Mowu City at 8pm.
Work has been suspended at various reconstruction sites.
The danger is not over yet.
The council is asking all residents to stay home at night if possible.
If you have to go out, try to go in groups, and the most important thing is to avoid bionic people.
Wandering androids have become a major safety hazard in Mowu City.
"Without a fixed home, just like these androids, they can go wherever they want, and sometimes they will be evicted."
"For the sake of the city's beauty, every once in a while, someone will evict homeless people on the streets. I have also been evicted several times."
"But it's okay. Later, when I got rich, I could rent a small single room to store paints, drawing boards, and some clothes and bedding. But actually, after I got used to it, I preferred the wandering life..."
Jing Le said to himself.
He and Lu Wen were sitting opposite each other in a park pavilion.
Many androids can be seen outside the pavilion.
After the riots, these androids were no longer trusted by their employers and were abandoned, wandering around, waiting to be recycled or die from running out of power.
Only a small number of employers are willing to trust these androids again, but not 100%.
Jing Le continued: "As a teacher, Zero is actually conscientious and has taught me a lot. I know that she is deliberately leading me down the wrong path and making me more sick than ordinary people, so that it can be easily controlled. , but... I actually have no choice."
"If I hadn't chosen to follow her at that time, I might have starved to death on the streets. No one has time to take care of themselves these days. There are too many homeless people on the streets. Besides, I look like a child from a rich family, so it's rare to get one. money."
Jing Le laughed to himself.
His appearance was truly impeccable.
A typical mixed-race person, with fair skin, three-dimensional facial features, blond hair, and light blue eyes, he exudes a classical temperament just by standing still.
Those eyes often reveal the artist's melancholy.
Even though he was dressed in rags, it was difficult to believe that he was a real street kid.
Being too good-looking is also a worry.
Wandering is more like a show on him.
"I have spent most of my life on the streets of Mowu City. Sometimes I would go to the underground factory she built for me. Blood can make me forget a lot of things. The more I forget, the better. Sometimes the memories are too much. Clarity makes people miserable.”
"There are still many chess pieces like me in her hands. Perhaps from the moment we meet until death, we will never escape her control..."
The city of Mowu, which has stopped rebuilding, is quiet at night.
The chirping of summer insects echoed in the grass.
The street lights in the distance are bright.
The dilapidation and prosperity are intertwined, giving it a different kind of beauty.
This is the beauty that the young painter likes most and has pursued for the first half of his life - incompleteness.
To use another word, it can be said to be imperfect.
It could also be some kind of regret.
Deep regret hidden in my heart.
Lu Wen leaned back on the bench, crossed his fingers, and said: "I just asked No. 0. She said that among her many chess pieces, you are a very different one. You have a persistent pursuit of art. Your She has a more independent personality and uses a lot of brainwashing methods on you, but you always have your own judgment. "
"Is that so? It seems that I am quite special."
Jing Le turned to look outside the pavilion.
The shadows of the swaying trees, the quiet lake, and the reflection of the moonlight on the water.
The moon is rarely seen in this city, and the thick clouds make it feel like rainy season all year round, with constant rain.
All night scenes are reflected in his light blue pupils, turning into abstract art.
It's as if the realistic painting has been splashed with gorgeous oil paint, and the lines and colors are intertwined and hazy.
"I killed someone when I was very young, and there was a moon that night. I still remember the way the thick blood flowed under the moonlight, and I also remember the fearful and frightened faces of the children next to me," Jing Le said.
"I know this. I heard Number Zero talk about it." Lu Wen responded.
"It turns out she started noticing me from then on."
"Maybe earlier." Lu Wen said: "Have you ever thought that your whole life has been arranged by No. Zero? From the time you were abandoned at birth to now, she has lived long enough, so she has enough time to arrange your life. everything."
"Of course I've thought about it, but it's useless."
Jing Le smiled calmly.
"What about you?" He asked, "Isn't your life planned?"
"Maybe so."
Lu Wen's life path was indeed set by Yin Long.
I don’t know if it’s the real Yin Long or the mechanical Yin Long.
He turned on the phone at Li Meng's home, where a murder happened. Within a few days, he got the first clear guiding ideology after turning on the phone, which was said by Li Meng: Everyone should have their own life, even if It's mechanical.
This is to instill in him the idea of freedom.
