The setting sun completely sank into the sky, and when the darkness completely covered the earth, Yuan Jing had already returned to the research institute of the welfare institute with ZERO and Thirteen, and the bright lights projected along the windows of the building, illuminating the vast lawn dimly.

The white-haired old man stood in front of the barbed bar, as if he had pinched the time and waited for their return.

The waning moon hung in the sky, and it looked like it would take a long time for the thin moon to become abundant again.

The white-haired old man nodded to Yuan Jing, and Yuan Jing left silently to rest. ZERO TROTTED ALL THE WAY TO THE OLD MAN, HUGGED HIS THIGHS AND SAID, "GRANDPA, I'M SUPER HAPPY TODAY!"

THE WHITE-HAIRED OLD MAN REACHED OUT AND STROKED THE TOP OF ZERO'S HEAD AND SMILED, "OH, YES? Hearing this, ZERO was even more energetic, and began to babble about the various things he had played today, and he really forgot about crying in the staircase square.

The white-haired old man listened with a smile, his eyes slightly closed like the crooked crescent moon in the night sky, but in the smile of the curved eyebrows, a pair of burning eyes looked at Thirteen, who was standing not far away.

Thirteen stood silently on the churning grass, his cold eyes staring at the harmless white-haired old man.

Although he had never met him before, a gut instinct told Thirteen that this person was most likely the one behind the entire experimental project, and Thirteen felt very confused by the kindness of ZERO and his friendly appearance.

ZERO SAID TO THE OLD MAN AFTER TELLING THE STORY OF THE DAY IN AN UNCOHERENT MANNER, "GRANDPA, CAN I STILL GO OUT TOMORROW?"

The old man smiled and said, "Although things are good outside, it's safer here, and there's a grandfather here, isn't it?"

ZERO frowned and struggled for a long time, and finally made a "difficult decision".

"I want grandpa..."

The white-haired old man smiled heartily: "It's still our ZERO who cares about grandpa! grandpa promised you that he would often arrange for you to go out in the future." He motioned to Thirteen, "And let you bring your friends." ”

"Really?" stopped the white-haired old man's words, and ZERO's still tangled and sad mood just now was swept away, and he clapped his hands happily and shouted: "Great, that's it! Grandpa, you must not go back!"

The white-haired old man nodded seriously and said, "It's natural, when did Grandpa lie to you." AFTER THAT, HE PATTED THE TOP OF ZERO'S HEAD AND SAID, "IT'S NOT EARLY, YOU'LL BE TIRED AFTER A DAY OF CRAZY PLAY OUTSIDE, GO BACK AND REST, I'VE ALREADY ASKED SOMEONE TO PREPARE SOME NUTRITIOUS MEALS FOR YOU, IF YOU'RE HUNGRY, EAT SOME FIRST." I'm going to see Thirteen back. ”

Hearing this, ZERO nodded, then turned to Thirteen and said, "Goodbye, we'll play together in a few days, and you should have a good rest when you go back." ”

Listening to ZERO's immature advice, Thirteen smiled and said, "Don't worry, you can go and rest... Good night. ”

"Well, good night!" ZERO said to Thirteen with joy, as the rest of the staff silently walked over to the group and left with ZERO after receiving the order.

After Zero walked away, the white-haired old man turned his head and smiled at Thirteen, "Have you had fun today?"

Thirteen had expected the old man to ask her, but she didn't expect the other party's question to be so simple, as if it were extremely useless.

Thirteen didn't answer, nodding silently.

"That's good. The white-haired old man let out a long sigh, a slightly satisfied look on his face.

"Would you like to take a walk?" nodded in agreement, and for some reason, her cheeks began to flush a little.

The lawn of the two people walked towards the gray building, and there were staff guarding the door, and the speed of the two was relatively slow, so it looked more like a leisurely walk from a distance.

"You've done really well and I'm very satisfied. The white-haired old man said straight to Thirteen.

Thirteen raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "What are you referring to, isn't it because I killed the person monitoring the experiment?"

The white-haired old man snorted and said, "It's all there." ”

Thirteen had expected the other party to be angry, but with the way he was talking and laughing now, he didn't seem to care very much about it, and the death of a staff member might not be much different in his eyes from the death of an ant.

"What have I become now?" Thirteen could no longer resist asking the white-haired old man as she approached the door of the building, perhaps because her question was a little abrupt, her face became even more flushed, and a faint heat began to release on her forehead.

"Mutants, aliens, monsters, new gods, haha, all sorts of things, you can understand. The white-haired old man didn't answer Thirteen's question directly, and said to Thirteen disappreciatively.

Thirteen said earnestly, "I'd like to know your understanding of this. ”

The white-haired old man smiled and said, "Is my understanding important?"

"Very important!" said Thirteen, with an awe-inspiring look that made it impossible to imagine that it was the words of a child in the fifth grade or so.

The white-haired old man nodded, and after a moment of silence, he said, "You are the future." ”

This is the same thing that Yuan Jing said, and this sentence seems to have become the official standard line of these staff.

However, from the mouth of the white-haired old man, it was more convincing for Thirteen, and he stayed there for a while.

The white-haired old man's pace also stopped, looked up at the waning moon in the sky and the dotted stars, and said: "You are still young, and you have not been exposed to many things, although we have forcibly instilled a lot of things in you, but it is still very difficult for you to understand these things independently, but I believe that one day in the near future, you will understand what I said." ”

Thirteen said to him, "Will it be a long time?"

"It may be a long time, but I'm sure you'll cut it off considerably. ”

"I hope so. ”

Thirteen slowly closed her eyes, her face was as red as an apple, but it made people feel sickly in their eyes.

"I'll ask you a question, why did you let me go out with ZERO today. ”

The white-haired old man smiled and said, "Since you are the future, then you always have to look at the present." Otherwise, how can there be no end without a beginning?"

Thirteen was silent when he heard this, but stared at the white-haired old man with a pair of watery eyes, and did not ask any more questions. Her cheeks became more and more bright red, as if blood was about to ooze from under her skin, and the white-haired old man saw this in his eyes, and there was no surprise on his face, everything was expected by him.

Thirteen's body suddenly shook, like a drunk man, staggered and fell to the ground, followed by a strong feeling of dizziness, and after a few breaths, Thirteen gradually lost consciousness, and completely fainted in front of him.

Before he was completely unconscious, he only heard two words faintly in his ears.

"Good dreams. ”