightly and said, "Yes, you may still have a soul from another land hidden deep inside your body. However, on the surface, you are no different from other natives, and the will of the city will not notice you. You can continue to live in your dream... until you wake up next time."

"In fact, even many strangers who have already awakened will choose this method to put themselves back to sleep."

"If you can temporarily forget about it, you can treat the false world as real, right?"

"..."

Is being in a deep sleep the same as the treatment the Suit Man mentioned?

If a relapse occurs after treatment, is it like waking up a second time?

Xiao Xiao couldn't help but have this thought, and felt a great sense of absurdity.

Everything the Suit Man said made her feel resistant from the bottom of her heart, yet she couldn't help but relate it to everything that was happening now.

While Xiao Xiao was deep in thought, Yang Jia sighed softly and said, "Will you blame me?"

Faced with Xiao Xiao's puzzled look, Yang Jia hesitated slightly and said softly, "Indeed, many strangers, after seeing this strange world, are filled with fear and anxiety day and night, and even only want to return to their slumber. As for you... I do have a way to let you continue to sleep, although I don't know whether you will face the next awakening or eternal slumber."

"If it's the latter, then your life would be different from what it is now."

"To you, the world seems unchanged."

"..."

"This..."

Only now did Xiao Xiao suddenly understand where Yang Jia's occasional expressions of guilt towards him came from.

The indigenous people immediately pointed out that they had been deceived by Yang Jia.

From their perspective, if they were led into this enormous illusion by Yang Jia, then it would indeed seem as if Yang Jia should bear all the responsibility. But deep down, they had different thoughts. After all, until attending that class reunion, their life and perceptions had been too distorted and false. It was Yang Jia who led them out of that endless nightmare.

In the silence, looking at Yang Jia appeared calm but was actually experiencing emotional turmoil, Xiao Xiao suddenly gave a bitter smile:

"Who would blame a girl who's willing to let you hide behind her?"

"Not to mention..."

Xiao Xiao looked at Yang Jia's face. "After all, you're not the kind of person who starts something and then abandons it; you're quite responsible..."

"?"

Yang Jia's expression was somewhat strange, but she realized that Xiao Xiao hadn't blamed her, and she felt a little relieved.

But pondering these strange words, I couldn't help but wonder, "Does going to university really have such a big impact on one's ability to express oneself?"

"Actually..."

Xiao Xiao also let out a long sigh before saying seriously, "For me, the most important issue is..."

Is this world real or fake?

Are we a group of people who have seen the truth of the world, or, as they say, a group of people who have been captured by illusions?

"..."

He asked this question very seriously.

He expressed his firm belief in front of the Suit Man, but he couldn't help but ask this question in front of Yang Jia.

"From the moment you embarked on the path of the Insightful One, perhaps it was all destined..."

After a moment of silence, Yang Jia sighed, started the car, and said softly, "This theory of the indigenous people is something that almost every outsider will encounter. I actually have many ways to prove to you the reality of our existence and to prove the flaws in their theory, but I think I'll use another method and let you judge for yourself!"

As they spoke, the car began to drive down the mountain road, heading towards that dazzling and enormous city.

Xiao Xiao curiously, "Where are we going?"

Yang Jia laughed and said, "I'll take you to really see this city."

With a somewhat surprised look on Xiao Xiao, she stepped on the gas, and the car began to accelerate rapidly.

Xiao Xiao calmly fastened his seatbelt and followed Yang Jia into the vast city. Before him appeared crisscrossing streets and all sorts of people. He saw tall buildings housing creatures living in cubicles.

He saw people hiding in the trash cans, secretly watching passersby, occasionally sticking out their bright, agile tongues.

Looking at the obese and bloated man, who was sitting at the long table in a sharp suit, with a beautiful, naked body in front of him.

I saw someone peel off another person's face, cover it with their own, and walk into the world with a satisfied heart.

Seeing the thin slave following behind his master, holding a bright red heart in his hands, yearning for his master to turn around and look at him.

The car kept moving forward without slowing down at all.

