In spring, rain drizzles lightly and falls on the trunks of dry branches that have budded.
The drops weigh heavily on the leaves and the crops bow their heads. It gives peace, a light sweet breeze is accompanied by the scent of flowers.
Dead trees are on the verge of resurrection, green, a symbol of vitality, shining brightly out of the dead cement. The asphalt, which cars do not visit, is home to small grass and plants.
Sparsely populated, smaller than a village, underdeveloped, mountain, stone, and vast, vast sky.
There is a building. It's a small building. The so-called orphanage is a place where abandoned children are gathered and brought up. It is the modern version of the loyal slave system, which was brought up from childhood for some illegal work, under the name of an orphanage.
These are children who are known to be orphans. Some don't even have a registered government ID. Birthdays are unknown and not important.
Each is given a code name.
Among a group of children, there is an invisible child whose presence is not even noticed. His name is known as Nanren. He is just a person, an ordinary person. Even his own name is the word man, which means this. A person, regardless of gender or age. Someone who is only known to be human and no further information has been given. The codename emphasizes to him that, among billions of people, you are just one person. Just as the death or presence of anyone does not affect anyone, you must know your place and restrain yourself.
In fact, this orphanage only accommodates children. It is not involved in any business and is only a temporary residence for children selected for transfer to the original location.
In short, it is no different from an ordinary place.
But afterwards, the chosen and the eliminated are determined. Those chosen are transferred, those who are eliminated "accidentally" die, disappear, or are adopted by chance.
Those chosen include submissive, easy-to-train, or flexible-minded abilities.
This is just a simple personal organization. It is a small place and even those who work here are unaware of its existence.
Those in the orphanage know this place as an orphanage, those in the organization are just paid temporary teachers and the procedure is an ordinary education for each of them. Things start to change when children start working for a living. This work gradually becomes more difficult in small tasks and evolves from simple to difficult over time.
Nanren had been on the street ever since he opened his eyes. He should know himself.
He was hungry, food was hard to find, and he certainly wasn't growing on good opportunities.
He came here when he was 7 years old.
This place is inadequate. It is desolate and cold. There is only a certain amount of food and no distribution. Everyone gets their own food, and those who cannot eat will eventually become weak by malnutrition or die of starvation. In a way, it's a test, a test of survival, of smashing.
"Oh, this nasty bug is here too, tsk is wreaking havoc"
A few children surround the frail and frail child, and verbal violence turns into physical abuse over time. Amid the tumult, the tall, plainly dressed boy snakes his way through the crowd.
It does not touch or touch anyone, and when you look out of the corner of your eye, the poisonous yellowish eyes squint viciously from the green mist stain.
It's like a shadow, quickly slipping between them, reaching the dining area, and quietly disappearing, taking the food it needs to take in the most modest way.
He hides his small body among a ruin and looks everywhere with the corner of his eye. It is stout and weak, so it does not attract attention.
He discovered this place when he was a street kid, and later on, he's fused among the kids here without anyone noticing. It had already been 3 years when the teachers noticed his existence, and when they couldn't see his name on the list, they called him that person, person, child, you. As a result, Nanren became his name.
Still, he is a child that no one there is aware of as he has erased his existence over time.
He had made this decision from the very beginning because, in the early years, he had been arbitrarily bullied by people who noticed his existence.
He ate the bread and squinted his eyes, holding the water bottle to his head.
During his stay here, he has a deep impression of the general outline of the building, its structure, the shortcuts, the surroundings, the surrounding places, the nearest access points, everything that is frequently used. He knows and knows every individual who works here that the people who work here change often. Therefore, it is easier not to be discovered.
As soon as he opens his eyes, he is fused with a group of homeless people. Blood ties are nonsense and only interests are involved. Living as an only child among such a group of people, he faced many things and became almost adept at recognizing insides that no one revealed when he was growing up.
His feelings didn't lie. Streets that avoid disadvantage and seek advantage, where laws are not passed... are a separate world in their own right.
He doesn't hesitate to use his face for a piece of food, clearly sees his greatest advantages over time, and instinctively grows within his own moral boundaries so as not to suffer.
According to him, morality is not to torture yourself as long as you can survive. If he is moral, he should definitely be able to get the most advantageous situation! Not to abuse yourself.
He sees the most selfish and soulless side of people every day, so his heart and soul are desolate and calm.
But no matter what, he is a child.
He is a child who matured early and has not yet grasped some things.
His experience of life on the streets makes it an instinct not to believe anything. Even in his sleep, he wakes up at the slightest sound and sleeps lightly. He is always on the alert, he has seen many times what the slightest distraction can cause.
Thus, he discovers the ancestral method of survival.
To dominate where you live. To know every detail, every limit.
Physical strength is ostentatious, and too much attention attracts many enemies to you.
Therefore, he has learned very well to hide himself in the crowd.
For this reason, the orphanage was aware of this modest institution of collecting children, which almost no one knew about.
As soon as he got here, he searched every nook and cranny. inch by inch. He learned people's watch and patrol hours. Shortcuts, secret passages, people who have a certain mission here. After weighing the pros and cons, he settled in here without anyone knowing.
It was not there when the census was taken, and when it was named Nanren, the birth was not even registered properly. It was a supposed nickname.
Thus, after 3 years, he knew that this place was not as old and normal as it seemed.
He squinted his eyes and was lost in thought as he was now stuck in a decision.
As long as it continues to hide its existence, it will continue to remain in place in this case.
So if he revealed his presence, he could get an opportunity.
But in this case, he is presented with two options. First, certain people are chosen by coming every 3 months. After following these people, his conclusion was, suspicious!
The chosen ones were held captive and could not compare to the freedom he found on the streets. But they had their own economic freedom.
The other option is to be adopted.
This was more visible and he felt more comfortable with whomever he went to. Moreover, he no longer needed to work as much as before!
Therefore, he chose the second option by decision.
-To be continued-