Chapter 246: Shooting the Breeze

Chapter 246 -245: Shooting the Breeze

Xu Yiming joked self-deprecatingly, “Thinking about it now, what’s so scary about a big white goose? But if I actually ran into one on the street, I’d definitely still be startled. There’s nothing to be done. You just have to rely on logic to overcome your fear.”

Feng Ling deeply sympathized. “The fears and sorrows of childhood always feel exceptionally real.”

“It’s because a child’s world is so small. Even a little thing seems huge to them.” Xu Yiming turned naturally to Huangfu Miaomiao. “Miao Miao, what were you afraid of when you were a kid?”

Huangfu Miaomiao thought his question was quite rude. Her little face went taut as she answered, “I don’t have a childhood. I was already this big when I came out of the jar.”

Xu Yiming laughed sheepishly. “Well… when you grow up later, all these things happening now will basically be the unforgettable memories of your childhood.”

Huangfu Miaomiao replied with a frown, “I don’t want to grow up. The gene tax you have to pay after reaching maturity is too high.”

Xu Yiming couldn’t help but ask, “What’s a gene tax?”

“Ahem, COUGH COUGH!…” Li Qing suddenly burst into a coughing fit.

Huangfu Miaomiao shot Li Qing an unhappy glance and pouted. “It’s nothing. The system would just censor it if I told you anyway.”

Xu Yiming was a little taken aback. “Oh, then let’s drop it… We can change the subject, talk about something else.”

Leaning against the wall, Feng Ling smiled at Xu Yiming. “You’re pretty easy-going.”

“Ah…” Xu Yiming chuckled. “I guess I am.”

Feng Ling glanced at Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing, then averted her gaze. “You all get along quite well. Most people can’t accept working with Alien Species.”

—Back on Sanqing Mountain, Pei Xianjue and Baozi had been able to accept Huangfu Miaomiao, but that was a matter of pragmatic self-interest. As for Liang Zhou, who had inexplicably lost his mind, his revulsion toward Alien Species had been so obvious he hadn’t even bothered with superficial pleasantries.

Xu Yiming, however, gave Feng Ling the impression that he genuinely viewed Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing as teammates.

Xu Yiming laughed self-deprecatingly. “Feng Ling, the weak don’t get to be choosers. If I weren’t with you all, my Card would never get the chance to level up. I’m lucky to have entered this Maze with you. I couldn’t be happier, so how could I possibly not accept it?”

Feng Ling listened, then thoughtfully repeated his words, “The weak don’t get to be choosers…”

“Exactly. Saving the world is for the strong. The weak only think about how to survive.” Xu Yiming sighed. “Without my Card, I’d probably still be working as a courier, unable to pay my mortgage or support my family. Even though I’ve known Su Yuqing and Ye Zheng for over a decade, we mostly just kept in touch online after graduation. We rarely saw each other. I… I always felt a little ashamed. They were both so successful, I never knew what I’d even talk to them about.”

He let out a long breath and gave Feng Ling a somewhat bitter smile. “But ever since I got my Card, not only have we started seeing each other again, but we’ve become closer than ever—just like back in school when we could talk about anything. It all changed because of the Card… Sometimes, I see news reports about Alien Species killing people, and I get angry, I hate it. But… how should I put this? The changes the Alien Species have brought to the world… I guess I don’t completely… hate them?”

Xu Yiming rubbed the back of his head, feeling he might have said something out of line. He felt a bit awkward and tried to cover it with a lighter tone. “I don’t know how to describe this feeling… Hey, don’t tell Old Su about this. He’d definitely try to lecture me, and I can’t stand that.”

Feng Ling smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul.”

Now that he’d opened up, Xu Yiming asked Feng Ling, “What did you do before all this? The Card must have changed your life a lot, too, right?”

“Yeah, you could say that…” She tilted her head, thinking. “Actually,” she said slowly, “we’re similar in one respect. I’m not against this new life either. I think that’s because we’ve gained more than we’ve lost. But some people have lost children to the Alien Species. Some have lost friends. Some have lost their very humanity… For people like them, there’s no way they could be as casual as we are when dealing with Alien Species. We can never truly understand their pain.”

Xu Yiming sighed softly. “Yeah… you’re right.”

This topic was clearly not a welcome one for Huangfu Miaomiao. She couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t you make distinctions? Not every player hurts people. There are good players, too.”

“I’m afraid that’s very difficult,” Li Qing said quietly. “Feng Ling’s and Xu Yiming’s animosity toward players is a belief system, an outlook formed by multiple factors: their upbringing, their social environment, media propaganda, and more. That will never change. It’s just like how you players hate us administrators. If I were to tell you that there are good administrators, how would you feel?”

“That’s completely different!” Huangfu Miaomiao said, getting angry. “You administrators are the system’s lackeys! You don’t even see us as people! You’re all bad guys!”

The corner of Li Qing’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. ‘To me, it’s the same thing…’

Xu Yiming watched Li Qing and Huangfu Miaomiao with fascination. He hadn’t expected there to be infighting within the Alien Species community.

As if reading his mind, Feng Ling, who was sitting nearby, said to him cheerfully, “Entertaining, isn’t it?”

Xu Yiming didn’t know how to respond and could only manage an awkward laugh.

In any case, the rambling conversation had finally allowed Feng Ling to return to normal, no longer under the influence of the Illusion.

Although she still couldn’t help but glance over at it sometimes, her state of mind was much more peaceful.

She could even joke about it now. “In front of Wind Mother,” she said, “I was so intimidated I didn’t even dare cross my legs.”

Huangfu Miaomiao, indignant on her behalf, exclaimed, “That Wind Mother is so mean!”

Xu Yiming chimed in, “Some corrupt charity organizations use orphans for publicity stunts but are completely negligent in their duties.”

Feng Ling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Don’t get the wrong idea,” she said. “Me being afraid of Wind Mother is one thing, but her character is a completely different matter. She took good care of me when I was a kid.”

Huangfu Miaomiao frowned. “She locked you in a dark room. How is that ‘taking care’ of you?”

“Well, that’s because…” Just as Feng Ling started to explain, she caught sight of Ye Zheng shakily sitting up.

“How are you feeling?” Feng Ling leaned closer. “The Maze Master used a mark to extract our deepest fears and create two Illusions. It takes some time to get used to it. Once you’re adjusted, we’ll proceed with the plan. Think you can handle it?”

Ye Zheng held her forehead and slowly opened her eyes. She saw the Squirrel.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. “…I can’t.”

Feng Ling froze. “What?”

Ye Zheng’s face was a mask of utter defeat. She lowered her head and whispered, “Feng Ling, give me another sedative.”

Feng Ling was stunned for a moment, then her brow furrowed, her expression turning to one of annoyance.

“Hey, what the hell is your problem! I waited nearly three hours for you, and now you’re telling me you want a sedative?!”