It has been seven days, and Ning Gu has been locked in a small room on the top floor of the clock tower, and can only judge the time by sending food.
He counted the three meals in the morning, afternoon and evening, and there are already 21 meals, seven days.
If it wasn't for someone bringing food, Ning Gu began to wonder if he had been forgotten by the ghost town. No one came to see him for seven days, and no one even appeared under the bell tower.
"Ah—" He poked his head out of the window and shouted in the strong wind, "Ah—nail—nail—Li Xiang—Li Xiang—"
The wind was too strong, the wind was even stronger at the height of the top of the bell tower, and his voice felt like it was blown away before even the last sound could be fully developed.
He looked at the thick fog that was blown out of texture by the strong wind.
Is the car coming again
If this car is alive, it can be regarded as the car with the most character.
In Ning Gu's limited life of more than 20 years, cars came and went countless times. The longest interval was his two birthdays, and the shortest interval was only one day. Even the most fanatical traveler could not sleep Immediately after sleep, set off again.
If the train is coming again, how can he get out from here, and how can he leave the bell tower, slip out of the shelter, and board the train under the strict surveillance of various abilities
"Ah—" he yelled again, "Li Xiang—"
Based on his experience, the only one who can save him now is Li Xiang, who has rescued him countless times.
"Li Xiang and the head of the team have gone to Tongwan." A voice suddenly came from behind.
Ning Gu was startled, turned around abruptly, and saw half of Lin Fan's face through the small window on the door.
"Why are you here?" He asked a little warily.
"See if you ran or not," Lin Fan said.
"How long have they been there?" He finally realized Lin Fan's words.
"It's been a few days." Lin Fan slowly moved his face to the center of the small window, looking at him, "Are you bored?"
"Not boring." Ning Gu sat back on the ground.
He doesn't have much interaction with Lin Fan usually, it's normal for this person to live in seclusion and not show up for a month or two in his room, but now he suddenly appears here alone... If he didn't have those experiences in the main city, he and Lin Fan would have a different understanding of each other. He didn't have much idea about this kind of detailed questioning and wanting to check his shoes.
But now I feel a little uneasy.
"Have you reflected on yourself these few days?" Lin Fan asked.
Ning Gu glanced at him, the head of the team and Li Xiang were not there, so it made sense for Lin Fan to check whether he stayed honest and reflected on himself.
"No." He answered truthfully.
Lin Fan frowned: "The words left by the group leader are when will you promise not to go to the main city without permission, and when will you be allowed to go out?"
"Then wait," Ning Gu leaned back, "I don't have to go out."
Lin Fan looked at him and didn't speak.
Ning Gu was tense for a while, and then glanced at him. The window on the door was very small, just enough to accommodate Lin Fan's face. After looking at it for a long time, he couldn't help but say: "Is your face stuck in the window?"
"Huh?" Lin Fan was stunned, then suddenly laughed.
This is the first time Ning Gu sees his smile, it's not very good-looking, the hidden wrinkles are exposed, but whether it's good-looking or not, it still surprises Ning Gu.
This man can still laugh.
"You look a lot like your father." Lin Fan put a smile on his face and said something.
Ning Gu hadn't finished eating the first shock, and then he was shocked again, feeling like he was choking, and he swallowed twice before recovering.
"What did you say?" He jumped up from the ground and walked to the door.
Lin Fan didn't speak, and moved his face away from the window.
"Lin Fan!" Ning Gu became anxious, and immediately pushed his head out of the window, seeing that Lin Fan had turned around and was going down the stairs.
He kicked hard on the iron door a few times, and the metal guard on his shoe slammed against the door.
"Don't go! What do you mean?" he growled.
"When the car comes, the guards have space." Lin Fan's voice gradually became weaker, "Whether you can walk or not, it's up to you."
"Lin Fan!" Ning Gu retracted his head into the room, opened the window and shook the door vigorously a few times.
Of course, the door remained motionless, and Lin Fan's voice also disappeared.
"Welcome to a new day."
