Arrived downstairs, Su Mingan looked back.

Su Wensheng carried the two children on his back, even though he was also weak.

Those children who really couldn't move forward could only lie on the ground.

"I...just rest here..." A girl with flaxen hair gasped, covering the big hole in her abdomen: "Without dialysis, I...are in so much pain...I just...won't go with you..."

She got into a sack on the side of the road to cover herself. The sack was filled with the **** smell of corpses and organs, as if she had become a part of the corpse.

"Let me... have one last dream..." Her lips were blue and she could no longer breathe oxygen: "Let me... have a happy dream."

More and more children are stuck on the road. Some are missing organs and cannot travel far at all. Some lost too much blood and could not be saved. Some stopped breathing on the road.

Their throats made a sound like broken bellows. They were still sucking in air at the last moment, but there was no oxygen that could be poured into their decaying bodies.

 Go out, go out.

 Escape from this hellish place, escape from this nightmare.

 —They must not be awake yet.

If they wake up, they must still be in a safe classroom, not in the operating room with their eyes open, nor lying in a sack full of organs. People's hearts can't be so bad, that's why.

"Did I do something wrong..." Su Wensheng carried the two children on his back and whispered: "If I didn't take them away, they would still be lying in the hospital bed undergoing dialysis, and they wouldn't die so quickly..."

Su Mingan did not answer.

He was carrying Xiaoli on his back, and Xiaoli said softly:

 “Xiaowen did nothing wrong.”

“It was Dr. Su who finally saved the children’s souls. They did not die of persecution, nor did they die naked and without dignity on the operating table, but died in the free air.”

 “Everyone is free…must be.”

 Finally, they arrived at the gate of the inner city. After cutting down the surrounding guards, Su Mingan went to push the door open.

 During this period, Su Wensheng has been comforting the remaining dozen children:

 “Everyone will get out.”

“Well, as long as we open this door, we can reach the outer city, and then we will leave the experimental city.”

“Don’t worry, everyone, we will tell the TV station what happened after we get out.”

"Xiao Li, you can come to my house when the time comes. My father is a guard, and he will definitely protect you."

 “We want to expose what’s going on here, and we want the bad guys to be punished!”

 Following his action, all the children raised their fists. They raised their heads as if their little fists could break through any injustice.

 “We want the bad guys to be punished!”

 “Boom—boom—!” The door opened.

 For a moment, like some kind of artistic special effect, intense white light poured down the door into the eyes of the children.

With tears in their eyes and their pupils trembling violently, they stepped out looking at the light that covered the sky and the sun -

At this moment, Su Mingan saw the lantern in Su Luoluo's hand light up.

—Ghosts must guard the door tightly and will not allow people to leave easily.

 “The ghost is coming!” Su Luoluo’s voice trembled.

 A blood-red tentacle pierced a child alive.

"ah-!"

Screams rang out, blood splashed on Su Mingan's face, and a "ghost" figure appeared in the red mist. Its figure was extremely ghostly and impossible to capture.

“Yi Zhongyu, please send the children to the safe house first!” Su Mingan turned around and said. Xiaoli and the children cannot leave the inner city alone. There are many contestants from hostile camps outside, and they will kill Xiaoli.

 "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" More tentacles stabbed, and Su Mingan set up a space barrier, causing ripples to break. He protected Xiao Li, and the white tentacles broke through his back.

“—Get out of the way, old gods.” At this time, the ‘ghost’ spoke.

Under its thick black hair, a pair of pitch-black eyes hid deep darkness: "I want to take Xiaoli's life. She died nine years ago. She should not escape."

Su Mingan said: "I will not give in."

A fierce power came, and the ghost raised its tentacles high, with many corpses hanging on the tentacles.

　　鬼: "Cause and effect are confused. People who are supposed to die fail to die. Do you know what the consequences will be? The tight Möbius strip will be disrupted by you, and the stable reality will also be shaken."

Su Mingan raised his sword: "That's not a coincidence."

He pointed his sword at the ghost in the red mist:

“My biggest task is to kill destiny. If it can be disrupted, the more chaotic it is, the better.”

"Haha, hahahaha..." Laughter came from the red mist, like a girl's miserable smile: "—It's useless. You don't understand what fate feels like. All your struggles will eventually lead to the predetermined ending. It’s the same with Xiaoli, and it’s the same with you.”

