I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Am I Still Just a Child?

 

Shenzhen City, Nanqi District, No. 3 Wanghai Road, Nanqi Bay Community, is the address on my ID card.

 

More precisely, this address should be: Room 801, Building 3, Nanqi Bay Community, No. 3 Wanghai Road, Nanqi District, Shenzhen City.

 

However, the current issue is that Nanqi Bay Community on Wanghai Road in Nanqi District was demolished two or three years ago due to a collapse accident and was replaced by “Wanghai Park”. This community has also been removed from the map, becoming a part of Nanqi District’s history.

 

Forget about Room 801 in Building 3.

Now the entire community is gone.

 

At the same time, that place should also be considered the location where I reconciled with Xiao Mo for the first time.

 

I didn’t know the exact relationship between Xiao Mo’s main body and her clone before this. During the battle with the Demon King, whether it was the will of her main body or the clone herself inside her small body, I only remember that under that pouring rain, I ran out of my comfortable apartment for the first time, made actions contrary to my “common sense” for the first time, and also… took action for the sake of a girl.

 

I was actually a guy who was really dense when it came to emotions.

 

Nowadays, the mainstream in society is basically about boys chasing girls. Boys should put down their dignity, be proactive, and have thick skin. However, since graduating from college, I have been a member of the “non-mainstream”.

 

At least in the wujia apartment, where the mainstream of the renting community consists of young professionals, my views and actions are completely out of sync with those people.

 

The Wujia Apartment, despite being a commercially-oriented profit-making institution, still maintains a very humane approach in managing its properties. Almost every month, they organize gatherings and similar activities.

 

Whenever the monthly gathering approaches, everyone in the group starts forming their own cliques. Someone from Building 3 announces a breakup, a girl from Building 1 mentions she’s still single, while the property manager from Building 2 suggests arrangements like free drinks for women and splitting the bill for men, and so on. Then, everyone prepares and plans for this gathering or, shall we say, matchmaking event a week in advance.

 

At least in my impression, the men around me are always enthusiastic about such activities because “they can meet many beautiful women”. This is similar to how my college roommates used to boast about how many girlfriends they had. Whenever people around my age hear that there are girls at this gathering, no matter how indifferent they usually are, they will show a very positive attitude.

 

The ground floor of the wujia apartment has a key card for access. To facilitate everyone’s coming and going by car, the door on the ground floor is open during the day. At midnight, the property manager will come and lock the door, and take back the firefighting equipment used to prop the door during the day. If someone forgets their key at this time, they will be locked outside.

 

In the early years, the most enthusiastic activity in Building 3 of the wujia apartment where I lived was “going downstairs to open the door for beautiful women”. As a youth apartment, not only at midnight but even at two, three, or even five or six in the morning, there would be many people coming back from partying outside and getting locked out. At such times, they would seek help in the group chat: “Is there anyone still awake in Building X? Come down and open the door.”

 

At that time, I would occasionally receive WeChat messages from the property manager saying, “Hey, Xiaoyin, there are two beautiful women downstairs without keys. It’s just a few steps for you on the third floor. Go help them out, you can also meet two beautiful women, it’s great.” Whenever this happened, I could only change my clothes and go downstairs.

Occasionally, I would meet some people from the fourth or fifth floor who also received messages from the property manager. They would be surprised to see me and say, “Wow, you’re not asleep either? Why so slow? If I lived on the second or third floor and there were beautiful women locked out, I would definitely be the first one to come out and help. How could I let others take advantage of such an opportunity?” It’s as if… the world wants me to succumb to something.

 

However, even in such an environment, I don’t really have much feeling towards things like “beautiful women”. I rarely go to gatherings. If I occasionally glance at my phone and see someone locked outside, regardless of gender, I would go down to help.

If I’m really engrossed in writing a novel and don’t have time to check my phone, I wouldn’t know about such things, and I wouldn’t waste my time sitting around looking at the WeChat group to see if there are any “beautiful women” locked outside so I can go down and open the door to impress them.

 

But at that time, myself and Yin Xiamo… I don’t know why I did what I did.

 

At that time, Xiao Mo said she would come back in the evening to have dinner together. With my original personality, according to common sense, I definitely wouldn’t have taken it to heart.

 

At most, I might have thought that since Xiao Mo was a Grim Reaper, her existence already surpassed the understanding of my worldview. Perhaps I needed to prepare some food or something like that.

 

So, I simply defined Yin Xiamo as a “slightly special girl.”

