Chu Shici comes from an era of advanced information technology.
In his time, news of children committing suicide together was often seen on the Internet.
There are stories of female close friends who jump off the building holding hands, a whole group meeting to drink pesticides, and there are also those who play suicide games and drive themselves to death step by step.
But the world of this novel is currently set in 2006.
It may be that the Internet has just emerged and computers have not yet become popular, so a lot of news are not widespread; it may also be that the pressure of social competition is not as great as he was at that time, and children do not have to make up lessons from morning until late at night and they still have their own childhood.
In general, the suicide rate here is not that high.
At least much less than his era.
After chatting with Mingzhe for a while, Chu Shici found that Mingzhe was contradictory with the word suicide.
He felt that suicide was not a good thing, but he also felt that living was very tiring, and he really couldn’t go on.
When telling Chu Shici their secret, Mingzhe avoided ‘suicide’ on purpose.
He called it ‘liberation’.
Chu Shici felt very distressed, the system was more emotional than him, holding the tissue paper and crying.
[Poor little thing, even when he dies, he wishes he was a good boy. Husband, why are you staring blankly? Hurry up and coax him!]
‘…’
[If I were a person, I would hug our little boy right now and kiss him to death.]
‘Tong-ge, calm down.’
Chu Shici wanted to cry, but after the system yelled at him, he suddenly couldn’t cry.
He reacts according to the system, he hugs Mingzhe’s nose and rubs it.
Mingzhe showed him a shallow smile, “I told you my secret, you have to keep it a secret for me.”
Chu Shici raised his head and said, “Are you very against calling the police now?”
Mingzhe was silent for a moment, then nodded silently.
Then he added: “The problem shouldn’t be the police… I don’t know either.”
Chu Shici said again: “Who brought up the matter of committing suicide together?”
“They discussed it. I was not online at that time.”
“How did they talk about it? Has anyone lured you to commit suicide?”
Mingzhe’s eyelashes trembled, and when he looked at Chu Shici, there was a little worship and dependence in his eyes.
He signalled Chu Shici to wait first, got up and rummaged through the bookshelves for a while. From the gap between two old books, he took out an inconspicuous notebook.
Mingzhe spread out his notebook, which was full, it was full of the details of the chat in the chat group that day.
Chu Shici looked at him with a little surprise, “Why did you record the chat logs in the notebook?”
Mingzhe lowered his eyes and looked a little lonely, “It is said in the TV series that the police need evidence to convict them. They will talk about each other’s experiences in the chat group. I want to write down these things and hand them over to the police later. I am afraid that the records in the chatting application will be lost. So I just write it all down in the notebook.”
After he finished speaking, he found that Little Superman was standing still with his hands on his chest, his two beady eyes faintly shining.
Mingzhe paused, and whispered: “I thought it might be useful in the future, can’t I do this?”
Chu Shici waved his hand, hugged his fingers and rubbed them vigorously a few times: “You did the right thing, great job, Xiao Zhe.”
Mingzhe’s facial expression didn’t change much. After being slightly taken aback, he pursed his lips and showed a very shy smile: “Thank you.”
Chu Shici took two steps back.
‘Fuck, is this the iceberg male lead? This is an angel.’
The system is negotiating the price with the seller, so there is no time to talk to him.
___
In order to save money, Mingzhe always borrows the computer from others, hence he can only pick the key points when recording the chat information.
According to Mingzhe’s records, the encounters of the 21 children in the group can be roughly divided into three categories.
Like Xiao He and Mingzhe, children whose relationships with their parents were not very good, they suffered domestic violence, and were gradually abandoned by their parents.
A few girls similar to Lanlan have not been subjected to domestic violence and their lives are going well.
But after their breasts began to develop, they felt more sensitive to verbal abuse and felt inferior to their peers. Some boys in the class watched and laughed because of their big breasts; some were treated as a joke because of their small breasts.
No one in the family understands them. They hunched over covering their breasts every day, trying to hide them.
Mingzhe sorted out the recorded information, and drew a question mark with a red pen next to the second group of children.
Chu Shici asked him what the question mark meant.
Mingzhe thought for a while, then said calmly: “I’m thinking about the size of a girl’s breasts, is it really important? They often complain in the group because of this kind of thing. The group gives them advice, asking them to post photos with breasts, for reference.”
Chu Shici raised his hand, “Stop.”
Mingzhe looked down at him.
Chu Shici narrowed his eyes, “Send a photo?”
Mingzhe nodded, and held up his broken mobile phone to his chest to demonstrate: “That’s it, turn the phone over and take a photo of the upper body.”
