Ivan Zackley is an ordinary, quiet office worker living on 67th Street in Uptown Nuogen.
He lived in Block 23 until he moved here.
His main job is to work in an ore processing plant affiliated to the Rolle Resource Development Company. When the sun just rises, he will get up and work, and he will not go home until the moon is completely suspended in the quiet night sky. .
Because of his poor family background, after graduating from Zackley's education in a unified community, he has been living such a life. Although it is a bit hard, he can still live.
This peaceful life was completely shattered about a few months ago when there was a major gas leak in Block 23.
When he came home from get off work, he found that his home, along with the buildings surrounding the entire street, had been turned into ruins.
Ivan Zackley's home was razed to the ground, and although he had been alone for a long time, he also felt a deep sadness at that moment.
Fortunately, the bigwigs in the central district announced that they would distribute subsidies so that he could continue to make ends meet.
It's just that life has become more difficult.
With the subsidy, he decided to move to the vicinity of the Dome Church in the north of Nuojin, because he was arranged by the company to work in another more remote factory. In order to make it easier to work, renting a house there is the best way...
Zachley isn't complaining, after all, that's all he's going to do.
It's just that going to work has become more difficult, and I can almost only see the moon every day.
After working hard for half a lifetime, life has gotten worse and worse... Zachary occasionally had such thoughts in his heart, but habitual satisfaction and being driven made him never think of resisting.
What he was taught since he was a child is that life is only work and life.
But the sudden upheaval made him a little at a loss. In order to find some sustenance, he began to accept the mission of the Dome Church and became a solid believer of the moon.
One day when he was praying at night, he even witnessed the arrival of the legendary apostle, but before he could secretly tell other believers the good news, the Dome Church was exposed as a cult the next day.
There was another gas explosion at a branch of the Dome Church near his residence...
Not to mention the collapse of his beliefs, his home... is gone again.
And no one will pay him again this time, because Zachley is also a member of the cult.
But fortunately, as long as he is willing to change his ways, the people from the Central Police Station said that nothing will happen. Zachary is full of hope and waits for the outcome of "reform through labor".
He was assigned to 67th Street, and once again did his old job, but this time, he couldn't even see the moon, and he didn't have a home, just a dirty wooden bed.
With work day and night taking over his life, and paying for the gambling and rat-fighting entertainment provided by the factory and paying taxes to the central district every month, he ended up with almost nothing left.
The salary has not been paid for a few days, and all of it has been handed over to the boss. Every day, he is urged to get up and work. If he is not careful, he will be scolded.
But such "good days" didn't last long.
Just two days ago, he was getting ready to work. An earthquake directly collapsed the factory building, and the huge steel factory that looked like a monster specializing in sucking human blood turned to ashes in an instant.
Luckily, Ivan Zackley didn't die, he crawled out of the rubble...
However, when he struggled to open his eyes, he saw the miserable death of the co-workers and the boss who was always on top, as well as the extremely terrifying scene—
He seemed to see the interlacing of the dream world and the real world. The pillars on the edge of the dream collapsed in an instant, and then saw a majestic knight from a distance, which instantly turned into a bright flame. The flame burned to the extreme, as if the Everything burned, and like another sun falling from the sky, it hit another black mass.
Just seeing this scene, Zachley felt as if his body was about to explode, his stomach was boiling, and he had a splitting headache. Ordinary people couldn't last a few seconds in such pain, so he fainted on the spot.
When he woke up, he was already lying with a pile of corpses.
He crawled out of this mass grave, recalling what he had seen and thought, and the last scene he saw before he passed out, he began to doubt the reality of this world.
"What kind of periodic strata collapse is completely deceiving..."
Ivan Zackley, who had been hungry for several days, crouched under the flyover, speaking to those around him who were also displaced by the so-called subsidence in Block 67.
The central district's attitude towards this disaster is very indifferent. It just took measures to block it, and did not even mention reconstruction. Of course, many survivors can only wander around.
Because of homelessness, Zackley and several other well-connected homeless people returned to their hometown, Block 23.
"It doesn't matter if the periodic bottom collapse is real or not... The important thing is, will they give us a grant this time?"
Jack, who is closest to Zachary, said he was thinking about the grant.
But in fact, he already knew that it was unlikely.
If it is a gas explosion, it can be said to be a man-made disaster, and the Central District will subsidize it, but the reason given this time is that the ground subsides periodically, which means natural disasters, and you can only be considered unlucky.
"This is not some periodic subsidence at all!"
Zachley recalled the last scene before he passed out. He didn't dare to share it with others, and he was really not sure whether what he saw was real. He squeezed his fist and said with consideration:
"You... have you seen God?"