The headache didn't ease, and Lian Chuan was still ringing in his ears when he heard the greeting from the system.
Today's breakfast was beef and eggs. He didn't taste anything after eating it, and his mouth was bitter.
It has been a week, and the frequency of headaches has decreased a lot, and it should disappear in about two days.
Lian Chuan changed his clothes, ready to go out to buy some daily necessities, and then went to Lei Yu's house for a sit down.
He is not used to wearing civilian clothes, nor is he used to walking, and he is not used to walking in crowds.
Although at such times, he will not feel the eyes of hatred, he will not hear vicious curses and abuse, and he will not feel the pressure of facing desperate eyes again and again.
But he seems to prefer to be a hyena.
Hyenas have goals, hyenas have fears, hyenas have struggles to live no matter what.
As for Lian Chuan, who is not the most ordinary person with a second-level resident identity card in the main city, the most meaningful activity he can think of all day today is to buy toothpaste.
"Which flavor do you want?" The cashier took his ID card and swiped it. "This month, there are four flavors of lemon, apple, green pepper and pepper."
"Apple." Lian Chuan replied.
"Do you want anything else?" The cashier took a piece of white toothpaste from behind and put it into the machine next to it. A few seconds later, a piece of pink toothpaste fell from the outlet into the small bucket in Lianchuan's hand .
"...No need." Lian Chuan hesitated, picked up the toothpaste, "Why is it pink?"
"Apple is pink," said the cashier.
"Aren't apples green?" Lian Chuan said.
"That's a green apple," the cashier said. "If you want something green, you can choose a green pepper."
"No." Lian Chuan took the toothpaste, turned and left.
After buying this pink toothpaste, Lian Chuan has nothing to do on the street anymore. He looked around, and it was time to go to Lei Yu's house.
Aunt Chun bought the ingredients early in the morning, said she wanted to make him some delicious food, and asked him to call the boss.
He did call, but as long as the boss is not on a mission, he doesn't know where he is, and he's not sure if he can go to eat.
To get to Lei Yu's house, you need to cross four vertical axes. Although they are all in Area B, Lian Chuan's residence is a dormitory provided by the Ministry of Internal Defense, which is basically diagonal to Lei Yu's house, so Lei Yu is only resting. Only then will I go back.
Although they don't meet every day, the relationship between husband and wife has always been very good. It is worthy of a marriage of free love. It is not as perfect as a partner matched by the system, but because of a glance from the crowd, all imperfections are overcome.
Lian Chuan swept around, everyone only looked at his feet, and he walked towards the tunnel entrance.
The traffic in the main city is very simple. There is no ground public transportation. There are only a few tunnels connecting the four main urban areas. Each underground stop is very large. It can be seen from the scale of the stops and the advertising boards all over the walls and floors that once How prosperous the main city is.
Let the sunshine of the main city wake you up every morning, which used to be an advertisement full of confidence.
The current docking station is still very large, but the utilization rate is less than half of what it used to be. Most of the places have been filled with black fog, and the advertising boards have long been extinguished. The few pieces on the wall are basically announcements and prohibitions issued by the City Affairs Office.
The homeless would rather choose to flee into the Valley of Lost than to shelter in the no man's land of the stop.
Lian Chuan stood on the platform, staring ahead in a daze, but all his senses were active, habitually paying attention to everyone around him.
He had already noticed the man in the gray shirt behind him when he entered.
It looks no different from all ordinary citizens in the main city, but Lian Chuan can still feel the flicker in his eyes.
His identity is not his concern. He is not a hyena now. Even if the person standing in front of him is a bug, he can't do anything. All law enforcement officers in the main city are only allowed to exist as ordinary people after taking off their uniforms.
He didn't care too much about what this person was going to do. In the main city, under normal circumstances, no one could threaten his safety for the time being.
What he cares about is that such people who are clearly not "qualified residents" have begun to appear in District B.
The man in gray followed him into the car and stood one meter away from him. He didn't look at him the whole time, but his peripheral vision stayed on him.
When Lian Chuan got off the car, the man in gray followed him.
