Chapter 219
"The reason I ran away from home was because an adventure group promised to take me to the stars. In fact, they were just talking nonsense to tease me, but I... I was young at that time, I had been studying in school all my life, and I didn't have much experience. I actually believed it and decided to go with them at the risk of everything."
After closing the stall, Muzhe and Shadao had dinner together outside a barbecue restaurant on the street. After three rounds of drinks, Shadao couldn't help asking about Muter. Banjin had been holding this matter in his heart for a long time, and now, under the influence of alcohol, he spoke about it with his eyes half drunk.
"At that time, my mother was very strict with me. I was afraid that she would not agree, so I left a letter and ran away. I was afraid that they would use the positioning device of the communication bracelet to find me before I left, so I even smashed the bracelet."
Hearing this, Shardao couldn't help but shake his head. Although he knew that was his friend's past experience, he still felt that the boy really deserved a beating.
"I carried my luggage and went to find the adventuring group, saying I wanted to go with them. But... you know what happened? They all laughed like crazy."
Half a catty...or rather, Muzhe poured himself another glass of wine, drank most of it in one breath, and smiled bitterly.
"The leader of the group honestly said that they were just joking and had no intention of recruiting anyone, not to mention that he was just a kid who knew nothing. The others were also laughing at me."
Today, Muzhe can calmly recount these past events, but the young man who was new to the world, ignorant of the ways of the world but with a self-esteem higher than the sky, was almost mad with rage. Every laugh from the crowd was like a knife scraping his face.
"So I rushed over to fight with them, but of course I lost. Instead, I got beaten up badly. When I was lying on the street waiting to die, a homeless man saved me. I thought he was a good man and was thinking about repaying him after I got home. I didn't expect...he actually wanted to sell me to the second floor! You know what happened next."
Shardaao nodded and couldn't help but think of the first time he met Muzhe.
Cats have their own paths, mice have their own paths. Although the people living at the bottom of the Liukasao couldn't afford the tolls to go to the next floor, they dug out a smuggling route of their own. In fact, they used the gaps between the sewers, ventilation ducts, heat dissipation ducts, etc. between the floors. Sometimes they even had to change into simple space suits and crawl outside the spacecraft. Not only was it tortuous and complicated, but it could also be life-threatening if they were not careful.
At that time, Shardao was a newcomer who had just joined the second-level fighting department. His responsibility was to follow his seniors to capture these illegal immigrants and then block their illegal immigration routes. Once, when he was tracking his target, he found a sloppy bearded man dragging a thin boy out of the underground pipe.
The boy cried and yelled, punched and kicked, but his resistance was like a cat's scratch to the sloppy man. The man slapped the boy, making half of his face red and swollen. He tried to bite the man's arm, but he was thrown to the ground and kicked twice. The boy immediately curled up, holding his stomach, and was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream.
Shark Dao, who was hiding in the dark, knew what was going on at a glance.
Even though the boy was now dirty and smelly, with bruises all over his face, he still had beautiful eyes and eyebrows, and was extremely handsome. The second level was engaged in the flesh trade, both men and women. Boys of his age and appearance were exactly the most popular.
Sharda'ao had long been fed up with this, but he alone could not fight against the rules of the entire Liukas'ao. But at this time, the boy had not been sold to that kind of place, and had not been marked with an indelible mark for life. If he could be rescued, he would still be a free man.
When he was young, Shardao was just as passionate. He didn't care about the various hidden rules that his predecessors repeatedly warned him about, and rushed to save people without thinking. As a result, he accidentally killed the homeless man during the fight, and because of this action, he angered the top leaders of the second-level fighting department. No one was willing to protect him, and he was finally sentenced and sent to the first-level arena to fight. Step by step, he went from being a criminal at the bottom to a star in the arena.
Thinking of the past, Shark Dao couldn't help but think of the young man who was so smart and beautiful back then. Looking at his friend who was at least 200 pounds in front of him, he couldn't help but shake his head and thought to himself: Time is really a butcher's knife! It turned a person into a... cough cough.
Shardaao coughed twice and asked again: "What happened next? Why didn't you go back?"
"At first I couldn't save my face. I was afraid that everyone would laugh at me if I went back in disgrace ." Mu Zhe said drunkenly, "Besides... you saved me, but ended up in the arena. I owe you something, and I have to pay you back."
Sharda's hand holding the wine glass suddenly stopped.
