When her vision returned, Cheng Shuang was already standing outside a massive, ancient gate that towered into the sky. It was pitch black all around, except for a faint light that suddenly appeared at the gate.
The light suddenly stopped and only started flashing again after a long time, as if hesitating about something, like a little star twinkling. This made the little girl worry that this big thing was too old and should be sent for repair and maintenance.
She looked around but didn't see Du Jun. The Gate of Reincarnation didn't seem to be opening either. She stepped forward, stretched out her arm on tiptoe, and politely knocked on the door.
The Gate of Reincarnation seemed to be awakened, and immediately became brightly lit.
"Hello, is this the gate to 'Come, drift with the current'?" The little girl's voice was clear and crisp, the last syllable of her voice echoing.
Above the empty doorway, a line of words appeared in response—
Welcome to the Land of Death, maintained by C-BLD1, Cheng Shuang.
#Gate of Reincarnation: Huh, where is everyone? Where is everyone? Oh, they're too short, I can't see them! #
The door slowly opened, creaking loudly and unpleasantly, the sound amplified in the otherwise eerily quiet place.
Like a ghost.
The little girl's shadow was elongated, all alone, as if she were about to be swallowed up by the darkness behind her.
Fortunately, Cheng Shuang has always been brave and unafraid of the dark. Her expression was calm yet tinged with a touch of innocent curiosity, like a guest visiting a child's home, quietly waiting for the owner to open the door while holding her teddy bear.
However… she pouted, tilted her head back, and looked up at the threshold that was higher than her head… The space inside the door was brightly lit, drawing people in.
Cheng Shuang thought for a moment, then, without being discouraged, put the bear cub into her spatial storage. She then used both hands and feet to climb the door, panting and struggling. Just as she had climbed halfway up, a small receipt fell out of her pocket and stuck to the door threshold.
The enormous gate, seemingly endless, suddenly shrank to its normal size, and the little girl, due to the abrupt change from high to low, rolled uncontrollably through it.
"Wow! What kind of entrance is this?!"
With a mischievous laugh, her backpack was lifted up by a pair of large hands, leaving her suspended in mid-air.
The little girl didn't struggle. She first looked around at the sudden new environment with her big, innocent, dark eyes.
The massive, ancient gate to reincarnation has vanished without a trace, replaced by a wide, bright corridor.
The corridor floor was covered with a simple yet durable carpet, while the walls on both sides were luxuriously decorated with golden, carved soundproof wallpaper. Every so often there was a door, all of the same size, tightly closed.
She strained to look back, and realized that she had rolled out of the 'house'.
After a quick glance, the furniture and furnishings inside the room seemed to be no different from those in a hotel room.
Based on the note that read "Come on, let's drift with the current," Cheng Shuang guessed that she was probably on a cruise ship or in a hotel in a scenic area.
The little girl immediately became dejected, and couldn't help but think of her older sister. They had originally planned to take a ferry trip within China to relax after her sister and her friends returned from their graduation trip, but...
She was determined to find her way home. The little girl silently vowed that she would never again cause her parents sleepless nights worrying about her disappearance.
"Put this child down! She's too young, she's definitely not one of us." A woman's voice, which wasn't young, spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
With a lift of the large hand holding her, Cheng Shuang's face was now directly facing the owner of that hand.
A young man with white hair had a sparkling diamond stud hanging on his right earlobe, and the stud suddenly flashed.
She was about to take a closer look when someone grabbed her chin, and her gaze was inevitably drawn to the young man's face.
The man with delicate features had a pair of slightly narrow, narrow eyes that were not large but exceptionally bright. The shape of his eyes curved upwards, giving him a perpetually smiling appearance. His tone was lively. "Ah? So you really are a child. Are you really this thin and small for twelve years old? I'm so sorry, I thought you were faking it!" He apologized, but then immediately let go of her hand.
Fortunately, there was a thick carpet on the floor, so although Cheng Shuang fell, it didn't hurt too much. Her face was pale as she watched the man and woman walk to the end of the corridor and down the stairs without even turning their heads.
They didn't seem close, but the young man stayed close to the middle-aged woman.
Not lovers, not relatives, two completely unrelated people...
Cheng Shuang slowly raised her head. She must be a maintainer from the same rest stop! She seems to have more experience than the others at their rest stop!
Then the little girl stood up, dusted herself off, returned to her room, locked the door, and carefully observed her new surroundings.
The room wasn't big, but it was well-equipped with everything you could need, including an LCD TV, a mini-fridge, a bathtub, and a dryer. Most importantly, it also had a balcony.
She exclaimed in surprise as she pushed open the frosted balcony door.
The azure sea and sky come into view.
The view where the sea meets the sky is breathtaking. A gentle sea breeze carries away the heat, instantly lifting one's spirits. The frosted glass partitions on both sides of the balcony create the illusion of a full sea view while also effectively protecting the privacy of each room.
After glancing at it for a moment, Cheng Shuang didn't linger. She locked the balcony door and went back inside. She then went directly behind the door and silently memorized the emergency evacuation plan posted on the door panel.
The emergency evacuation map only shows the structural layout of this floor, which is marked NO6.
There were brochures on the TV cabinet introducing the various functional areas of the ship. The little girl turned around, grabbed them, and looked at them as she walked out.
Just as Cheng Shuang had imagined, this was a cruise ship with a total of eight decks.
Basic facilities, such as restaurants, bars, cinemas, gyms, arcades, and duty-free shops, are almost all located on the top floor. Some snack shops and beverage shops are scattered across the first, third, fifth, and seventh floors.
Before opening the door, she stopped, took out a teddy bear from her storage compartment, poured the snacks from her backpack onto the cabinet by the door, kissed the teddy bear, and stuffed it into her bag.
Her room number was A6058, located in the middle, and the door lock was a fingerprint lock. The elevator was to the left of the door, and the stairs were to the right.
The little girl went straight up the stairs so she could stop and observe the place at any time.
The cruise ship is so big that spending time looking for companions is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Cheng Shuang wasn't in a hurry to meet up with Du Jun, because they were sure they'd bump into each other at the only free buffet restaurant. She decided to gather some information first; the tickets provided very little information, so she had to rely on herself for everything.
There is a clock at the end of each corridor; the current time is 10:30 AM.
The buffet restaurant serves lunch at 11:00 AM, and breakfast is served from 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
When Cheng Shuang reached the seventh floor, she encountered a figure dressed in a uniform... a line figure.
He is a pure line-skinned person.
It stretched out its firewood-like fingers and knocked on the door of the first guest room closest to the corridor, making a dull thumping sound.
The one who opened the door was also a line figure.
Great, now we can clearly distinguish who the maintainers are and who the natives are.
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