40
There are a lot of messy things in Uncle Crazy's room. Every time Ning Gu comes over, if he is not there, Ning Gu will find food and drink in his room.
But today, I found nothing except half a pot of water that had been there for who knows how long.
This is not really in line with Crazy Uncle’s style.
Uncle Crazy doesn't interact with people in the shelter. Every once in a while he will look for merchants like the Land King to exchange some food, so there is always stock in the house.
Ning Gu sat back in his chair, frowning.
Where is Crazy Uncle
It's really strange that he suddenly disappeared at this time and seemed to have taken away all the supplies.
Lian Chuan closed his eyes on the recliner, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or pretending to be asleep.
Ning Gu didn't plan to test it again. He would wake up in seconds if he fell asleep anyway, so he wouldn't get any advantage.
He was also very tired, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep soon after.
I didn't know how much time had passed when I opened my eyes again. Lian Chuan was still leaning in the recliner with his eyes closed.
Ning Gu leaned over to see if he was awake.
"There's someone." Lian Chuan said with his eyes closed.
Ning Gu jumped up and picked up a stick.
"It was Sister Qi that I met in the pub." Lian Chuan still had his eyes closed.
"Alone?" Ning Gu asked.
"Yeah." Lian Chuan responded.
"I'll go check it out," Ning Gu whispered, "She should be fine."
"Yeah." Lian Chuan responded again.
Sister Qi was startled when Ning Gu suddenly opened the door and walked out.
"Oh," she jumped back, "are you really here?"
"Why are you here?" Ning Gu asked.
"The shelter was in chaos overnight," Sister Qi lowered her voice, "I thought you could come here... Is that hyena in there?"
Ning Gu didn't hesitate at all: "He's not here. I don't know where he went."
Sister Qi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "When I was lying, you were still rolling around with nails in the garbage dump."
Ning Gu sighed, neither admitting nor denying.
"Here," Sister Qi handed over a leather bag, "food, and two bottles of water."
"Captain... do they know?" Ning Gu took the leather bag.
"He's not deaf," Sister Qi crossed her arms and looked him up and down, "Is he okay?"
"No." Ning Gu shook his head.
"That's fine," Sister Qi glanced in the direction of the shelter, "I have to go. If people know I'm here to see you, I won't be able to get by anymore."
Ning Gu was somewhat touched, but also a little apologetic: "You didn't have to come."
"Listen to me," Sister Qi looked at him and said softly, "Don't trust anyone easily."
Ning Gu didn't say anything.
"Anyone." Sister Qi turned around and disappeared into the black fog in a few steps.
Ning Gu returned to the hut and took out food from his leather bag: "Want to eat? It's almost the same as the rations, but it doesn't taste good."
Lian Chuan took the food, looked at it, took a piece... and put it in his mouth.
The taste is very similar to the food processing technology of previous generations in the main city, perhaps it is the technology brought from the main city back then.
"You slept well last night... The captain is taking me to Tongue Bay today. He may come to find me later." Ning Gu sat on the chair and bent one leg to step on the chair. "The nail disappeared over there. The captain said he entered Tongue Bay."
"Where is Shewan?" Lian Chuan asked.
"The ghost town border closest to the shelter." Ning Gu said.
"What about other borders?" Lian Chuan asked again.
"I don't know. It's very far away." Ning Gu thought for a while. "No one has been there. It's mainly because there are too many indigenous people. The farther you go, the more there are."
"I have cleaned up experimental subjects that are very similar to K29," Lian Chuan said.
"K29? Aboriginal people?" Ning Gu lowered his eyes. "Are you saying that the captain sent it?"
"Not sure. K29 is a number, which means there is a sample in the main city. It's not certain whether it was left behind or sent by the team leader." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu was not comforted by this answer. After all, there were also travelers who were sent there, and that was something Ning Gu could not accept.
"Do you think something happened to the nail?" After a moment of silence, Ning Gu raised his head and asked.
