Gene from the 13th Department of Bright City

"Look Imogen, there is a lot of food, we just need to eat it quickly!"

There was a murmur, but soon followed by a bang, Jamie fell to the ground with his face down. He opened his eyes in a daze, wiped the saliva from his mouth, and looked at him with his hands on his hips, furious. Imogen, in the distance, there is some light coming from the window, and the room is dark.

"What are you doing, Imogen? It's still dark. Let me sleep a little longer."

"Get up, come on Fredo called us."

Jamie lay lazily on the bed. This place was soft and comfortable. In the past, they slept in smelly haystack rooms, with dozens of men and women crowded together.

Why is this kind of bed so soft? Although there is a lot of dust, Jamie slept quite comfortably.

"Let me sleep a little longer!"

thump thump thump

There was a sound of going upstairs, and the door was violently pushed open with a bang.

"I called him Fredo. That's what a coward is. He's usually very lazy, even when it comes to work. He does everything the same. He just cares about his own comfort."

Jamie was leaning on the soft pillow and just didn't want to get up. Fredo jumped over and suddenly jumped onto the bed and hooked Jamie's body with his feet. Before Jamie could react, he was already flying. He stood up and screamed, but the next second he was held by Fredo's short but strong hands.

Jamie looked at Fredo with a livid face, a puff of thick smoke puffed out, and Jamie coughed.

"Are you awake now, coward?"

Jamie nodded with some fear. After he was put down, he immediately put his hand on the back of his head.

"My head just hit it, it hurts!"

Imogen covered her mouth and laughed. At this time, Jamie hurried to the window in fear and looked at the lights in the distance.

"Don't worry cowards, they won't come after you."

"Fredo, let's run quickly. If they catch up, we'll be doomed."

Jamie's voice sounded a bit crying, and Imogen couldn't stand it any longer. She walked over and grabbed Jamie's head, and slammed it against the window violently. Jamie pressed her aching forehead.

"What are you doing, Imogen? You will die, but we will still"

"I believe in Freddo!"

Imogen looked at the gray kangaroo, which was taller than them. Fredo blew out a puff of thick smoke and then flicked the ashes and said.

"It's impossible to understand with your current level of intelligence. To put it simply, I placed a large number of camouflaged signal robots in that city. They destroyed one and the next one would release a camouflaged signal. They were just Just running around in circles in the city, because kangaroos are accustomed to relying on technology, not their brains!"

As Fredo spoke, he took out a round, thumb-sized machine with a bright white light in the middle. Imogen took it and held it in her hand. She had never seen such a thing before.

Jamie came closer and pushed Imogen away as soon as he got close to her.

"What are you doing Imogen?"

Jamie complained dissatisfiedly. He liked Imogen very much. Although Imogen always treated him very roughly, Jamie never minded.

"From now on, I will slowly teach you something for one week. After one week, you need to pass a basic trial. After all, if you can't even do the most basic things, you will become a burden to me. I won't I like carrying baggage too much!”

Fredo's voice became more serious, and he looked at the two confused children. They obviously didn't know such vocabulary. They only knew the pronunciation, but they didn't know the meaning.

Fredo raised his fingers at Jamie, and Jamie walked over.

"Jamie, try carrying Imogen on your back."

Jamie didn't think much. Before Jamie could bend down, Imogen jumped on Jamie's back.

"Try walking and see."

"Good weight!"

Imogen slapped Jamie on the head.

"hurry up."

"This is a burden!"

The two looked at Fredo in surprise.

"Just like Jamie, if you carry Imogen on your back, you can still walk, but not if you run away. And the same goes for you, Imogen."

Before Fredo finished speaking, Imogen jumped off Jamie's back and then carried Jamie on her back.

"You are the one. You are dead. I can't even walk without you on my back."

As Imogen said, she suddenly threw back and straightened up. Jamie fell directly to the ground. The head that had been hit before hit the ground again. Jamie covered the back of his head and rolled on the ground in pain, but he still held it in. Without making a sound, Fredo looked at the boy named Jamie with some surprise.

