Extra 1 Shadow
Li Feng stood at the entrance of the tunnel at the edge of the woods. Below him were the remains of a completely withered black jungle. The superficial changes in Yuncheng started with the nest that appeared here.
Now everything is gone, and the above-ground part of the black jungle has been cleared, leaving behind mottled black spots as if burned by a wildfire.
There are not many healthy green trees left, and they all look a little weak. The Urban Construction Bureau wants to clear all these trees at once. Clearing the entire area will save time and will be much easier in terms of operation.
But Li Feng insisted on preserving all the green trees that were still alive and surrounded them with fences.
Since Yuncheng is a mining area, there are almost no plants in both the inner and outer cities. Li Feng has always wanted to create some fresh green. The cleared forest land will be used to build houses, and with these preserved trees, the settlements will not need to plant any more trees.
"In fact, we can arrange for more people to live in the inner city." Chen Dang said, "These new settlements are quite resource-intensive."
"We can't touch the inner city anymore. I've cleared out more than half of the private warehouses. If we arrange for outsiders to move in, it will be a mess," Li Feng said. "No matter how bad these people are, they have been the cornerstone of Yuncheng for so many years. We can touch them, but not like this."
"Yeah." Chen Dang responded.
"You never stick to your own opinion." Li Feng said.
"It's mainly because you persisted too well. I couldn't persist." Chen Dang paused and added, "You make more sense."
"The biochemical body also flatters." said Li Feng.
Chen Dang smiled and said, "I have another flattery to say. Do you want to hear it?"
"Speak." Li Feng said.
"You may not even be the smartest among humans..." Chen Dang said.
Li Feng glanced at him: "Did you just analyze it?"
"But you do know humans very well, and you also know biochemical organisms that are infinitely close to humans," said Chen Dang.
"I just understand myself," Li Feng said, "Human nature is the same, it's just a matter of whether you are willing to admit it or not."
Chen Dang looked at the forest below and asked: "Have you been in Yuncheng?"
"Well," Li Feng pointed to the north, "I lived over there when I was a kid, in the collective kindergarten in the inner city."
"Is there such a place?" Chen Dang was a little surprised.
"We were the last batch," Li Feng said. "After we grew up, the school was closed down. We couldn't even accommodate ten children."
"Don't you have parents?" Chen Dang asked.
"Well, I'm a biochemical body." Li Feng said.
Chen Dang laughed: "Haven't you ever met your parents?"
"No," Li Feng answered straightforwardly, but paused and added, "Maybe I have seen it. I think I may have seen it, but I hope I haven't."
"What do you mean?" Chen Dang asked.
Li Feng didn't say anything else.
At the age of ten, or a little older, or a little younger.
The City Defense Bureau's reserve patrol team was made up of teenagers of similar age. His dream at the time was to join the City Defense Bureau and become a formal patrol member.
The patrol route of the reserve team is the same as that of the regular patrol team. They follow behind the regular patrol team, with a interval of two to three hundred meters, along the edge of the woods in the north of the city, and then westward, along the woods all the way to the entrance of the outer city tunnel.
When those suspected infected people appeared, he was still immersed in his fantasies about future patrol work.
Several people who came out of the woods did not look infected at first glance, but their expressions and figures already showed the status of infected people.
No one in the reserve team had actually come into contact with an infected person, so they all panicked.
That was the first time he saw that kind of out-of-focus, dazed look, which carried a chilling aura of death.
When the other children were retreating in panic, two of them walked towards him as if they had a target.
The skin had not yet begun to change color, but a low and difficult roar came from the throat.
He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the two men who were walking towards them.
He had clear terms in his mind regarding contact with infected people, how close the distance would be to risk infection, what degree of contact would be to risk infection, living organisms, fungi, death...
He pulled the trigger.
Two shots, a man and a woman, two suspected infected people, fell to the ground one after another, both were hit in the center of their eyebrows, black blood flowed all over their faces. This was the result of several months of shooting training.
But a second before the woman was shot and fell, a clearly enunciated word came out in her scream.
"wind."
Li Feng frowned. The word he was still unsure about was this one.
Have you ever heard this word? Is this the word you heard
He had never asked about his parents. He only vaguely knew that they were expatriate workers from Yuncheng. He had never seen them since he could remember, and never saw them again in his life.
"Director Li." Chen Dang's voice interrupted his memories.
