53
No one has ever thought about why the world is like this or why people live like this. These are "truths" that do not require thinking.
Lian Chuan knew as long as he could remember that this world would collapse and be destroyed one day, and there would be nothingness beyond the black fog.
Bugs need to be cleaned up, redundancies need to be cleaned up, illegal births need to be recycled, mutations need to be recycled, travelers need to be destroyed, bats need to be destroyed, and memories need to be reset if you see something you shouldn’t have seen…
He didn't know how many people had disappeared under his command.
No one knows how much memory has been erased.
There is no need to know everything.
Because that’s how hyenas live.
Whether it is the main city, ghost town, or Lost Valley, leaders or civilians, travelers or bats, experimental subjects or indigenous people, the disappeared body, the remaining consciousness...
That's how it is.
Everyone and everything is like that.
No reason needed.
And the collapse began.
Everything that was taken for granted, all that was “just right”, began to collapse, except the ground beneath our feet.
Lian Chuan has never worried about "who I am". It doesn't matter who I am, I just need to understand that I am myself.
But in the more than twenty years he lived, there was not a single day when he did not suffer pain, not a single day when he was free from fear. He used his invincibility to prove that he was irreplaceable. He used pain and fear to stay awake. Everything he did was just to survive.
He asked why.
Why me, why do I have to do this to survive.
Why
Who arranged all this.
Who is holding the marquee
Who is turning the marquee
Who decides to turn or stop, start or end.
Lian Chuan felt someone hit him on the back, but he quickly bounced back.
He withdrew his thoughts and looked back.
Ning Gu sat behind him, rubbing his face, looking tired.
"Going back to the shelter?" Lian Chuan asked.
"Uncle Crazy," Ning Gu looked at Uncle Crazy who was lowering his head beside him, "Do you want to stay here?"
"Where to stay?" asked the crazy uncle.
"Here," Ning Gu looked around, "this is no longer Tongue Bay, right?"
"We're almost at the northern border," said Uncle Crazy.
"Have you been there? The border." Ning Gu asked.
"I've been there," Crazy Uncle raised his head, "There's nothing there. The exit is not at the border. There's nothing outside the border. It's just empty."
"Then do you want to stay here?" Ning Gu asked again.
"I'm going to stay here," said Crazy Uncle, his voice getting lower and lower, "stay in this painting, follow the revolving lantern, and turn to the other side to take a look."
Ning Gu seemed to understand what he heard. He actually wanted Uncle Feng to go back to the shelter with him, but from what Uncle Feng said, he had no such plan. He did not force him to do so, as all travelers were free.
"I'm going to take the nails away," Ning Gu looked at the old ghost again, "What are you going to do with these... travelers?"
"Just leave them here," the old ghost said, "no one will hurt them again."
"Captain, won't they find this place?" Ning Gu asked, "If they want to use..."
"How much material is there here?" The old ghost laughed. "How can it be enough for his army?"
Ning Gu looked at him without saying anything.
"These are not used up yet, he won't risk going into the thick fog to look for them again," the old ghost stopped smiling and slowly turned to look at him, "The captain is a man of action, decisive, focused, and determined. He will definitely accomplish what he wants to do..."
"He already has an army?" Ning Gu asked.
"You'll see," the old ghost said, "you'll end up taking the same path as him."
"No one can help me decide." Ning Gu said.
"You've already made up your mind," said the old ghost.
"Yes," Ning Gu walked to Dingzi, took his arm and carried him on his back, "I've thought about it."
"What did you choose?" asked the old ghost.
Ning Gu glanced at him and said nothing.
"What did you choose?" Uncle Crazy also asked.
"I'm going to cut off that hand." Ning Gu walked in the direction he came from, carrying the nail on his back.
"What hand?" Crazy Uncle was stunned.
"The hand holding the marquee." Ning Gu said.
After crossing the bridge built by the indigenous people and walking for a while, Ning Gu stopped and glanced at Lian Chuan who was beside him.
"I can't pull two people." Lian Chuan said.
"I know," Ning Gu said, "I just want to ask you, do you know the way back?"
"You don't know him?" Lian Chuan was speechless.
"I'm not sure," Ning Gu said, "I wasn't paying attention to the road when I came here."
"Let's go." Lian Chuan continued walking forward.
"Are there any infected people nearby?" Ning Gu asked. Uncle Feng called the indigenous people who were infected by the experimental subjects infected people.
"No," Lian Chuan said, "Now the old ghost has told the natives to absolutely avoid contact with them, and the number of infected people will only decrease."
"You said, there are so many natives and infected people outside the shelter," Ning Gu frowned, "If the captain already has an army, where are they hiding?"
"Underground," Lian Chuan said, "If the aborigines really were people who adapted to the environment and survived in the last world, then where did they live before? Where were their houses?"
"Underground?" Ning Gu looked at him.
"There are many levels in the basement," Lianchuan said, "There are so many travelers in the shelter, but there are no underground buildings of this scale, right?"