When he first arrived at the arena, he had no advantage except that he was taller, and he was not even as strong as others. Every time he went into the arena, he was beaten half to death and carried back. Then Mu Zhe, dressed like a beggar, would come to the prison to see him crying, bringing him food, drinks, medicine, information about the arena, and various fighting training materials.
Most of the people who were sent to the arena as criminals like him died quickly. There were not many who died directly on the field, but most of them died of injuries after the game. However, he relied on Mu Zhe's constant support and finally survived.
At first, Shardao actually looked down on Muzhe. He thought he was weak, timid, cried a lot, had no ability, and was not like a man. But after he was able to walk out of prison, he realized how lucky he was to have such a friend.
Muzhe, who didn't even have a communication bracelet, was a real illegal immigrant. He couldn't go to many places and couldn't do many jobs. At the beginning, he could only pick up garbage, sell scraps, and do hard and dirty work that no one wanted to do. He didn't even have a proper place to sleep at night. Many nights he curled up behind a garbage bin deep in the alley to dare to sleep, and he was often beaten for various inexplicable reasons. It is conceivable how tormenting that kind of life is for a spoiled teenager, but even if he had to drink cold water and eat leftovers, he would buy effective medicine for Shardaao.
Although Shardao was reduced to the arena because he saved Muzhe, given his personality, he would have fallen into this situation for other reasons even without Muzhe. But if it weren't for Muzhe, he might have died long ago.
It was already unclear who owed whom between the two of them, but why should we be so clear between friends?
After being stunned for a while, Shardao heard Muzhe holding the bottle of wine and saying, "...Later, I didn't dare to go back...I didn't dare to face her...I didn't dare to see her disappointed and sad eyes...I was even more afraid that when I went back...she would be gone."
"Day after day, year after year... it just dragged on like this. Until now... I dare not say it... I dare not say that I am Muzhe, the son who disappointed her... the son who ran away from home and left her alone..."
"If she asked me, where have you been all these years? You are so close, why don't you come to see me... why don't you even call me... what should I say?"
"You know what? Shardao... I heard them say that my mother was crazy looking for me during those years... She wandered the streets all night long, calling my name all the time... If it wasn't for that person who appeared later... She might have died alone on the street, without even anyone to collect her body and see her off..."
Turbid tears fell into the wine glass. The square-faced middle-aged man did not cry well. His face was distorted and a little hideous, but he was extremely sad.
"You say... can I still call her mom? Am I worthy? I'm not worthy!! I really am not worthy!"
He cried and screamed, and was about to drink another bottle of wine, but was suddenly grabbed by the collar and lifted up!
Shark Dao pulled him in front of him and said angrily, "Idiot! It's not up to you to decide whether you are worthy or not! Why do you think your mother sits across from your noodle shop every day to eat? Isn't it just to see you more! Why don't you run over and kneel in front of her to apologize and admit your mistakes, but you are still entangled in these trivial things! Come on! I'll take you to see her now! Ask her if she still recognizes you as her son!"
The anger and the smell of alcohol were on Muzhe's face, and Muzhe looked at him dazedly. After Shardao paid for the meal, he dragged Muzhe straight to Muter's home. Muzhe was shocked and struggled in panic, but was ruthlessly suppressed . He begged to go back and change into clean clothes and come back after sobering up, but was also coldly rejected by Shardao.
Shardal's roar could be heard by everyone in the street:
"Idiot! Do you think your mother would care what you wear or whether you drink alcohol? Even if you come back with a pile of shit on your head, she will just be happy that you finally come home!"
Muzhe was pushed by Shardao all the way to Muter's house. After knocking on the door, Muzhe actually fell to his knees. Muter slapped him hard a few times, then knelt down and hugged him and burst into tears.
In the hoarse crying, it seemed as if all the years of waiting, pain, despair and longing were vented out at once, echoing in the silent night sky.
Looking at the figures hugging each other in the distance, with their backs to the light, Rong Yuan's brows relaxed, with a look of gentle attachment in his eyes.
After the two had cried for a long time, they finally stood up and supported each other and walked back to the house. Rong Yuan suddenly said, "Alpha, you should stay too."
Alpha, who was standing behind him, was stunned: "...Master?"
"Stay and live."
Rong Yuan turned around and looked at him, his light brown pupils reflecting the light in the night, appearing clear and transparent.
"Even if...you live somewhere I can't see."
After Alpha was stunned for a long time, he finally knelt on one knee and said: "...Yes."