Li Feng glanced at him.
Chen Dang pointed at the small pet hanging next to him, and a phone call came in.
"Director Li," it was Qu Shen's voice, "The teacher's trial class is ready. It will start in about twenty minutes. The people from the Education Bureau have already arrived."
"Come on," Li Feng turned around and walked back, "Put my position in the corner, away from their people."
"Okay." Qu Shen said.
"What's wrong?" Chen Dang asked.
"Illiterate people don't want to get too close to them," said Li Feng.
"Hmm?" Chen Dang glanced at him.
"I just robbed someone's private warehouse," Li Feng said, "I feel guilty and can't find anything to say. Although the order came from Mr. Long, I still did the dirty work."
"Wow." said Chen Dang.
"Don't learn from those dishonest people." Li Feng said.
The school in the outer city has been built, and it will start after the trial classes are completed. During this period, a lot of students have been enrolled, and some even come from the inner city to study.
However, the students are not just children. It should be said that more than half of them are not children. Most of them are young people, and some are in their thirties or forties.
As long as you are willing to go to school, all schools in Yuncheng will accept you.
When Li Feng walked into the classroom, Li Rui was standing on the podium.
The kid wasn't at all stage-shy. There were a bunch of "cultured people" sitting below and he felt quite relaxed standing there.
"Have you read the Four Great Classics?" Li Rui asked, "Have you learned any ancient poetry?"
"No." Li Feng sat in the corner and answered for everyone.
"This foundation is a bit weak." said Li Rui.
"They are all illiterate, Teacher Li," Li Feng said, "I suggest you start by learning to read."
"I looked at the student roster," Li Rui said, "and there are many adults who find learning words boring at first and should start with stories and learn a few words from each story."
Li Feng raised his eyebrows: "Not bad."
"Then let's learn a simple one today," Li Rui turned around, took a pen and started writing on the whiteboard next to him, "Random."
"Don't curse." Li Feng said, "Teach in a civilized manner."
Li Rui turned his head and looked at him: "Director Li, please don't affect the classroom discipline."
"I'm not cursing," Chen Dang whispered in his ear, "grass, plant."
"The grass on the plain withers and grows green every year. Wildfires cannot burn it all, but it grows again with the spring breeze," Li Rui wrote and read as he wrote, "Distant fragrance invades the ancient road, clear green connects to the deserted city, and I send the prince away again, with a feeling of parting."
"This calligraphy," Li Feng covered his mouth with his hand and whispered to Chen Dang, "isn't it written very well?"
"Well, it's more difficult to write like this on the board." Chen Dang said.
"Who did he learn this from?" Li Feng asked, "His sister?"
Li Feng has met Li Xia twice and can tell that he is a well-educated refugee. But he is just a refugee after all. It should not be easy to teach Li Rui to this level.
Wei Yuan was also well-educated, but Qiu Shi had been with him for twenty years and still couldn't write fluently.
"Jiang Cheng," Chen Dang said, "a service-oriented biochemical being."
"Not on the list." Li Feng said.
"He didn't come," Chen Dang said, "He stayed in Benquan."
"Oh." Li Feng nodded.
"Do you remember all the names on the list?" Chen Dang asked.
"How is that possible? I can't remember. I'm not considered smart among humans," Li Feng said, "but if you tell me a name, I can probably tell if it's on the list."
Chen Dang smiled.
"Director Li, Brother Chen Dang," Li Rui called their names, "You two should get out."
The people from the Education Bureau who were sitting in the front turned their heads and looked at them.
"Hmm?" Li Feng looked at Li Rui.
"Disrupting class order." said Li Rui.
"Teacher Li Rui," a person from the Education Bureau said, "Please pay attention..."
"No problem," Li Feng stood up, "Teacher Li did a great job, let's go out and talk."
"Don't go out and talk. Go out and stand in the corner as punishment." Li Rui raised his chin and looked at the two of them.
"I..." Li Feng seemed to see a corpse collector who had picked a fight with him before. He paused and nodded, "Okay."
Chen Dang looked at him.
"Let's go," Li Feng walked out of the classroom, "Stand in the corner as punishment."
Chen Dang followed him out of the classroom, and the two stood side by side in the corridor outside, looking at the playground downstairs.
"Qiu Shi left," Li Feng lit a cigarette and held it between his lips, "and here comes Li Rui. This kid is his real brother, right?"
