Boundary Convention

diary excerpt

"No matter how small an ax is, it can knock down a big oak tree."

"You missed it."

The man sitting in the shadows spoke, his voice not sullen.

"I lost my foothold, I missed the key I finally got, and I suffered such a huge loss. What face do you have to come back to see me now?"

"This level of loss, didn't you expect it?"

The person standing opposite the shadow was not shaken by the questioning step by step. On the contrary, her voice was full of confidence. The light of dawn outside the blinds shone on her face, and the blonde hair scattered on the brown windbreaker reflected a little shine. Not long ago, a person who escaped with an important 'key' under her nose called her name - 'Wakazuki Uragi'.

Ruoyue Pumu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said.

"Abandoned sons are meant to be thrown away, right?"

As soon as the words fell, something in the shadows made the unique sound of heavy objects cutting through the air, tumbling into the air, and then slammed into her heavily. She didn't dodge, didn't even block a hand, didn't blink, and let the thing hit.

In an instant, the wood made a miserable cracking sound.

Several streams of red dripped slowly from Ruoyue's forehead, dripped from her chin, and finally fell on her dark brown windbreaker. Behind her, there are broken pieces of wood and papers all over the floor - just a few seconds ago, they were an expensive and bulky desk.

"Don't talk back to me."

In the shadows, the woman sat on a swivel chair, crossed her legs, and said coldly. She has silver hair that stands out even in the shadows, wears a spotless white suit, and looks at Wakazuki with deep purple eyes.

"Professor, it hurts." Ruoyue always called her like this, just like everyone else.

"It's okay to be in pain," the professor frowned. "It doesn't hurt, I can't remember."

After speaking, the professor put his hands on his face, and lowered his head as if to hide his tired face.

Behind the professor, there is a huge oil painting hanging on the wall. In the center of the picture is an old man holding a young man who has lost his blood and life in his arms. The old man committed an irreparable mistake—yes, the instigator of the murder before him was himself. He stared wide-eyed, not knowing whether he was frightened by the terrible results brought about by his anger, or was afraid of the anger itself.

"well……"

A long sigh came from Nuo Da's room.

"Your failure makes me very unhappy."

The professor slowly stood up from the chair. Her movements looked dull and tired, as if she couldn't move without the support of the crutch in her hand.

"As you said, most of those things are abandoned."

The professor spoke softly in her hoarse voice.

"Do you know what a man does to insult another man?"

"Take his relics."

The professor was talking to himself, and she went straight to the shelf beside it, and there were a lot of irrelevant things on it. Her eyes fell on one of the square stones, and then she brushed it with her hand. On the bumpy surface, the obsession with it is unabashedly revealed in the eyes.

"This stone is 'Jacob's Pillow'. In Celtic Christian legend, Jacob used this stone to make a pillow when he saw an angel. If it is you, you are probably more familiar with 'Skun' Stone' or 'Stone of Destiny'."

As she spoke, she picked up the stone with one hand.

"This is a symbol of victory." Ruo Yue said.

Before the words fell, there was only a loud noise, and the professor slammed the stone on the ground, splitting it into pieces.

"You know why I love collecting those relics? That's why."

"I still remember how you treated Saint Peter's bones last time..." Ruoyue shrugged. "That dog would be terrified if he knew the truth."

"So your failure annoys me." The professor stepped forward and poked her shoulder with his cane. "It doesn't matter what happens to my stupid daughter, but she took the relics I needed, and it may have cost us decades of hard work."

"As you said," Ruoyue said calmly, she didn't seem to be afraid of the increasingly agitated professor in front of her, at least...she didn't show it.

"Forget it, this is also a 'possibility' that we cannot predict." As if feeling helpless with Ruo Yue's attitude, the professor shook his head.

She picked up a report form from the ground, which was on the desk that was thrown out just now, with a series of people's names densely recorded on it, behind these names were various data analysis and evaluation, she coldly He glanced at it and threw the paper to Ruoyue.

