Darkness is Coming

   The registration process for more than an hour did not consume Hou Jie's patience.

   There was only him sitting in the room, with a microphone in front of him. He couldn't see the questioner, but he could feel the sharp eyes through the one-way mirror, watching his every move every second.

The person who asked the question obviously has a wealth of questioning skills, and should have received some training in interrogation. He repeatedly asked questions in different ways on certain key issues, and raised many seemingly unrelated but in fact interconnected can be used as evidence. Questions, side by side.

In the end, Hou Jie obtained a temporary residence permit, and the staff at the registration office sincerely handed over a 20-denomination food stamp: "I wasted your time, this is your food stamp, you can use it to exchange it at the exchange office. Food. All your responses are recorded and we will send it to the review team at a later time, and the review team will respond to us within two business days at the latest. If there is no problem with your identity at that time, we will send your The resident card will be delivered to you. Please leave your contact information."

   Hou Jie was quite surprised when he received the food stamps. It was the first time in his life that he could get money instead of paying for a permit.

   This must be ill-intentioned, trying to make newcomers feel comfortable, so as to tie their hearts, or stimulate consumption? Forget it, it has nothing to do with me. After pondering for two seconds, Hou Jie wrote Boss Zhang's name on a piece of paper. When he was cross-examined just now, he did not reveal his peculiarities, but only described himself as an ordinary person with no special skills.

  Because this trip has a special mission, it is not a wise move to expose one's own abilities to attract the attention of the other party's top management without knowing anything about the place called Star of Hope.

"Then, if I have nothing else to do, I'll go first?" Hou Jie coughed, scratched the back of his head, and asked a little embarrassedly, "Well, I ate a steamed bun when I landed, can you please tell me that How are buns made?"

The staff smiled kindly, showing an "I understand" expression, and said, "The steamed buns are made by ordinary methods, but the people who make them are special, so they are so delicious. To be honest, many people are just Because I like to eat the steamed buns, I have to go out to sea every day to wander around and come back."

"Oh, I'm wrong, sorry, the steamed buns were made by Mr. Hao, a special chef of the Far Rescue Association. Mr. Hao used to be a chef in a star-rated hotel, and he awakened his cooking-related abilities. I don't know the details. But everyone knows that Mr. Hao will personally go to the large canteen of the Yuanjiao Association to cook every week, and all members of the Yuanjiao Association can enjoy a feast." Speaking of this, the staff licked their lips and seemed to be drooling. As a staff member of the Far Rescue Association, even though the work intensity is high and the tasks are numerous, the super high welfare benefits make all members have no complaints.

   "That's it..." Hou Jie shrugged, thinking that he probably had no chance, he waved to the staff and walked out the door. Zhang Deng and others had been waiting for a long time, and the next group went to have breakfast.

   He ate and ate until noon. He simply continued to eat lunch and drank some beer, which made Hou Jie feel emotional again. It was not that he had never been to the Xinyuanjiang River in the fence. Unexpectedly, on this Jiangxin Island, I can still find the feeling of life in the past.

"Mr. Hou, I'll take you to eat baked potatoes in the evening. The potato chips baked by the lady boss at Wang Luo's BBQ are so delicious that I can bite my tongue. She's so pretty. Everyone calls her Potato Xi Shi." Zhang Deng drank. With a red face, this time thanks to Hou Jie's blessing, their fleet made a lot of money. At this time, they wanted to entertain Hou Jie well and hug this thigh.

   Roasted meat and grilled fish is a luxury only for the middle and upper class. For third-class residents like Zhang Deng, it is already a bloodbath to have a meal of roasted potatoes before they can find a suitable seller for their goods.

   Hou Jie grinned, shook his head and said, "No need, thank you Boss Zhang for your kindness, I want to go around by myself at night, just go and eat, don't worry about me."

   Seeing Zhang Deng's face lost, Hou Jie added another sentence: "I filled in your name, Boss Zhang, at the registration desk, and then I have to trouble Boss Zhang to collect the resident card for me."

   Zhang Deng's expression immediately changed from cloudy to sunny, he nodded again and again, unable to find his eyes when he smiled.

   After resting for a while, at about five or six o'clock, Hou Jie went to the bar. Zhang Deng offered to accompany him, but Hou Jie politely refused.

"Okay then." Knowing that being too enthusiastic can sometimes be offensive, Zhang Deng gave up the thought of following and said, "Then go out and go to the right, walk all the way to the monument, there is a road sign, go to No. 2 Qunying Street It's the Zero Point Bar, the largest bar in Jiangxin Island right now. But..."

Speaking of this, Zhang Deng showed hesitation, and after a moment of hesitation, he decided to explain clearly: "Zero's boss is Qiao Sanye, the former owner of Zijin Hotel, Qiao Shan, he has a good relationship with Vice President Wang, so you Still, it's better to be careful."

   means that the bar owner is very tough in the background, and he can't touch it, so don't make trouble casually. Hou Jie sneered inwardly, but on the surface he remained calm, nodding his head to show that he understood.

