Overturned Tower

Chapter 1 Gray Dome

Outside the window is the dark gray sky, and not far away is a floating island like a top.

The high-rise buildings above are bathed in the sun, and the snow-capped mountains and vast green fields are refreshing to see at a glance.

And in the shadow below the floating island, the densely hidden buildings give people a chilling and gloomy feeling.

Just like a stranger standing silently outside the frosted glass window... Even if you just glance at it unintentionally, you will immediately feel as deep and cold as the bottom of a winter lake.

"It's a really sunny day today."

However, the man sitting opposite Russell was sipping freshly squeezed orange juice and said with such familiarity: "It's so good that it didn't rain."

"yes."

Russell responded softly and turned his head.

According to common sense, this is indeed a sunny day.

There are no storms, no typhoons, no blizzards, and no thick dark clouds falling from the sky, covering the sky like a barrier...

…But, maybe it’s an illusion.

Russell always felt that the sky should not be like this.

He seemed to have seen it somewhere before. What was brighter... was not gray-white or dim yellow, but a blue cloudless sky.

——But that must be an illusion.

Everyone knows that the true color of the sky is gray.

From ancient times to the present, the world has never had a blue sky.

"Although... this is my first time flying first class," Russell stared at the man across the table, the golden cat ears on his head twitched uneasily, and the tail behind him was raised high and swaying slowly from side to side, "but Generally speaking, will Tianen Group sell first-class tickets to two people who don’t know each other at all?”

The man had a pair of white, fluffy canine ears standing on his head, and his hair was healthy to a frightening level - the long white hair was even so long that his tail was hidden in it.

There were etched lines on his face that looked like scars.

The lines ran from top to bottom across his left eye, from his eyebrows to his chin. The left eye he passed by on the way had already been replaced with a cold prosthetic eye that gave the impression of a delicate diamond.

Just being stared at by that single prosthetic eye will make your spine feel cold.

The man did not respond to Russell's question, but asked with a smile: "Kid, are you alone?"

"This is too rude, Your Excellency. Although it seems a little incredible, it has been two years since I graduated from graduate school."

Russell replied angrily: "It's just because of the issue of spiritual relatives that I look a little tender. Just like... you are also so big."

The "spiritual transformation" that begins to occur shortly after everyone is born and begins to speak can vary from mild to severe.

Russell has seen severely psychic individuals with hair all over their bodies, like upright brown bears. Apart from being able to talk and wearing clothes, they are almost the same as bears. He has also seen individuals with only a pair of cat ears and even a tail. A very mildly spiritualized individual who does not have any.

As for Russell himself, he has the unique reflex nerves and soft body of the sand dune cat species. He weighs less than normal people and has stronger jumping ability, balance and explosive power. His ears are larger and his hearing is better than that of other feline relatives.

He is one of the rare "completely positive individuals". In other words, he did not inherit any negative qualities from his spiritual relatives.

...if being short is not a negative trait.

If you count the height of his ears, the guy in front of Russell must be close to 1.9 meters. And Russell is only 1.65 meters tall without ears.

Even if this guy was just sitting across from Russell, Russell could clearly feel a very strong sense of oppression.

"Spiritual relatives do not necessarily affect height. This is classic pseudoscience. For example, my spiritual relatives are Samoyeds. In terms of breed, they are just medium-sized dogs."

Mr. Samoyed bit his straw and said casually: "For example, I also know a moose. His height is indeed quite tall, but only 1.8 meters. But to say that he is a spiritual relative, the moose is the largest deer animal. Not to mention that... you have beautiful light blond hair, what kind of cat is your spirit relative?"

"My mother and I are both sand dune cats. It is said to be a very small cat...but I have never seen one."

Russell replied listlessly: "But it may also be a genetic problem. After all, my mother is a little shorter than me..."

"Just looking at your appearance, I know your mother must be a beauty."

The young man admired sincerely.

Russell also knew that he had inadvertently revealed some personal information.

But there is no way.

Although this "Samoyed" kept smiling, Russell's spiritual intuition kept telling him that the person in front of him was very dangerous.

Russell's heart was beating fast and hitting his chest. His ears stood straight up, extremely nervous, his hair exploded slightly, and he even had a stomachache.

- He had never seen such a terrifying person.

In those movies and TV shows, when the guy who owes a loan shark sits in front of the underground gang leader... this is probably how he feels.

Unable to sit still.

Russell instinctively tried to tell some of his less important information.

Just like when you made a mistake as a child and suspected that you might be discovered, you would suddenly become talkative. Will proactively and voluntarily admit some less important mistakes in an attempt to distract the other party's attention.

According to spiritual kinship science, this is a common instinct among humans who regard small animals as their spiritual kin.

Just like a little beast would roll over and expose its belly in front of the toothy leader, trying to prove its harmlessness and tameness.

"Isn't your mother coming with you?"

This man with a dangerous aura asked.

This must be a cross-examination. Russell thought so.

"She's dead."

While thinking about it, Russell replied softly: "Her funeral just ended.

"I still remember what it felt like. Even if I clenched my fists, I would feel empty and powerless... After that, I would dream about her every night. Although I would forget the content of the dream soon after waking up. , but every time I wake up my pillowcase will be a little damp.”

Russell's right hand, which was not wearing leather gloves, subconsciously touched the necklace on his chest.

It was a hexagonal pendant, which contained my mother's personal chip.

Although the data stored in the chip has been destroyed through the funeral process... the intact chip left behind is also a kind of souvenir for relatives.

