I am romantic

It was late at night, and Rapper was woken up by the urge to urinate, and got up to solve his physical problems.There were no urinals in the warehouse, so he opened the back door of the pizzeria to go to the restroom next to the customer dining area.When he passed by the manager's room, he found that there was actually a light on inside, and the light leaked through the cracks of the closed shutters, as if carrying some kind of indescribable ambiguity.

He looked at his watch, it was one o'clock in the morning, if it was Murkdo, that lazy fat man, he would never believe that the other party would sacrifice sleep time to work diligently; if it was a thief, it would be too daring to do things with the desk lamp on some.

In any case, he intends to go in and see the situation.

The door of the manager's room was locked, but it didn't bother him, and he could pry it open with two wires.He quietly twisted the handle and walked in, his light footsteps made no sound.

The light reflected a huge fleshy figure, Murkdo was squatting in front of the safe, putting stacks of cash into the travel bag.

Under normal circumstances, large amounts of cash are not kept in the store, but recently they are planning to renovate the storefront. The store manager just withdraws cash from the bank and deposits it in the safe in the manager's office.There are only two keys, and withdrawals require the signatures of the manager, the cashier, and the store manager—obviously, Murdoch got the key to the safe from the cashier, and now he is planning to keep it for himself.

Repper thought for a while, without disturbing him, and quietly exited the room again.Murdoch's Chevrolet SUV was parked on the street outside the store. He unlocked it with the car key that he secretly grinds on weekdays (Murdeau often makes his part-time driver run around, desperately squeezing his time outside of work), and then got into the car. Lie down in the space behind the rear seats.The high-back cushion completely obscured his figure, as long as he didn't open the rear compartment, he would never find someone hidden in the car-he believed that Murdoch would never put the travel bag full of banknotes out of sight place.

A few minutes later, a potbellied figure came out of the dark shop door, opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat, put the travel bag on the passenger seat, hesitated for a moment, stuffed the bag under the seat, and then drove away quickly .

After driving for two blocks, the car drove onto the bridge. There were almost no vehicles on the wide and long bridge, and the dark river flowed gloomyly under the bridge.Murdoch's cell phone rang, and he connected the phone: "Honey... yes, I got the money, and your side... won't be discovered, when will the bank check the account, five days later, Great...we met at the abandoned church in the outskirts as planned. Love you, boo." He gave a loud air kiss before hanging up.

Repper remembered that his wife seemed to be working in a bank, and immediately heard some clues from the disjointed words—it is estimated that the woman was also stealing and embezzling a large amount of public funds. The two are planning to flee hand in hand and go to another place incognito Life.

He peeked from the gap between the seats, and a corner of the travel bag was faintly exposed under the passenger seat.Depending on the size and capacity, there must be at least 40 to [-] yuan, which is completely worth the risk of a small pizzeria manager.Why do you want to take advantage of this dead fat man? Repper thought silently. He could intercept the mantis, cicada and oriole in the middle.Even make the thread longer, wait until the pair of dog and man meet, and then do it together, and get both stolen money.

More than half an hour later, the Chevrolet SUV parked in the shade of a deserted dilapidated church on the outskirts of the city.Murk turned off the fire, put the travel bag in his arms, and waited for his wife to arrive.Not long after, another blue Ford drove over and stopped not far away.

A slender woman got out of the car, her face was not clear in the headlights, but her graceful silhouette could be vaguely seen.

Murkdo jumped out of the car immediately and ran towards her, "Honey, I'm here!"

"Is the money in this bag, my Winnie the Pooh?" the woman asked softly.

"Of course, it's not a small change, 42." Murk picked up the bag, and his attitude was not like treating his wife, but like a goddess of service.

"Good job, my part is in the car, come on."

During the conversation between the two, Rapper climbed from the rear of the car to the front seat and opened the glove box in front of the passenger seat.He knew that Murk had a gun license, and he often put a revolver and bullets for self-defense in it. At this moment, he might have forgotten to take the gun because of the tension about the imminent event.Rapper deftly pressed the six bullets into the magazine one by one, then slipped out of the car, hid behind the tree trunk, opened the safety, and aimed the gun at a man and a woman in front of him.

