41
Li Xiang's defense time was over, and the black fog around him was instantly rolled back in the strong wind.
Everything in front of me returned to its original state within a few seconds. There were no sticks on the ground and no people piled up.
There was only a black squall.
Ning Gu rushed forward a few steps, fell to the ground, and touched the body that was closest to them.
Cold, but not stiff.
He wanted to see the man's face clearly, but the thick fog lingered between his breaths and he could not see anything.
"Is the nail here?" Ning Gu turned around and asked in a low voice, "Have you looked for him? Have you checked to see if he is here?"
"There are too many. It's impossible to see them all clearly," Li Xiang whispered. "Let's go, Ning Gu."
The wind has changed.
Other sounds were mixed into the monotonous whistle.
It sounded like a person who was having difficulty breathing was gasping for air, and a few sounds were coming from the throat.
"Let's go." The captain grabbed Ning Gu's arm and pulled him up.
"Have you checked those people at the edge?" Ning Gu stumbled two steps.
"Nail is missing here," the captain came close to him and said calmly, "Do you think he can survive under the hands of the natives, or do you think he can come back from there? Don't dwell on something that has no meaning! Do you understand?"
The panting in the wind suddenly became heavier.
"I understand." Ning Gu gritted his teeth.
The leader raised his hand and pushed the air wave in all directions: "Go!"
Ning Gu turned around and followed the team leader and Li Xiang, running back.
If Nail had not gone to the border, he would not have survived in Tongue Bay and would have certainly died at the hands of the Aboriginals.
If the nail reaches the border, it will not be able to survive and will only become another member of the body filled between those metal rods.
These are the two paths that the nail takes after entering the Tongue Bay.
There is no third rule.
Ning Gu ran hard, and the captain kept launching attacks in the gaps of Li Xiang's defense. Low roars kept coming from all around, disappearing, and coming back again.
What if there is a third way
Nail discovered the basement.
The leader and his men arrived.
A gray arm suddenly stretched out from the black fog, thin and long, with broken skin that seemed to cover the bones directly, and dense fine scales on the skin could be seen under the cold light bottle.
Ning Gu suddenly jumped up and kicked his arm hard in the air.
The arm retracted into the black mist.
The leader's attack continued.
"Don't hit them directly." Li Xiang shouted.
"No." Ning Gu replied.
Be careful and stay alive safely, only in this way can you know what happened to the nail, only in this way can you get answers to all the unknowns.
He no longer held out hope that someone would give him an explanation one day.
The Tongue Bay is still the same, and the rolling black fog still looks like a tongue, constantly emerging from the depths of the Tongue Bay, like a monster constantly looking for prey.
Li Xiang pulled Ning Gu over, with the cold light bottle almost touching his body, face, neck, hands, waist, ankles... He checked all the places that might be exposed and in contact with the natives, and finally stopped after making sure that his clothes were not damaged.
"Don't stray too far from the shelter these days," the team leader looked at Ning Gu, "the natives have been disturbed, and there will definitely be more metal cemeteries and garbage dumps. It's not safe."
"Yeah." Ning Gu responded.
"If you want to live with the old madman, you can live there," the group leader said, "but you have to keep an eye on Lianchuan and not move around in the ghost town. This is one of the conditions of the deal."
"How can I keep an eye on him?" Ning Gu said, "If he wants to leave, he will disappear in the blink of an eye."
"There is a solution," the leader walked back, "there will be a trial today."
"Trial?" Ning Gu was stunned. "Lian Chuan? Trial of what?"
"Except for you and a few of us," Li Xiang pushed him and asked him to follow the leader, "all the travelers want to kill him. Countless travelers have died at the hands of hyenas, and everyone wants to avenge their companions."
Ning Gu fell silent and walked quickly behind the captain in silence.
"If we want to save him from death," Li Xiang said, "we can only hold a trial, come up with a reason that everyone can accept, and provide a way that will make everyone feel that they will not be threatened by hyenas in the ghost town."
"What method?" Ning Gu asked.
Neither Li Xiang nor the team leader answered.
When I returned to Uncle Crazy's cabin, Lian Chuan was no longer sitting on the recliner. Instead, he was standing in the corner, holding a small iron can in his hand and smelling it.
"Are you so hungry?" Ning Gu was speechless. "I'll go find you something to eat."
"No need." Lian Chuan tapped the small tin can with his fingers. "Is this Uncle Feng's stuff?"
"Yes," Ning Gu walked over, "Where did you find this from?"
"It didn't flip over," Lianchuan said, "it just fell here."
Ning Gu took two seconds to react: "It doesn't matter if it's overturned. I don't think Uncle Crazy will come back... Besides, you stole rations in Lost Valley before, four boxes at that..."
Lian Chuan turned and looked at him.
"What's wrong with this jar?" Ning Gu quickly changed the subject.
