Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

5

Wednesdays for high school students—not to mention Wednesdays during semesters and before holidays—should be a normal day. Get up at six or seven o'clock, spend most of the time at school, and finally wave goodbye to you on this extremely ordinary day.

If I had to choose the most special day of the week in turn, I would undoubtedly not answer Wednesday until the end.

However, waking up today has been unusual—after learning yesterday that I was going to skip class today, my sister knocked on my door before six o'clock and woke me up. Go downstairs and have breakfast with her.

"I said...you don't usually wake up so early, do you? Are you going to show me how you kill your relatives?"

"If that's the case, I won't prepare breakfast for you. I just didn't sleep much last night." Su Huilin lazily rubbed the fine hair hanging down her cheeks, without even looking at me, "As for openly talking to you The discomfort of skipping classes is just incidental.”

"That's why...you are definitely out to get revenge."

Su Huilin raised her head when she heard this, and looked at me with a smile, as if she expected that I would not be able to deal with her. This is truly the rarest of all, to be able to witness Su Huilin's smile twice within 12 consecutive hours. But it would be better to change to another situation.

Not long after that, Su Huilin went out to go to school, and I was the only one left at home.

Since Xia Yinci only said "see you tomorrow" yesterday, and I didn't know the meeting place and time, I had no choice but to sit on the sofa and wait for news from Xia Yinci, and finally fell asleep in a daze.

In the dream, I seemed to return to the room where ghosts pressed the bed every time. But this time, I didn't get stuck in a dream and couldn't move. Instead, it was just like a normal dream.

This normal thing seemed rather abnormal to me. And this time in my dream I saw a girl I had never seen before——with long silver hair and a pitch-black sweater. In the dream, she seemed to say something to me in an arrogant tone.

The inexplicable dream came to an abrupt end when she was woken up by the vibration of the mobile phone.

After waking up, I only remember the girl's icy eyes, and I can hardly remember anything else.

The person who sent the message was Xia Yinci. As expected, she sent me the meeting place and time.

I glanced at the message, and then I realized the urgency hidden between the lines, and I couldn't help but gasped. I picked up the schoolbag next to me, found a pair of shoes, stepped on them and went out the door.

Meeting at a well-known restaurant is not the problem here. It's just that the time is set at five minutes later.

Fortunately, when Xiao Pao arrived at the station, I happened to meet the next bus. I got on the bus before the door closed, waited for the dangling car to drive to the terminal, and finally started again reluctantly, and finally arrived at the restaurant at the destination.

"Hey...Where...who would not inform others until ten minutes before the meeting time to meet at a place not nearby..."

I supported my thighs and panted slightly, and the frosty mist floated into the air.

Xia Yinci approached me with a weird smile, I raised my head and looked at her with a little resentment. I saw that she was carrying a sky blue backpack that she had never carried before, and she was wearing twin ponytails that had never been tied, hanging down on her shoulders one after the other.

"You seem to lack exercise."

"Nonsense... rushing here from my house in five minutes will kill me more than a 1,000-meter physical test."

"It's better to join the sports club after school."

"No. People of noble birth don't need to exercise."

"I don't know what you're talking about...don't underestimate noble people."

"This world is really strange. Why should I be lectured by you, the culprit who caused me to sweat profusely in winter?"

Xia Yinci chuckled, turned around and walked in the opposite direction to the restaurant. I carefully looked at Xia Yinci in front of me. In fact, she was shaking her sweaty hair, and she seemed to come here in a hurry, but she arrived one step ahead of me.

"I thought you were going to treat me to a big meal. It breaks my heart to see you walking further and further away."

The figure gradually distanced itself. Xia Yinci and I were walking side by side on the empty road, and the smell of the abandoned construction site was already in sight.

"Are you hungry?"

"It's okay. In case we go to the barren mountains and find nothing to eat, you will be by my side."

"Is this what you mean by confessing to me? I won't accept it."

"You're being sentimental. I mean you can be the closest food source."

"I didn't even know you had degenerated into a cannibal. From now on, I will spend less time alone with you, and I must feed you as a last resort."

"You're right. It's still too late to go back the same way and treat me to a good meal."

At this point, Xia Yinci suddenly turned around, but she just made sure that there was no traffic passing behind her. She trotted across the road, then turned around and waved to me.

With a smile on Xia Yinci's face, she really didn't think she was an adventurer, she was more casual than a traveler.

I thought of her saying yesterday that she would treat today as a short trip, and I couldn't help feeling that this was her real purpose. I also thought that I couldn't always be easily rubbed by her, so I deliberately put on a poker face and walked to her side indifferently.

