【Summer Five】Iron City Wall

"Looking for Ann?" Jonny held half a piece of bread in his mouth, and said vaguely, "Wait a minute, let me see."

In the cramped grocery store, the buzzing of the electrical box running could be heard from time to time, CDs were piled up on two walls, and the rest were some odds and ends of daily necessities.A TV was hung on the south-facing corner. The LCD screen was cracked from the upper left corner, and snowflakes flashed on the screen every few seconds. Spider webs lay across the top edge, weaving into a ball of white flowers.

An unknown soprano aria was played from the speaker, the resonance was full and the timbre was mellow, and it was a good voice, but it was extremely out of tune with the surrounding scenery.It's like tasting foie gras wine in the sewer - the sense of fragmentation is so strong that it makes me smile when I think about it.

Five people sat on a few stacks of magazines as if they had nothing to do, occupying most of the aisle with a random swing of their legs.He rested his chin to watch Xia You talk to Johnny, and his eyes circled around someone's black hair.

"I'm sorry to trouble you." Xia You said, "I really have something to do with him."

After about 5 minutes, Johnny turned around and came out, the piece of bread had been swallowed.

"If you're in a rush, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until next week's meeting." He flipped through the record book in his hand, and read down the column line by line, "It's usually easier to find Ann. We can meet each other at weekly fixed gatherings."

Busy outside?I'm afraid they are busy traveling between the surface and the big cavity, Wujo scoffed.

The aria gradually reached its peak, and Xia You said in a series of explosive high-pitched voices, "Then we will meet him again at the next meeting, thank you for your help."

"It's okay, I have something to do anyway...By the way, is it convenient to ask what you want to do with him?"

"All around me, the flames of death and despair surround me!" *The coloratura soprano sprinkled notes like a showmanship, and the full and clear resonance was rough and harsh by the player, like a raving crow.

Xia You shrunk his head subconsciously to avoid the eardrum being broken by the sound waves: "I want to do some experiments, ask him if he can help me get the equipment."

"Ann? Sure, no problem. At most, he will ask you to prepare the funds yourself, and the other conditions must be met." Jonny affirmed without thinking, "The meeting is scheduled for Friday, see you then..."

The last two words were swallowed by the sudden roar of "Listen, God of Vengeance! Listen to a mother's vow!" Xia You hurriedly grabbed five pieces and fled through the door, leaving Jonny to hop to reach the switch of the player .

This week, they lived a life of helping out at the blacksmith shop during the day and going to the arena to earn extra money at night, which was more fulfilling than when they were on the surface.Lao Chen is a craftsman with both skills and experience. He can always point out the two people's minor shortcomings in practice, and teach them the experience gained by the older generation for decades.

Regardless of the five, Xia You thinks he has benefited a lot.The theory that was once superficial has been hammered into the muscles, and the practical operation has greatly consolidated his knowledge and made it even more icing on the cake.

As for the arena - the low-level area is always easy, not to mention Xia You and Wujo's tacit understanding is unmatched, almost sweeping the competition area invincible.At best, they can exercise their muscles and bones, and they can lie down and wait for a considerable amount of money to be credited to their bank cards.Of course, the money has to be spent on himself in the end: either it is saved as an intermediary fee for Wang's second son, or it is saved for chip experiments.

By the time the next Friday rolls around, the source code infrastructure is complete.Wutiao roughly wrote a few lines of framework, ran the search and found no problems for the time being, and only waited for the follow-up supply to be negotiated with Andre before the experiment could be officially started.Fortunately, this thing is no better than a driven armor. Although the precision is high, the demand for the actual site is quite close to the people: as long as the equipment is good enough and the conditions are sufficient, anyone can tinker with it.

So, they set foot on the road to the wasteland again.

The underground auditorium was still full of people, and the bonfires lit up the darkness, exposing the faces of young people full of vitality.

Two spotlights were turned on on the stage, illuminating the blond speaker from 360 degrees without dead ends.Andre talked with a smile on his face, and his gestures were not oppressive, but also had a bit of refined and elegant extravagance, which just rightly decorated the rock-solid belief in those green eyes.

Xia You touched the edge and sat down quietly, just in time to hear Andre talking about "actions next month".He immediately felt a little restless. On the one hand, he deceived himself that he didn’t want to hear it—as if he couldn’t prove his entanglement with the rebel army by deceiving himself. So after a fierce ideological struggle, he decided to stay where he was.

"Fifth District Bank?" Wutiao repeated Andre's words in a low voice, "They wouldn't think that this would destroy all the shops on that street, it would be a waste."

He habitually put on summer oil, and used his free hand to scratch his silver hair.The eyes behind the sunglasses were blinded by the flames, and the fingers sunk in the stubble like sunlight in a knee-high bush.

Andre made an impassioned speech on stage, and the content probably revolved around an upcoming "protest".Xia You had only heard about the bad deeds of the rebels from the adults, but when he saw it with his own eyes, he felt a bit dreamy and bewildered.

They discussed how to quickly solve the control bureau, what route to meet, and how much supplies to take away in total.Andre's expression was precise, organized and clear, and the careful operation involving hundreds of people was planned by him in an orderly manner, just like a rigorous military defense plan.

No wonder the people gathered here trust him—with such a wise, wise and pioneering leader, it is really easy to seduce a few young people who have no idea.

At the end of the rally, the nuns of the Torchlight Society still came to the stage to chant the eulogy, and everyone present stood up and chanted, praying for the protection of the gods.