It also planted for him the idea of liberating androids and paved the way for him to obtain the A00 authority in the future.
After discovering that his will to liberate the androids was not strong, Yin Long set up a trap to inform him of his true identity, letting him know that he was an android and not a reborn human being.
Once you know this, you won't be wavering between the two races.
The lives of the two people have certain overlaps, but now there is no threat from Zero, so Jing Le is finally free.
Before Lu Wen found the real Yin Long, he was not free, he could only be said to be very passive.
Lu Wen asked: "What do you plan to do in the future?"
Jing Le just replied: "You won't kill me?"
"Why should I kill you?"
"I killed someone."
"Mowu City abolished the death penalty a long time ago."
"You can also take me back, which is a big credit to you."
Lu Wen shrugged and said: "I am now a third-level executive officer, the next council member, and the most trusted bionic person in Mowu City. All the residents of Mowu City know me. Do you think I still need it?" More credit?"
To give credit.
Killing Zero is actually the biggest achievement, killing it completely so that there is no trace of Zero in this world.
But Number Zero is still of some use.
If you keep it for now, you don't have to worry about what she's doing secretly.
"Aren't you going to imprison me?"
"I'm everywhere."
Jing Le was silent and understood immediately.
This Mowu city, as well as other cities, are now under Lu Wen's surveillance.
This planet is his prison.
So Lu Wen can let him go. This is Lu Wen's confidence.
If he dares to commit another crime after gaining freedom, Lu Wen will not show mercy to him. He will not be able to hide in any corner of the nine cities unless he runs to a remote no-man's land and stays there for the rest of his life.
But even if you run into no man's land, you may be found by Lu Wen.
"In the future... I might just plan to travel around and record the changes in the world and the changes in the nine major cities."
"It's best if I can make some money. I will keep what I need for living and donate the rest to those children's welfare homes."
"When I was very young, I really wanted to know who my parents were, but that was just an extravagant wish. Most of the time, I thought that someone could adopt me, even if they were not rich, just give me food and clothing, and I would give them to them. Retirement and death…”
Street children are a tragedy for the entire city.
But Jing Le was indeed right, most people had too much time to take care of themselves.
Lu Wen tried to trace back some of the original news reports and video information, but he only saw Jin Le's figure in an illustration of an old news article about urban governance. He was lying with many homeless people, and nothing else. Can't find it.
It's been too long.
It was difficult to find his biological parents.
In fact, even if he found it, it would be of no use. The moment he left him alone, it had nothing to do with him. Meeting him again would only add to the embarrassment.
Just strangers who are related by blood.
"I suggest you stay in Mowu City during this period. At least you are familiar with this city, and it is very safe here at the moment. Other cities and even no-man's land may not be safe." Lu Wen reminded.
"Why? Is it because the mastermind behind it hasn't been found yet?"
"Not only that, the mastermind behind this should not be one person, but a group of people."
Many people thought it was over and Zero was defeated by A00.
You can start a new life.
So they all relaxed their vigilance.
Even many soldiers and commanders think so. Besides bionics, who else can threaten human society
They believe that the only thing that needs to be considered now is how to deal with the androids.
But Lu Wen always had an inexplicable sense of crisis.
This feeling is very strong.
Under the surface of the calm world, there seems to be some kind of fatal threat brewing. Once this threat breaks out, the danger may be much higher than that of the android riots.
"Something strange happened in Mowu City today."
Lu Wen talked about missing people and the explosion of materials in Mowu City.
He couldn't get the thoughts and data of Jing Le's flesh and blood body, so he could only ask Jing Le if he knew anything.
But Jing Le just shook his head.
He said that all his news came through Zero, and he also knew part of what Zero knew. As for what Zero didn't know, he had nothing to do.
But he also mentioned contaminated areas.
"Zero brought me some weird creatures before to meet my painting needs. You also saw one last time. Later, I felt that it was not enough, so I went deep into some polluted areas by myself."
Those deformed creatures fit well with Jing Le’s artistic aesthetic.
So he went to the polluted area.
What he did was bold.
Jing Le said that he did not prepare any protective tools, but only brought some radiation measuring instruments.
For most ordinary people.
Even if the radioactivity indicators are normal, they dare not enter the contaminated area, which is synonymous with the restricted area of life.
When these three words are mentioned, the first thing that comes to many people's minds is death and despair, corpses everywhere, withering of life, etc...
