Chapter 703: Is Brother Leaving?
“Divine Dragon…?”
Everyone looked at the auntie, not understanding what she meant.
“It’s a man with a dragon head, standing outside the park to the west!” the auntie said with a smile. “When I passed by him today, I suddenly felt that his aura was different from other people, so I quickly knelt down and paid my respects. And he really blessed me!”
“What…?”
Some people clearly didn’t believe the auntie’s words. Their auras twisted with skepticism.
“It’s true!” The auntie’s face was still earnest as she spoke to everyone. “I could clearly feel the power of that ‘Divine Dragon’! Otherwise, how could I have obtained the ‘fragrance’?!”
Uncle Wan was stunned for a moment too. This place seemed to be exceeding his expectations more and more.
“Divine Dragon…?” Uncle Wan scratched his cheek, as if something had occurred to him. “Whether it’s useful or not, since we’re family, let’s go pay our respects every morning from now on!”
“From now on…?” Someone raised an objection. “Brother Wan… isn’t this place about to…”
“Annihilated?” Uncle Wan shook his head. “To be honest, there’s nothing to fear about so-called ‘annihilation.’ In fact, all of us have already experienced it once—you’ve just forgotten.”
Uncle Wan explained the previous annihilation in detail to everyone: how everyone had turned into dust and then returned to the real world.
Then each of us would spend a day and a half in the real world before coming back here.
Among us, those with the “fragrance” could retain their memories, while the others could not.
“Brother Wan…” At that moment, an auntie asked with some agitation, “Is that why you’ve done everything you could to help us obtain the ‘fragrance’? You want us to keep our memories?”
“Yes.” Uncle Wan nodded with a somber expression. “Originally, I only wanted to be a ‘selfless one,’ but many people still didn’t trust me. So I had no choice but to tell you all my final thoughts here. I just want everyone to obtain the ‘fragrance,’ so that one day we can escape this place together.”
After he finished speaking, he told everyone that if we could return next time, we must definitely come to this supermarket again—this was our “home.”
At that moment, I felt that Uncle Wan was truly good. I had never known what “family” was before, but now I knew.
“Family” is a group of us helping each other, discussing problems together, and sharing food when we have it. We encourage each other, cheer each other on.
So this is what “family” is.
On the tenth day, we each went to find a place we liked to await the “annihilation.” This trip was over again.
I held Brother Guyu’s hand with my left hand and Sister Siwei’s hand with my right. The three of us walked along the empty street, feeling both happy and sad in my heart.
Happy because I felt like I had truly found my family; sad because we were about to part again soon.
“Siwei, do you think Brother Wan did the right thing?” Brother Guyu asked.
Sister Siwei shook her head after hearing this. “I don’t know.”
“If we gather everyone together… can we really escape?” Brother Guyu turned his head coldly. “In the end, all the ‘wealth’ will only be in Brother Wan’s hands. The one who escapes will be him, not us.”
“I’ve thought about that too, but do we have a better way?” Sister Siwei sighed. The hand holding mine started to sweat slightly. “The situation is more terrifying than I imagined. Those people are about to be brainwashed. But even if we leave, we can’t take Little Hero with us. Brother Wan won’t let him go.”
“Then leave him behind,” Brother Guyu said. “Siwei, I’m planning to leave this organization. Do you want to come with me?”
Brother Guyu’s words left Sister Siwei and me both stunned.
Did I hear that right?
What does it mean to leave me behind?
“No… Little Hero is with me,” Sister Siwei said, her voice a little flustered. “I can’t abandon him. Without me, I can hardly imagine how he would survive here.”
Brother Guyu slowly furrowed his brow. He looked down at me, then up at Sister Siwei, and finally let out a sigh.
“Siwei, we’ve been here for twenty days. Don’t you understand yet? This place doesn’t need any ‘feelings,’ let alone a ‘family.’” Brother Guyu’s aura was filled with sadness. He glanced at me and continued, “This kid isn’t some savior, and Brother Wan isn’t the ‘king’ here. We need to find another way.”
“But we’re safe,” Sister Siwei said. “Guyu, I agree with you on other things, but for these twenty days, we’ve been safe. Have you forgotten? The first time Hero and I met you, we were being robbed. Even though this organization is obviously a ‘pyramid scheme,’ we have nothing left to lose—we’ve always had nothing.”
After hearing that, Brother Guyu turned around and pointed to his temple. “We still have you.”
“Me?”
“We still have ‘Siwei.’” Brother Guyu said. “If we stay in Brother Wan’s organization, even if you can keep your ‘Siwei,’ not everyone will be as clear-headed as you. Do you know what it means when three people spread a rumor about a tiger? I already have a bad feeling.”
Sister Siwei silently lowered her head. Her aura was hesitant.
I could feel that she really wanted to go with Brother Guyu, but she couldn’t bear to leave me behind.
How I wanted to say, “Sister, you go ahead,” but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I wouldn’t.
If Sister wasn’t in this “family,” I really wouldn’t know what to do.
But I couldn’t say “Sister, stay” either. I’m just a little kid. When adults are talking, kids shouldn’t interrupt. I was afraid Sister would suddenly stop liking me.
So I just held her hand tightly, until my own palm was drenched in sweat, but I said nothing.
“I can’t go,” Sister Siwei said. “Guyu… to be honest, I have a deep and clear understanding of myself. Even if I go off with you, it’s not guaranteed that we’ll escape this place. Instead, I’d rather help this child build a proper worldview.”
Her words made the aura of confusion around Brother Guyu even stronger.
“Help him build a worldview…?” He frowned as he looked at Sister Siwei. “With all due respect, you two only met by chance. Is this something you absolutely must do?”
“It is. I just feel it’s necessary.” Sister Siwei smiled. “Guyu, you know? That’s how I am in life. I love everyone. If I see someone in need, I can’t just ignore them.”
Brother Guyu let out a bitter laugh. “You mean… you’re the true ‘selfless one’?”
“I’ve never called myself that.” Sister Siwei shook her head. “I just do what I can.”
At that moment, a “fragrance” emanated from Sister Siwei. The name of that fragrance was “Healing.”
That day, the three of us held hands. I watched helplessly as the two of them dissolved into particles.
But I never imagined that the next time I would see Brother Guyu would be four years later.