After landing, none of the cars in the convoy stopped, and they all accelerated towards the bridge.
Qiu Shi held onto the handle on the roof and kept staring at the screen. When he saw Sang Fan and Feng Zhi pull Li Rui and the others into the car, he still couldn't relax. He could see that because of the weight of the four people, the height of the car body when it jumped up was not as high as before.
"Can they..." Qiu Shi asked in a low voice.
Before he could finish his words, he saw the car land on the ground, but it was obviously landing a little far back.
"Fuck!" he yelled.
"You can pass." Ji Sui said.
The wheel got stuck on the edge of the fracture and black smoke came out due to slipping.
Qiu Shi was ready to get out of the car to rescue people, and Xing Bi said, "This car has a rescue design."
Then the car stuck on the edge suddenly bounced upwards, as if the people in the car suddenly jumped up together. At the upward moment, the car rushed forward and onto the bridge.
"Safe." Sang Fan's voice came from the headset.
Qiu Shi breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and relaxed for a long time. He did not open his eyes until the gunshots outside the car gradually became sparse and finally disappeared.
"Get out of the situation," Xing Bi said, "Don't stop yet, just go forward."
"It's about ten minutes' drive across the bridge to the city," the soldier in charge of driving the lead vehicle reported, "and the map shows there are quite a few buildings."
"First enter the city, then find a suitable building to rest." Xing Bi said.
"receive."
"Sang Fan," Qiu Shi said, "How are Li Rui and Da Xiong doing?"
"I'm fine," Sang Fan replied. "I'm crying."
"Are you and Feng Zhi injured?" Qiu Shi asked.
The body of a biochemical being has no special protection and can be injured just like a human body, but it has a strong self-healing ability. Qiu Shi knows that with a steel cable of that thickness and such a huge pulling force, both the hands pulling the cable and the waist that is under the most stress will be cut, and the cut is estimated to be not too small.
"He's injured," Sang Fan said, "Feng Zhi is more seriously injured than me."
"It's within the range of self-healing." Feng Zhi said.
"Two injections are needed for repair," Xing Bi said, "There are medicines in the medical kit."
Qiu Shi closed the map in front of him and looked at the streets outside the window and the buildings that were gradually getting taller. This was a city that was completely covered by plants and vines. From time to time, black branches and leaves that had been eroded by fungi and died could be seen.
"Xing Bi." Qiu Shi looked at Xing Bi.
"Hmm?" Xing Bi responded.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me I could save him this way?" Qiu Shi asked in a low voice.
"I'm not sure." Xing Bi said.
This answer made Qiu Shi stunned. He didn't expect this.
"It's not that I'm not sure whether we can save them. If we can determine how they stayed there, I would be sure," Xing Bi said softly, "but for a 15-year-old human child who is determined to die, I have no way of judging what he will do after he's done it. I didn't even judge before that he would use his life to exchange for a peaceful person for Li Xia and the people in the store."
Qiu Shi sighed softly.
indeed.
Not only Li Rui, he himself actually did not expect that Daxiong would choose to do such a one-way thing with Li Rui.
"Human beings are indeed very complex," Xing Bi looked out the window. "Every person has a different face. Every accidental experience may change a person's path."
Qiu Shi held his hand.
The convoy traveled smoothly on the spacious streets. Scattered roadblocks could be seen not far away on the streets. During the long years after the city was abandoned, many people must have come and gone.
But now the place they passed by was like a deserted city, with no people and no sound.
Their motorcade passed through the streets without even startling a bird.
Qiu Shi was distracted for a while, then thought of a question. He looked at Xing Bi and said, "So, God of War, were you also quite nervous just now?"
"Yes," Xing Bi responded, "I just didn't jump up and down as much as you did, but I was jumping up and down in my heart."
"You're the one jumping up and down!" said Qiu Shi.
Xing Bi smiled and said, "These two kids are the gods of war."
