Chapter 2785: Beauty
"I've planted some in the small garden out back. If you like them, you can pick some when you leave." Miss Ruo set down the specimen and sighed to herself, "Humans always like to possess beautiful things for themselves."
Gong Ying's expression paused slightly, then she looked at Xu Huo. "Didn't you also prepare a gift for Miss Ruo?"
Having failed to give an appropriate gift herself, she directly dragged Xu Huo in to divert attention.
Xu Huo took out that stone. He had picked it up casually anyway, and now he was just using it to make up the numbers. There was no need to say much about it.
Miss Ruo was very familiar with things from Lake City. She only glanced at it and said, "This is gravel left behind during the lake excavation. When the environment evolved, the lake water formed peculiar water patterns on these stones. Now, almost none of the salvaged stones have similar water patterns, which shows how turbulent the evolutionary force was."
"Excessive evolution is not a good thing for anything."
"If they had remained ordinary, they could still be at the bottom of the lake, instead of being fished out and sold as commodities."
There was no way to continue this conversation. Miss Ruo seemed to be even more sentimental than she appeared.
Gong Ying sighed along with her. "Compared to plants, humans are probably the least free in this world. Before I became a player, my biggest wish was just to find a girlfriend. Who knew I'd become a player, risking life and death every day, with no idea when it will end."
Miss Ruo showed a slight interest in this topic. "Have you never thought about settling down somewhere?"
Gong Ying smiled. "Of course I have. But the district where my hometown is located isn't very wealthy, and the environment isn't good either. Although I have the means to move to another district, deep down I still feel it's hard to leave my homeland. I also want to protect my hometown when I have the ability."
Miss Ruo sighed softly. "Hometown... I haven't been back for a long time."
"Is Miss Ruo not from District 022?" Gong Ying quickly picked up the thread.
"I was born in a breeding farm," Miss Ruo said flatly. "All the people there were livestock raised in captivity for the upper class to choose from. My parents had been there since birth. They weren't pretty enough, so they could only serve as gene providers, continuously having children. I was their fifteenth child. My dozen or so siblings weren't all from the same parents, but the good-looking ones could survive. The ugly ones would be taken out of the breeding farm when they were still young, and their whereabouts would be unknown."
In the game, unless one was someone who absolutely held power and strength, no one could remain calm upon hearing the words "breeding farm." Even without personal experience, just hearing about it was enough to know the miserable conditions of those living in such places.
Those with some beauty who became objects of entertainment were actually considered to have a relatively good fate. Being used as ingredients or experimental subjects—current medical technology could keep them alive and well even while they were being tortured to the point of mental collapse.
"I'm sorry for bringing up your painful memories." Gong Ying immediately apologized.
But Miss Ruo shook her head. "They're not entirely painful memories. Because I was good-looking, I had a decent life since childhood. Things got even better after I became a player."
"What happened to that breeding farm later?" Xu Huo, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked.
"It no longer exists." Miss Ruo took a sip of tea. "The first time I returned from the game, I killed everyone in the breeding farm, including my parents and siblings. From then on, they no longer had to suffer."
The room fell silent for a moment. This was hard to judge. After all, since she could go back and kill them, it was only a matter of time before she could take them away. If she really wanted her family to escape suffering, she didn't have to choose the path of death.
This was too difficult to respond to. Gong Ying didn't know what to say for a moment, so she changed the subject to the underwater meteor.
Miss Ruo's emotions were quite stable. She brought up the reason she had settled in District 022. "I came here to wait for someone."
"Ten years ago, a man saved my life. He once said that if he ever retired from the game, he would definitely settle here and live a proper human life."
"After that, I was never able to find him. So I came to the place where he wanted to retire and wait. Maybe one day I'll run into him."
"Unfortunately, I've waited ten years and he still hasn't appeared. Maybe too much time has passed, and he's forgotten his former thoughts, or he's found a better place."
A person who hadn't been in contact or appeared for ten years—it was hard to hold out hope that he was still alive. But since Miss Ruo said so, Gong Ying could only comfort her along those lines.
But Miss Ruo seemed immersed in her own world, talking intermittently about that man.
"Have you ever considered that he might be dead?" Xu Huo spoke again.
Gong Ying turned her head in surprise. Miss Ruo also looked up at him. "You're not the first person to say that to me. But I can't be certain about this. I hope he's still alive."
"Holding onto hope is better than having nothing at all..." Gong Ying said.
"Indeed, this is something only you can be clear about." Xu Huo interrupted Gong Ying and continued, "But sometimes people indulge in their own fantasies, and over time, they keep beautifying them. Maybe things aren't as wonderful as you imagine."
"Maybe what you say is right." Miss Ruo's face showed sorrow. "But this is the only hope I have to keep living."
Gong Ying had stopped responding. She silently refilled the tea.
"By the way, why did you come to see me?" Miss Ruo suddenly seemed to remember the main point and asked.
Of course, both Xu Huo and Gong Ying had come for the clearance, but the difficulty of this level was probably not so easy. Gong Ying paused and said, "Could I take a look at your small garden?"
"Of course." Miss Ruo stood up and gestured for Xu Huo to come along.
The central courtyard of the Whale Garden was a sizable garden. All kinds of flowers were growing well. The garden wasn't very well-maintained, and the weeds were also thriving. Of course, the flowers were growing nicely too. Miss Ruo's cats and dogs were all playing inside. When they saw her appear, they immediately ran over, circling her and begging for pets.
"The flowers here are really growing well." Gong Ying praised. "I can't keep plants alive. No matter how carefully I follow the instructions, they still die."
"You should let nature take its course." Miss Ruo turned back and said. "Plants are born from heaven and earth. They don't need others to interfere to survive on their own. Whether they're lush or sparse is just defined by humans. Whether flowers grow well or grass grows well, it's actually all the same."
"I've never thought about it from this perspective," Gong Ying said. "Hearing you say it, it seems that way. If flowers grow well, you can call it a flower garden. If grass grows well, you can call it a grass garden. Looking at flowers or looking at grass—both are quite nice."
Miss Ruo smiled, her beauty even more dazzling.
Gong Ying was momentarily stunned. It took her two seconds to compose her expression. She said a little sheepishly, "How rude of me."
But Miss Ruo didn't mind. "What's wrong with liking what you think is beautiful? Besides, you're very polite. I like you too."