"What is the Abyss?"
When the boy asked that question, Mo Ling finally realized something was wrong.
"You don't know what the Abyss is?"
"I don't." The boy shook his head.
"Then how did you get into this city?" Mo Ling pressed.
"I was born here."
That answer startled Mo Ling again. He had not expected the boy to have been born in the Abyss.
"Where are your parents?" Mo Ling continued.
"I don't have parents."
"How could you not have parents? Who doesn't have parents?"
"I really don't. None of my companions and I have parents. We were all raised by our older brothers and sisters. The older ones raised the younger ones, and the younger ones raised those even younger. Once we could live independently, we joined the other companions in their activities. Now I'm the oldest among our group, so I'm the Boss."
"What about those older than you?" Mo Ling asked in disbelief.
At that question, a trace of sadness crossed the boy's face.
"Some were eaten by the Sky Soldiers. Some went to the center of the city. They wanted to find out the truth about this city, find the central hub that controlled the Sky Soldiers, and save the city. I originally wanted to go with them, but my ability was too important. They wouldn't let me go. They told me to stay behind..."
As he said that, the boy fell silent for a while and looked longingly into the distance.
That was the direction of the city center, and the direction his "older brothers and sisters" had gone.
Mo Ling looked at the boy and froze for a moment.
"Were the ones who taught you also those older brothers and sisters?"
"Yeah. They taught me lots of things—how to find food in the