Chapter 1 Are you my hero? How boring...

I'm so bored.

I'm so bored.

After the Pinocchio incident, the train crew isn't in a hurry to depart. You've finished your tasks and there's no world to save anymore, so you spend your days polishing the glass of the weapons display case until it shines, and kindly picking up a few shed Pam feathers, planning to collect enough to make a felt blanket to give the train conductor a fright.

Go find March 7th to play.

The pink-haired girl was engrossed in making a journal, leaning over the table. "I'm organizing the photos from this adventure. Why don't you try it too?"

"No, no," you quickly waved your hand. "I'm already sick of the Dream Passport, I won't try it again this time."

Go and chat with Danheng.

“Perfect timing. If you have nothing to do, you can help me enter this new data.” Dan Heng nodded to you and then buried himself back in his work at the think tank.

...What is this? You never even look at the files you pick up normally, so how could you possibly read these things?

You are not speaking. You are expressing your resistance through your will.

After receiving no response for a long time, Dan Heng looked up and stared at you speechlessly for a few seconds before giving up. "...Sigh, I'll tidy up. You go have fun."

When you don't want to speak, no one can make you open your mouth. Teacher Danheng truly understands your will.

Go tease the old Japanese.

“You can call me Sunday…” Old Sun seemed to have something to say, but when he met your bright eyes, he swallowed his words in the end. “…Never mind, whatever makes you happy, teacher.”

But it seemed Lao Ri was writing in his diary. Although you're usually a bit abstract, you still know how to maintain social boundaries, so you didn't bother him and turned back to your room.

...How boring.

Just as you were dozing off by the bedside, your phone suddenly beeped with a text message notification.

It was Silver Wolf, and she seemed very excited:

Hey, I found a new game that looks really fun. It's not officially launched yet. Want to give it a try?

[think! ! ! ]

Akivili knew you were getting bored to the point of becoming a garbage can! You suddenly sat up in bed with a start and quickly typed a reply.

[What game?]

Without saying a word, Silver Wolf sent you a link.

[Oh, you'll see once you play it. I know this game company very well; their games are all pretty good. I'm not playing for now; Kafka keeps urging me to play. Remember to help my alt account level up later, okay? Bye-bye.]

[Bye-Bye. ]

Silver Wolf is acting a bit strange. You scratch your head; he must be on a mission.

But since Silver Wolf said he'd take her along in this game… it must be some kind of action game that requires high skill, right? Like a competitive one? You were a little worried you might not be good at those, but the joy and excitement of finally finding something to do overshadowed your hesitation, and you eagerly clicked the link—

"Clang clang clang—ding—"

The game's theme song was unexpectedly gentle. It seemed to be a country music tune, with a bright guitar leading the way, followed by a lingering violin, the pitch gradually rising, like the wind blowing open a vast wheat field, the wheat waves surging freely under the azure sky.

The melody rose to its highest point and then slowly descended. The loading bar on the screen finally reached its end, and you were surprised to find that the scene on it was an endless wheat field, with heavy ears of wheat bowing their heads, showing off another year's harvest.

You tapped your phone, and the wheat fields automatically parted to the sides, revealing a figure at the end.

You're on high alert! Is the final boss about to appear?! Where's your weapon? Where's your weapon? Where can I see the map, my experience level, and my equipment?

...

"Are you my hero?"

However, a cute, soft voice came from behind.

At the end, a little white-haired, blue-eyed creature appeared, squinting and smiling at you, revealing a set of healthy, big white teeth.

What is it?

Your hand trembled, and your phone nearly hit your face. Luckily, you reacted quickly, frantically straightening the screen and staring wide-eyed in horror—

Is this tiny thing, barely bigger than a nose, a level boss?

It seemed the chaos of the fight had poked the little boy's face; his soft cheeks flushed slightly, and he looked a little shy. "Why...why did you poke my face the moment we met..."

[Welcome to the White Calamity Raising Simulator!!!]

Accompanied by another burst of enthusiastic sound effects, several eye-catching large characters suddenly appeared at the top of the screen, golden and flashing with iridescent lasers, almost blinding.

[Please take care of Bai'er until he grows up! During this time, please play the role of his "hero" and accompany him through a carefree childhood~ Your choices will have a huge impact on his life~]

...What's going on? It turns out it's not a competitive game, but a simulation game.

You silently open Silver Wolf's chat window:

[How do simulation games guide you?]

[Warning! Error sending, object does not exist! Warning! Error sending, object does not exist!]

