Louis, who had been sent back to class by the bird-beaked doctor, had already witnessed the wickedness of human nature, so naturally he wouldn't take the initiative to play with the other children, for fear of being tricked again.
Most of the play equipment was occupied by other children, so Louis decisively abandoned those and just strolled slowly along the cobblestone path next to it, constantly glancing at the hopping and skipping natives out of the corner of his eye.
As the chosen one who has survived to this day, Louis cannot rely entirely on talent.
Although his body has shrunk, his mind remains sharp. While he may not be an all-knowing detective, Louis can still glean many clues using only his intellect.
There are two relatively large groups of children in his class. One is the girl who had previously helped him, and its members are mostly female. The other is centered around a girl named Alice, and its members are mostly male.
In addition, there are some "retail investors" who basically operate independently.
Among the children who hadn't joined any groups, a few stood out to Louis. They seemed to fit in better with their age group than the others. One child, under Louis's watchful eye, climbed the slide for the fifth time, then slid down shouting with his arms outstretched, landing on the ground and bouncing around carefree, still eagerly anticipating the next time.
If someone is truly an adult, can they really enjoy these kinds of amusement facilities many times without getting tired of them?
Louis found this question difficult to answer.
Just as Louis was focused on the slide, a boy suddenly walked quickly towards them. Because the cobblestone path was narrow, the two children's shoulders bumped together.
Louis was more robust, and only shuddered slightly, taking half a step back.
The other person was less fortunate. He took three steps back, and even slipped, losing his balance and falling backward. Even though he frantically waved his arms, he still landed hard on his bottom.
"ah--"
His hand pressed on the pebbles, his tender skin hitting the hard stone, a sharp pain shot through his palm, and he instinctively cried out.
Louis panicked and quickly reached out to pull him up: "Are you alright?"
The boy who was bumped didn't reach out, but secretly glanced at Louis, then smiled and got up on his own, brushing the dust off his clothes: "What are you doing here? Why don't you go play with them?"
Seeing that he meant no harm, Louis didn't hide anything. He looked into the boy's eyes and said frankly, "I'm afraid they'll cause me trouble again, so it's better to stay away. And what are you doing here?"
“I’m going to check out the pond; I heard a noise there.” The boy casually put his arm around Louis’s shoulder. “My name is Claude (Cloud).”
“King.” Louis also exchanged names.
"Whoosh—that's a really cool codename," Claude whistled.
“Since we’re just killing time anyway, why don’t you come with me and take a look? I have a feeling there’s something wrong with that pond.” He leaned close to Louis’s ear and whispered mysteriously, “I’ve seen the teacher glance at the pond several times. There’s definitely something wrong there, I’m sure of it.”
“But the pond is dangerous…” Louis hesitated and quickly waved his hand.
"Tch, coward." Claude didn't try to dissuade him further, but simply let go of Louis's shoulder and walked alone along the gravel path towards the pond.
Louis thought for a moment, but ultimately followed after him:
"Claude, wait for me!"
At this moment, Claude had approached the pond and was peering into the water from the edge.
The calm surface of the pool was rippled by the breeze, and the waves rose and fell, creating layers upon layers that made the normal reflections appear somewhat fragmented.
The closer Claude got to the water, the clearer he could hear the sweet female voice, and his expression began to become dreamy.
Come on... come quickly...
Brother...you've been looking for me...I'm here...
Closer...closer...can you see me...?
It kept tempting Claude, causing him to gradually lean out of the water, his face getting closer and closer to the surface.
Suddenly, a pair of water-like hands reached out from the water, gently embracing Claude's face, and then abruptly pulled him into the water. In an instant, the pool water filling his mouth and nose brought Claude back to his senses, and a strong will to survive made him struggle to swim to the surface.
However, the next second, Claude's ascent came to an abrupt halt, as if countless hands had grabbed his arms and legs.
Claude struggled to open his eyes in the water and tried to kick away the hands, but when he finally saw what they were, he was so frightened that he wet himself.
A group of "water ghosts," their heads swollen from being submerged, their faces contorted in grotesque expressions yet still managing a smile, scrambled to grab his body, uttering a voice familiar to him:
Brother...you've found me...
Hehehe...
"That's great...you've finally come to keep me company..."
Claude felt his brain begin to lack oxygen. A young child's body already lacks strength, not to mention the pool water was extremely cold, and his own body heat was being lost second by second.
"teacher--"
"Claude has fallen into the water!"
A sound, filtered through the water and diluted by the liquid, reached Claude's increasingly weary ears, sounding as if it came from another world.
It was the "King," and he followed.
Claude closed his eyes.
Louis paced anxiously along the pond's edge. From his perspective, he only saw Claude lean over the edge of the pond, suddenly lose his balance, and plunge headfirst into the water, splashing everywhere.
He ran to Ms. Maria and told her what had happened. However, Ms. Maria did not rush into the pool to save the person. Instead, she glanced at her surroundings and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go find security." Then she quickly ran towards the kindergarten gate.
"Is the water really that deep?" Louis wondered, and then anxiously walked back to the edge of the pond.
His shout caused quite a commotion, and it was hard for the other students in the class not to notice him. However, the children continued to play by themselves, and no one followed him away from the small square.
Louis returned to the vicinity of the pond and saw that the water was still bubbling. He instinctively leaned over, trying to see through the water whether Claude, who was submerged, could still be saved.
However, the pond was deserted.
Only a few red carp swam freely in the pond, wagging their tails.
"Strange, where is Claude?"
Louis was only puzzled for a second before he quickly realized the problem. He was so frightened that he took several steps back, gently touching his fragile heart as he looked at the pond that he had quickly moved away from.
It's not too strange that Claude's body isn't in the water, but his own reflection isn't there either!
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