Chapter 53 The Original Family and the Forgotten Dreams in Becoming Hope...
Before becoming the curator of Hope Town, who was in charge of everything from astronomy and geography to food and drink, Lin Yue was just a little boy named Lin Yue.
He lived in a very, very big house, where there were many, many children, and a woman who was always smiling and was called the Director Mama. The adults called that house the orphanage.
The orphanage was nice; there was food, clothes, and books to read. But he still envied Xiaoming because Xiaoming's father would pick him up and drop him off at school on a cool motorcycle. He also envied Xiaohong because Xiaohong's mother would braid her hair into pretty pigtails.
He has neither a father nor a mother.
"Lin Yue is an orphan, without parents, and nobody wants him."
There were always one or two mischievous boys who would mock him with sharp and sarcastic words. Whenever this happened, Kobayashi would clench his fists, pretend he didn't hear, and run away by himself.
It was a summer afternoon, the sunlight filtered through the leaves like scattered gold, and cicadas chirped tirelessly. He saw several boys older than him, amusing themselves around a small creature.
It was a very small, filthy black cat. It was skin and bones, and one of its legs seemed to be injured. It was helplessly curled up in the corner, making weak hissing sounds at the sticks and stones being extended towards it.
Looking at that kitten, it was as if he saw himself, isolated from the whole world. At that moment, Kobayashi Yue didn't know where the courage came from, he rushed over, opened his arms, and used his small body to shield the kitten.
"Don't bully it!" he shouted, his voice trembling slightly with tension.
The boys were startled by his sudden action, then burst into laughter: "Oh, trying to be a hero? Well, you're just like this stray cat, nobody wants you!"
That afternoon, Lin Yue, who was always timid, got into a fight for the first time in his life. He was beaten black and blue, and his clothes were torn, but he had a small black cat in his arms that was also injured and unwanted.
He named it Xiao Hei (Little Black). Simple and straightforward, just like himself.
Pets weren't allowed at the orphanage. So Xiao Lin hid Xiao Hei in a cardboard box filled with old books under his bed. He carefully used the medicine provided by the orphanage to clean Xiao Hei's wounds, and then made it a little nest out of his own clean old clothes.
From that day on, Xiaolin had her first real family.
Every day after the lights were turned off, he would quietly climb out of bed and talk to the pair of bright eyes in the cardboard box, telling them about his dreams.
"Xiao Hei, do you know what? In the future, I'm going to build a really, really big house, bigger than the orphanage. That house will be my own home."
"In my home, there will be a very, very big kitchen, where I will make lots and lots of delicious food. Roasted chicken legs, braised pork, and sweet cakes."
"In my home, there will be many, many more rooms. If... if I encounter any more homeless poor souls like us, I will take them all in. That way, we will have many, many more family members, and we will never be alone again."
"At that time, I will be the head of this family."
The little boy's voice, soft yet firm, echoed in the quiet night. The little black cat in the cardboard box listened silently, without uttering a sound. But from an angle unseen by Kobayashi, a fleeting, indistinct, cold blue light flashed in the depths of its pupils.
Kobayashi would always secretly hide the meat or eggs from his lunch and take them back for Kokoro. But strangely, Kokoro never ate anything he brought back. It would just stay quietly in the cardboard box, watching him, as if keeping him company in a way that Kobayashi couldn't understand.
Several days passed like this. One morning, when Kobayashi thought things would continue like this forever, he discovered that the cardboard box was empty.
Little Black has disappeared.
He searched every corner of the orphanage, wearing his knees raw and crying until his eyes were red, but he could never find the little black cat again.
It came and went silently, leaving only a faint, slightly painful scratch in his childhood memories.
Later, Lin Yue grew up. He was very ambitious and got into a good university, studying engineering. Because he had no family ties, he chose the most arduous but also the most lucrative job: construction work. He spent all year surrounded by steel and concrete, watching skyscrapers rise from the ground and projects be successfully completed under his guidance.
He became known to others as a young, promising forest worker with a bright future.
He also turned into a tireless ox or horse that only knew how to make and save money.
The dream about home that he made to a little black cat in the dark during his childhood had long been forgotten in a corner of his memory.
...
Lin Yue suddenly opened his eyes.
Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The morning in Hope Town carried a fresh scent of earth and grass.
He blinked, somewhat bewildered, feeling as if he had just had a very long dream. In the dream, there seemed to be a small, lonely version of himself, and a black cat?
However, the details of the dream were unclear.
"Strange..." He rubbed his throbbing temples. "Why would I have such a dream?"
