Shi Shanyan's heartbeat gradually coincided with the timing sound of the equipment in the basement, and he fell into a bizarre dream on the cold operating table. He saw his scope, which contained many strangers.
The expressions of these people before they died were too similar. Shi Shanyan didn't remember their names, he only recognized Fox Eyes.
* * *
The border jungle in 2160.
It had just rained, and there was a smell of rotting plants and animals floating here. Shi Shanyan lay in the slightly sunken grass nest and stared at the other party for nearly six hours. Sweat was running down his cheeks to his neckline, and the area around his neck was damp.
The receiver in the ear made a small noise, it was the Black Panther mission liaison speaking.
"Call 7-001, commander's latest order..."
Shi Shanyan raised his hand, took off the receiver, and crushed it. He didn't wipe off his sweat, didn't move, but maintained his gun-supporting posture, focusing all his attention on the scope.
Target Fox Eye, an active member of the Black Panthers, No. 7-004, height 185cm, weight 85kg. He infiltrated the enemy in order to monitor the important personnel of the Southern Alliance military, and has now defected.
Shi Shanyan's mission is to kill Foxeye in the border jungle and prevent Foxeye from returning to the Southern Alliance. He followed Foxeye into the jungle a week ago, sniped Foxeye's observer and recorder successively, and then got into a stalemate with Foxeye.
Foxeye also carries an action team from the Southern Alliance.
Mosquitoes bit Shi Shanyan's body, he didn't move, even his breathing maintained a certain frequency. The unwiped sweat dripped into his eyes, making Shi Shanyan's eyes sore and stinging, but he didn't rub it.
After 20 minutes, it was dark. The fox eye on the opposite side got back into the accompanying tent without lighting. The night watchmen outside the tent also did not light the fire, and they stood chatting in the open space on the side of the tent.
Shi Shanyan finally closed his eyes, pulled out a clean wipe from his close-fitting pocket, and wiped his eyes. A little physiological tears ooze out of his eyes due to the stinging pain, Shi Shanyan covered it for a few seconds, then put back the dirty wipes.
Fox Eye does not move at night, this is Shi Shanyan's rest time.
Shi Shanyan took out the kettle and took two sips of water. He doesn't like to eat when he is doing tasks. The feeling of satiety will affect his ability to respond, but his physical energy is consumed too much, and he must rely on eating to fill up his physical energy.
Shi Shanyan ate the compressed biscuit in a few bites, put the gun on his back, and climbed up the tree beside him. The branches and leaves here are very dense, and he hid the muzzle of the gun under the leaves, through a gap, facing the tent of Fox Eyes.
Fox Eye's tent was hung with curtains, but the interior could not be seen from Shi Shanyan's position. Fox's eyes are very sensitive to angles. He has not made any mistakes along the way, and has been limiting Shi Shanyan's sniper field of vision.
Shi Shanyan couldn't shoot rashly, that would reveal his position.
The members of the vigil chatted and laughed. They knew each other well and had absolute trust in each other.
Shi Shanyan saw their expressions through the scope, and his heart was calm. It's only a week away from the real rainy season, when lurking will be even harder. Shi Shanyan didn't have enough medicine, he just wanted to kill Fox Eye as soon as possible and leave the jungle.
The more they talked, the happier they became, and from time to time they would look at the fox eyes in the tent. Fox Eye has been doing well in the Southern Front Alliance. He is the number one sniper of the Southern Front Army. The title "Fox Eye" is also an honorary name given to him by the Southern Front Army.
Shi Shanyan held the gun steady, took out the micro-receiver he prepared from his pocket, scratched the pinion on the micro-receiver with his fingertips, adjusted the receiving channel, and put it on his ear.
Black Panther can only rely on mission liaisons to obtain outside information when performing dangerous missions, but Shi Shanyan doesn't trust anyone, so he prepared it himself. This tiny receiver is noisier than the Panther receiver, and inside it is a loop of league news.
"The league wants everyone to stay calm and not to be alarmist. Smart systems are really a hot topic, but it's just a tool for our lives at the end of the day..."
The vigilante opposite lit a cigarette, and they were still chatting. A spider crawled over Shi Shanyan's tiger's mouth, but he didn't respond, staring at the other side and continuing to listen to the news.
"The immaturity of the in-vehicle system is something that relevant technicians need to reflect on... Now the teaching system has been put into experiments, the effect is very good, and the children are all healthy." The news anchor was a little excited, "Of course, the most outstanding is our 'Master God' System'. The expert observation team is very satisfied with Athena's performance in the Inspectorate, it can even spontaneously track the old case records in the past, and the speed of sifting key information is hundreds of times that of humans... "
Shi Shanyan also wanted to smoke. His Adam's apple moved slightly and looked up.
A small star appeared among the dense branches and leaves, like a boat with a dim light, which was about to be overturned by a cloudy cloud.