There are two large settlements on A5 in Area B, and there are many people getting on and off the bus. After Lian Chuan got off the bus, a man in gray crowded in front of him in the crowd.
Back to the ground there are six turns, a very long distance, after the third turn, the man in gray looked back, there was no one following behind him, only passengers in a hurry.
He paused, then reached into his coat pocket and touched it.
Before he took out the things in his pocket, he felt something hit him on the left, and his whole body seemed to leave the ground for a moment.
When he came back to his senses, he had already been pressed against the wall of the maintenance passage next to him with a chokehold.
"Don't move," Lian Chuan pressed his thumb on the man's throat, "don't talk."
The blankness in the gray-clothed man's eyes slowly receded, replaced by panic, but he did not dare to move nor make a sound.
Lian Chuan reached out his hand to take out his ID card from his pocket, held it between his fingers and waved it in front of his eyes, and put it back into the inner pocket of his coat.
After he bought the little pink toothpaste, he left the ID card a little casually, and he was probably followed by this person.
"Don't call the police," the man in gray said cautiously and anxiously, "Please... I just want to buy something to eat..."
Lian Chuan tightened his fingers, and his words got stuck in his throat.
"I said, don't talk," Lian Chuan said, "You can leave as soon as I leave."
The man in gray blinked his eyes.
Lian Chuan let go of his hand, turned and left the passage.
Once the ID card is obtained, it is impossible to directly take it to buy things. If the information identification does not match, it will be recycled and cleaned up immediately. If you want to use it, you need to go to Lost Valley and find a bat that can rewrite your identity information for you.
But before you find the bat, you may get lost, you may be beaten to death, or you may never find the right bat and starve to death. If you finally find it, you will be beaten to death or starved because you can’t pay the fee. Die, after all, the identity card can do a lot of things, and an original card is very valuable.
Lian Chuan doesn't want to hear such people talk, whether it's in missions or in daily life.
He didn't want to hear any words of helplessness and despair.
Those words will pull people into the abyss, never to rise again.
"Boss arrived earlier than you," Aunt Chun handed over a glass of drink, "Try it."
"I just came here to buy some things." Lian Chuan took a sip of the drink, it was delicious, with a little sour in the sweetness, not greasy.
Lei Yu's house hasn't changed much, it's simple and warm. Within the scope of their ability, the husband and wife are very keen to add various decorations to the house.
There are several sets of sofas and chairs with different styles and materials.
The eldest took up a single soft sofa and was taking a nap.
I don't know if it's a real nap or a fake nap, in short, I just close my eyes and ignore people.
When Aunt Chun went to process the food, Lei Yu took the cigarette case and sat beside Lian Chuan: "Do you want it?"
"No." Lian Chuan waved his hand.
"What did you buy?" Lei Yu lit a cigarette by himself and looked at him.
"Toothpaste." Lian Chuan took out the pink toothpaste in his pocket and squeezed it, "It's cute."
Lei Yu laughed: "I never liked pink and tender colors since I was a child."
Lian Chuan also smiled, but did not speak.
Lei Yu mentioned that when he was a child, he had a bone pain. Although he still has many other memories when he was a child, Aunt Chun took him to play games, took him to see small animals, and cooked him food... But pain and fear are all memories. clearest.
You won't laugh forever.
Only pain.
Your happiness will not be unforgettable.
Only fear.
"How's your condition recently?" Lei Yu suddenly asked after taking two puffs of cigarettes and being silent for a while.
"Very good." Lian Chuan looked at him, Lei Yu seldom asked such a question, most likely because there was something not related to core secrets but related to Lian Chuan himself.
The boss was indeed dozing off. After Lei Yu asked this sentence, one of his eyes opened.
"That Ninggu," Lei Yu said, "if you come to the main city again, you may be arranged to deal with it."
"Will he come again?" Lian Chuan frowned, "At present, it seems that he has almost no ability to protect himself."
"You can't say that," Lei Yu said, "he escaped from your hand, not only he escaped, but the one with him also escaped."
The boss closed his eyes and let out a breath through his nose.
