When Mu Ran opened his eyes again, it was as if he had arrived in an entirely new world.
Floating islands were nestled amidst the clouds and mist. The buildings on the islands were magnificent, grand palaces of an ancient style, interspersed with tall, elegant flora that breathed life into the architecture.
Yet, for some reason, the sunlight on the island was very thin, casting the entire place in a hazy gray.
"Welcome back~" a somewhat peculiar voice rang out.
Mu Ran looked toward the sound and saw a quiet, well-behaved little Miao girl holding a small lantern, tilting her head as she watched their group. A small black snake coiled around her neck flicked its thin tongue.
"Is a new companion coming?"
It turned out the strange voice had come from the little black snake.
Qi Mo replied with a smile, "No, this is a guest we’ve invited."
The little black snake flicked its tongue again. "Aw, what a pity~ A-Xiang was hoping the island could get a bit more lively."
The little girl nodded silently.
The blonde girl holding the unconscious small animals took off her hat and trotted over to the Miao girl, showing off her harvest from this trip.
"Brothers, new brothers, so many."
The two children’s heads leaned closer together, their soft, fine hair gradually intertwining. Finally, Qi Mo rubbed their heads and gave them a gentle push, and they happily ran off to a corner to look at the animals.
Mu Ran remained silent to stay in character, but his eyes couldn't help but drift toward the corner.
As they passed through a long corridor, Mu Ran felt a blur before his eyes, and then something was suddenly thrust into his arms—it was heavy. He caught it by reflex and looked up.
His gaze only managed to catch a long, soft, furry tail that hadn't quite hidden itself yet.
*Eh?*
He looked down to see a smooth egg in his hands, about the size of a watermelon, with exquisite and beautiful patterns on the shell.
...If it had fur and a tail like that, it should be a mammal, right? What was with the egg?
Mu Ran fell into deep thought.
Qi Mo turned and looked up to ask, "Xiao Shui? Where did you steal this egg from?"
The furry tail twitched and then retracted further.
An indistinct cry came from the rafters: "Gu-gu... gu-gu..."
Qi Mo sighed and explained to the seemingly cold but actually bewildered Mu Ran behind him, "Apologies, Xiao Shui is just a bit excited..."
He looked at the egg in Mu Ran's hands and smiled helplessly. "Xiao Shui must like you very much. This egg is likely his gift to you."
A sound of affirmation came from above: "Gu-gu..."
"Um... if you want to throw it away, remember to find a place where no one is around."
A sound of protest came from above: "Gu-gu!"
Ignoring the protest from overhead, Qi Mo signaled for Mu Ran to keep following.
Mu Ran wasn't the type to just throw away a gift from someone else, but his silent acceptance seemed to give those watching from the shadows some courage. Consequently, for the rest of the walk, he received all sorts of welcoming gifts.
The weight in his arms gradually increased.
As they crossed a small bridge, a cold scorpion tail hooked around a jar of wine and drifted lazily in front of him.
"No... let's skip this one." Qi Mo smiled and pushed the scorpion tail away.
Mu Ran breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Finally, they arrived at a hall where they could discuss matters properly. At a glance, Mu Ran saw a Bai Shan who was very different from his memory.
During one of their previous meetings, when he was preparing to reject the masked man, this young man had been pacing anxiously behind the masked man like a Siberian Husky, winking at him. The white wolf by his side had also been howling "wooo-wooo" in an attempt to block his words—the scene had been truly memorable.
However, the Bai Shan before him, while having the same face as in his memory, had a vastly different expression, temperament, and overall color palette. ...And there was no lively white wolf by his side.
But Mu Ran didn't ask any questions, because before they reached the island, Qi Mo had already given him a heads-up, saying that no matter what abnormalities he saw, he shouldn't worry; they would explain everything during their formal talk.
Looking at the youth piled high with items, Bai Shan held it in for a long time but eventually couldn't resist bursting into laughter. "How is it? Is everyone enthusiastic?"
"...Yes." *So can I ask why now?*
Hearing the youth's cold voice tinged with a hint of confusion, Bai Shan was about to tease him a bit more when he saw Qi Mo cast a restraining glance his way.
He also felt the invisible, deterrent gaze of Yun He from behind.
He reluctantly shut his mouth.
Seeing Mu Ran's overflowing confusion, Qi Mo arranged for him to sit down and then began a detailed explanation.