The news broadcast in the miniature receiver suddenly stopped and fell into a busy tone, but after ten seconds, it became silent again.
Do not.
Shi Shanyan heard very shallow breathing, not silence.
"...Hello." The person on the other side spoke after a long time.
Shi Shanyan didn't answer.
The other party seemed relieved. His voice was soft, as if he hadn't woken up yet.
"Hello," the other party was polite, "strange receiver, this is the Garden Channel... I'm the late night anchor 'Glass'."
Shi Shanyan suspected that the micro receiver was broken, and this was not the news channel he ordered.
"What are you doing?" The other party didn't know anyone was listening, he was just speaking to the receiver, "Oh," he muttered to himself, "you've been dropped. Your location shows you're... on the far frontier on-line."
Yes.
Shi Shanyan raised his eyebrows inexplicably and answered in his heart.
You can hang up and switch back to my news channel.
"Let's play a game, let me guess your experience." The other party seemed to be accustomed to talking to himself like this. He spoke in a nasal voice, maybe he was still catching a cold. Playing coquettish.
"Your brand says you're only selling in the Lighttrack area, but it's cheap and available in other areas. But that's too far, is your master a secret agent? He's gone to the war and hiding in the jungle," The other said, "Is he a sniper? That's all I can think of."
The vigil members on the opposite side had already sat in front of the tent, and it was time for Fox Eyes to sleep. It was very dark at the moment, it had only rained in the afternoon, and it might have rained in the evening. Shi Shanyan hoped not to go down. His clothes were not dry yet, and the rain would also affect his vision.
"He was shot and that's why you stayed here and no one can bring you back to the normal world."
Shi Shanyan: "..."
The other party had no plans to stop such unilateral communication. Shi Shanyan guessed that he might have no friends, and he was a resident at home... a hacker? Anyway, the brain is not normal.
"I don't know what the weather is like there. It's been raining here." The other party paused here. His sigh was inaudible, "I'm used to rainy days... It's really tiring to live."
Silence fell in the receiver.
There is frustration in this silence. The other party was talking to the abandoned receiver in such a late night, as if he had lost his way in the sea and could only speak his last words to the conch. His melancholy was palpable, with a bit of a struggle, as if speaking like that would ease his loneliness.
"I opened my eyes in the morning and counted the raindrops on the glass. There is no difference between one hundred and ten thousand. They all look exactly the same. Last week, a snail crawled under the glass." Elephant, "A real snail...that's fucking weird."
uh-huh.
Shi Shanyan was a little sleepy, leaning on the tree trunk and facing the direction of the fox eyes. He knew their schedules like the back of the hand, and in order not to be thrown off by them, he had to hurry up to sleep.
"Being a human being is the most boring profession, deprived of the freedom to choose death. You don't believe it, I have been wandering in front of death for many days, they are pulling my rope... The brain is the most troublesome place, I heard that it controls reason, but I prefer emotionality over rationality. Maybe machines don't have that need? Are you going to go crazy with long hours of work? Don't be mad, I'm just bored...I don't want to hurt you..." The other person's voice was getting lower and lower." …I envy that snail and wish it crawls faster.”
"The rain outside the glass is interfering with my thoughts, and I'm stuck in a situation where I can't tell what's true from what's false. Today, or was it yesterday? I asked Artemis the same question, but I'm not fucking impressed, it's Tell me. I feel like my brain is spinning out of control and hearing them talk about recycling is running out of time for me. Today is the 697th day of practice, and my birthday is a week away. If I still Alive, you are my birthday present."
Raindrops fell and hit Shi Shanyan's hair. Half holding the gun, he listened to the murmur with a murmur in his ear. Although the other party didn't know that someone was listening, Shi Shanyan didn't want the other party to shut up.
"Goodbye," the other party remained calm, "strange receiver, we will never meet again. Thank you for listening, and I wish you and I can die freely."
Noise returns to the receiver, and the newscast resumes.
The gun in Shi Shanyan's arms was very hard and pressed against his chest, making him sure it wasn't a dream just now. He shook off the water droplets from the broken hair, looked up again, and found that the star had sunk in the dark cloud.
"Goodbye," Shi Shanyan said, "the inexplicable child."
* * *
The beating of the heart was so loud that Shi Shanyan woke up. He moved his numb arms and opened his eyes in the harsh light. The lamp hanging above the operating table was shaking, making Shi Shanyan dizzy.
"—Explosion!" Park Lin's voice came from the steps, suddenly far and near, "There is an explosion upstairs, Brother Yan! Wake up!"
The sharp siren of the bee-type aircraft pierced Shi Shanyan's ears as well as the sense of isolation. They slammed into the upstairs window in groups, and the explosion caused countless dust. Shi Shanyan stood up and saw the collapsed steps from his position.
The scalpel held the gun, walked over a few steps, and lifted the shield: "Jump, jump, jump!" He took Park Lin's collar and kicked him down, "I'm not going to go to jail yet!"