"What is a hot air balloon?" Qiu Shi asked.
"That's it." Xing Bi pointed to the basket in the side hall.
"We're back to the same old story. What is that thing? A hot air balloon." Qiu Shi was a little helpless.
"Have you ever seen a balloon?" Xing Bi asked.
"I have seen them," Qiu Shi said. "I have seen the ones in Yuncheng. Yuncheng doesn't have hot air balloons like this anyway."
Xing Bi walked to the door of the side hall and opened it. When Qiu Shi walked in, he found that the ceiling of this side hall could be opened, and there was an operating table next to it for controlling the opening and closing of the roof.
"Can this thing fly out?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Well," Xing Bi began to walk around the basket to check the equipment, "Let me see if there is any fuel left. There should be some."
There was an opening on the basket, and Qiu Shi stepped into it. The basket was quite large and looked like a basket, but it was not actually made of bamboo or wood. Qiu Shi knocked on it and found it was made of metal.
There are several gauges on the wall of the basket, altitude, temperature and the like.
"How high can it fly?" Qiu Shi asked.
"It's very high," Xing Bi said, "but today we won't fly too high or too far."
"This thing has no direction control?" Qiu Shi quickly discovered the key point, "Does it float with the wind?"
"Yes." Xing Bi said.
"Then we'll be sitting ducks if we go out," Qiu Shi said. "We'll just hang our heads on them and shoot them at will."
"Yeah." Xing Bi responded with a smile.
"Okay," Qiu Shi nodded. "It's exciting."
After checking the fuel, Xing Bi took several fuel bottles into the basket and fixed them around. Then he began to check a large piece of colorful cloth spread on the ground next to it.
"This is a balloon, right?" Qiu Shi leaned on the edge of the basket and looked at him. "It's been so many years. Can it still be used? It will break once it is inflated."
"This is different from the ones they play with outside. This material is synthetic fiber from the laboratory." Xing Bi pulled up the colored cloth, shook it, and pressed it back to the ground. "It's designed for the military."
"Who's playing outside?" Qiu Shi asked.
“…Those ordinary ancestors back then.” Xing Bi said.
"Were there a lot of these things in the past?" Qiu Shi was a little curious. He came out of the basket and squatted beside the cloth to study it.
"It's a very common entertainment facility," Xing Bi glanced at him, "There are many attractions to play."
"Really?" Qiu Shi said.
In fact, it should not be difficult to make a simple one. The flying suit they used before was a toy from the past. It was used for playing, but it cannot be used for playing after being copied now. The Nomads used it to cross the river and launch sneak attacks, and they used it to attack the symbiote camp.
It is not difficult to replicate a hot air balloon, but it seems to rely solely on wind power to control its direction. This method is difficult to use in combat. It is a large target, inconvenient to move, slow to take off and land, and its positioning is probably not very accurate...
But if it's just for fun, no one would be interested in surviving in this doomsday world.
"What's wrong?" Xing Bi asked.
"No." When Qiu Shi turned his head to look at Xing Bi, the vague feeling of melancholy quickly dissipated.
The only connection between this hot air balloon and him is the connection between the past and present Xing Bi. What he is squatting here looking at is the time long ago and Xing Bi who wants to take him to experience his past.
"Go up," Xing Bi raised his chin towards him, "get ready to take off."
"So fast?" Qiu Shi immediately stood up, ran to the basket and jumped in.
Xing Bi took a blower and started blowing at the ball skin on the ground, then pressed a button on the control console next to him.
"Watch out for your head," Xing Bi said, "I don't know if a piece will be broken and fall off if you move."
The roof above my head made some creaking sounds and slowly moved to the side. The ceiling of this side hall was not transparent. As it moved, the night sky slowly appeared above my head and the wind blew in from above.
The ball skin on the ground slowly swelled up and turned into the shape of a water drop. Xing Bi took out a flamethrower and sprayed it into the ball a few times. The hot air balloon slowly stood up and floated into the air.
"Wow!" Qiu Shi was a little excited at this moment and shouted.
The balloon rose out from the opened roof. The moment the drawstring fixed to the basket was stretched straight, Qiu Shi could feel the basket shaking slightly.
"It's about to fly! Come up quickly!" he yelled at Xing Bi.
"It can't fly, turn on the burner." Xing Bi pointed upwards.
Qiu Shi looked up and saw two thick flamethrowers above with knobs at the bottom. He turned it and heard the sound of ignition. Then a huge bang was heard in the air and flames spurted out of the tubes.
"Fuck!" he yelled.
The balloon was quickly inflated by the heat wave. The upward force stretched the ropes very straight. The basket was shaking all the time, giving the illusion that it would take off at any time.
Xing Bi pressed the button on the operating table, and several buckles that secured the basket popped open at the same time.
The basket started rising instantly.
