Endless Debt

Under the escort of the escort, Dennis slowly walked out of the train station on crutches. He looked up and saw the surrounding high-rise buildings, huge road signs, and busy flow of people. He froze on the spot, just like many people who had just arrived. Like the strangers in the city of Opos, they are so incompatible with this city, like wild beasts coming out of the primeval forest and straying into human society.

Dennis never thought that one day he would be able to return to this city again, let alone that the city would have changed so much.

"gentlemen."

The guard stood beside Dennis and reached out to help him. Dennis wanted to refuse, but his body was too weak to support him, so he could only smile politely and thank the guard for his help.

At this time, Dennis would belatedly realize that he was already an old man in his nineties.

"Time flies so fast..."

Dennis stared at the city and couldn't help but sigh. He remembered that the last time he came to this land, it was still a scorched earth, full of corpses. A terrible war swept this land, and Dennis was a participant in the war. one of those.

To this day, Dennis still clearly remembers those tragic and terrifying scenes. In the blink of an eye, he could see the blood-stained ruins again, like a hallucination. But when he blinked again, all he could see was the endless prosperity.

Nowadays, this place is no longer a scene of war, but a prosperous city, with high-rise buildings, busy people, and strange things. This made him feel confused, as if time had been displaced, as if his memory did not match reality.

Seeing the confused eyes of the guard on the side, Dennis explained in time, "When I came here last time, this place was not called Oath City Opos, and there were no such high-rise buildings. Instead, it was a scorched ruin."

Dennis felt nostalgic and said, "I was still a young soldier at that time, not the old man I am now."

No one can deny that Dennis is old. His face is covered with deep wrinkles, his skin is sagging and weak, and almost all his hair has fallen off, leaving only a few sparse white hairs. His eyes are sunken into tear bags. He looked very tired, his lips were chapped and lifeless.

Dennis's aging comes not only from the passage of time, but more importantly from the trauma left by the war.

He was a soldier and experienced many thrilling battles. After the war, Dennis spent the rest of his life healing his soul, but the fierce war scenes still appeared in his mind, and he could not forget the sound of gunfire and the wails of his comrades. Voice.

He moved with difficulty, and with every inch he moved, Dennis could clearly feel the faint pain in his body. It was an old injury. During the war, he was knocked down by a shell and suffered multiple injuries on his body. Repeatedly between coma and wakefulness.

That experience became an indelible trauma in Dennis's heart. After the war, Dennis secluded himself in the countryside and never talked about that experience to others, nor did he participate in military-related gatherings and activities.

Many friends who have been with Dennis for decades have no idea that Dennis was once a soldier, let alone that he participated in the Scorched Earth Wrath war. Sometimes, Dennis himself has almost forgotten that memory.

Until some time ago, until these mysterious people found him with the almost forgotten information from that year. Dennis couldn't understand what the use of someone like him who was about to die.

"Where are we going next?" Dennis asked.

"Just come with us."

The guard took Dennis to the side of the road and opened the car door. The windows were not transparent, and the interior of the car was dark and uneasy.

Dennis sat in the car, and the door was closed and locked. He knew that his fate was now completely in the hands of these people, but he was not afraid. He was too old. He had already done everything he could in countless days and nights. Prepare to face death.

"Hello, Mr. Dennis."

A steady voice sounded in the darkness. Dennis blinked, and his blurred vision could barely distinguish an outline in the darkness.

"You can call me Ivan."

Ivan stretched out his hand and gently shook it with Dennis.

"Excuse me, what do you want from me?" Dennis' eyes were unflinching and his voice was strong.

"Nothing, I just want to know something about your experience in the army. Can you tell me about it? For example, about your comrades." Ivan asked.

"That's not a good memory, if you can..."

Ivan interrupted Dennis, "Excuse me, this is very important."

Dennis' voice paused, as if he compromised, and he fell silent. Many past events appeared in his cloudy eyes, and they entangled his mind like phantoms.

As the memories gradually became clearer, many vague faces became real.

"Please give me some time." Dennis said softly.

Ivan nodded seriously and didn't say much. He could understand Dennis's mood. It was not easy to recall such a past.

Dennis's comrades have all passed away for many years. Compared with Dennis's long life, the war did not occupy much part, but it was this part that formed the key to Dennis's life, those figures who rolled with him in the trenches. , engraved indelibly into his heart.

"It's such a distant memory." Dennis murmured.

"From the information, you come from a place called Redwood Town." Ivan guided Dennis.

"Redwood Town? Yes, that's my hometown."

"But after the war, you didn't return to your hometown."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Dennis' eyes showed a strange light, and he shook his head, "It's gone."

"Gone?"

"Redwood Town is a small place with very few channels of communication with the outside world. If it hadn't been for the passing of the caravan, we might not have known that the outside world was at war. It is a place that can be called a hermit."

Dennis tried to remember his hometown, but he couldn't remember anything except the endless giant trees.

"There is no mark of Redwood Town on the map, and the railroad does not pass there. Children who left home can only follow their own way back. Although the war has brought me many traumas, I still remember the way home."

"Did you find it?"

"Found it," Dennis's voice rose a little, then became lower again, "I found a piece of scorched earth."

Ivan's face changed slightly.

"Like I said, Redwood City is a small place whose birth is unknown and whose destruction is unknown."

Dennis spoke emotionlessly, the wound had become numb and he could no longer feel the pain.

"It has extremely rich forest resources. When I returned to my hometown, large areas of the redwood forest had been cut down, leaving only bare land covered with tree stumps. Only the ruins of the familiar town were left, just like in the wilderness. Like a very common group of abandoned buildings...the war has spread here. Think about it, this is the wrath of the scorched earth sweeping the world, how can a small town be spared?"

"What did you do after that?"

Dennis said, "I tried to look for other people, but there were not many people in the town, let alone the young people who had gone out to fight. After searching for a few years, I suddenly realized that I might be the only one who remembered Redwood Town. No matter how sad I was, I had to move on, so I came to another city and tried to start a new life there."

"Did you do it? New life."

"I guess so."

Ivan silently recorded his conversation with Dennis on the page. At this time, he felt that the atmosphere was almost done, and it was time to guide Dennis to the real problem.

"Bologo Lazarus."

Ivan suddenly said Boluogo's name, and the atmosphere in the car quickly cooled down. With his professional instinct, Ivan was keenly aware of Dennis's changes.

The heart rate increases, the blood pressure increases, the fingers tremble slightly, the body surface sweats, the eyes wander constantly, and the breathing speeds up slightly. These reactions are extremely secretive, but for professionals, they are easy to observe.

Ivan knew it was time to continue. He showed Boluogo's photo and asked again.

"Do you remember him?"

Dennis' cloudy eyes were fixed on the appearance of Bologg in the photo. He never thought that after so many years, he would hear Bologg's name and see his appearance again.

The nightmare that had tortured him all his life was back, and it was close at hand.

A dim light gradually appeared in Ivan's eyes, and his voice reached Dennis's ears like magic.

"Say something, Dennis."