He Ruge wasn’t good at mixing into crowds, so he just quietly watched from behind the screen for a while before exiting the group chat to go write. Inside the small black room, he managed to write 2,000 words in one go, looking at the plump and full document in a daze.
Coming upon the realization that you were a monster, would your life change significantly?
That didn’t seem to be the case. Life still goes on, and words still have to be written.
Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind. Originally, he didn’t want to think too deep into it. However, that thought lingered in his mind and finally drove him to reopen “Family of 5 Lakes and 4 Seas” and say: “I have a question. Do monsters have parents?”
He Ruge had always had a lump in his heart.
Why was he orphaned?
This lump stayed hidden in his heart and would always leave a dull pain when touched, an undesirable and unexpected pain.
But, at this moment, he looked at the screen and suddenly held his breath. Countless unspecified anxieties appeared in his heart, both long and short:
If he was a monster, then did it mean that……
Did it mean……
He had never been abandoned.
Little JiaoJiao Wants to Become a Dragon: “A monster without parents, did they perhaps pop out of a rock? I am the second generation Interstellar.”
He Ruge’s emotions shifted only for the briefest of moments. His fingertips which were placed on the keyboard twitched as he slowly replied, his body similar to a block of frozen ice slowly being defrosted: “Okay, thank you.”
He rapidly blinked his dry eyes a few times before closing the group chat. A strong sense of exhaustion flooded over him like a tide, and He Ruge fell into a daze for a long time.
A long time later, he reopened the game and entered Room 214.
The little white tiger was sleeping. He Ruge’s gaze wandered along the outline of the little white tiger bit by bit, from his bud-like ears and delicate pink nose, to his thin and long snow-white tiger whiskers and his two overlapping small paws.
His heavy heart seemed to have been immersed in warm water, bubbling water from a hot springs, such that each time the little white tiger exhaled, a small bubble would emerge from the water.
He Ruge’s birthday is next month. He had once thought that when he’d saved some money, he would buy himself a cat for his own birthday gift.
However, He Ruge didn’t want that anymore. He wanted to raise Little White Tiger. He only wanted to raise Little White Tiger.
Why did he constantly desire to keep a cat? It’s because he is lonely. He didn’t want to live an ordinary and quiet life on his lonesome. It would be good even if just to hear a cat’s random meows.
But now, Little White Tiger was here to accompany him. Little White Tiger is very obedient. Whenever he was writing, Little White Tiger would just sit inside the game, not making any trouble. He also never got angry because of his (HRG’s) tardiness, and was even willing to hand him his own little tail when He Ruge is sad. Such a warm-hearted Little White Tiger.
Although this was just a game…. Fortunately, this was just a game.
He Ruge didn’t dare imagine the possibility that Little White Tiger was a real existence, that he was a creature that could age and grow old, experiencing sickness and eventually death. How sad he’d be if and when Little White Tiger died.
Just having it be a game is wonderful. He could grow slowly with Little White Tiger and watch him grow up but not see the appearance of Little White Tiger in decrepit old age.
One day, when the game was over, he could close the game and click “Restart”.
And so, a milky Little White Tiger would once again appear on screen in room B6. This Little White Tiger was so terribly fierce and would bite everyone he saw, but wouldn’t bite the him who had removed his glasses.
They would return to the day they first met.
The corners of the originally drooping lips rose slightly. He Ruge pushed at his glasses frame. He became happy again, and He Ruge opened up the document to write with that contented expression. He unknowingly typed until late into the evening before finishing his takeout and logging into the game.
Little White Tiger had already woken up. He was holding the nutrient solution and chugged it down wontanly, but compared to the little rabbit who was gorging on the side, Little White Tiger still appeared elegant.
During the feedings back in Room B6, every time Little White Tiger drank milk, it’s like he was fighting a war, always afraid that someone would come and snatch it away from him. However, at this moment when Little White Tiger and Little Rabbit were eating together side-by-side, He Ruge suddenly had a thought:
Only those who’d been starved before would eat so quickly.
It was an inexplicable idea. Little White Tiger had never been starved by him before, so his thinking must be too far fetched. Perhaps, the speed at which Little White Tiger eats was determined by the game’s setting for the character, wanting to portray the momentum of “Swallowing Mountains and Rivers” and “Tiger Descending the Mountain” (reflection of being powerful).
Because of Little White Tiger’s previous impediment, He Ruge didn’t give Little Rabbit a second bottle of nutrient solution. Little Rabbit found it difficult to boost his energy. He didn’t cry or make trouble, and was instead curled up inside the cage languidly.