It's a pity that Xia Yinci didn't take it to heart at all, and when she saw me coming, she walked into the small path of the mountain pass.

I don't know if she didn't see my expression or ignored it, I guess it was the latter. But what can be asserted is that she knows that even if I feel dissatisfied, I will obediently follow her, so she doesn't look back to confirm.

"Don't worry, I'll treat you to a big meal when things are over."

"Oh. It's finally worth the effort."

"You're obviously very happy in your heart, aren't you? You're still putting on such a stinky face, hehe, you're not being frank."

"...It's fine if you're happy. But I'm not going to let the girls treat you, so let's pay each other."

"Hey...you actually think of me as a girl, it's a surprise."

"I can't hear any logic in this. My attitude can also put you in a quantum superposition state of unidentified gender."

Usually this kind of word comes out of Xia Yinci's mouth, but today I feel a little relieved by turning against customers. However, Xia Yinci didn't feel that she had lost to anyone, and there was still an overjoyed smile on her face.

6

As we walked deeper into the woods, we, who were chattering along the way, finally fell silent.

The reason why I didn't speak was because I felt that there really didn't seem to be any relics here, and I was embarrassed to speak out directly to spoil her interest. I can't make a conclusion why she didn't speak, maybe she was so focused that she didn't have time to speak.

At first, I asked her about the characteristics of the ruins, and looked around with her. In the end, it is true that I lost my patience and had to follow her aimlessly.

During this period, I took out my mobile phone three or four times to confirm the time, but Xia Yinci never intended to take a break.

After an unknown amount of time, I finally couldn't hold back and quickly passed her and stopped in front of her.

"I know you don't find the mood that you can't be content with, but let's stop here..."

"Are you...ready to leave?" Xia Yinci looked at me in astonishment, eyes full of reluctance. "I agreed to let you take it as a short trip. If you don't even find the entrance to the ruins... I will feel very sorry."

It's incredible to hear the four words "sorry" from her mouth. In other words, other people should have noticed that I, the person who followed behind, was impatient. I don't know if Xia Yinci didn't find it at all or it was because she found it that she must find it. Although it's not impossible to understand her thoughts, it's unbelievable that her persistence can reach this point.

"You're going to get it wrong. I'm not telling you to go back to your respective homes now. After searching for so long, it's time to take a break."

"Eh...is that so?"

This time I didn't compromise with her, but it was originally my plan. Besides, going now would be tantamount to zero gain, and it would be a waste of the entire morning. Judging by her expression, it is impossible that there is no progress. Since she has not given up for a long time, it means that if she continues to search, she will definitely find it. Although she is sometimes silly, she is not the kind of idiot who knows that there is no way out and wants to keep going.

"But I'm not tired. I already feel that victory is near."

"I'm tired. I want to rest for a while."

"That's why you lack exercise. You need to exercise more!"

I'm not going to respond to her stupid words. If she responds, she will definitely talk nonsense endlessly. I don't want to waste my energy on this kind of thing. I'm really tired. This is also the reason why she didn't complain about her feeling that victory is near.

Xia Yinci didn't seem to expect that I didn't refute her, she spread her hands with her palms up, closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment.

"It can't be helped, let's take a break for someone who is out of breath."

Which eye sees someone so tired. I managed to swallow this sentence without saying it.

She squinted and giggled. It's really unpleasant. I don't know where she has a sense of superiority. Obviously, her physique is not much better than mine, and I have never seen her how to exercise. Maybe she is not as good as me.

Ignoring her gaze, I was about to find a place to sit down and rest, and I happened to find a tree trunk lying on the ground, which fit my height. It is not very comfortable to sit on, but it is a suitable place to stay.

Not long after, Xia Yinci didn't seem to find another seat, so she came over by herself and sat down beside me very comfortably.

It stands to reason that the trunk is more than enough to bear the weight of two people, and I don't feel uneasy sitting on it by myself. But who knew that Xia Yinci just sat next to me, and the strange noise of the branches squeezing and rubbing instantly shattered the tranquility at this time, and at the same time, there was a feeling of falling underneath.

The next second I couldn't see my body. Maybe it was because I raised my head out of instinct. My field of vision was quickly swallowed by the monster called darkness, and then the violent impact from my back almost swept away my consciousness. Fortunately, the feeling of falling stopped at this time.

I didn't know what had happened for a while, so I just followed the most instinctive idea and stood up. It was only after this that I began to worry about Xia Yinci's situation. But before I could call Xia Yinci's name, her voice came over me one step ahead.