"Yes." Lian Chuan replied.
"Is he dead?" Ning Gu asked.
Lian Chuan was about to speak, but he quickly waved his hand: "No need to answer."
Lian Chuan didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and ate all the food without leaving any for him, and didn't even ask him if he wanted to eat some.
Ning Gu didn't take the opportunity to ridicule him. If Lian Chuan ate and drank well, he would recover faster, which would be good for everyone.
After Lian Chuan arrived at the ghost town, he spent all his time sleeping except for the fight he had. He didn't have the chance to ask a bunch of questions.
After eating all the food and drinking the two cans of water in his leather bag, Lian Chuan leaned back in the recliner, but did not close his eyes to continue sleeping.
Ning Gu waited for a while, and when he opened his mouth, Lian Chuan spoke: "Ask."
"...Oh." Ning Gu paused, "Are you stripping me of my prison so that I can see something?"
"I saw something I didn't remember." Lian Chuan said.
"You were in this state when I saw the secret experiment in the Lost Valley, right?" Ning Gu asked.
"Well," Lian Chuan looked at him, "So Qi Hang must have spent a long time in the training department. This is one of the training methods of the training department, and it is also consistent with the method used by Betelgeuse."
"I saw a metal corridor," Ning Gu said. "Several people in white uniforms led you. You were wearing blue pajamas."
Lian Chuan raised his eyes to look at him: "You are going for the matching training."
"I don't know. In the end, I heard about Betelgeuse's awakening and preparations," Ning Gu said. "These are not the main points... The main point is that I saw the painting."
"Painting?" Lian Chuan tilted his head. "What painting? The matching training is in the training department. There are only paintings in the commander's office."
Ning Gu recalled the scene at that time and felt a chill on his back. He took a breath and pointed at himself: "Me."
Lian Chuan looked at him without saying anything.
"That's me in the painting. Four of me, the same... No, different," Ning Gu frowned, "four different me, the face is the same, but everything else is different."
"In the corridor?" Lian Chuan asked.
"Yes, there wasn't one at first, but you suddenly turned your head," Ning Gu said, "and I turned my head as well, and I saw four of me hanging on the wall. Four! You really don't know that feeling, it was so scary!"
Lian Chuan leaned back in the recliner, looking at the roof of the cabin as if he was thinking, and did not move for a long time.
"Hey!" Ning Gu stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him, "Let's talk before you go to sleep."
"Four...are there any differences?" Lian Chuan slowly sat up straight, "Can you..."
"No." Ning Gu.
Although it was a bit difficult, Ning Gu still found a pen in Uncle Crazy's room and squatted by the wall.
This pen is not a real pen, but a hard black stick that can rub black lines on the wall, just like the "painting" on the wall next to it.
That is the caracal painted by Uncle Crazy.
He took a look and found that the general idea of the drawing was correct. Although it was just a circle representing the body and four vertical bars representing the legs, the small circle representing the head had two points, which should be the ears, and there were three short lines on it, which were the small black hairs on the tips of the caracal's ears.
Uncle Crazy has seen a caracal.
Ning Gu always felt that many of the things he said were not crazy.
It’s a pity that no one knows where he has gone now.
"Draw it." Lian Chuan stood behind him, holding up the cold light bottle.
"Don't rush me!" Ning Gu grabbed the pen and pointed the tip of the pen at the wall.
Fortunately, Lian Chuan did not ask him to draw the four Ning Gu, but only asked him to draw the four different marks on the four identical doors in the background.
"Don't hold a pen like a knife," Lianchuan said, "use your fingers..."
"How about you come?" Ning Gu turned and looked at him.
"You continue." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu turned his head, poked the tip of a pen on the wall, and drew a circle tremblingly.
Because the drawing was not really round, he had to explain: "This is a circle."
"I suddenly realized it." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu turned around and looked at him again: "What do you mean?"