 

But ironically, that evening, Xiao Mo broke her promise. She didn’t come back for dinner.

 

This kind of thing wasn’t the first time for me. Before, when I was still living alone in the wujia apartment as a bachelor, typing away until three or four in the morning, it should have been around 4:50 when my phone rang. It was a tenant from the wujia apartment. I remembered her, she worked in a bar far away and lived on the sixth floor. She had also forgotten her keys and got locked out downstairs. She found me in the group chat and sent me a voice message invitation, asking me to come down and open the door.

 

After I changed my clothes and opened the door downstairs, this drunken woman incoherently promised to treat me to Starbucks the next day. I told her to go back and sleep since she was so drunk, but she insisted on treating me to Starbucks the next day. She even messaged me the next day, saying not to think that she forgot because she got drunk last night, she would definitely treat me to Starbucks. I casually replied that it wasn’t necessary, but this person still publicly announced in the group chat to thank someone from Building 3 for helping to open the door and that she would treat him to Starbucks another day, leaving me both amused and exasperated.

 

In the end, everything was fine between us.

 

I didn’t take this little incident seriously, and that woman didn’t actually treat me to anything afterwards. We didn’t even have any further contact after that. She would still chat in the group about how she had gotten a few guys drunk at the bar, or how much her sales had increased that month. Meanwhile, I resumed my ordinary life, working during the day and writing novels in the evenings.

 

In my understanding of the world, interactions between people should be like this. However, on that day, for some reason… even my dreams were filled with Xiao Mo’s presence.

 

According to my habits, when Xiao Mo said she was coming over for dinner, I proactively went to the supermarket to buy dinner for two and waited for her. This was just common courtesy.

 

When she didn’t show up, I could only assume that Miss Grim Reaper was a bit arrogant and didn’t take promises to mortals seriously. But that didn’t mean I held a grudge—whatever dinner was left over, I’d just have it for breakfast the next day.

 

Then the next day, I should have gone about my usual routine—getting up, washing, and then working on my writing. Besides, it was raining heavily that day, and I’m not particularly fond of going out in heavy rain. However, that day, I chose to go look for Xiao Mo, not knowing where she might be.

 

The only information Xiao Mo left me was her ID card, and she didn’t mention anything special about the address on it. I had no evidence to suggest that following that address would lead me to the Miss Grim Reaper. Nevertheless, I went against my own instincts and set off without hesitation.

 

That was also my first time setting foot in the Nanqi District of Shenzhen City.

 

I vaguely remember it was pouring rain at the time. The “Nanqi Bay Community” on my ID card no longer existed, it had become “Wanghai Park”. And at the entrance to this park, there were several new shops that had opened up, including a breakfast place. Inside, there was even a mother and daughter who seemed to be here for sightseeing…

 

“So this should be Wanghai Park, right?”

 

Under the bright moonlight, Fei Luo, carrying me, flew to a spot several thousand meters above the Nanqi District, and stopped in a relatively remote location. She gestured towards the ground beneath us, saying, “I memorized the Shenzhen City map from the third edition of 2021. I’m not sure if this matches up.”

 

“Okay,” I replied.

 

I nodded as I rode on Fei Luo’s back. “This is it.”

 

Wanghai Park… it felt somewhat underwhelming. Because if one wanted to see the sea from this location… the view wasn’t very good. The best spot to view the sea in Nanqi District should be the Shangjing Cat Café where I had been working all this time.

 

However, considering that “Wanghai Road” here was connected to the highway near the Nanqi Tower, with quite a long distance, it was understandable that the park was named after the surrounding small roads.

 

“Let’s go down and take a look.”

 

After confirming that the dark area beneath our feet was indeed the place where I had first met Xiao Mo, I instinctively moved my hands to adjust Fei Luo’s “head” to look downwards.

 

“It’s that signboard with the lights on.”

 

I have rarely flown in airplanes, so it was difficult for me to judge the altitude at which Fei Luo and I were currently located. However, considering that the air here seemed somewhat thin compared to the ground and the temperature had dropped significantly, I assumed we were at several thousand meters altitude.

 

At this altitude, from where we were, Fei Luo and I could easily see the Honor District to the west, the Craftsman District to the east, the Shenzhen River bustling with ships nearby, and the Central District’s Aquatic District to the north.