A ruthless murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Almost at the same moment, the damn pain came again - this time in the right upper arm.Rapper, who was hit by the pain to the nerves, couldn't even hold the gun. His right hand shook, and the gun body fell. He knelt down on his knees with quick eyes and hands. sound.

Cold sweat rolled down his back.

It's that trick again!Hell, he didn't want to hear God's will at all-it was tens of millions, and he would rather go to hell for that money!

He clenched his right arm that was in the way with his left hand, silently cursing the illegitimate human son who was against him in the sky, and then heard a dull gunshot.

It was the woman who shot.She put the satchel in front of her body, reached in with one hand, and pulled the trigger through the leather material. The bullet made only a small sound through the silencer, and the echo was fleeting in the wilderness in the middle of the night.

Murdoch's fat body slumped to the ground, the woman bent down, picked up the travel bag in his hand with some difficulty, and said softly: "Farewell, Murdoch—by the way, I never thought you were like Winnie the Pooh , it is much slimmer and cuter than you!"

A figure quickly got down from the car, rushed to the side of the corpse, felt the pulse that disappeared on the neck, and then raised his head and yelled at the woman: "Why did you shoot! Before you just said that when you get his money, put He was tied up and thrown in the church! I didn't expect you to kill him!"

The woman was a little startled by his yelling, and she said aggrievedly and angrily: "I'm not thinking about our safety. It will be a disaster to keep him sooner or later. I know you are soft-hearted and can't do anything, so I will be a bad person for you. You You don't even appreciate it, and you still attack me..." She covered her face with her palms and began to cry, with a coquettish posture waiting for her lover to comfort her.

It's a pity that the other man made a move that was completely unexpected to her - he pushed her violently onto the hood of the car, and before the woman could react, he took out a pair of handcuffs and firmly cuffed her wrists behind her. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Murdoch, I never thought of going away with you." The man said in a tone full of disgust, "Actually, the bank discovered a large amount of money loopholes half a month ago and called the police. After investigation, we put our suspicion target on you. In order not to startle the enemy and get back all the cash safely, I approached you undercover, but accidentally involved another theft case of Mr. Murdoch. In order to catch the snake, I I didn’t stop you from meeting before you fled this time, but you still underestimated your greed and viciousness, which cost Mr. Murdoch his life. Now, you have added another crime, intentional homicide, and prepare to spend a lifetime in prison! He said angrily, and said into the invisible walkie-talkie in his collar: "Guys, it's time to go out—sorry I screwed up halfway."

A few hundred meters away, the hidden car lights suddenly turned on, and amidst the sound of the siren, Mrs. Murdoch, who had just become a widow, closed her eyes palely.

Repper tried his best to curl up behind the tree trunk, praying that he would not be discovered by the surrounding police. He looked up at the dark sky covered by the tree canopy, and didn't know what to say to the one in the sky...Obviously, He saved him again, no Let him foolishly rush into the police encirclement with a gun.

O God, I swear I will never doubt your will again!He made the sign of the cross reverently on his chest, and lifted his sleeves in the afterglow of the car lights. The black writing on the skin of his right upper arm has not completely faded, and he can vaguely recognize a word, continence, abstinence.

Abstinence, control your desires, don't be swallowed by greed.

At this moment, Rapper decided from the bottom of his heart to change his ways and become a law-abiding person again—although this required him to fight against his habitual killing instinct and his habit of disregarding human life, but fortunately there were pains and tricks, and every time he wanted to kill When it emerged, it pulled him back from the cliff.

He has been in contradictions and conflicts, entanglement and pain for many years, until he was walking in the park once and was robbed of his wallet by a mugger.He chased after him angrily, trying to impress the blind kid, but he missed and pushed him off the river bank.

The young man was struggling up and down in the river, and he didn't seem to know how to swim. He planned to stand by and gloat in his heart, but the miracle happened to him again.

Sacrifice, sacrifice.This word made him jump into the river reflexively in pain, pushing the other person onto the embankment, but he himself drowned due to leg cramps.

