I'm a magical girl in the future

Chapter 105 Tomb Sweeping

Gwangyang City is known as the "City of New Life".

Although official documents still refer to the city as "Gwangyang City," ordinary people are more accustomed to calling it "New Gwangyang City."

This city was rebuilt on the ruins of Gwangyang City, which suffered an "unexpected natural disaster" ten years ago.

The streets were wide and clean, and the buildings were all high-rises. Although it had the appearance of a modern city, it completely lacked the atmosphere that a big city should have. The whole city had a strange sense of desolation.

Because the city's population is only one-sixth of what it used to be in Gwangyang.

Those who survived the "unprovoked natural disaster" ten years ago were resettled in surrounding cities. In the past ten years, these people have all started new lives and built new relationships. Even if their hometowns are rebuilt, only a minority are willing to abandon everything and move back with their families.

This has led to the current desolate scene in Gwangyang City.

For Shen Zixin and Lu Yue, the word "Guangyang City" does not evoke the usual sense of "hometown." This is not the paradise where they played and frolicked, nor is it the homeland where they grew up carefree.

This is the location of the cage they lived in during their childhood, a place called "the laboratory".

In a sense, the "unprovoked natural disaster" that destroyed the city was both a tragedy that robbed them of their peace and a ritual that liberated them from imprisonment.

Shen Zixin and Lu Yue stood side by side in a memorial cemetery on the outskirts of the city. Each of them held a bouquet of simple white chrysanthemums, the petals trembling slightly in the chilly winter air.

In reality, with monstrous beasts lurking around the city's outskirts, it's extremely difficult for people to travel between cities. However, they have compelling reasons to come here.

The two stood before a massive white marble wall. Beneath the wall, rows of white flowers had already piled up, like silent waves lapping against the embankment called "Death."

The wall is engraved with rows of names, densely packed together. Those are all the lives lost in that catastrophe ten years ago.

Even the names of those who perished in that laboratory were faithfully inscribed on the stone wall by the Civil Defense Bureau, with no intention of concealing them. Logically, such "human experimentation" should be considered a dark chapter in history. The Civil Defense Bureau's open disclosure of this information was indeed somewhat unexpected.

Or does the Civil Defense Bureau think that writing down the names of those in the lab won't attract attention?

In short, whether the Civil Defense Bureau didn't want to hide it or felt there was no need to hide it, it's no longer that important 10 years later.

For Shen Zixin and Lu Yue, those peers who grew up together in the laboratory were, in a sense, their "family."

They come to visit their "family," that's why they have to come here.

However, Shen Zixin had always had a question in her mind:

He Yuran... was alone in a laboratory.

Indeed, as the only child who had contact with He Yuran, Shen Zixin clearly remembered that He Yuran was in a separate laboratory. However, the other children... all lived together in a group.

Even Shen Zixin himself couldn't remember why he went to He Yuran's private laboratory every day to meet her.

That's right, Shen Zixin went back and forth between "He Yuran's room" and "the place where the other children lived together" every day.

Why is He Yuran alone in a room? Is there anything special about this "experiment"?

For this reason, He Yuran did not have any connection with the other children.

So, she didn't come to the grave-sweeping ceremony this time. For her, this place was simply a place of sorrow.

Of course, this is only one reason. He Yuran staying behind can also help take care of Qin Xiaoling.

As for why Qin Xiaoling didn't come, firstly, she had to attend class. Secondly... Qin Xiaoling was too young when she was in the lab; even when the unexpected natural disaster occurred, Xiaoling was only 6 years old. She had virtually no memory of interacting with the other children.

So, the two, who still cherished memories of their friends in the lab, came to this cemetery.

Because the names on the wall were arranged alphabetically by first letter, Lu Yue quickly found the name.

Su Qingyuan.

She stared at the name, her eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

"...Sister Qingyuan." Upon seeing this name, Shen Zixin's memories gradually surfaced.

Su Qingyuan... in that so-called "big family", she was the most timid and the most easily hurt girl.

She was one of the oldest children in the lab at the time, just like Lu Yue. But her unusually timid personality made her a frequent target of bullying.

The world of children is also a small society—the exclusion of small groups, the malicious teasing, and Su Qingyuan is always the one who silently endures everything.

At that time, Shen Zixin was still young. Faced with the malice of those older children, he felt indignant but was also too afraid to speak up.

In that closed world, only Lu Yue would stand in front of Su Qingyuan time and time again to protect her.

In a sense, Lu Yue was her only friend.

After the disaster, Shen Zixin was actually completely unaware of the life or death status of most of the people in the laboratory.

After the disaster ended and she had settled down, Shen Zixin tried to find out some news about her "family" in the lab. Although she was able to contact a small number of people, she could not reach most of the others.

Shen Zixin was already mentally prepared for this group of people.

Therefore, when Shen Zixin saw the name "Su Qingyuan" on the stone wall, she was completely certain that she had perished in that disaster.

As for Sister Lu Yue... since she works at the Civil Defense Bureau, she should have already obtained the list of victims.

Therefore, she should have known much earlier that Su Qingyuan was gone.

"Sorry I'm late."

Lu Yue murmured softly, afraid of disturbing her family members who lay buried here. She bent down and placed the white chrysanthemums she was holding under the stone wall, alongside the other bouquets.

Shen Zixin also bent down and presented her flowers—"Sister Qingyuan, we're here."

The January wind swept through the cemetery, carrying a biting chill. The two stood before the stone wall for a long time, remembering their sister, before Shen Zixin reached out and gently patted her shoulder.

"Let's go back."

Lu Yue didn't turn around, but simply gave a soft "hmm". She took one last look at the wall before starting her return journey with her younger brother.

The two strolled along the paths of the cemetery, remaining silent as they had on their way there.