"Well," Qiu Shi frowned, "Will Li Xia think they are dead?"
"That should be it," Xing Bi said, "I'll contact Xu Jie when we rest later. It will be faster for them to send a small team over. If Li Xia and the others are willing, they can go to Xingchuan and investigate the situation in that camp."
"Li Rui said there is a biochemical body here," Ji Sui said, "I don't know if it is still in Benquan City. If it is, we may be able to learn something about it."
"What if they are hostile?" Qiu Shi said.
"The only enemy of the biochemical body is the symbiont. Choose symbiosis or not," Ji Sui said. "This is the most fundamental issue concerning survival. There are only two choices."
"They were driven there by the biochemical bodies," Ji Sui said, "Maybe we can run into them."
Qiu Shi could feel that Ji Sui hoped to encounter more biochemical beings. Although they were stronger, their numbers were still a minority compared to humans, even after humans had been ravaged by natural disasters and man-made calamities time and time again.
No matter how close they are to humans in thought, they are always aware that they are not humans. Those wandering biochemical bodies that do not belong to anywhere may feel even more lonely.
After entering Benquan City, the convoy discovered a relatively intact three-story building with no signs of recent activity.
This should have been a residential building in the past. Of course, there would not be any furnishings inside, but structures such as toilets and stoves could be seen.
The convoy was divided into two groups and parked in front and behind the small building.
Qiu Shi jumped out of the car and ran directly to the last car.
The car door opened and Sang Fan and Feng Zhi jumped out.
"You two go and take care of the wounds right away." Xing Bi said behind Qiu Shi.
"Don't cry anymore," Feng Zhi whispered as he walked past Qiu Shi, "but don't talk either."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded.
The rear door of the car was opened, and the things that were originally piled in the trunk were sorted aside. Li Rui and Daxiong leaned in the innermost corner, lost in thought.
"Third Master." Qiu Shi called Li Rui.
When he heard his voice, Li Rui moved.
Qiu Shi got in the car, walked over to the two men, squatted down, and put his arms around them.
"Brother Shi." Li Rui paused, perhaps unable to hold back, and started crying again while hugging him.
Qiu Shi was not good at comforting people. Even when Xing Bi cried, he didn't know what to do. Now he could only pat their backs gently with his hands.
"It's okay. Thanks to you two, we were able to come here," Qiu Shi said, "Xing Bi will contact our people immediately. They will go find Sister Xia and tell her that you two are okay. You two are real gods of war."
"Really?" Li Rui asked.
"Yes, it's true." said Qiu Shi.
Li Rui loosened his arms and rubbed his eyes with his sleeves: "I mean, God of War, is it true?"
"Really." Xing Bi said while standing outside the car.
"It's true," Big Bear sniffed, "We are the gods of war."
"Get off the car first," Qiu Shi said, "We're going to stop and rest for half an hour. I need your help with something."
"No problem." Li Rui shook his head, stood up, patted Daxiong, and jumped out of the car.
Before the bridge was blown up, traffic between the suburbs and the urban area was normal. Li Rui had lived here for five years and was familiar with the entire Benquan City.
After resting for a while in the small building, Li Rui's eyes and nose were still red, but he had slowly recovered from the previous life-and-death battle. Now he was standing beside Sang Fan and Feng Zhi, watching Ji Sui treat their wounds, disinfect them, and give them injections to promote self-healing.
"Does it hurt?" Li Rui asked, "How long will it take to recover?"
"It doesn't hurt," Feng Zhi said, "Those injuries within the self-healing range are minor and will heal quickly."
"Oh," Li Rui leaned over to Feng Zhi's waist and looked at the wound, frowning, "It's quite deep. Da Xiong weighs more than 160 kilograms, which is too heavy."
"Why don't you look at my injury?" Sang Fan said.
Li Rui was a little embarrassed: "You are a woman, I think your waist is not in good condition."