—This should be the last miracle. From then on, this damn pain can no longer affect me, control me, and force me to become another person, Rapper thought with relief.It's just that suffocating to death feels so fucking bad...

"...he is about to wake up." said a voice in the haze.

The surroundings were bright, Rapper took a sharp breath, opened his eyes, and immediately moved the back of his hand to his eyelids to block the glare of the light.

"Wake up." Another man's voice said.Repper blinked his eyes that were beginning to get used to it, slowly lowered his hands, and looked around blankly.

This is a spacious room, and he is lying on a hard table. Behind him is a huge metal cabin that looks like an MRI machine in a hospital. Two doctors in white coats are standing beside him, not far away. Next to the door stood two prison guards with weapons.

……what happened?His brain has not yet recovered from the state of confusion.

"Although it's still early to say, I still want to say to you: Congratulations." The elderly prison doctor smiled and said to him, "Rapper, you are very likely to become the In the past 20 years, the first person to enjoy amnesty."

"Human rights law? Amnesty?" Rapper repeated in a daze.

"That's right," the young prison doctor interjected, "this decree was born 20 years ago due to the strong interference of human rights organizations. Many citizens know about this decree, but they don't know the requirements and process of implementation. You are not the first An experiencer, but the first beneficiary. To put it simply, this decree is aimed at those serious criminals who have been sentenced to more than 80 years in prison. In order to protect their human rights, after serving 15 years in prison, they will receive The only chance of parole during the sentence is to pass this simulation test that combines brainwave stimulation and hypnosis to test whether they will really change their minds and stop endangering others after returning to society.

"—Don't show such a disgusted expression, Rapper, we didn't treat you as a laboratory guinea pig. In fact, this technology has been improved for many years, and it is quite mature. Unfortunately, no one can fully understand the previous test. Passed. You also know that serious criminals like you—” He paused, as if he was considering his words, and then continued: “Everyone is either a serial killer who disregards human life, or a lunatic with antisocial personality. , Losing the restraint of violent institutions, 99% will return to the old business - we have always believed that it is 100%, even the parliament that made the law back then was just holding the purpose of fooling those human rights organizations and taking the opportunity to win more votes. No People believe that even ordinary people can't restrain the anger, and the irresistible temptation of money, power and sex, you desperadoes who kill without batting an eye, will not be tempted."

"So in the past 20 years, no criminal has successfully passed the test..." Repper murmured, his fingers subconsciously stroked the gauze-wrapped arm in the sleeve, and memories and thoughts began to return to his brain, and he felt that he was gradually leaving the dream , back to reality.

"No, there is one now." The prison doctor smiled, "I believe there will be a second and a third. In fact, I have always believed that no matter how dark the heart is, there is always a sliver of yearning for light." , as long as you hold on to it and walk toward the light, you will eventually be saved.”

Naive to the point of stupidity!Rapper thought with a snort that if the guy knew how he passed the test, he would never believe such childish fairy tales.

Yes, he already knew about this strictly confidential human nature test, from the mouth of an old prisoner who failed.

The prisoner named Andy was one of the first testers 20 years ago.Of course, he failed without any suspense, and had to continue to serve a long sentence of 118 years before he could be released-if he survived to the day he was released from prison.

Afterwards, like other prisoners who participated in the test, he should have been washed out of the relevant memories to avoid disclosure to those who came later, but he had an epileptic seizure at the time, and the doctor judged that it was not suitable for mental stimulation, so he was locked in a single cell. contact with other prisoners.

Probably because he has been single for a long time, his head began to become unclear. More than ten years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The prison authorities were relieved and gradually let him out to contact the outside world, but he also Just sitting on the edge of the playground and basking in the sun stupidly every day.

Only Rapper knew that Andy wasn't an Alzheimer's patient at all.He tried so hard to pretend, just to get out of that lonely little room, to see the color of the grass, to breathe the fresh air, and to feel that he was still a human being.

"Why are you telling me this? It's not doing you any good," he once asked Andy, after he'd revealed to him the harrowing test.