"Many polluted areas are quite beautiful. After all, they were abandoned more than two hundred years ago. Few people dare to enter. Many cities have grown green vegetation, have water sources and small animals, and are rarely attacked by extreme weather. , those places are actually... very suitable for human habitation."
The prerequisite for living is that there are no weird creatures.
Jin Le took out a few USB flash drives from his pocket and handed them to Lu Wen.
"These are all videos I shot in polluted areas. There are some strange things in them, including animals and plants. Some creatures are like corals. I can't even tell whether they are animals or plants."
"Actually, coral polyps are animals, and corals are just skeletons," Lu Wen said.
"I don't know much about this."
Jing Le was very calm.
He has never received systematic study at all.
In Lu Wen's biological database, some organisms are more controversial, such as Euglena, which are directly classified as protists. Although the chlorophyll sea slug is green enough, it is classified as an animal. Although the Venus flytrap can move, it is classified as an animal. Plants are generally relatively clear.
There are very few creatures that resemble both animals and plants.
Jing Le reminded: "I marked the geographical coordinates on each video. The third video is more special. You can take a closer look. I captured human footprints. They are very clear and they are barefoot. The wind and sand in that city More serious…”
In places where the wind and sand are severe, the sand will bury everything, and a footprint will not last long.
So that's what was left.
Jing Le's meaning was obvious. There were traces of human activities in that city.
"The possibility of bionic people is unlikely. It's very remote there, and bionic people generally can't go that far. Most of them are in the ruined cities around Mowu City, and those footprints have relatively obvious toe fingerprints."
"I understand, I will find time to take a closer look."
Lu Wen put away several USB flash drives.
He thought about some safer areas and planned to ask Jing Le to stay there.
But before he could say anything, he suddenly frowned.
Some special pictures began to appear in front of my eyes.
He rested his head on his hands and frowned.
dark.
This was his first impression of those scenes.
It's like a deep cave with cold stone walls on both sides.
There are iron doors inlaid on the stone wall.
Dark and damp.
There are red numbers on the iron gate, from zero to nine, and more are marked with red crosses.
These images are sometimes clear.
Sometimes blurry.
In front of Lu Wen's eyes, the dark night of Mowu City flashed alternately, like a movie with insufficient frames.
Just when he tried to see more clearly.
A voice suddenly sounded.
"Da..."
"Da..."
Very heavy footsteps.
With an air of danger.
Along with the cold water drops falling.
Behind Lu Wen.
He suddenly woke up and looked back, but behind him was only the night view of Mowu City.
Disappeared.
Those flashes of dark images, and that heavy step.
Everything is back to normal.
This is a brief memory.
Androids shouldn't have memories. It can only be said that a certain program in Lu Wen's body was triggered.
As for the triggering conditions... Lu Wen recalled Huang Liang's reaction a few hours ago, and could probably tell that after this special dream, a certain restriction in their bodies was opened.
Huang Liang has no confidence in his own abilities. He cannot bear certain memories, so he will take the initiative to fall into deep sleep.
But Lu Wen cannot be like him.
He must find out the truth.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Jing Le noticed something was wrong with Lu Wen.
He was a little confused.
With Lu Wen's current abilities and status, there shouldn't be too many things for him to worry about.
Turning his head suddenly to look behind him just now was quite abnormal behavior.
"Something in trouble, a little thing."
Lu Wen waved his hand.
Jing Le can't be allowed to get involved in this kind of thing. This young man finally got rid of Zero's control.
…
at the same time.
The northern underground, Eden.
Xia Chuluo was also the one who noticed something was wrong with Lu Wen.
She glanced at Lu Wen doubtfully and asked, "What's the matter?"
"nothing."
"We've known each other for so long, do you think you can hide anything from me?"
“…”
Lu Wen was silent for a long time, he really couldn't hide it.
There is no need to hide this kind of thing.
He clarified his thoughts, took a breath, sat in front of Xia Chuluo, and asked slowly: "If I said that the meeting between the two of us was arranged by someone, would you believe it? "
"Is it Yin Long?"
“…”
Miss Xia immediately ended the topic with "Is it Yin Long?"
Many complicated and lengthy middle parts are omitted.
But Lu Wen still told everything that had happened.
After Xia Chuluo listened, he just said calmly: "That's it?"
(End of chapter)