Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1053: The choice between ideals and morality?
Lingge was surprised to find that the night sky of the Cathedral of Heaven was so beautiful. The gray-blue night sky was dotted with tiny stars, which shone between the branches and leaves of the yew trees and summer cherry trees. The densely stacked leaves looked like a dark green ocean under the cover of the dark night, and the starlight poured down from the edge of the ocean and flowed to the edge of the sight. If you could climb the tall trunk of the yew tree and stick your head out of the lush canopy, you would not only be able to see the pale starry river that spanned the night sky, but also the shadow of the huge city in the distance - the tall buildings were bathed in moonlight, accompanied by ancient dense forests, and the sound of the rising and falling tides was as slow and long as breathing.

The only drawback is that the light of these stars is a bit monotonous, either pale or grayish white, and when reflected in the pupil iris across a long distance, it already looks a bit distorted. But the strange thing is that not only are their spectra similar, but even the frequency of their flashing is almost the same, as if there is a hundred-eyed giant hidden in the universe, blinking in unison, observing the humans under his feet. It took Ling Ge a long time to react, as if it was not starlight, but some kind of warning signal.

The witch society's troops have surrounded the initial star field, and their warships are waiting hundreds of light years away. The size of those warships may not be comparable to that of real stars, but it is conceivable that their destructive power must be much greater. Moreover, there is the mysterious constructed mecha, the alien philosopher driven by the dark witch Caraboss - this name sounds like it is to commemorate something, but whether those philosophers from the earth world are willing to let their names become part of a terrifying war weapon is a question to be discussed.

Once he knew the truth about the starlight, the young man lost the mood to continue to appreciate the night. He walked along a wooden plank road that passed through the forest and hills. Outside the brown plank road grew clusters of lush bushes and spur grass, dotted with colorful berries or a few tenacious dwarf trees - their seeds were brought by birds and accidentally fell into the gap between the plank road and the soil. It was impossible for them to grow, but the mild climate of Yunjingkong Island gave them the courage to grow.

Fireflies and other small flying insects were flying around the dim street lights. Several round-headed stone guards were staggering by with buckets and gardening shovels. They were responsible for maintaining the streets, trimming shrubs and grass, and preventing overgrown vines from climbing up the wooden boards. They worked diligently every day, as if they didn't know what boredom was. Of course, they didn't know what the owners and residents of this island were worried about. The safety of the world, the survival of civilization, the future of mortals, and other complex issues never appeared in their minds.

If it could continue like this, it would be a wonderful thing.

Lingge retracted his gaze and continued to walk along the plank road, through the warm woods, through the woodland with a comfortable night breeze, and through the newly built Heavenly Holy Church, which was silent in the night, quietly watching the figure of the young man passing in front of it, with a feeling of reappearing in the past. It did not inherit anything from its predecessors, but it seemed that some memories could be recalled without inheritance. They were not passed down through bricks, basswood benches, stained glass windows and the statue of the goddess on the altar, but through some more mysterious and ancient rituals.

Finally, the young man stopped in front of the door of the Fairy Sleep Inn. It was still lit with warm lights, and the sloping roof was covered with two inches of grass. The white orchid grass with the fragrance of soil and the morning glory vines entwined between them were still growing well under the careful care of the traveler fairy. Looking over the roof and up, there was an incredibly old sycamore tree, whose height even covered the thick and straight autumn chestnuts and horse stone pines. The branches that stretched out like the arms of a giant were so lush that they seemed to have coiled another forest in the sky, lush and prosperous, just like the city it came from.

The night wind blew, and the sound of waves seemed to be heard under the tree canopy. The young man stood still and listened quietly for a while to calm down the somewhat depressed mood in his heart. He knew that the most troubled person now was not himself, but the girls who needed to make a choice, so he needed to hide his emotions and avoid facing them with a panic or confused face - in fact, this was what he was best at.

However, as soon as he opened the door, he found that his preparation seemed to be in vain, because the lobby on the first floor of the hotel was empty, without even a single person - saying this seemed a bit rude to the bartender behind the bar, but it was enough to highlight the young man's surprise.

"If I remember correctly," the young man looked hesitantly at the figure who was concentrating on wiping the wine glass, "It should be dinner time now?"

"You are not mistaken, and you are also very punctual, Mr. Ling." Shelia put down her wine glass and raised a sharp eyebrow at the young man. It must be said that this action matches her temperament very well. "My eldest sister said so too, so she is preparing today's dinner in the kitchen. It is a big meal, including roast chicken, roast pigeon, meat pie, baked white bread and oatmeal bread, vegetable soup, cream of mushroom soup, oh, don't forget Yieta's favorite Saizeriya Chestnut - it is rich enough to hold a banquet."

"But I didn't see anything." Including food and people.

"Because I pointed out a fatal problem to her. Now it's your turn." Shelia sighed cryptically, "Do you really think that after going through such an incident, everyone would be in the mood to return to the hotel and have a happy dinner as if nothing had happened?"

Lingge thought about it seriously, then shook his head honestly.

"So, this is the situation before you, Lingge." Shelia picked up another wine glass and wiped it with a white silk scarf. She didn't notice that she was actually picking up the same wine glass. She said, "But I'm glad that at least you're back. It won't be just me and my elder sister at the table later. That would be too embarrassing."

"You mean, they didn't come back?"