 

The Honor District was quite obvious. Perhaps because it was a wealthy area with rich people everywhere, it was like a “neo-cyberpunk” style, with glowing billboards visible from kilometers away, displaying various patterns. The Craftsman District was a bit more low-key, but still showed signs of human activity. The Central District, on the other hand, was a complete “big city neon” style, bustling with traffic and lit up by car and sign lights.

 

Only the Nanqi District, especially the area near Wanghai Road where we stood, apart from the lights of nearby shops around residential buildings, was mostly lit by dim streetlights and passing car headlights.

 

At least near Wanghai Park, the nearest lights I could see were several hundred meters away, with only the lone street sign at the entrance of Wanghai Park standing in the darkness.

 

The darker the area like this, especially where we were standing with Fei Luo, the higher the risk of being spotted.

 

Because compared to the bustling city with its traffic and lights, in places as dark as this, people were not drawn by neon lights around them, nor were they engaged in any entertainment activities. In such a relatively “boring” environment, people tended to look up at the stars.

 

However, since Fei Luo assured me she was using her “scout magic” to ensure everything was safe, I didn’t worry about being discovered.

 

“Got it!”

 

At my signal, Fei Luo flapped her wings, and the whole world suddenly felt like it was plummeting—

 

“Whoa…”

 

I hadn’t quite figured out how to balance myself riding on someone else’s neck, so instinctively, I shifted my weight forward and then tightly gripped Fei Luo’s dragon horn with both hands.

 

Then, I felt my ankles being grabbed.

 

“Your body is so delicate…”

 

Speaking, Fei Luo first balanced with me and then grabbed my ankles, then opened her hands and lifted my two feet, tossing them in the air a few times. She then kneaded my calf muscles.

 

“Are you still unaccustomed to this body…?”

 

“Um… It’s… okay.”

 

Feeling a bit shy to be asked this question, I replied, “At first, it was a bit uncomfortable, but over time… it got better.”

 

“Little girls are not like grown men. Look at your little feet and short legs.”

 

Finally, after pinching my thigh wrapped in stockings, Fei Luo let go of her hands. “I wasn’t used to becoming human either. The human body is too delicate, can’t run fast, and is very inconvenient.”

 

“……”

 

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

 

“I’ve read the history of Earth civilization development and found some similarities with our side.”

 

Fei Luo pointed to my feet.

“For example, in terms of the evolution of the feet… Humans need to walk on the ground, chase wild animals, or be chased by them. To run fast, the feet themselves need to be suitable for running, with large soles, especially for males who need to support their families and take care of their wives and children.”

“But elves are different. Most of the time, elves live in the forest, and they basically learn wind magic at a very young age. When they want to go somewhere, they climb up a tree and fly up with a light leap. Since their feet rarely touch the ground, there is almost no evolution in their feet, so they tend to look ‘pretty’ like Nuo’er’s feet. On the contrary, the length of the calf develops because there are some places in the trees where wind magic isn’t needed, and they can easily leap over them. So, longer legs are more suitable.”

 

“Nuo’er, your body perfectly fits the growth curve of the elves, with a kind of elven aesthetic in it.”

 

I remained silent for a moment. “Xiao Mo said this is to conform to the aesthetic norms of this side of the Earth.”

 

“The aesthetic of the elves has been ahead of this side by tens of thousands of years. In terms of beauty, this place is still far behind, so Xiao Mo’s words are not wrong.”

 

Fei Luo chuckled lightly. “Actually, Nuo’er, you don’t need to be too shy. I know Xiao Mo the best. Previously, that hero basically had the same attitude towards her, relying on his own abilities more than Xiao Mo’s, and most of the time when he interacted with Xiao Mo, it was a one-sided conversation. Now Xiao Mo is the one who dominates the conversation with you. She just hopes that you can enjoy life peacefully, without worrying about anything.”

 

“But…”

I protested, “I’m not a hero, and Xiao Mo also said she would forget about that person…”

 

“Some bonds, even if they are like the gears of reincarnation, cannot be easily severed.”

 

Fei Luo sighed. “Just consider it as a kind of plot device in a novel. An ordinary person suddenly encounters a mysterious girl, and this mysterious girl is capable of everything, making this ordinary person the protagonist of the novel.”

 

“In this way, I always feel…”

I thought for a moment. “I always feel… somewhat guilty.”

 

“Then Xiao Mo isn’t guilty either?”

 

Fei Luo dove down again, accelerating towards the landing.

