Chapter 60

In the eyes of the Little Prince whom he had killed, a name seemed more important than anything else.

241 didn’t think so. Right now, he felt that his home was the most important thing.

Home was just like this.

But though he thought that, watching 242 repeat his new name over and over until his pronunciation grew smoother and smoother, 241 still couldn’t help pursing his lips. His feet itched a little, wanting to kick something.

He suddenly felt like he understood why, back when they had gone to the Sand Dunes together, 242 had gotten so mad at a flower that he stomped his feet.

He watched as 242 finished repeating his own name and then pulled their little brother along to look up at the sky.

“Ximu, it’s a star.” 242 pointed at the brightest little star in the sky.

Then his finger shifted slightly to point at another star close to it, and he declared, “That’s Yuzi.”

Ximu came from the ancient twelve star sequences of C Country, commonly seen in Eastern astrology.

When a person was born, the positions of the various star sequences on the zodiac were, in order: Xingji, Xuanxiao, Yuzi, Jiang Lou, Daling, Shishen, Zhushou, Zhuwei, Shouxing, Dahuo, Ximu.

Since it was the origin of his own name, Su Ximu remembered it clearly.

Incidentally, the little guy, who still didn’t know many characters, also memorized the names of some other little stars after a few repetitions.

He didn’t quite understand the specific concept of star sequences and just lumped them all together as little stars.

So when his big brother pointed at a star in the sky and said it was Yuzi, the little guy racked his brains to recall and confidently nodded. “Yeah, that must be it.”

Meanwhile, 243 sweated anxiously on the side as he watched his second brother and little brother going back and forth. He hadn’t quite figured it out—why had his little brother suddenly decided to go up to the sky and become stars with second brother? Without him?

243 was so anxious that even his speech stuttered. He reached out to grab his little brother’s hand. “No no no, can’t!”

He couldn’t let his little brother go only with second brother, without him!

After saying that, he added another hand, holding the little hand with both of his, afraid that his little brother would fly up and turn into a star right then.

At the same time, because his speech had suddenly become stuttered, his face and neck flushed red, and he nearly burst into tears.

Finally, he managed to spit out a complete sentence. “D-Do we have to go? T-Take me! I’ll go too. Anywhere!”

“I-I-I, I’m a star too!”

243 unilaterally claimed his star identity and immediately looked up, searching for his own position.

He wasn’t very satisfied—the star closest to his little brother had been snatched by second brother first.

He turned his head, wanting second brother to give him that star, but second brother ignored him and even patted his head.

He could only settle for second best, randomly picking one from the two stars that were only a tiny bit farther away than second brother’s.

After choosing, 243 immediately turned his head and looked at his little brother expectantly. “Wh-What’s that one?”

Because of third brother’s anxious and serious attitude, Su Ximu, who had already started racking his brains to recall, suddenly felt like he had grown taller again.

Big Brother had picked him up, bringing him closer to the stars.

There were two stars there, and just right, Su Ximu thought of two names.

Under the night sky, he had one arm around Big Brother’s neck while stretching out his other little hand to trace the strokes of the names in midair.

One was called Xuanxiao.

One was called Jiang Lou.

Xuanxiao, Yuzi, Jiang Lou, Ximu.

Just hearing them, they sounded like a family.

In an open patch of ground with slightly fewer sheet metal houses, a youth whose figure was just starting to grow held a child in his arms, while two slightly older children stood on either side.

They looked up, gazing at the sky above their heads—perhaps for the first time so intently—in a way they never had before, despite it having been there for many years.

Su Wuzi spread his hand, and a palm-sized Transparent Bead floated in it.

A miniature version of the scene faintly appeared inside the bead.

“Brother, what’s this?”

Su Wuzi looked down at the Transparent Orb in his hand, sensed it for a moment, and replied, “It’s a dream.”

A dream straddling the virtual illusion and reality.

When real things shattered, they could become dreams.

When dreams gained people, they could become reality.

He wanted to preserve this moment forever. In the form of a dream.

Because the best reality was right by his side.

The 241, 242, and 243 who had already been formally renamed Su Xuanxiao, Su Wuzi, and Su Jianglou recently developed a collective fondness for going out at night to look at the stars.

Unfortunately, the pollution in the Wasteland World was too severe. It wasn’t until three months later that they finally saw specks of light appear in the night sky again.

Su Jianglou still remembered the Transparent Orb that second brother had held that day and wanted to claim it for himself. But after quietly searching the house for a few days, he couldn’t find where second brother had put it.

In the end, Big Brother told him that second brother had taken the Transparent Orb back, so it couldn’t be found at home.

Su Jianglou reluctantly gave up.

Fortunately, something came up next that made him very happy. According to Xibao, his birthday was coming up soon.

His birthday was something Xibao had seen on the shackles around his wrist, where his birth date was engraved.

Upon hearing this, Su Jianglou checked over Big Brother and second brother’s shackles as well.