"Hmm...cough cough cough...Su Huohuo, are you alright?"

Appears to be choked on by surrounding dust. Xia Yinci coughed like a child with a cold, and then sneezed weakly. Just as I was about to answer her, I found that the choking smoke wanted to run into my mouth, so I quickly raised my hand to cover my mouth and nose, as if I was in a burning building.

"I'm fine. Just stand still."

I raised my voice as much as I could and still held my breath, it was like walking through a fire. The only difference is that I'm not surrounded by raging fire - but dirty dust.

Xia Yinci rarely listened to me, and stood there obediently waiting for me to walk over. However, when I walked over, I realized that this was not the case. She was just attracted by something on the ground, and she was observing something that I couldn't see.

"Who dropped a hundred yuan on the ground?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? This is inside the ruins. We got kicked right into it."

"Although it's rare for me to be stupid once, it seems that it's not your turn, a habitual offender, to accuse me..."

Xia Yinci ignored my untimely complaints and carefully observed the traces that only she noticed.

In fact, what I care about is not such trivial things as who is stupid, and the cold joke about who loses money is not what I want to say most. It's just that the more urgent I am, the more I can't show a more serious attitude.

After all, being thrown into such a cold place, if no one plays the role of easing the atmosphere, it is easy for the parties to make the atmosphere more and more terrifying based on their own subjective impressions. If you are so frightened that you are in a hurry, how can you remember the scientific spirit?

right. Don't look at us like this, the original purpose was to research the relics. What a legitimate reason.

I smiled helplessly, and raised my head to visually measure the distance between the ruins and the ground. Light shone in through two holes the size of manhole covers, and the sky was only the tip of the iceberg. Although the ground was within sight, there were no steps leading up, not even ropes.

"Looks like I won't return empty-handed this time."

I was thinking about how to climb to the top later, I shifted my gaze back to look directly at the top, and met the eyes of Xia Yinci who was very interested. She squatted on the ground with one hand on her knees, and I leaned over to look carefully at the dusty slate floor in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm different from you who are smart in ice and snow. I don't understand what this irregular pattern means."

Xia Yinci seems to have the function of automatically translating sarcasm into her own language. The slightly smug smile in her eyes is like asking me "Do you want to ask me?" I continue my glorious tradition of informality, yes She nodded to show her confidence.

"Hmph, this is the local language of Seaside City a long time ago. Although I don't know why the words were engraved on the ground, and I can't understand the meaning of the words, but at least it shows that this is the place where people stayed in the tribe before."

"Wait, let me say... at most fifty years of history from the birth of the seaside city to the present. In just fifty years, the places where humans once lived will not naturally evolve to the bottom of the mountains, right?"

"You mean, you think this place can't be as simple as 'the place where people stayed', right? Actually, I think so too——the tree trunk that brought us to the ruins shouldn't be there by accident Bar?"

I slightly turned my head to look at the instigator who trapped us here, it was lying innocently and alone not far from us.

"Huh? Do you have any idea?"

Xia Yinci stared at me with sparkling eyes. Although I didn't think I could express a deeper opinion than hers, I still didn't want to disappoint her expectations, so I simply expressed my personal opinion according to her wishes.

"I think this tree trunk is like some kind of trigger mechanism. It may be due to its age and aging. Therefore, the ruins were not opened in the correct way. Instead, even the mechanism itself threw us into it."

In this way, it is a matter of course that there is no way to go back to the top. Because the mechanism was already broken. If it weren't for our arrival to awaken its mission, it should be forever sealed in the past fifty years ago together with the ruins.

"As expected of Su Huohuo."

Xia Yinci curled up the corner of her mouth strangely. I don't know if what she said is sincerely complimenting me. I simply didn't accept her compliment and didn't show unnecessary modesty, and straightened up on my own.

Just at this moment, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something emitting a strange light in the corner. I only met my gaze for a moment, and when I stood up straight, I couldn't see anything. I couldn't help frowning, and bent down a little to find the discovery I had lost.

I went back and forth several times, and finally returned to the angle where I happened to witness the light. In order not to let it slip away again, I had no choice but to maintain a strange standing posture, approaching the source of the light with difficulty.

"Su Huohuo...are you showing off your brain?"

"Don't you know that when you usually discover something, you often do this kind of weird behavior?"

"Of course I know. But this kind of thing is normal for people who often do it, but it seems abnormal when it's your turn."

Xia Yinci said what was taken for granted, while slowly following behind me.

