First Player

Chapter 9·"Sheep in the Rain (8)"

When passing by the mirror, Su Mingan felt his reflection in the mirror flicker, revealing his white hair, but when he looked in the mirror, he still had dark hair.

"..." Su Mingan glanced at his normal sanity, which had not changed for a long time.

Back at the dining table, grandma brought up a bowl of boiled shrimp: "Son, eat shrimp! Your favorite shrimp!"

Under grandma's eager eyes, Su Mingan peeled off the shrimp shells, ate one, and nodded: "It's delicious."

"You like to eat shrimps the most. You are usually busy at work, so you can only be happy when eating shrimps." The old lady muttered, helping Su Mingan peel the shrimps, and babbled:

"The shrimp sellers also got black fog disease. When I went to buy shrimps, they were still staring at the TV, wondering when the special medicine would be available."

"Son, you don't have to worry too much. Now there are brave children like No. 1 Mengxunjia who have come forward. Whether it's the matter of your wife or your granddaughter, everything will get better. You have gone home, gone home... …”

"You like painting. I've been picking up rubbish these days and found some painting tools. Let's paint together later..."

The old woman looked at Su Mingan's unfamiliar face, confusion flashed in her eyes for a moment, as if she was thinking whether this was her son. But she quickly smiled:

"Everything will be fine, haha, the whole family will be fine..."

"Bang bang!"

There was a knock at the door.

Wang Mingming went to open the door. It was the city's law enforcement team.

"Grandma Lin, are you here?" The official knocked on the door. He wore a round hat, a slightly long beard, and a square face: "We have checked the surveillance. Your son came back three days ago. He entered your house. He was not missing at all."

The old lady woke up a little and realized that Su Mingan was not her son: "No, my son didn't come back."

...If her son went home three days ago, what about others?

The official sighed, with unbearable eyes: "We are here to award you the citizen badge of honor. Congratulations, Grandma Lin."

The old woman looked confused. She didn't know what she had done to get a medal: "What? What are you talking about? My son didn't come back."

Su Ming'an's heart trembled slightly.

"Su Xiaobai..." Shang Qi's nose moved. He came from a family of Chinese medicine doctors and had a sensitive sense of smell. He vaguely smelled a strange smell: "There is a strange smell. Come with me..."

Su Mingan followed Shang Qi into the back room, where a foul smell wafted out.

At the door, the official brought out a golden medal of honor, set against black velvet, which was particularly dazzling in the light. Only citizens who have made outstanding contributions can be awarded such medals.

"This is a medal," the official said.

"Oh, I understand. My son went to receive the vaccine from the Ark Project before. He must have made a contribution. You awarded him a medal, right?" The old woman suddenly understood and clapped her hands with a smile: "I will I know that my son will definitely live up to his expectations, he is the most obedient and will not fail to come home..."

She wiped the corners of her eyes and looked at the family photo on the wall: "My son is the best. He has been an honor student since he was a child. Has he come back with you? Let me see him quickly."

In the room, Shang Qi approached a wooden cabinet. It was a large wardrobe, and the smell wafted out of it.

He stretched out his hand, touched the handle of the wardrobe, and looked at Su Ming'an.

"Grandma Lin, um..." At the door, the official lowered his hat, with a look of guilt and regret on his face: "This Medal of Honor is for you."

"Me? What contribution have I made! I am just an old lady!" The old lady grinned and shouted: "Where is my son? Did you hide my son? Didn't you Do you know my son? He has a round face, flat eyes, and a mole on the right corner of his mouth. He talks less and is very honest except when he goes out to work. Where has he been? "

People were silent, and the guard silently put the medal of honor on the old woman's big flowered coat, making a tiny metallic sound.

"Click." Shang Qi opened the cabinet door.

As the cabinet door opened, a corpse leaning against the cabinet door fell out.

The corpse hit the ground with a dull sound.

Shang Qi took a step back, looked at the body on the ground, and fell silent.

Su Mingan put on gloves and turned the body over, revealing the front face.

He was wearing a dusty work shirt, his trousers were stained with mud and the color was invisible, and his shoes were cracked, which showed that he worked very hard. Su Mingan looked at his face, which was that of a middle-aged man.

The face is round, the eyes are flat, and there is a mole on the right corner of the mouth.

Black fog spots spread all over the body, and black tentacles languish around the body.