His quiet disposition was exactly the same as Golden Python’s.
He Ruge didn’t like such a quiet Little Rabbit. He would rather the little rabbit howl and cry and yell for sweets, not wanting those ruby eyes to lose their original luster.
What worried He Ruge even more was that even candy couldn’t lift up Little Rabbit’s spirits anymore.
Will watching the stars together make the family happy again?
He Ruge clicked on the floating button next to Little White Tiger and selected [Touch Head]. A youthful and slender hand appeared on screen and stroked Little White Tiger’s head gently.
Seeing Little White Tiger being petted in the game, He Ruge’s anxiety was alleviated significantly. The time agreed on by Crow and himself was tonight. However, they didn’t set a specific time, and He Ruge didn’t know when exactly Crow would arrive.
The time when Crow will show up was undetermined, but the side missions of ‘watching the stars’ must be completed during the time when stars can actually be seen.
It was eight o’clock in the evening, and the sky outside He Ruge’s window was already dark. The Crow inside the game may appear at any second, maybe within the next half an hour. He Ruge didn’t want to miss it because he wasn’t sure if by chance he missed Crow’s arrival, this spicy chicken game would arrange for Crow to appear a second time.
Thus, He Ruge left the game open on the computer and used his cell phone to write. He would look back up at the computer every now and then after just writing a tiny bit, making his work highly inefficient.
The little white tiger and little rabbit in the game seemed to feel He Ruge’s anxious state and also watched the unopened door.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open and Crow hurried in.
Crow
[Quickly, I tampered with this floor’s electrical power, but it will only last for one minute! 】
Crow opened Golden Python’s cage, and bursting with a huge inexplicable force completely incompatible with his thin frame, easily wrapped the nine-meter-long golden python around his body while carrying Little White Tiger and Little Rabbit, and ran away quickly.
He Ruge was momentarily stunned and when he finally reacted, he hastily maneuvered his game character to follow Crow.
Crow’s speed was so fast that he almost created afterimages. He rushed to the end of the corridor almost instantaneously and opened the mysterious door using his authority.
He Ruge, Little Rabbit, Little White Tiger, and Golden Python were all pushed beyond the door by Crow.
Crow
[When you see the “Delivery Carriage”, you must climb onto its roof and when it passes Floor E, jump off the carriage! Then, go to E15! You must come back within half an hour! 】
As soon as his voice fell, the door suddenly closed.
[Countdown: 00:30:00] (30 minutes)
All traces of light vanished. The world on the other side of the door was pitch black, een one’s own fingers could not be seen. Through the computer came the sound of wind whistling through a tunnel, and the Little Rabbit was chirping from fear.
No.19
【Chirp Chirp “So dark”.】
Golden Python
[Hiss “I don’t seem to have enough space”]
He Ruge bought a “flashlight” using x5 Small Hearts in the Love Mall.
The light from the flashlight dissipated the darkness within a one metre radius. What they didn’t see, they didn’t know. But, when they did see, they were startled. He Ruge found that the little rabbit nestled in his left arm, the little white tiger was nestled in his right arm, and the golden python was lying beside his feet..
They were standing on the only piece of flat ground. Just one step away was a bottomless abyss.
This was a tunnel perpendicular to and penetrating through the entire building, similar to a passage meant for elevators to travel up and down. The flashlight shone into the black square shaped tunnel, and the light that pierced through the dark was as thin as a thread in the deep darkness.
Even if the huge golden python was coiled into a mosquito coil, it still took up a lot of space. One-third of its body was suspended in the air, almost falling into the tunnel.
He Ruge hurriedly made way for the golden python, and the golden python carefully coiled into himself tightly. His coiling skills were superb, like a master of packaging (master of packaging: implying Golden Python coiled himself really tightly and optimized space. Think of tetris, or being very good at packing luggage). Only a sliver of his snake tail was left hanging in the air.
Golden python
[Where is this, why did you bring us here? 】
You
[I am taking you all to see the stars. 】
After hearing He Ruge’s response, Golden Python froze on the spot.
“BANG—”
From the bottom of the tunnel came the delayed sound of unloading goods, followed by the dull sound of running machinery. Using the light from the flashlight, He Ruge saw a huge iron block slowly moving upward.
This should be the “Delivery Carriage” Crow was talking about.
He Ruge prepared himself, and when the carriage was about to rise, he pulled the golden python with him and jumped onto the roof together.