Sang Fan stretched out his hand in front of him: "It's on your hand."
"Thank you, sister." Li Rui looked down at her hands.
"You're welcome," Sang Fan said. "I've already thanked you several times."
Although "Factory Settings" was younger than Li Xia, perhaps because Sang Fan was the only woman present, she reminded him of his sister. After he said thank you, tears welled up in his eyes again.
"Ah." Sang Fan stood up and walked out of the room, "Don't cry."
Li Rui stood there without moving, with his head down.
"Third Master," Xing Bi leaned against the wall and spoke, "Let's discuss the current situation."
"Yeah." Li Rui immediately raised his head, his emotions already suppressed.
"You and Daxiong can't go back to the bridge for now," Xing Bi said, "you can only stay here first..."
"I'll go with you." Li Rui said.
Xing Bi looked at him without saying anything.
"I'll go with you too." The big bear, who had been squatting in the corner without making a sound, stood up.
Qiu Shi didn't know how to answer. It was not impossible to take them along, but their trip was not safe, it could even be said to be dangerous. What kind of crisis would they face after finding the research institute? Would Team 249 hunt them down all the way? These were all unknowns.
It might not be safer for these two children to follow them than to stay. His original plan was to take them back to Cloud City when he returned.
"You are very familiar with Benquan City, right?" Xing Bi did not give a direct answer, but just asked the question.
"Yes," Li Rui said, "I have been here for five years, and Daxiong has been here longer than me. When we were able to cross the bridge, we came here every day."
"Looking for supplies in warehouses," said Big Bear, "and occasionally robbing people."
Li Rui glanced at him.
Xing Bi smiled and said, "Is this the biological being you saw here?"
"You can't usually see biochemical bodies. As you know, they want to hide, and ordinary people can't find them." Li Rui searched on the ground and picked up a stone. "I can take you to find him, but there can't be too many people."
"What kind of biochemical body is it?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Ordinary ones, not secret guards like Brother Xing Bi and his gang," Li Rui looked at Xing Bi, then at Ji Sui and his gang, "You are all secret guards, right?"
"Yeah." Xing Bi nodded.
"That's amazing," said Big Bear, "I didn't expect to be able to see the Submarines alive, and there are so many of them, and I was even saved by the Submarines!"
"You are the ones who saved these secret guards," Xing Bi said, "You are even more awesome."
Big Bear thought about it and then chuckled.
"Don't take people's politeness seriously," Li Rui said, "Don't take it seriously in your heart or out loud."
"Yeah." Big Bear responded.
Li Rui walked to the wall and started drawing lines on it with a stone.
"This is the main street. There are former shopping malls, office buildings and so on." Li Rui drew boxes on the road. "There is also a square here, which is quite large, but everything is gone. After Benquan City was abandoned, many groups of people must have come here, so many places have things from different eras, but the useful things are basically gone. People have picked them up..."
"People are mostly gathered in this area," Li Rui drew a circle on the southern part. "The biochemical body said that this area used to be a commercial district, so there are a lot of underground spaces, such as warehouses and parking lots. It's very suitable for hiding from lightning, so people are generally here."
"That biochemical body..." Qiu Shi asked.
"He usually stays here," Li Rui circled the north side again, "There's nothing here, only collapsed tall buildings. If someone hides in there, no one will be able to find him."
"Can we go now?" Qiu Shi said.
"Yes," Li Rui threw the stone to the ground, "I'll take you there. It's not far from here."
"Drive a car..." Qiu Shi was interrupted by Li Rui before he could finish his words.
"Don't drive," he said. "You'll be too conspicuous if you drive. There are vagrants in this area. They're as scary as hyenas. It's best not to get entangled with them. Otherwise, even if you kill them all, you'll be easily exposed."
"Okay." Qiu Shi nodded, "Xing and I will go with you."
"Well," Li Rui took out a small paper tube with a small stick stuck on it from his pocket and threw it to Da Xiong, "Tell me if there is any situation."
