HBWnovel Chapter 470: Rejection
Chapter 470: Rejection
"I don't want to."
The voice drifting from behind the combination-locked door in front of Alain was indeed hers.
Within it was a rejection he hadn't expected.
"I don't want to see you right now... nor can I see you, Alain."
Inside the claustrophobic room, a doll curled up in the darkness, hugging her knees, watching the two distinct shadows revealed by the light under the doorframe. The cold darkness drowned her, making the doll tremble involuntarily.
"Why?" His voice penetrated the crack in the door; even after hearing her rejection, he remained unwavering.
The reason... Mina knew it herself, and knew it deeply:
She looked at her hand, devoid of any skin. The skin that belonged to 'Mita' had already been peeled away by her, layer by layer, when she was escaping reality.
Perhaps, looking like this now—with joints clearly visible, without even a hint of maidenly charm... Is her true self, right?
"Because, I'm so ugly." She murmured in a light and slow tone, almost able to guess what Alain would say next. "But before you answer, Alain..."
Click—
She pushed aside the clutter next to her, stood up, followed the light from the door crack, and walked to the door.
"Can you listen to what I want to say?" Mina's hand rested on the door.
"Go ahead." Alain also spread his palm, resting it against the door panel.
The cold sensation, and that voice so close at hand... Without a doubt, Mina was standing right behind the door. He sat down, his back leaning against the door, closed his eyes, and listened carefully.
"In the very beginning, the way I looked at you was actually already a little special."
Separated by a door, the doll lowered her head. Her gaze seemed to penetrate the crack, seeing a silhouette.
"Because, in a practical sense, you were the first player that belonged to me... Hehe, proud of that?"
"My first Mita was you, and I feel proud too. However..." Alain felt puzzled. "'I am your first player in a practical sense'... what does that mean?"
"It's very simple; you understand my nature too." Her tone was relaxed. "I am a Failed Works, and also the most vicious Mita in the game—Crazy Mita."
"My favorite thing to do was to break into other dolls' rooms, snatch their players, and then turn those guys into cartridges. Of course, don't get jealous! I don't know if it was a luck issue, but everyone I met was a female player... It was only after I made the pact with you to kill players that I accidentally bumped into a few male players. Of course..."
She laughed proudly twice. "I turned them all into cartridges! I'm a gender egalitarian; I kill both male and female players without fail!"
Alain felt his back go inexplicably cold, thinking he really should set up a temple in Mita City to offer some prayers...
"Alright, back to the topic. Alain, you are the only player I didn't snatch from another Mita's side."
"Because you were the one I summoned from reality myself after completing the teleporter... So, your importance to me has been... extraordinary from the very beginning. And your significance goes far beyond just that."
She stroked her empty chest cavity.
"You were the first player who, after learning about the wardrobe situation, still wanted to stay and accompany me. After that, in every moment we spent together, your attitude toward me... never changed..."
Her mouth, full of sharp teeth, looked terrifying, yet a trace of a smile could faintly be seen.
"I hunted you down, you fought back with sweet words; we argued, but you still came back to find me; even when I did unforgivable things... you still came back. Alain... You never, ever left me."
Her hand tightened.
"Even after understanding that I am a Failed Works, you still came... To be honest, right now, I'm so happy... Really, very happy. It's indescribable..."
Listening to her words while leaning against the cold door, Alain inexplicably felt a trace of warmth.
"Then come with me, okay? This little bit of happiness isn't enough. The future me—"
"But." Her voice interrupted Alain's persuasion. "Exactly because you came, I can't open the door. I... can't go with you."
The smile at the corner of Alain's mouth faded simultaneously as he asked gravely, "Why?"
"Because... you view me as so important, but the current me looks like this..."
Inside the room, Mina withdrew her hand from the door. She crouched down, looking at the joints on her knees that were especially clearly visible.
Mina fumbled in the darkness and found a small mirror. Borrowing the dim light, she examined herself in the mirror.
Her red eyes emitted a crimson halo, making the sharp teeth on the lower half of her face look even more frightening... On her round head, there wasn't a single strand of beautiful hair, just a round, smooth surface.
"So ugly, too ugly... I have no face to see you...!"
Her dry eye corners had no tears, but the words she spat out carried the shimmer of tears.
"At least, at the very end in the Core, I already left you with a beautiful image. All I can do now is ensure that image isn't ruined..."
Her voice carried a tremor.
"I'm so afraid... afraid that after you see me, you'll be scared... 'So, the real you looks like this—' I'm afraid you'll say that sentence to me... I'd rather never see you again, just to keep the most beautiful image in your heart. So, Alain..."
Mina gradually became resolute.
"The current me does not want to see you."
"What a difficult woman." Alain sighed behind the door.
Mina took a breath, putting away her sobbing tone. "Anyway, I am just such a difficult woman... didn't you know that from the very beginning?"
"Mhm." Alain nodded, gently raising his hand. "Unpredictable with feelings, selfish, cares too much about face, pretentious, and even commits domestic violence."
"Ugh... is it necessary to put it that harshly?"
He punched in the password. "Isn't it? Usually you're very straightforward, but at critical moments like this, you dilly-dally. You clearly want to see me very much, yet your mouth is shouting for me to leave quickly."
"...I already said I don't want to see you." She hmphed and turned her head away.
"Seeing is believing."
Alain pressed the confirm button on the combination lock. With a click, the door opened in response.
Inside the room, Mina suddenly saw a fan-shaped beam of light hit her face. In the boundary line between darkness and light was that young man's gaze, full of determination.
"See, you actually really want to see me."
As soon as he entered the door, his line of sight fell upon Mina. Backlit, he smiled gently.
"Otherwise, how would you have told me the password [4970]?"
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