[The Wandering Earth] Short Story Collection: The Age of Roses

Sentinel guide AU, pay attention to the sentinel

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— until the voice of man wakes us, and we drown [1].

It was a sea of ​​despair.

It stood between Wang Lei and the sky, looking like an ice wall blocking him.The side of the ice wall was cut extremely flat by some force, but the frozen aquatic organisms inside could still be seen.

Wang Lei stood up from the frozen soil. He looked around and found that the frozen ocean was nearly 300 meters thick. Probably due to its large size, there were huge cracks penetrating from the top of the ice layer. There is enough room for one person to walk on.The cold wind with snowflakes was blowing from all directions, and an abandoned detector was swept into the sky.It thumped against the ice overhead, knocking several parts flying.

Without saying a word, Wang Lei picked up the parts that had rolled to his feet.He wiped off the snow foam on it, and put it in his pocket with great care.He raised his hand and pressed it against the ice: Except for the sound of the strong wind, the world is completely silent.It shows no signs of life, and naturally no animals or humans survive.

He closed his eyes, and the sound of flapping wings came from behind him.

"Did you hear that?" The guide raised an arm to give his spirit guide a place to stay.The black-crested cuckoo falcon sat docilely on his forearm and looked at him, and the wind blew the white down on its neck.As if it had been summoned, it flapped its wings suddenly, rose suddenly, and flew straight into the gap in the ice sea.

Half a month ago, Liu Qi's mental picture was still boundless snow and silent sea.Thinking of this, Wang Lei's brows tightened even more.

Unable to tell whether it was anger or self-blame, he sighed heavily.The black-crested cuckoo falcon flying in front heard his sigh with a tacit understanding. It hovered in the air for a few seconds and looked back at its half body. Its docile black eyes seemed to say "don't worry" to him.

"How can I not be in a hurry?" Seeing the reaction of the spiritual guide, Wang Lei said softly.He raised his hand and touched the wings of the black-crested cuckoo falcon, and the latter let out a short cry.

They haven't had time to actually bond yet—they're still fighting in the real world.The day after their spiritual union, the rebels launched another brutal attack on Beijing.Even if the coalition government's army has experienced hundreds of battles, most of the sentinels can only be defeated steadily against the dark guides of hundreds of rebels.

"It's a long night." When Wang Lei rushed to the ward, Li Yiyi was leaning over to the person lying on the bed. "The situation is very bad. Tim said that when he confronted the sentinel on the opposite side, he pulled people into the empathy loop. That's it—that's a Dark Sentinel, it's good that most people can't be affected, and he can kill him."

"What about the battle situation?" Wang Lei threw down another sentence.He threw himself to the side of the simple low bed, and half-kneeled to check Liu Qi's situation.The Sentinel's sleeping face was as peaceful as it had been in countless nights before, he was motionless, only the slight undulation of the bed sheet proclaimed that he was still alive.

"What else can I do?" The doctor guide in white pushed his glasses, his eyes were slightly red, "Of course we won! After he fell, the whole team went crazy, and they swept the rebels desperately! They were all repelled, and from their point onwards, the surrounding squads also set up defensive lines! We have defended Beijing!"

The doctor clenched his fists and his voice was harsh.But when his gaze caught sight of the sentinel lying quietly, the fingers on his side loosened again.

"But, Long Night... Long Night!" Li Yiyi punched the wall in pain, "I'm sorry, Team Wang, as his teammate, I couldn't protect him well."

Wang Lei shook his head, "You have done a good job," he said, "The next step is my business."

Under the watchful eyes of the doctor, he lay flat on the ground beside his sentinel, his fingers clasped tightly.

"I'm going to bring him back."

This sentence was mentioned in the textbook of the military school, which was the memoir of a sentinel who almost fell into the long night."I'd rather embrace death than fall into the long night," he said.

For Sentinels, the Long Night is a prison in their hearts.Seized by their own dark emotions, the Sentinels voluntarily entered the cell, snapped the lock, and finally threw the key far away.They are trapped in their own mental images, accompanied by silence and loneliness day after day.A Sentinel sunk into the night, never to wake again.