But as Xiao Xiao looked around, he kept seeing strange things. They existed in every corner of the city; some were normal, some were exaggerated, some were terrifying upon closer inspection, and some sent chills down his spine. He didn't know how he could be so coincident, seeing these things while the car was moving quickly. He wondered if Yang Jia had deliberately shown them to him...

But upon closer reflection, he suddenly realized that he had seen these things before.

It simply settled deep in my memory, and I even took it for granted, without realizing his falsehood.

As the car continued to drive forward, Xiao Xiao suddenly realized that he seemed to have arrived at the edge of the city. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, because he had thought countless times about what exactly existed on the edge of this city.

He once gazed into the distance from the dock, only to see the cold, gloomy ocean.

Meanwhile, people on the outskirts of the city, because of a lingering sense of unease, have never tried it.

But this time, Yang Jia brought him directly with her.

As the vehicle entered the highway leading out of the city, as if driving on an elevated bridge stretching into the night sky, Yang Jia stopped.

The vehicle screeched to a halt, and Xiao Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

I could almost hear the heavy, powerful sounds of blood flowing and muscles undulating.

Where is this?

When he asked the question, he vaguely felt that his voice was a little hoarse.

"A place where you can see the city clearly."

Yang Jia answered softly, "Be mentally prepared, don't be afraid..."

"Of course I'm not afraid..."

Xiao Xiao subconsciously thought, "I'm a man after all, how could I possibly..."

Then, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Pushing open the car door, encouraged by Yang Jia's gaze, he took a few steps forward and strained to look into the distance. As he took those steps, he saw everything in front of him peeling away, like Truman on a speedboat adrift on the ocean. When the bow of the boat bumped into the tall, boundless blue wall, the false world revealed its truth.

In just a few steps, Xiao Xiao saw the real scene rapidly distorting and changing.

It was as if there was only a curtain, and once I passed through it, I saw the truth.

He saw everything vividly: enormous flesh and blood tissue stretching across the dark red sky and earth; he saw thick, twisted blood vessels extending straight into the distant unknown, a world forever shrouded in dark red mist; he even saw other people trying to leave the city, who were all swept up by giant tentacles that descended from the sky and fell into a deep sleep the moment they tried to leave.

I saw a 100-meter-long train being engulfed in a massive mass of flesh and blood the moment it left the edge of the city.

Like the delivery of blood, it was instantly squeezed out to a greater distance.

"Our city is not the only one in this world."

Yang Jia's voice sounded behind Xiao Xiao, and she gently raised her hand, drawing a vague rectangular semi-transparent frame in the air in front of her. Then she slowly walked forward, took Xiao Xiao's hand, and whispered as she walked forward:

"There is also exchange and material transportation between cities."

"And what lies between the cities is the ever-red Mist Sea, Paradise where the Hell Organization and those pirates are active... I think nothing can better explain your doubts than seeing what's between the cities."

"..."

"Buzz..."

As Xiao Xiao's hand was held by her and they passed through the semi-transparent frame together, Xiao Xiao instantly felt his body accelerate.

It seemed as if a power not belonging to him had instantly been bestowed upon him, and he was sent flying into the air. When he fell, he landed on a huge, swollen blood vessel with a diameter of more than ten meters. Inside the blood vessel, one could even vaguely see a light rail being encased, and inside the light rail were passengers who had fallen into a deep sleep.

Yang Jia held Xiao Xiao's hand, helping him to steady himself.

Then, with her other hand, she pulled out a dagger, slashed downwards, tore open the surface of the blood vessel, and entered the light rail directly.

"Look, these are all indigenous people who are preparing to leave the city."

Yang Jia said softly, "Right now, they're probably having a wonderful journey in their dreams, aren't they?"

"Perhaps while eating hot pot and singing, you might occasionally glance out the window and see bright sunshine and a beautiful young woman..."

"When they return to the city, if you ask them what they think, they will say the same thing, even describing all sorts of details."

But what is the reality?

"..."

Yang Jia gave a slight bitter smile, "Outside the city, there is only a desolate Mist Sea and a train of flesh and blood."

"But this city will always give them the richest memories and the most authentic feelings."

"Just like they have always insisted that our feelings and experiences are merely illusions given to us by the mother..."