Flowers Blooming in the Wasteland

"I think you can see the problem." Old Hunter said with a sigh, "Although this child looks like a harmless and obedient little white rabbit, in fact, no one knows what is going on in his stomach." I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t sympathize with those little bastards, but Celeste can shoot people without hesitation like this, and afterwards he is as calm as a person who has nothing to do. Thinking about it, it really makes people feel a little The back is chilly. After all, as long as the muzzle of the gun is a little bit higher, it will kill a person if it hits the stomach."

"...He suffered so many things, his parents died within a few days, and his personality became a bit extreme, but it's normal." Fu Yunlan said with a guilty conscience, "I will try my best to enlighten him."

"Hey, I don't want you to take him back. A student as smart as he is. I may miss this one, so I may not have the chance to meet the next one. If I die one day, there will be people in Hummingbird Town. He is probably the only one who can continue to maintain the hydropower station." Old Hunter said, "But you should pay more attention to him at ordinary times, I always feel that this kid...is weird everywhere."

"I will pay attention." Fu Yunlan said.

While talking, they came to the door of the computer room, and old Hunter stopped the topic. When they opened the door and entered, Celeste was sorting out the drawings in the computer room. When he saw Fu Yunlan, he put down what he was doing and walked over: "Lan, You're back."

"Yeah." Fu Yunlan smiled at him as usual, rubbing his head, "Are you still used to it here?"

"It's okay." Celeste didn't mention any unpleasant things.

"... Just get used to it." Fu Yunlan took out her pocket and took out a metal cube, "By the way, I brought you a gadget."

It was an MP3 music player produced before the war. The aging headphone cable was wrapped in tape, and the casing was also very old, but there were no traces of rust. Instead, the edges and corners were polished. It was obvious that someone had been using it all the time. of.

"Is it a gift?" Thelister took it and said, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me in a hurry, this thing won't ring anymore." Fu Yunlan said, "It may be out of power, or it may be broken. I didn't find a charger at the scene. Find a suitable charger yourself first. Try it."

"Well, okay." Celeste put the MP3 in his pocket.

"Also, this is the promised candy." Fu Yunlan took out a box of rock candy in an iron box from another pocket.

"...You actually got it." Celeste took the box in surprise, and the transparent rock candy was lying in the box like a diamond. If it was placed before the war, it would be so cheap that no one would have seen it. I want to take a closer look, but in today's wasteland, rock sugar is already considered a luxury. If this box is taken to the Crimson Bar, it can at least exchange for two days' worth of food.

"Of course, I keep my word." Fu Yunlan looked at this young man who was expressionless most of the time, showing a slightly surprised expression, thinking that Celeste usually doesn't show emotions, but he's used to it. Afterwards, he doesn't seem so weird... right?

Celeste took a piece of rock candy and put it in his mouth. Fu Yunlan looked at his still expressionless face and couldn't help but ask, "Do you like it?"

Celeste nodded.

"If you feel happy, you should smile." Fu Yunlan said, "I don't think I've seen you smile before."

Celeste curled the corners of his mouth and showed a stylized smile.

"...Forget it, you'd better be more casual." Fu Yunlan couldn't bear to look directly away. It's okay if the child doesn't smile, but it's awkward to look at if he really smiles.

"Celester, go check the engine first, I have something to discuss with the team leader." Old Hunter wanted to dismiss Celeste, but Fu Yunlan said: "No, he has a strict mouth and won't Talking nonsense everywhere."

"Well, what's the matter?" asked old Hunter.

"I encountered very...strange things during this mission. You are old and well-informed, so you may know something." Fu Yunlan briefly told Lao Heng about the pastor of the True God Church. Te said it again, and then took out the transparent bracelet to show him.

Old Hunter took it over, took off his reading glasses, rubbed his eyes, frowned and observed carefully, but couldn't see anything: "This thing... looks really strange, whether it's the bracelet itself, or I have never heard of the so-called supernatural powers of that priest."

