In a square paved with unknown stones, a group of children of similar ages stood in a row.
Although they have been waiting for a long time and many of them have sore legs and feet, these young-looking children have no intention of making any noise.
They all stood up straight and no matter how long they stood, no one complained.
Of course, who dares to complain?
As long as anyone is restless, he will be punished thousands of times more painfully. So much so that these supposedly naughty children have learned to behave, and no one dares to say anything wrong.
After some time, a muscular man finally walked out of a big house outside the square.
Some of the children couldn't help but booed, after all, this man rarely brought them any good news.
Ta da...
The man did not come out alone, there were about twenty black-robed swordsmen behind him. The footsteps of these black-robed swordsmen were light and uniform, and dozens of pairs of boots hit the ground at the same time without any noise.
"It's a ghost! Why did the violent bear come out with the ghost?"
Several older children began to discuss privately in extremely small voices.
"Could it be that another lucky guy has been chosen?"
"God! It must be me. I don't want to stay in this hellish place anymore."
"Dream! I'm much better than you."
…
"Ahem!"
The man walked up to the group of children and cleared his throat, and there was immediately silence.
The group of "ghosts" behind him really looked like dead people and made no sound.
There was absolutely no sound on the field, and the children who were close together could even hear each other's breathing clearly.
"Oh, not bad."
The man was walking back and forth in front of the group of children with his hands behind his back. As the man walked, there was a strong wind around him, as if it could blow him down at any time. The palms and backs of the children standing in the front were already covered with beads of sweat.
"Bear Bear" Rednor is a strong man with bulging muscles and a face full of flesh. There is a steel plate on his left forearm, and judging by the size of the rivets, they should have been driven directly into his bones.
I don't know if it was his personal bad taste, but two "love hearts" strung together were engraved on the steel plate. But this did not make his image more friendly. These children still called him "Bear Bear" in private.
Because this man's temper is like a powder keg, it will explode at the first moment. At the same time, his body is as strong as a bear, so he has the reputation of "violent bear".
"I have good news for you all."
"Bear" seemed to be in a good mood today, and he came with a smile on his face, which is extremely rare.
The man took in the anxious expressions of the children and expressed satisfaction with their reactions. When he said the word "good news", the children couldn't stand because they had already guessed what was going to follow.
"One of us successfully 'graduated' today."
He didn't say who it was, he just applauded on his own. And the children had no choice but to applaud with him, and the whole audience burst into applause.
However, the "ghosts" behind the "violent bear" remained motionless and were not affected by the atmosphere at all. They still stared at everyone with cold eyes.
"Violent Bear" is very happy. Today, one of his team has finally been chosen. As long as one person is selected, it is considered his achievement. Moreover, the selected guy has always been an "unstable" element. There will be no more in the future.
He was even more happy with the result after taking the trouble out of it.
"Black-haired boy, what's your name?"
He stretched out his hand and pointed at a child at the back of the line and asked.
He never remembered the names of any of the people in front of him, after all... there was no need to remember them.
"Report, instructor. My name is Verus..."
The voice of the chosen "lucky guy" when he answered did not contain the excitement and trembling that "Bear Bear" was thinking about. Instead, it was very calm, and there was no trace of this person's emotions at all.
"Okay! Now forget about this thing, your name will be No. 23 from now on!"
No. 23…
The black-haired child recited the number silently several times to make sure he would not get it wrong.
"Departure! No. 23."
"yes."
No. 23 walked out of the queue in the jealous eyes of others. He walked to "Bear Bear" expressionlessly, waiting for the next instruction from "Bear Bear".
"Send him over, he is what those monsters want."
"Bear" waved his hand, and the "ghosts" all gathered around. No. 23 consciously followed these strange black-robed swordsmen, walking in step with their uniform steps in the square formation they formed.
.
"How could it be him?"
"That black-haired monster was actually chosen?"
"Okay, we have a loser in here."
…
Before No. 23 had gone far, he heard the voices of those people coming from behind. It seemed that "Bear" had allowed them to move freely.
These people deliberately raised their voices very loudly, unscrupulously vented their dissatisfaction to the people around them, and kept saying nasty things to him.
Before being sent to a dark carriage on the 23rd, he looked back at the "companions" who had been with him for a while, and gave this evaluation of those people's behavior:
"boring……"
Then No. 23 sat in the center of the carriage seat, leaning against the soft leather seat, closing his eyes and meditating.
Following him into the carriage were four "ghosts", two of whom were coachmen, and one sat in the back. There was also another one sitting in the carriage, sitting opposite him, and he kept staring with that cold look.
he.
"What's up?"
The boy felt very uncomfortable with this "ghost". He opened his eyes and frowned, showing no fear of these "ghosts".