Qiu Shi was so shocked that he didn't have time to figure out whether this was an accident or whether he should jump out, but Xing Bi had already rushed over, grabbed the edge of the basket entrance, and then flipped sideways in.
"Fuck your ancestors!" Qiu Shi cursed.
"Let's go, little grandson." Xing Bi closed and locked the door of the basket, turned around and waved at him, "Let's go to the moon."
The moment the basket left the side hall, the wind blew over and the entire hot air balloon began to fly out diagonally along the wind.
"Fuck!" Qiu Shi grabbed the edge of the basket and stretched his head out to take a look. If he was standing on a cliff at this height, he wouldn't feel much, but hanging in the air, it was completely different, "Fuck!"
"Actually, this time is not suitable for hot air balloon flying," Xing Bi stood beside him and held his hand, "The wind is too strong and the airflow is unstable."
"The wind is a little weaker now than before!" said Qiu Shi.
"Go up a little more, hold on tight." Xing Bi grabbed the metal rod above and began to adjust the burner. The flames continued to spew out, making a rumbling sound.
"I don't want to say it," Qiu Shi held onto the edge of the hanging basket, "but I'm a little scared."
"It's okay," Xing Bi came over and hugged him from behind, bringing him to the middle of the hanging basket, "Sit down."
After Qiu Shi sat down and couldn't see around him, he felt less nervous.
"Look at the moon." Xing Bi smiled.
"I can see the moon from the rooftop," Qiu Shi stood up again, "I've already come up here, so it's a waste if I just look at the moon, right?"
Xing Bi smiled and said, "Well, there's an old saying, since we're here, we're here."
"Now that we're here." Qiu Shi nodded, feeling that this old saying was very philosophical.
After the balloon rose for a while, it was about to fly out of the base. Xing Bi stopped the burner. Without the roar of the flame, the surroundings became much quieter, and even the wind died down.
"How high is it?" Qiu Shi walked to the side of the hanging basket holding the pole.
"Less than 500 meters." Xing Bi said, "More than 480."
“Fuck…” Qiu Shi’s hands holding onto the hanging basket tightened suddenly, but his eyes were still fixed on the distance and he was unwilling to look away.
He didn't know why Xing Bi wanted to play this, but if he wanted to come up again, it would probably be for the scenery he had never seen before.
The moonlight was so bright that he could see very far away. The entire city, dyed silver by the moonlight, was at his feet.
This is a perspective that has never been seen before, the same perspective as the moon.
Countless high-rise buildings and roads that seem to have no end are so huge and quiet under the night sky. Looking down on a city, even an abandoned city, can be such a shocking feeling.
"It's really beautiful." Qiu Shi said softly.
"Yeah." Xing Bi was beside him, holding the hanging basket with one hand and holding his waist with the other, "Are you still scared?"
"I can't take care of it." Qiu Shi stared into the distance.
"Is it cold?" Xing Bi asked.
"I can't take care of it." said Qiu Shi.
Xing Bi laughed.
"Did you come up here often before?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Not often, that's why I want to come," Xing Bi said, "This is an entertainment facility for human staff and their families. It's a welfare benefit. We rarely get to play."
"You're really stingy," Qiu Shi said, "If you don't let me play, then don't play. At worst, I can wait 200 years and play as I please."
Xing Bi turned his head and kissed the tip of his ear.
Qiu Shiye turned around and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. He wanted to kiss him a few more times, but to be honest, just by turning his head, he felt a little weak under his feet.
"I've never been so high before," Qiu Shi said. "How high is it now?"
"More than 400. Without the fire, it won't keep rising." Xing Bi hugged him and slowly led him to the other side of the hanging basket. "When the air in the ball above slowly gets colder, it will go down."
"How can we get back to our original position?" Qiu Shi asked, "This thing can't stay in place."
"If you dare, stick your head out and take a look," said Xing Bi.
"Hold me tight." said Qiu Shi.
"Yeah." Xing Bi grabbed the waist of his pants.
"No," Qiu Shi looked back at him, "If I fall out, can you hold me back so that I don't fall naked?"
Xing Bi didn't say anything. He pulled out a safety rope from the bottom of the hanging basket, buckled it around his waist, and then came over to hug Qiu Shi's waist: "Is this okay? If I fall out, I'll be left naked."
Qiu Shi was stunned for two seconds, and couldn't help laughing: "Are you sick?"
"Take a look." Xing Bi said.
"Yeah," Qiu Shi leaned his head out while holding the edge of the basket. The moment he looked down, he felt like he was flying. He quickly raised his head and said, "Fuck."
"Did you see it?" Xing Bi asked.
"What did I see?" Qiu Shi said, "Nothing. I just felt like I was flying and felt a little dizzy."
"Useless doomsday guy." Xing Bi said, "Take another look."