 

“Because of her existence, the hero not only had to endure the pressure of ‘joining forces with the many tribe,’ but also had to balance Xiao Mo’s life as a magic teacher and mentor, as well as the hero of another world, and consider the overall situation of the Allied Forces… In the end, he still ended up being killed by his companions. Just imagine how crazy Xiao Mo was at that time, she…”

 

At this point, Fei Luo paused. “If Xiao Mo had the power of the Demon King at that time, she might have destroyed our world already. She… she actually had a breakdown for a while.”

 

“Huh?” It felt like I was hearing some gossip.

“Xiao Mo?”

 

“It’s not really a noteworthy part of history. Anyway, the end result was that Xiao Mo woke up, sought revenge, killed the Demon King, and the hero she had always been obsessed with forgot everything and became a lovely girl. That’s the best ending.”

 

“So, your existence, your happiness, and your smile are actually a kind of redemption for Xiao Mo.”

 

In the conversation, Fei Luo quickly dove to a place only a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the Wanghai Park. She flapped her wings a few times to slow down the descent, then grabbed my feet with her hands to prevent me from losing balance, adjusted her body, and landed with a “plop” sound. She then took a few steps forward to dissipate the inertia and stopped.

 

“Is this the place?”

 

Walking on the flat ground in front of the gate of Wanghai Park with me on her back, Fei Luo asked curiously, “Are you here to find something?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I let go of Fei Luo’s neck and jumped down. I looked around. “This is where I first met her.”

 

Or rather, it’s where I first met the “avatar” Momo, or… it was me at that time, bringing the avatar Momo back.

 

Anyway, however it was, this place is indeed worth remembering for me.

 

Today, while Xiao Mo was out running errands, Fei Luo once again forcefully requested that I act as a “dragon rider.” So, I thought of this place, the small grove in Wanghai Park where Xiao Mo had been injured before.

 

“You actually met here?” My words made Fei Luo curious.

“But there’s nothing here, is there? This park mentioned… is it still open at night?”

 

“Yeah, it’s a free park.” I nodded.

“It was built just a few years ago, and there’s hardly anything inside.”

 

Actually, this month, I occasionally investigated this place when Xiao Mo wasn’t paying attention.

 

The address on my ID card, “Room 801, Building 3, Nanqi Bay Community, No. 3 Wanghai Road, Nanqi District, Shenzhen City,” did exist several years ago.

 

But what exactly happened in these years, I have no way of knowing.

 

Moreover, I found out online that this “Nanqi Bay Community” is not simple.

 

Just like the Shangjing Cat Café with Ouyang Xue, it used to be the political center of Nanqi District.

 

Related reports on the internet are basically no longer available. There are various opinions, and no one can explain clearly the struggles behind this community. I could only gather some information from “relevant sources” on certain forums and Baidu Tieba.

 

In simple terms, this “Nanqi Bay Community” theoretically should have been completed ten years ago. Initially, this community adopted the “presale” model. Compared to the current “ready-to-move-in” homes, people back then were not very aware of the risks of “presale.” Moreover, with the nationwide real estate speculation boom, the houses in Nanqi Bay Community were snapped up as soon as they were put on sale.

 

Nanqi Bay Community was promoted as a “seaside-style community” at that time. The architectural drawings showed a community with a swimming pool, coconut trees, palm trees, beautiful beaches, and cobblestone pathways, making it look particularly beautiful.

 

However, what the people who initially bought the “presale” homes in Nanqi Bay Community didn’t expect was that their houses were left unfinished. The reason was that the developer unexpectedly passed away.

 

The murder case was widely circulated, with all sorts of rumors. Eventually, with the intervention of the Nanqi District government, a new developer took over the project. However, before even completing a year, a dramatic scene occurred: the new developer and its related companies, including the boss, were involved in an accident, with four deaths and three serious injuries in a car accident.

 

Within three years, so many people died, all of them related to the housing developers. Various conspiracy theories emerged all of a sudden. Some said that a certain power in Nanqi District did not allow houses to be built here, some said that the dark hand behind Nanqi District and the developers couldn’t agree on money and sent assassins.

 

Anyway, since then, no developer has been willing to take over the project of Nanqi Bay Community. The Nanqi District government, helpless, had to seek help from the leadership of Shenzhen City. After a long negotiation, the Nanqi District government received a sum of funding. The district mayor personally led the construction team and spent three years completing the houses in the community.

