34
After curfew, fewer people will come to entertainment stores, and those who risk leaving the safe zone and heading to the declining areas outside the main city would rather get drunk in the tavern.
Compared to relaxing with a clear mind in an amusement park, forgetting in the dizziness of a pub is more necessary.
After the curfew whistle sounded over the main city, Guang Guang would close the main door of the entertainment store, leaving a small side door that only regular customers knew how to open.
Then make a drink and sit by the sirens to relax for a while.
However, since her store opened, she has never been harassed after curfew. After all, the cleaning team often comes in uniform.
The two thin iron bars hanging above the small side door collided gently, making a "ding" sound with a slight tail tone.
"Good night." Guang Guang glanced towards the door.
The ones who came in were Lao Fan and the caracal. Behind them was a man who was half a head taller than Lao Fan. He looked like a young man, but his face was covered with scars, so it was hard to tell what he looked like.
Lao Fan is a regular customer, while the caracal doesn’t come here very often. However, everyone in the main city knows the caracal, even if they have never seen one.
"I brought a new follower," Lao Fan pointed behind him, "Little Iron Ball."
"Good evening, little iron ball," Guangguang greeted the little iron ball, "My name is Guangguang."
When Ning Gu heard this name, he instantly understood how Xiao Laba felt when he heard that he was called Xiao Laba.
"Just call me... Iron Ball." Ning Gu said.
In particular, I experienced the feeling of being forced to calmly accept this name.
"Uncle Fan, do you want a massage?" Guang Guang asked. "If both of us want a massage, we have to queue up. I'm the only one in the store tonight."
"Do you want to pinch the iron ball?" Fan Lu asked Ning Gu.
"Pinch...what?" Ning Gu didn't quite understand.
"Pinch your head, shoulders and arms, and relax. It will feel comfortable." Fan Lu said.
“No, no, no, no…” Ning Gu couldn’t bear it anymore and kept saying, “No, no, no.”
"Then I'll get you something to drink," Guang Guang said, "What flavor do you want? There are apple, orange, grape..."
"What are they?" Ning Gu asked.
"Fruit." Guangguang replied.
"Can I just eat the fruit directly?" Ning Gu asked again.
"You, little iron ball," Guangguang leaned his elbows on the bar and hooked his finger at him, "Are you a traveler?"
"Huh?" Ning Gu was surprised.
"You actually want to eat fruit," Guang Guang laughed, "Only people who have just come from a ghost town would think there is fruit to eat in the main city, right?"
"Give him a glass of orange," said Fan Lu.
Ning Gu took a glass of orange juice and sat in the corner. He didn't know what the relationship between Guang Guang and Fan Lu and the cleaning team was. Everyone guessed that he was a traveler and he was not nervous at all.
"The patrol team didn't come today. They can't even come once a day," Guang Guang pinched Fan Lu's arm again and again, "Are they still in the City Affairs Office? Lian Chuan has been arrested, right?"
"Maybe," Fan Lu said, "Didn't your brother Li Liang tell you?"
"The entire cleanup team is under investigation," Guang Guang said, "and it seems they won't be doing their job. I thought you knew that."
"I don't want to know," Fan Lu said. "The less I know about these things, the better."
"Many people are talking about Lianchuan being detained or exiled, but that's all false," Guangguang said. "They are just telling the people, but we can't tell whether he is detained or exiled. In fact, Lianchuan has been destroyed."
Ning Gu was drinking orange juice. When he heard this, he took a gulp and almost choked on the orange juice.
He squeezed the cup hard, leaving a dent in the metal cup.
"What good will destroying him bring to the main city?" Fan Lu said.
"Who knows, maybe the unconventional plan succeeded, but it didn't affect the common people," Guang Guang said, "But I think the people in Area C and Area D are looking forward to its destruction."
"They are the cruelest." Fan Lu said with his eyes closed. "They hate whoever they can see. If they can only see the hyena, they hope it dies. If they can't see the person who gave the order, they can't hate him."
"It's quite pitiful," Guangguang thought for a moment, "If the main city collapses before our eyes one day, we will be the first to be abandoned."
"You are not them, you are the Greenland ID card." Fan Lu said with a smile.
"I don't care," Guang Guang said, "If I really live to that day, I will stay in the store and not go anywhere, or I will go to a ghost town."
"Who will take you there?" Fan Lu glanced towards the door.
"Take me there," Guangguang looked at Ning Gu again, "Where did this iron ball come from?"
"He heard it was okay." Fan Lu said.
"It doesn't matter who hears it," Guang Guang raised his face, "Who cares about us ordinary people? We will be finished sooner or later."
"I'm not taking you to the ghost town," Fan Lu said, "I want to die in the main city."
