Chapter 17 Maomao Chapter 17 Very Fearful and Superb Courage

Fluffy is terrified of going back to the old amphitheatre.She thought that Mr. You, who was going to meet her in the middle of the night, would definitely go there. The thought of her being alone with him made Mao Mao shudder. No, she didn't want to be there at all, or see him anywhere else.No matter what kind of advice he made, it would not do her or her friends any good, Mao Mao knew that very well. Where can Mao Mao hide in front of him? She seemed to feel safest among the crowd.She thought that although no one paid attention to her and Mr. Gray, if he really wanted to bully her and force her to cry for help, then she would be noticed and someone would come to her rescue.Also, for her, being in a dense crowd is the hardest thing to spot.

For the rest of the afternoon and throughout the night, until late at night, Mao Mao walked up and down the lively streets and squares, mingling with the crowds, only to turn around in a wide circle and return to the same place.In this way, she turned around and around, letting herself be surrounded by more and more hurried people, and she didn't care where she went. She ran like this for a whole day, and gradually her feet turned from tired to sore.The night was getting darker and darker, and Mao Mao was still walking forward like a nocturnal god, walking, walking, and walking... "Just rest for a while," she thought, she couldn't move anymore. "Just a short rest. Then, I'll have the strength to go on..."

She saw a small tricycle with bags and boxes parked on the side of the road.Mao Mao climbed up and leaned against a pocket, feeling soft and comfortable.She drew her tired legs up and wrapped her feet with her clothes.Ah, how comfortable!She sighed easily, leaned back, and fell asleep without knowing it, she was so tired. Disjointed dreams tormented her.She saw old Beppo, using his broom as a balancer, staggering on a tightrope high in the air, with the bottomless black abyss below. "Where is the other end?" She heard Beppo calling constantly, "Why can't I go to the end!"

Indeed, the wire seemed infinitely long, with both ends disappearing into the darkness. Mao Mao really wanted to help him, but she couldn't get his attention.He stood too high, too far away from her. Then she saw Gigi again, endlessly pulling a strip of paper from his mouth.He kept pumping and pumping, but the paper tape could never be exhausted and pulled continuously.Paper tape has piled up around Gigi.Maomao also found that Jiji seemed to be looking at her with pleading eyes, and if he didn't help him, he would be out of breath. She wanted to run over to save him, but her feet were entangled in the paper tape, and the more she tried to break free, the tighter the entanglement became.

Then she saw the children again.They all became flat and flat like playing cards, each with a little punch throbbing.Then the cards are shuffled and shuffled and straightened, and a new puncher jumps on top of it.The children who looked like cards were weeping silently, and in a moment they were shuffled and butterflyed together again, while the cards crackled. "Stop!" Mao Mao yelled, "Stop!" But another voice drowned out her cry.The strange sound became louder and louder, and finally, she was awakened by the sound. She opened her eyes and saw that the surroundings were pitch black, and she didn't know where it was.

She remembered that she had fallen asleep in a car loaded with goods, and now the car was driving, and the sound was the noise from the car. Maomao wiped his cheeks wet with tears.She thought, where am I? The car must have been driving for a long time, but she was not found because it was in the middle of the night.Now, the car was passing through an urban area that was dead silent.The streets were empty and the buildings were dark. The car was not going fast, so Mao Mao jumped out of the car without thinking.She wanted to go back to the bustling urban area, she thought it was safe there, and there was no need to be afraid of Mr. Gray.But she suddenly remembered the dream just now, so she stopped.

The noise of the car engine gradually disappeared on the street, and the surrounding became extremely quiet. Mao Mao didn't want to run away anymore.Run away just to escape for your own life.During this time she was thinking only of herself, of her loneliness, of her fears!However, at this time the situation of the friends is more urgent.If anyone could help them, it was herself.She thought that maybe the gray gentlemen could be persuaded to change their minds and release her friends.Even if the possibility is very small, at least give it a try. Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a strange change in her heart.That feeling of dread and helplessness became so intense that it suddenly turned against it.She made it through.Now, she felt so brave and confident, as if nothing in the world could hurt her, or rather—she didn't worry about what would happen to her at all.