“Wearing clothes?”
Mingzhe was taken aback for a moment, then nodded blankly: “Wearing clothes. Just like taking an ID photo. Little Superman, why do you ask that?”
Chu Shici waved his hands and covered his face.
Sorry, he’s a nasty grown-up, his mind filled with conspiracy theories.
A group full of children, he shouldn’t be so suspicious.
It may be that he has experienced too many dirty things, Mingzhe’s words faintly made him feel uneasy.
Mingzhe is a 12-year-old boy, he only has money and studies in his eyes.
He doesn’t have time to pay attention to girls, Mingzhe doesn’t understand why someone pays special attention to that place.
Seeing them so down, Mingzhe felt that these things that he couldn’t figure out should hurt them a lot.
The rest are left-behind children who suffer from school bullying.
Children are more prone to compare, and at first, they just narrated their experiences normally.
However, as the number of children in the group increased, the phenomenon of comparing misery gradually appeared.
The reason why Mingzhe was selected by Lanlan as the acting group leader is because he can accurately catch the loopholes in the speeches of the group members.
Find out which ones are true and which ones are fabricated. Kick out the liars in time to maintain harmony and stability within the group.
Mingzhe’s eyes sparkled when he said these things.
Chu Shici hadn’t done anything yet when he heard a notification that his vitality value had increased.
[Vigor value +3, current vitality value 0/100.]
It can be seen that Mingzhe cares about his group very much, and he has found a sense of belonging in the small group. To serve as the acting group leader is his honour and responsibility.
___
After reading Mingzhe’s notebook, Chu Shici’s heart gradually relaxed.
Xiao He and Mingzhe were raised by their parents and pushed aside gradually. As a result, they suffered from psychological problems due to the various abuses.
The girl named ‘Dancing Little Rabbit’ is in a similar situation to Lanlan. Because there is no bra, wearing a summer school uniform will reveal some points. Being named Xiao dian dian* by the boys in the class, and being stripped of her clothes by the senior sister who bullied her, she felt depressed.
*(dian means point)
Currently, it seems like the three of them were really driven to a desperate situation by life and their way out was all blocked.
Suicide is the only option left to them if no outside force intervenes.
Except for them, the situation of other children is not as precarious.
There are more or less people around them who understand them, and there are adults who lend a helping hand to them.
Some met good teachers, and some were given warmth by the aunties of the neighbourhood committee. In this era of underdeveloped network information, human relationships are fairly tight-knit.
Before Lanlan’s accident, the other 17 children still had expectations for life and had all kinds of beautiful fantasies.
The death of the group leader brought back their painful memories. When the group voted to propose suicide, they voted in favour.
Chu Shici thought for a long time and felt that something was wrong.
He asked Mingzhe, “Who thought of voting for suicide in the first place?”
Mingzhe thought for a while: “‘Happy Boy’. He is a member of the group. He doesn’t like to talk and often dives as a hobby.”
“He was also the one who proposed suicide?”
Mingzhe shook his head: “Lanlan died. Everyone was very sad. They said angry words in the group, and they all said they were going to commit suicide. ‘Happy Boy’ launched a poll and asked who in the group didn’t want to commit suicide. No one objected in the group. Everyone silently agrees.”
“Then who mentioned the order of suicide?”
Mingzhe was silent for a long time, then whispered: “Me.”
This answer was beyond Chu Shici’s expectation. He said in surprise, “You? You want to die first?”
“Just a week before the vote, Little Rabbit and Princess Liuli told me that they would collaborate in drawing manga in the future and become the most famous girl manga artist. They showed me a few pictures, which were very beautiful. I think they want to live. I don’t understand why they didn’t object when it came time to vote.”
Mingzhe lowered his eyes, clenched his fists tightly, and his usually calm voice became trembling.
“I want them to live longer, so I propose to rank them in the group. I am the acting group leader, and the first one to commit suicide. Only after I die, can the others commit suicide. This is our agreement. In this way, as long as I live, they will not die.”
Chu Shici stared at him blankly, “Then you…why?”
The tears that had disappeared once again accumulated in Mingzhe’s eyes.
He said guiltily: “I thought I could persevere. I am the acting group leader. The group leader has left. I should protect everyone in the group. But everyone is looking forward to my death. Before when I went online, everyone would care about me. Whether I was beaten or not. They will comfort me together. After the order was determined, my friends are all urging me to die every day.”
Mingzhe didn’t say any more.
Chu Shici finally understood the reason why his vitality value plummeted to a negative number.