   While following the route Zhang Deng said, Hou Jie was thinking about how he could get in touch with the mysterious president of Yuanjiao Society.

A small character who has just arrived, wants to attract the attention of a big man, the fastest way is to make a big news... After going to the bar to learn about the situation, do something to ensure attention and let yourself see the highest point of Jiangxin Island. What about rulers?

"Every time I hear Zhang Deng talk about the monument, he looks in admiration. I think this monument should be a landmark in Jiangxin Island, and it is highly valued by the residents. If I take off my pants and urinate on the monument, will I be angry? This so-called Far Rescue Association, led their president out?" Hou Jie thought about it, and let out a wicked smile.

  Hou Jie's body has been strengthened, and his physical abilities are much higher than ordinary people, and his speed of movement is the same. After a while, he walked through the not-so-prosperous and noisy streets and came to the monument standing in the center of Jiangxin Island.

   It was a huge cuboid made of steel. It looked like a giant's tombstone from a distance. For some reason, when Hou Jie saw this monument, it gave Hou Jie a feeling of vastness like a mountain.

   In front of the monument, there is not only him, but also a strange woman, wearing a Korean-style coat from last winter, stroking the monument with her right hand like a lover, raising her head, and her eyes seem to focus on a certain name.

  This is... an important person died in battle, and his name was inscribed on the monument?

Hou Jie stopped abruptly, froze in place like a piece of wood, watching people coming and going under the monument. From time to time, some people put bunches of flowers and grass and leaves under the monument, and some people came empty-handed and knelt down and kowtowed. There are also people who happen to pass by, but have to stop, bow deeply and then leave; there are also people like that woman, standing under the monument, staring at a name that is unforgettable in their hearts, and crying.

The strange thing is that no matter men, women, or children, when they come to the monument, they will lower their voices when they walk and talk. Even those who are crying under the monument rarely make a sound, even if they can't help sobbing, they will deliberately lower it Not the tragic cries of the sky and the ground, only the solemn silence, as heavy as a mountain.

   The marvelous scene in front of him deeply attracted Hou Jie. He just stood there and watched until the melodious bell rang six times in a row.

   A group of children dressed in plain white clothes and wearing plastic flower garlands, led by a middle-aged woman, took off their shoes and walked barefoot under the monument.

  It's winter, the ground is cold and rough, and you feel like your feet are freezing when you wear your shoes. How do you feel when you take off your shoes? There will definitely be frostbite, but this group of children, the older one looks like eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest only looks like four or five years old, all of them gritted their teeth and endured the pain, and none of them cried or shed tears.

   "Tell the teacher, are you in pain?" The middle-aged woman turned her head, looked at the group of children kindly, and asked gently.

   "It hurts." A little girl finally couldn't hold back and cried in desperation, but she hurriedly stopped her voice, daring not to break the silence.

"I know, the children, the teacher also hurts. Have you ever thought that we just took off our shoes and walked less than 100 meters, and it was so painful. The soldiers of the Defence Army and the soldiers of the Far Rescue Society. , Does it hurt when they walk through the mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood?" The female teacher's speech was so fast that every child could hear it clearly.

   "For more than 100 days, they stood up with their chests up and stood in front of them forever, so they kept the zombies and mutants out of sight."

   "Have you ever thought about how painful it would be for your children to be ridiculed and bullied by their peers because they lost their parents and were ridiculed and bullied by their peers?"

   Several children immediately lowered their heads, realizing that they had made a huge mistake.

   "Have you ever thought that if it wasn't for their sacrifice, maybe the orphans without parents would be you?"

   A child couldn't control it, cried out with a wow, and knelt on the ground with a plop. Someone took the lead. The few children who had bowed their heads and knew their mistake before all bent their knees, knelt on the ground, and begged for forgiveness.

   "If you know what you're wrong, you can correct it. It's great." The teacher smiled comfortably, pointed to the monument, and continued, "You know, the teacher's lover is also there, but the teacher never regretted letting him participate in the war against the corpse."

"Because we wouldn't be where we are without them standing up in the toughest of circumstances. We wouldn't have a hot meal, we wouldn't sleep with a warm bed, and we wouldn't be able to enjoy a safe and comfortable environment. ."

   "Perhaps you will complain, saying that far rescue will not do enough, our life is far from what it was before the disaster. But you must know that everything today is not easy to come by."

"Every bite of food we eat is fought back with battle and sacrifice; every inch of land under our feet is watered with blood and sweat; we take for granted tomorrow, the day after, and every day, it is them In exchange for their lives yesterday!"

Watching the teacher leading the children and bowing to the monument again and again, watching the unseen brilliance in the eyes of those children, Hou Jie took a deep breath and swept the stupid thoughts out of his mind. His cheeks flushed, ashamed that he had ever thought of that.