After AFK for five years, I returned to be number one in the entire server.

Lin also joined Tian Shu, and the procedures were simpler than he had imagined.

Qin Wei helped him sign several documents, record his fingerprints, and take his ID photo. Including the round trip, it only took an hour or two.

My monthly salary is deposited directly into my bank account, and tasks are pushed to me through the Queen Mother of the West.

He hasn't received any missions yet. Qin Wei mentioned last time that college student players are not usually scheduled for high-intensity activities unless there is an emergency.

Life was pretty much the same as before: going to class, eating, and going back to the dorm.

One day, Su Nian, on the orders of Lin Ye's mother, came to visit Lin Ye and asked if Lin Ye had been affected by the previous incident of the death of a monthly-level player.

Lin also gave a vague answer, not telling the other party that she had joined Tian Shu, otherwise she would have been in for another phone call if she had told her mother.

The two walked on campus. Su Nian was wearing a blue top and jeans, with a simple overall style. Her long hair and wisps occasionally fluttered in the wind.

How many courses did you take this semester?

"Those listed on the timetable."

"What about electives?"

"I didn't choose."

"There are four required courses in the first semester of Public Administration, you should be taking them all, right?"

"Your Excellency."

Su Nian asked the question, and Lin Ye answered it.

Lin also knew that Su Nian represented her mother's will, and of course, she herself probably also took on the role of guardian to some extent.

This is something Lin Ye dislikes: her lifestyle is too self-disciplined, and Lin Ye has lived in her mother's shadow since childhood.

Fortunately, Su Nian wasn't as talkative as her mother. She asked about the situation, relayed some information, and then stopped talking.

Lin Ye, however, took the initiative to ask her a question.

"If a person sees many people die in front of him every day, should he save them all, even if it means sacrificing his own normal life?"

Su Nian turned to look at Lin Ye. Lin Ye had always been a carefree person in front of her, so she didn't expect him to suddenly ask such a heavy question.

When you say "see," do you mean seeing it with your own eyes, or knowing it was happening?

"Yes, we have them all."

"every day?"

"every day."

Su Nian thought for a moment and replied, "From a legal perspective, individuals do not have an unlimited obligation to provide assistance."

"The legal obligation to provide assistance requires certain preconditions: a professional relationship, prior conduct, and a specific status. Firefighters have an obligation to rescue people in a fire because of their job. The law does not require an ordinary person passing by a fire to rush in."

Lin also asked, "Even if you have the ability, you won't use it?"

"Even if you have the ability, you don't have to," Su Nian said. "Ability and obligation are two different things. The law protects the bottom line, but doesn't force people to be saints. If the law requires every capable person to help every suffering they know of, that obligation has no boundaries, and no one can bear it."

Lin remained silent.

"But you might be asking about more than just the law," Su Nian said, her voice lowering slightly.

She paused for a few seconds.

"Logically speaking, this is a difficult question to answer. If someone really knows about these things every day and chooses to save them, he can't save them all. If he saves one today, there will be ten more tomorrow. The more he invests, the faster he will be exhausted."

"I don't think a person can do everything, and he shouldn't feel guilty about these things. Facing those things every day is already a price to pay, and no one has the right to ask him to sacrifice his life again."

"But," she paused, "that's what they said from the sidelines. If I were in their shoes, seeing those things every day, I'm not sure I could justify doing nothing."

Lin also picked up the water and took a sip, his expression unchanged.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Su Nian asked.

"Just asking."

After a while, Su Nian said again, "No matter what that person chooses, it's not wrong."

After walking for a while, Lin Ye's phone rang.

The screen showed Lin Ye's mother's video call. As soon as the call connected, Lin Ye's mother saw Su Nian next to her.

"Niannian, are you with Lin Ye?"

"Yes, Auntie, she's at school."

After greeting Su Nian, Lin Ye's mother started chatting with Lin Ye. After a few words, she suddenly said, "Why do you look like this? You seem so lifeless. Are you sick? Or did you not eat well?"

"I'm not sick, and I'm eating."

Lin Ye's mother then said to Su Nian, "Nian Nian, could you do your aunt a favor and take him out for a walk? Don't let him stay cooped up at school all day. Let him go see a movie or something to relax. Your aunt will transfer the money to you."

"Auntie, no need..."

"Don't be polite with me, I'll send it to you later. Niannian, don't spoil him too much. I know him, he won't budge unless I take action."

Lin Ye's mother said she would call again later to check, and then hung up.

Then, Lin followed Su Nian out of the school gate and walked along the road for a while.

The cinema is located on the fourth floor of a commercial complex. After taking the escalator up, the lobby is dimly lit, and there are a few movie posters hanging on the wall.

Su Nian stood in front of the self-service ticket machine, flipping through the movie schedule.

There are three films currently showing: an action film, a comedy, and an art film.

The action movies and comedies have already started, leaving only the art film, which will begin in five minutes.

The poster features an old, row-style house with several teenagers standing in the yard. The color scheme is gray-green, and the director's name and a line of small print at the bottom read "Adapted from Ian McEwan's novel of the same name, The Cement Garden."

Su Nian hadn't read the book. The poster had a cold style, like a slow-paced art film set in Frostland.

She counted two tickets and turned to look at Lin Ye.

"Just this one; the others have already started."

Lin glanced at the poster and had no objections.

The two went to get their tickets and enter the theater. The theater wasn't big, and less than a third of the seats were occupied. The lights were already dimmed, and GG was in the middle of the movie.

The screen lights up, and the story begins.

The scene shows a detached house in the outskirts of the city, with weeds growing in the yard and a high wall around it.

A family: a father, a mother, and four children.

My father died within ten minutes; he collapsed on the freshly poured cement floor in the garden.

My mother was in poor health, bedridden, and died soon after.

The four children hid their mother's body in the basement, sealed it with cement, and didn't tell anyone.

Up to this point, everything is normal; it's a movie about how children who have lost their parents manage to survive.

Lin also has little interest in slow-paced films.

The story continues.

The eldest sister began to take on the role of mother, taking care of her younger siblings, doing laundry and cooking. She tried on her mother's clothes in front of the mirror and tied on an apron.

My older brother gradually stopped going out and stayed in his room with the curtains drawn, so no light could get in.

Then the atmosphere between the two of them changed.

The way the older brother looked at the older sister started to seem off. The camera didn't zoom in on her intentionally, but it lingered on her for a few seconds longer than usual.

One is an older sister, and the other is a younger brother.