Ding Dong’s return made everyone very happy. The atmosphere in the room significantly improved.
However, with the statement "I am an escapee," it became strange again. By now, Jiangcheng had already experienced many bizarre occurrences.
Not long ago, a heavy rainstorm had swept through Jiangcheng, bringing with it many eerie events and claiming some lives.
Of course, these did not affect this hospital building. Everyone sat and waited for Ding Dong to continue his story.
Ding Dong had never spoken about the past. Although Granny Wu and the other five people had greatly benefited from him, they actually knew nothing about his history.
To them, Ding Dong’s appearance was no less than a miracle.
It was the first time Ding Dong was willing to share his past.
"Let me think... Where should I start? Perhaps... I’ll begin with my childhood and my father."
"When I was a child, I lived in a rather secluded place. Everyone there wore white clothes, which made it somewhat similar to a mental institution. But I was the only patient."
"My father told me that I had sixteen siblings, making us seventeen in total. We used to live in the same orphanage, but my other siblings were lost to me."
"In fact, we didn’t have any blood relationship. We just lived in the same place and contracted the same illness."
"Father had always been searching for them. Recently, I have also been searching for them. Father told me they were very dangerous and that if not guided by kindness, they could become a terrible existence."
"The reason I left so hurriedly this time, without even getting the chance to explain how to use certain things, was because I heard someone calling me. My body lost control and started walking towards that person. Even though I had never met them, I could feel that it was one of my siblings."
This part of the story was actually quite obscure. Wen Xishu noticed that Ding Dong kept staring at him as he spoke.
Mo Yuan, Granny Wu, and Lele just listened intently, their heads lowered, not saying a word.
"Back to my father and me. Father treated me very well, really well, aside from imprisoning me, he never did anything to harm me."
"He would always tell me that the reason he didn’t let me go out was because everyone has a heart, and my heart... was still growing. Every person’s heart is influenced by their environment, and this influence lasts a lifetime."
"Some hearts decay easily, even in extremely comfortable environments."
"While some hearts are very resilient, even when surrounded by filth. Father said my heart was still growing and needed a lot of love to nurture it, and the outside world didn’t possess the soil for a good heart to grow."
"Sometimes, I would even be curious about certain behaviors. If I engaged in such behaviors, they would surely lead to many deaths. Father would patiently tell me not to do those things because harming those who aren’t malicious causes the heart to rot."
"I often asked Father what I needed to do to be able to go out? At those times, he would always buy me toys and come into my room to play with me."
"I loved molding things, and Father seemed to know this early on. All the toys he gave me were related to clay or building blocks. I started by making bottles and jars. Father loved them and said he would display them in his home."
"I wanted to visit his home, to see what the world outside the research institute looked like. He told me to wait until my heart became resilient and grew into a beautiful shape before he could take me out of that place."
"I asked Father how much my heart had grown. He said it was very clean, pure and flawless, but too young, making it easily contaminated."
"The things I molded sometimes resembled living creatures, and some had special abilities. Father loved watching me make these things. He told me there was a beauty in watching a creator create."
"As my skills improved, the little figures I molded out of clay began to act as I desired. They lived in the clay houses I molded, doing various things to keep me company. The clay houses I molded also had various features to make these little clay figures happy."
"Father was never stingy with his praise. In fact, aside from letting me leave, he would fulfill all my requests. He often taught me things and always said I needed creativity and imagination to create interesting things."
"In the year I turned fourteen, Father hoped I could make a compass. I really made that compass and, as Father requested, endowed it with the corresponding ability."
As he spoke, Ding Dong smiled and took out a compass. It looked ordinary, just like any regular compass. Despite a few cracks that made it look rather old.
"I call it the Destiny Compass."
"The process of making this compass was very painful. Many times, blood flowed from my ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. The process took six months to complete."
"Because my abilities were insufficient to imbue the compass with the power of destiny. Many times, I wanted to give up. Many times, I felt... Maybe Father didn’t love me anymore."
"But each time, Father would tell me, no, no... He said I needed the compass to guide me, and someday it would help me avoid misfortune and seek good fortune."