"If you run away from me, I have to catch it," Lian Chuan said, "Is that what you mean?"
"No." Lei Yu pinched off the cigarette that he had only smoked twice, stared at the cigarette butt for a long time and did not speak again.
Lian Chuan didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.
"This time we must catch him alive," Lei Yu said, "No matter what the cost, no matter where he hides, only you can do it."
"No matter where you hide," Lian Chuan smiled, and quickly turned cold, "including Lost Valley, right?"
Lei Yu nodded.
The boss scratched his paw hard on the sofa.
"Where is the new one? If it's broken, can you fix it for me?" Aunt Chun brought out a plate, glanced at the boss, and put the plate in front of Lian Chuan.
"En." Lian Chuan responded.
"Chuan," Aunt Chun looked at him, "Only you have passed the fit test."
"No one can surpass your willpower," Lei Yu said, "It would be best if you can catch Ning Gu outside. If he enters Lost Valley and falls into Jiu Yi's hands, it will be a card of Jiu Yi. , we can't take any chances."
Lian Chuan didn't say a word. The Lost Valley is not such a terrible place. In his opinion, the people living there are comparable to the main city in terms of status.
But except for the bats, the people who went in with information about the main city never came out. He didn't know why Lei Yu and Aunt Chun would persuade him to go in.
"You have to go," Aunt Chun held his hand, trembling slightly, her voice lowered, "not just to catch Ning Gu."
Lian Chuan looked at her and suddenly understood why.
It is not surprising that a traveler with a special identity or ability is required to be captured alive, and such a task is not unusual for the cleanup team.
But Aunt Chun's last sentence was to remind him.
If necessary, he must go in and prove himself.
Just like before he had to prove that he can fit Betelgeuse, now he has to prove that he can bear the valley of loss, he has to prove that he is irreplaceable.
Irreplaceable, this is the only value he can still exist.
Nail has lived in the ghost town for more than ten or twenty years, and he has never lived his life so clearly.
When he stepped out of the door, he glanced at the number carved on the metal plate beside the door, and counted it again with his hands, sixteen.
Ning Gu has been imprisoned on the bell tower for sixteen days, and he has never had the chance to get close to the bell tower, not once, it is an insult to the small iron pile of friendship between him and Ning Gu.
Today he couldn't wait any longer. The head of the group and Li Xiang went to Tongwan. They would go there every once in a while, each time for about 20 days. During this period, they would not come back. Hand it over to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan usually doesn't show up very often, if he doesn't take advantage of this time to get Ning Gu out, when the leader and the others come back, he really won't have a chance at all. With the leader's tough character, maybe Ning Gu will be imprisoned as a prisoner. bones.
"Where are you going?" The hammer was at the door.
"Go to the land king." Nail said.
"You've been looking for him three times," Hammer sighed, "How can he help if he can't benefit from it?"
"The old thing has been around for so many years, and there is always a way." Nail frowned, and put on the goggles against the wind. This was given to him by the hammer, and Ning Gu helped him find it in Lost Valley. Get something in exchange for him."
The hammer grabbed his arm: "What do you want in exchange?"
"That monkey's paw." Nail looked at him.
"That's Talon," said Hammer.
"I think it's more like a monkey's paw." Nail insisted.
"Monkeys have no claws," said Hammer.
"Have you seen it?" Nail objected.
"Have you seen it?" Hammer refused to accept.
Nail didn't say anything, just pulled his collar and walked out.
"This is the only thing in the whole ghost town," Hammer followed, "If you change it, there will be no more."
"Ning Gu is the only one," said Nail. "Isn't he better than a monkey's paw?"
"Okay," Hammer nodded, "I'll go with you."
"No, it's my business." Nail said.
"I'm afraid he won't be able to think of a way to cheat you away." Hammer moved his arm, "I'll beat him if he's not honest."
Today's lunch time should have passed, because Ning Gu was hungry, and according to the degree of hunger, he felt that lunch should have been delivered at least an hour ago.
"Hey!" He kicked the iron door, "I'll starve to death soon!"