Jack: "…"
The four or five refugees who were close to him all looked at him, as if looking at a fool, with some sympathy: "I heard that you were tricked into believing in that Dome Church, we know that many people have been brainwashed. Blame you."
"No... ugh."
Zachley clenched his fists even tighter, trying to argue but giving up.
He knew that no one would believe what he saw, but the more he described the scene, the more he remembered it, and the more he believed that he was right.
"At this rate, we will starve to death, which is always true."
It was hard not to admit the authenticity of the sound from the belly of the companion.
"That's it." Zachley suddenly stood up from the ground and patted the ashes on his butt: "Sitting here, waiting for subsidies that will never come, you will starve to death, and you will be shot to death if you are a bad guy..."
"Anyway, they will all die." His hungry eyes showed long-term unwillingness, like a fire, and he gritted his teeth: "It's all death, I'd rather be a full-fledged ghost."
Zachley looked at the others: "Honest work will only be destroyed again and again... The harder you work, the more you discover the limits of us ordinary people."
"Ivan..." Jack was stunned: "What are you talking about?"
"I'm not a good man anymore! Jack!"
Zachley's eyes were firm, and it seemed that he had never made such a decision: "Give it up, the subsidy will not come again, and the Central District doesn't care about our lives! Anyway, everyone is now in danger, saying that Nuojin may collapse completely, and there are everywhere. Refugees commit crimes, no one will care about one or two more cases, we can only rely on ourselves... "
His eyes fell on a bookstore on the opposite street, and he took a deep breath—
"Let's rob this bookstore."
…
The weather has been very bad these days, but at least it didn't rain today.
But the weather is not good, I always feel as if something bad is going to happen...
Lin Jie held his cheeks and sat idle in the store looking at the book in his hand, thinking about it.
For Lin Jie, he didn't care whether his bookstore was crowded or not. As long as there were a lot of customers like Ji Zhixu who gave him a villa in the central district, he would have nothing to worry about.
What we want are high-quality customers who have a heart for feedback. Once we have such customers, we will be "not open for three years, and open for three years".
However, normal customers also need to be received, such as…
In front of these four or five guests who looked very poor.
Lin Jie looked up and saw a few tattered customers who suddenly walked into the bookstore.
"Hello, want to..."
"Robbery."
Zachley drew a sharpened knife from his pocket, and the sharp blade aimed at the young boss sitting on the counter.
"what?"
Lin Jie's smile froze on his face, and he really didn't understand the situation in front of him.
In addition to this refugee who pointed a knife at himself, there were two other people who climbed over the bar of the counter and surrounded Moen who was pouring tea. The hunger and ferocity in their eyes were obvious.
Morn raised his eyes expressionlessly, without even stopping the work he was doing.
In this tense confrontation, the sound of water from the teapot in her hand was particularly harsh.
"No, didn't you hear? Hand over all the valuables!"
Zach tapped the counter lightly with a knife and said in a vicious tone.
This is the first time he has been a bad person, so he is inevitably a little nervous, but he has decided to be a bad person, no longer the kind of diligent and honest person, so he has to work hard to be the best.
Lin Jie twitched the corners of his mouth, looking at the robber in front of him who seemed to be a little more nervous than himself, and sighed.
His little shabby bookstore is really liked by gangsters.
The bear children led by Hood came to steal books, and this time they were robbed again...
However, these refugees in front of them were obviously not Hood's petty book-stealing. These people had real hunger in their eyes.
Although Nuojin has a slum, it is by no means so hungry that it is robbed.
Lin Jie put his hands on his chin and asked calmly, "Where are you refugees from?"
"To shut up… "
"Answer Boss Lin's question."
The deep voice suddenly sounded, and the few refugees turned their heads when they felt a pain in their necks, blackness in front of their eyes, and they instantly lost consciousness.
Lin Jie was stunned for a moment, looked sideways, and saw that Joseph came out of the basement at some point, carrying a refugee in one hand, and easily threw it aside, snorted coldly, and his tall body was full of momentum.
Mo En made tea and brought it to Lin Jie.
Lin Jie took it subconsciously, and then began to wonder - how could such a serious injury on Joseph heal so quickly
Jack swallowed and raised his hands: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... We, we are... "
He kicked Zachley next to him and motioned him to run, but Zachley seemed to see the devil.
"You, you..." Ivan's dagger fell to the ground with a clatter, fell on the ground with a slump, stretched out his fingers tremblingly, and pointed at Joseph.
With his wide pupils, he clearly recalled the last scene before he passed out.