I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a small tent, dimly lit by a small lantern on a small red carpet. Two waist bags were facing me on the other side of the tent, one of them mine.
I looked up to see the face of a blonde girl, her hair falling like a golden curtain, blocking the dim lantern light from my eyes and reflecting it. Her green eyes reminded me of the meadows I had dreamed of.
My head was in her lap, and I quickly realized my situation.
I felt embarrassed and tried to sit up suddenly, but I felt pain in my right thigh. I flinched and immediately put my head back in the girl's lap.
I looked down at my body and saw my right thigh bandaged tightly with a white bandage, with a small red spot on it.
The girl placed her hand on my chest and said, "Don't move so suddenly and startle your body. You've hurt your leg and head."
My face flushed at the act. I looked away, and said, "What am I doing here? And who are you?"
The girl laughed a soft light laugh and said, gently stroking my hair, her cheeks slightly reddening. "You saved me from that man, and you hurt yourself."
"Saved you?" I said, my voice incredulous and ignorant, surprised by what she had said.
The girl replied with a gentle smile. "Yes, I was bathing under a nearby waterfall and heard a sound from the bushes. I immediately went outside and got dressed without drying myself. Then, suddenly, a strange man jumped on me and wanted to assault me. But you intervened in time and saved me. Thank you."
My memory began to return, and I remembered the state I had left the man in and how I had filled his body with holes with my knife.
I felt nauseous and said in a low voice, covering my mouth with my hand, "I want to throw up."
The girl reached for a nearby bag and handed it to me, then gently supported me by lifting my shoulders so I could sit up without hurting myself.
As soon as I opened the bag, I put my mouth inside and emptied that acidic, fermented liquid into it. But I didn't just empty that liquid.
I vomited as my memory of what I'd done returned..
Had I really killed a person?
No, that's impossible..
He was a human soul like me..
He was alive, like me, walking, moving, like me..
But now.. he's dead..
Now he was nothing but a cold, rotting, lifeless corpse..
In the end, I had dirty my hands.
Was I guilty?
Or did I do the right thing by killing him?
Was I rash?
Maybe I just had to do it?
But what if I could have stopped him without killing him?
But what if killing him was the only solution?
Damn it, I couldn't even control my emotions.
I shouldn't have interfered. Some people's happiness is another people's misfortune. But I had no say in the matter, and since I had no say in it, why did I interfere in the first place?
What drove me to intervene so barbarically?
With such anger?
With such an intense desire to kill?
Was it a deep-seated desire?
And why did I feel so relieved after killing him?
Had I ever been like this?
Had I been this evil since I was a child?
Would God ever forgive me?
I finished throwing up, put the bag aside, and then placed my head back where it had been in the girl's lap. I covered my eyes with my right arm.
The girl stroked my head again, saying, "What's wrong? Do you feel something? Does your foot hurt?"
I didn't want to talk now, so I settled for a cold answer, clenching my right fist. "Nothing."
I think she understood how I felt. She smiled gently, gently stroking my hair and saying, "Thank you for saving me, intervening, and risking your life for me. You had to kill yourself to save someone else. It's not anyone's responsibility, of course, but being a good, kind brave man is what made you save me. Even though you looked like you'd lost your mind, and that was scary, thank you so much. I owe you my life. I pray to God to give you the strength to continue and survive this place."
I said in a low voice, "You... you're either extremely pure, or you're a clever deceiver in disguise. Either way, you need to kill me now, or our bracelets will explode, I think."
The girl laughed lightly and said, "I'm Maria, your new teammate."
My teammate? She surprised me, so I looked straight into her eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Maria sighed and said, "When you were asleep, I talked to your Julie and agreed on your behalf that we should team up, and she agreed."
I wanted to slap that idiot so hard. I wished Julie had been real at the time.
I sighed and said weakly, "That idiot."
Maria continued, "So I teamed up with you. You seem like a good, kind person to me, despite the state I saw you in. Julie also told me that you kept apologizing to her over and over again and cursing yourself because you wished someone else was in her place. Is that true?"
This surprised me, and I shifted slightly, wincing in pain. "That liar.... No, it's not true. She was the one who wanted to start a fight out of nowhere, and I tamed her."
Maria laughed lightly and said, "You seem to be someone who's good at dealing with robots."
I sighed at the girl's ignorance and said, "Be careful when you mention that word in front of those things, because they have more human prejudice than humans themselves."
Maria laughed again and said, "Don't worry, I don't have the same julie as you. I have a julie specifically for girls, and he's a digital boy named Bobby. He's responsible, polite, tidy, and very formal. If he were real, I'd marry him, hehe."
How simple-minded she was.
I sighed, "So it seems like everyone has a julie with a specific personality that complements them and suits them. That's weird, isn't it? It's as if the owners of this game have information about us that we might not know about ourselves."