Mingzhe is not close to his parents, and has no hope for Uncle Liu.
He is not so lucky, there is no one who reaches out to him in real life.
The small group that was his sanctuary, his little home in the online world.
After Lanlan died, his sanctuary disappeared. Friends who used to keep each other company have become very strange to him.
In this era when the Internet was not yet popular, Mingzhe encountered cyber bullying.
His original determination began to waver, and he gradually regarded Lanlan’s death as his fault.
Mingzhe attaches great importance to the name of the acting group leader. Even if he is dragged down by people in the group, he will go online every Saturday and never think of quitting.
He rejects the word ‘suicide’, thinking that as long as he lives, he can protect everyone.
The double pressure from the internet and reality was on his shoulders all at the same time.
Mingzhe shouldered the burden that shouldn’t belong to him, and finally failed to persevere on. With guilt and grievance, he stood outside the window and prepared to end his life.
After Chu Shici filled out the side missions, the headquarters quickly gave feedback.
[Sub-task: Investigate the reason for the male lead’s depression (completed).]
[In the past two years, they have given me warmth. I want to be free, but I want them to live on. I feel guilty for Lanlan’s death.]
[Trigger the hidden mission · The male lead’s wish: To ensure all members survive.]
[The current number of survivors (17/17).]
Looking at the number of people above, Chu Shici fell into deep thought.
The number of people is wrong, there is a problem with that group.
___
Telling his thoughts to Little Superman seems to make Mingzhe relax a lot.
Early the next morning, the vitality value rose to 1 point.
Although it’s just a single digit, it’s not a negative number anymore.
Today is Monday, Mingzhe got up before five o’clock. He made porridge and served it with fermented bean curd for breakfast.
Chu Shici has the habit of lazing in bed, and sleeps late in the small bed Mingzhe built for him.
Mingzhe carried his schoolbag, leaned over and kissed him on the head, and whispered, “Wait until I get home, Little Superman.”
By the time Chu Shi woke, it was already nine o’clock in the morning.
The system stayed up all night chasing dramas until it became dizzy. After installing a plug-in, it said tiredly: [I bought a plug-in, ‘Magic Paintbrush Ma Liang*: Plasticine Version’.]
*(ma liang is the name of the protagonist in a children’s fairytale)
After it finished speaking, it went back to catch up on sleep.
After reading the manual, Chu Shici took Mingzhe’s leftover plasticine and made a desktop computer.
Installing cheats violates the rules, so the system only dares to install the most basic cheats.
The function of this plug-in is to enable objects kneaded out of plasticine to function in reality.
Chu Shizheng’s plasticine computer can be connected to the Internet and use a browser.
It looks like a fancy pocket computer, but its function is consistent with the computers of this era.
Chu Shici sat cross-legged on the table and quickly browsed the webpage.
Lanlan’s death is a knot in Mingzhe’s heart. As long as Lanlan is mentioned, he will fall into guilt and self-blame.
Chu Shici searched the Internet for reports related to Lanlan ‘s suicide, and finally found relevant information in a post bar in the same city.
Lanlan lived in a small city in the south, and her suicide story was published in the local newspaper. It caused a small-scale heated discussion, and many people in the discussion thread were discussing this matter.
According to the people who live near Lanlan’s house, Lanlan took the police home and disgraced her parents. The police criticised and educated her parents, asking them to pay more attention to the psychological problems of teenagers.
As the news spread, it was said that Lanlan had a psychological problem.
The police closed the anti-theft door when they spoke, and the neighbours who joined in the fun only heard a few words in passing, and they didn’t know the real reason why they came into the house.
All they knew was that after the police left, Lanlan had a big fight with her parents, and many people overheard the couple shout, ‘He is your real father, why do you suspect him so much? The uncles at the construction site watched you grow up, and their mother-in-laws are also there, so what are you afraid of!’
‘You were clearly very obedient before, did the people on the Internet lead you astray?! ‘
Ordinary people will never see the police in their lifetime, let alone be visited by the police.
The rumours spread like wildfire among the neighbours, which made parents feel that they’ve lost face*.
*(means ashamed)
Lanlan’s mobile phone was confiscated, and nearby residents could often hear from their house the continued arguing in Lanlan’s family home. Either Lanlan’s mother cried and hit things, or Lanlan’s father scolded her for being dirty.
Finally, when Lanlan’s family went out, she jumped from the bridge into the river directly in front of her parents.
Her parents couldn’t swim, so they jumped down to save their daughter in a hurry, and they almost drowned as well. When the workers nearby went in to rescue Lanlan, she was already gone.