"..."
This "ghost" remained silent, and the cold and piercing eyes he looked at No. 23 did not change.
"I won't think about escaping," No. 23 turned his face to the other side and said, "and I have no need to escape."
"That's fine."
"Ghost" spoke.
The voice of this "ghost" was very hoarse, and it felt as if there were fish bones stuck in his throat and he couldn't breathe.
"Are you in charge of that side too?"
"Ghosts" are the guards of the "school". They have been preventing "students" like No. 23 before graduating from escaping. No. 23 doesn't know where he will go and whether there are "ghosts" in that place.
"no."
On the 23rd, seeing that this "ghost" was actually willing to talk, he boldly began to ask him questions.
"Are there guards like you over there?"
"No."
"Ghost" then let out a weird laugh.
"But you can't escape either."
"Oh, I won't run away, don't worry."
No. 23 was not frightened. He turned his head, put his hands on the back of his head, and crossed his legs. He didn't seem to have any worries about his future. Even if these "ghosts" pretended to be scary, they couldn't scare him.
"We are only responsible for this journey. Once we get there, it's none of our business what you do."
"Ghost" rarely spared his words, and he generously told No. 23 their mission.
"You are not dead, are you?"
No. 23 looked at the "ghost" in front of him. Although this "ghost" had pale skin and no trace of blood, he was still a little angry.
"no."
"Ghost" has returned to the state of cherishing words like gold. Obviously, he does not intend to say too much about their existence.
"What will happen to those who never graduate?"
On the 23rd, I understood that "graduating" can get out of "school".
But the conditions for "graduation" are very strange. There seems to be no formula and no rules.
However, the higher the "grades", the easier it is to "graduate". The time of "graduation" is also not specified. Some people "graduate" after only staying in "school" for a month, while some people even change from children to
There is no "graduation" even when you become a teenager.
"No waste."
After "Ghost" finished speaking, he looked out the window. No. 23 followed his line of sight. Over there... was a mass grave.
"oh."
No. 23 was not much surprised, he simply responded.
"Where am I going?"
"..."
"Ghost" remained silent and did not answer.
“Did the graduates all go to different places?”
"..."
"Ghost" didn't answer, but his oppressive sight had disappeared and he was looking elsewhere.
Now No. 23 understood that "Ghost" had no intention of saying anything else. Although it was a pity that he could not obtain more information, without the interference of "Ghost", he could sleep well in this comfortable carriage.
One sleep.
No. 23 stretched his limbs, closed his eyes, and stopped his heated brain to think. His consciousness gradually faded away, and he fell into a dreamland among the guards of the four "ghosts".
Crackling...
"Um?"
The young man stretched his limbs and woke up beside a campfire with sparks flying around him. He looked around and found that this was a completely unfamiliar wilderness.
Where's the "ghost"? Where's the carriage? Where's the violent bear?
They...are all gone.
"Well..."
His sleeve seemed to be pulled by something, and the young man looked back.
With the dim light of the fire, you could see that it was a young and tender hand.
The girl was lying next to him, but this matter had nothing to do with the girl.
At this time, the baby in her arms opened his eyes wide, looked at him curiously, and kept tugging on the boy's sleeves.
Obviously, this little one didn't feel tired from the journey like her elder sister, and she was very energetic even though it was already late at night.
"Is it...a dream?"
The young man patted his head to wake himself up.
It seems that I can't tell the difference between dreams and reality. This is not a good sign, and I can't just be bound by the past.
"Shh! Little one, don't disturb your sister."
The baby's movements did not stop, and he even opened his little mouth to scream "baaaaah". The boy had no choice but to turn around, stretch out his hands to carefully pick up the baby, and whisper to the little guy.
"She is very tired today, I will play with you."
As the boy spoke, he bent his knees and supported the ground, getting up from the simple bed made of rags.
The baby was very obedient and seemed to understand what the boy meant. He just pouted to express his dissatisfaction with the boy's teachings, but he made no more noise.
"The green pond, the green grass, the white moon, crescent..."
The boy was sitting cross-legged by the campfire with the baby in his arms, humming softly. He didn't know much about coaxing children, and the girl taught him the songs.
I have to say that this simple lullaby has an obvious effect.
The little baby, who was still full of energy, soon closed his eyes obediently to this repeated and gentle tune.
But... this little guy is obviously not that easy. The fresh heat he just felt on his arm told him that he couldn't just rest like this.
"I thought you didn't need me to change diapers..."
The young man sighed and couldn't help but wonder why he had caused so much trouble.
The moon hanging high in the night sky is very round, and the bright stars are shining in the blue sky.
After a while, the color of the sky began to change, and fish belly began to appear on the horizon.