Su Mingan drove the tentacles forward, tightly intertwined with the ghost's tentacles, and felt like muscle necrosis.

At this moment, the ghost's figure moved. It gave up its tentacles and stabbed Su Ming'an with its thin sword, so fast that it caught people off guard.

Behind Su Mingan is the gate, and there is almost no way to retreat. He cannot let go of the tentacles or the ghost will attack someone else.

At this moment, he noticed the sound of wind coming from his ears.

 “Shua!”

Hands grabbed the rapier, and the palms were instantly pierced. The rapier passed through her shoulder and pierced the shoulder blade. The remaining tip of the sword stopped in front of Su Ming'an's eyes.

Her hand firmly grasped the sword blade, stuck it in her body, and became a buffer zone in front of Su Ming'an. A "Cat Bamboo Stick" prop appeared in front of her, forcing the ghost to take three steps back.

“—That’s it, now.” Blood flowed from Su Luoluo’s mouth.

—Su Mingan didn’t expect that Su Luoluo would exchange the props.

 Her shoulder was bleeding all the time, and there was a mark of flesh being gouged out on her shoulder.

The ghost took three steps back, and Su Mingan threw Arman's sword with all his strength. The tip of the sword instantly pierced the ghost's forehead.

 “You…” Su Mingan said.

"One of us must redeem the props, otherwise we won't be able to fight against the ghosts." Su Luoluo stumbled back a few steps: "You are very important, Yi Zhongyu is also very important, and I am the least important, so... after you leave Finally, I exchanged my flesh and blood for props. Even if there are any consequences, I am the only one to bear them."

Su Mingan didn’t expect her to be so determined.

 Her shoulder was bleeding, and the blood stained the Miss Demon King medal on her chest red.

While the ghost was still drawing his sword, Su Mingan picked up Xiaoli, rushed into another safe house with Su Luoluo, and slammed the door shut.

The ghost regained consciousness and kept knocking on the door. It was extremely angry.

 “Bang! Bang! Bang!”

 The loud noises kept coming. Su Luoluo sat in the corner while Su Mingan bandaged her. The wooden door kept shaking, and the safe house looked like it was about to collapse at any moment.

"The ghost is angry...it should always be guarding the door." Surolo said.

 “Hmm.” Su Mingan already felt that the ghost's aura was stronger than before.

"What if we...can't get out? It will always guard us, always..." Surolo said: "When the time comes, if you are hungry, just eat my flesh."

 “I have food with me.” Su Mingan said.

 He lifted up her clothes that were stained with blood and skin, and she kept breathing in the cold air.

“It hurts so much and you have to stand in front of me.” Su Mingan said, “Don’t do that next time.”

If Su Luoluo died, he would have to go back and save her.

 At this moment, Su Luoluo suddenly raised his hand and held his hand. There were still some scars on the palm of his hand, which were touching her bandaged hand.

When she looked at him, her pupils shrank slightly like a cat: "Actually, Wen Sheng told me a long time ago that one day he will become another person."

Su Mingan paused her fingers slightly: "Huh?"

Su Luoluo lowered his eyes and said:

“So I call him a different nickname every week. Sometimes I call him Little Blue Sky, sometimes I call him Little Stream. Every week, every week, I give him a different nickname.”

“Until the week when I called you ‘Little Yunduo’, you came. From now on, I will only call you Little Yunduo. The nickname ‘Little Yunduo’ is unique and belongs only to you.”

Su Mingan paused his fingers for a moment and whispered, "I broke your peaceful life."

Su Luoluo shook his head: "No. I never imagined that miracles would happen in the world...until I met you. That day you held the Dream Patrol helmet and told me, 'Just press it and it will come true.'"

“You told me that the world can be saved, and you said that you want me to become the most powerful entertainment anchor. At that moment, what I was thinking was, no matter what your wishes are... I also want to participate with you.”

“My previous life was not good. I was regarded as a loser since I was a child. Later, my home was bombed, my father passed away, and my mother was still sick. It was you who allowed me to save her.”

　　“It’s okay if it’s just once…it’s okay if it’s just once.”

 Her hand tightened.

 “I want to have a beautiful dream with you.”

