【Summer Five】Iron City Wall

A few days after returning to Furnace Three, Johnny approached them again.

"There will be a rally after the shift change today, and many people will go, why don't you join in?"

The front of the factory is empty, and Xiayou is fixing the front wheel of the street racer to the fence with a newly bought lock.

"Assembly? Specifically?"

Jonny thought for a while: "It's probably a place... where young people gather to communicate and help each other. It's near the 'Wasteland', and it's held irregularly every week. It's quite interesting."

He spoke cautiously, but it seemed that he really wanted La Xia You to join his group.

"Wasteland" is an abandoned area located near Factory No. [-], where leakage accidents occurred in the early years.That place has been sealed off for more than ten years, and although it has been declared risk-free and has been successfully unblocked, few people will go there.

"What do you say?" Xia You asked Wutiao who was standing aside drinking canned ice water. "If it's really lively, I'd be happy to take a trip. Anyway, we've only just been here, so it's okay to get to know more people."

The five index fingers were clasped on the pull ring, and the remaining four fingers held the jar, and a thin layer of moisture was leaked from the fingertips.He knocked on the body of the can, and suddenly without warning, he bent down and pressed the can against Xia Youyou's face, making the latter shiver from the cold.

"I don't care, just go." He let go, and Xia You hurried to pick up the poor soda can, without even caring about getting angry.

Jonny nodded happily: "Great! My friends... No, I think you will like it! The location is in the southeast of the wasteland, on the first floor of the steel factory, and you can see the road signs when you go there. It's easy to find."

After that, he took out a crumpled note from his bag and handed it to Wu Tiao: "If anyone asks, you can show them this thing and say it's 'AE's guest'."

"Why, do you need to match the password for a meeting?"

"It's not a secret signal." Johnny smiled shyly, "The brothers guarding the field have a bit of a temper, and it's the first time for you to go back, so it's not good to be stopped. Take this thing as a letter of recommendation, they Now that I see the signature, I will definitely let it go."

After explaining, Jonny hurriedly put on his bag and left, seemingly in a hurry.

Wutiao took the note and read it over and over several times, except for a scribbled italic signature on the front, there was nothing special about it.The first standard language used for signatures, the connection points between characters are smooth and natural, and the strokes are round, which can be regarded as pleasing to the eye.

but.

"Isn't that his name?" Wutiao leaned closer to Xia You, tilting his head to show him the signature, "Is it because I can't read or have a bad memory?"

"That's right, especially the second half of the sentence."

"What? Are you trying to say that I can neither read nor remember?"

"That's not."

Xia You threw the empty can back to Wutiao, took the note away before he opened his mouth to fight back, and looked at the light.

Andre Enzolas.

He repeatedly identified that it was indeed the name.Why can Johnny sign someone else's name?And according to him, this signature seems to have the effect of a pass, allowing some grumpy guards to let them go directly.

"Enlightenment, let's go after changing shifts. Tonight's rally——I have a good feeling."

Wujo squinted his eyes, and casually threw the soda can into the trash can.The can fell into the circular hole accurately and made a crisp sound when it hit the barrel wall.

The street lamp flickered a few times, a half-dead moth stuck to the tube, and a gust of wind blew across the street.

Wutiao turned his head to look at Xia You, a few strands of the other's bundled black hair were hanging down his temples, blowing slightly in the wind.In just a moment, the soft and green Rong grass on the spring field suddenly flashed in his mind, and the bud tips surged with the breeze, forming endless waves.

So he stretched out his hand and pinned the strand of hair behind Xia You's ear, the movement was as natural as if he had done it thousands of times.

"What?" Xia You raised her head, and there was still a faint icy touch on her cheeks.He was deliberating over any doubts about this rally, and for a moment he didn't pay attention to Wutiao's actions, just pretending that he didn't hear what he said.

Wutiao's face remained unchanged: "Since you not only know words but also have a good memory, what is a mere rally?"

Xia You: "Well, I'll just pretend I didn't hear you being sarcastic."

At six o'clock shift change, Xia You left the factory with Wutiao, wearing the backpack that never left her body.They followed the map they had won before to search for the 'wasteland', running through the streets and roaring, awakening many sleepy birds on the telegraph poles.Beggars can be seen occasionally in some streets and alleys. Most of them are mutilated, with a wooden board like a petition standing in front of them, and they make some noises as thin as mosquitoes and flies from their mouths.

There are also beggars on the surface of the fifth district, among which liars and real goods are mixed together, so Xia You has long practiced the ability to not squint.On the contrary, Wutiao was very curious from the beginning to the end, and always had to poke his head to look at it whenever he passed by, regardless of whether it would hurt his little self-esteem.

Given that he never gave out even a single copper coin, this behavior was definitely not caused by sympathy—Xia You even doubted whether Wutiao had the ability to empathize with ordinary people, and this question is still unresolved.

Furnace No. [-] is much more lively than the remote No. [-]. There are many people piled up on the dark street, hawking and fighting together.The smell of cooked food wafted from the house, and the sound of conversation spilled out of the windows, giving the whole street a foggy atmosphere of life.

The street racer gallops past it, sucking the fume and dust into the bottom of the wheel and throwing it far away.

"I see!" Wutiao adjusted the focal length coefficient on the sunglasses, and searched for the target within the field of vision: "Turn left in front——"

Running over the half-collapsed barbed wire, they passed three or four notices in succession. The huge rusty warehouses and old chimneys were gradually surrounded from all sides, forming a near-vacuum area.

The "wasteland" lives up to its name, a desolate ruin with nothing left.The notice posted ten years ago is still shivering in the wind, the handwriting is blurred, and bold titles such as "moderate danger" and "pollutant" can be vaguely seen.Abandoned factories are distributed in a radial pattern, most of the scaffolding is peeled off, and mud pits are accumulated on the uneven road.