"In the hospital, there are so many people alive?" the professor asked.

"Yes, maybe it's because the fire drill was done well before." Ruoyue spread her hands, seemingly helpless.

"It's ironic."

"Then how to deal with it?"

"Just like the information in the database, all of them will be destroyed. The new future doesn't need these unenlightened brains."

"What about Missy and your 'key'?"

"Let her go, things can be brought back at any time, but the good news is—"

When the professor said this, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"My distinguished guest who came from afar is still by my side."

When and where did Lake take out the little white flag dangling in his hand, I have no idea at all. I just took my eyes off him for a moment, and he just conjured these things out of thin air. A little white guide flag, a megaphone popping out of nowhere, and oh, and a guide cap on top of his already well-covered hood, which he doesn't seem to feel at all It will feel hot, and Lake is jumping and jumping all the way. Sure enough, children like to lead others.

But to be honest, the complexity here is indeed beyond my imagination. When I first came out of the room and walked to the corridor, I thought it was all a straight road. But this is just an illusion. If you want to ask why, it is because there are doors on both sides of the walls of the seemingly simple corridor, and behind the door is a corridor with doors, and behind the doors of the corridor is a corridor. Going back and forth like this is comparable to Minos' labyrinth.

I really don't know the reason for this strange and inhumane design, but Lake seems to know the whole route by heart, so I have to admire the memory of this little dwarf.

Just after Lake pushed open the next door, a gust of cold air suddenly hit my face, and the strong wind blew my eyes so hard that I could barely open my eyes... I rubbed my eyes hard, and after a while, the moment I opened the door, I was caught. The frozen eyelids were able to open fully.

There is a vast expanse of whiteness in front of him, the only thing that can be confirmed are some dark shadows moving slightly in the fog. Under such a thick fog, I couldn't even see Lake's dancing very clearly, so I had to bend down.

"Is this place a quarry?"

I tried to translate what Lake said... If this is really a quarry, it is really a harsh mining environment. When I was thinking this way, the shadow in the fog moved closer, but I still couldn't see what it was. I didn't really see them until the dark shadow passed in front of my nose.

That's about fourteen or five people, all of them are the same as the "eternal dead" people I saw before, wearing gas masks and wrapping their faces with bandages and the like, probably because they have to work in this environment, they The clothes are much thicker than those indoors, which makes the bandages on their bodies less conspicuous. I don't know if it's an illusion, but I saw some black things faintly floating out between the gaps between their bandages, but they quickly mixed into the mist and disappeared.

Several of them were pulling a rope, pulling it with difficulty, completely ignoring me and Lake, as if we didn't exist at all, these people hunched forward with their faces facing the land, without saying a word, although Their faces were all wrapped in airtight masks and bandages, but they couldn't hide their rapid panting, and their suppressed coughing. Every step they take, the next step becomes harder and harder. And what they were carrying was just a piece of granite that didn't show any great features. Judging from the messy and bad incisions, the tools used to cut this stone were similar to the way to carry this stone. Original.

What happened in front of me made it hard for me to imagine that this is the 21st century, when there were already excavators and grinding wheels, but it reminded me of an earlier place, an era with a very different climate from here.

"Where are they taking the stone?"

I asked Rick.

Lake responded to me in his usual way. He stretched out his hand and pointed to the distant sky. Although due to the thick fog, I don't know what he is referring to... But, judging from the height of his hand, I think it may be a tower.

The tower, since ancient times, most religions in the world have regarded the tower as a symbol of loftiness, as if it is beneficial to be closer to the sky, obviously nothing but the increased probability of altitude sickness and high-altitude fall death. The Buddhist eight-storied pagoda, the Mayan Chichen Itza, and the century-old project described in many scriptures - the Tower of Babel. From this point of view, it is very likely that this tower was built for the little white-haired girl.

"It's almost like a pharaoh..."

I said to myself.

Indeed, the people in front of them who are trying their best to move the stones are very similar to the workers who built the pyramids for the Pharaoh. The same way, the same purpose... During the period of time I stayed in the hospital, what happened outside.

