96 I want to sleep with you
◎Countless concerns and thoughts◎
By this point, Qi Qiuxue had roughly understood the mechanics of this dungeon.
Compared with previous copies, this one is obviously more cruel, full of malice and teasing towards the players.
The system was right. There were indeed two paths to choose from: one kind but full of thorns, and the other cold but seemingly easy. Before meeting these NPCs, perhaps they could harden their hearts and ignore the suffering of these strangers and choose the easiest path.
But after meeting these NPCs...
Qi Qiuxue shifted her gaze to look at Liu Ge and Wu Shanyue beside her. She had already seen the answer from their expressions. When facing someone who was almost exactly like her relatives or lovers, even if she knew that the other party was just an NPC, she still couldn't abandon him.
As for this little girl——
Qi Qiuxue had a good memory and was sure that she had never seen this face before. But if that was the case, where did this vague sense of familiarity come from?
“…”
Taking advantage of Qi Qiuxue's moment of distraction, the little girl gently turned her head and met the eyes of Li Yiqing behind her.
Li Yiqing had never seen this face before. If the appearance of the other two NPCs was deliberately arranged for Liu Ge and Wu Shanyue, then the player corresponding to this little girl was Qi Qiuxue.
Who was it? Her relatives, classmates, childhood playmates?
Li Yiqing didn't know. Qi Qiuxue had a small circle of friends and grew up in an orphanage without any relatives. If this NPC was very important to Qi Qiuxue, Li Yiqing would not be unaware of it.
She even suspected that this was a deliberately fabricated character in the copy, with the purpose of tying up Qi Qiuxue and gaining her sympathy by showing her weak and helpless appearance.
Li Yiqing didn't have time to think too much. The little girl's gaze made her very uncomfortable. In the few seconds when their eyes met, she read a bit of scrutiny and contempt in the other's eyes.
"?" Li Yiqing frowned, took a step forward and took Qi Qiuxue's other hand, angrily showing his presence, "Axue~"
"Yeah." Qi Qiuxue was called back to her senses and looked at the little girl in front of her again, "You..."
"Axue, why did you come back just now?" The little girl turned around and hugged her tightly without waiting for her to finish her words. Due to long-term hunger and malnutrition, she was not tall, and when she stood up straight, she only reached Qi Qiuxue's abdomen.
She lay in her arms, hugging the person in front of her tightly, her voice sounding a little muffled: "Qingqing misses you so much."
Her name is Qingqing.
Li Yiqing pouted after hearing this and complained to Qi Qiuxue like a spoiled child: "Axue, if she is Qingqing, who am I?!"
I even got angry with the kid for no reason.
"Okay, okay." Qi Qiuxue sighed helplessly, stroking Li Yiqing's wrist with her fingertips as if to soothe him, and patting Qingqing's back with her other hand.
It was about to get dark. There was no electricity in the "old world", and even the water needed for daily life was supplied on time, for only two hours a day.
The oldest female NPC, Wu Xiyin, quickly lit the candles. All the utensils in this house were picked up by them from the "new world". Since more and more new rules were issued and decision makers imposed stricter restrictions on old humans, it became increasingly difficult to pick up new living resources.
Therefore, everything should be used as economically as possible.
Several people sat on the ground and enjoyed their dinner in silence by the dim light of candles. It was just some expired juice and bread.
"Go to bed early." After dinner, Wu Xiyin simply cleaned up the garbage. Seeing this, Wu Shanyue hurried forward to help. In the real world, her mother had been bedridden for a long time, but now, this NPC with the same name and appearance as her mother can move freely and is in good health.
Wu Shanyue hadn't seen her mother in such good spirits for a long time, and she couldn't help feeling dazed, with tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong, Shanyue?" Wu Xiyin quickly stepped forward, and gently stroked Wu Shanyue's face with her warm hands. Her voice was pleasant and gentle, and she whispered, "Didn't you eat enough for dinner?"
"My dear daughter." She raised her lips and smiled, silently took out half a loaf of bread from her pocket and handed it to her, "Mom is not very hungry tonight, and there happens to be half left. Eat it."
"No need." Wu Shanyue couldn't stop crying. All mothers in the world are like this, always leaving the best for their children. She knew the other person's words must be lies. "I'm not hungry, just eat it."
"Then I'll pack it up and save it for you tomorrow." Wu Xiyin shook her head and rewrapped the bread properly. She raised her hand to wipe away Wu Shanyue's tears, her eyes filled with heartache. "You've had enough of this kind of life, haven't you?"
"If it doesn't work, just give up. Don't keep stubbornly holding on. Maybe becoming a new human isn't as bad as we thought."
"What about you?" Wu Shanyue raised his eyes and looked at her.
"I..." Wu Xiyin rubbed her hands awkwardly. "Forget it. I'm old now, and even if I can enjoy life, I won't be able to enjoy it for many years. I still want to live as an old human and protect the dignity that belongs to old humans."
"Then I'll stay with you." Wu Shanyue shook her head. Even though she knew she wasn't her real mother, she still didn't want to abandon her. "I will always stand by my mother."
After she finished speaking, tears seemed to be gathering in Wu Xiyin's eyes.
"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore." It was getting late, and they should go to bed as soon as possible. Even though they only had a few of the most rudimentary wooden beds, they were still their warmest haven. "Go to sleep."
Wu Shanyue nodded in response: "Okay, good night, Mom."