In this way, she is willing to see Mr. Gray instead, and she is willing to pay any price for her friend. "I must go back to the old amphitheatre," she said to herself. "Perhaps it is not too late, and perhaps they are waiting for me there." However, this is easier said than done.She didn't know where she was now, and she didn't know which direction she should go at all.Still, she went on, and she thought, well, luck. She walked on the dark and dead street, walking and walking, because she was barefoot, so she couldn't hear her own footsteps. Every time she turns into a new road, she hopes to discover new situations so that she can decide which direction she should continue to go.

She wanted to see a familiar marker so she could figure out where it was.But she didn't see anything as familiar. Even trying to find someone to ask directions couldn't be done, because she couldn't see anyone at all.The only living thing she came across was a filthy puppy looking for something to eat in the garbage.As soon as Mao Mao approached, it ran away timidly. Mao Mao finally came to an empty big square.This is not one of those beautiful squares with trees and fountains, it's just a vast open space, empty, with only the silhouettes of buildings in the distance around them jutting into the dark night sky.Mao Mao wants to cross the square.As soon as she reached the center of the square, she heard the bell ringing from the nearby bell tower.The bell rang so many times that maybe it was twelve o'clock at midnight.Mao Mao thought to herself, if Mr. Gray was waiting for her in the amphitheatre, she would never arrive on time anyway.Mr. Gray has found nothing, and may just walk away.However, in this way, Maomao will lose the chance to help his friends!

Maomao bit his fist.What to do now?What else can be done?She felt helpless. "Here I am!" Chi shouted into the dark night sky. However, she didn't have any hope that Mr. Gray could hear, she just wanted to deceive herself. However, the last lingering sound of the bell had not completely disappeared, and the streets around the square were lit up with faint lights at the same time, and the lights were quickly so bright that people could not keep their eyes open.After a while, Maomao realized that it was the light from the headlights of many small cars, and those cars were approaching the place where she was standing in the center of the square from all directions.Wherever she turned, there were blinding lights on her, so she had to cover her eyes with her hands.Ah, here they come!

