"Ahh

The electronic clock showed that it was three o'clock in the morning, but I didn't feel sleepy at all.

Entering the community garden, I took a deep breath, even in the city, the air in the middle of the night is still very good, but an abnormal sense of irritability in my heart lingers, like a fly constantly lingering in my ears.

"Isn't this how everything hasn't changed? that's what you want? to be a little cog with a sense of existence, to live this life no different from everyone else?"

"Yo, Xiaobao, I can't sleep. A familiar old voice said.

"Yes, I can't sleep and go out for a walk, but you haven't slept yet, old man. I was startled and looked back to find that it was the retired old man.

"Hey. The old man didn't answer, but looked at me with a strange look.

"I...... Get out for a walk. was furious by the old man's eyes, and quickly swiped the card out of the community as if he were running away.

The moon was dim, and at this point in time the whole road was dark, and there was not even a single pedestrian. I walked aimlessly, thinking that I might as well walk around and go back.

"Phew. A strange wheezing sound suddenly came from the black alley, and I took a few steps back alertly, looking in the direction of the alley.

I saw an unusually thin middle-aged man walking out of it, with deep-set eyes and blank eyes, looking at me panting, with a kitchen knife with a little embroidery in his hand.

"Calm down. I said, and slowly pulled the purse out of my pocket, put it on the ground, and slowly stepped back, it was really hard for such a mentally normal person to anticipate any action, so it was best not to provoke him.

The middle-aged man just stared at me blankly, his body swaying slightly back and forth, and did not react to my movements.

"Help me~ Help me~ Help me~~~~" My phone ringtone rang out inopportunely at this tense moment, and I'm really sorry that both the timing and the ringtone are out of place.

Then I saw that the middle-aged man seemed to be frightened, stood up, raised his knife and pounced on me.

I saw the man's movements, but the feeling of fear did not appear at all, the body did not retreat, but advanced, and the left hand easily used the back of the hand to block the hand holding the knife, and then a punch directly hit the man's stomach.

"Ahem. I saw the man be punched by me, and his whole body curled up like a shrimp, and then vomited something strange, as if he had even vomited acid.

"Don't ......" The man's eyes finally came back to consciousness, and he looked at me walking towards him with a calm face, and he was so frightened that he stepped back with his hands and feet.

However, at this moment, my body seemed to be controlled by other consciousnesses, and when I looked at the retreating man, the anger in my heart seemed to be ignited.

"Ahh

"Crack. Then I slammed the left corner directly into his chest, and there was a cracking sound, and the corners of the man's mouth began to foam with bright red blood.

However, as if that was not enough, I looked left and right and saw the kitchen knife that the man had dropped on the ground, and I walked over lightly, checked it, and tried the blade with my thumb.

"Ahem...... No...... I was wrong...... I'm sorry......" The man saw my movements, and despite the serious injuries on his body, he crawled backwards like a caterpillar.

I shook my head and walked straight over, the man moving so slowly that it was almost negligible.

I skillfully dropped the knife, ignored the man's pleading eyes, and stabbed it with my backhand.

However, the imaginary blood light did not emerge.

My hand was held by a thin, strong, and strong hand.

"It's alright, kid, it's alright. The old man grabbed my hand and said softly as he looked at me with red eyes.

"No, this won't work. I felt the tremendous force coming from my wrist and struggled unwillingly.

"Child, what's not going to work?" the old man still gripped my wrist, and it was hard to imagine how such a thin hand could exert so much force.

"I can't protect anything like this, I have to take care of everything, or everything I want to protect will disappear, and I will do whatever it takes to do so. I said, and the images of several people in strange costumes struggling in the forest because they couldn't breathe air, and finally seemed to lose all strength and fell to the ground, including a man of extraordinary strength, several men with bows and arrows, a man with a long sword, and a man of obscene appearance.

"What are you going to protect?" said the old man, seeing this, more gently.

"Grandma Emma, Mother Ves, Mother Anna, and ......" Figures flashed through my mind one by one that I should not have seen, an old but gentle old woman, a beautiful but kind middle-aged woman, an elegant and intelligent middle-aged woman, and then ......

A pretty figure with short hair appeared in front of me, the girl was sometimes angry, sometimes angry, but most of the time she was just silently behind me, trying hard and determined to keep up with my footsteps, and occasionally a cute girl who was coquettish.

"Cialis. I finally remembered the name, and the figure of the black hair crept through my mind.

"Stinky old man!" I saw that the thin man who should have been seriously injured and fell to the ground suddenly roared angrily, as if he had never been injured before, and pounced on us.

I saw that the man's appearance gradually changed, the skin and flesh gradually disappeared, and it was replaced by black flames like the abyss of hell, and I saw that only a disgusting gray skeleton was left on the man's body, and a viscous black flame was burning on his body.

"Icicle. An ice pick quickly condensed in my hand, and the ice pick quickly rushed forward, only to see the skeleton shake it with a hand full of black fire, and the black fire quickly spread to the ice pick, but the skeleton was also pushed by the force of the ice pick.

Then I felt something hard in my hand.

I didn't have time to think about it, so I felt like I picked it up and stabbed it forward.

It was an unusually beautiful dagger, and at this moment it was radiating more brilliance than ever.

Everything in front of me was shattered into countless irregular shapes like a mirror, and there were some flashing fragments around me, and as these images flashed, the memories gradually returned to my mind.

"Kid, the test isn't over yet, you can't fall here. A gentle voice said.

「...... Who are you?" I looked at the old man in front of me with long white hair and beard, and a kind face, and the old man vaguely looked like the retired old man downstairs.

"It's time, you should leave, or it will find another way to keep you here. The old man didn't answer, just looked at me gently, and then the old man tapped my forehead with his finger, and in an instant the surroundings disappeared as if swallowed by a whirlpool.

"Wait, what about Aini, what is Aini going to do? Is she also hallucinating?" I suddenly felt a pain in my heart before I was swept into the whirlpool, and a beautiful figure with long silver hair came into my mind, and at the same time, I couldn't help but want to ask the old man for answers.

「...... Hehe. The old man looked at me with a strange look, and then smiled strangely, probably the kind of smile that would have made you want to reward him with a casserole fist.

Then I was swept in by the whirlpool in a state of confusion, and there was only one old man left.

"Kid, I can only help you get here, and you can only rely on yourself to get down the street. The old man sighed softly, and woody lines began to appear all over his body, and then, as if withering, they kept peeling off, turning into a pile of sawdust, and an unknown wind blew and disappeared without a trace.