As if she had really been asleep, when Hua regained consciousness, the world was dark. A thick rope bound her hands and legs at the wrist and ankles, digging into her skin as she tried to move and burning her flesh. She tried to scream but found that nothing could come out other than muffled cries.
With a jolt, she hit the other side of the wall, realizing that she had been hastily thrown and locked inside an enclosed area. No, they were moving, and with each slight bump, her body crashed against the metal.
Just when tears were welling in her eyes, a sharp object poked her in the arm. In the darkness, she couldn't see what it was, but subconsciously, a voice reminded her that it was her only ticket to freedom.
Since her body was small, there was enough space for her to weasel around until the object dug into her palms. It was so close. So close that she could reach for it using her fingers.
A screeching noise sounded, and she was once again tossed away. Only, this time, she had gripped the makeshift blade tightly in her palms, not minding it digging into her flesh.
Click.
Rattle.
A twisted face appeared from a plastic window, peering into Hua's horror-struck eyes. Although Hua had never been in a car, she was sure that the wheel she saw from this wheel was the one used for vehicles.
"Boss, this girl's awake."
"Open the air hole for a while. A dead body won't fetch us money."
"I'm telling you, she's actually worth a price we paid from that man. Any of those peasants wanting to buy a wife would pay a handsome price for her."
"Shut up you scoundrel and go fill the tank."
Every muscle in Hua's small body screamed for help as they froze, silently convulsing. The fingers gripping that object were shaking, bringing along with it the fear radiating from her entire body as the men out front stared at her.
After seemingly an eternity, the window closed once more, and Hua set to work. Rubbing back and forth, she could only hope that the tensions of the rope give way. But she severely underestimated her own lack of strength, forgetting that was no longer grown.
It was so close.
In just moments, she would break free.
Schreeeeeeeeech!
With this sudden brake, her last bit of hope skid to the other side.
The sound of wailing sirens suddenly took the air, echoing through her crevice of life, and she had a sense of incredulity.
When she was lifted from the trunk, for the first time, she cried, sobbing into the policeman's shirt as if there was no tomorrow.
"Go on, your parents are there," but his voice was already fading away as she ran to the direction of his pointed finger.
A familiar shadow loomed in the distance, and along with it, a woman ran—
She was so close that Hua could almost make out her face—
But when she looked up, all she was a blankness—
"Hua, System Shutdown! System Shutdown!"
The sirens of the police blended into an ear-splitting headache as she desperately tried to grasp onto the figure in front of her.
"System Shutdown! System Shutdown!"
When she reopened her eyes, a face loomed into view, but it wasn't the one that she had dreamt of seeing. Instead, looking at the face of the scamming so-called virtual reality creator, Hua broke down, latching onto the confused Dabria as if she was her mother.
At that moment, all of her suppressed emotions overflowed, channeling into this stranger.
"Why," she whispered hoarsely, the life seeped out of her, "Why."
Dabria looked just as flustered, her eyes bloodshot as she shook her head. "There was a subconscious block in your mind that the system couldn't go through," she explained, but she didn't seem convinced. "I'm not quite sure why, but I promise that I will find a solution to this bug and find you again."
Seeing Hua's torn expressions, even Dabria didn't dare to ask her for a review. Instead, she kept on wondering over and over again. What had gone wrong?
System initialization. Check.
Memory upload. Check.
Hidden memory patch. Check.
Childhood subconscious extractions. Check.
If her code worked properly, it shouldn't have gone wrong! Dabria too fell to the sidewalk, stooped in a squat with her arms crossed over, a glum look on her face. She couldn't look at Hua in the eye, not after what embarrassment had happened.
More than anything, she wanted to throw her stupid machine off the side or hit it to wake it up. Just why? Even after she had finally found a willing customer, why did all things go to waste yet again?
She tried to converse with Hua, but Hua shut her out, completely wrapped into her own world, sobbing with her head pressed into her lap.
Just when Dabria wrestled with the idea of giving up, an old man with a long wispy beard appeared. Was he a spirit? Dabria blinked again.
"I saw what happened there, but do you think I can be given a chance?" His voice was deep, a weary quality seeped into his words.