"Are you trying to say... the basement belongs to the indigenous people?" Ning Gu was a little surprised.
“They once lived underground, adapted to the environment and left… If that’s the case,” Lianchuan said, “then there would be more underground vaults.”
"But where is it?" Ning Gu lifted the nail up. He had never carried nails before and didn't know that nails were much heavier than they looked.
"There are few or no indigenous people. It's not very far from the shelter, but travelers generally don't go there," Lianchuan said. "It's necessary to be safe and not be discovered, but also to reach the place where the car comes in the shortest time..."
"Metal cemetery." This was Ning Gu's first reaction. "But Dingzi and I always go to metal cemeteries and garbage dumps to look for things, and we haven't found any place to go underground. And there are already cracks there. If there are troops down there..."
"The leader made these for the travelers," Lian Chuan said, "He won't waste materials. Those materials are travelers, his companions, right?"
"Just say it directly." Ning Gu was a little anxious.
"When the crack appeared, he went to the material warehouse first. What made him give up the materials?" Lian Chuan turned and glanced at him. "There was something more important ahead. He wanted to transfer his troops because the basement under the metal cemetery might have been damaged."
Ning Gu took a long time to speak: "How did you know?"
"Guessed." Lian Chuan said.
"Are you so sure about your guess?" Ning Gu said.
"Because I think I guessed right." Lian Chuan said.
The crack that runs through the middle of the metal cemetery and divides the entire metal cemetery into two is still emitting electric light, just like what was seen before.
There was no way to get close, so there was no way to confirm whether Lian Chuan's guesses were correct, but for the first time Ning Gu became suspicious of the strange machines in the metal cemetery.
He has always wanted to know what is outside the black fog. A big part of the reason is that these machines that he has never seen before have no origin and can only come from outside the black fog, except for those thrown from the main city.
Seeing these things again now, he suddenly felt that what Lao Gui said was indeed true.
These machines once belonged to the indigenous people.
When they were more than a hundred meters away from Uncle Feng’s cabin, Ning Gu saw the team leader standing in the middle of the road facing the strong wind.
He hesitated for a few seconds, but still walked towards the leader with the nails on his back.
"Where have you been?" asked the captain.
"North." Ning Gu replied.
"Did you go with Lao Gui?" the captain asked again.
"Yeah." Ning Gu responded without mentioning Crazy Uncle.
"Perhaps someone can survive after the destruction," the leader looked at him, "but how long will it take for a person to go through suffering and endure pain to become a native like that?"
Ning Gu didn't say anything.
"Staying alive is not the only option," the team leader said. "Staying alive is the last option. Finding a way out, finding a new world, and allowing as many people as possible to live comfortably is the better option."
Ning Gu already understood the captain's thoughts.
Go find a new world, taking some travelers with you.
Back at Uncle Crazy's cabin, Ning Gu put some clothes on the ground and placed the nails against the wall.
"The main city is also looking for an exit, right?" He took off the goggles on Nail's face and stuffed them into his clothes.
"Yeah." Lian Chuan sat on the recliner.
"Even if there is an exit, it is impossible to take all the people in the main city with us, right?" Ning Gu asked, "It is even more impossible to take travelers and bats with us."
"No one knows what will happen if there is a real exit," Lian Chuan said.
"So the captain needs an army," Ning Gu said, "not only to compete with the main city, but also to carve out a way to survive in the new world."
"Yes." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu didn't say anything else. He couldn't imagine what would happen if that day really came.
Everyone wants to live, and many people will die in order to live.
The team leader and Li Xiang chose this path.
Lao Gui chose another path that he thought would avoid this fight.
And Lin Fan... Ning Gu felt that he still wanted to find a third way.
"The wind today is stronger than the previous few days." Lian Chuan closed his eyes on the recliner.
"Really?" Ning Gu stood up, walked to the door and stood in front of the crack.
The wind that blew in through the crack in the door carried black ripples and made it so that he couldn't open his eyes.
"The car is coming," he said.
"I want to go back to the main city." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu turned and looked at him: "What are you going back for?"
"Find the administrator." Lian Chuan said.
"There's no way they'll let you get close to the City Affairs Office," Ning Gu said. "You don't have a weapon or a uniform, and there's a limiter on your neck. Even if Lin Fan doesn't activate the black circle, it's hard for you to resist the firepower of the main city, right? I'm not sure when my ability will be useful..."
"Instead of going to the City Hall," Lian Chuan said, "let's go to Lost Valley."
"Go to Lost Valley?" Ning Gu was stunned. "How do I find the administrator in Lost Valley?"
"Poet," Lian Chuan said, "It is impossible that the main city does not monitor the Lost Valley, especially since Qi Hang's spiritual power is also in the Lost Valley."
"You want to contact the administrator through the poet?" Ning Gu walked up to him, "Is it possible?"
"Just let Aunt Chun know that the poet has woken up," Lianchuan said, "and she will understand."
