HP: At the beginning, I influenced Snape's childhood.

Lin Mo entered the maze—no… he entered the study—and skillfully located Snape's position. He made a rather loud noise as he approached, because he was afraid of startling the engrossed child; otherwise, with his abilities, Snape might not even notice him when he got behind him.

Hearing the sound, Snape sat up in his chair, looked up, and said to the approaching person, "Mercury, you've come."

Lin Mo was quite satisfied with the way the child spoke over the past few days. At least now the child was quite close to his own people, although this closeness was in contrast to his previous personality of never saying anything.

"Hmm, Severus, what would you like to drink with dinner tonight?" Lin Mo approached the child and couldn't help but touch his soft, fluffy hair.

"It will be all right."

"Give me a general idea, I only asked you because I didn't know what kind of drinks you like. Why are you giving me the question again?" Lin Mo realized at this moment how frustrating it was to hear words like "anything is fine" or "whatever." What could he do? He had to take care of his own child.

"Okay...not too sweet, fruit juice will do, any kind of fruit doesn't matter." Snape, having just recovered from his potions reading, thought for a moment and answered Lin Mo's question.

"Clean up and wash your hands, then come out for dinner in a few minutes." Lin Mo nodded, said this, and went out to prepare.

Snape took a piece of paper from the study, tucked it into the book, put the book back in its place, and tidied up a bit more.

As Lin Mo walked out of the study, scenes from his past life flashed through his mind.

"Brother Mo," a young voice approached, "when is your birthday?"

Lin Mo had noticed the other person long before they spoke, but he didn't turn around because he knew perfectly well who the person was.

"Xiao Yin, you're back." Lin Mo called out, her hand still writing. "Birthday? I don't know, why are you asking?"

Lin Mo has lived in an orphanage since he can remember. His parents never even wrote his birthday on the packages they sent to the orphanage; the packages only had two short words: "Lin Mo".

"Huh? Then why do you act so mysteriously almost every year on January 9th, Brother Mo?" Lou Yin asked with a sly smile.

"Really...?" Maybe it's because he's worried that someone never celebrates their own birthday. Lin Mo paused for a moment, but quickly recovered.

Seeing that he couldn't get any gossip out of Lin Mo, Lou Yin changed the subject: "Brother Mo, what are your plans for Chinese New Year this year? Is there anything you want? Is there anything you want to eat?"

"Whatever, whatever makes you happy." Lin Mo replied dismissively. The situation had recently worsened again; a shipment of weapons had smuggled into the country, and "Dark Night" was planning to acquire it and sign a long-term cooperation contract with the arms dealers. This was definitely not good news for Xunyu Kingdom. He was now focused entirely on this matter; as for things like the New Year, they were ultimately irrelevant to him.

"Oh... okay." Lin Mo didn't even need to turn around; he could hear the disappointment in the still slightly immature voice just from the tone of his voice.

Having finished writing the letter, Lin Mo picked it up and waved it in the wind. The dazzling sunlight shone through the paper onto the face of the young man from Shadow Court who had infiltrated the enemy camp. For a moment, it seemed like eternity had passed. Only at this moment did Lou Yin feel a little bit of relaxation and sunshine from Lin Mo.

"Xiao Yin, call your second brother back. The three of you brothers should have a good get-together during the New Year." Lin Mo stood up, turned to face Lou Yin, and patted him on the shoulder.

"They're still just college graduates," Lin Mo thought to himself. Looking at the person opposite him who seemed a little disappointed because he didn't have any plans, Lin Mo softened. He even began to doubt whether it was right or wrong for him to bring these three brothers along in the first place.

"If I have time during the New Year, I'll visit you guys. I'd like to come over for a meal, so please don't kick me out, okay? I can cook a few dishes, after all," Lin Mo joked, taking the opportunity to clear his mind of the somewhat suppressed and tense mood he had been feeling these past few days.

"Huh?" Lou Yin, seemingly just recovering from a minor tantrum, looked up sharply upon hearing Lin Mo's words, her eyes sparkling as if stars were twinkling. "Okay, okay, then you absolutely must come over when you have time."

Lin Mo smiled slightly, looking at the still somewhat childish young man in front of him, and his usually expressionless face softened a little.

"Xiao Yin, this letter is the same as always, and the same request remains: you must deliver it to Tang Chen personally." Lin Mo folded the letter twice and handed it to Lou Yin. Lin Mo didn't need to go through any elaborate pretense with himself, because he knew very well that Lou Yin would pay attention to every detail.