"Loyalty." Guangguang curled his lips.
Fan Lu and Guang Guang continued to chat idly. Ning Gu felt that he had a vague idea of what was going on in their conversation, but he had no idea what it was.
He suddenly had some doubts about the disciplinary method that the captain had used most on him over the years.
Don't ask, don't answer, don't think...
At this moment he found that he was living in a vacuum world created for him by the team leader.
He can tease cats and dogs, cause trouble and run rampant, but no one will ever answer his questions, and no one will ever face his doubts directly.
He took a sip of orange juice.
My mind is in a mess now. I have these questions that I can't find the answers to before returning to the ghost town. I want to question the team leader, but at the same time I want to defend him desperately.
…and there’s also the thing called stripping and detention.
Coma, knowing nothing, not dreaming...
Lianchuan was in this state when he was hung by the poet at the entrance of Lost Ridge.
After he woke up, he knew nothing and remembered nothing. The whole experience was a blank.
So what he requested was to be released from detention, which meant he had to enter this state again.
Why
Ning Gu felt that he could guess roughly, but he couldn't be 100% sure.
Ordinary people don't know why the main city is trying so hard to guard all the exits of the Lost Valley and bring Lianchuan back. Lianchuan is the one who is compatible with Betelgeuse. Except for the top officials, perhaps few people know it.
After all, judging from the rumors about the ghost town, Betelgeuse cannot be mentioned at all, and Lianchuan is the nightmare of every traveler after entering the main city.
Therefore, the judgment that Fan Lu made after a series of operations in Lianchuan is the result that the main city wants to show to the general public.
The hyena, who was hated the most by the people of the main city, took hostages to threaten the superiors and attacked the city hall. He was finally captured and expelled to the ghost town. This was a decision that pleased the people.
But beneath the surface, Ning Gu looked at the orange juice in his hand. Lian Chuan was willing to take such a big risk, so he would definitely not let such a straightforward ending happen.
Beneath the surface, he had other plans.
And this separation of detention is part of the plan.
Considering the expulsion, Lian Chuan had no chance and no reason to escape the surveillance of the main city during the period before the car arrived. If the car took a long time to arrive, this gap would be a considerable variable and anything could happen.
It is most appropriate to make yourself a blank person.
Ning Gu tapped his fingers on the cup. Jiuyi's younger brother? With this IQ, even Jiuyi's father can't catch up.
There is another reason behind this request that perhaps only Ning Gu knows.
When Lianchuan was in this state, he entered Lianchuan's consciousness, or memory.
Lian Chuan knew that Fan Lu and the boss would definitely find out about his request, and then Ning Gu would naturally know about it as well.
Lianchuan should be hoping that he can take advantage of this state again.
Ning Gu couldn't help but take a big sip of orange juice.
To be able to think through this, his IQ is beyond even Jiuyi’s grandfather!
Although the plan of the trumpet is risky, it is also the best choice when there is no other choice. The little iron ball... what iron ball! The ghost town bully Ning Dagu will help you complete the plan, don't worry.
Although Ning Dagu didn't know how he did it last time.
Nail sat against the wall, the wind blowing in through his sleeves and trouser legs, it was very cold.
After Ning Gu left, apart from going to Uncle Feng to inquire about the situation, it was the first time that he sneaked out of the shelter during break time.
Hammer was already fast asleep, and no one noticed him when he came out.
The shelter was already far behind him, and now in front of him was a road that he could only walk on with the help of the cold light bottle and his memory, leading to the garbage dump.
After passing the garbage dump, continue forward to Tongue Bay.
It has been too long. I don’t know when the car will arrive, when Ning Gu will come back, or... whether he can come back.
Instead of just waiting there in frustration, it’s better to do something.
If Ning Gu really...something happened, he at least wanted to know why.
There must be something inside Tongue Bay.
There must be some secret hidden in the black fog of Tongue Bay, a secret that the leader and his companions do not want other travelers to know.
Ning Gu knew, or they suspected that Ning Gu knew.
Although he didn't know whether Ning Gu's escape this time was related to this, Dingzi still decided to take the risk and go in to take a look. Anyway, Ning Gu was not there, and no one would lead him to cause trouble, so he had nothing to do.
Dingzi touched the leather bag hanging on his leg, took out a lit cold light bottle, hung it around his neck, then took out a knife, wrapped it around his hand with a cloth strip, and took out a flash bomb.
He went to Ning Gu's cabin to find the flash bombs. He knew where Ning Gu hid these little things, but many useful things were taken to the main city by Ning Gu, so he only found two flash bombs.
I hold one in my hand and hang the other on my leg, so that I can get them immediately when I need them.