Maomao never expected that they would use such force to deal with her, so for a moment, she almost lost her courage again.Now, she is surrounded and unable to get out.All she could do was shrink into her baggy coat. At this time, she thought of the time flower and the wonderful music again, so she felt comforted at once and became strong. The cars moved forward slowly with the muffled roar of their engines.Finally, they all stopped.The front bumpers of many cars are connected to form a circle, trapping Maomao tightly in the child's heart. Then, the gray gentlemen got out of the car one after another.Because they were all standing in the dark behind the lights, Mao Mao couldn't see how many of them there were.However, she felt that many eyes were staring at herself - it was a very unfriendly eyes. She couldn't help shivering. After a long time, neither Mao Mao nor Mr. Gray spoke. "This is it," she heard a monotonous voice say, "this is the little girl Mao Mao, she thought she could challenge us. Now, you see, this is the little disaster star!" The voice of that person As soon as it fell, I heard a crackling sound, which sounded like many people laughing in the distance. "Be careful!" said another low gray voice. "You know how dangerous this child is to us, so it's pointless to lie to her." Mao Mao is listening. "Alright then." The first Mr. Gray to speak came out of the darkness behind the light and said, "Then let's tell the truth!" There was another silence.Fluffy felt that the gray gentlemen were afraid to tell the truth, as if it would take an unimaginable effort to tell it.Mao Mao heard a sound, which seemed to be a gasp from many people's throats. Finally someone else spoke.The voice seemed to come from another direction, but it was the same monotonous voice: "Let's talk frankly! Poor boy, you are all alone now, and I will never see you again." To your own friends. There is no one to share your time with you anymore. This is all arranged by us, you see how strong we are! There is no good in fighting us. So much loneliness What does time mean to you? It means a curse that takes your breath away, a burden that weighs you down, a sea that can drown you, a slow The pain that scorched you. You have been abandoned by all mankind." Maomao just listened, but still didn't say anything. "One day," continued the voice, "the time will come when you can bear it no longer. It may be tomorrow, it may be in a week, it may be in a year. For us, It doesn't matter, we'll just wait, because we know that one day you'll come up to us and say: Let me do whatever it takes to free me from that burden!—Maybe you That's already on the mind, isn't it? You just say 'yes'." Maomao shook his head. "Aren't you willing to let us help you?" said the voice coldly.A gust of cold air hit Maomao from all around, but she gritted her teeth and shook her head again. "She knows what time is?" another Mr. Gray whispered angrily. "That proves she was there," replied the first Mr. Gray in the same voice.Then he asked aloud, "Do you know Master Hula?" Maomao nodded. "So you did go there?" Maomao nodded again. "Have you ever seen— ever seen a time flower?" Maomao nodded again. "Ah, she knows Time Flower, that's great!" There was another longer silence.When the voice sounded again, it came from another direction. "You love your friends, don't you?" Maomao nodded. "Would you like to free them from our grasp?" Maomao nodded again. "If you want, you can." Momo wrapped her coat tighter because she was already shivering from the cold. "Rescuing your friend is really a small thing for you. We help you and you help us. There will never be such a fair and reasonable Something happened." Maomao looked carefully in the direction of the person speaking. "We want to get to know Master Holla for ourselves too, do you understand? We don't know where he lives. You just take us to him and we don't ask you for anything else. That's all. Well, You can listen carefully, Mao Mao, what we are talking to you is completely from the heart, you should believe it. That is to say: you will regain your friends, and soon you will be able to play as happily as before. This But it's a price well worth it!" Only then did Maomao prepare to answer their questions.It was difficult for her to say it because her lips seemed frozen. "What do you want from Master Holla?" she said slowly. "We want to get to know him," said the voice sharply. "That's enough for you." Mao Mao felt more and more cold.She waited quietly.There was a commotion among Mr. Gray, and they seemed to be getting restless. "I don't understand what you think?" said the voice, "think about yourself, think about your friends! Don't think about Master Hou La, that's his own business.Besides—if he's wise enough to keep up with us, we won't touch him.Otherwise, we have our own means of forcing him to obey us. " "Why?" Maomao asked, her lips were already purple from the cold. Suddenly, a voice screamed, and he said as if he was over-tired: "We are tired of snatching time like this minute by minute, second by second, and we want to take all the time of human beings. Master Hula must give time to us Take charge!" Mao Mao stared in horror at the direction of the man speaking in the dark. "So, what about human beings?" Mao Mao asked, "In that case, what will happen to human beings?" " "Human beings." The voice became sharper. "There are already too many people in the world. They have brought the world to such an extent that there is no place for their own kind. The world will be ruled by us!" At this time, the more terrible cold made Mao Mao's lips wriggle hard, but he was speechless. "Don't worry, little Maomao." The voice suddenly became gentle again, and said almost flatteringly, "Of course you and your friends are an exception, you will be the last batch of human beings who can play and talk by themselves People of the story. You do not interfere with our affairs, and we let you live in Andin. As soon as the voice disappeared, someone from another direction immediately continued: "You have to understand, what we just said is true. We will keep our word.Now, you take us to find Holla! " Mao Mao wanted to say something, but the cold almost made her lose consciousness.After some hard work, she finally said, "Even if I can take you there, I won't go." A threatening voice came from an unknown direction: "What do you mean 'even'? You could, you've been to Master Hula. Well, you know the way!" "I can't find that way either." Mao Mao whispered, "I've tried it, only Cassiopeia knows that way." "who is it?" "Master Hou Ji's tortoise." "Where is it now?" Mao Mao couldn't control herself anymore, she said hesitantly: "It - with me - - came back - but, I - it - lost -" She seemed to hear a wave of excited noise from farther around. "Send the alarm immediately!" she heard someone shout. "The turtle must be found. Every turtle must be tested!" Casiopeia must be found!find it!find it! " The shouting faded and died away.Maomao slowly regained consciousness.Only she stood alone in the square. The evening wind was blowing softly, as if it were a gray wind blowing from nothing.