Lin Mo's voice softened as he said, "After you deliver the letter, send a message to your second brother. You should also get some rest these next couple of days."

"Brother Mo, I'll be going now." The other person waved and jogged away.

"Okay..." Lin Mo watched the other person's receding figure and murmured to himself. He looked at the other person who should have just entered society and realized his life's ambitions, but now he had dragged him into this quagmire.

A——L——W——A——Y——S

Recalling the past, Lin Mo was still somewhat dazed. He smiled, a bitter smile on his face. He himself was already deeply trapped in that abyss, so where did he get the confidence to protect the other person?

It's truly a case of being blinded by one's own involvement. In the end, he hardened his heart and pushed those around him one by one to the brink of hell. Finally, he himself completely lost the courage and faith to live, and in order to escape, he ultimately chose to perish together with others.

Lin Mo could still vividly recall the scene when Lou Yin left, as if it had just happened. Every word he spoke still rang in his ears, and even the slightest expression was clear in his mind.

The sunny boy who liked to surround himself was eventually corrupted by him, but even at the end, he was still so close to and trusted him.

If only I hadn't said "whatever" so much back then. If only I hadn't been so busy that year, I should have gone to the Lou family's house during the Spring Festival. If only I hadn't dragged those three teenagers into this mess.

In the end, no one survived. Regardless of good or evil, all vanished in the clashes between light and darkness, disappeared in the treacherous probing of friend and foe, and perished in the earth-shattering explosion.

Lin Mo covered his left eye and adjusted his state.

"Xiao Mo... I remember you didn't really like furry little animals." Chang Feng's resentful voice suddenly came.

"Oh, right. What's wrong?" Lin Mo had just come to his senses and was a little confused. Who knew where Changfeng's brain had gone again?

"Then why did you want to touch Snape's head every time you saw him?" Changfeng accused Lin Mo as if he had done something heinous, and muttered in a low voice that Lin Mo could barely hear, "Prioritizing romance over friendship... that's right, prioritizing romance over friendship..."

Lin Mo smiled and asked, "Could you have resisted?"

"No." Changfeng resented his honesty.

"That settles it then." Lin Mo smiled triumphantly.

"Okay, pick out a drink for me." Lin Mo didn't want to go out; her only source of resources was Changfeng.

"Workers have no human rights... (ಥ_ಥ)" Despite her words, Changfeng, who hoped to quietly enjoy the gossip and ship the couple, obediently placed a large bottle of grape juice in her space.

Lin Mo was in an exceptionally good mood today. She took out some grape juice, poured it into a glass, and jokingly said, "Changfeng, a grateful heart, thank you for being there..."

"Okay, stop. From now on, let's just sing. Reciting lyrics feels weird." Changfeng immediately stopped, halting the torture, and added, "Even if you sing for me again, don't sing this song. You'll be traumatized."

"Okay, okay." Lin Mo gave Chang Feng a perfunctory reply. *I still want to thank you, Chang Feng*, Lin Mo thought silently to himself.

A few days ago, he was chatting with Changfeng about the relationship between transmigrators and the administrators of small worlds, people like Changfeng. Changfeng said that the administrators have restrictions on the privacy of transmigrators. For example, if the administrator doesn't agree, they will only examine the transmigrator and provide a treatment plan if the transmigrator's life is threatened. Otherwise, the administrator cannot examine the transmigrator's body and can only make a judgment based on a rough understanding.

The same applies to the first-hand information received by the managers. Although there will be some introduction to the time traveler, they cannot know all the specific experiences in the life of the time traveler. They can only have a certain understanding of the time traveler's general work and personality.

However, Changfeng's situation with Lin Mo was different. For some reason, Changfeng's older brother paid extra attention to Lin Mo, even providing Changfeng with more detailed firsthand information than usual, and granting Changfeng the highest level of management authority over the small world. Of course, Changfeng didn't tell Lin Mo any of this.

However, since the time travel began, the two have been connected in spirit. Although Changfeng can only hear what Lin Mo says to him in his mind, he cannot know what Lin Mo is thinking. However, Changfeng can still sense the general emotions of the time traveler.

Therefore, Lin Mo wasn't in a good mood earlier, so Chang Feng specially came out to chat with him to ease Lin Mo's inner turmoil. Both of them knew this, but neither said it aloud.

Author's rambling: Happy New Year everyone! (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*✺◟(∗❛ัᴗ❛ั∗)◞✺！ ！ ！

Hello, 2023!