Qiu Shi stuck his head out again and looked down. This time he saw a thin silver steel cable at the bottom of the basket. Following his gaze, the cable continued to extend and disappeared at the roof of the building in the distance where they took off.
"Fuck, is there something holding it?" Qiu Shi sighed, "I was wondering why it stopped flying after reaching here."
"Well," Xing Bi said, "It's just for fun. You can't really fly away."
"How long can this fuel last?" Qiu Shi asked, leaning back on the edge of the basket.
"Two hours." Xing Bi said.
"If there is no rope, can it fly very far?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yes." Xing Bi nodded.
Qiu Shi didn't say anything.
"You can try it later." Xing Bi said.
"Don't rush to answer." Qiu Shi smiled.
"Untie the rope and let it fly. See where it flies to." Xing Bi said.
"Just the two of us?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Why," Xing Bi narrowed his eyes, "Who else do you want to take with you?"
"That's not what I meant," Qiu Shi said. "I just wanted to make sure it was just the two of us. I won't take anyone with me, and you won't take anyone with you either."
"Who can I bring, Li Feng?" Xing Bi said.
"Fuck," Qiu Shi laughed for a long time, "I can't get over this."
"Just the two of us." Xing Bi said.
"Yeah." Qiu Shi went over, hugged him and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Be more formal." Xing Bi said.
"Hmm?" Qiu Shi looked at him.
Xing Bi moved closer, paused for a moment, and kissed him on the lips very seriously.
The breathing was as intense as the wind, interweaving in the ears.
The feeling of emptiness in the feet makes it hard to tell whether the slight dizziness is caused by the height or the kiss.
Qiu Shi closed his eyes and didn't want to move. Every second was filled with joy.
Xing Bi's intercom rustled twice.
Qiu Shi stopped moving but did not leave Xing Bi's lips.
The intercom rustled twice more.
Qiu Shi sighed and let go of Xing Bi: "Is there something wrong or is someone sleeping on top of him?"
"We are now using the group frequency band," Xing Bi walked to the side of the hanging basket and looked in the direction of the base gate, "I guess they saw it." "Are you having fun?" Bai Zhan's voice was heard over the intercom.
"Fuck." Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked to Xing Bi's side and looked over there, but the distance was too far to see clearly.
"What's going on?" Xing Bi picked up the walkie-talkie.
"Come down," Bai Zhan said, "We want to play too."
"You guys?" Xing Bi said, "Or you?"
"We," Bai Zhan said, and Sang Fan's voice came from the intercom again, "I want to play."
"There's more." Bai Zhan said, and then changed his voice, "Brother Xing Bi! Take me with you! Brother Shi! Take us with you!"
It was Li Rui's voice.
"Did he do this on purpose?" Qiu Shi asked, "Did he wake up everyone?"
"There are still two hours until dawn," Xu Jie's voice came from the intercom, "If there is enough fuel, or..."
Xing Bi didn't say anything and just glanced at Qiu Shi.
"Okay, let's all come and open our eyes." said Qiu Shi.
"Okay," Xing Bi said as he picked up the intercom. "I just cleaned it up. There's enough fuel. Ten minutes is enough."
Although Qiu Shi still felt a little unsatisfied, he was not reluctant. For those who lived in this world like him, such a "journey" was an experience they had never imagined.
The steel cable at the bottom of the basket slowly shortened and the hot air balloon began to float back.
"How is it?" Xing Bi asked.
"It's fun." Qiu Shi said with a smile, "But I really didn't expect you to like this."
"I've been here a few times before by myself," Xing Bi looked into the distance, "it was very quiet and undisturbed."
"You can see very far." said Qiu Shi.
"Well, we can get away from a lot of distractions and take a look at the place where we live." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi lay on the edge of the hanging basket, didn't say anything, just looked into the distance.
Bai Zhan is worthy of being a biological body that has been hanging out with vagrants for more than a hundred years. His behavior is not like that of a secret guard at all. If he hadn't been there for what happened today, Xu Jie and the others would probably have just laughed it off.
But at this moment, when Qiu Shi and his friends followed the hot air balloon back to the top of the restaurant, they found that the restaurant was already full of people and the scene was very lively.
"Are there still people guarding outside?" Qiu Shi couldn't help but pick up the intercom and asked, "Are they all here?"
"Don't worry, I'll bring some people to guard it," Bai Zhan said, "Wait for those who have finished playing to come back and replace us."
The hot air balloon returned to the base in the side hall and was fixed there. Xing Bi and Qiu Shi jumped out of the basket.
"You actually thought of playing this." Xu Jie said.
"I've always wanted to play." Xing Bi said, "Let Li Rui and those soldiers play first. They have never played before."
"Yes." Xu Jie nodded, "We have already divided into groups. We will take turns to lead people up."
"Brother Shi," Li Rui ran over, looking excited, "Is it fun? Is it scary?"