——This is a corpse in the advanced stage of black fog disease, and it already shows signs of alienation. If he hadn't died, he would have mutated into a monster and most of the residents would have been slaughtered.

But he died. There was a long knife mark on his chest, probably caused by a kitchen knife. This knife did not hit the fatal point. It should be that after this person was knifed, he lay on the ground and bled to death. There was no fight back or struggle in the whole process.

"Obviously, he was on the verge of alienation, but he was stabbed." Shang Qi checked the body and said in surprise: "He didn't fight back before he died... There was only his own blood at the scene. It's so strange, Black A person in the advanced stage of fog disease has lost his mind, but he can actually suppress his murderous thoughts and lie on the ground waiting for his own death. This, this is really..."

Shang Qi thought about the words and said: "Shocking situation..."

Su Ming'an looked at the despair on the corpse's face. In this despair, Su Ming'an actually saw a trace of satisfaction.

He reached out and closed the corpse's eyes.

… There is no luck in the illness of reason.

…but “love” can.

At the door, the official finally whispered:

"I regret to inform you...Grandma Lin."

"We award you the medal because of your righteous act of killing relatives."

"Thank you... for ending the life of a person on the verge of alienation three days ago, preventing him from going on a killing spree, and protecting tens of thousands of surrounding residents. Thank you."

The officials and the guards bowed down towards the thin and stooped old woman.

Something seemed to fall to the ground, there was a sound of water droplets, and there was silence.

When Su Ming'an turned around to look, she found that the grandmother at the door had tears streaming down her face. She clutched the badge on her chest tightly, her eyes full of white shadows saw the corpse in the room, and for a moment, the memory that she had forgotten due to excessive sadness came back to her mind.

——This moment.

It's like the fog has cleared from my mind.

She recalled how she had happily welcomed her son home a few days ago.

She recalled how he screamed in pain. He said that after being injected with the Ark vaccine, his whole body ached.

She remembered how she had told him to lie down, and she hurried to fetch a doctor.

She remembered how she cooked for her son before the doctor came, making his favorite prawns. Reminds me of the last painting they painted together.

Thinking of his sudden change, he handed the kitchen knife to her hand with his own hands.

The mutation cannot be stopped. Only by ending his life can more lives be saved.

"mom."

"kill me."

The knife swung by the skinny old woman was desperate and weak, but did not penetrate his fatal point. He fell to the ground, bleeding, without struggling or fighting back. He restrained his surging murderous thoughts and kept tearing himself apart because of the strangeness. The wound healed rapidly until he lost his last breath.

...What exactly is a human being?

All the wealth created by the masses has been harvested by the group of people at the top of the pyramid through various means, but the people at the bottom can be so glorious. The humanity in them is so dazzling that it makes your eyes sore.

Looking at the body on the ground, Su Mingan knelt down and gently covered his face with blood-stained clothes.

After putting the body in the closet, the intense grief combined with the mental impact of black fog made grandma forget about it. She subconsciously felt that her son hadn't come back yet, so she just needed to make his favorite prawns and wait for him at the door.

He will be back.

Most definitely.

She was waiting downstairs in the unfinished building, waiting for her son to return home. As long as he came back, the building collapse incident five years ago would definitely be answered, her granddaughter's heart disease would also be cured with money, and there would still be light in the future, and the family would be able to You will definitely get happiness.

The evening breeze blew her silver hair, and she always had that complete family portrait in her heart.

But she never thought——

What awaited his return was just a corpse and a citizen's medal of honor full of irony.

For a moment, she cried.

The cry tore through her already mute throat, like a wounded black crow, echoing in the empty corridor, with no one responding.

"——You can't cry! This is a great thing!" Seeing this, the guards quickly persuaded them, with colorful smiles on their faces:

"You laughed! You are a hero!"

"Look at this Citizen's Medal of Honor, how beautiful it is. You can hang it up and show it to everyone. This is an honor that no one can envy."

"You killed your relatives out of justice, you killed the mutants, you saved countless people!"

Her son was a mutant, and the vaccine from the Ark Project accelerated his mutation, leading to his death.

He must be killed and he must be redeemed.

But,

Why is she crying.

She couldn't laugh.

She couldn't help but laugh.

Her son is the most obedient. He has been a top student since he was a child. He has few hobbies except eating prawns. His life is step by step, he studies, works, marries a wife and has children. He is usually upright and kind. Like every ordinary father, he listens to his wife the most.