Andy looked at him with dark green eyes, and the deep wrinkles on his face were still clearly visible in the dim light in the corner of the library. "Why? I don't know. I probably think you are a bit like me when I was young... You see, even the color of your eyes is the same." He said slowly in a hoarse voice, "I know you will definitely fail the test. We They are the same kind of people. According to the psychiatrist, they are born with personality defects, like trigger bombs. If we don't break out and someone makes us unhappy, we will kill him, as long as we have the ability. We just want to show those people who the hell is the master!

Rapper shrugged and had to admit that he was telling the truth.

Not to mention living law-abiding in the virtual world for several years or even longer, he could not pass even one of the various tentative events arranged by the testers.

He wasn't an ordinary criminal like he was supposed to be in the dream.He has 27 lives in his hands, and his sentence is exaggerated for more than 300 years. If he doesn't want to die of old age in prison, he has to find a way to pass this bullshit test that can't be disguised, is not controlled by the mind at all, and purely reflects the subconscious.

He had to find a way to remind himself in the illusion not to fall into the designed trap.

He needs to find the "spinning top" to distinguish dreams from reality.

"Okay, you guys take him back to the cell first, he still needs a few days to go through the corresponding procedures before he can be released on parole." The federal prison tester dressed as a doctor said to the prison guard on call.

Rapper was obediently led back to his cell.When passing by the big playground, he saw Andy sitting on a bench basking in the sun, and passed him specially.

He gave Andy a deep look, and the gray-haired old prisoner looked back at him.

From this look, Andy saw the high spirits of the young prisoner, and his eyes were full of confidence and expectation for a future free life.

And from this look, Rapper saw the other party's gratification, envy, and... unconcealable jealousy and fleeting malice.

— what irony!On the one hand, Andy helps him out of appreciation and goodwill, and on the other hand, out of jealous nature, he is very likely to betray him.

No matter how realistic the simulation test is, it is impossible to examine all aspects of this extremely complex human nature.

Back in the cell, Rapper hid in his bed and began to unwind the gauze wrapped around his arms in a circle.The hideous wound that has not healed for a long time is floating in the air. It is that he has cut the flesh again and again with the tip of the knife, carved the painful marks, and then dyed it with tattoo ink.

"Patience", "restraint", "abstinence", "compassion"... He engraved all the commandments he could think of on his body, without using any anesthetics during the process, while recalling the murderous intent before the attack, while thinking about it with all his heart Feeling the pain of being cut and bruised, it took several months to closely connect the two with uninterrupted self-suggestion, so as to ensure that once the emotional anger and murderous intent arose, I would feel the pain of the wound reflexively.

Apparently, this approach works.In the hypnotized dream, this kind of pain doubled when he felt murderous, and the tattoo text that only he knew was distorted into a strange phenomenon like a "miracle" without human control, becoming a "miracle" phenomenon. A "trick" that only he can see.

This is his "spinning top", the secret weapon that finally leads him out of the illusion.

I have been foolishly praying to God, it turns out - I am my God!he thought sullenly and excitedly.From then on, I will no longer be bound by any outside world, whether it comes from law or belief.

The next day, Rapper had a chance to meet Andy briefly.

"Will you betray me?" He asked bluntly, while staring at the other person, observing his every look and micro-expression.

Andy smiled wryly and shook his head, "Indeed, I'm jealous of you. You're still so young, in your early thirties, you can leave this damn prison and return to a free life. But I won't betray you and say other reasons You may not believe it, but you should believe this one—once the prison authorities know that I am an accessory, they will definitely punish me. In this way, my daily five-hour release time may be shortened to half an hour, or even a minute. gone."

That's a really strong reason to believe it.But Rapper knows that after this incident, he no longer trusts anyone—he only trusts himself.

"You are right, Andy, you are a reliable old guy." He said in an affectionate tone, "After you get out of prison, I will send you cigarettes and stamps every month, and you can exchange them with other inmates." Something you need. I will take care of you until you are freed from this prison."

Andy gave him a dubious smile back.