After getting ready, he stood up and walked quickly into the garbage dump without looking back.
Li Xiang felt a little tired when he walked out of the metal cemetery and headed towards the shelter.
He doesn't usually get much sleep, but he's been busy lately and he hasn't slept for several days.
I can't sleep either.
An abnormality was detected at the experimental site today. He kept an eye on it for the whole day but found nothing.
The escaped experimental subject was able to influence the indigenous people. Even if it had self-destructed, no one could tell how many indigenous people it had affected before it self-destructed.
The experimental subject from the main city was obtained by combining the indigenous people with the travelers. What kind of abilities this experimental subject has, even if it is an unsuccessful experimental subject, is very important to them now.
If the indigenous people can be used to make experimental subjects, the countless indigenous people in the boundless black fog outside the safety range of the ghost town will provide them with endless raw materials.
Although it is just an empty legend, once the exit really appears, in the battle for the right to survive, even if the main city's secret experiment is successful, the ghost town will have the strength to fight against the main city.
The only variable is Ning Gu.
Ninggu, whom they had carefully protected for twenty-two years, is now in the main city with no news at all.
There was no sign of the car arriving, and Li Xiang had no idea what would happen when they reached the main city.
He sighed softly.
It was Lin Fan who let the person go. No one knew what Lin Fan said to Ning Gu.
No one will know.
Although all three of them knew it, no one could blame the other. They were companions who had always fought side by side, companions who had turned their backs to each other without hesitation in the last battle in the main city, and companions who would still fight for each other's safety.
When he reached the only way back to the shelter, Li Xiang stopped.
He sensitively noticed the information remaining in the air, quickly took out a small glass bottle from his pocket, bent down and gently shook the bottle mouth against the ground.
The powder sprinkled from the bottle was blown across the ground by the wind, leaving two clear shoe prints.
The middle section of the shoe print is separated.
Like Ning Gu’s sole, it has a metal guard in the middle.
It's a nail.
Li Xiang suddenly felt a thin layer of sweat on his back. He took out the intercom and connected to the channel between Lin Fan and the team leader.
"Let's go see if Nail is home," he said. "There are footprints of his shoes at the intersection of No. 1 Station. I'm going to Tongue Bay."
"No need to look," Lin Fan's voice came out immediately, "He's definitely not here."
"Go directly to Tongue Bay." said the team leader.
"Hurry," Li Xiang turned and ran towards Tongue Bay, "The indigenous people have been active these past two days."
Look! The tongue is licking my feet!
What do you think is behind your tongue
I want to go and see.
There's nothing to be afraid of. As long as you know what it is, you will die.
Dingzi squatted on the highest shelf where he and Ning Gu would go every time they came here. He could remember every word Ning Gu said here.
I want to see it too.
Dingzi jumped off the ground, looked around, and listened carefully to the sound in the wind. After making sure it was safe for the time being, he walked forward towards the black fog that was rolling in.
After taking a few steps I started to get a little scared.
In order not to give himself the chance to look back, he gritted his teeth and ran away.
As he rushed into the thickest and darkest fog, he heard a faint sound behind him, like the gasping of someone with a blocked throat.
"Who!" Nail turned around.
"Big!" Guang Guang slammed the table.
"Small." said Fan Lu.
Guangguang turned over the cards in front of him, and Fan Lu also turned over the cards in front of him.
"Hey, I lost again?" Guangguang held up his chin and glanced at the caracal, "Boss, let's play cards. Lao Fan is too cunning."
The eldest brother lay on the sofa and closed his eyes.
Guang Guang didn't mind at all, and turned to look at Ning Gu: "Little Iron Ball? Can you play cards?"
Ning Gu was not in the mood to play, but in order not to arouse suspicion, he still replied: "No, how to play?"
"It's just guessing the size of the cards. It's very simple," Guang Guang said, "Odd numbers are small, even numbers are big, more even numbers mean bigger cards, more odd numbers mean smaller cards..."
The people in the main city are playing too silly, all big, small, big...
Ning Gu was already a little absent-minded, and he was listening in a daze. This series of big and small numbers reminded him of the sequence of the "key" that he had spent a long time memorizing yesterday.
When he mentioned this, he found that he seemed to have forgotten it again.
Ning Gu didn't care that Guang Guang was still talking. He quickly started to review the past in his mind, tapping his pocket with his fingers to help him recall.
Small, big, small, big… what is it… small, small, big…
"Iron ball?" Guangguang tilted his head.
Fan Lu turned his head and found that Ning Gu's eyes were distracted.
When he quickly stood up and prepared to go over, the boss had already jumped in front of Ning Gu. Then Ning Gu fell off the chair onto the boss and lay on the ground.