He Ruge wasn’t good at mixing into crowds, so he just quietly watched from behind the screen for a while before exiting the group chat to go write. Inside the small black room, he managed to write 2,000 words in one go, looking at the plump and full document in a daze.
Coming upon the realization that you were a monster, would your life change significantly?
That didn’t seem to be the case. Life still goes on, and words still have to be written.
Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind. Originally, he didn’t want to think too deep into it. However, that thought lingered in his mind and finally drove him to reopen “Family of 5 Lakes and 4 Seas” and say: “I have a question. Do monsters have parents?”
He Ruge had always had a lump in his heart.
Why was he orphaned?
This lump stayed hidden in his heart and would always leave a dull pain when touched, an undesirable and unexpected pain.
But, at this moment, he looked at the screen and suddenly held his breath. Countless unspecified anxieties appeared in his heart, both long and short:
If he was a monster, then did it mean that……
Did it mean……
He had never been abandoned.
Little JiaoJiao Wants to Become a Dragon: “A monster without parents, did they perhaps pop out of a rock? I am the second generation Interstellar.”
He Ruge’s emotions shifted only for the briefest of moments. His fingertips which were placed on the keyboard twitched as he slowly replied, his body similar to a block of frozen ice slowly being defrosted: “Okay, thank you.”
He rapidly blinked his dry eyes a few times before closing the group chat. A strong sense of exhaustion flooded over him like a tide, and He Ruge fell into a daze for a long time.
A long time later, he reopened the game and entered Room 214.
The little white tiger was sleeping. He Ruge’s gaze wandered along the outline of the little white tiger bit by bit, from his bud-like ears and delicate pink nose, to his thin and long snow-white tiger whiskers and his two overlapping small paws.
His heavy heart seemed to have been immersed in warm water, bubbling water from a hot springs, such that each time the little white tiger exhaled, a small bubble would emerge from the water.
He Ruge’s birthday is next month. He had once thought that when he’d saved some money, he would buy himself a cat for his own birthday gift.
However, He Ruge didn’t want that anymore. He wanted to raise Little White Tiger. He only wanted to raise Little White Tiger.
Why did he constantly desire to keep a cat? It’s because he is lonely. He didn’t want to live an ordinary and quiet life on his lonesome. It would be good even if just to hear a cat’s random meows.
But now, Little White Tiger was here to accompany him. Little White Tiger is very obedient. Whenever he was writing, Little White Tiger would just sit inside the game, not making any trouble. He also never got angry because of his (HRG’s) tardiness, and was even willing to hand him his own little tail when He Ruge is sad. Such a warm-hearted Little White Tiger.
Although this was just a game…. Fortunately, this was just a game.
He Ruge didn’t dare imagine the possibility that Little White Tiger was a real existence, that he was a creature that could age and grow old, experiencing sickness and eventually death. How sad he’d be if and when Little White Tiger died.
Just having it be a game is wonderful. He could grow slowly with Little White Tiger and watch him grow up but not see the appearance of Little White Tiger in decrepit old age.
One day, when the game was over, he could close the game and click “Restart”.
And so, a milky Little White Tiger would once again appear on screen in room B6. This Little White Tiger was so terribly fierce and would bite everyone he saw, but wouldn’t bite the him who had removed his glasses.
They would return to the day they first met.
The corners of the originally drooping lips rose slightly. He Ruge pushed at his glasses frame. He became happy again, and He Ruge opened up the document to write with that contented expression. He unknowingly typed until late into the evening before finishing his takeout and logging into the game.
Little White Tiger had already woken up. He was holding the nutrient solution and chugged it down wontanly, but compared to the little rabbit who was gorging on the side, Little White Tiger still appeared elegant.
During the feedings back in Room B6, every time Little White Tiger drank milk, it’s like he was fighting a war, always afraid that someone would come and snatch it away from him. However, at this moment when Little White Tiger and Little Rabbit were eating together side-by-side, He Ruge suddenly had a thought:
Only those who’d been starved before would eat so quickly.
It was an inexplicable idea. Little White Tiger had never been starved by him before, so his thinking must be too far fetched. Perhaps, the speed at which Little White Tiger eats was determined by the game’s setting for the character, wanting to portray the momentum of “Swallowing Mountains and Rivers” and “Tiger Descending the Mountain” (reflection of being powerful).
Because of Little White Tiger’s previous impediment, He Ruge didn’t give Little Rabbit a second bottle of nutrient solution. Little Rabbit found it difficult to boost his energy. He didn’t cry or make trouble, and was instead curled up inside the cage languidly.