"Who is Aunt Chun?" Ning Gu asked.
"Chun San," Lian Chuan opened his eyes, "the one who raised me, Lei Yu's wife."
"Just like the captain and me, right?" It was the first time that Ning Gu heard Lian Chuan talk about his private affairs.
"Yeah." Lian Chuan nodded.
Ning Gu suddenly became very curious. He sat on the armrest of the recliner and looked at Lian Chuan: "Is she good to you?"
"Very good." Lian Chuan said.
"What about Lei Yu? Is he good to you? What does he do?" Ning Gu asked again.
"Lei Yu is the captain of the cleanup team," Lian Chuan looked at him, "and he's very nice to me."
Ning Gu was surprised: "You were raised by the captain of the cleanup team and his wife?"
"Yeah." Lian Chuan responded.
"Then... your training, the training on Betelgeuse, your..." Ning Gu looked at him, "Do they know?"
"I know." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu was so shocked that he didn't say anything for a long time.
After a long while, he leaned forward and asked, "Are they really nice to you?"
"Within the scope of one's ability," Lian Chuan said, "everyone has things they must do, pain they must endure, and reality they must accept."
"There's no reason. The world is just like this, right?" Ning Gu said.
"Yeah," Lian Chuan looked at him, "it was like this before."
"What about now?" Ning Gu asked immediately.
"Where are you now?" Lian Chuan asked back.
"I've already said that, right?" Ning Gu seemed inexplicably proud.
"Yes, the savior." Lian Chuan said.
"I'm here," Ning Gu raised an eyebrow, "What's up?"
"You are sitting on my hand." Lian Chuan said.
"Huh?" Ning Gu was stunned for a second, then jumped up and found that Lian Chuan's hand was on the armrest of the recliner. He felt a little embarrassed because he had been sitting on his hand. "Why didn't you say anything? Did you press on the wound?"
"No." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu stood for a while and sighed: "Don't you ever chat with people?"
"What to talk about?" Lian Chuan asked.
"Just chatting," Ning Gu sat on the ground and glanced at Dingzi. "Dingzi and I usually go out together to play, find small things, and when we get tired, we find a place to rest and chat."
"What to talk about?" Lian Chuan asked again.
"It's just nonsense, there's nothing to say." Ning Gu glanced at him, "Come on, don't lie on the chair. We can't chat in this position."
Lian Chuan stood up and sat on the ground next to him.
"Lean on it." Ning Gu leaned against the wall behind him.
Lian Chuan also leaned back.
"Do you miss them?" Ning Gu asked.
"Who?" Lian Chuan asked.
"Chun San and Lei Yu," Ning Gu said, "When I go to the main city, I miss the captain and Ding Zi a lot."
Lian Chuan didn't say anything, he seemed to be thinking, and after a while he said, "I will think about it."
"Did they take you out to play when you were little?" Ning Gu turned his head to look at him. "When I was little, the team leader would take me out to play. He even made a small car for me, but I broke it after riding it."
"Yes." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu waited for a long time and found that Lian Chuan had finished speaking. He sighed and said, "That's it?"
"I can't remember clearly." Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu suddenly realized that when Lian Chuan was a child, maybe... He didn't want to recall it, and suddenly felt that it was a bit inappropriate for him to talk about this topic.
"Well," Ning Gu was a little embarrassed, and didn't know how to change the subject. After all, he was the one who pulled Lian Chuan to teach him how to chat. When they started chatting, he realized that Lian Chuan was not suitable for small talk at all. "Why don't you lie back down."
"What kind of car?" Lian Chuan asked suddenly.
Ning Gu took several seconds to understand what he was talking about, and quickly gestured: "It has three wheels, made of iron bars, and the wheels are also iron. You can move forward by digging the ground with your feet, but it's too bumpy when running, and I bite my tongue when I talk."
Lian Chuan didn't say anything.
Ning Gu was about to ask him if he didn't understand when Lian Chuan suddenly laughed.
And I couldn't stop laughing.
After laughing for a while, Lian Chuan turned around and looked at him: "There are also such toy cars in the main city, but they don't bite your tongue."
"Hey," Ning Gu looked at him in shock, "Lian Chuan, you look much better when you smile than when you don't."
"I'll look in the mirror and compare myself when I have time," Lian Chuan said.
Ning Gu laughed: "I have a mirror, I got it from Fan Lu."
"Stolen." Lian Chuan said.
"I took it!" Ning Gu glared at him, then smiled again, "Okay, I stole it."
Ning Gu didn't know where the mirror was stuck, and he searched for it in his small leather bag for a long time.
"How about you use this piece of iron..." He was interrupted by a whistle that pierced the sky above the ghost town halfway through his words.
The voice is high and mellow, with a sense of loneliness and ethereality, as if it comes from a distant place.
"The car is coming!" Ning Gu turned his head suddenly.
But he saw Lian Chuan, who was sitting against the wall, slipped to the ground, and the black circle around his neck seemed to be burning with black flames.