Maria sighed and replied, "Yeah, that's a bit scary."
"And can you change the gender?" I asked, wondering. "I mean, your julie?"
Maria looked at her bracelet, "Yes, anyone can choose and change the gender of their julie through the settings, and even change clothes. You know, There are some perverts in the game, or those who are inclined towards both sexes."
My eyes dropped to my injured leg, saying, "This is stupid. Are they that desperate and slaves to their lusts? I hate people who don't control their lusts and don't set limits. They become overwhelmed and then control them, and their self-respect dies. Thus, we witness the emergence of a new animal whose only desire is to feel fulfilled and escape the emptiness created by their shortcomings by submitting to their lusts. Lust shouldn't be resisted, but tamed. This distorted thinking about resisting it is what produced these pitiful creatures. The worst of humans are slaves to money and lust. You could say that they are the two human species I hold the deepest grudge against. They are both deadly poisons, but in a delicious form, and an unnatural method of attraction. I grew up without them."
Maria looked at me in surprise for a moment, then clapped her hands and said, "You are so wise, Mr. Kirian. You sound like my grandfather, hahaha. But honestly, I love people like you who possess this broad knowledge, diverse thinking, firm principles, and such wisdom at a young age."
I'm not used to being complimented. My cheeks flushed, and I looked away and said, "I want to sit down."
Maria laughed gently, then helped me sit next to her. She reached to her waistbag and pulled out a pistol.
For a moment, I thought she was going to threaten or kill me with it, but she threw it in my lap and said, "Take this. You might need it."
Where did she get this? Also what's wrong with this girl? Does she trust others so easily? Or is she just playing dumb to test me?
Should I kill her now? But what if this is an empty gun while she has another one and is testing me? What if she only trusts me? She doesn't show any malicious intent in her looks; she seems innocent.
But no matter what, I have to keep my eyes on her, be wary of her, and never let my guard down. Now, should I check this thing out?
I reached into my lap and grabbed the small black assassin, holding it in my hands. It was a little heavy and cold. I'm not used to this kind of thing. I had a terrible fear of guns as a kid. I hate to admit it, but I've really changed.
I remember a video I watched a while ago about guns. This is a semi-automatic pistol, so this is a small circular button to release the magazine from the chamber, and this is the hammer to switch the gun between safe and firing mode. That should do the trick.
Maybe I should practice with it, or maybe I should be more savvy with ammunition. Maybe I don't have enough ammo.
I pointed the gun at the lantern, trying to practice firing positions.
Maria said, "Be careful not to shoot the lantern, or we'll both burn in here hehehe."
I stopped aiming the gun at the lantern and looked again carefully at its black solidity. A question popped into my mind, and I said, "You used to work as a nurse, Maria?"
Maria looked at me, surprised. "How do you know?"
I said, putting the gun aside, "The way you bandaged my leg wound looks very tight and good. A normal girl wouldn't be able to do that, right?"
Maria looked up, thinking, then looked back at me. "I guess you're right. Anyway, I'm going to sleep. If you want to sleep too, sleep. There's no one here or anywhere near us right now."
I said, looking up at the moon through a small hole in the tent, "Yes, sleep, and I'll sleep after you, but leave some space between us. It's hot and I don't want to sweat."
I let her lie down away from me, her back to me. I won't sleep tonight. I don't want to trust her easily.
Being a nurse doesn't necessarily mean she has a kind heart. But let's say the assumption that she has a kind heart is the first, but don't neglect the previous one.
Also, who knows? A madman might come and try to kill us tonight, so I won't sleep. I've slept enough before. I have to stay awake now.
Wasn't there a stick nearby or anything? I looked out through a small hole in the tent's exit. It was very quiet and dark, and all that appeared was a colorless, melancholic canvas.
I turned off the lantern and decided against leaving now. I'd go out at sunrise, hoping to find something to help me walk.
Day 2, 11 AM / Survivors: 910
Maria woke up and found neither me nor the gun in the tent, but my waistbag and knife were still there.
She stood up and ran out of the tent immediately, only to find me sitting on a nearby rock, grilling some fish I'd caught in a nearby river.
I looked at her and waved my hand, saying, "Good morning, Mrs nurse. Would you like some grilled fish?"
Maria sighed in relief and came over to me, smiling. "Didn't I tell you yesterday not to move around too much until you heal? You're stubborn."
8 hours have passed, it's 6 PM / 871 survivors
Maria was sitting on the grass, staring at the sunset while I was resting in the tent, nothing happened during the day, just maria looking around and me restring in the tent.
Suddenly, Maria heard a sound coming from a nearby tree. She stood up and looked around, trying to figure out what the sound was.
Then, a teenager appeared, pointing a gun at Maria. "Guys, I found another mouse. Come here!"
To be continued