Lingge recalled the previous scene. When the group left the headquarters building of Game Command Company, it was almost silent throughout the whole process. No one wanted to make a subtle sound to remind or cover up something. The atmosphere was particularly disturbing. Until they reached the first intersection, Gloria - or Bai Ye, suddenly said coldly that she wanted to take a walk alone, and left without looking back; when they reached the second intersection, Rolena suddenly smiled and said that she was very interested in the alien toys in the unmanned shopping mall, and wanted to study their uses and purposes. Of course, this is a job that requires concentration, so it is better for her to stay alone; when they reached the third intersection, Leticia took the hand of Countess Nevi, said nothing, and disappeared around the corner without a word...

So when he finally returned to Cloud Whale Island, there were only three traveler fairy sisters around him - even his sister Metien was so depressed by the shocking news that she quietly left, and deliberately avoided her brother Linger and Sister Livia who was worried about her safety. If she could calm down, she might return to Cloud Whale Island, but it seems unrealistic to expect a little girl to accept reality faster than a mature adult - although there are similar examples, they seem to exist only in novels and scripts.

Linger had noticed this situation a long time ago. Of course, anyone with eyes could see this obvious change, but the young man did not stop it. Because he thought that everyone really needed some time and space to think calmly, which was not given by others, but by their personality. Of course, if the young people could say some passionate and inspiring speeches to mobilize their emotions in time, then things would not be hopeless. Unfortunately, Linger has never been good at or used to doing this kind of thing.

"So, this is your problem."

As if she could guess what he was thinking at the moment, Shelia interrupted his thoughts very impolitely, just like the lines often recited in stage plays: "You should have brought them back, had a hot dinner, taken a comfortable hot bath, and then slept in warm goose feather or cashmere bedding. They would have calmed down the next day - in this way, my sister's hard work in preparing dinner would have been meaningful. But you didn't fulfill your promise, which is really... Alas."

What did she call him? She didn't say it, but the sigh full of disappointment and regret undoubtedly expressed her intention. The young man couldn't help asking, "When did I promise?"

"Just now?"

"How come I don't know?" The bartender tilted her head. Under her slanted bangs, her sky-blue eyes were filled with innocence. "It doesn't matter if you don't know. I made your promise."

"It's the first time I know that this kind of thing can be done by someone else."

"It's not too late to know now - the important thing is to take action." Shelia said seriously: "You must take action to prove your sincerity, Lingge."

"Why me?" Ling asked.

"Are you counting on Big Sister? Or on me?" The bartender showed a surprised expression at the right time: "I swear, Xiao Xia and the others and I are just friends, and we can't do anything too intimate."

Are we not friends? The young man's face was full of questions and doubts.

"Yes, I know. You are also a friend, just a friend, but... you are a special one among their friends, aren't you?" When Xie Liya said this, her expression was so sincere that people couldn't help but want to believe that the words just now did not contain any hidden meaning: "When they feel lonely, lonely, and want to be comforted by someone, I believe they would rather see you than me."

Linger stabbed her: "You are devaluing yourself too much, Miss Shelia."

"Just telling the truth." The other party was indifferent.

The young man was helpless about her shamelessness, and to be honest - he looked at the empty hall. A long table for dinner had been set in the middle, and chairs had been placed at both ends and sides of the table, but there was no food on it. Mr. Rabbit, who was responsible for placing the tableware, had huddled in his nest and refused to show his head. Only one or two humming sounds could be heard occasionally in the kitchen. That was the proprietress preparing dinner. It sounded like she was in a good mood, but combined with the scene in front of him, it made people feel sad.

The young man sighed resignedly, while the bartender behind the bar had a victorious smile on her face.

"I can't guarantee that I can find them." Ling Ge gave a warning in advance: "In fact, I don't even know where any of them are, and the Heavenly Cathedral is very big - it is the sanctuary of the goddess, and it is also a city. If I don't have specific information, by the time I find them, dinner time will have long passed."

"Then we can save it for breakfast tomorrow." She raised her eyebrows happily: "My elder sister and I are waiting for your good news here, Mr. Lingge."

The young man said nothing more, but turned and walked out of the hotel. He stayed in the hotel for only five minutes, not even long enough for a cup of black tea to cool down, but the night outside became darker, and the starlight shining through the palm-shaped leaves of the plane tree was sparse and soft, reflecting the emerald green, withered yellow, and fiery red leaves - they all showed a unified and deep color in the night.

hope--

The young man tried hard to imagine those hazy gray-white dots of light as real starlight, and at the same time prayed - or rather sighed: I hope everything will go well.

……

When the young man stood in front of the door of the Fairy Sleep Inn in the distant universe and looked up at the night sky, there was a person on the Ladist who was looking up at the same scenery as him, although the scenes presented in the two night skies were not so consistent - on this huge steel battleship, the real stars can only be seen from the deck area where the atrium is located, and as for the other directions, what can be seen are just some artificial lights.

But Tiandis liked these technological lights more than natural starlight, so she stood in front of the window and admired them for a while with a critical, rigorous but aesthetic eye, before retracting her gaze and slowly walking back to her seat. The black and white chessboard on the tea table had remained the same from the beginning until now, without changing. But the girl noticed that the surface of one chess piece seemed to have a faint crack, which was inconspicuous, but enough to make it lose its value.

She asked gently, "Have you thought of the answer, Bailong?"

"Should we stick to our ideals or succumb to morality?"

The young man's cheeks were pale without a trace of blood.

Give me some meow