His quiet disposition was exactly the same as Golden Python’s.
He Ruge didn’t like such a quiet Little Rabbit. He would rather the little rabbit howl and cry and yell for sweets, not wanting those ruby eyes to lose their original luster.
What worried He Ruge even more was that even candy couldn’t lift up Little Rabbit’s spirits anymore.
Will watching the stars together make the family happy again?
He Ruge clicked on the floating button next to Little White Tiger and selected [Touch Head]. A youthful and slender hand appeared on screen and stroked Little White Tiger’s head gently.
Seeing Little White Tiger being petted in the game, He Ruge’s anxiety was alleviated significantly. The time agreed on by Crow and himself was tonight. However, they didn’t set a specific time, and He Ruge didn’t know when exactly Crow would arrive.
The time when Crow will show up was undetermined, but the side missions of ‘watching the stars’ must be completed during the time when stars can actually be seen.
It was eight o’clock in the evening, and the sky outside He Ruge’s window was already dark. The Crow inside the game may appear at any second, maybe within the next half an hour. He Ruge didn’t want to miss it because he wasn’t sure if by chance he missed Crow’s arrival, this spicy chicken game would arrange for Crow to appear a second time.
Thus, He Ruge left the game open on the computer and used his cell phone to write. He would look back up at the computer every now and then after just writing a tiny bit, making his work highly inefficient.
The little white tiger and little rabbit in the game seemed to feel He Ruge’s anxious state and also watched the unopened door.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open and Crow hurried in.
Crow
[Quickly, I tampered with this floor’s electrical power, but it will only last for one minute! 】
Crow opened Golden Python’s cage, and bursting with a huge inexplicable force completely incompatible with his thin frame, easily wrapped the nine-meter-long golden python around his body while carrying Little White Tiger and Little Rabbit, and ran away quickly.
He Ruge was momentarily stunned and when he finally reacted, he hastily maneuvered his game character to follow Crow.
Crow’s speed was so fast that he almost created afterimages. He rushed to the end of the corridor almost instantaneously and opened the mysterious door using his authority.
He Ruge, Little Rabbit, Little White Tiger, and Golden Python were all pushed beyond the door by Crow.
Crow
[When you see the “Delivery Carriage”, you must climb onto its roof and when it passes Floor E, jump off the carriage! Then, go to E15! You must come back within half an hour! 】
As soon as his voice fell, the door suddenly closed.
[Countdown: 00:30:00] (30 minutes)
All traces of light vanished. The world on the other side of the door was pitch black, een one’s own fingers could not be seen. Through the computer came the sound of wind whistling through a tunnel, and the Little Rabbit was chirping from fear.
No.19
【Chirp Chirp “So dark”.】
Golden Python
[Hiss “I don’t seem to have enough space”]
He Ruge bought a “flashlight” using x5 Small Hearts in the Love Mall.
The light from the flashlight dissipated the darkness within a one metre radius. What they didn’t see, they didn’t know. But, when they did see, they were startled. He Ruge found that the little rabbit nestled in his left arm, the little white tiger was nestled in his right arm, and the golden python was lying beside his feet..
They were standing on the only piece of flat ground. Just one step away was a bottomless abyss.
This was a tunnel perpendicular to and penetrating through the entire building, similar to a passage meant for elevators to travel up and down. The flashlight shone into the black square shaped tunnel, and the light that pierced through the dark was as thin as a thread in the deep darkness.
Even if the huge golden python was coiled into a mosquito coil, it still took up a lot of space. One-third of its body was suspended in the air, almost falling into the tunnel.
He Ruge hurriedly made way for the golden python, and the golden python carefully coiled into himself tightly. His coiling skills were superb, like a master of packaging (master of packaging: implying Golden Python coiled himself really tightly and optimized space. Think of tetris, or being very good at packing luggage). Only a sliver of his snake tail was left hanging in the air.
Golden python
[Where is this, why did you bring us here? 】
You
[I am taking you all to see the stars. 】
After hearing He Ruge’s response, Golden Python froze on the spot.
“BANG—”
From the bottom of the tunnel came the delayed sound of unloading goods, followed by the dull sound of running machinery. Using the light from the flashlight, He Ruge saw a huge iron block slowly moving upward.
This should be the “Delivery Carriage” Crow was talking about.
He Ruge prepared himself, and when the carriage was about to rise, he pulled the golden python with him and jumped onto the roof together.