In fact, when he entered the house, he wanted to tell Lianchuan what he saw in the Shewan, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
The scene at Tongue Bay had brought him such a huge shock that he was unable to think at all in this state. He needed to calm down and think clearly first.
Can you tell Lianchuan
The captain did not instruct him not to tell Lian Chuan about the She Bay incident, but he certainly knew that with his personality, he would most likely tell it. After all, no one was willing to help him find the whereabouts of the nail, and Lian Chuan was his only hope.
But why was there no explanation
Lian Chuan handed the small tin can to him: "Smell it."
"Does it stink?" Ning Gu immediately held his breath.
Lian Chuan didn't say anything.
Ning Gu tried to smell it, but didn't smell any strange smell. To be exact, he didn't smell any smell at all. So he lowered his head and put his face to the jar and took a breath.
Very light.
It was the smell that often lingered in Uncle Crazy's room before, and it was also the smell he had smelled in the Lost Valley. Hammer told him that it was the smell of tea.
"Tea?" he asked.
"Hmm," Lian Chuan took the jar under his nose and sniffed it, "He has tea leaves?"
"Yes, sometimes he would boil some water that I couldn't drink or look at," Ning Gu said, "It should be tea leaves, the same as the one I smelled in Lost Valley."
"Tea is just a legend," Lian Chuan said.
"Legend?" Ning Gu didn't understand. "It's hard to get, right? Hammer said there's water that tastes like tea leaves."
"There is none at all." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu was stunned.
Whether it is the main city or the ghost town, there are many legends about various animals, plants, and some things that are completely beyond our knowledge.
These legends are almost all passed down from generation to generation of main cities. Generation after generation, the old main city collapsed and the new main city was reborn, but countless clues were left behind and turned into legends, so everyone thinks that the exit is real.
"Which generation of the main city did the tea come from?" Ning Gu sniffed the jar, regretting that he hadn't snatched some from Uncle Feng. "One twisted line, or three twisted lines? Or a four-pointed star..."
"I don't know," Lian Chuan said, "No one knows how many generations the main city has."
Ning Gu held the jar in his hand for a long time and said, "What is the city logo of the main city now?"
"Infinity symbol." Lian Chuan said.
"What is the infinity symbol?" Ning Gu asked again.
Lian Chuan was about to speak, but he waved his hand again: "Forget it, I'm afraid I can't understand your explanation. Anyway, it's just a symbol for infinity, right?"
"Yeah." Lian Chuan responded.
"The main city is very ambitious, and wants to be endless..." Ning Gu said disdainfully, and after thinking for a while, he asked again, "What about the city emblems in the past? What do they represent?"
"I don't know." Lian Chuan said.
"Why are there four of me?" Ning Gu leaned against the wall.
"Yes, five." Lian Chuan said.
"...Yes," Ning Gu frowned, "Then am I considered a legend? In every generation of the main city, there will be someone who looks like me... Then will the others be like this too? There are five of you, five crazy uncles..."
"This is not the point." Lian Chuan interrupted him.
"What's the point?" Ning Gu asked.
"You are the only one in the portrait," Lian Chuan said, "The four Ning Gu were all painted at the entrance of the administrator's transport vehicle."
"Are we all going to see the administrator? So what does the administrator look like?" Ning Gu stared at Lian Chuan, "You mean, I have seen him before, right?"
"I don't know." Lian Chuan replied.
"What do you know?" Ning Gu was somewhat helpless. "You are the number one hyena in the main city, a precursor of Betelgeuse, and this is how you are treated? You know nothing?"
"I'm just a weapon," Lianchuan said, "but I can guess."
"Then guess one." Ning Gu sighed.
"No one has seen those four paintings except you," Lian Chuan said.
"Huh?" Ning Gu was stunned for a moment, but soon reacted, "You were expelled to the ghost town for a conspiracy, right? But the conspiracy didn't include taking me back. If they knew I was the fifth one..."
"He still has some brains." Lian Chuan said.
"Not as smart as you are," Ning Gu glanced at him, "You will be on trial soon, use your good brain to think about what to do. You have to make the travelers let the hyenas go, and you have to make them believe that it is safe for hyenas to live in the ghost town... You will definitely suffer."
"Yeah." Lian Chuan was very calm.
"You're used to it, right?" Ning Gu smiled.
"Well," Lian Chuan added calmly, "find a place where no one is."
"Why?" Ning Gu reacted as soon as he asked, "I know, but... isn't it a bit too mean? It's like I'm afraid of trouble, and if they go too far, I can still stop them."
"Protect yourself first, don't be too nice to me." Lian Chuan said.
As far as Ning Gu could remember, there had never been such a serious trial in the ghost town. The travelers were very free and did not obey orders. Although the team leader had a high prestige, he would only intervene when serious incidents occurred.