"Okay." Big Bear held the small paper tube and pounded it on his chest. Once the two of them recovered, led by Master Li San, they returned to the state of Zuoshandiao and his followers.
"What is that?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Signal beacon," Li Rui walked out the door and led them north along the street, "Light the fire if anything happens, whoosh-bang! I'll be able to hear it."
Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi.
"The sky rocket was used by our ancestors to play with during the New Year," Xing Bi said. "Can we still find something like this now? It probably doesn't make any noise anymore."
"It's a beacon, not a monkey," Li Rui said, "It was made for me by the biochemical."
"Really?" Xing Bi thought for a moment, "Interesting."
It is indeed very interesting, a biochemical being making a gadget from two hundred years ago and giving it to a child two hundred years from now.
"He's quite interesting," Li Rui said, "but he's not as strong as you guys. He was the one who told me about the Undercover Guards, saying that there are very few of you... I'm bringing Brother Xing Bi with me this time to open his eyes."
Benquan City was indeed not a very safe place, and there had probably been a fight not long ago. When walking through the ruins, Qiu Shi saw corpses. Based on his experience, they were no more than half a month old.
"The vagrants are fighting," Li Rui explained calmly, "They are especially... like wild animals. It seems that there is nothing they are afraid of, and they are not afraid of death."
"I feel like you're not afraid of death either," Qiu Shi said.
"Of course I am afraid," Li Rui said. "It depends on what you are comparing it to. If you are talking about sending you across the river, it is a deal we made. You helped me, so I must keep my promise... And if it weren't for my sister, I would have died many years ago. As long as I can keep them safe, I am not afraid of death."
"If we hadn't pulled you into the car, what would you and Daxiong have planned to do next?" Xing Bi asked.
"Jump off the bridge." Li Rui said.
"He might be beaten to death before he could reach the water, or he might be killed if he fell into the water," said Qiu Shi.
"Yes," Li Rui said, "but we can't just stay on the bridge and wait to die. Let's jump first. Who cares? Anyway, the bastards are dead and my sister is fine."
Qiu Shi patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.
"Brother Shi," Li Rui turned around, "You are not a soldier, right? You look different from those soldiers."
"Well, I am a..." Qiu Shi thought for a moment, "a corpse collector."
Li Rui looked at him for a long time before saying, "Why would you collect corpses after they die? If the refugees can't find anything to eat, they will eat up all the corpses before they can even cool down."
"That's where we came from." said Qiu Shi.
Perhaps because it was daytime and there had just been continuous gunfire on the other side of the bridge, neither the vagrants and refugees nor the residents active nearby showed up, and the Benquan City they passed by seemed like a deserted city.
The old and dilapidated buildings show the former prosperity, as well as the ups and downs they have gone through. From the tiny sounds made when they stepped on the ground, this place is like a scene behind the door of some memory, a place that one can never return to.
Qiu Shi could not see any people or biological entities on the map in front of him.
But when they reached the location of the collapsed tall building that Li Rui mentioned, Xing Bi whispered, "Yes."
"Can he feel you?" Qiu Shi asked.
"For an ordinary first-level biochemical body, that may not be the case." Xing Bi said.
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded. As long as the biochemical organism was there, it would be fine. If they wanted to know about the situation of the biochemical organisms and symbionts nearby, they had to rely on the only insider they could find at the moment.
In addition to looking at the map to see if there were any small bright spots of biochemical bodies, Qiu Shi's attention was more attracted by this group of buildings.
"There are so many buildings," Qiu Shi said, "what are they used for?"
"It's a residential area," Xing Bi said.
"Fuck," Qiu Shi sighed, "So many people squeezed together..."
When they reached a dried-up fountain, Li Rui stopped and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll go look for him in the garden in front. He may not know the situation and dare not come out."
"Okay." Qiu Shi said.