I just don't understand why she always shows such a clear logic in such inexplicable places.

When the light became clear, I suddenly realized that the light was not emitted by the thing itself, but produced by the refraction of the sun. Lying on the ground is an arched piece of colored ground glass, fragmented and displaying colorful brilliance. In fact, there are quite a lot of glass of the same style nearby, but it is not reflected by the sunlight.

I stopped in despair, at first I thought it was a great discovery. But Xia Yinci's reaction was completely opposite to mine, a strange excitement suddenly awakened in her eyes. She ran in front of me and lowered her body to pick up a fragment, smiling at me.

I can't figure out where her joy comes from. I had to ask her for advice again.

"Hee hee. Do you still remember the materials I showed you yesterday?" Xia Yinci raised her index finger and explained in a straightforward manner, "Binside City used to be a primitive village where religion was paramount, and here are all glass of this style. What do you think it can be used for here?"

I stared at the fragment in Xia Yinci's hand that seemed to reflect holy light, and gradually understood the meaning of her words.

"So...is this a church for worship?"

"It's so rigid. Not every religion requires worship."

"Don't hold on to my language problems."

I pursed my lips in dissatisfaction, and glanced sideways at the broken glass fragments on the ground. Looking carefully, it really exudes the charm of a religious church.

"Holy Mother of Mercy, you have given life to this world..."

Suddenly, there was no warning tingling deep in the brain.

I didn't have time to retrace the sound that I didn't know where it sounded just now. The intense pain made my thoughts stuck in my throat. The field of vision is instantly eroded by a pair of empty pupils that seem to contain everything, and densely packed 0s and 1s cover the entire field of vision.

It seemed to see countless people in black robes, praying devoutly for the end of the world.

The body cannot move. The heart that was shaken by the sight was beating violently. There is a sense of familiarity in the depths of my memory, as if it is not the first time I am standing here.

I tried my best to turn my gaze, wanting to confirm whether Xia Yinci saw the same scene. But the girl beside me suddenly turned into countless different bubbles, and I actually saw dozens of different people from her figure, and even more than this.

The unbelievable anomaly didn't end there, it was still fermenting.

I can't look away. I could only stare at them, almost simultaneously and subtly staggering each other, and said to me——

"What are you doing here?"

It's like waking up from a dream. The lazy voice seemed to transcend reality. It arrived at the ear unexpectedly.

I narrowed my gaze in a daze, and the only person standing beside me was Xia Yinci. What I saw and heard in the last second suddenly disappeared, it was like a bubble. In a trance, I only knew that "their" words could not reach me after all.

I was supposed to be awake all the time. There was a sense of astonishment that suddenly woke up from a dream.

"Ah...we are...that..."

Xia Yinci was confronting someone. Realizing this, I slowly followed her gaze and looked in the direction we came from.

It was a young girl, squinting sleepy eyes like a cat, and like a fairy who does not eat fireworks. She looked at us lazily and coldly while stroking her long brown fluffy hair.

Xia Yinci maintained a smile that was about to collapse, and quietly poked me with her elbow.

Of course I understood her hint, but a person who was more confused than someone who just woke up didn't know how to get away with it, so he opened his mouth dryly, but couldn't say a word.

"Say something quickly..."

Xia Yinci hurriedly glanced at me, but she was afraid that the other party would notice our small movements, so she didn't dare to linger on me for any longer.

"How do I know what to say. Did you know in advance that there is someone in charge here?"

"If I knew, I would have prepared the words to deal with it..."

I don’t know if she has discovered that we are plotting, this girl—let’s call her the mysterious "administrator" for the time being, walked two steps towards us, with her hands clasped and her arms bent behind her waist, she glanced at us intriguingly. .

"Don't hang out in this kind of place in the future. Also, there are traps everywhere. It's dangerous to touch things here casually."

The unidentified "administrator" gestured for the piece of glass that Xia Yinci was holding with his eyes. Xia Yinci immediately threw it on the ground after hearing the words. She had never seen her so obedient. The "Administrator" no longer stared at us with those jewel-like green eyes.

The moment she looked away, I breathed a sigh of relief, as if I were free again. I don't know why this girl who is visually similar in age to us exudes such an oppressive aura. Fortunately, she didn't use this oppressive force to imprison us for a longer period of time.

"It's okay, let's go quickly."

The girl gave the order to evict the guest in a flat tone as if the end of the world would not change. Xia Yinci and I looked at each other, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she was also thankful that she was not held accountable by the other party.

"Hey...are you letting us go like this..."