There are many witnesses so the cause of her death is very clear, that is, committing suicide by jumping into the river.
The police investigated her social account and found out about her father and her delivery of sausages to the construction site late at night.
Under questioning by the police, the workers admitted that they had indeed said things about Lanlan’s development and good looks, and asked her to come over to play more at night.
But this is just a little joke made by adults, no one touched her and Lanlan was never violated before her death. Her father broke into her room only because he didn’t take her privacy seriously.
This was news a month ago, and the popularity in the discussion thread has dropped a little.
The police did not disclose too much information, and many details were passed on from neighbours to neighbours.
Many people in the discussion thread didn’t understand why Lanlan died. They felt that Lanlan must have been violated, and the police deliberately concealed it. Some people also say that Lanlan had mental problems and had delusions of being violated.
Chu Shici was not a psychologist, so he couldn’t explain why Lanlan committed suicide.
But he knew that when Lanlan died, she must be very scared. Even though she had never been violated, her surroundings must have made her extremely uncomfortable.
The workers did nothing, but a 15-year-old girl who walked alone among dozens of grown men at nine o’clock in the evening, received their unabashed gaze.
It was scary enough for her.
Chu Shici heaved a long sigh, he could understand Lanlan’s fear at that time.
Sometimes the damage will not appear on the body, but it can leave scars on the soul.
Chu Shici didn’t know how to tell Mingzhe these things.
The police did their due diligence to mediate the conflict as Mingzhe thought. Also considering the little girl’s face, they deliberately closed the door to talk in private.
But her parents are not cooperative at all and did not provide any assistance.
The remaining 20 children are also worrying.
Seventeen of them were actually not as suicidal. Infected by the atmosphere in the group, and seeing that their other friends were going to die, they become impulsive and decide to die together.
It was already a month ago that Lanlan had an accident.
Mingzhe persisted for more than a month, during which none of the children in the group committed suicide.
Suicide in order sounds terrible, but it gives them a reason to live.
‘Because I made an agreement with the people in the group and it’s not my turn yet, so I can’t die.’
Children will take all kinds of inexplicable agreements very seriously, just like Mingzhe, even if he is cornered, he still remembers that he is the acting group leader who is responsible for taking care of the rest of the group.
He regards protecting the group of friends as his own responsibility, and if another child dies, Mingzhe’s mentality will collapse.
The number of survivors is 17, implying that there is a problem with that group, but Mingzhe doesn’t know it.
Chu Shici registered an account with a plasticine computer.
To aid in the bait, he made a profile picture of a cute girl, and set the gender to female.
He found the group where Mingzhe was, and was about to sneak in.
The administrator, Xiao He, was online and asked him what happened to him.
Chu Shici had too many things to talk about, and when he finished talking about his childhood, Xiao He immediately agreed to his request to join the group.
Society Lord He: [There are rules in the group, newcomers join the group for a week of probation, during this period you are banned from speaking.]
Little Superman: [Okay, He Ye*.]
*(refresher: ye means grandpa, basically when you address someone like this, you look up to them as you are addressing them with a higher seniority)
Society Lord He: [Look at the group announcement, if you do something you shouldn’t do or say something you shouldn’t say, be careful. I’ll bring someone to block you.]
Little Superman: [Okay, He Ye*.]
Society Lord He: [Three explosions, do you know? Explode photos, explode names, explode ages.]
Little Superman: [My surname is Little, and my online name is my real name. I’m 10 years old this year, my phone can’t take photos, and I can’t explode them.]
There was silence for a long time, and then a message was sent slowly: [Don’t use your real name as your screen name, it’s not safe. Like Mingzhe, you add a few words after it to hide your name.]
Looking at the news on the screen, Chu Shici fell into deep thought.
Such outrageous words, this silly child actually believed it?
After Chu Shici changed his screen name to [Pink Little Superman], Xiao He put him in the group.
Today is Monday, most of the children in the group are in school, only a few people are online.
Chu Shici was chatting with Xiao He in private, when a friend request popped up in the background.
[Happy boy requests to add you as a friend.]
Chu Shici accepted the friend request, and a new message was sent.
[Hi little sister, how old are you this year?]
___
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Update: Tomorrow~
- After becoming enemies with the lord god
- Blog
- Completed
- Don't talk to me!
- Dropped
- Ghost Marriage
- Hunger Academy
- I opened a safe house in the Infinite Stream
- Notices
- Ongoing
- The Dragon Lord is Weak and Helpless but Has a Big Appetite [Interstellar]
- Want to ascend? Then fall in love.
- What can I do, I'm not human.
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