Chapter 18: 17. This Straight Pitch is Hard for Me to Catch

17. This Straight Pitch is Hard for Me to Catch

Hearing Li Ang's question, Zoe's body trembled slightly. She looked like she wanted to shake her head, but didn't know what else to do.

"I, I don't know. I haven't thought about it... but..."

She hugged her arms, her eyes somewhat hollow, trying to force a smile.

"Look, they promised to come back but didn't. Sometimes I shout their names at the sky, and I feel so angry inside. I want to rush in front of them immediately, scold them, and ask them why they didn't come back.

"But, I, I don't even know how to leave here.

"I know even less about what it's like outside."

The young girl's gaze turned toward *The Sword King's Adventure* on the bookshelf.

"When I was little, I thought everything in this book was true. But even the people in the village don't like me; what about people outside? Will they hate me even more?"

"I don't even know what to do if I go outside."

Zoe turned her head and looked at Li Ang quietly, not continuing to speak.

It was as if she were waiting for him to say something.

*Come with me, you don't have to worry about any of this*—this sentence was currently hanging in Li Ang's throat.

If he said it directly now, perhaps a series of smooth, logical events would occur—Zoe would leave the island with him, become a member of the team he was building, and get on his ship.

And as the world's female lead, whatever possibilities she carried, whatever benefits she could bring, they would all fall into his hands. How to deal with them would be up to him, wouldn't it?

Yes, that's how it looked.

But if he did that, he felt uncomfortable inside.

This had nothing to do with the issue of raising a newbie from scratch that he had been struggling with.

Previously, he had never formally talked to Zoe about this topic.

Whether it was the benefits of the fantasy world protagonist or the reluctance to lead a team and raise a child, it was all his own worrying—all his subjective thoughts.

Now that the topic had been opened, he discovered that she herself had never had a concrete concept of leaving the island for adventure.

The house on the edge of the village, the fields and old books here, a fairy tale narrating a hero's adventure, the daily morning exercises her father had instructed, the flowering meadow and the cabin in the woods, the longing for her parents in her heart, the imagination of other things under the blue sky... for ten years, these simple, monotonous things had repeated, constituting the girl's entire imagination of the world.

In Li Ang's mind, in the setting draft of *Newbis Fantasy* where he had only read a small part, there was no catalyst for how she would leave the island.

Or rather, as a player, once the game started, one would only control her to "go somewhere and kill a few."

But the Zoe before him was a person with independent thought, yet half of her cognitive world was still in ignorance.

Now, whether it was deciding for her to go on an adventure or abandoning her to find ideal teammates, he couldn't do it.

Perhaps it was because before he transmigrated, he himself had experienced that kind of childhood and youth where he was rushed along like a train before he had even thought about what kind of person he wanted to be or what he wanted to strive for, causing his life's end to be visible at a glance.

So he didn't want to impose his own will on the girl.

What's more, he was currently wanting to reorganize his team and regain control of his destiny. At such a moment, to easily make decisions for others was a bit arrogant.

"You don't understand the outside world, but I can tell you about it."

Li Ang showed the girl a smile.

He had to let her decide for herself.

That way, no matter where she went, she could stand on the clouds on her own.

Adventuring in the airspace would bring glorious honor, but there also existed dark terror.

He had seen too many adventurers who gave up because of the hardships of the journey, or whose spirits were crushed by things beyond their understanding.

Being mentally prepared was good for everything.

Regarding leaving the island, Zoe might not have a clear idea, and she was hesitant and unable to speak at this moment.

"Let's continue talking about your parents first."

Li Ang held the High-Rank Knight medal.

"This medal is useful for travel; ordinary people wouldn't leave it behind. They forgot it here, so it's very likely they took a higher-ranked Great Knight medal with them."

"Not many people have become Great Knights. Even if they fall out of the rankings, there will be clear records. Perhaps we can find them soon."

"Oh."

Zoe pursed her lips, her answer very brief.

Li Ang had thought she would be very expectant and excited.

He suddenly realized that, in fact, from just a moment ago, when talking about finding her parents, although she was cooperating, she really hadn't shown much interest, not even as much as she cared about what free food the medal could get her.

Was eight years still too long?

"I promised them I would wait obediently."

Zoe stood with her hands behind her back, looking down at her toes rotating on the floor.

"The outside world is very big, right? I've seen it in books and heard them and you say so. It must take a lot of time to travel, so it wouldn't be strange if they were delayed...

"Besides, it takes me a lot of effort just to find seashells in the creek on the mountain. Even if I go to find them, I might not be able to find them.

"If I find them, I don't know what I should..."

"If they are fine, why didn't they come back?"

The girl twisted a strand of slightly curly hair at her temple, winding it around her finger, winding it more and more messily.

Indeed, Li Ang wasn't the person involved, so from just a moment ago, he had ignored the girl's perspective.

For such a long time, she must have been letting her imagination run wild.

In her eyes, if she could wait for her parents to return, no matter how long it took, it proved they were just delayed.

But if she found them, perhaps she would discover that they weren't unable to return, but didn't want to.

How should the girl view herself then? An abandoned child?

Li Ang felt that the probability of accidents happening while adventuring outside wasn't low, so they might not have intentionally abandoned her.

But considering they had originally planned to return in six years, being separated from their child for six years was long enough for parents, so he wasn't sure about their situation either.

He scratched his head, thinking about saying something to divert the young girl's attention.

"Today, I was actually very happy."

It was Zoe who spoke first.

The curly hair at her temple seemed to have been straightened by her; she hooked her fingertips, her eyelashes drooping slightly.

"Li Ang is the first person besides Mom and Dad to talk to me properly, and you taught me many things I didn't know.

"Just now, you were working in front of that furnace, and I watched for a long time. I remembered that Dad used to sit there and work, using a hammer to knock out sparks of various colors. I didn't understand anything, but I could watch for a whole day. At that time, my heart was always warm.

"Today, I had that feeling again."

Zoe's slender, distinct-knuckled palm rested gently on her heart.

"But I'm not your old man."

Although Li Ang felt a bit like he was raising a child, he didn't want to solidify this identity.

"That's not true."

The young girl's response was almost faster than Li Ang's thoughts.

"You definitely aren't. You are different from them, not the same at all."

She glanced quickly at Li Ang's face, lowered her head, clasped her hands together, tapped her toes on the ground, and her ankles rotated a bit faster.

"They didn't keep their promise; I hate them.

"But, I like you."

Li Ang admitted that his breathing stalled for a moment.

But it was really only for a moment, because he understood that what the young girl was expressing wasn't that layer of meaning, but a longing for a friend.

But for a stunningly beautiful girl to say this word, the lethality was still too astonishing.

After saying this, Zoe just reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve, looking at him in silence, her eyes trembling slightly, filled with expectation, waiting for the answer to all the questions Li Ang had bypassed just now.

After Li Ang calmed down a bit, he still hadn't sorted out how to respond or how to express himself.

The innocent girl on the isolated island, her thoughts contained not a single impure motive, but precisely because of this innocence, this swift straight pitch was really hard for him to catch.

In the silence, he watched the girl's pupils become painful bit by bit.

Just as his heart tightened along with it, he saw her whole body tremble, and she slowly slid to the ground, leaning against the bookshelf.

She wasn't uncomfortable because of the conversation; it was for another reason! What had happened to her?

*ROAR—*

A roar echoed in Li Ang's ears, carrying heavy echoes, as if coming from the abyss. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====