Xia You stopped the car in front of the only steel factory, locked it, and walked to the gate.

There were two burly young men standing at the door, their posture seemed casual, but when the two approached, they blocked the door tightly, raised their eyebrows, and said, "You guys are new here?"

Wutiao took out the note and waved the signature in front of the young man's eyes: "AE's guest...that's what he said."

The janitor grabbed the note and pulled it out, but he didn't take the five notes seriously, so he relaxed his fingertips and let him move.The two guards looked together for a long time, and seemed to have finally figured out that they were not fake or shoddy goods, so they straightened up and opened the door, with a hint of admiration in their expressions: "Please come in, both of you, from the first floor under the stairs in the storage room .”

"okay."

The workshop in the steel factory can vaguely see its original appearance, the surface is covered with thick dust, and a casual rubbing of it can raise a dust wind that blocks the sky and the sun.They followed the signs all the way to the storage room, and they found the descending stairs in the rusted house.

Broken oil lamps hung on the handrails on both sides, and the dim yellow halo barely illuminated the stairs, but could not penetrate the deeper fog.The spiral staircase continued downwards, and the oil lamp gradually became useless, and every step felt like stepping into dark, deep water.Wutiao, who had dark glasses with night vision function, unknowingly walked in front, freeing up one hand to hold Xia You, and the cold five-finger ring was on his wrist, clenched tightly.

Finally, the real feeling of the earth appeared under their feet, and they pushed open a door in the dark, and the vision suddenly opened up.

The bonfires are scattered, illuminating the lively faces of countless people.They sat on the ground in the dark, with flames dancing on their bodies and in their eyes; regardless of skin color, race and value, young people sat together, as if they had been friends for many years.

It was more than the size of two standard gymnasiums—it was completely beyond Xia You's expectation that there was such a huge monster hidden under the wasteland.

He had thought that he would see a sneaky club, but he never thought that even with a rough estimate with the naked eye, there would be at least hundreds of people present.

It is impossible for so many people to be summoned passively, there must be some reason for gathering here.Judging from the expressions, most of these people looked relaxed and at ease, and some even showed joy, as if they were voluntary no matter how you think about it.

Xia You had an untimely and frightening conjecture in his mind.That idea only showed a bud, but he cut it off severely, and threw it away as if he was afraid of avoiding it.

"Unlikely." He rested his chin and muttered to himself, "But it's not completely unexplainable, if you want to put it that way..."

"Hey old guys! How's your day?"

Thoughts were suddenly interrupted.He turned his head and saw Wutiao pounced into the nearest group of people, and naturally greeted them enthusiastically.

The person who was asked was a little puzzled, but he just smiled friendly and moved aside to make room for him.

"Need to say, I'm looking forward to when the boss will notify me to come to the meeting every day. It's hard to get through seven days." A young man with a big arm and a round waist sighed, pulling his left hand on the waist of his trousers, which had widened again.

Next to him was a tall, thin boy with white skin, who nodded in agreement when he heard this: "Isn't it? We work overtime every day and don't pay wages, so we will not be able to pay the rent this month. When will the boss plan another one?" Activities? Everyone can get some benefits, and it won't be so difficult in the future."

Wutiao sat down obediently, smiled and asked, "I don't have a good memory. What did you do last time?"

All the people in the circle cast contemptuous glances at him, and the young white man was amazed: "It's only been half a year and you don't remember? We smashed up the entire block under the jurisdiction of Factory No. [-]. There are so many grocery stores there. There are a lot of good things left, and I haven't had to worry about eating for half a year!"

"We joined late, and missed a lot of plans. Before, the brothers broke into the old building of the district government, crashed in from the outside of the glass door, and the flame spray gun was 'swish', good guy! Wear a suit All the shit, didn't even take the money. Our boss just walked up to the vault, iris verification? The highest authority! A dog employee who stayed there turned green..."

"Hahaha...!" The crowd burst into laughter, as if they could also pick up submachine guns and shoot at anytime and anywhere, sending all the dogs in suits and leather shoes to the west.

Wujo turned his head calmly and looked at Xia You.

They both saw unspeakable warning and uneasiness in each other's eyes.

People were chatting and laughing, when a brown-haired young man suddenly walked up in the distance and called the two of them by their names in a soft voice.Xia You responded, and the man—Johnny—has hurried over and said to them, "I thought you wouldn't be here...here, there's a friend I want to introduce to you."

He was still dressed in the usual plain attire, harmless and docile.When Wujo got up, he noticed that the crowd was suddenly quiet for a second, and those fiery eyes fell on Jonny, like magma meeting a monstrous wave, and the enthusiasm was completely extinguished and condensed.In a word—very subtle, awe-inspiring and unwilling.

Jonny led them across the arena, all the way to the head of the crowd.There was a small stage set up, with a microphone stand standing alone, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

"There is no lecture this week, it's just an ordinary exchange meeting." Jonny led them to sit on the side of the stage, and turned on the mimic bonfire to make the light burn even brighter.His gray eyes were still as bright as ever, not aggressive, but definitely not vulnerable.

Xia You felt her heart beating fast.He took deep breaths as slowly as possible, not letting anyone see through his sudden surge of tension.Five hands rested on his shoulders, and the place where the limbs touched gradually grew warmth, which made him calm down a little.

"Hey, are you here so soon?"

Until the bright and sunny voice came from behind, the words were pronounced slowly, and the nasal and cohesive sounds were elegant and elegant. At first glance, it was subtly similar to Wutiao.

The blond youth sat down next to Johnny and looked at them across the campfire.

Seeing the unconcealable surprise in Xia You's eyes, he laughed, his facial features were perfectly proportioned like a marble statue.

"You guys... aren't big hole people, are you?"