Did I shrink, then what about everyone else?
The rules of the current Cage have changed. Anyone who enters the Cage is bound by its rules. Be it human or anomaly, they must follow the 'script'.
"You little brats, hurry up." The scarred man, walking at the forefront, impatiently urged Lu Zhi and the others, tugging hard on the rope to quicken their pace.
Lu Zhi lowered his head slightly, secretly observing his surroundings.
He was now with a group of children his age, walking on a winding path in the deep mountains. Weeds grew in profusion all around, with jagged rocks and a narrow path underfoot, formed by long-term human passage.
Not long after, the narrow path ahead suddenly opened up, and a village appeared in Lu Zhi's sight.
"We're finally here. It's still early, we should be able to get back." The scarred man, pulling them towards the village entrance, was met by a middle-aged man who had been waiting there.
Lu Zhi unremarkably appraised the middle-aged man's clothing, rough garments worn by rural people during the Republic of China era. Upon seeing the middle-aged man hand several silver dollars to the scarred man, Lu Zhi guessed that his current identity was likely that of a kidnapped child, or perhaps sold by his family.
Lu Zhi was more inclined to believe the former, as all those sold were boys. In that era, in a rural setting, boys were the lifeblood of the family, and not easily bought or sold.
After receiving the money, the scarred man immediately handed the rope to the middle-aged man and then hurried away. Having traveled all day, he hadn't even had a sip of water. His fleeing back looked as if some terrifying monster was chasing him.
Pulled by the rope into the village by the middle-aged man, Lu Zhi quickly surveyed the surroundings. He noticed that the villagers all looked at them with accustomed indifference, continuing with their own tasks.
As dusk deepened, Lu Zhi and the other children were locked into a woodshed, and the ropes on their hands were finally untied.
The middle-aged man stood at the doorway, his eyes devoid of life as he stared at Lu Zhi and the others, saying, "Be good. I'll bring you food tomorrow morning."
With that, he locked the door from the outside.
The sky had completely darkened by then. The only light in the woodshed came from the moonlight filtering through the skylight above.
Rustling sounds.
Lu Zhi's hand was suddenly grabbed from behind. Startled, Lu Zhi instinctively tried to break free, only to hear the other person say in a somber tone, "You're injured."
Lu Zhi turned sharply, the faint moonlight illuminating the delicately featured face of the boy behind him, "Shen, Shen Qi?"
Shen Qi didn't speak, his beautiful dark eyes fixed on the wound on Lu Zhi's palm.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Lu Zhi let Manluo heal it, then gently touched it, and the wound was already healed.
Shen Qi's expression remained very displeased.
Lu Zhi wanted to ask Shen Qi how he had also shrunk, as the rules within the Cage should not apply to him if he did not wish it.
However, with others present, Lu Zhi did not voice his question. Instead, he looked at the quiet children behind him and suddenly asked, "Jiang Yue?"
A little boy, huddled in the corner and the shortest among them, stood up with a scowl and said, "I just checked, I have a little bird..."
"Pfft..." Yan Shao chuckled, "It seems this Cage can change a person's gender."
The intermittent laughter swept away the earlier gloom.
The quiet children also began to introduce themselves one by one. Except for one ordinary person who had been randomly selected, the others had entered voluntarily.
Jiang Yue's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, "Still discriminating based on gender? What a lousy Cage!" With that, he lewdly pulled at his pants, glanced down, and then disdainfully turned his head, asking, "Want to compare sizes?"
The others: ...Is that a woman acting like a hooligan!
Lu Zhi: "!!!"... Senior sister, don't take off your pants! We're not comparing!