But,

Why?

"Ah, ah, ah-!"

Not like a human cry.

Cries of extreme despair.

Like a tearing cry.

The braised pork and prawns were still on the table. Su Mingan had only moved a few chopsticks before, and the aroma of wine floated in the air. The calendar on the wall was stuck three days ago, and there were a few half-painted pieces of paper on the cabinet, with bright gouache colors.

In the photo, a simple and honest middle-aged man is holding a girl, and his beautiful wife is standing next to him. The teddy bear in the girl's hand seems to be smiling.

But why.

Why……?

Su Ming'an covered her with a white cloth and suddenly heard a cry that was so terrifying that it didn't look like a humanoid.

"Su Xiaobai." Shang Qi grabbed Su Ming'an's hand: "Let's run away."

Su Ming'an looked up and saw that the black spots on the old woman at the door were rapidly expanding, covering her cheeks in an instant.

Negative emotions inflame everything.

Black Mist, Xenomorphs, including the Black Mist disease associated with them.

So, people are always asked to smile.

But if you can't even smile...

"Back! Back!" the guards screamed, raising their guns.

The old woman was holding the painting tools in her arms and still crying.

"Xiaoyong, Xiaoyong..."

In an instant, tentacles sprouted from her body. Her black fog disease was intensified, reached an advanced stage, and began to mutate. She finally embarked on the same path as her son.

The guards aimed their guns at her without hesitation, and flames spurted out. Mutants cannot be reversed and can only end their lives.

"You-" Su Mingan stretched out his hand.

stop.

Don't do this again.

Special medicines that have been delayed, epidemic areas that have been abandoned, and countless people struggling with the disease——

Repeating this reincarnation, repeating this pain.

again and again.

Well-dressed beasts take other people's lives as a matter of course. The media can't see it, and netizens think it doesn't exist, whitewashing the quiet days.

Five years of hoarse shouting, the pain of killing a son with his own hands, the blood and tears of the old man - the truth and response that people have been chasing with all their strength, buried in the dust with withered laughter, and no one can see the blood.

——If the night will not light up, how can the deep-rooted darkness be shaken?

——If the dawn will not come, how can we save the sheep in the rain?

"wait--"

Su Mingan stretched out her hand towards grandma.

do not do that.

...You haven't waited for the truth about your daughter-in-law.

…You have not yet learned what your son suffered in the Ark Project.

...You haven't...yet lived with your granddaughter.

He saw the wrinkles on her face move slightly, and she turned her head, grinning at him among the tentacles all over her body, and smiled.

Silver hair fluttered on the side of her face, like sheep's down. Her pupils were dim in color, but she could see his clear reflection.

"You are a brave boy..."

Grandma said.

"Thank you……"

Thank you for pretending and letting my son get the last of the prawns.

Thank you... for complimenting my food on how delicious it is.

I know, you kid,

You want to save me.

Thank you for your young and sincere hearts, thank you for seeing an old lady like me. As long as there are people like you in this world, justice will never die.

Thank you, really... thank you very much.

next moment,

Gunshots rang out and blood splattered everywhere. The unfinished building finally began to collapse due to the vibration. Bricks fell wildly, and the guards immediately retreated.

"It's going to collapse! Retreat! Retreat!" they screamed.

Down in the living room, the old woman was wearing the red flower jacket that her son had given her, leaning on a family portrait and half-used painting tools, and closed her eyes.

Her whole body was covered with bullet marks, and the blood completely stained her flower jacket.

She didn't run away or heal her wounds.

Like her son, she closed her eyes, clutching the glittering Citizen's Medal of Honor on her chest, and repeatedly twirled her son's face in the photo with her fingers.

Su Mingan hugged her granddaughter and jumped from the balcony. The last thing he saw was a huge wall brick covering her white hair.

The prawns on the table were knocked over and fell down amid dust and buzzing.

……grandmother.

He opened his eyes and saw that pale color completely disappearing from his eyes.

For a moment, he seemed to smell the plum wine of his childhood again, and his eyes felt hot, as if something had fallen.

The heavy rain washed away everything.

"Dad, grandma... are they dead?"

The little girl in her arms choked with sobs.

Su Ming'an hugged her and wiped away the tears on her face.

he whispered in her ear.

"...'They' will not die."