The Direction Determines the Will

So, there really is an answer to all of this?

It turns out that the normal life I had always longed for was actually something I could hope to find?

Xiao Xiao was filled with complex emotions. He stood on the overpass leading to the unknown outside the city and finished his cigarette.

Then, he got back into Yang Jia's car, his previous confusion gone, and his eyes looked brighter.

"Let's go back..."

Yang Jia only glanced at Xiao Xiao briefly before starting the car.

After this conversation, both of them seemed to feel a little more relaxed.

However, Xiao Xiao could still tell that Yang Jia seemed to have something on her mind.

He didn't dare to ask, but guessed that perhaps she felt guilty because she hadn't told him that besides becoming a stranger, there was another option: to continue living as an indigenous person.

This is actually not really necessary.

Didn't I already say that I wouldn't get angry at a woman who would let me hide behind her?

Besides, I can't beat her...

Of course, as a man, I still have a temper.

For example, Xiao Xiao was thinking to himself that he was never going to pay back those 100 points anyway...

On the way back, the two chatted for a while, including Xiao Xiao's experience that night and some things that puzzled him.

It wasn't until we returned to the heart of this bustling and vast city that things gradually quieted down.

Looking at this city, I feel very strange.

There are towering buildings, light rail lines running through the city, countless pedestrians and vehicles, and dazzling neon lights. All of this should be the scene that a normal person would see. At least from this angle, I can't see the city writhing or those twisted and Aberrant Creature. My perspective is exactly the same as that of the natives.

In fact, both sides are living within a huge, superficial facade.

The only difference is in our understanding of the world, right?

Xiao Xiao asked Yang Jia to take him to the hospital, since he still had to take care of his mother.

After learning about his situation, Yang Jia didn't say much. She bought some fruit and nutritional supplements from the 24-hour convenience store downstairs and brought them up with Xiao Xiao. However, her mother was still asleep and couldn't see this scene.

This gave Xiao Xiao a new idea.

Yang Jia's understanding of the world is deeper and far more resolute than mine.

However, she paid more attention to etiquette with the indigenous people than she did to herself, whether it was her first visit to her home or this visit.

In a way, this also seems to be an act of division?

Or perhaps it's her philosophy of life?

After seeing Yang Jia off, Xiao Xiao stayed at the hospital, determined to do his part.

Having witnessed the truth of the city alongside Yang Jia, he was now more inclined to accept the truth that the strangers believed in.

However, deep down, she couldn't let go of the bond she had with her "mother".

Her care for him was something he couldn't ignore, and even if the indigenous people's theory only had a one percent chance of being true, he still couldn't afford to miss it. Perhaps all the superficial things were unimportant; only his own inner feelings were the most important...

This feeling is so real; I need to take it to heart.

From another perspective, buying my mother now would actually be the best thing to do.

In this way, he could permanently possess this family affection and wouldn't have to worry about his mother showing that terrifying look after his points were cleared one day. However, Xiao Xiao just couldn't accept it. He deeply understood that whether it was buying it or the "pollution" in the other theory, it was an act that distorted his mother's own emotions and will.

This is a very subtle idea.

Everyone hopes that feelings are pure, Xiao Xiao longs for his mother's care for him.

But she didn't want her mother's concern to be seen as the City Will, or something achieved through distortion by the maternal body.

"Don't worry too much, you can go home and rest."

As I was pondering these questions, a girl's voice rang out beside me. "I asked the doctor, and your mother is fine. She just needs to rest. She won't wake up tonight. You can come back tomorrow and buy her some nutritional supplements."

Xiao Xiao looked at her concerned eyes and was stunned for a moment before he remembered that she was the nurse he had asked for help when he left.

... My bank card is still with her!

It seemed she really took it to heart, which made Xiao Xiao, who had calmed down, feel a little embarrassed.

At times, after spending too much time as a stranger in a foreign land, even if you don't treat everything like Hell Organization, where you can enjoy and destroy things at will, you might occasionally have a subconscious feeling of wanting to dominate and control others.

To put it bluntly, it still lacks respect for the individual indigenous people.

"Thank you..."

He whispered his thanks to the nurse, "I had to leave urgently just now, so I had to ask you for help."

"It's okay..."

The nurse pretended to check what was at hand while casually saying, "Taking care of patients is what I should do..."