Could it be that there is some opportunity to trigger a religious revival? But why the construction method is so backward is really hard to understand.

Watching the square stone gradually go away in the fog, I feel a little complicated. Mo Xiao's younger sister... what kind of person is she?

Lake waved a small flag, and took my hand as if he wanted to take me to the inside of the quarry. But I pulled him back and shook my head at him, honestly, I always felt that there was something inside that would make me feel bad. Instead of this, it's better not to go in at all.

Lake felt a little strange about my hesitation. He tilted his head and looked at me, but he still didn't force me to walk into the fog.

After returning to the room, Lake took me to the next place. Following Rick up the long flight of steps—and through the narrow passage, a sharp glare stung my eyes.

After a second or two, my eyes adjusted slightly to the bright light and opened them.

"this……"

If you just dig a hole in the ground, this kind of thing is not a big deal in the 21st century, it is as simple as building an underground parking lot. My surprise was not the spaciousness, but the strange view...

There is actually an endless farmland here, which is dotted with withered yellow stone pillars to support the entire cave roof. The surface of the stone pillar is covered with small mechanical scales. These scales will open and close from time to time, and then spread across the entire stone pillar like ripples on the surface of the water, and gusts of wind blow over the surrounding farmland.

"is that true?"

I took a step forward, the ground was a bit wet, probably just watered. I bent down and touched the swaying ears of wheat beside me.

As far as the eye can see, the wheat ears are divided into different areas by clean roads. As the wheat grains are mature, even without the pollination breeze provided by the scales, the wheat is shaking gently. But what makes people a little puzzled is that I seem to see some fragments of bandages in the wheat field. Is it because the followers of the eternal dead often shuttle through it and accidentally leave them behind? .

At this time, a small glowing thing passed over my head, and I quickly got up to find out.

"Fill light ball? I seem to have seen this thing somewhere,"

The filling light balls moving regularly in the air follow the established route, exuding warm light and wobbling across the farmland, making the wheat look more like the product of the combination of magic and technology.

"wheat……"

I gently picked up a stalk of wheat ears in front of me. The prosperity here really makes people unable to connect with the barrenness outside. I know that in the past, people could grow melons and fruits out of season by relying on the supplementary lights in the greenhouse, but I didn't expect to be able to grow wheat.

"Can it be grown in a greenhouse?"

"This is barley."

Suddenly someone corrected me, and I looked in the direction of the sound. In the field ridge beside me, a short figure stepped out of the wheat stalks. When he came out of the wheat field, he was only a little taller than the wheat, just like a child.

"Looking at how tall you are and how long you've lived, why don't you distinguish five grains from each other?"

Saying so, he turned his head to face me. I was a little taken aback, what looks like a child, this is a child at all, a boy of twelve or thirteen years old. The guy in front of me has short curly blond hair, beautiful almond eyes like a child's, and he's wearing a white coat that doesn't fit at all, and the hem is dragging to the ground, dirty with the dirt in the field. Yes, the pair of rain boots on his feet were ridiculously tall compared to his figure, they could almost be worn as trousers, covering his thighs straight.

"Ah, Rick, have you come to inspect again?"

With the cute and arrogant look of a child on his face, he walked slowly towards here.

"Really, you don't need to run here every day, I'm a genius, you can trust me."

"He took me to visit."

After Lake answered with dancing and dancing, I expressed what Lake meant as usual.

"you?"

He squinted his eyes and squinted at me.

"Although my mother told me not to talk to strangers, it seems that you are not a bad person, are you new here?"

"Well, sort of." I shrugged.

After I finished speaking, Rick waved his hands again, saying that I was his friend.

"Hahahahaha, so you are Lake's friend."

After hearing this, he finally raised his head and looked at me, but that expression was a little distorted. He stared, gritted his teeth, and made a forced smile, which didn't match his lines at all.

"Rick's friends are my friends!"