Just then, the familiar semi-transparent system interface suddenly popped up before his eyes without warning. Unlike before, today, the border of the system interface was flashing with a mechanical and cold blue halo.
That light resembled a fleeting scene from the depths of his dream.
Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
[Ding! Good morning, host. The early bird catches the worm; a new challenge has been set, please check it promptly.]
[Main Quest Update: [The Industrial Pulse of Hopetown]. Quest Objective: Successfully establish and stably operate a water-powered advanced forging workshop. The workshop must utilize water power to drive bellows and forging hammers, increasing steel production efficiency to more than five times that of manual labor.]
Side Quest Issued: [The Beginning of Voice of Hope]. Objective: Establish a basic wired telegraph system connecting the core area of Hope Town. Successfully train several telegraph operators skilled in sending and receiving basic signals to achieve real-time transmission of critical information within the town.
Before Lin Yue could even complain about the system assigning him KPIs so early in the morning, Uncle Stone Fist's thunderous roar echoed from outside:
"Lin Yue, you brat, the sun's already high in the sky and you're still not up? Those little rascals are going to eat all the freshly baked cream cakes. If you don't get up soon, you'll be eating potato skins!"
Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open with a "bang".
A little boy with short, grayish-white hair, who looked only five or six years old but had unusually bright and sharp eyes, toddled in. He was wearing a small outfit made of soft animal hides, barefoot, and his face still had the rosy glow of someone who had just woken up.
Upon seeing Lin Yue, a bright smile immediately bloomed on his cool little face, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth. Then, he climbed onto Lin Yue's bed on all fours, making muffled, childish calls: "Lin...Lin Yue, hug, hungry."
"Xiao Fen! You little rascal..." Lin Yue chuckled helplessly and affectionately, picking up the clingy little girl in one go. Xiao Fen immediately clung to him like a koala, tilting her cool little face up, opening her mouth, and pretending to lick Lin Yue's face.
"Hey, hey, stop! How many times have I told you? Don't lick my face, it's unhygienic." Lin Yue quickly covered the small mouth that was coming closer with his palm, feeling the warm, wet touch from his palm, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Outside the door, Gray's tall figure appeared. He leaned against the doorframe, watching the two, one big and one small, playing around inside.
"Lin Yue, Uncle Shi Quan said that the first batch of cement clinker today turned out exceptionally well, with a much higher quality than before. He wants you to go over there as soon as you finish breakfast to discuss how to lay the foundation for the three-story building you mentioned earlier."
"I know, I know, you're like a death knell." Lin Yue, holding Xiao Fen who was still squirming in his arms, struggled to sit up.
Sunlight streamed in through the simple window, bathing everything in the room in a warm, golden glow.
Outside the window, there was the roar of Shi Quan shouting as he assigned tasks, the laughter of the women preparing breakfast, and the cheers of the children chasing and playing.
Noisy, vibrant, and full of the warmth of everyday life.
His heart was suddenly filled with an unprecedented, burning emotion.
The long-forgotten dream of a little boy about home seemed to transcend time and space, perfectly merging with the reality before him.
So... I wasn't playing some damn isekai survival game.
I'm just... building a very, very big house.
Lin Yue's eyes welled up again. He sniffed, suppressing the sudden wave of sentimentality, and his signature confident smile returned to his face.
He gently placed Xiaofen on the ground and then stretched out a big yawn.
"Come on, let's go eat," he said, putting his arm around Gray's shoulder and taking Xiaofen's hand with his other hand. "You need to eat well to have the energy to work!"
"By the way, Uncle Stone Fist, how's the research on the soil mix ratio for the three-in-one foundation that I told you about yesterday coming along? Let me tell you, its strength is absolutely top-notch."
"And Xiaofen, if you behave well at breakfast today, you'll get an extra treat for lunch: a special recipe of calming mushrooms roasted rabbit leg. Want some?"
"Awoo! I want to!" Xiao Fen immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling.
Several people walked towards the communal dining hall, bathed in the bright morning sun. Their shadows were stretched long by the rising sun.
Behind them, the system interface inside the room, which was shimmering with a faint blue glow, slowly disappeared.
However, in the last moment before the interface disappeared, next to the mechanical prompt, there seemed to be a line of small text that no one noticed. The font was very small and the color was very light, like a secret that had been hidden for a long time.
[Family member identification process initiated...]
[Family members (1/N)...Binding successful...]
Welcome home...
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Author's Note: Peace and Love [heart emoji]
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