Chapter 15 Macao, Fairy Tale City
Her Dad walked on the left and her Mom walked on the right. Yu Sha was held by them in the middle, just like the situation when she was 3 years old. At that time, no one thought it was strange that she could not speak. Then the adults gradually discovered that Yu Sha really could not speak……From then on, her parents’ quarrels never stopped, as if they were fighting to say the words Yu Sha could not say in her life by cursing.
But now, everything was fine! This kind of beauty seemed familiar, but too far away. Yu Sha felt a little unreal.
What also made Yu Sha feel unreal was the city of Macao. The streets, tenement buildings, casinos and every place in the circle had not been changed, but the subtle differences had actually occurred in every detail. For example, the shop signs were no longer in the style of neon lights, but had become the vintage lacquer plaques, and even most of those plaques were still freshly painted, obviously replaced recently.
“It seems like I have really returned to the Tang Dynasty!” Her Mom said approvingly as she watched the changes around her.
“More tourists will come to Macao.” Her Dad agreed. “Macao has always been one of the top tourist cities in the world, and now this idea is great.”
Obviously Yu Sha already knew what this idea was, turning Macao into a “time travelling” city, but it was undeniable that this idea was effective. After she woke up, there were more and more tourists on the streets.
Even from the critical point of view of a little girl, these changes were appropriate. The antique details were stitched together with the digital light and shadow of the original buildings in Macao. Obviously, technology has accelerated all of this. Without any need to overthrow and rebuild and without the need for large-scale construction, the antique atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty and the original landscape of the city were integrated in an orderly and natural manner.
“Where are we going?” Yu Sha suddenly remembered that she was hurriedly taken out of her home by her parents, and she had been silent for so long that she almost forgot that she could ask.
“Girl, go to buy Tang suits. After two days, most people in Macao will be dressed in Tang suits, because the theme of Macao this year is Jing’ao in the Tang Dynasty. Jing’ao was the name of Macao in the Tang Dynasty.” Her Dad replied.
“The app says that if you follow the instructions, everyone wearing the Tang suit will make the income of 105%.”
“Wearing the Tang suit makes it more realistic!” When her Dad proudly shook the income interface of his cell phone in front of Yu Sha.
“The current Macao tourism industry is like a system. We are all members of this system. First of all, we can share our dreams when we sleep. Those smart experts believe that dreams are the most real needs of human beings. Individual dreams may be significant, but such changes cannot be said to be completely ineffective. Putting together the dreams of all people in Macao gives a true picture of the group unconsciousness, which can reveal unseen trends. It’s like……well, like……” Her Dad did his best, but he was not good at words and he could not learn.
“It’s like a…… map.” Yu Sha added for her Dad, feeling a burst of panic in her heart, for the Dinoman ever said the same.
“Yes! How do you know? Yes, it’s a map! Your description is great. In short, studying the collective subconsciousness of dreams can better discover the needs of tourism. Now restoring Macao to the city of Jing’ao in the Tang Dynasty is the result of everyone’s inner expectation.” Her Dad said proudly, and the pride with his eyes closed seemed to say that he had done call this. “So this is great. My dream can make the contribution to the Macao system, just like the principle of virtual currency.”
“System!” The Dinoman often said this, so Yu Sha’s fear became more and more concrete.
“The system will tell us in detail what to do……such as the merchants replacing plaques, renovating decorations, etc. Of course, this is all free of charge. Strictly speaking, when we go to the mall, we don’t go there to buy Tang suits, but to pick up the Tang suits. We will get rewards for participating in the tasks of the system. My friends call it mining. They say that the tourism industry of Macao is a big mine. I think my friend is a genius, for what he said makes so much sense.”
So obviously……humans suddenly learned what the Dinoman said, but they used in in other places. Yu Sha finally understood why the Macao in front of her was both familiar and strange.
The shopping malls in Macao were like a huge maze, which was very different from the small area of Macao itself. There were man-made canals, zeniths, and even a corner of the tropical rainforest. Thinking about it this way, Macao was somewhat similar to the underground world of the Dinoman, but Yu Sha had already decided to forget it. She also hoped that the Dinomen there could forget her as soon as possible and stop looking for her. It’s best for them to live underground forever. In this way everything could return to normal.