While making a scary expression while saying friendly words, he grabbed my hand. I guess he wanted to pinch my hand and hurt me to vent his dissatisfaction. However, his strength was too weak, and he did not make me feel the slightest pressure even though he tried his best. After pinching like this for more than ten or twenty seconds, he finally realized that his actions were futile, and let go of the pole beside him, panting heavily.

"Are you OK?"

"Too much! Lake! Didn't you agree that we are best friends!?"

Turning around, he yelled at Lake with snot and tears. Lake hurriedly waved his hand and explained in a hurry.

"You're still my best friend, he's just my new friend...he said that." Seeing that the child tilted his head half-understanding, I helped Lake translate.

"You understand it again, you understand it again, even today's genius may not be able to understand Lake's sign language, can you understand it?"

"Uh...I...Actually, I also guessed." I scratched my head.

"That's right." He said shaking his head. "But as Lake's best friend, I still welcome you, after all, you are Lake's new friend."

"Then, thank you..."

So does he approve of my translation just now? This is really a troublesome child, but it is also in line with the general nature of children-he can't see his friends playing with others, so he obviously doesn't like me very much. Later, under Lake's strong request, he reluctantly took me They let me wander around this underground greenhouse, but the hostility never dissipated. From time to time, he would turn his head and give me a nasty look.

"Uh...Speaking of which, this place is under the castle, right?" So I had to find ways to bring up some topics, hoping to ease the hostile gaze.

"Hmm." He snorted coldly.

"So that means...you hollowed out the mountain?"

"yes."

"It's really amazing."

"Okay."

No, not at all, I secretly felt such an uncomfortable feeling, and this kind of conversation made the atmosphere even more embarrassing. I looked at Rick at the side, this guy didn't notice the atmosphere at all, and followed the boy with ease. Could it be that this child is usually so perverse? Just thinking like this, the boy turned his head and gave me a vicious look, as if he had heard what he was thinking just now.

He turned his head back very quickly, which made me feel a little relieved. It would be nice if there were other people around at this time, maybe it could ease the atmosphere, and if this continues, the visit will become less important up.

We have been walking here for about ten minutes. Except for this child, no one has been seen. I asked involuntarily.

"Uh, after walking for so long, why haven't I seen anyone?"

"Because I am managing it alone." The boy replied lightly.

"One person? You manage such a big place by yourself?" It made me a little bit unbelievable.

"So what?" He said and stopped, showing a high-spirited smile. "I'm a genius. I'm only a hundred miles away. How difficult is it to govern."

"This... is amazing."

"Oh? Do you think it's amazing too? Of course, because I'm a genius!"

In a word, it was just a compliment, and his attitude immediately changed eighty degrees, into that kind of arrogant expression unique to children, but he also has the capital of pride, managing such a large place by himself, Especially setting the path of the fill light sphere and the opening and closing frequency of the stone pillars really requires a lot of talent. Having said that, a child is still a child after all, a little thing can flatter him, and he will forget the previous rift in an instant.

With his hands behind his back, he walked in front of me with his head raised, and explained everything here to me like a master.

It can be described as hype, such as agricultural remote sensing monitoring, multi-level coordination network, long-distance wireless device charging, and even some technologies such as Li-Fi optical fidelity using light filling balls, which sound like so many tricks .

Looking at these instruments in the distance, I feel very familiar, as if I have seen them somewhere.

It's a library! These instruments have all appeared in the textbooks in the library, and the teacher said that due to the current level of technology and cost, it is difficult to use these things in practice on a large scale. It seems that Mo Xiao did not lie to me. The library Sure enough, the course only talks about 2020.

Um? Just then, I noticed that Lake seemed to be missing. I remember he was walking behind me just now.

"Like seems to be missing?"

"It's okay, just let him go. He's always elusive like this. Even if you ask me a genius like me, I can't know where he is."

"That's it..."

"Speaking of which, what's your name?" After walking a few steps, he suddenly asked me coldly, as if he just remembered that I have a name. "Depending on the situation, I might consider making a note."