He first explained the reason for the island's formation: some Star Lords considered themselves superior and caused psychological trauma to the Soul-shapers under their command. These Soul-shapers rebelled and escaped. Those who retained their sanity gathered here, making small efforts for everyone's survival and to reduce the occurrence of similar incidents.
Connecting this to the fact that this was a game-derived world, the Star Lords must be the players, and the Soul-shapers were the characters, right?
Mu Ran roughly understood and nodded, but he still had questions.
*But why bring me to the island?*
Qi Mo continued to explain that there were only two ways for a Star Lord to obtain a Soul-shaper: summoning or inviting a wandering Soul-shaper. They were powerless to help those companions who were summoned, so they could only keep an eye out across various space-times for those wandering Soul-shapers to inform them of certain things.
...Wait, was something not right?
The word "invite" overlapped with the behavior of the masked man who had appeared frequently these past few days, giving Mu Ran a bold suspicion.
*They... they couldn't have mistaken me for some kind of Soul-shaper, could they?*
Qi Mo was still explaining: "We originally intended to tell you these things today just so you would be on your guard. But since we ran into that person... thinking it would be dangerous for you to stay there, we invited you to the island to take refuge for a few days."
Bai Shan added, "If my news hadn't come in time, you'd be in deep trouble by now. That woman is no pushover."
Because her credentials were poor and she couldn't summon rare Soul-shapers, she turned to wicked schemes, using her family's secret methods to modify common Soul-shapers to increase her combat power... Once someone came to investigate, she would sever the contract and discard the Soul-shapers—who had lost their energy and turned into animals—into the wild.
If it hadn't been for a companion who still possessed a shred of sanity drawing out their experience with a twig in front of them once, they would never have discovered it.
Since then, they had paid extra attention to any wandering, spiritual small animals.
This was also the reason for Yun He's dissatisfaction with the youth's act of killing an animal for the sake of a passerby—though he had been proven wrong immediately after.
Under the gaze of the two men, the white-haired youth spoke words they never expected.
"You think... I am a Soul-shaper?"
His cold tone carried an obvious sense of bewilderment.
...
...?
The usually composed Qi Mo froze, his train of thought stalling.
Bai Shan also choked. The white wolf at his neck mirrored his feelings, its tail curling into the shape of a question mark.
Yun He, who had been silent all along, opened his eyes behind them.
"You—what do you mean?"
They processed the meaning of the youth's words for a moment and were then struck with shock.
Bai Shan couldn't hold it in anymore. To prove himself, he immediately pulled out a mask and explained, "That's impossible... look, it's confirmed on the forums, they even said there's an event...! And there are photos of you!"
Qi Mo steadied his thoughts and managed an explanation: "Could it be that they didn't instill common knowledge in you when they awakened you?"
*Forums? What forums?*
*Common knowledge? What common knowledge?*
Mu Ran was also stunned by their words. For a moment, the group was speechless.
"You are saying you are not a Soul-shaper?"
The first to snap out of it and speak was actually Yun He, who hadn't said a word until now.
His entirely black eyes lifted slightly, carrying a hint of grim coldness.
"...I have been waiting for you to explain this."
*Crap, this shell stutters when saying long sentences. Will they think I'm feeling guilty?* Mu Ran was nervous.
"Then why were you appearing there?"
*To do an experiment!*
...Wait, speaking of the experiment, did I forget something?
Mu Ran froze, and then his emerald-green pupils trembled slightly.
*Help! This string of events was so impactful I forgot that this experiment didn't end successfully!*
No! Now was not the time to be shocked. He had to think of a random reason to answer him.
"Waiting for someone."
After a moment's delay, Mu Ran lowered his eyes and answered coldly.
Yun He didn't press further and slowly closed his eyes, as if this reason was barely enough to convince him.
Bai Shan bristled. "Then what I said was fake?!"
He shoved the mask onto Mu Ran's face and taught him step-by-step how to look. "Look here... these few posts are all talking about you... that one in red, yes, click into it, look! Isn't that your photo! This was posted by the officials!"
A very high-tech interface appeared before his eyes. Following Bai Shan's movements, a series of posts made Mu Ran's head spin.
He could understand the script of this world... but the content he saw made him wish he couldn't.
And these photos... who took them?! When were they taken?!
What on earth!
After some tossing around, Mu Ran finally understood that he had somehow been forced into becoming a "new Soul-shaper" on the forums, and due to the overly harsh conditions, he had attracted the fervent pursuit of a multitude of players.