In the past, trials could only be called "everyone discussing the result together." For example, when Ning Gu was 15 years old, a traveler accidentally killed an ordinary traveler with his ability, and everyone gathered together to decide how to deal with him.
There is no precedent for the trial of hyenas in Ghost Town.
After Lian Chuan was taken away, Ning Gu sat in Crazy Uncle's hut.
He sat for a while, then stood up, turned around twice and walked out the door.
Crazy Uncle's cabin is far away from the shelter, and with the headwind, no movement from the shelter can be heard here, but one can see that the direction of the clock tower has lit up. This is a lot of cold light bottles gathered together, with the bonus of human lighters.
The travelers from the three shelters were probably already crowded near the bell tower.
Ning Gu returned to the cabin and sat for a while, still feeling a little uneasy, although he knew that the suffering Lian Chuan had experienced in the main city for so many years was not at the level that a ghost town could experience.
But now Lian Chuan is his most direct hope to get close to all the unknown. Even if he has to protect himself and not let anyone find out that he can feel Lian Chuan's feelings, he is still a little worried.
He knew too well the hatred that travelers had for the main city and the hyenas.
If they fail to reach a consensus, even if the captain and his three companions work together, they will not be able to control so many powerful travelers.
Although he was wearing the black cloak left by Uncle Crazy in the hut and was at the outermost circle of the crowd, even if he was a cat on the roof, it would be difficult to see the specific situation on the clock tower side, but Ning Gu still hid.
Even if you can't see clearly, you can still hear the general idea.
It was still dark outside the range illuminated by the cold light bottle. Everyone's attention was on the clock tower, so he could escape before anything happened.
"Quiet!" The leader raised his hand.
The travelers, who were so enraged by the sight of Lianchuan, couldn't calm down for a long time. Not to mention this kind of scene, even when they encountered hyenas in the main city and needed to keep quiet to save their lives, not everyone of them could keep quiet.
You can only assume that the lower the volume, the quieter it is.
The leader spoke the second sentence after the shouting stopped and the buzzing continued: "The companions present today will face a difficult choice. You need to choose patience for the sake of the ghost town."
"Travelers are never patient!" someone shouted.
“We’ve lived in a ghost town for so many years,” the group leader said, “which is a manifestation of endurance.”
The man lost his voice.
"Everyone knows this person, it's Lian Chuan," the captain looked at Lian Chuan who was standing in front of the bell tower with his hands and feet tied, "He was expelled from the main city..."
"Why not kill him!" Another voice rang out, "You are standing here today because you intend to keep him! No need to beat around the bush, just speak directly!"
"Then just say it straight," the captain straightened his back and raised his voice, "This man is our capital to fight our way back to the main city and recapture our homeland."
Ning Gu couldn't hear clearly what the captain said, but he could see that the situation could be stabilized for the time being.
He breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to change his posture, but his legs were numb from squatting.
Just as he put his hands on the roof and was about to sit down, he saw a pair of feet beside him.
In shock, he first took a step to the side, then looked up and found that the owner of the feet was Lin Fan.
“Don’t run.” Lin Fan stood still. “If someone sees us, they’ll take their anger out on you.”
Ning Gu hesitated for a moment, but did not run away. He just looked at Lin Fan: "Why are you here?"
"I'm responsible for patrolling," Lin Fan said, "in case anyone causes trouble."
"Oh." Ning Gu responded.
"I can't see clearly here." Lin Fan said.
"I don't want to watch it anymore," Ning Gu stood up, "I'm going back to Uncle Feng."
Lin Fan took out something and handed it to him: "This can see clearly."
Ning Gu took it and it was a telescope.
This thing is quite rare. The team leader also has one and he used to play with it when he was a child.
He thought he could see far away, see the garbage dump, the metal cemetery, the Tongue Bay, and places far away that he couldn't go to...
It turned out that I was too ignorant.
No matter which direction you go, all you can see is black fog and the cold lights in the fog that guide the way.
If used now, the cold light bottles gathered in the clock tower would allow him to see the situation clearly.
However, Ning Gu did not pick it up to look at it, but just put the telescope back into Lin Fan's hand.
It was a bit strange that Lin Fan was on patrol. He had always been a recluse, and daily affairs were usually handled by the team leader and Li Xiang. He rarely even went out, let alone patrol.
Even in an occasion like today, it was reasonable for him to patrol, but it was too strange that he suddenly appeared beside him silently.
"I'm going back." Ning Gu turned around.
"Don't worry," Lin Fan said, "I won't follow you, nor will I go to the old madman's place to monitor you."
Ning Gu turned around.
"It's not like there has never been any crowd control before," Lin Fan said, "but if there are other abilities beyond this, we can't let people know about it easily."
Ning Gu suppressed his inner shock and said nothing.
At times like this, he envied Lian Chuan, who could remain expressionless no matter what he faced.
"I wouldn't know either." Lin Fan turned around and jumped off the roof silently.