...........

The next day, it was slightly bright, and I woke up again.

Probably because the lighthouse boy's midnight speech was really hypnotic, and I slept very soundly.

Sleepy-eyed, I sat up on the bed, rubbed my eyes, and looked to the side. The lighthouse boy should have woken up earlier, and was no longer by the fire, and he didn't know where to go. The furnace had been extinguished, and half a wisp of green smoke rose from the furnace.

The faint light outside the window reflected the traces left by the lighthouse boy when he slept against it last night. The outer wall of the stove was originally a little dirty, so he rubbed it...... And he rubbed out of his human form. It reminds me of a little story about Buddhism that Master Lu once told on the road, a Buddhist monk sitting in a cave to enlighten the Tao, with only a bonfire in front of him, reflecting his shadow on the wall. After a long, long time, the monk came to his senses, sat up and left. Although the monk left and the bonfire was extinguished, his shadow remained on the cave wall.

The story even smacks a little scary at first glance...... It is inevitable that people will misunderstand the Dharma or lose their shadow after staying in one place for a long time. However, considering that most of the monks are intelligent machines, it is not unacceptable to lose their shadows.

I got up and warmed up a glass of water from the heat of the stove, and looked for the lighthouse boy as I drank it.

He was seen at the corner of the stairs, and he was sitting on the first staircase with a black cat on his lap. The lighthouse boy seems to be ...... Chat with a black cat?

“...... I've had cats in the past, too. Well, it's still two. I just don't know how they're doing now. ”

"Meow."

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm here. My world has just been through a long night, but it's not quite light yet. But I've lit up most of the night for them, and I'm sure they'll be able to get through the day and night on their own......"

"Meow."

"......" I looked at this slightly strange scene and fell into deep thought.

If it weren't for the Lighthouse Boy and Shadow, I really have to wonder if the Black Cat had secretly drunk his Shadow for breakfast. However, the lighthouse boy seems to have spoken a little ...... Well, it's normal to look at it this way.

When the black cat saw me, he jumped off the lighthouse boy's lap and ran away with a cat's step.

"I'm going to go out recently." I said, "You... How so? ”

"Is it going to the Rift?" The lighthouse boy stood up and asked, "We can go along." ”

The lighthouse boy is not tall, half a head shorter than me. But his temperament is like a very old person.

"Hey, did you go there too?" I was a little surprised.

"Yes." The lighthouse boy seemed to be about to say something, but he stopped talking. "When are you leaving?"

"Well, it should be fine at noon today."

It took some effort to pack up the small box, bring the necessities that I had brought before, and by the way, bring some black pieces, and then bring the small walking stick given by the doctor, and of course the compass and books were not left behind. As soon as the sun was shining, the lighthouse boy and I set out for the Rift.

Although the compass has the function of indicating directions, I don't use it. The lighthouse boy said he would, so I temporarily gave him the compass to use on the road.

I had wanted to bring the stove with me this time, and it looked like it could barely hang behind the box. But dragging the boxes is slow enough, and hanging up a stove in the way is even slower...... So I threw myself down the furnace again. However, I brought the woolen quilt with me to prevent the cold wave.

The lighthouse boy didn't seem to have any luggage, and he walked in front of him with a relaxed body. I quietly glanced at him in the back with an orange, and the identification function showed nothing. However, in the orange perspective, the figure of the lighthouse boy seems to be slightly shining, and a strange image can be faintly seen on him, which seems to be the outline of a young girl?

Of course, it may also be that I watched the flowers, after all, I didn't sleep well last night, and in my mental state, it is possible to have any strange hallucinations.

Along the way, I tentatively asked the lighthouse boy about the fortune teller Huang Ji several times, but he was vague and didn't seem to be very willing to mention Huang Ji.

But when it comes to talking about the "lighthouse......

It was as if he had opened a conversation, and he kept talking. I couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but I could tell he was really interested in the Lighthouse.

So, it's not wrong for me to call him a lighthouse boy.

However, the lighthouse boy quickly noticed the fact that I was "not very interested in his speech, but I just made a very interested look to match him", so he stopped talking and changed to an expression of "sad and angry".

Well, it's rude that I didn't listen to anyone carefully, but I really wasn't interested in what he had to say......

There is no sea in the wasteland world, but there is one in the source world, but I haven't seen it either. The lighthouse, as far as I know, should be at least in the ocean, or at least some kind of functional structure near a huge body of water.

I haven't seen it before, and my understanding of it is only based on intellectual understanding, how can it resonate with the speech of the lighthouse boy......

But fortunately, the lighthouse boy did not express dissatisfaction. However, he seemed to have a problem with the fact that I couldn't move quickly with the suitcase. There's nothing I can do about it, after all, the lighthouse boy doesn't know why he didn't have his belongings, he moves quite fast, and I can't carry this box to run......

I can only make do with it like this, and next time I go home and see if I can modify it and change it to a drive machine that can run on its own. Hey, wouldn't it be nice if I just made a car......

I pondered the feasibility of making a vehicle as I dragged the creaking boxes across the wasteland. Before I knew it, it was getting dark, and I remembered that there was no tent this time.

I looked at the lighthouse boy—he looked around very carefully, found a flat ground, patted it with his foot, and then lay down like this, lifted his clothes, covered his face, and seemed to be about to fall asleep.

Hiss......

I couldn't help but gasp, the reason behind it was alienating (fog).

Is it so casual.

I could only pull out the woolen quilt - next to the lighthouse boy, curled up in a ball. Maybe the lighthouse boy is not afraid of the cold, but I am afraid.

I was really not used to such a rustic night in the wilderness, and I was so annoyed by the sound of the cold drifting around that I was dizzy for a long time before I fell asleep counting the wolves in my heart.

Tonight's oranges don't have enough energy to bring me into the Source Realm, otherwise I feel like the Lighthouse Boy will be taken in by me. If you do get in, you won't be able to wake up the next day and be frozen by the cold.

............