There is a partition in the middle of the house with a tattered wooden door on it, which barely divides it into two rooms. Qi Qiuxue and four other players live in the innermost room, and the remaining three NPCs live outside.
Not long after Wu Shanyue returned to her room, Liu Ge also walked in. He looked equally dazed. The reason for this was actually very similar to Wu Shanyue's situation.
They are so similar. Not only do these two NPCs look very similar to their relatives and loved ones, but their personalities are also very similar. The only thing that can barely keep them sane and distinguish the differences is their experiences and some words that are obviously spoken by NPCs.
"She advised me to join the experiment and become a new human as soon as possible to avoid suffering any further." After a long silence, Liu Ge said softly.
"My mother advised me the same thing." Wu Shanyue echoed.
"Ah Xue, what about you?" Li Yiqing glanced sideways in the direction of Qi Qiuxue, his tone somewhat displeased, "What did Qingqing say?"
"She didn't tell me that," Qi Qiuxue replied, "She just kept clinging to me."
"Fortunately, she didn't come with us." Li Yiqing sighed. There were only two beds in the room. Liu Ge and Wu Shanyue slept on one, and she and Qi Qiuxue slept on the other. The beds were barely covered with two thin mattresses and two even thinner quilts. Fortunately, it was late summer and the weather was not cold. If winter really came, she didn't know how she would survive.
"Go to bed early." They blew out the candles and lay on their backs on the bed. Although they said they wanted to sleep, no one felt sleepy at this moment.
After an unknown amount of time, Liu Ge whispered in the darkness, "Sorry, I want to choose the first path."
"Me too," Wu Shanyue chimed in. She wasn't a particularly brave person, and she was afraid of trouble. But she was even more worried about the person in front of her who looked so much like her mother. "I hope they can have a better life, no longer living in a cramped place like this, but a free life, uncontrolled and unpersecuted by anyone."
"Okay." Qi Qiuxue followed up, "I agree with your decision."
"What does Aqing think?" Wu Shanyue's tone was apologetic and tentative. Li Yiqing was the only one who was not disturbed by the NPCs. Although he didn't know what was going on, Wu Shanyue knew that even if they were all players and teammates, there was no reason to drag each other into suffering.
"You can get the chip implanted first. There's no need to continue living a hard life with us." Liu Ge said, "Once we successfully clear the dungeon, you can leave with us."
"How is that possible?" Li Yiqing quickly retorted, "I won't abandon you."
"Wherever you are, I'll be there. It's that simple." The night wind blew in through the shabby windows, bringing a bit of chill. Li Yiqing shrank towards Qi Qiuxue and said softly, "Besides, I promised that I would protect Ah Xue."
"Thank you." After she finished speaking, Qi Qiuxue smiled, but her thoughts gradually drifted away. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Li Yiqing's identity was extraordinary.
The game will not let anyone go unless the other party has some connection with the game. Qi Qiuxue once again thought of the huge skeleton. What is the connection between it and Li Yiqing? Or maybe it is Li Yiqing's clone.
The night grew increasingly silent, and the surroundings gradually quieted down. No one spoke anymore. Qi Qiuxue gradually felt sleepy in the silence and slowly closed her eyes.
Until she heard a slight sound of a door opening.
"Who?" She sat up defensively, and could barely see the person coming in the moonlight outside the window.
It’s the NPC called Qingqing.
"What's wrong?" Everyone else had fallen asleep, so Qi Qiuxue deliberately lowered her voice and spoke to her softly.
"Axue, I had a nightmare." Qingqing slowly walked to the bedside and stood in front of her, "Can I sleep with you?"
There was a hint of fear in her voice, and her voice was trembling slightly.
Qi Qiuxue stared at her for a long while, and finally felt that she didn't seem to have any ill intentions. However, she still felt a little sorry for her, so she nodded slightly: "Yeah."
"Thank you, Axue." Qingqing climbed onto the bed carefully and lay down beside her very obediently.
She blinked her beautiful and deep eyes and stared at Qi Qiuxue in front of her motionlessly.
"What's wrong?" Qi Qiuxue was a little surprised, "Why don't you rest yet?"
"I want to see you more." Qingqing said, her tone was mature and steady, unlike that of a normal child. "Axue, you rest first, I will sleep soon."
How could Qi Qiuxue sleep like this?
She sighed helplessly and smiled calmly: "I'm not that sleepy now."
"Then I'll tell you a story." Qingqing very naturally put her hands around her back and patted it slowly as if coaxing a child, "Once upon a time there was a little white rabbit..."
I have to say that the story she told had clear logic and interesting content. Qi Qiuxue listened silently and gradually felt sleepy.
She closed her eyes again at the sound of the clear and soft voice, and finally fell asleep.
Qingqing stopped telling the story and gently covered Qi Qiuxue with a blanket, like a responsible little adult, making all the preparations for bed independently.
But even so, she still didn't sleep. Her eyes were always wandering over Qi Qiuxue, filled with endless concern and longing.
【Author’s words】
Coming
It's so late, I probably won't be able to finish the second chapter, so I'll save it for tomorrow's update. Everyone, go to bed early. Thank you Xiaoyu for the deep water. I cried again because you spent money. Thank you so much for your support and care. Thank you also for the king tickets and nutrient solution from all the treasures. Thank you for leaving comments and reading. I love you all.
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