Mu Ran: "..."
At this moment, Bai Shan was still whispering like a devil: "Look, this post even gives an all-around analysis of you, saying you're likely a new member of the Moon Clan or the Forest Clan. That's why the members of those two clans on the island have been looking forward to your arrival."
Mu Ran looked at the post and was startled by a sentence in the main body: "Continuously scouring for more hidden information."
*No, give the kid some privacy!*
Qi Mo was thoughtful: *No wonder I saw many unarranged Moon Clan members among the people welcoming us just now...*
Taking off the mask, Mu Ran still hadn't fully reacted, immersed in a state of shock.
*What kind of settings have you all been adding to me on your own in places I didn't know about...*
"It must be a mistake." He had to clear things up first.
After the commotion, Mu Ran's fine, soft white hair was slightly messy, and there were red marks on his cheeks from the mask's pressure, but his clear, clean emerald eyes were exceptionally firm.
"I am not a Soul-shaper."
Bai Shan hesitated. "But Central Island personally released an announcement..."
"...How few mistakes have those people made?" Yun He, his eyes closed, spoke coldly. "They posted our anonymous letter on the forum as a prank. Do you still expect them to have brains?"
"Uh... so they just made a random conclusion without verifying it?"
Yun He remained silent.
*Is that all it is...* Qi Mo felt there might be more to it, but he couldn't find any clues for the time being. He could only stand up and apologize to Mu Ran. "Sorry, it was our mistake."
"No, you helped me," Mu Ran answered quickly. "Thank you."
Bai Shan sighed deeply. "Ah, so that's how it is..."
After lamenting for a moment, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Then what kind of creature are you? That arrow was so cool!"
This touched upon Mu Ran's blind spot of knowledge. He could only repeat the dry words from his script: "...A wanderer."
He condensed an arrow and handed it to Bai Shan. "Do you want to see?"
Bai Shan took it excitedly.
*A wanderer, lingering in the same space-time, waiting for someone...*
Qi Mo shook his head to cast aside excessive speculation about the guest and apologized to Mu Ran once more. "I hope our invitation didn't disturb you... Although you aren't a Soul-shaper, the craze on the forums won't fade for a while, and we don't have the ability to explain it clearly..."
Mu Ran nodded understandingly.
Bai Shan took over the conversation. "However, we still really hope you can stay as a guest~ After all, it's been a long time since a newcomer came to the island~ It's even better that you're not a Soul-shaper; those little guys won't have to worry about the risk of polluting a guest when they come out for fresh air."
"Thank you." Mu Ran had thought he would be kicked out after revealing his identity.
Bai Shan threw an arm around the other's shoulder and led him outside intimately. "Oh, then I won't be polite. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself from polluting you~ After all, I used to have white hair too..."
"Let me show you around~"
"?" *Aren't we going to keep talking? Are we done?*
Mu Ran was led outside by Bai Shan, completely bewildered.
Until the two figures disappeared from sight, the smile in Qi Mo's eyes faded.
If he wasn't the rare Soul-shaper being hyped on the forums, then all their plans for recruitment would have to be scrapped.
Not a Soul-shaper, not a companion...
The attitude with which they treated the youth would need to be reconsidered.
Behind him, Yun He's slightly raised eyes were a void of black.
"Relax." He lightly patted Qi Mo's shoulder. "No one cares."
So there was no need to calculate too much, no need to seek too much.
Qi Mo murmured, "How could everyone not care..."
He looked down and saw the faint glow on the patterns of his face in the reflection on the floor.
"If I lose control too, I'll leave this island to you, Yun He."
Yun He closed his eyes and walked past him.
"Stop using that tone of voice, like you're leaving a will."
"You won't lose control."
***
"Fox...?"
The Mimic was still calling out eerily.
In the bushes, the System rubbed its face with its paws, feeling drowsy.
A vine growing small blue flowers silently approached the tiny white fox and tentatively poked its tail.
System: !
The System was startled by the sudden touch and turned its head toward its tail.
—There was nothing.
Turning its head back, a familiar face was inches away.
"Yo, caught you."
Then, the face suddenly shifted through a thousand changes.
"You certainly made me look hard."
Childishly venting the frustration of not being able to find the fox, the Mimic looked with satisfaction at the small animal's fur standing on end under his hand.
Grabbing the white fox by the scruff of its neck, the Mimic stood up and left happily.
"Let's find a place to bury... to lock you up~"
***
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