Chen Dang laughed, "Qiu Shi sent another postcard this morning. We have reached the edge of the second city. We may have to stop for two days to search. This progress is about the same as the previous estimate. We will be back in more than two months."
"Let him come to school." Li Feng said.
"He probably won't agree," Chen Dang said, "Xing Bi can teach him."
"Forget it," Li Feng said, "Xing Bi has been with him for a long time. What has he taught him? I have been led astray by him. You biochemical bodies can't do the same."
"After all, we will always use humans as a reference sample," said Chen Dang.
"Who is your sample?" Li Feng asked.
"At this stage?" Chen Dang thought for a moment, "No."
Li Feng looked at him with a cigarette in his mouth without saying anything.
"It should have been you," Chen Dang leaned against the corridor railing and looked at the people doing the final cleanup on the playground below, "but you are too complicated."
"I'm complicated?" Li Feng smiled.
"Well, you look simple, you just want to survive," Chen Dang said, "you just want your world to continue as it is."
"Isn't it?" Li Feng said.
"Yes, but it's not easy to do," Chen Dang said, "You use the most complicated human nature to do the simplest thing."
Li Feng didn't say anything.
"Qiu Shi is a very pure human being, sincere, passionate, direct and determined," Chen Dang said. "You admire him because he is another side of you."
"Do you know what many people think of me?" Li Feng glanced at him.
"I don't know," Chen Dang said with a smile, "but I can guess, cold-blooded, unscrupulous, good at taking advantage... I can say a lot."
“It’s hard to describe in words.” Li Feng said.
"You also know idioms?" Chen Dang was a little surprised.
"What? Am I an illiterate in your eyes?" Li Feng said.
“…Yes.” Chen Dang answered very sincerely.
"There are still some books in Yuncheng, although not many," Li Feng said, "I used to read them occasionally."
"Don't use such words on yourself," said Chen Dang.
"I am just summarizing your description." Li Feng said.
"When someone stands in the light, there must be someone standing in the darkness," Chen Dang said, "Qiu Shi is the hero standing in the light, although he doesn't want to be a hero. You are the shadow standing in the darkness behind him. One day in the future, if someone opens the history of Yuncheng, you may not even be listed as a villain."
"I don't care about those." Li Feng said.
"Well," Chen Dang nodded, "this is your appeal."
Li Feng didn't say anything and just glanced at him.
"This is for you." Chen Dang took out a small object from his pocket and handed it to him. "This is what the nomads used to exchange for equipment. I found it in a camp in 249."
Li Feng took it and took a look at it, and found that it was made of metal. It was quite heavy in his hand, and it was a golden puppy half the size of his palm.
"It's just a decoration, and it doesn't have any practical use," Chen Dang said. "I think you really need something like this. It's useless and meaningless. It's just for fun."
Li Feng looked at the puppy in his hand and was silent for a while: "Chen Dang."
"Hmm?" Chen Dang responded.
"Don't expose your weaknesses too much," Li Feng said, "others will take advantage of them."
"get out of class is over!" Li Rui announced the end of the class in the classroom.
Li Feng glanced at the time. Fifteen minutes.
"A class is only fifteen minutes?" Li Feng originally planned to give enough face to Teacher Li and at least make him stand here for half an hour. He didn't expect that Teacher Li only taught this class for fifteen minutes.
"Qu Shending's time." Chen Dang said, "These people are refugees and vagrants. They have never been restrained in their lives. They can't sit still for too long, and it's difficult for their brains to absorb too much information at once. One story, one poem, and a few words at a time is quite suitable."
"Okay," Li Feng said, turning to look at Li Rui who was walking out of the classroom, "Teacher Li, how do you feel?"
"Excuse me, Director Li, Brother Chen Dang," Li Rui trotted over, "I don't mean to embarrass you, this is just a trial class, the official from the Education Bureau told me that everything should be conducted as a formal class."
"He's not wrong," Li Feng said, "You did a good job."
"What if there are homeless people who don't obey?" Chen Dang asked, "Not everyone may be as obedient as me and Director Li."
"I have my own methods," Li Rui narrowed his eyes, "I know how to deal with these people."
Li Feng laughed: "What a vicious look."
"Hey," Li Rui smiled a little embarrassedly, "Director Li, do you have a postcard for me?"
