Su Chen took the mask and went over to the little girl.
In an instant, space and time throughout the mall seemed to freeze.
Everyone stood motionless.
Su Chen walked up to the little girl and said gently, "Mengqi, Daddy's here to see you!"
"I brought you a present, too. Let's go out and play!"
Su Chen crouched beside the little girl.
He also put the Fox Mask on her.
He did not know whether he was imagining it.
Beneath the mask, a smile appeared on Mengqi's face.
Su Chen carried Mengqi out of the mall.
Outside the mall were plenty of places to have fun: an amusement park, a Roller Rink, and Snack Street.
When Su Chen had seen them before, he had not felt much.
Now.
Seeing these things again, he knew they were a little girl's dreams.
Mengqi had pieced these buildings together and brought them close to her.
She had thought that meant she could have them.
The apocalypse had come.
The amusement rides had lost power and looked lifeless.
Su Chen chose a slide that needed no electricity and set Mengqi down.
The two of them slid down together.
Su Chen had rarely played on these before, either, and laughed aloud after sliding down.
There was also a kiddie ride.
Su Chen put Mengqi inside and pretended to insert a coin.
Since there was no power, he tried rocking it himself.
"Pleasant Goat, Pretty Goat..."
Su Chen even began to sing.
"Pfft!"
Mengqi soon began to laugh.
Su Chen put skating shoes on Mengqi and let her try roller-skating.
And skateboarding.
Not every child had experienced these toys.
Su Chen was no exception.
Unfamiliar with them, he fell to the ground while playing.
That made Mengqi laugh.
Finally, taking Mengqi and a swimming ring with him, he stood up in the pool and walked toward the edge.
Su Chen did not know how long they had played.
Everything looked so warm and happy.
As Su Chen walked down the street, a grilled sausage cart appeared before him.
The important thing was that there were actually sausages on the cart.
Su Chen glanced at Mengqi.
He had already realized that Mengqi had prepared it especially for him.
After all, food should not exist in this space.
Su Chen had tried selling grilled sausages before.
He could not have been more familiar with a sausage cart.
With practiced ease, he turned on the gas and began heating the griddle.
Sizzle, sizzle~
There was only one sausage on the stall.
Su Chen carefully grilled that single sausage, and its rich aroma filled the air.
Once he finished grilling it, Su Chen crouched in front of Mengqi again.
"Mengqi, eat!"
Su Chen fed the sausage to Mengqi.
Holding the sausage, Mengqi lifted the Fox Mask and took a bite.
Then she offered it to Su Chen.
She wanted Su Chen to take a bite.
Su Chen had no qualms and took a small bite.
"You can eat the rest!"
After taking a small bite, Su Chen went to hand the sausage back.
He would let Mengqi eat it herself.
Just then, he felt a little dizzy.
Dizzy?
For some reason, Su Chen thought of the Awakening Sequence process.
His younger sister, Su Xi, and the police officer, Huang Wei, had slept for almost twelve hours.
Three hours!
Su Chen remembered that piece of information, which said he could only stay in Xintang Town for three hours.
He had already spent some time in this space.
And staying too long would cause trouble. It really would!
Su Xi would refuse to leave.
Su Chen practically forced himself to hold on, unwilling to fall asleep.
"Mengqi, Daddy doesn't want to sleep."
"Daddy has a younger sister outside."
"If Daddy doesn't go back, something will happen. I'll come back and keep you company another time, okay?"
Su Chen made a promise.
He did not know what kind of abilities the Mengqi before him possessed.
Or whether she had any other thoughts.
Now he could only take a gamble.
Now he could only beg Mengqi to help him solve the problem.
"Daddy!"
Su Chen heard a call.
Then some memories appeared in his mind.
In a hospital.
A little girl lay in a hospital room, able to see everything only through the window.
She had been in the hospital for as long as she could remember.
Although she had felt somewhat unused to being in the hospital, with her parents taking care of her, she had slowly grown accustomed to it.
But as her parents cared for her, they gradually began to argue.
Later, her parents never appeared together again.
And later still.
Neither of them ever appeared again.
It was as though the little girl had been forgotten in the hospital.
"Do you want to see Daddy and Mommy?"
One day, the little girl heard a voice in her mind.
After learning what Mengqi had been through, Su Chen fell somewhat silent.
This seemed even more miserable than being an orphan.
After all, if you had never had something, you would not care about losing it.
But once you had had it, losing it would hurt even more.
Su Chen hugged Mengqi tightly.
"Daddy, remember to come back!"
After the space around Su Chen shook, he appeared outside.
An image also appeared before his eyes.
A mirror, entwined with thorns, was locked in a dark space.
It could not escape at all.
The two seemed to be fighting.
When Su Chen opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the street.
There were some other survivors beside him.
Xiao Zixia, for instance.
But the blond-haired man was gone.
For some reason, Huang Qi had been left in that space by Mengqi.
Could she be taking revenge for me?
Tsk, tsk!
That blond-haired man, whose name was somewhat similar to Huang Wei's, had not done too many things wrong.
But clearly, he had not done too many things right, either.
That was why he had ended up like this.
"Su Chen!"
After appearing on the street, Su Chen also saw Yang Defa through his grogginess.
Or rather, he had been deliberately delivered to Yang Defa and the others.
Yang Defa and the others had been searching for Su Chen all along.
Once Su Chen appeared, Yang Defa seemed to have suddenly found someone to rely on.
"Take me back to the truck!"
Su Chen had not fallen asleep yet, but his body and mind felt heavier and heavier.
He needed to return to the refrigerated truck and give Su Xi some instructions.
Yang Defa did not dare delay.
Mainly because time was almost up.
After appearing in the town, Xiao Zixia also felt somewhat dazed.
Watching Su Chen being taken to the refrigerated truck, Xiao Zixia found it hard to believe.
Su Chen really did it?
Seeing Xiao Zixia and the other survivors, Huang Wei immediately called out to them.
"Get on first. We're leaving right away!"
Seeing that the sky was about to grow dark, Huang Wei was somewhat anxious, too.
They had found a school bus beside a kindergarten.
As it happened, Xiao Zixia and all those survivors boarded the school bus.
Before long.
Yang Defa and the others returned to the outskirts of town.
Su Chen also got into the truck.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Seeing her younger sister looking weak, Su Xi immediately asked.
"I'm fine!"
"We need to hurry now. Give me paper and a pen."
Su Chen had thought of the problem of guiding the way.
Once he passed out, he would have trouble guiding them, so someone else would have to do it.
Su Chen drew a simple version of the Escape Map.
Just as he finished drawing, Su Chen could no longer hold on and passed out.
After Su Chen fell asleep, Su Xi put him in the passenger seat.
She struggled over to the driver's seat.
Then the refrigerated truck actually started!
"Keep close to the convoy!"
Su Xi issued the order over the radio.
The entire convoy drove west along the road.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Suddenly, a north wind began to blow.
Blue snowflakes drifted through the air, the dreamlike flakes landing on the ground and forming frost.
The weather had changed, and it had come somewhat unexpectedly!
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