Embrace the light

Ian and Mino met through books.

Ian is a well-known writer on C.com, who is good at writing heartwarming stories.And Mino is a loyal fan of Ian, and he is also the most capable one among all the fans.

Today is the sixth day of May, and tomorrow is Ian's birthday.From a month ago, Mino began to express mysteriously that he would give Ian a big gift.

Up to now, Ian and Mino have known each other for five years and eight months.During this period, the total value of Mino's gifts to Ian has exceeded the total number of words in Ian's code.

"Nuo Nuo, don't spend any more money on me. Just the two of us go out to eat hot pot and watch a movie. It's a very precious gift in itself to celebrate my birthday with you."

Mino smiled mysteriously, "An'an, let me tell you, this gift is really great. I thought about it for a long time before I thought of it. It will be especially suitable for you. To be honest, this gift is really not me. I got it easily, thanks to my father's help. Although the annoying father is the one who finally worked, I won't thank him, hmph!"

The topic jumped from "birthday gift" to Mino's "disgusting" father without knowing it.

Mino's "disgusted" father is the marshal of the "Screaming Eagle" Legion of the Imperial Army, a general with great military exploits.Susu is famous for its "cold noodles and majesty".

When Ian was playing at Mino's house, he had a close encounter with this outstanding military marshal.Xu is because he has led the legion to kill powerful enemies in wars many times, so he has a majesty and awe in him.He doesn't talk much, except when he "competes" with Mino.

"No", "No", "Stay with me", "Let him go away"...

This is a common phrase used by Marshal and Mino when they compete for favor—the marshal wants "Madam", and Mino wants Dad.

Therefore, Ian felt grateful and uneasy when he heard Mino say that the birthday present was found through the relationship of the Marshal of the Empire.

I am grateful for Mino's attention to me, and I am uneasy that this gift is so "precious", and I don't know how I can repay Mino's friendship.

Mino waved his hand on the phone, "An'an doesn't think too much, you get back in a good mood and write more good stories, which is the best feedback to my heart."

Strictly speaking, Ian is a lonely and indifferent person, like a piece of ice. When you get close to him, you will be intimidated by his coldness and chill, but when you put it in your heart to warm him, he will double Nourish your heart.

"Okay, thank you Nuonuo, I will adjust my mentality as soon as possible and resume the daily update."

"NONO——I'm not reminding you, your good mood is a million times more important than writing." Mino looked at the time, it was already ten o'clock in the evening, and there were 15 minutes left before Ian's bedtime. "Okay, don't bother you to rest, meet me at Laifu Square at noon tomorrow, we will see you soon. Good night, An'an."

"Okay, Nuonuo, good night."

*******

On the seventh day of May, a fine day with bright sunshine and clear blue sky.

Ian and Mino ate hot pot, watched a movie, and visited a bookstore successively. It was soon five o'clock in the evening.

Six o'clock is the time to meet with Mino's family.I left Laver Square at five o'clock and arrived at Mino's house around 05:30.

Mino's house was in a manor not far from the Imperial Palace. When they got there, Mino hurriedly took Ian to his bedroom to change clothes together.

Putting on the well-tailored dress, Ian was a little surprised. Could it be that Nuonuo also prepared a birthday party for himself?Didn't you just have dinner at home to celebrate?

"Nonuo, we are..." Ian questioned himself.

Mino mysteriously gave Ian a wink, "Join a party and let you claim your birthday present."

claim?Is it a pet?Or... a mech or a robot?

But obviously Mino didn't want to reveal the answer at this moment. He tidied up the dress for Ian, and then grabbed a handsome hairstyle for himself and Ian.

When the two finished dressing up, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

It was Mino Field's father Mitchin and father Auston Field.

"Dad, we've packed up and we're ready to go." Although Mino is 21 years old, he still likes to throw himself into his father's arms and act like a baby.