"Painting." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu poked the tip of his pen on the wall again and drew a horizontal wavy line in the circle, and continued to explain: "This line is not straight, it is twisted."
Lian Chuan was silent for a second: "Next, don't draw a circle, just draw the inside."
"Okay." Ning Gu nodded, poked the tip of the pen on the wall, and drew three identical wavy lines, "This is the second one..."
He was preparing to draw the third one, which was a bit difficult. When Ning Gu was thinking about how to draw the four-pointed star, Lian Chuan squatted beside him and took the pen from his hand.
Ning Gu turned and looked at him.
Lian Chuan drew a four-pointed star on the wall.
Ning Gu was stunned.
"Is it this?" Lian Chuan asked, and the pen fell on the wall again, drawing a vertical line. "And this, right?"
"…Yes," Ning Gu stared at him in surprise, "You remember? What is this?"
"No need to remember it," Lian Chuan looked at the four figures on the wall, "This is the emblem of the main city."
"City emblem?" Ning Gu was surprised again, "Why haven't I seen it in the main city?"
"The city emblem can only be seen when you go to see the administrator," Lian Chuan said, "The black door in the painting contains the transport vehicle that takes you to see the administrator."
"What do you mean?" Ning Gu stopped thinking because of shock.
Lian Chuan turned his head and looked at him: "Those four paintings are of four different main cities. The same door has different signs on it."
"What do you mean?" Ning Gu continued to think blankly.
"Four generations of main cities," Lian Chuan said, "four Ning Valleys."
Ning Gu half opened his mouth and uttered no sound.
"The commander is here." Lian Chuan threw away his pen and stood up.
Ning Gu also stood up and was about to go out when Lian Chuan raised his leg and kicked the wall. The sole of his shoe slid across the wall, and after a flash of tiny sparks, the four symbols painted on the wall disappeared.
Lian Chuan glanced at him and said, "Except you and me, no one else can know this."
"Yeah," Ning Gu responded, took a breath and slowly exhaled to calm himself down, then turned and walked towards the door, "Just stay here and don't go out. If Uncle Crazy comes back, he will know who you are... I guess he won't come back."
Lian Chuan didn't say anything, sat back in the recliner and closed his eyes.
The head of the group and Li Xiang stood outside the house, holding cold light bottles in their hands.
Ning Gu walked up to the two of them in silence.
"I'll ask someone to rebuild your house," said Li Xiang.
"It's okay," Ning Gu said, "I'll stay at Uncle Feng's place first. It's far from the shelter and it's not likely to cause trouble."
Li Xiang sighed.
"Are we going to Shetou Bay?" Ning Gu looked at the team leader.
"Yes." The captain turned around and walked forward quickly.
The wind was very strong, so Ning Gu put on his goggles, took out his hat from his pocket and put it on, pulling the brim down to above his eyes.
After walking behind the captain for a while, he pushed the brim of his hat back to his forehead.
He didn't know why, this was a place he was very familiar with, but now it made him feel extremely uneasy, as if there was something hidden in the black fog.
"Have you eaten?" Li Xiang asked.
"No," Ning Gu said in a muffled voice, "I'm not hungry."
“It’s unlikely that we’ll find the nail this time,” Li Xiang said. “We’ll just take you to see where he disappeared. We found his goggles there.”
Ning Gu turned his head suddenly.
Li Xiang took out a pair of goggles and handed them to him.
Ning Gu's hands were shaking when he took it. This was the pair of goggles with red edges that he had exchanged for from the Lost Valley.
He took off his goggles and replaced them with this one. His hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the goggles.
The road under his feet was familiar. He had walked it countless times, and countless times with Dingzi, but this was the first time he walked it with the team leader and Li Xiang.
I can't describe the feeling in my heart.
After Li Xiang handed him the goggles, the three of them stopped talking and just walked forward.
Ning Gu felt like he was a little dizzy.
This was clearly the place where he grew up, and it was clearly the place he had visited thousands of times since he was a child. But now, wherever he looked, everything seemed unfamiliar.