"Great," Qiu Shi said, "Don't go crazy when you get up there, stand firm and hold on."
"I know." Li Rui hesitated for a moment, "Can you lend me your pet for a while? I want to record it and show it to my sister."
"Okay." Qiu Shi took out his little pet and handed it to him.
"I've actually been to very tall buildings, with dozens of floors," Li Rui said, "but I've never flown like this."
"Stop bragging and go quickly." said Qiu Shi.
Li Rui smiled and went towards the hanging basket.
"Fuck," Qiu Shi said quietly as he and Xing Bi walked out together, "Dozens of floors."
"That's normal. He has definitely been to more places than you have," Xing Bi smiled. "Once we're done with these things, we can go to many places as well."
"Can you finish the work?" Qiu Shi said.
"We can finish the work," Xing Bi said, "Li Feng doesn't need us to stay in Yuncheng forever. There will be many people who can do things for him in the future, not just us."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi felt inexplicably emotional, but he didn't know what he wanted to express.
This is the pain of low education.
In the two hours before sunrise, Qiu Shi lay on the roof of the car, watching the hot air balloons rise from the roof again and again, float away, carrying with them laughter and screams from afar, and then slowly float back.
The hot air balloon was an orange-red ball. It was not obvious under the moonlight. As the sky gradually brightened and the sun peeked out from the east side of the building, the orange color gradually became brighter. When it flew back to the roof for the last time, it turned into a bright orange.
"Who will guard the base after we leave?" Qiu Shi asked, "Will Bai Zhan go with us?"
"He only brought five people with him," Xing Bi said, "and the others will stay here to guard the hot air balloon."
“… I’m talking about the base.” Qiu Shi said.
"But you were thinking about the hot air balloon," Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi was silent for a while, then laughed: "Really? Am I a little narrow-minded?"
"I was thinking about the hot air balloon, too," Xing Bi said. "It wasn't a big deal. After one night, half of the people here were thinking about the hot air balloon."
"Fuck." Qiu Shi jumped down from the roof of the car with a smile and patted the hood. "Get ready to go!"
The relaxed team broke camp faster than usual. Although they didn't know what their last stop would be, everyone was relaxed at the moment.
Qiu Shi looked at Bai Zhan who was standing next to him. For this, Qiu Shi was quite grateful to Bai Zhan, as he had not thought about these things.
"You're welcome." said Bai Zhan.
"Who thanked you?" Qiu Shi said.
"It's all written on your face," Bai Zhan said, "I can see through more than a hundred humans like you at a glance."
"… Don't you biochemical bastards have any bottom line when it comes to bragging?" Qiu Shi said.
"You're just bragging, what bottom line do you need?" Bai Zhan jumped into the car.
A few minutes later, everyone got on the bus, and the base outside the window returned to its quiet and lonely state.
"Let's go." Xing Bi said.
"Got it." Bai Zhan replied, and he followed the convoy led by Jiang Liu at the front of the team.
As the convoy drove away from the base, Qiu Shi kept looking outside the car window until all the buildings of the base disappeared from his sight, and then he leaned back in his seat.
"I looked at some information tonight." Song Heng's voice came from behind.
Qiu Shi turned around and found that Sang Fan had switched places with him again.
"The dispatch list of the diving biochemical body that Yao Xiu mentioned can be found on record," Song Heng said, "There is no clear address, but combined with some itinerary records of building materials delivery, we can narrow down the scope of our previous estimate a lot."
"Didn't you take a break?" Qiu Shi looked at him, "Didn't you go play with the hot air balloon?"
"No," Song Heng said, "I'm afraid of heights."
"The biochemical body is afraid of heights?" Qiu Shi was very shocked.
"There's something wrong with his system," Xing Bi said. "It's probably sensitive to air pressure."
"Yeah." Song Heng nodded.
"You all have to repair it properly," Qiu Shi sighed, "Can those building materials tell what kind of building the institute is?"
"There are some prefabricated sections of immersed tubes," Song Heng said, "and at least part of the institute will be accessible through an undersea tunnel."
It seems that the research institute is indeed under the sea. Combined with what Grandpa and Zheng Ting said, we can enter through the tunnel.
"If we're really underwater," Qiu Shi frowned, "it would be very dangerous. If the tunnels are damaged or something... Ugh..."
Song Heng glanced at him and said, "How could this shit be passed down until now?"
"Who taught you?" Xing Bi asked with a smile.
"Old man," Qiu Shi said, "if you say something unlucky, you have to spit."
"There's nothing unlucky about it," Xing Bi said. "We are doing something very auspicious."
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
Ah, I thought I could arrive on time today at 520, but I didn’t expect that.
And I won’t correct the typos from yesterday. I’m afraid that it will go through review again and something unexpected might happen﹁_﹁.