 …

 【NPC (Su Luoluo) favorability: 90 points (we are in the same boat)】

 …

Su Mingan let go of his hand, and he saw emotions similar to Wang Xingkong's in Su Luoluo's eyes.

The girl who was lingering at the school gate has already come here.

"You have done a good job. Now you stay in the house." Su Mingan said, "I will face the ghost."

The ghost has fallen into a manic state, its tentacles are extending in all directions, and he has heard people's screams.

  —Can’t let it go on any longer.

 “Can you defeat it?” Surolo asked.

Su Mingan paused for a moment: "Should...can't."

 Exchanging flesh and blood for props to lure away ghosts is the normal game idea. But the ghost kept staring at him. Once ten hours have passed, the first tower will fail.

 Even if you have to pay the price of multiple retreats, you still have to kill the ghost.

  He put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath, knowing that he was about to face a lot of pain.

Just as he was about to push the door open and go out, the corner of his clothes was pulled.

 “Doctor Su.” Xiao Li’s lips trembled:

 “I know how to fix it. Let me do it.”

 …

 …

  【February 9, overcast. 】

　　【Today, the operation went on as scheduled. 】

　　　【No one came to save me. 】

　　　　After my blood was taken away, my kidneys were also taken away. 】

 …

  【February 10, overcast. 】

  【I asked Xiaowen to write the diary for me because I couldn't hold a pen. 】

　　　【He kept crying. 】

　　　【The adults drove him away and then took away most of my liver. 】

 …

  【February 12, light snow. 】

【Xiaowen has been telling me that when I get off the operating table, we will go home together. 】

　　【But, I know that I will have a major operation today. 】

[The adults want to transform me because the blood of qualified people is very strong. They are thinking that if my blood can be turned into weapons, such as bright red tentacles, like "alien species that can be controlled by humans" - then, they You can use me to get more resources. 】

　　【But, in that case, I will also become a walking zombie and will no longer be me. 】

　　【It's really funny, I thought I could live a few more days. 】

　　【Xiao Wen is still crying. 】

　　【If a man loves to cry so much, how can he save other children in the future? 】

I told him that if someone really comes to save him, he must come back and destroy this place. 】

　　【Then, goodbye. 】

 …

  【February 13, heavy snowfall. 】

  【Early this morning, Xiaoli passed away. 】

  【I am Xiaowen. 】

Just now, a man named Dr. Su came to rescue me, and I left with him. 】

　　　【Xiao Li...She only has one day left before she can leave here. 】

　　【Just...one day. 】

　　【…】

　　【Dr. Su asked me what I regretted. 】

I said, if Dr. Su could come to save us before everything happened...if before February 9, before Xiaoli's organs were removed, it would be...satisfying. 】

　　【However, reality is not a fairy tale. 】

　　【Doctor Su touched my head and said I was still young, so go home and don't get involved. When I leave the small town after taking the college entrance examination and become a big shot in the future, I will come find him again. 】

 …

  【July 9, sunny. 】

  【I met a man named Chao Yan. 】

She told me that as long as I open the first tower, I can see Xiaoli again. 】

  【I decided to live well until the first tower opens. 】

She looked at me sadly and told me that the fate of death cannot be changed. Cause and effect are like a ouroboros connected from beginning to end. Even if I go back to the past, I will only complete the connection of cause and effect, which will only make the fate of "Xiao Li's death" more profound. 】

The first tower allows people to go back to the past, not to reverse time, but to climb toward the past along the line of cause and effect. Only people with perfect cause and effect can be rescued, while people who have never appeared in the future are destined to die. At best, it can change the course and produce a butterfly effect that affects the future, but only death is the past that cannot be undone. 】

　　　　Just like—a fate that is tightly locked. 】

  【But I don’t believe it. 】

  【I want to live until I meet her. I want to... tell her personally what it's like to go to school, what chalk dust smells like, what cake tastes like, and I want to bring her fresh tomatoes and the new paintings I've done in the past few years. 】

  【I want to give her a hug and tell her not to be afraid, I have grown up. 】

  【I want to live. 】

　　【Live until I see her in person nine years later. 】

　　　【I want to...live. 】

　　【This is, agreement. 】

 …

  Sorry, I quoted some readers' words in the text before. After being reminded, I realized that they needed to be marked, and they have been deleted. I will inquire about future citations.