Chapter 220 Love at the End of Lies The stars shining in the night...
Clang——
The cage was closed.
After entering the cage, Asayama Rika couldn't help but frown because of the bad smell inside.
I'm afraid no one has ever cleaned this place.
The basement was not breathable to begin with, and it was damp and stuffy. The water vapor, carrying the smell of fermented vomit, kept rising, which was simply disgusting to smell.
She straightened her skirt.
She had just been searched. Those people were afraid of her mother and didn't dare to be too rough with her, nor did they make any unnecessary moves or touch her.
Before she came in, she hid her cell phone among the miscellaneous items in the corner of the back door, so those people didn't find anything on her.
When will Axin come?
Asayama Rika sighed.
She turned to look at the little boy who had just been dragged out and put back in. The older girl was wiping the tears from his face, carefully avoiding the swollen spots and red scratches.
The boy sobbed softly. There were several other children in the cage, looking at Asayama Rika with eyes that ranged from curiosity to caution.
"Sister, were you also captured?"
The youngest one spoke. She was a little girl, about four or five years old, with a dirty face that only accentuated her sparkling, watery eyes, making anyone who saw them so soft-hearted.
Asayama Rika was about to speak when another little boy interrupted her, "Don't talk to her, Aoi! She's a bad guy, in cahoots with those guys out there. Didn't you see she knows the guy in the skull mask?"
"Oh." The little girl called Aoi lowered her head obediently. Although she didn't think this older sister was a bad person, she still had to listen to her brother Shota.
"I didn't mean any harm," Asayama Rika explained. She sat down against the wall at the entrance of the cage, and her light-colored skirt was immediately stained.
Asayama Rika didn't care. In her closet, there were many, many skirts... Each one was very expensive. Any one of them would cost a month's salary for an average Japanese worker.
She never cared if one or two of these skirts got stained; she would just throw them away and buy new ones.
But now, when she thought about how part of the money she had spent on these skirts came from the children in front of her, she wanted to dye them even dirtier. The dirtier the better, perhaps that would make her feel less guilty.
Asayama Rika thought that maybe she wouldn't wear any expensive clothes anymore.
"I'm not in the same group as those people outside. Otherwise, why would they lock me up?"
"But..." Shota was still alert, "I heard you say that you are also a servant of 'God'."
The people here do everything in the name of "God". Even when I was captured, I said that this was preparation for a sacrificial ceremony to "God".
Moreover, he has already finished the first grade of primary school and will soon be promoted to the second grade. The teacher specifically told them in the science class that they should be scientific and not superstitious.
The word "God" sounds like something superstitious and harmful.
Moreover, even if "God" really exists, seven-year-old Shota hates that "God" very much.
Why did they capture these little kids and lock them up in a dark dungeon?
And it also injured Xiaolu's face and arms!
Xiaolu was the boy who was pushed onto the altar.
He is five years old and still in kindergarten. He was just caught last night and is not very good at holding back his tears. He often cries when being comforted by the oldest girl in the group of children, Manrin.
Shota had a subtle dislike for him.
Xiao Kui is younger than him, but she wasn't even scared to tears! This guy is such a crybaby!
"If I didn't say that, they wouldn't let me in." Asayama Rika said seriously, "They would kill me directly, and the little boy who was caught just now would also die."
When the children heard the word "death", they all frowned.
Their simple ideas have not yet been mixed with so many philosophical thoughts. They just think that the word "death" sounds like something very bitter, astringent, and unpalatable, and it will make people cry out in pain after tasting it.
So they hate "death" as much as they hate bad food.
"Xiaolu, it's a good thing you didn't die." Aoi said innocently, "Mom said that after a person dies, they go to heaven. The water there is sweet. But I don't want you to die. If you die, I will never see you again."
"Even if there's sweet water to drink, don't go, okay, Xiaolu."
"Okay, okay, I don't want to die either, Aoi. That looks so painful." Xiaolu poked his head out of Marin's arms, his face still drooping, like a little bitter melon: "If I have to eat so many thorns to go to heaven, then I will never go!"
Shota curled his lips and thought:
Going to heaven is all a lie. When you die, you're thrown into a furnace and burned to ashes, or locked in a dark wooden box. You won't go to heaven.
But he said nothing, letting Aoi and Xiaolu share their childish fantasies.