The crystal pendant that stores the chip is also the last gift left to Russell by his mother.

"Sorry...where is your father?"

The man opposite continued to ask patiently.

Russell felt more and more dangerous.

This kind of in-depth privacy inquiry has gradually moved away from the level of "small talk during travel".

According to ordinary people's emotional intelligence, since Russell only mentioned his mother, he obviously didn't want to talk about his father, right?

But Russell remained calm.

He has a lot of experience in contact with dangerous people.

Just like when he was a child, he returned home alone from school before his mother got off work.

After entering the door, Russell realized that a thief had entered the home, and the thief had not left yet.

Russell clearly realized that at this time, he had to stay calm and relaxed and not panic because of fear.

He kept his acting skills, kept himself innocent and harmless. I called my friend's contact number as soon as possible. After contacting my friend, I calmly left the house under the excuse of "let's go out and play ball."

He didn't leave impatiently, nor did he run away after going out. Instead, he hummed a song and molled for a while before slowly starting to move.

The crisis we are facing now must be exactly the same.

"That man has left long ago."

Russell sneered, showing a kind of disdain and imperceptible hatred.

But in fact, he had no feelings for that man.

There is no love and no hate. It seems like he is just a passerby who has nothing to do with him. Russell did not have the awareness that he had a father.

"He left when I could barely remember it - taking all the family property with him. Unlike my mother and I, it is said that the man's spiritual relative was an eagle. He must have been destined to fly away.

"We used to live on Sogo Island. It's not like Happy Island with its upper and lower urban areas. A lot of work is handled by artificial intelligence, and it's hard to find jobs that can make people live a decent life. My mother worked hard to support me and let me Go to school. In the past twenty years, that man has not even remitted a penny back, and he only reads all the messages without replying. Even after my mother died of illness, I sent him the location of her funeral, and he also ignored me.

"You know, sir? I know for the first time that after death, people become very heavy. And after that, they become very light. The crematorium does not give you all the ashes. Only symbolic ones. Such a handful...the urn is probably only this big."

Russell gestured, his tone indifferent with a little sadness and self-mockery: "They even gave me only one minute for the farewell ceremony. Because I was the only one who came to say goodbye... I couldn't even afford to invite Cyber. The priest from the church came to complete the ceremony. Fortunately, I worked some odd jobs when I was in school. Otherwise, I would not be able to afford a mass grave to store such a light and small box. If I can't afford to pay for it right away, I have no choice but to 'Environmentally friendly package' - that is, scattering the ashes directly into the sea."

It's not exactly acting.

It was genuine sadness, something that actually happened.

It's just that Russell is not actually that helpless - he is much stronger than the child described in his words.

After all, if he wasn't strong enough, he wouldn't have been able to finish college in the environment of Sogo Island.

But he has been accustomed to "selling miserably" appropriately since he was a child. In other words, show your scars and shortcomings to an appropriate degree, and try to eliminate the hostility of others without being looked down upon.

It's like a stray cat that pretends to be well-behaved and nibbles on passers-by to get food.

Oddly enough... maybe because he was focusing on the performance, or maybe because the other party had let go of some evil intentions towards him, Russell felt that the tension that filled the air gradually dissipated.

Perhaps, I am not entirely trying to gain the other party's trust.

Russell thought.

Although it is just a social means for self-preservation.

But talking about these things did make him feel better.

"Listen to me," the voice of the young man opposite became a little deeper, "When you find that man, remember to give him a shot. If you abandon your wife and son, you should teach him a lesson."

"forget it."

Russell shook his head: "I don't want to go find him."

"Even if he makes your life so difficult?"

"He is indeed an asshole. But I can't become an asshole like him."

Russell said softly: "My mother said that I will become a great person."

——This is the truth.

Mother did say so, and Russell thought so from the bottom of his heart.

"...What is considered a 'great big shot'?"

"It can make people admire from the bottom of their hearts... right?"

Russell was silent for a moment and said uncertainly: "At least it can't be hated."

Hearing this, a young man with long white hair fell silent for a while.

"That's so hard."

The young man said softly: "It's even harder than becoming a director of the 'head office'."

After that, he gave up the topic and once again showed that lame smile that was unprofessional and could only make people shudder: "In that case, how can you afford a first-class empty boat ticket?"

"Before she died, my mother told me... that I had an uncle in Happy Island."

One corner of Russell's mouth raised slightly, and his tone was calm: "An uncle I have never seen or heard of. My mother asked me to move to Happy Island... This first-class ticket was also bought for me by my uncle. . Let me tell you, this ticket is valuable. If it were converted into my living expenses, it would allow me to live a life of meat every meal for five or six years.

"But it's a pity that I really don't have the money to buy a suitcase. Fortunately, I don't have anything to carry. The schoolbag I used when I went to school is enough, and it's even quite loose. This saves me money on shipping."

"Is your uncle...?"

"Tianen Group. He is from the 'head office', which means he should be a senior executive."

Russell said so.

Naturally, this was information he deliberately disclosed.

On the one hand, it is to gain the goodwill and trust of the other party, on the other hand, it is also a silent threat.

"Tianen Group...that's a big company."

The tall white-haired young man sighed in a low voice.

He thought for a while and handed a small box to Russell as if nothing had happened: "You are a good boy...

"But good children should be more careful in Happy Island."

"It sounds like Happy Island is not much different from Sogo Island."

Russell muttered and opened the box casually.

The next moment, he felt the hairs on the tips of his ears explode.