Listening to the little boy's words, they all felt a little strange. How could a ten-year-old child be so mature, with a sense of vicissitude in his voice?
“How do you know there might be another world out there?” Patrick asked.
"Naturally, it's been passed down orally from generation to generation. Our ancestors may have come from the outside world a thousand years ago, but that's too far back," the little boy said with emotion.
Then he looked at the crowd, "However, I never imagined that just as I was about to return to the embrace of fate, I would see outsiders! People who truly came from the outside world!"
His expression became agitated, and his hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.
“We are indeed from out of town. Could you tell us about the town?” Phil Gray asked.
“There’s nothing to introduce, just see for yourselves.” The little boy walked ahead, quickening his pace. “The townspeople will definitely welcome you. It’s a miracle! The goddess of fate has finally remembered us forgotten people!”
The group followed the little boy, hurrying towards the town.
Upon reaching the entrance to the town, they saw an old man sweeping away the fallen leaves. He froze upon seeing the unfamiliar group of people, then his eyes lit up when he saw the little boy. "Grandpa Jack, where have you been these past few days? Who are they? I think I've forgotten. Can you introduce them to me? I'm sure I'll remember everyone in town this time!"
The little boy stepped forward and said, "Stop cleaning! These are people who came in from the outside world. Go and tell your family!"
"What? The outside world?" The old man dropped the broom in his hand and screamed as he ran away.
Just then, another group of people passed by, young and old. When they saw their unfamiliar faces, they all exclaimed in surprise, and they were surrounded by more and more people.
"Don't you guys feel something's off? The elderly here are acting like children, and the children are being called 'Grandpa' by the elderly!" Mrs. Dean covered her mouth.
“That’s true. What’s going on?” Phil Gray was also puzzled.
"How old are you this year?" Patrick patted the little boy on the shoulder as he talked with the villagers.
“It’s seventy-seven. Wait a little longer, the mayor will be here soon,” the little boy replied.
“Seventy-seven? Oh my god, everyone here is aging in reverse! The older they are, the younger they seem!” Patrick exclaimed in surprise.
The others also wore expressions of disbelief.
Even the most experienced leader showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
As they were surrounded by layers of people who looked at them like they were watching monkeys, the mayor the little boy had mentioned finally appeared; he was also a little boy.
With golden hair and a slightly chubby face, she looked quite cute.
His arrival silenced the gossiping townspeople.
"They are indeed outsiders!" The mayor was also extremely excited. He looked the strangers up and down. "How did you get through that barrier?"
“In our world, there’s a cave. If you put the Flower of Destiny into a hollow in the cave, you can enter directly,” Phil Gray replied, looking at the blond boy in front of him, finding it hard to believe that an old man’s soul actually resided in his body.
"Flowers of Destiny, are you all followers of the God of Destiny?"
Phil Gray glanced at the others, the apostates present, unsure whether he should answer yes.
"No, there are also followers of other gods."
"Other gods? There are other gods in the outside world?" This answer sparked another round of noisy discussion among the townspeople.
"Quiet!" the mayor ordered.
“Come with me, this isn’t a good place to talk.” He led the group along the town’s road, with a large number of residents following behind them.
They looked around at the town's buildings, which seemed no different from the houses outside.
"A thousand years ago, our ancestors came here and could never leave," the mayor lamented. "This is the price of angering the gods!"
"What? Was your ancestor named Duke Pope?"
Phil Gray asked.
"He was one of them, but there were several other families that came in back then, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to survive to this day."
“How could he have angered the gods? Didn’t he offer them fine wine and accept their blessings?” Patrick wondered.
The mayor stopped. "I don't know. It happened so long ago, and we know very little about it. All we know is that we were imprisoned here because we angered the gods."
Following the town mayor, they learned about the town's basic situation. There are about a thousand people in the town now. Because this place is isolated and there are no outsiders, they all engage in consanguineous marriage, and more and more newborns are dying. They also learned that people who come here do look old when they go out, but gradually grow younger and younger until they turn back into babies and face death.
“That’s amazing!” Patrick exclaimed.
Phil Gray followed the group with a solemn expression, not uttering a word. Ever since he entered the town, he had heard the whispers of the god of fate, the words of wisdom he had heard after breaking through to the Listening level: "They don't deserve this fate."
Could my chance to break through to the next level lie here?
Does "they" refer to the residents of the town? How can this proverb be fulfilled? How can their fate be changed?
Phil Gray looked at the town with a headache.
"After Duke Pope received the divine light of the scales, what happened that angered the gods?" Eli muttered to himself.
The town mayor arranged accommodations for them and provided them with various kinds of food. The townspeople waited outside the mayor's house, watching them expectantly. Some even clamored to come in, but the mayor chased them away.
"Do you have a way to get out?" the mayor asked them expectantly.
The group exchanged bewildered glances. The leader spoke up, “This is an independent space, maintained by a core. Only by finding the core of this space can we discover a way out.”
The mayor was silent for a moment, then said, "I have been to every place here, and I have never seen the so-called core area you mentioned."
He looked at the crowd again, his smile somewhat chilling, "Actually, it's better that we can't get out. We have many beautiful girls here for you to choose from. At least the town won't perish so quickly."
"What? We're going out?" Patrick's eyes widened.
"Yes, it would be best if we could get out." The mayor nodded. "I'll go ask my other old comrades to see if they know of any place that might contain the core you're talking about."
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