Eight-year-old Marin paid more attention to the new older sister. She tilted her head and looked at Asayama Rika: "Are you here to save us, sister?"
Unlike some other kids, Marin knew what situation she was in.
Although she didn't know what the horrible torture device was used for, the unpleasant smell and yellow bloodstains in the room had already made Marin guess.
She was captured by bad guys who wanted to do something bad to them.
But even though she knew it, Zhenlin couldn't think of any way to escape from here.
The iron cage was always locked and would only be opened briefly when food was delivered to them; the adults outside were all wearing masks and had strong builds, and little Marin could not beat them at all; the dungeon was closed, and Marin was here when she woke up. She didn't know where she was, nor did she know how to convey the news that she was here to the outside world.
She was the first one to be caught. After her, it was Aoi, Shota, and Koji.
As the "big sister" among the children, Marin felt that it was her responsibility to escape with her friends.
Now, she finally sees hope after being at a loss.
Hope lies in this sister who came down from the sky and saved Xiaolu.
She seemed to possess that kind of—Marin didn't know how to describe it—the calmness of an adult?
This calmness made Zhenlin feel safe.
"Yes." Asayama Rika looked around. She didn't think anyone would have the time to place a bug in such a dirty, cramped place, so she leaned a little towards the children and whispered, "My friends are on their way. I came here to buy time. Once my friends get here, everyone will be rescued."
Marin: “Really?!”
When the child's eyes lit up, they looked like twinkling stars in the night sky. Asayama Rika thought so and smiled, "Really? We just need to wait here for a while."
"If you feel bored, I can tell you a story."
Now even Shouta became interested. "What kind of story? Don't try to fool me with fairy tales. I want to hear a detective story."
Detective story?
She wasn't actually interested in this type of novel. However, Ah Xin was very interested, so she knew a few of them. Ah Xin's bookshelf was filled with detective novels, and sometimes she would take notes on the strange cases in them and write down the murderer's principles.
Thinking of this, Asayama Rika was slightly stunned, and then her face darkened.
She suddenly thought, could it be that Kamijouji Shin was planning revenge, so he looked at every case in the novel so carefully?
"...If not, then forget it. Aoi and Koji would probably be scared anyway." Shota keenly observed the changes in Asayama Rika's expression, pursed his lips, and said awkwardly.
Asayama Rika came to her senses. "No, it's okay. I won't tell stories that are too scary or too bloody. So, let's start with a moving train..."
…
The children listened with great interest as Asayama Rika spoke slowly and clearly.
But Asayama Rika's heart sank as time passed.
She didn't know what went wrong, as Ah Xin still hadn't shown up.
Moreover, Taro Tomihara became visibly more and more impatient as he could not contact his mother and the guests above kept urging him.
He seemed to be planning to restart the ceremony.
He asked someone to clean the steel torture instruments, placed a clean stone basin next to them, and checked whether the pulley hanging from the ceiling was functioning properly...
Asayama Rika listened to the noise outside and felt very anxious.
She felt she couldn't delay much longer.
The fact that Asayama Hui has lost contact seems to make Tomihara Taro suspicious.
She exhaled and forced a smile at the children: "I'll tell you the rest after we leave here."
Aoi nodded obediently, then shook her head: "Sister, your voice is hoarse. You should wait until next time when your voice is better and tell us again."
Shota was a little unsatisfied. "You told the story very well. I've heard this story before, but your telling is more interesting than my own."
Marin kept looking at Asayama Rika with starry eyes, which made her a little shy: She had said before that children's eyes were like stars in the night sky, bright and beautiful, and it was impossible to ignore its existence.
As for Xiaolu... Xiaolu was dozing off.
His emotions came and went quickly. Earlier he was so scared that he kept crying, but now he fell asleep in Marin's arms.
The little head started to bump into Marin little by little, and then directly hit her, making Asayama Rika burst out laughing.
Asayama Rika touched Aoi's head, stood up, and patted the hem of her skirt.
Then he knocked on the bars of the iron cage with his knuckles, making some noise.
She had just seen Tomihara Taro go upstairs. There were fewer followers, and Asayama Rika guessed that this was their dinner time.
This was a good time… maybe she could try to seize it.
A believer who stayed by the cage door was stunned for a moment and walked towards the iron cage.
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