It seems she deleted the signal she left behind again. Is she really that cautious? You two have been through so many life-or-death battles in games, forging a strong bond of friendship.

You sighed and logged back into the game. The little white dumpling was still standing there, staring at you without blinking.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" He looked young and a little nervous. "Don't you like me?"

...Oh my, she's quite cute.

Your heart skipped a beat, and a smile involuntarily crept onto your face. A dialog box appeared at the top of the screen, prompting you to enter some text:

[No one dislikes you. You're adorable.]

"...I'm not cute at all, I'm going to be a hero when I grow up!" Although he was happy to be praised, he still tried his best to control the blush rising on his face. "I should be handsome!"

[How old are you? ]

"I'm six years old this year." A gust of wind lifted Xiaobai's bangs, and he hurriedly covered them to protect his forehead, then peeked at you through his fingers. "But I've been training hard to get stronger! Xilian said I've made a lot of progress lately—"

“Ah, Xilian is my good friend,” he added. “We both live in the Ai Li Mi Xie. The Ai Li Mi Xie is our home, and I especially love it here… But I wish you could come and see us too. Today is the first time you’ve spoken, but I still want to see what you look like… We can definitely become very good friends, no, very good partners!”

"Hmm, but if you're a hero too, won't you be very strong?" He quickly frowned and pondered. "Then won't you look down on me first...? I'll become stronger when I grow up! Please don't look down on me yet..."

Whether you dislike his abilities or not is unknown, but at this moment you shifted your gaze from that cute little face to his clothes and fell silent.

...Now you're genuinely starting to dislike his fashion sense. What kind of color combination is this? Bright purple with earthy yellow? Having just experienced the decadent, hedonistic lifestyle of Pinocchio, you're frowning at the sight.

The game music, as if it could read your mind, started ringing out again.

[Ta-da! It's time for the interactive segment!]

Want to interact closely with Little White Urchin? Feed him, talk to him, dress him up, teach him... and many more ways to play await you! Come and try it out~^^

Suddenly, several buttons and a string of information appeared on the game interface with a series of bangs.

Name: Bai E (??????)

Gender: Male

Age: 6

Identity: Villager of Ai Li Mi Xie (???)

Combat ability: 15/100 (Comment: This is quite good for a child of this age)

Charm rating: 60/100 (Comment: It seems to be related to the clothes she's wearing...)

Please select: [Feed], [Clothes], or [Tutorial]

Without hesitation, you clicked on [Change Outfit].

"Eh...? Do we need to change clothes?" Little White looked a little disappointed. "But I think I look really good like this."

[...It's fine to wear it at home.] Seeing the disappointed look on that cute little face, your conscience pricked you, and your typing fingers trembled for a moment. But in the end, the impact of the ugly clothes overcame your guilt. You took a step back, but still firmly said: [Leaving the village is out of the question.]

"Oh." He nodded blankly, completely unaware of how many people would ridicule his fashion sense in the future.

“Bai’er—come home for dinner—” someone called to him from afar.

Little Whitey glanced back, then looked at you, seemingly reluctant to part.

"If I come back later, will you still be here?"

He asked tentatively.

"Because today is the first time you've spoken to me... When I come back after dinner, will you just stand next to me like before, a mere shadow, and stop talking to me?"

Of course I'll be here.

You simply can't resist his bright, sparkling eyes. What's wrong with waiting a little while? What's wrong with waiting a little while? Do any other members of the train crew have children? Can they wait for their children to eat?

But you did it. You truly are amazing.

"We can pinky swear," you said.

"Okay!" Little Whitey laughed again, easily coaxed, his eyes narrowing into slits, revealing his two rows of clean, white teeth without any hesitation. "Then it's a deal, the one who leaves the other first is the puppy!"

You touched his outstretched fingertip through the screen, unaware that you were also laughing.

*

"What happened today? You seem so happy."

Bai'er's mother brought the food to the table. The setting sun began to sink into the distant wheat fields, turning the originally golden ears of wheat orange.

The wind whistled across the fields, past the spinning windmills and the backyards piled high with drying grain, creating a faint, almost unreal tranquility.

"Eat slowly, be careful not to choke."

"I met a super important person today—!" Little Whitey said, shoveling rice into her mouth as she mumbled, "She was just as gentle and strong as I imagined..."

"I want to become a hero like her someday!"

"Okay, okay."

The mother and father both laughed.

“Our Bai’er will definitely become a great hero in the future.”

A note from the author:

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