Few guides can wake their Sentinels from the long night.Darkness, as well as warmth, has a magical power in bringing people to sleep.In fact, most Sentinels and Guides are not bonded so closely together that the Guide can enter its mental picture without the Sentinel's permission.This is still the case for the combined sentinel guide, not to mention that Wang Lei and Liu Qi have only carried out a spiritual union.

But Wang Lei did open his eyes in the sea of ​​ice.He walked on the wind, looking for the sound of the whale.

The black-crested cuckoo falcon has been lingering for some time.Sometimes it galloped up along the ice wall, and sometimes swooped down, its gray wings fully spread in the air, and the tips of its wings were pitch black.The cuckoo falcon has good hearing and eyesight, but in this ice maze, it gradually loses its compass, the heavy and rhythmic sound of the whale's heartbeat.

Wang Lei stomped his feet and looked up at the sky. "Come down," he said, and the black-crested cuckoo folded its wings, landed on his shoulders, and rubbed its neck against the guide's head. "I'll take you to him."

Everything around was completely silent, even the whistling wind stopped.Cities frozen in sea water are rapidly fading.The bright yellow school bus on their way had turned light yellow, and the round platform of the Oriental Pearl Tower had also faded from dark red to water red.Even the color of the ice is gradually fading. The seawater was originally faintly blue, but now there is only a piece of gray and white.

His sentries had constructed a maze with their own hands.He threw out the key and hid himself in the deepest part.

"Kids, this is really a challenge."

Wang Lei said softly.As he was walking on the snow, the black-crested cuckoo honked twice, as if expressing his confusion.

The first meeting between him and Liu Qi is not a historic meeting, let alone love at first sight like many writers describe love.The young major went to the military academy to attend the event, and saw a student in the library occupying a whole desk, with a lot of drawn paper piled up in a mess.Wang Lei couldn't help but took a closer look. Some of them had tactical design drawings drawn on them--students from the Command Department, right?Some are design sketches of armed machinery—I also taught myself mechanics, and learned from others’ strengths, yes—some are large-scale planning sketches and mazes—what is this again?

This kid can do everything.He pulled out a chair and sat beside him.Hearing people's voices, the little boy raised his head from the blueprint he was drawing: "Huh?"

"The design is good." Wang Lei pointed to a maze piled on top.

The sentinel's eyes lit up, he took down the maze and laid it flat in front of Wang Lei, and stuffed a pencil into his hand. "Try it," he said.

Less than a minute later, Wang Lei returned the maze to him, "Okay."

"So fast?" Liu Qi was a little surprised. The maze he gave him was a maze that most sentinel class students could walk through in 10 minutes.

"I'm better at this," the major guide smiled, and Liu Qi only noticed his rank at this time, "but you did a good job."

The tips of the little sentry's ears were a little red.He scratched his hair, a little embarrassed but proudly saluted the approachable officer.

"Another one?" Wang Lei heard him ask.

They stayed until it was almost closing time.The wizard solved all the mazes that had been drawn, and the sentinel was excited to design on the spot with red ears.Until they walked out of the library side by side, the little sentinel was still circling new ideas for designing the maze in his head.

"Little boy," said the major, pleased to see the sentry purse his lips in reluctance to be called little, "what's your name?"

"Liu Qi." Said the sentinel, blinked his eyes, and added another sentence.

"One day I will design a maze that you cannot solve."

They came to a fork in the road.Liu Qi is to the left, and Wang Lei is to the right.

"Really?" The guide smiled, "My name is Wang Lei."

He stood where he was and waved to the young sentinel.

"I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Wang Lei propped his hands on the ice and quickly crossed the last obstacle.The sea of ​​ice disappeared here, and there was a silent and cold snowfield in front of it.There was a huge depression in the center of the surface, and Wang Lei couldn't help but take a second look. It looked like a lake that was frozen instantly, and a huge fin whale was frozen in the center of the lake.Half of its body is suspended in the air, and a layer of ice has formed on the silver-gray dorsal fin, reflecting cold light in the sun.

The black-crowned magpie rushed over like an arrow, Wang Lei had never seen his spiritual guide fly so fast.The magpie falcon circled up and down the fin whale, making short, high-pitched calls, rubbing the side of its neck against its forehead.

A military transport vehicle was parked by the lake with a person on the roof.Wang Lei wiped his hands and climbed up along the arc of the front of the car.He slowly approached the rear of the car, propped the roof off with his hands, and sat down beside Liu Qi.