"wilderness."

"Wasteland, what a perfunctory name. Your parents must not have thought about it when they named you."

"This..." He said this, and I found that I couldn't refute it. Indeed, although the name of Wasteland sounds poetic, when I think about it carefully, I find that there is almost no positive interpretation.

"It's different for me. The name of this genius is not chosen carefully!"

"Then what's your name?" I asked curiously. Judging by his blond hair and blue eyes, he should be a foreigner, and he may also have a foreign name.

"George!" he said out loud, puffing out his chest.

"George?"

"George Elton Mayo! How! What a great name!"

"George Elton Mayo? You mean the famous psychologist Elton Mayo?"

Hearing this name, the image of the initiator of the "Hawthorne Experiment" immediately appeared in his mind, so he blurted out like this. I instantly noticed the gaze from George, and realized that I had said the wrong thing.

He glared at me at first, and then his two eyeballs became moist, biting his lips tightly, almost crying.

"Yeah, I didn't have the same name as someone else!" He yelled at me, his throat full of grievances. "I am unique!"

After saying this, he walked forward angrily, probably because he didn't want to discuss the name with me any more. I had no choice but to follow behind him silently and continue to visit this magical farm.

At this moment, I suddenly noticed a special crop growing in the field beside me, which looked somewhat similar to sorghum in appearance, but it was colorful. The name of this crop gradually became clear in my mind.

"Yeah, what's this, it's pretty," I tried to ask George.

"barley."

He answered without thinking.

"Uh... this is barley?" I frowned, no matter where I look at it, it's not barley, if I remember correctly, it should be quinoa, the growing conditions are harsh, and the nutrition is extremely rich in the alpine Belt crops, traditional crops of the Incas, food gold! Grade A food at an expensive price in the international market! Comparing barley with Jingui's is outrageous!

"Yes, this is barley."

"Then... what is this?" I asked as I pulled a barley tree behind me.

"This is also barley. All the barley grown here."

After listening to his words, I was silent for a while... Sure enough, the first one was wheat. These two crops look very similar. I can't always tell the difference, but... Anyway, the difference between barley, barley and quinoa It's still too big.

While I was still struggling with these questions, George suddenly remembered something and took out a remote control from his pocket.

"It's almost time to water."

After speaking, he pressed the button, and the middle of the field was immediately shrouded in water mist, so he began to explain very proudly.

"This atomization technology makes it easier to cover the entire field with water, so that every plant can absorb water..."

"At the same time, the water vapor mixed with photosynthetic accelerator can also improve the photosynthesis of crops." I said by the way.

"Huh? How do you know this?" George stared at me with wide eyes.

I thought to myself, these contents are exactly the original words in the "Overview of Future Intelligent Farm" in the library. Could it be that there is really some kind of connection with the library? I slowly recalled that the original course was not taught by a dedicated person, and most of the time the students read this textbook by themselves, but I can’t remember the author of this book. I knew I should use more snacks .

At this time, the light of the filling light ball became brighter than before, and George began to explain again.

"These supplementary light spheres stimulate plants by properly increasing the light, further absorbing water and photosynthesis."

"George, wait a minute," I said to him, "have you ever been to a place called a library? Or been on some very big ship?"

"The library? You mean Sister Beibei's study? I've never been to that kind of place. I'm a genius and don't need to go to the library." George said to me proudly.

"What about the boat? It's a big one. Have you ever traveled to sea before?"

"No! My mother said that I will not take me out to sea until I learn how to swim! Why do you always ask some inexplicable questions!" George pouted.

Seeing what he said, I had no choice but to give up, but I think there must be something strange in it. This underground farm was clearly built according to the knowledge imparted by the library. Maybe the builder, like me, had studied in the library, or It is he who is a scientific researcher in the library and even a textbook writer, but why he would hand over the farm he built to an ignorant child to manage it makes me puzzled.

I took a step forward and stepped on the wet ground again.

I immediately realized that the ground here was wet at the beginning, why it was watered again.

