Chapter 2785: Beauty

"I planted some in the little garden out back. If you like them, you can pick a few when you leave." Miss Ruo put the specimen down and sighed to herself, "Humans always like to lay claim to beautiful things."

Gong Ying’s expression paused slightly, then she looked at Xu Huo, "Didn’t you also prepare a present for Miss Ruo?"

Having given the wrong kind of gift herself, She simply dragged Xu Huo in to divert attention.

Xu Huo took out that Shitou, which he had picked up casually in the first place. Now he just used it to make up the numbers; there was no need to say much.

Miss Ruo knew Lake City’s things very well. With just a glance she said, "This is rubble left at the bottom when the lake was dredged. During the environment Evolution, the lake water formed peculiar water patterns on these stones. Now that they’ve been hauled up, there are almost no stones with similar patterns, which shows how surging the Evolutionary Power was."

"Over-Evolution is never a good thing for anything."

"If they’d stayed ordinary, they could have remained down there instead of being fished up to be sold as commodities."

There was no way to keep the chat light; Miss Ruo seemed even more sentimental than She looked.

Gong Ying followed with a sigh. "Compared to plants, people are probably the least free things in the world. Before I became a Player, my biggest wish was just to find a girlfriend. Who knew that after becoming a Player I’d be risking my life every day, with no idea when it’ll end."

Miss Ruo showed a bit of interest in this topic. "You never thought about choosing a place and settling down?"

Gong Ying Xiao Xiao, "Of course I’ve thought about it. But the district where my hometown is isn’t very wealthy, and the environment’s bad. I do have the means to move to another district, yet in my heart I still feel it’s hard to leave my native soil, and I also want to protect my hometown when I’m capable."

Miss Ruo sighed faintly, "Home... I haven’t gone back in a long time."

"Isn’t Miss Ruo from Zone 022?" Gong Ying quickly picked up the thread.

"I was born in a farm," Miss Ruo said mildly. "Everyone there is penned up as livestock for the upper class to select. My parents have been there since birth. They weren’t pretty enough, so they could only serve as gene providers, having children nonstop. I was their fifteenth child. The dozen or so siblings aren’t all from the same father and mother, but the good-looking ones get to live. The ones who aren’t, when they’re still young, are taken out of the farm to places unknown."

In the game, aside from those who wield absolute power and strength, no one can hear the word "farm" without their face changing. Even without personal experience, just the stories are enough to make you understand how tragic life is for people in the farms.

Having some looks and being used for pleasure counts as relatively good. Ingredients, test subjects—medical technology now can keep them alive and well before they’re worn down and their minds collapse.

"Sorry, I brought up something painful for you." Gong Ying apologized immediately.

But Miss Ruo shook her head. "It’s not entirely painful. Because I was pretty, my childhood wasn’t bad. And once I became a Player, things got even better."

"What happened to that farm later?" Xu Huo, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked.

"It no longer exists." Miss Ruo took a sip of tea. "The first time I returned from the game, I killed everyone in the farm, including my parents and siblings. From then on they no longer had to suffer."

The room fell silent for a moment. It was hard to judge. After all, if she could go back and kill people, she could probably have taken them away given enough time. If she truly wanted her family out of the mire, she didn’t have to choose the path of death.

It was too hard to follow that remark. Gong Ying didn’t know what to say and could only change the subject to the underwater Stars.

Miss Ruo’s mood was actually quite steady, and she brought up her settling down in Zone 022. "I came here to wait for someone."

"Ten years ago, a man saved my life. He once said that if he ever quit the game, he would definitely come here to settle down and live like a proper person."

"After that I never managed to find him, so I came to the place where he wanted to spend his old age and waited, in case someday I’d run into him."

"But it’s a pity—ten years have passed, and he still hasn’t appeared. Maybe too much time has gone by and he’s forgotten what he once thought, or maybe he’s found somewhere better."

For someone who hasn’t contacted you or shown up in ten years, it’s hard to pin your hopes on him still being alive. But since Miss Ruo put it that way, Gong Ying could only go along and offer comfort.

Yet Miss Ruo seemed to sink into her own world, speaking in broken bits about that man.

"Have you ever considered that he might already be dead?" Xu Huo spoke again.

Gong Ying turned her head in surprise, and Miss Ruo also looked up at him. "You’re not the first one to say that to me. But I can’t be sure. I hope he’s still alive."

"Carrying hope is better than having nothing at all..." Gong Ying said.

"Indeed. This matter is clear to you alone." Xu Huo cut off Gong Ying and went on, "But sometimes people indulge in their own fantasies and keep beautifying them as time passes. Things may not be as wonderful as you imagine."

"Maybe you’re right." Miss Ruo’s face showed sorrow. "But it’s my only reason to keep living."

Gong Ying no longer tried to respond. She just quietly refilled the tea beside them.

"By the way, what did you come to me for?" Miss Ruo seemed to suddenly recall the main point and asked.

The two of them had of course come for clearing the level, but this level’s difficulty was clearly not going to be simple. Gong Ying paused and said, "Could I take a look at your little garden?"

"Of course." Miss Ruo stood up and motioned for Xu Huo to come along.

Whale Garden Courtyard was a fairly large garden. All kinds of flowers grew well. The garden wasn’t heavily tended; wild grass was luxuriant too. Of course, the flowers were thriving as well. The cats and dogs Miss Ruo kept were playing inside, and when they saw her they immediately dashed over, circling around her, begging for pets.

"The flowers here grow really well." Gong Ying praised. "I just can’t keep plants alive. No matter how carefully I follow the instructions, they all end up dead."

"You should let things take their course." Miss Ruo turned back and said, "Plants grow under heaven and earth’s care. They don’t need anyone to intervene and they can live on their own. Lush or sparse is just a human definition. Whether flowers grow well or grass grows well, it’s actually the same."

"I’ve never thought about it from that angle," Gong Ying said. "Listening to you, it does seem that way. If flowers grow well you call it a flower garden; if grass grows well you call it a grass garden. Watching flowers or watching grass, both are pretty nice."

Miss Ruo’s smile blossomed, and her beauty shone even more.

Gong Ying stared for a moment, needed two seconds to rein in her expression, then said a little embarrassedly, "Please excuse my rudeness."

But Miss Ruo didn’t mind. "What’s wrong with liking what you consider beautiful? Besides, you’re very polite. I like you a lot too."