He was younger than the comatose Liu Qi he had just met, and he looked like he was still in military academy.

Black-crowned magpie falcons circled around them.

"Is it night now?" Liu Qi suddenly asked after an unknown amount of time.

"It is the long night," answered his guide.

Following his words, the sun's rays quickly faded away.Darkness rules the snowfields.

"...Why is that whale here?" The voice was very soft this time.

Side by side they watched the black-crowned magpie falcon, still circling the fin whale tirelessly.

"Maybe it wants to go home."

The sentinel sighed softly.

"What about me?" he said.

"I'm here to take you home." His guide said, Liu Qi looked sideways at him.

Wang Lei took his hand and stood up.

"Let's go home."[2]

As if in response to his words, the sea of ​​ice and snow fields in the mental image gradually collapsed.

The fin whale, wagging its tail, jumped out of the melting water.

When Liu Qi opened his eyes, he felt that his right hand was tightly held in his hand.The lights in the war zone wards have been in disrepair for a long time, and there is a monotonous electrical noise mixed with the white light.

A nurse in the hallway puts two ampoules on a tray.The one with the two wheels on the left side of the front right side of the trolley is aging.

He propped himself up and looked into the guide's dark eyes.

Wang Lei didn't have much expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," Liu Qi said, he turned his head away, his voice was a little dry, "for making you go to such a dangerous place."

"What are you talking about?" He heard the sound of cloth rubbing, and Wang Lei got up from the ground and sat beside his bed.

"...Are you going to punish me?" The sentinel's voice was dry.

"What do you say?"

Liu Qizang's hands under the quilt trembled, he looked up at Wang Lei, and said nothing.

"As a punishment for 'the maze you designed was solved by me'..." Wang Lei laughed shortly, "I decided to deprive you of an important right."

Liu Qi also laughed, and he raised his head: "... Do you have the right to be your sentinel?"

This child, Wang Lei laughed.

He shook his head, turned over and knelt on the bed with one knee, pulled out Liu Qi's two hands from under the quilt, and clasped his fingers tightly.

"No," he said, "take away your right to feel pain."

Liu Qi opened his eyes wide, while Wang Lei smiled and kissed the young man's forehead.

"From now on, I will protect you."

He announced slowly and solemnly, feeling the person in his arms trembling violently.He hugged him.

"I will not allow you to be sad again."

……

We stay in the boudoir of the sea for the girl of the sea

They wear garlands of red and brown seaweed

until the voice of man wakes us up and we drown

【End】

The author has something to say:

Note:

1. Quoted from JS Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Plovlock", the same boldface at the end

2. There may be beautiful girls here who don't understand the fact that Dui Wang rescued his household registration in four sentences. Let me explain.

Liu Qi is a sentinel caught in the long night, and Wang Lei, as a guide, wants to rescue him.There are three questions and four answers for the two-person Q&A.There will be a certain amount of synchronous induction between sentries and guides who are mentally combined, that is to say, the thoughts of guides can also affect the actions of sentries.

Team Wang said four sentences in total: It's the long night.Maybe it wants to go home.I'm here to take you home.we go home.

The functions of the four sentences are:

It's a long night. [Testing the impact of my own words on Liu Qi's mental image, sure enough, it was completely dark, which proved to have a great impact]

Maybe it wants to go home. [Whale is Liu Qi's spiritual guide, Liu Qi's projection, psychologically implying Liu Qi'I want to go home']

I'm here to take you home. [Strengthen again, confirm that he is convinced by turning Liu Qi's head]

we go home. [Issuing an order to collapse the spiritual image of Long Ye]

As mentioned above, Team Wang is quite powerful as a guide.

3.【About spiritual guide】

The spiritual guide of the Wang team is the black-crested cuckoo, a bird of the genus Cuckoo in the eagle family, a medium-sized raptor with a body length of 30-33 cm and a weight of 178-217 grams.Very small bird that can stand on an arm.

Hukou's spiritual guide is the fin whale, an aquatic mammal in the genus Baleen.It is the second largest whale in the world and the second largest animal in existence, second only to the blue whale.Fin whales are spindle-shaped, about 25 meters long, and weigh about 70 tons.Although it is big, it swims fast. It is a fighting whale among whales.