In fact, those Dinomen now had enough reasons to forget about humans and everything in the world on the ground. Now the Dinomen had no motivation to return to the ground and destroy humans. Yu Sha messed up everything of the Dinoman.
The answer was yes or no. First of all, reality was just a fragile balance rather than preventing it. Yu Sha thought, if she had not forcibly taken away the little robot, and for no reason, the Dinoman’s Horcrux chose her and became her voice instead of the Dinoman’s compass for navigating the universe, then there would be nothing that could stop the Dinoman’s extinction plan. Therefore, was the key to this event that little robot?
This answer was also yes or no. The little robot could have left while Yu Sha was unconscious, but that guy would rather install toys in its room than return to the dinosaur world. But was it because the little robot fell in love with the human world? It was true that the little steel elf liked to get close to her, and was also full of interest in the human world, but after all, it was a product of the technology of the Dinoman. Moreover, although the little guy was a robot, for some reason Yu Sha could always feel the existence of the Dinoman Zere in it——Even though the difference in their personalities was even greater than the difference between the machine and the creature, this feeling was like an indescribable electric shock.
Maybe the steel elf would rather be a pet by her side?
Yu Sha could only try to think on the bright side. When she was about to go out, the little robot waved to her with a smile and watched TV with interest in her room——who else would love watching TV in this era? The little robot also comforted her by saying that the Dinoman would not actively look for her anymore, because Yu Sha had already made a choice that day and wanted to stay away from it. According to their principle of “Eta to Zen”, the Dinoman could not force anyone against his/her will.
But the same moral Dinomen had also announced their decision to destroy the mankind. Does the little robot really believe that the Dinomen would abide by the law? Maybe it was true for other Dinomen, but Yu Sha had seen many Dinomen and felt that compared to its kind, the Dinoman Zere’s eyes were more like human’s——and the human were good at lying. This conclusion made Yu Sha uneasy.
So now the only thing was certain was that she was the only answer to all the problems faced by the Dinoman, but the only thing that stood between her and the danger was the principle of “Eta to Zen” of the Dinoman formulated 65 million years ago, which referred to not forcing other species to make choices. What a fragile guarantee this was!
But in all fairness everything was fine now, right? She had miraculously gained the ability to speak, and the relationship between her parents had reconciled as before, but this change was like the current Macao. Although Macao was still the same Macao, the changes were not earth-shattering, but all the subtle changes were added together, like the fog that came together with sleepiness at midnight, giving Yu Sha an unreal hazy feeling in her heart.
She suddenly felt that her arm touched something, and Yu Sha just realized that she had been in deep thought for too long. “I’m sorry!” She said hurriedly, and looked up at the place she offended in the apologetic way.
At first she thought it was the festooned vehicle. The shopping malls of Macao had enough space for the parade of the festooned vehicle, but some kind of giant creature was pulling it in its front. When she looked at the giant creature, Yu Sha’s eyes widened. An Ankylosaurus was pulling the festooned vehicle behind it under the decoration of flowers and red silk cloth. The Ankylosaurus was as docile as an old cow, and the festooned vehicle was dressed as a moving palace, with its wheels covered with the wooden auspicious clouds.
“Girl, don’t worry. That’s a ‘Baxia’ , one of nine sons of the dragon, one of China’s ancient mythical beasts.” Her Dad comforted her.
At least her Dad was right on this point. That was indeed a type of dragon, but it was a real dinosaur. Just being slightly dressed up did not mean that the dinosaur became an animal in myths and legends. Yu Sha’s eyes widened, and she twirled her hair on the shoulders uneasily.
“Uh, maybe it’s due to the deadline, maybe it’s made a little ugly……” Her Dad thought he understood his daughter’s worries.
“Look at how beautiful the festooned vehicle was!” Her Mom said, pointing forward excitedly.
On another vehicle, beauties in ancient costumes were dancing gracefully, and in front of the festooned vehicle, the “creature” was beautiful enough. A seven-meter-long Raptor covered in orange feathers was opening its arms. The fiery red feathers on the arms were bright enough. If it weren’t for the protruding claws, the outstretched arms of the Raptor could be called wings, and the feathers on its tail were also carefully modified, with two of the long feathers particularly long and elegant.
