Chapter 964 - 36: This Life
"Let me see him, oh my dear child." A similarly 'giant' woman took Xiao Jie into her arms, her face full of maternal love.
In the midst of being passed around, Xiao Jie had already caught a vague glimpse of his surroundings; it was clearly an ancient Eastern style room. This woman holding him must be his mother in this world, with a midwife, maidservants, and others nearby.
Looking at the several 'giants' before him, Xiao Jie was extremely shocked.
How could this be? Isn't this game supposed to be operated with a keyboard and mouse? How did I get my real self transported here?
And moreover, transformed into a baby?
His mind raced, Xiao Jie quickly recalled the strange system dialog box that had just appeared.
[System prompt: Your gaming device is insufficient to support the upcoming game experience. Do you wish to grant system permissions to run the game in compatibility mode? Yes/No.]
Is this compatibility mode meant to let your real self enter the game?
Xiao Jie had never thought the game would have such a feature.
System! Attribute panel! Xiao Jie silently chanted in his mind, yet there was no response; everything seemed just like genuine reality.
Damn, this has turned into something big.
He had initially thought that this test was just to be operated using a computer to complete a series of scenario tasks, supposedly spending a life in the Taixu Illusion Realm, which would only take a few hours at most.
At this moment, however, a sense of foreboding gripped his heart; could it be that he really had to spend an entire life in this world?
As he pondered this, his youthful face surprisingly showed a hint of seriousness.
"Aunt Li, why won't the child cry?" the woman holding Xiao Jie suddenly asked anxiously.
"He must have been choked by amniotic fluid. Let me take a look."
The midwife took Xiao Jie and gave him a pat on the back, which nearly took his breath away.
In fact, the pat wasn't very forceful, but as Xiao Jie had just been born, he was incredibly fragile to the slightest touch, feeling it as though it weighed a ton.
Of course, Xiao Jie didn't cry; he was even more nervous, wondering if crying counted as speaking. It shouldn't, but better safe than sorry.
To prevent failing the trial before it even began, Xiao Jie stubbornly refused to utter a sound.
Seeing that Xiao Jie still wasn't crying, the midwife increased the force of her patting.
Cough, cough, cough! Xiao Jie finally started coughing, fortunately, his coughs didn't count as speech, preventing an early end to the trial.
"That's strange, indeed not crying." The midwife noticed Xiao Jie coughing, realizing he wasn't choking, but found it odd for a newborn to not cry or fuss.
Hopefully, it won't indicate any problem.
However, the midwife's concern ultimately came true.
The young master grew day by day, not crying or fussing was one thing, but when other children began babbling, he still showed no sign of speaking. All day, besides eating and sleeping, he was as silent as a wooden sculpture.
This worried the master and madam greatly.
The master, who came from a respectable family, never expected that in old age, the child he received would be mute.
Yet he was still their flesh and blood, and the couple poured all their love into him.
In this environment, Xiao Jie gradually grew up.
Initially, he resisted the world he was in, which wasn't hard to understand; anyone would struggle with suddenly transforming from an adult to a baby.
Not being able to move normally, relying on others for eating, drinking, and the like was indeed uncomfortable.
Luckily, as a baby, he didn't need to worry about acting and could slowly adapt to the surroundings.
As time passed, Xiao Jie gradually came to terms with it.
Living an extra life wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, since everything's an illusion, he might as well treat it like a game—he was originally playing a game anyway.
Occasionally, he would recall the scenes he'd seen in Taixu Hall, and if his guess was correct, he should still be in front of his computer, it's only his consciousness that entered this world.
As long as he completed the tasks, he would naturally awaken in front of his computer.
Every time he thought of this, Xiao Jie would feel much more at ease.
The only thing slightly challenging his adjustment was the parental doting in this world. The familial affection impacted Xiao Jie with both warmth and conflict.
He did have real parents in reality.
At first, he could remain calm, but as time went by, with each passing year, he inevitably developed subtle feelings toward these adoptive parents.
What frustrated him even more was how his parents frequently played with him, eager to make him speak, even inviting numerous famous doctors to diagnose him. The doctors consistently concluded that the young master had no hearing or speaking problems, but they didn't know why he remained silent.
This made Xiao Jie's adoptive parents even more attentive, leaving Xiao Jie both annoyed and guilty.
Whenever he saw his adoptive parents' concerned and worried expressions, he had to mentally remind himself, (It's all fake, just illusions. Don't get emotionally involved.)
Xiao Jie repeatedly told himself this to maintain his silent state.
Several days passed in this manner, and on this day, Xiao Jie woke up early as usual.
As soon as he stepped out, a chubby child hurriedly blocked his way.
"Hidden Moon Following Wind, look at what I'm holding. It's what my dad bought me early this morning."