But it’s so cold here.
It’s already winter, and she’s still wearing the slip dress Susan changed her into back at that house.
The wind and snow feel like knives cutting through her skin.
Josh shivered, crossing her right foot over her left to try and gain a bit of warmth.
Not far away, there’s a small cave.
But she’s too scared to move; her mom has never been to Garbage Star and isn’t familiar with it.
If she hides in the cave and her mom can’t find her, what then...?
"Your mom doesn’t want you anymore, fool!"
A sharp child’s voice rang out from behind.
Josh turned her head and saw a girl a few years younger than her, looking around one year old. She should barely be able to walk, but she stood firmly.
The little girl was dressed in rags, her few strands of hair looking extrely malnourished.
She grinned wickedly, "We’re all trash abandoned by our moms. Stop waiting; your mom won’t co."
Josh still said nothing, just looked at her with a blank expression.
The little girl ca closer and took her hand, "You’re so cold, sister. Co with , and we can play together. We can take revenge on those damned adults. Here, you’re not alone; you have so many friends!"
Josh: "Friends?"
The little girl nodded, "Yeah! Friends! We’re all kids abandoned by our families, so of course, we can be friends. As long as you co with us, we can help you kill your family and make them regret leaving us!"
Josh laughed scornfully, "Sorry, you’re the ones who are the poor little things abandoned by family, not ~ I’ve got plenty of family mbers who love ; you’re the only ones who are pitiful!"
Suddenly, a whole line of people appeared behind her, n handso and otherworldly, and won beautiful and graceful.
Josh waved her hand, "See, you’re the only pitiful ones abandoned, not !"
The little girl blushed in anger, "You! Impossible, you were clearly abandoned by your family too!"
Josh made a move, and instantly the entire surrounding environnt dissolved into dust and disappeared.
A hazy figure appeared behind the little girl.
Josh pointed behind her, "Look, who is that?"
The little girl turned warily and saw a woman. The woman had simple hair and wore a faded T-shirt and jeans, looking plain and simple.
But she had no face.
"Child, co to ."
The woman squatted and slowly opened her arms, her voice full of infinite tenderness and doting.
The little girl’s pitch-black eyes reflected the woman’s features, and she seed a bit dazed, a bit incredulous, "Mom?"
The woman nodded with a smile, "How did you run off here? Not even wearing shoes, co and let mom hug you."
"Mom...mom..." The little girl sobbed and threw herself into the woman’s embrace.
The woman looked at her gently and with affection, "Silly child, co ho with mom."
The little girl suddenly shook her head fiercely, "No, I can’t leave, I’m just a girl..."
The woman hesitated at these words but quickly returned to her gentle expression, "It’s okay, mom will take you away."
The little girl suddenly pushed her away, "You’re not my mom, my mom would never take away from here!"
"I can only leave by my own efforts!"
"The fifth floor, I need to go to the fifth floor! As long as I reach the fifth floor, I can leave!"
"As long as I get to the fifth floor, make it through the experint...ugh!"
The little girl suddenly held her mouth in agony, as if accidentally revealing so secret and getting punished. Blood gushed out from between her fingers, mixed with so blood clots and fragnts of her insides.
The little girl stared with wide eyes filled with blood, her nostrils and mouth full of blood.
She glared at Josh in rage, yelling, "Ah!!!"
With her scream, the Illusion Realm shattered like a broken mirror.
Josh slowly opened her eyes; outside, the sky was already bright.
The fifth floor, the experint, huh?
She tagged the others in the group chat: [Awake?]
Yuze: [Yeah, et at the front desk.]
The others replied with ssages as well.
Josh woke up Wu, who had fainted in fear beside her, and took him to et the others.
The six of them gathered at the front desk.
Yuze was fine, his hair tied in a tidy bun, loose strands still falling in a disordered yet aesthetically striking manner, suggesting he had slept well and had ti to style himself.
Rob yawned, panda eyes drooping as he leaned against Yushi.
Jiang Can seed sowhat absent-minded, his expression dazed.
Josh raised an eyebrow, "Jiang Can, didn’t sleep well last night?"
Jiang Can shook his head tiredly, "Barely slept."
In fact, he barely slept at all. The whole night, he was trapped in past mories, the image of his mother’s death and the look of disappointnt when his father abandoned him replaying in his mind.
The fact he could stand here looking alert today was already a miracle.
Previously in the Ancient Castle instance, he struggled with illusions, and his ntal health took a hit. Once out, the coach stopped him from another instance run.
Unexpectedly, facing the sa situation this ti, he was in much better shape.
Each ti he was close to breaking down, his mind would be soothed by a cool sensation that suppressed the negative emotions, keeping him from collapsing on the spot.
Jiang Can looked at Josh.
Yesterday, when Josh pointed at his forehead, borrowing his emotions to provoke those dolls, it felt the sa way.
Jiang Can, being straightforward by nature, asked directly, "Josh, did you put sothing in my mind? I felt a lot better last night, being able to stay clear-headed."
Josh blinked, then nodded, "Yeah, I forgot. I left a ntal Tranquility Technique in your Spiritual Sea yesterday and forgot to remove it. But don’t worry, it only protects your Spiritual Sea and purifies negative emotions. If you don’t like it, I can take it out now."
Jiang Can raised a hand to his forehead, "No need, it’s good. Leave it for now; I’ll return it when you need it."
Josh laughed softly, this sort of technique was easy to conjure as much as needed, she said, "It’s not so rare thing; it works for seven days. You can keep it; it’ll dissipate on its own after seven days."
Jiang Can nodded.
Josh glanced at the others, who also seed like they hadn’t slept well.
Rob grimaced, "Couldn’t sleep at all, there was a kid hiding in our room last night, crying non-stop, wouldn’t co out, we couldn’t sleep at all, I’m going crazy. I swear I’ve never hated kids this much in my life."
Josh’s mouth twitched slightly; honestly, she didn’t really like kids either.
The players from other rooms began to co out too, seemingly drawn by their conversation, eager to join, their expressions now beyond exhausted.
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