Xia You pretended to lower her head, but actually observed the people around her from the corner of her eye.He saw that most of the people were devout and polite, bowing their heads in prayer in a dignified way; only five people were not only pretending, but even deliberately raised their heads and raised their jaws.The corners of his brows and eyes were covered with frost, and he looked straight at the nun. There seemed to be a collision of anger and glaciers in his eyes, and then instantly vaporized into a roaring and cold self-deprecation.

Feeling the slightly curled fingers on her shoulders, Xia You wanted to ask, but hesitated for a moment, and then swallowed back the words that had been brewing for a long time.

After the meeting, they met with Johnny and stopped Andre who was packing up.

"The thing is like this..." Xia You roughly explained the experiment they were doing, omitting the part related to the source code, just treating it as an ordinary breakthrough technology research.

Andre pondered for a moment, then said, "Yes, all you need are materials?"

"Yes, research equipment and product materials-I will give you a list, just follow the above."

Zippering the backpack, Andre smiled cheerfully: "I think Johnny has reminded me that there is nothing I can't handle - as long as you have your own funds. Since everyone wants to make friends, I won't make the difference, just press the Pay the price you get, okay?"

"Okay." Xia You replied, "Then wait for your good news."

Andre waved his hand and took the list.Before leaving, the man rubbed Johnny's head and said softly, "I'll ask you to take care of everyone while I'm away."

The fire was dazzling, and Johnny blushed, nodded, and hesitated for a long time without saying a word.

The leader left, and Xia You handed the backup list to Jonny: "I'm sorry, please help me figure it out, how much will it cost?"

Jonny, who kept glancing at Andre's back, finally woke up with a start, and hastily picked up the checklist and glanced at it.I don't see how he did the calculation, but within a minute, the brown-haired young man raised his head and resolutely reported a number.

"Right?"

"There is no mistake, at most it is slightly different from the actual amount, and the gap will not be greater than the estimated value."

When it comes to calculations, Jonny's eyes are always bright, and he looks like a different person: "Ann promised not to charge the price difference, and she will definitely keep her promise. If there is any problem at that time, I will be responsible for solving it."

Xia You silently wrote down the amount with a lot of digits, and an idea gradually sprouted.

On the way back, they walked with Johnny.

Perhaps the street lights were brighter than usual, and Xia You chatted with Jonny a lot.According to the latter, Andre previously sent him to Factory No. [-] to recruit ambitious people to join the army—they would always lurk in the crowd and lend a helping hand to those in need, making these brothers and sisters uncomfortable. suffer again.

Now that the task is over, he will return to the NO.13 furnace and work as a boiler worker in the inner circle of the factory.Although this job is tiring, the salary is higher than any other type of work, and I can save some money by paying the rent every month.

"I always wanted to repay Ann, even though he never asked for it." Johnny lowered his eyes, the streetlight casting a shadow on his forehead. "From the time we first met, he has opened me up, guided me to discover my talents, and let me know that I am 'needed'. Everyone is saved by him, and the fire and light he brings can dissolve all pain; they call He is the 'Sun God who drives an ox cart', and even the Torch Society is willing to give him grace."

Xia You didn't know how to speak for a while.He thinks these things are too private and should not be revealed at will; just like Wu Tiao to him, it is the white mist that always haunts the heart and the elk in the forest taking a nap in the palm.

But he agrees with Johnny's words to a certain extent: the gods are merciful and merciful, and their light may shine on all living beings, but it never stays for one person.

Wutiao naturally dismissed these remarks.He seems to have some deep hatred with Torch. Every time he mentions it, he frowned and said with all his disdain: "What's the use of relying on gods? Faith is simply a tool to deceive people and money, and everyone believes in it?"

Johnny smiled sarcastically, pinching his cuffs and making no objection.Xia You quickly smoothed things over for him, saying that Wu is an out-and-out atheist, please forgive me if I offend you.

The dark street under your feet stretched into the distance, and the street lights flickered on and off, stirring up the lingering gloom in everyone's heart.

Lao Chen's house and Johnny stopped by, and they parted at the door.Xia You asked Wujo to go upstairs first, and when he saw his back disappear behind the door, he turned to Johnny: "Can I ask you to help me find a job in the inner circle of the furnace? The higher the salary, the better."

"Yes, yes, what happened?"

Xia You smiled, and said calmly: "Lack of money. Leaving aside the low-quality products, I want Andre to help buy higher-quality equipment—in this way, the current income is far from enough."

Knowing their usual life style, Johnny couldn't help hesitating: "The boiler worker also works as a repair and maintenance worker, and the real salary is not low. But the workload is very heavy, and the latest shift has to work from twelve o'clock in the middle of the night to the second. Six o'clock the next day. When are you free?"

Xia You: "Let's just take the night shift, the time can be staggered."

He spoke nonchalantly, not even smiling.But Jonny couldn't be happy at all: "Then you have to keep spinning all day? Even if you are still young, you can't spoil yourself like this..."

"What's so serious?" Xia You waved his hand, shaking off Jonny's full of worries: "Just for a while, save enough money and finish. I owe you two favors for this matter, and there is anything I can help in the future , come and find me anytime."

Jonny flattened his mouth in dissatisfaction: "I have to pay for this little thing...why are there two?"

The street lights snapped and went dark, and the big hollow and pitch-black dome almost swallowed up the summer oil.He lowered his eyes, and his tone became very light: "I want to ask you for a favor."

"Don't mention this in front of Wu, don't take the initiative to mention it... don't lie."

Facing the rarely serious eyes of the brunette, Xia You unconsciously glanced towards the attic.There is a warm yellow light, which is particularly vivid in the twilight, like a lamp bearer who bends down to welcome guests in the wind and snow-it will dispel all the cold, confusion and hesitation.

Looking at the tall and thin shadow on the curtain, he smiled slowly and sincerely.

That's good, he thought.

That's it.