"By the way, is that girl who just brought the fruit your girlfriend?"

"..."

"Girl?"

Xiao Xiao paused for a moment before realizing she was referring to Yang Jia, and quickly shook his head with a smile, "No, she's my... classmate."

"Okay..."

The young nurse blushed slightly and asked, "What do you do for a living?"

Me?

Xiao Xiao thought for a moment, about to say "dock," but then realized what he meant and laughed, "I work as a bouncer at a bar."

"?"

The nurse was stunned when she heard this.

How could such a quiet, handsome boy be a gangster?

But then I thought about it again and suddenly felt a little happy, "There will be many more opportunities to use my skills in the future..."

He urged, "Go back and rest now, you can come back tomorrow."

After all, chopping people up is a very tiring job, and you can't afford to neglect rest...

Under the nurse's gentle persuasion, Xiao Xiao agreed.

Having already paid all the medical bills, there was no point in staying here any longer. I should go home and prepare to bring my mother food tomorrow and also think about hiring a caregiver. So, after thanking the nurse again, I left the ward.

Looking at the time, it's almost dawn...

Night was slowly slipping away from the world, as if everything that had happened last night was just an illusion.

Xiao Xiao took a taxi home, washed up, lay down on the bed, and slept for a few hours.

For some reason, after all these intense conflicts, he felt a sense of peace. He no longer felt distant and conflicted about the world. Xiao Xiao his mother's concern for him for granted, and he felt at ease knowing that the three Pain Hound and the record player had been by his side when he returned home.

He recalled Yang Jia's explanation on the way back to the city:

"That's just a mental shielding ability. They can easily deceive you with this method, but they can't work on me because I can easily buy any native and possess abilities that exceed their shielding limits..."

"However, this group of indigenous people is also very clever; they have gone into hiding."

"They have been preventing us from finding their information and targeting them for purchases."

"However, although the people of the Black Forest do instinctively regard us as their greatest enemy many times, we don't need to take them too seriously. Just consider it as a kind of indelible malice that this city has given us."

"The most crucial thing is to resolve the Rotten Kingdom and inherit the Old Chairman's contract."

"And take what he left in his safe."

How much time do we have left to prepare?

"The countdown has already begun. Moreover, those terrified strangers are deliberately feeding the Aberrant Creature in the Rotten Kingdom. Every day we delay, we will face an even more terrifying Rotten Kingdom. It doesn't affect me much personally, but for Ruan Ruan, Little Four, and... you, the increased pressure from this delay will be a terrifying number."

"In that case, I will give you a guarantee as soon as possible."

"..."

Thinking of the imminent Rotten Kingdom, Xiao Xiao's mind gradually calmed down before he fell asleep.

The world is indeed full of mysteries and unknowns, but as long as you have a direction in your heart, you don't seem so lost, right?

You can always find back the life you once longed for.

What Xiao Xiao didn't know was that after Yang Jia left the hospital, her expression also became somewhat somber.

Once back in the car, she slowly drove through the city, which still shone brightly even in the dead of night. Her face was somber, as if she were walking outside the world. She was also recalling every detail of her conversation with Xiao Xiao. After a long while, she finally took out her phone.

The phone rang in that room containing only a brain and countless tangled pipes and wires.

A faint sigh seemed to be heard.

"Mister Ye, are you perhaps hiding something from me?"

Yang Jia's voice came into the room. "I don't want to discuss anything else, I just want to confirm one thing: if he really was just an ordinary Awakened, the Black Forest's special mobile team wouldn't have appeared in front of him in three minutes..."

"Moreover, their appearance wasn't for any particular reason, as I understand it..."

"... it's more like trying to convince him to believe their explanation of the world."

"..."

The gentle electronic voice seemed to pause for a moment before speaking, "I do have some questions that I haven't discussed with you."

"But that's because I can't make an accurate judgment either."

"..."

Yang Jia's voice was unreadable; she said softly, "What?"

The gentle electronic voice said, "He may have awakened four years ago, even earlier than you."

"And the first evidence of the so-called 'mother' was found in the Black Forest four years ago."

"..."

Yang Jia's voice suddenly became tense. "What does this mean?"

"I don't have enough clues to analyze the answer yet."

The gentle electronic voice said, "But the key may lie in whether the Black Forest is what prevented his awakening."

"Or perhaps, it caused his awakening!"