Fu Yunlan guessed: "Could it be a high-tech product invented by the organization of the True God Sect? After all, we know too little about the world outside the wasteland."

"If in the post-war world, there is any organization that can develop such a magical thing in less than 20 years, my early years of theoretical physics will be in vain."

"What do you mean?" Fu Yunlan frowned.

"I mean, there's nothing scientific about the existence of this thing."

"But it does exist."

"Yeah, it's another thing we can't understand at all." Old Hunter put down the bracelet and sighed, "Perhaps all this is really a miracle."

Fu Yunlan looked at him in surprise: "I thought people like you didn't believe in God."

"I didn't believe it before, but many things now... make me feel that it's easier to believe that everything is a miracle." Old Hunter said with some frustration, "There are already too many things beyond our control." It's beyond the reach of common sense."

"I don't believe that this is something like supernatural powers, maybe it's just a new technology that we don't understand." Fu Yunlan said, "It's like we put some things now, such as guns, cameras, stereos, etc If it was taken to ancient times, it might be considered a miracle.”

"You see, that's the problem." Old Hunter said, "If you take the things you said to the Middle Ages, maybe they will be considered miracles, but if you take them a century ago, you won't be able to see them." Can’t live with anyone. If we take the things of 2010, such as smartphones, laptops, DNA technology, etc., to 1990, people may sigh with emotion at the rapid progress of technology, but they will never think that it is a monster Even in the golden age of rapid technological development, it is impossible for 20 years to bring about earth-shaking progress in technological level, not to mention the current hellish years, nuclear war has destroyed After so many things, do you really think that a certain force outside the wasteland can create such a miracle in the ten years after the war?"

"...You're right." Fu Yunlan frowned and said, "I'm too obsessed with finding a reasonable explanation for things."

"I used to be the same as you." Old Hunter said with a long sigh, "Later I found out that if you think too deeply about these things, people will go crazy. It's better to believe that all these things are caused by gods or devils. It will be easier on the contrary.”

While they were still discussing, Celeste picked up the bracelet on the table and carefully observed it. He was also very curious about it.

Recently, his supernatural powers seem to be getting stronger and stronger. As long as he touches the surrounding equipment, everything will become no secret to him, just like Fu Yunlan handed over the MP3 to him just now He immediately knew the circuit structure and material composition of the MP3, and even the brand and year of production. He also knew that the MP3 was not broken, it was just out of battery.

So when Celeste got the bracelet, he knew that what Fu Yunlan said was right, the bracelet was indeed some kind of advanced instrument, not some magical weapon.This instrument should be soft and elastic like rubber, but it will self-destruct immediately after the wearer dies, turning into a rigid crystal like glass. Don't try to figure out the core secrets in the bracelet.

Celeste only knew so much. As for the specific structure and operation method of the bracelet before it broke, his mind was completely empty and he didn't know anything—this was the first time that he knew it but didn't know why .

Seeing Celeste staring at the bracelet in a daze, Fu Yunlan asked, "What's the matter, did you see anything?"

Celeste's mind was still on the bracelet, and he said in a strange way: "This is not human technology."

"What?" Fu Yunlan looked at him in surprise.

Celeste came back to his senses, and quickly made amends: "...I mean, this doesn't seem like the technology that humans should have at all."

"This is also a good idea." Old Hunter said, "Perhaps the earth has been infiltrated by aliens long ago, and all this may be a conspiracy of aliens."

Fu Yunlan frowned: "This sounds as unreliable as a miracle."

"I've thought about the possibility of this before, but it's just like speculation about miracles or magic. It's just speculation without any basis." Old Hunter said, "But in comparison, at least this explanation is scientific and reliable. Much, have you heard of the Fermi Paradox?"

Fu Yunlan shook his head, and Celeste wanted to nod, but after a moment of hesitation, he shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."