 

However, due to financial constraints, there were no swimming pools or beaches in Nanqi Bay, and the palm trees and coconut trees were gone. After completing the construction of the houses, the construction team simply carried out some landscaping. This made the owners of Nanqi Bay unhappy, and they went to demand explanations. The Nanqi District side was also very helpless and didn’t know how to resolve it, so it dragged on for several more years.

 

In the end, two or three years ago, there was a huge explosion… boom, and Nanqi Bay Community was gone. Now, netizens went completely crazy, speculating which big shot was covering the area of Wanhai Road in Nanqi District, actually choosing to blow it up rather than allowing houses to be built. Seeing the increasingly frightening public opinion, the city quickly sent an inspection team to investigate.

 

The conclusion was that due to geological problems, there was a collapse in the area of Nanqi Bay Community, which was not caused by human sabotage or terrorism. They requested everyone not to make random comments. Afterwards, all the houses in Nanqi Bay Community were designated as dangerous buildings for demolition, and the owners were given a large resettlement fee.

 

Most of this information has been heavily censored on the internet. If I hadn’t been curious and conflicted, spending almost a month investigating, I really wouldn’t have known that such a thing had happened in Nanqi District. Moreover, back then, as an uncle, when Nanqi Bay Community had its incident, it was just the time when I graduated from university and started working. I didn’t have time to pay attention to these gossip, so I didn’t know it was normal for Nanqi Bay Community either.

 

What I’m curious about now is whether there’s any connection between the construction of the free park, Wanhai Park, on the ruins after the demolition of Nanqi Bay Community and the explosion at that time.

 

I always feel like Xiao Mo has been hiding a lot from me, but my intuition tells me — it’s okay not to know about these things, Xiao Mo handles them very well.

 

“There are two patrolmen inside.”

 

As we walked towards the park entrance, Fei Luo beside me spoke up, “They should be security guards or something.”

 

“A free park like this still has security guards at this late hour?”

I wondered, “Where are they stationed?”

 

“One is inside the park, and the other is at the exit of another side gate.”

 

Fei Luo tilted her head back, as if sensing something with some special method.

 

“Do you want to go in?”

 

“Well… based on your understanding of Xiao Mo, would she come to a place like this to recuperate after defeating the Demon King?”

 

After saying that, because of my concern about Fei Luo and Xiao Mo’s “confidential agreement,” I added, “It has nothing to do with the Demon King. I just want to ask if Xiao Mo would leave something behind here, because when I saw her at that time, Xiao Mo… was in a terrible state.”

 

“Do you want to know?”

 

The girl beside me leaned in close to my ear.

“If what Nuo’er wants to ask is whether Momo will leave behind any sad memories here… I can confidently tell you, no.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Momo is just that kind of person, or rather, all those terrible traits of hers are learned from the Hero.”

 

Fei Luo stretched lazily. “She goes out alone without a word and sorts out everything, or even when she’s clearly badly injured, she still tells us she’s fine. It’s all those arrogant teachings from the Hero. If you really care about Xiao Mo, you don’t need to come to a place like this. It would be better to just go and find her directly, you know?”

 

“Find her directly?”

 

I pondered for a moment. “Can you sense where she is?”

 

“Come on, Nuo’er. We’ve been old buddies for how many years now, in a city this size?”

 

Under the moonlight, Fei Luo yawned and then crouched down with her back turned to me, flapping her wings twice.

 

“Hmm?”

I paused for a moment, then ran a few steps toward her and jumped up.

*Heave-ho—*

 

Grabbing my legs wrapped in silk stockings, Fei Luo effortlessly stood up. “To be honest, I don’t know what happened on the day Xiao Mo battled the Demon King. After all, he’s her biological father. But I think it’s better not to ask about such things. She’s grown up now and can handle it herself.”

 

“Besides, Nuo’er, you’re still so young. Knowing too much isn’t good for you. What you need to do now is to enjoy the sanctuary that Xiao Mo has brought you and grow up little by little.”

 

“I’m not young anymore,” I protested.

“For humans, I’m already an adult!”

 

“You have an elf maiden’s body. Say it again,” Fei Luo pinched my soft calf.

 

“Let me give you a hint. Your current body has been developing for at least two hundred years. Life-binding spells can only synthesize body embryos, they cannot give birth to souls out of thin air. This means that Xiao Mo started preparing your body at least two hundred years ago, before defeating the Demon King. Your few decades of human life are really just child’s play in our history.”

 

“So, Nuo’er, you’d better grow up a little more before delving into these truths.”

 

“……”

 

……