One of the boys handed the bag he was carrying to his companion who was staying behind, and asked excitedly in a low voice, "Is the baby awake yet?"
Beside Lina, the girl left behind, was a cardboard box covered with a thin, pilling bath towel. The boys gathered around the box, and when the girl reached out and lifted the towel, they were met with a cute little face.
Inside the cardboard box was a seven- or eight-month-old baby girl.
She had a pair of beautiful, clear amber eyes that appeared particularly large and bright on her thin, pale face. Her short, black, wavy hair hung listlessly beside her ears, a result of her poor nutrition.
She lay on the small blanket, tilted her head back, and when she saw the older children, she happily gave them a sweet smile.
Children raised in special circumstances have never had toys, but this adorable little baby, who looks like a doll, has clearly captured the hearts of all children.
Chu Wang reached out and held the baby in her arms. Because of the lack of nutrition, the baby felt light and frail when she held it, giving off a frightening sense of fragility.
"Hey, Inya, how was your day?" he said slowly.
The baby in her arms had a complex and complete name, which was quite rare—in the entire group of children, only Chu Wang had the same complete name, because he was abandoned by the players when he fell ill at the age of eight.
Like other children, they are called Little Poem, Lina, Charlie, Sugar Bean, Little Dot, etc., names they chose themselves.
The place where the teenagers live is an infinite space called 'Refining Realm'. It sends out invitations to the outside world in an unpredictable way. Those who accept the invitation will be accepted by the space and become mission players.
It is deeply integrated with the player, assisting the player's survival through the game system . Everything the player needs in the infinite space must be redeemed and purchased with points.
The Refining Realm is like a mysterious plane existing in a spacetime rift. No one knows how it was formed or how many years it has existed. At least when new players enter the space now, they see that everything inside is already perfect, and the player forces in different areas have also developed to maturity.
It has ninety-nine floors, and each floor is no different from the real world. The children are on the thirty-sixth floor.
Because of its unique tower-like structure, players also refer to the Refinement Realm as the Central Tower.
Here, players can use the converter to travel between different floors, but the entry requirements for each floor are different.
The Refining Realm is naturally a world for adults, but children also exist there.
The Refinement System claims that points can be exchanged for anything in the central tower, and children are naturally among the items that can be purchased with points.
Humans are ultimately social animals; once their basic survival needs are met, many people naturally begin to develop emotional needs. Some players, after spending too much time in a cruel and treacherous world, may miss the interpersonal relationships they had when they were still normal people.
Compared to forming close relationships with other players and then risking betrayal, many people would prefer to 'exchange' for a child. This choice is clearly simpler, harmless, and offers greater rewards.
If you buy a child aged eight to ten, you can
You can enjoy the affection of children without incurring the costs of raising them for the first few years. The children you buy can clean rooms, handle logistics, and even take on some low-level spatial tasks to earn points.
When they get a little older, they can be trained as teammates to clear low-level dungeons. If they succeed, the player can claim two rewards, and if they fail, they can be used to shield the child from danger—it's a very cost-effective option no matter how you look at it.
Many mid-to-high-level players adopt children, but unfortunately in the Refining Realm, children who can be purchased are no longer family treasures, but consumables and laborers who can earn money.
As for the origin of the children, aside from those born and abandoned by players, many speculate that the Refinement Realm takes away the young souls of those who are near death or die young in reality. As for the real truth, who knows?
Therefore, children like Chu Wang, who roam outside the orphanage, are rare unregistered individuals. They are neither players nor registered in the orphanage by the system.
Most of them were abandoned by wandering players. These players were at the bottom of the central tower. Most of them were disabled or had psychological problems, so severe that they could not perform dungeon missions. They dared not end their lives, so they could only do those heavy logistical tasks in the space to exchange for a pitiful amount of points. Perhaps after a whole day of hard work, they could only exchange for a meal.
Some wandering players, overwhelmed by the burden, actually became homeless, begging and scavenging... Unfortunately, the central tower lacks the warmth of a moral society. Even in the safe zone, wandering players are beaten and abused by normal players, and may even be followed all the way to outside the safe zone and killed.
Over time, most of the homeless people gathered in the abandoned tiered areas.
For example, the thirty-sixth floor is known as the garbage dump, where a large amount of waste generated by the central tower is transported. Every week, an area here is randomly cleared, and if you unfortunately choose the wrong landing spot, you will be wiped out along with the garbage.
Meanwhile, a black market also exists on this floor. Some players are willing to come here to exchange dangerous and shady items, because there is no safe zone, and they could be assassinated the moment they start trading. Therefore, the players who come here are basically all ruthless and vicious.
It can be said that the thirty-six layers of darkness are completely black, a concrete manifestation of the cruelty of the infinite world.
Children grow up in such an environment. Some homeless people adopt children and make them dig through garbage, yet they are stingy enough to not even give them a name, usually just some unpleasant nickname. If a child gets sick, they are abandoned. A large number of children are born to homeless people and die within a few years.
Chu Wang was similar to, yet unlike, other children. He was the son of a normal player. He grew up on other levels, saw a larger world, and was even trained in martial arts and culture by his parents from the age of four.
When he was eight years old, he contracted a serious illness of unknown cause. After drinking the initial treatment potion without any effect, his parents decisively took him to the black market on the 36th floor, intending to sell him to recoup their losses.