Li Rui walked forward and disappeared behind a building. After a while, he was out of the range of the map.
"Is he safe?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Well," Xing Bi looked around, "there is indeed no one else here."
Taking advantage of the fact that Li Rui was not around, Qiu Shi asked in a low voice: "If he and Daxiong want to go with us, should we take them with us?"
"Take him with you," Xing Bi looked in the direction Li Rui went, "He looks a bit like you."
"Really?" Qiu Shi asked, "I'm not as fearless as he is."
"You are not afraid of death," Xing Bi said, "You have died before."
"Fuck." Qiu Shi laughed.
"If we leave him here, he might try to find a way to go back to Li Xia, which would be even more dangerous." Xing Bi said, "Take them with you. They are much stronger than ordinary children."
"Okay." Qiu Shi nodded.
"Just wait for me to say this." Xing Bi said.
"You are very perceptive." Qiu Shi said, "I don't want to save everyone, but they are really... Why don't all humans die? Just look at Li Rui and the others and you will know."
When Li Rui's small bright spot reappeared on the map, another small bright spot followed behind him.
"Here it comes." said Qiu Shi.
"Yeah." Xing Bi slowly walked towards the direction they were coming from.
Li Rui waved at them and said something to a man standing in the shadows behind him wearing a black hooded long coat.
Qiu Shi followed Xing Bi and walked up to them.
"This is the biochemical body I told you about..." Li Rui looked back, "I don't know his name, I just call him Brother."
"Brother," he pointed at Qiu Shi and Xing Bi again, "These are the ones I told you about, the ones who saved Da Xiong and me, Qiu Shi and Xing Bi."
"Xing Bi?" The old man raised his head.
His hat almost covered his entire face, and when he raised his head, Qiu Shi couldn't see his appearance clearly.
"Yes." Xing Bi nodded.
"I've opened my eyes." The elder brother stretched out his hand, "Jiang Cheng."
Qiu Shi discovered that he stretched out his left hand.
Xing Bi also stretched out his left hand and shook hands with him.
Perhaps because he noticed Qiu Shi was observing his right hand, Jiang Cheng said again when shaking hands with him: "My right hand is gone."
“…Oh.” Qiu Shi stretched out his left hand and shook hands with him.
"Let's talk inside," Jiang Cheng said, "the sun is too strong."
"He can't stand the sun very much." Li Rui said, "Just like a vampire."
"What nonsense," Jiang Cheng said, "My system is damaged. I am intolerant to ultraviolet rays."
Jiang Cheng took them into the basement of a building next door. There were simple tables and chairs inside. On the table were a few paper books and a lot of supplements.
Xing Bi glanced at the bag of supplements, then looked at Jiang Cheng: "You can still get these."
The logo on the supplement bag was from the previous base, the base that had been destroyed in the war and where Xing Bi had lived for a long time.
"Well, someone gave it to me," Jiang Cheng took off his coat and threw it aside, "You should be familiar with these goods. They are all produced by old machines in the base."
"Yes." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi discovered that Jiang Cheng's right arm was empty from the elbow joint downwards.
"I heard that you wanted to find out something?" Jiang Cheng sat down next to the table, leaned back in his chair, supported his face with his left hand, and looked at them through the gaps between his middle and index fingers.
This Jiang Cheng is very good-looking, but he is completely different from the impression that Xing Bi and the others gave to Qiu Shi.
Even if we don't compare it with the Submarine Guards, it is very different from the first-level biochemical bodies like Qu Shen, Cheng Gu or Chen Dang who are not Submarine Guards.
"What did you do before?" Qiu Shi couldn't help but ask, "What type of biochemical body?"
"Me?" Jiang Cheng smiled, first glanced at Xing Bi, then looked at Li Rui, "There's a child here, let's talk about this when we have a chance."
Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment, then he understood what he meant and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
I will update the page early today for my ancestors. I have to go out in a while and correct the typos when I come back.