"Yes," Li Feng sighed and glanced at Chen Dang, "It was sent this morning. It's a fresh postcard."
Chen Dang threw out the pet and projected a photo onto the wall next to him.
There was no one in the photo, only Qiu Shi and Xing Bi's car parked diagonally at the end of a bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a complex of high and low buildings, and the rising sun could be seen between the buildings.
Write a sentence below.
I stand in the present, but my heart is looking towards the distance.
"This must have been taken by Brother Xing Bi, and this statement must have been thought up by him." Li Rui said, "Brother Shi doesn't have such a mood."
"Be more tactful, you are not a biological body." Li Feng said.
There was nothing wrong with what Li Rui said. After all, in the video sent back on the first day, Qiu Shi’s first sentence “Hello everyone, I’m Li Datou” left a deep impression on Li Feng, and he was immediately brought back to the difficult days when everything began.
After leaving school, Li Feng asked the driver to go directly to the laboratory. Zheng Ting's fungus removal experiment had been going on for several days, and he went to check on the status almost every day.
Zheng Ting is very important to Xing Bi and the others, especially after they experienced the clone in the research institute. To them, Zheng Ting is not only their former team leader and teammate, but also a symbol of some kind.
As soon as the car arrived at the entrance of the exhibition hall, Xiao Chong reminded that there was a call from Mr. Long.
"Mr. Long." Li Feng cut the call to the headset.
"Director Li, please come to my office when it's convenient for you," Mr. Long said with a hint of fatigue, "I have something I want to discuss with you."
"I'll be there right away." Li Feng said and gestured to the driver.
The driver turned the car around.
"Don't worry," Mr. Long said gently, with a barely perceptible hint of humility, "Come back when you have time."
"I'm free now." Li Feng said and hung up the call.
"Am I going too?" Chen Dang asked, "Should I go to the lab first?"
"Come with me," Li Feng said, "I need someone to give me advice on many things."
"I'm standing next to you and coming up with ideas that you 100% reject." Chen Dang corrected him.
Li Feng laughed: "I need someone to prove that I am right."
Mr. Long sat behind the desk, his hands clasped on the table, looking at him.
Behind Mr. Long, there were two level 2 secret guards standing on his left and right. They were arranged by Li Feng to serve as Mr. Long's 24-hour bodyguards.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Long?" Li Feng sat down in front of him.
"I've been in poor health lately," Mr. Long said. "I've been running out of energy. It seems like I'm getting old."
Li Feng looked at him without saying anything.
"I'm here to discuss something with you. I may need someone..." Mr. Long didn't finish his words.
Li Feng interrupted him: "Mr. Long, Director Wu will arrange for someone to give you a comprehensive physical examination and give you the most appropriate plan based on your physical condition."
"I mean..." Mr. Long looked at him, "I'm old enough to retire."
"No previous company leader has retired at retirement age," Li Feng said, "and you will not retire at this age either. Yuncheng needs you. This chaotic world that is just starting to get a little better needs you."
"Li Feng," Mr. Long leaned his elbows on the table and rushed towards him, staring at him, "Don't make me angry."
"You can get angry at any time." said Li Feng.
"I'm stepping down. Cloud City doesn't need me, and the world doesn't need me either. The only one who needs me is you," Mr. Long said. "A puppet, a puppet who takes the blame for you."
"You are the one who enjoys everyone's respect right now," said Chen Dang.
"I don't want it!" Mr. Long glared at Li Feng, "Li Feng, I want to resign! I quit! I've had enough."
"All decisions will be copied to your office," Li Feng said. "If you have any objections, you can raise them. If I do anything wrong, you can point it out at any time."
"So?" Mr. Long leaned back in his chair. "So?"
"As long as everyone is not disappointed in you," Li Feng said, "you are the leader of Yuncheng, the city lord that everyone trusts."
Mr. Long didn't say anything.
"But don't worry, your decisions won't always be right, nor will they always win the support of the people," Li Feng said. "One day they will be disappointed in you, and then you can get sick, resign, or even die of illness."
Mr. Long laughed and said, "Li Feng, you can do it."
"Thank you Mr. Long for your cultivation." Li Feng stood up, bowed to Mr. Long, turned around and walked out of the office.
The author has something to say:
Let’s start with the extra chapter about Li Gouguan.
The next extra chapter will be the day after tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)