Everything has changed.
When the wind suddenly became stronger, the black fog became so thick that it began to gather and twist in clumps.
We have arrived at Tongue Bay.
The leader turned and looked at him: "Follow us closely, don't go by yourself."
"Yeah." Ning Gu nodded.
The team leader and Li Xiang protected him one in front and one behind, and walked towards the black tongue that was constantly rolling up.
The black fog around was getting thicker and thicker, and in the end, it was almost impossible to see the human figures.
Ning Gu knew that if he walked another hundred meters forward, there would be a downward slope on the right and an almost invisible iron door.
That's the basement.
The basement holds former travelers.
They are no longer travelers, said Crazy Uncle.
Uncle Crazy didn't ask him whether he had been to the basement or how he got in. He seemed not surprised at all by what he saw.
The team leader did not walk towards the basement, but stopped after passing the slope.
"It's right here," Li Xiang whispered behind him, "where I picked up the goggles."
Ning Gu looked around.
Nothing could be seen clearly; everything was obscured by the dancing black fog that was constantly blown up by the strong wind.
Ning Gu gritted his teeth and controlled his urge to shout "Nail" loudly.
The thicker the black fog, the more it is a paradise for the indigenous people. The warmth from their bodies will attract these phantoms in the darkness, and the sounds will bring even more danger.
"Have you ever asked me," the captain said in a low voice, "where is the edge of the ghost town and what is outside the black fog?"
"Yeah." Ning Gu responded softly.
"You are not the only one who wants to know," the leader said, "Many travelers want to know what kind of world we live in. If it is destroyed one day, will we have anywhere to go? Is there any exit from this world..."
Ning Gu was silent.
"Do you want to see it?" asked the captain.
"What?" Ning Gu looked at the back of his head in surprise.
"What is the border? What is beyond the Black Mist?" the leader said. "It is the path that those curious pioneers have walked."
Before Ning Gu could answer, the captain had already walked forward into the thicker black fog.
"Follow me," Li Xiang whispered, "Pay attention to your surroundings."
Ning Gu walked quickly forward and caught up with the team leader.
He had never been to such a deep place. The wind was still strong, and the black fog was still strong, but the smell he could smell was beginning to seem strange.
The ground beneath my feet gradually became rugged, as if I was walking on a black iron wasteland.
After walking forward for a while, Ning Gu's leg hit something hard.
He lowered the cold light bottle and saw a black stick deeply inserted into the ground. He reached out and grabbed the stick and shook it, only to find that the stick seemed to be integrated with the ground and could not be moved at all.
"We're here." said the captain.
Ning Gu quickly looked forward.
"It's only a few seconds," the leader said. "You have to watch carefully. Remember, we will alert the natives and we must flee immediately."
"Oh." Ning Gu didn't understand what the captain meant, but he still stared at the front.
"Li Xiang." The captain slowly raised his hand.
"Yeah." Li Xiang responded.
The captain's hand pressed down suddenly.
Ning Gu felt the vibration under his feet, and the air wave caused by the vibration instantly exploded from the captain's feet. All the black fog was lifted at this moment, rolled into black waves, and quickly retreated to the surroundings.
Li Xiang immediately released his defense, and the black fog seemed to be blocked by an invisible cover within a semicircle around them.
The cold light bottle illuminated the surroundings.
The world covered by black fog suddenly appeared in front of Ning Gu.
The long and short black metal sticks stuck on the ground looked like the ruins of a metal cemetery.
And between these sticks, there were... people.
Almost filled all the gaps.
Travelers who lost their lives.
"These are..." Ning Gu's voice was hoarse, "What?"
“No matter how far we go, until we can no longer see them,” Li Xiang said, “their bodies will eventually appear here.”
"No one knows what's over there," the captain looked at Ning Gu, "Those who leave will eventually come back here and become a body that will never decay or move again. They're not dead, but they'll never wake up again."