Mitchin touched his son's head, which was slightly hardened by spraying hairspray, and smiled at Ian, "An'an, happy birthday."

"Thank you uncle." Ian and Mitchin thanked, and were about to express their thanks to Marshal Auston, but before they could say anything, Minola left.

The car drove for about an hour before arriving at the destination.

Ian got out of the car and looked at this strange manor.

Different from the elegance of Mino's manor, this manor looks a little cold and solemn, without brightly colored flowers, only straight evergreen trees are neatly distributed.

After being guided by the waiter to brush his face and enter the hall, Ian was still a little confused.

This does not appear to be an ordinary store, restaurant or hotel.

When they came to a private room, everyone sat down one by one. After the waiter who led the way stepped back, some melons, fruits and snacks were quickly served in the private room.

Mitchin explained: "This is an official auction center, but the auction items are quite special. There are some confiscated illegal equipment, mechs, interstellar meteorites, etc."

Michin pointed to the only glass window in the room, "This is not an ordinary window. It is both a single-sided window and a display screen. We will use it to view the auction items on the booth later."

Both Ian and Mino nodded. At this time, the windows are still in the style of ordinary glass windows, which should be because the auction has not yet started.

"An'an, the gift I gave you this time is very special."

Ian looked into Mino's eyes and heard him continue, "Have you heard of 'Exile'?"

Ian shook his head.

Mino explained: "The so-called 'exiles' are criminals who have been sentenced to life-long exile in the court. Different from the exile of prisoners to remote and desolate places in the ancient Hua Ting Empire, the current life-long exile refers to the exile for life. Criminals have their memories completely erased and control chips are implanted in their brains, allowing them to spend the rest of their lives serving masters such as buyers or institutions."

Ian was shocked by this explanation. He was just a commoner and didn't pay much attention to administrative legal matters. Regarding the punishment of the empire, he only had simple concepts such as "imprisonment, life imprisonment and death penalty".

"Aren't these criminals all treacherous and evil people? What if they think of something during their sentence, or their nature is bad and they start doing bad things again?"

Mino replied: "This kind of memory erasure operation was invented by the top physicians of the Imperial Central Hospital. It has been practiced for hundreds of years. So far, no criminal has recovered his memory. And didn't I just mention that there will be Are chips implanted in the criminal's brain? These chips will affect the implanted person's thinking, nerves, and limbs. A penalty between lifelong rape and the death penalty, the original intention is to respect human life, and at the same time allow the exiles to create more value by serving the master, and to some extent it can be regarded as repayment for their crimes. They are not cheap to buy, and the buyer will generally use them to the maximum value. Of course, as a penalty, they will no longer enjoy the rights due to citizenship for their entire lives."

Ian frowned slightly, "Will this be too cruel..."

Ian is a warm-hearted story writer, and it is within Mino's expectation to think so.

"The reason why lifelong exile is a kind of punishment is to make the criminal pay the corresponding price. The reason why the death penalty is not directly imposed is also because some criminals are special. For example, the prisoners on the battlefield, everyone just stands against each other, and he has no real meaning. Violating the laws of the empire, if they refuse to be loyal to the empire, they will be shot directly, which is inhumane. If they are raped for life, it will be a waste of the resources of the empire. But after implementing life-long exile, clear their memories and implant them into control chip, they can restart their lives. Such exiles are usually assigned to work in criminal investigation, public security, etc., and if they perform very well, they can get promotion and glory. Of course, although they themselves may prefer to choose glory Martyrdom, but since he has become a captive of the empire, only by maximizing its value can it bring the greatest benefit to the empire." Michin explained the source of this punishment to Ian with an example, "The buyer who can buy the exile basically They are not ordinary people, and they will maximize the value of exiles, mostly for their own right-hand man, to help their lifelong career, etc., and they will not easily abuse abuse and the like."

After listening to Mitchin's detailed explanation, Ian felt a little more at ease, but it still felt a little strange to think that what he was going to buy was a living person after all.In addition, the exiles bought at the auction must have cost the Mino family a lot of money, and I may not be able to pay it back in my entire life.

