Chapter 343 Chapter 341: The Very Beginning
Chapter 341: The Very Beginning
Seeing her lost in thought, Xiao Hei couldn't help but smile from the side. "Although you've lost some memories, you should still understand what this cage represents. All of us, once, were trapped inside this cage."
Trapped within this cage called the 'novel world'.
Unable to be ourselves, unable to defy the senseless and abstract progression of this world.
Everyone's fate and future were predetermined.
We became mere playthings.
Chi Xiao Cheng looked at Su Tao inside the cage, feeling a slight difficulty in breathing. She turned to Xiao Hei, and precisely seized upon a word in her speech: "We?"
Chi Xiao Cheng frowned. "Xiao Hei, are you really not the original protagonist?"
Xiao Hei shook her head, leading Chi Xiao Cheng towards screens that flickered like snowflakes. "What I am, you'll know in a moment, though it's a bit fast. I hadn't planned on letting you know so much yet. That old coot messed up the plan. But for you now, it's not too early, is it? Any later, and more unexpected things might happen."
Chi Xiao Cheng didn't understand what Xiao Hei was saying, only feeling more and more questions piling up in her mind.
She tilted her head, and slowly said, "Xiao Hei, do you know something everyone hates?"
Xiao Hei: "Hm?"
"Riddlers." Chi Xiao Cheng uttered these three words, causing Xiao Hei's smile to freeze slightly.
Chi Xiao Cheng continued, "Right now, you're a pure riddler. You're not as cute as before. If there's anything you want to say, just tell me directly."
Xiao Hei looked a little wronged.
She let out a breath and said, "Alright then, are you ready? Ready to re-enter that despairing cycle."
Chi Xiao Cheng frowned. "Like that lucid dream last time?"
"No, it's memories."
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers, the surrounding screens, mottled white like snow, began to light up, displaying images.
...
Despair, pain, regret, and bitter resentment.
Boundless emotions, without needing to be consciously felt, had already surged forth from within.
Why must everyone live according to a predetermined fate!
Why do all sorts of accidents happen every time!
I just wanted to see her, to explain things clearly to her.
To properly apologize.
To tell her that I had secretly liked her for a long time.
Why do they stop me!
They are clearly bad people, and they will definitely hurt you in the end. Why won't you listen to a single word I say!
This damned world!
Damned, damned, damned, damned, damned, damned, damned...
Seawater choked her nose and mouth, ravaging every wound on her body. The girl sinking to the seabed used almost her last bit of consciousness to pray.
If she could do it all over again, she would definitely change everything.
She had to save her Tao Tao.
Even if it meant becoming an enemy of the entire world!
Her consciousness awoke. Before her was a faintly glowing small orb of light. The warm light dispelled the cold from the girl's body. "Are you truly willing to become an enemy of the entire world for the girl you love?"
The girl didn't know what was happening, but she understood what the small orb of light meant. She immediately responded anxiously, "As long as I can save Tao Tao, rescue her from Ye Liang, I'll do anything!"
The small orb of light said, "Then let me introduce myself, I am..."
"I don't want to know who you are. You saved me, didn't you?" The girl said urgently. Her survival didn't bring her excitement; instead, it fueled her anxiety. "Where is this place? You saved me and brought me here, right? Please, send me back, okay? If it's any later, Tao Tao will be deceived more and more deeply by Ye Liang. I have to hurry back!"
The small orb of light sensed the girl's anxious emotions, knowing that the girl before it was utterly incapable of calm communication.
With a flicker, it opened a door. "Walk through this gate, and you can return to the past. And then..."
Before it finished speaking, the girl had already rushed inside.
The small orb of light revealed a helpless emotion, and as the girl stepped through the gate, a small screen appeared in mid-air.
It displayed what was happening in the present world.
The girl traveled back in time, to that afternoon immediately after the argument.
Although disdainful words like "Can't you be a little more sensible and find something you like to do?" came to her ears, the girl was still incredibly happy.
She really got a do-over.
She had a chance to save Tao Tao!
The girl spoke urgently, wanting to pull the young girl in front of her close, to badmouth the man beside her, and to explain everything.
But her words were only halfway out, when she was harshly interrupted.
The young girl, Su Tao, showed an impatient expression.
Already feeling irritable, she again spoke harsh words to the girl.
Like a complete break, she told the girl to reflect on herself, then turned and left.
The girl panicked. Doing it over, it seemed, was still exactly the same as before.
Everything is hard at the beginning. If she couldn't even manage the start, could there be anything afterwards?
The accidents she was so familiar with.
Everyone seemed to be obstructing her from meeting Su Tao.
She began to repeat her past mistakes, once again feeling pain, then being beaten, left dying, and finally drowning.
Feeling boundless pain, the desperate struggle before drowning, and the despair of no one grabbing her hand.
Waking up, she was again in that pure white space.
She gasped for air, and then, to her astonishment, discovered she wasn't dead.
The small orb of light floated over again. "So, can you calm down and listen to me now?"
The girl, with reddened eyes, gritted her teeth and said to the small orb of light, "Again!"
She saw that the gate was still there, and resolutely walked through it again.
In the air, another small screen floated into view.
Having gone through it once, the girl was much more composed this time. But without any plan, when questioned while trying to explain, she didn't know how to answer, and started speaking incoherently.
The result was another failure.
There was no progress whatsoever, yet she experienced the same pain she had endured before.
Back in that white space, before the small orb of light could even speak, the girl stood up, and walked towards the gate again.
Her movements were full of exhaustion.
The small orb of light said helplessly, "You've made no progress at all, and you'll suffer through torture and die again. Doesn't it hurt?"
The girl looked back and smiled. "It hurts terribly, but I can't give up on Tao Tao. She's my everything."
She walked in again. The small orb of light sighed. "Why don't you listen to what others say? Going in without any preparation, what else could happen but failure?"
Human drive is limited.
Often, it's only after hitting a wall that one turns back.
The third time, the girl still made no progress, meeting the same drowning fate again.
After being resurrected, her body felt no pain, but the delayed pain perceived by her consciousness still caused the girl to curl up and fall to the ground.
Seeing this, the small orb of light floated to the girl's side. "Are you going to give up?"
"Give up?" The girl struggled to get up. "How could I give up! She's still waiting for me!"
There was a hint of admiration in the small orb of light's voice. "My goal is the same as yours. You want to save the girl you love, and I want to drive away that outsider. So, calm yourself first and listen to me properly, Miss Chi."
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