The second day after Big Brother returned, when he went to school, the teacher had put the chains back on him.

By date order, it was his birthday next, then Big Brother’s, and second brother’s birthday was much later.

This made Su Jianglou happy. He even went to second brother to brag that his birthday came before his!

Though second brother didn’t show anything on the surface, Su Jianglou felt that he had annoyed him.

Su Jianglou was right.

At first, Su Wuzi didn’t feel much, but after third brother happily celebrated his birthday, ate cake, and received a gift that Xibao made from a Little Stone, and then Big Brother had his birthday, ate cake, and received a gift too…

Third brother and Big Brother’s birthdays were close together, but he had no birthday, no cake, and no gift.

Su Wuzi endured for a long time without doing anything to his brother and little brother’s gifts. But he felt very sad and anxious. At night, he even ran out the door by himself and couldn’t help turning red-eyed.

He couldn’t run too far because of the chain.

In the end, Su Ximu, who had always been held by his brother to sleep, noticed something was wrong. He followed him out and coaxed his brother for a good while. He even brought out the birthday gift he had prepared for his brother ahead of time, finally soothing him.

Time gradually lost its importance under the rigid management of Education Field 104.

By the Wasteland World’s calendar, after Su Wuzi celebrated the first birthday of his life once the year turned, the entire Education Field suddenly grew deserted.

People were taken away by the managers every day. And they never came back.

Originally, according to the Research Institute’s plan, they weren’t prepared to use this batch of reserve hunter forces—whose potential was still being developed—so hastily.

But the situation between worlds changed in an instant, catching the Wasteland World’s management off guard.

They had originally thought that the world with its strange and bizarre powers, which had suddenly appeared, had been fully explored by them—that it was a world they could conquer and devour.

But they hadn’t expected that the bizarre monsters with strange powers they had seen were merely the tip of that vast world’s iceberg!

They had sacrificed several major districts, turning those districts into playgrounds for the monsters, to conquer just one corner of that world. They thought they had conquered the entire thing.

But when even more powerful monsters crossed the boundary through the gray mist into that corner, they realized they had no room to resist at all.

Districts 23, 26, and 12, adjacent to District 13, fell one after another. The entire District 13 almost became an isolated island!

At this point, District 13’s managers no longer dreamed of conquering the New World to gain eternal life and perfect bodies. What they wanted most now was just a chance to continue living powerfully and with dignity.

Fortunately, they saw hope.

A District 13 manager accidentally obtained a piece of information from that world: among the strange bizarre monsters that crossed the gray mist into this world, one possessed a reward item called 【Doomsday Voyage Ship】.

It could carry people through the gaps between worlds, seeking new opportunities for survival.

The managers of District 13 coveted this item immensely.

As for how to obtain it, they already had plenty of experience.

They just needed to play a game with that monster, survive or defeat it, and they would have a chance to get the 【Doomsday Voyage Ship】.

To that end, District 13’s managers frantically sent manpower into that monster’s territory.

If not for the monster’s game limiting the number of participants, they would have driven everyone from all the Education Fields in District 13 over at once for the best odds.

Because the situation was tense, classes at Education Field 104’s school were suspended.

If all the Education Field’s students were sent in and still failed to obtain the item from that monster, the management would have no choice but to send in people from the inner districts as well.

Of course, that included the Education Field’s teachers.

At this time, nearly half of the entire Education Field was empty. The teachers and Education Field managers were panicked and didn’t linger, all hurrying back home.

Su Xuanxiao and Su Wuzi sensed the dangerous aura.

Su Ximu also felt something was off, and his heart wasn’t comfortable. But he was still young, and after Third Brother—who was rarely home during the day—played with him for a good while, he forgot that uncomfortable feeling.

Taking advantage of the sparse crowds outside, he went with Third Brother to Neighbor Grandpa’s house.

Su Jianglou wasn’t shy around strangers. This old man had even eaten his cake, so he counted as an acquaintance.

Old Man’s house had always just been him living alone. But over a year later, today, the whole place felt extremely lively.

Because all four walls of the house were painted with all sorts of cartoon animals using white Little Stones.

Most of these were drawn by Su Ximu.

At first, the little guy hadn’t wanted to draw randomly at grandpa’s house because his kindergarten teacher had taught him that it was very rude for kids to draw on other people’s things without permission.

Only once, when he happened to have a white Little Stone in his pocket, he couldn’t help drawing a little dog on the floor while talking to grandpa. After drawing it, he wanted to erase it.

But grandpa didn’t let him. Instead, he picked him up and let him draw freely on the walls.

Because drawings on the floor could easily get ruined by people walking.

As a child, even if Su Ximu was very polite, under this indulgence of being held up to draw on the walls, it was easy for him to unleash his innate childish love for doodling.

Once unleashed, over time, Old Man’s house naturally became lively.

A little dog on the east wall, a cow on the west, a bunch of rabbits on the north, two pigs on the south—this life didn’t look lonely at all.