He is just an ordinary white-collar worker in the city, earning income by writing articles and stories.Fortunately, Mino liked the stories he wrote and made him have a good friend from now on. This is already a very happy and satisfying thing for him.

It's normal for good friends to love each other and reciprocate courtesy, but when the difference in class between the two is too great, and the gift that the other party gives is worth much more than his annual income, this makes Ian feel very guilty.He feels that giving in friendship should be equal, and given his current situation, he cannot equalize the "reciprocity" well.

Especially what Mino is about to give him - the Exile.

"Nonuo, thank you for always choosing gifts for me so generously and carefully, but you really don't want to spend so much on me. I've known you for so long, and I'm sorry that I can't repay you equally. Exile, why don't you give up this gift, okay?"

Mino touched Ian's fair and round face, "Silly An'an, the gift is our mutual affection. We are close, so I want to treat you well. If you always measure our mutual affection by the value of money, then It’s just too materialistic of me, I don’t like it. Don’t feel guilty, the original intention of giving gifts is to express your heart and make you happy. If you refuse my overtures, don’t you push me too far. In addition, sending You exile, one is because I’m going to go to Al Xing for further study soon. You’re such a nerd, if no one is with you, you’ll never go out. It’s not fun to be bored at home alone. Second, although The exiles are criminals, but they are not all vicious people. Like the imperial prisoners that Dad just said, there are also very good and gentle people. If you find such a person to accompany you, you will not feel bored Yes. If after these months, you still feel uncomfortable with someone living with you, you can put the exile in your father's barracks, let him be an assistant or bodyguard or something. Human life is always It is much stronger and lasts longer than cats and dogs. If you get along well, he can be by your side for the rest of your life, and you no longer have to worry about being forced to say goodbye after a short time together. It's a good investment, try it, okay?"

Ian was convinced by Mino's words. He came from an orphanage in a remote area of ​​the Imperial Capital. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts the year before last, he began to enter the "single house" mode. After leaving his classmates, he never Didn't know anyone in particular—except Mino.

When he was five or six years old, the dean’s mother raised a white Samoyed, which was very good and friendly. The children in the courtyard liked him very much. It can be said that he accompanied the unadopted children throughout their childhood and adolescence.Until a certain high school holiday, when Ian returned to the courtyard, he found Bai Xue curled up in a corner, motionless.The dean's mother said that it was very old and was about to go to the sky. Recently, it had been waiting for Ian to say goodbye, and it had been sleeping in the corner where the two of them used to stay for several days, refusing to move.

Ian called "Bai Xue" a few times, but Bai Xue didn't move at all, almost making people think that it had passed away.Only when Ian lay down and touched its forehead with tears in his eyes did Bai Xue move.It raised its head slightly, wanting to rub against Ian's cheek like thousands of times in the past, but it really had no strength, so it could only shake its head slightly twice.In the opened eyes, there was a cloud of blueness. It looked out through Ian's shoulders, and the eyes could no longer focus accurately, and it was impossible to see the direction of Ian.It slowly lowered its head again, as if it had exhausted its last strength in raising its head just now, Bai Xue never opened his eyes again.

Ian has adopted several stray dogs and cats, and they get along very well.But no matter how carefully Ian took care of them, he still couldn't stop them from getting sick suddenly.The illnesses were all severe, and they died soon after.

After that, Ian no longer dared to keep pets, their lives were very fragile, and Ian was afraid that they would die suddenly because of him.Whether the real reason is subjective or objective.

All these, Ian had said to Mino.

So, the gift this time was specially chosen by Nuonuo after considering his own psychology and situation, right?

Ian hugged Mino and sincerely thanked him, but Mino pinched his nose and made fun of him for being so ignorant.