“Yu Sha, did you see it? That’s the rosefinch, the mythical beast in charge of south and fire.” Her Mom explained.
So the dinosaurs turned into ancient mythical beasts and now appeared in Macao majestically? The smell of conspiracy was approaching, but the grown-ups knew nothing about it.
“Look! There was the Dragon Palace . Yu Sha, do you want to go in and play with other children for a while?”
The place her Mom pointed to was an indoor children’s playground. It seemed that the theme has been changed today, but the Dragon Palace……what was the Dragon Palace?
“Legend has it that there is the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the East China Sea, the residence of the Dragon King, and the place where Sun Wukong finds the golden cudgel in Journey to the West.” Her Mom explained. “There are also stories about the Dragon Palace in Japan, and it is said that there are many treasures in the Dragon Palace.”
“No, that’s not Dragon Palace at all!” Yu Sha’s finger that stirred her hair stopped after she had a firm opinion. Her eyes went from unbelievable to fleeting panic. She swallowed the fear and closed the eyes again to muster up the courage to accept the reality, and now she finally regained her calm.
“Isn’t it Dragon Palace? Look. There are so many elves in Dragon Palace, and their plush costumes are so cute.”
Yu Sha was very familiar with the elves in the Dragon Palace that her Mom referred to. Those elves were also familiar with Yu Sha. The largest one among them was giving Yu Sha a meaningful gaze——the Dinoman Zere. The Dinomen just put on the costumes of the Tang Dynasty, and nothing else had been changed.
The Dinoman Zere saw Yu Sha, but he said nothing or did nothing. His open feather crest fell after his interest disappeared. He turned to be surrounded by children, enjoying the children’s embrace and touch, as if it was truly a conscientious puppet.
“The Dinoman Zere didn’t see me, or he pretended that he didn’t see me……Does the little monster really not care about what he lost?” Only Yu Sha stayed where she was, and she couldn’t hear what her Mom said……Just a few meters away from her, the little monster’s ignorance of him seemed like a mockery.
Or could she choose to escape? It seemed that the Dinoman Zere had no intention of chasing her……but not now, how about the next moment?”
“What on earth are you going to do?” Yu Sha mustered up her courage. She had never thought that it would take so much courage to enter the children’s paradise, but she was not going to escape. “Why are you here?”
“Do you want to take me back? Or do you want me to return your little robot?” Yu Sha asked, her angry face showing no flinching.
“Stay away from my family.” She expected her parents and everyone else here stay away from the truth. At least in that way they would be happy, right? Yu Sha thought helplessly.
“Girl, there is no need to be angry. You have your own choice. I will respect the principle of ‘Eta to Zen’ on this point. The little robot has also made its choice, and it chose to walk together with you……You know that it’s not difficult to break free from your hand with its ability……”
Yu Sha had seen a small robot fend off a forty-meter-tall monster alone, and knew that the Dinoman was not deceiving.
“I said that I would respect your choices, but I also have my own choice. You can’t decide where I will appear. God, how cute these children are. They look at me innocently, just like when we first met. I really want to be their distant friends, not……”
The children surrounded him, as if they really thought that the Dinoman was an elf in the Dragon Palace, and treasures could be conjured in its pocket at any time……The sharp claws of the Dinoman Zere gently stroked the head of one of the children, and its gentle smile under its long mouth condensed into a threat.
“But my choice can change at any time……Isn’t it normal, little Yu Sha?”
Yu Sha sighed deeply. Everything in front of her was as beautiful as a dream. Everyone was laughing. Her parents held hands and stared at the beauty in the window. Some of the children were chasing the festooned vehicle of the mythical beast dressed as the dinosaur, while some were playing in the Dragon Palace where the Dinomen were pretended to be undersea elves.
“You can make the easiest choice: turning around and leaving……just as if we’ve never met here before.” The Dinoman turned its face sideways and opened its arms to encourage Yu Sha to embrace the answer he gave.
“I wish we hadn’t really met……” Yu Sha wanted to say this, but the Dinoman said it before her, and said it in a more sad tone
“Maybe you understand everything now, right? But I would rather you understand nothing!”
Yu Sha took a deep breath of the wonderful air at present for the last time, and then she no longer hesitated.
“Take me away, this is my choice!”