During group labor, Rapper contacted a guy nicknamed "Scavenger" in the prison-he specialized in doing things for inmates who were inconvenient to do it himself, sweeping useless things into the trash can.Rapper made the deal at two months' expense, because the other party was a harmless old man with dementia, and it didn't take much effort.

The next day, the prison guards found Andy's body in the public bathroom. He should have stumbled in the shower, and was drenched face up in the shower but didn't know how to move it. He just drowned in a muddle. No way—he was a patient with Alzheimer's disease. Everyone from prison guards to prisoners agreed that this kind of muddled death was not unexpected.

A week later, parole formalities were completed and Rapper was released after signing a non-disclosure agreement regarding the testing.

Although it is parole, as long as you don't violate the regulations, don't leave the city, report your whereabouts to the parole officer in time, and abide by the law for one year, you can get real freedom.

Afterwards, Rapper crossed the continent and came to a new city, where he lay dormant for almost a year, until his new boss offended him—Nick punched him in the face in public because this pretty face seduced him. After marrying his fiancée, the woman shamelessly climbed into the other party's bed, but his confidant subordinates accepted it without any politeness.

Rapper pressed his palm to his bruised cheek, his frozen green eyes narrowed to a dangerous, knife-edged glint, staring straight at his boss.

Without the slightest hesitation, Reina planned to get rid of him, and at the same time prepared to take all the other party's cash and bonds into his bag—as for that woman, oh, who cares about a slutty woman!If she got in the way, he'd take care of it.

At night, Rapper sneaked into Nick's luxury apartment, wearing shoe covers and rubber gloves, and blinded and deafened all the monitoring equipment.

His boss was sleeping soundly on the soft pillows of the high bed.Rapper silently opened the closet and picked out a tie - that was the orange plaid stripe he hated the most, and every time Nick put it on, he had the urge to strangle his neck with it.

Now he can finally put this urge into action.

Standing by the bed like a ghost, Repper stretched his tie in his hand, looked down at the man who was about to become the new resident of the cemetery, and a murderous intent full of pleasure emerged spontaneously——

Then he felt a sharp, familiar, damn pain.

From the arm, the pain like a knife cutting.

The tie fell from between his fingers, and he staggered back a few steps. In the pain that went deep into the bone marrow, he tore the sleeves in disbelief—the black tattoos on his arms had already been washed off, leaving only a very pale dark color, and the old scars were also removed by laser , although it can't restore smoothness, it can't see the once tragic and hideous shape.

He breathed a sigh of relief.Two years ago, removing scars and cleaning tattoos were all done by himself, and he still clearly remembers every detail at that time.Reason told him that this is the real world.

As for the pain, it is likely to be psychogenic. Because the original self-suggestion was too strong, it still leaves a shadow in the subconscious until now, causing a kind of stress psychological disorder.As long as it takes a little more time, he will slowly adjust. He tried his best to calm down and comfort himself. After all, he has already been released from prison, hasn't he...

Wait - what if this isn't the real world?If he was still in the test dream, was it just another scheduled event, another well-drilled trap?

He couldn't help but think of this possibility, and felt more and more chills all over his body.

If the test has not ended, the previous episodes about sobriety, parole, including Andy's death, and even the two years of free time afterward-all are just another false illusion. Once he really kills, The next second, he woke up from the cold and hard instrument and was told by the expressionless tester that he still had to go back to prison and spend a full 300 years in prison, enough to make his bones rot into ashes in prison Sentence—

Would he dare to gamble his lifelong freedom with the life of an insignificant person?This time, next time, and any time in the future?

Repper's back was pressed against the wall, and he slumped to the ground weakly. The cold moonlight poured in from the window, like a pale shroud.He raised his head and saw a small dark night sky in despair, just like what he had seen from the cell window countless times before.

It doesn't make a difference that he has escaped from prison, or is still in prison.

The whole world was like a great prison of chaos - he knew he was imprisoned in it, and there was no escape.

The author has something to say:

At present, these four short stories will be released first, and other short stories will be released one after another in the future. You can collect them at will~ There will be an update reminder