"You seem to have watered it before?" I tried to ask him.

"Yes, this is the fifteenth time."

"Stop it!" Wheat, quinoa, and barley are crops that don't need much water. Doing so will drown them. Looking at the weird dishes in the cafeteria, I expected that the food self-sufficiency here is not very good, and now I know the reason, what a waste of money!

"Huh? Why?"

"You feed them so much water, you'll drown them to death!"

"It's okay, it's okay, my mother said that you can only grow strong if you eat a lot."

"Plants are different..."

"You have to believe in this genius!" He patted his chest confidently, put the remote control back into his pocket, and continued walking.

I don't know how to convince him, it's too wasteful to look at the dry land crops that are gradually covered by the water rising from the soil, and soon, there will be dead bodies everywhere.

At this moment, I found a standing figure in the field ridge not far away. In the mist raised by the shower, this figure looked ghostly and ethereal. She didn't care about the falling water droplets, and bent down slightly among the upright straws, holding up a bunch of pink quinoa that was watered so hard that she couldn't lift her head, as if she was admiring some kind of flower.

Suddenly, she turned her head and met my eyes for a moment—isn't this woman the same woman that Lake and I met in front of the cafeteria? The cheeks touched by her seemed to be getting hot again.

"I still remember you."

She stood far away from me, but I could hear her voice clearly.

"Are you new here?"

"Well, this guy was brought by Lake." Before I could respond, George rushed to say. "I'm an admirer of this genius!"

"Yeah……"

Bellita squinted at George, and walked slowly up from the field row. Surprisingly, she went down into the ground without shoes on, and her slender feet looked messed up with the soaked mud.

She walked straight to me step by step, stopped in front of me with a tired face as if she had just returned from the battle line, and once again stretched out her hand to me. Her cold fingers brushed my cheeks, across my neck, and circled back and forth on my shoulders.

"Nice," she murmured.

"Eh? No, not bad? What do you mean?"

For her weird behavior, I was completely confused, and coupled with the bandages all over her body, my scalp couldn't help but feel a little numb.

"Of course it's the body... Ah, I really want it..."

Like a broken repeater, Belita repeated the creepy words, and stretched out her other hand to me, stroking my neck, chest, and even my abdomen one by one, like a poisonous snake wrapped around me. Physically average. She was getting closer and closer to me, so close that I could clearly see her purple-gray eyes, which were cloudy like dirty water, without any expression, as if there was some kind of liquid imprinted above the deep dark circles, and Inhuman pupils.

"Please, please stop!" I slammed her hand away, and uncontrollably stepped back a few steps. It wasn't until I got a safe enough distance from her that my bewildered head calmed down a little.

Belita seemed to be taken aback by my actions, but it was only for a moment, and then she returned to her dying face.

"Are you being shy?"

The corners of her mouth raised slightly, and she said in a joking tone.

"Don't worry, I'm not that interested in you."

"Uh, uh..." I was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

"But this is indeed my problem. I have had direct contact with you as soon as I came up. I'm sorry."

She continued, seemingly calmer than before.

"No, it's okay, actually..."

"No, you can't say that, men and women can't kiss each other, anyway, my behavior is too much... But, I really want your body very much... Well, no..." She shook half of her words shook his head. "To be precise, what I want is your 'health'."

My 'health'? This is really a puzzling statement.

"Since you are new here, come with me. In order to survive here, you need to accept a little science."

She turned around as she spoke, as if to let me follow, but before her dirty bare feet took two steps on the ground, she stopped again and turned around, but she didn't face her. Me, but to George.

"Before that, you should turn off the water first, otherwise the precious crops will die."

"It's okay, just drink more water." George replied disapprovingly.

"Turn off."

The woman repeated the order again. George opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but before the woman said the word 'turn off' again, he stopped, obediently turned off the water, and slipped away to other places with aggrieved expression on his face.

"That'll be fine."

She looked at George in the distance, then turned to me.

"Come with me, I'll show you something interesting."