Ian also sincerely thanked Michin and Oston, Michin still smiled kindly, Marshal Oston remained expressionless, but nodded his head as a gesture.

The four of them were also hungry at this time, so Mino began to order food through the electronic menu on the table.The food was brought in quickly, and there was even a small cake with red cream written "Happy Birthday to Ian, happy forever" and a candle with the number "22".

Mino lit the candles, and then took the lead in singing the happy birthday song, and Michin also joined in. The beautiful singing of the father and son overlapped, and Field Marshal Alston clapped his hands for accompaniment.

Ian closed his eyes, made a wish on the candle, and then blew out the candle amidst the booing of the mino.

"Happy birthday, baby Ann." Mino wished again, and handed the handle of the knife to Ian, "Cut the cake, and then we will officially start dinner!"

When the four of them had almost eaten the delicacies, cakes and fruits on the table, the auction was about to officially start.When the host was in the heat, a folder appeared on the white screen.

Mino clicked on it, and it contained detailed information on the auction items in this auction.He printed three copies of the information, one for Ian, one for Dad, and the last one for himself.

"An'an, just turn to the last 5 pages." Mino glanced roughly, the front is full of inanimate objects, and the last 5 pages are the introduction information of the exile, "These [-] people are the best in the first half of the year." If you are really not particularly satisfied with the auction item, don't force it, just tell me the truth, we can wait until next month to take a look."

Ian nodded, indicating that he understood.

He turned to the first page, and on it was a woman in her 30s, with an unattractive appearance but an enchanting figure;

On the second page, there is a woman in her 20s with a good face and figure;

On the third page, there is a man in his 30s with a regular face and a thin body;

On the fourth page, there is a boy under 20 years old, and the introduction says that he is very talented in painting and shooting;

page five...

E, male, 23 years old, 185cm, the reason for the punishment is an interstellar prisoner, his specific identity is unknown, he attempted to assassinate an economic tycoon, and he is suspected of being an interstellar robber.

Assassinate... interstellar bandits...

Ian looked at the man with a bright and handsome face in the photo, but with a romantic charm on the corners of his eyes and brows, it was difficult to connect him with this crime.

Seeing that Ian's eyes were fixed on the fifth exile, Mino asked him curiously, "So you like this type better?"

Ian nodded.

Mino carefully looked at the introduction information of exile E, "I think D is better. He looks as obedient as you, and is good at painting. He should have more common topics with you. Compared with marksmanship If it's good, it can protect you better."

Hearing this, Ian held D and E's information side by side, looked at D's introduction, then looked at E's, and finally locked his eyes on E's face.

"I like him better." Ian shook E's data card in the direction of Mino, "However, can I take a closer look at them later before making a final decision?"

Mino didn't know the specific process of the auction, so he turned his questioning eyes to Michin.

"Yes. But they are in a dormant state now, and they have been staying in the dormant chamber. The display screen will show the situation of the exiles in the dormant chamber in an all-round way. You can see them at close range by manipulating the display screen. But in the official shooting Before you go offline, you can’t really see them offline. And these photos were taken before their amnestics were wiped, and there may be some gaps between them in their dormant state and the photos.”

After listening to Mitchin's explanation, both Ian and Mino nodded, indicating that they understood.

The item auction session didn't take long, and soon came the grand finale—the exile's auction.

Before the auction starts, buyers who are interested in bidding can view the exiles in the dormant chamber in a 360-degree manner by manipulating the display screen.The viewing time is 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the display screen will disconnect from the camera in the dormant cabin.

Ian checked the five exiles one by one through the display screen.Perhaps because of staying in the dormant cabin for a long time, their skin is quite pale.Although their eyes were closed, everyone's expressions showed serenity, as if they were immersed in a soft dream.

E, his eyes are slightly closed, and the corners of his lips are not raised like in the photo, which conceals the cynical vibe, and the whole person reveals a gentleness that is completely opposite to the temperament in the photo.

If I could, Ian thought, it would be him.