But Imogen was still laughing. At this time, the two of them gradually understood what Fredo said about the burden, and their expressions became serious.

"Yes, this is a burden, just like what you have just tried now."

"We need you to carry it now, but you can't carry it, right?"

As soon as Jamie finished speaking, Fredo took off his sunglasses.

"Why do you understand so much? Coward."

Imogen seemed to be thinking about something.

"It's just that we are very weak now and we will need Fredo to take care of us during the journey, but sometimes you may not be able to take care of us, right?"

"correct!"

Fredo blew out a puff of smoke, looked at Jamie who looked anxious, and explained with a blush on his face.

"It almost means the same thing, I'm just explaining it"

"Not even close!"

Fredo and Imogen said in unison, Jamie lowered his head and looked a little embarrassed.

"Okay, after we come down and have breakfast, we can start."

Then the two followed Fredo downstairs, and it was now 6:13 in the morning on November 1.

Looking at the pieces of something they had never seen before, Fredo told them that it was called bread, and that the thing in the small jar on the side was called butter, and there was also a sharp weapon that he didn't know what it was used for.

"This is called bread."

"What is this white thing?"

The three cups were filled with milky white liquid. Imogen had seen Freddo put something into the water before, and then stirred it quickly, and the water turned into this milky white liquid.

"At this time, drinking one cup of artificial milk every day will be very helpful to your body in the future. Would you like some sugar?"

As Fredo spoke, he took out a small jar of white granular objects. This was something that the two of them had never seen in kind, although they had seen it on some things called flyers, and some in the city. I've seen the pictures but never seen them.

The two of them followed Fredo's lead, first spreading butter on the bread, and then adding a few spoonfuls of sugar. After a while, the two cheered. The warm edges were crispy, and the inside was soft and sweet. This was their first time eating bread, and the feeling of drinking this cup of artificial milk was truly something they had never experienced before.

"Is there any more, Fredo? I also want to eat a piece and have a drink!"

Jamie looked at Fredo with greedy eyes and asked. Fredo lit a cigar with a laser, and then blew out smoke rings.

"Know how to control yourself Jamie."

"Hey, I used to be on the farm and could eat ten grass dumplings, and"

boom

Imogen slapped her hand on the table.

"Then you go back, why don't you go back to the farm and continue eating your grass dumplings?"

The smile on Jamie's face disappeared. He lowered his head, not knowing what to do. He knew he shouldn't mention the grass dumplings because everyone was dead. In the past two years, those who escaped were happy. Living together, Imogen cried last night. She cried for a long time, and the tears had wet her back. Jamie could not say anything, could not do anything, he could only let Imogen do it on his own. Wiping tears on his back, he pinched himself, but he remained silent.

"Do you know what dignity is?"

Furui asked more, and the two asked again and again, and heard a new vocabulary.

"I've seen the video footage of the scene, Imogen, why do you want to resist?"

"Because they killed everyone."

Fredo nodded.

"This emotion is called anger. As for emotions, it is your state. When you feel comfortable, you want to laugh, which means you are happy. When you feel you want to cry, it means you are sad. If you want to hit someone, you can't restrain yourself at all. When you are angry, it is called anger. As for why you refuse to eat grass dumplings on the ground, it is because you have a little bit of dignity as a human being, although it is unconscious."

"It turns out that not eating anything off the ground is called dignity."

Jamie said with a smile, Fredo put his sunglasses back on, and then sighed.

"Jamie, what exactly is going on in your head every day?"

“Eat and play!”

Imogen replied immediately, and Jamie nodded happily.

"Okay, about the issue of dignity, I will tell you slowly and little by little in the future journey. As for why there is a subconscious, it is because you humans walk upright, and your hands and feet are very flexible, but you have to bend down like a kangaroo. Eating on the ground is not what you humans should do, but we can eat while sitting at the table like now, and we can also look at each other and talk about something."

Both of them nodded. Fredo then took out a mechanical box. After quickly pressing down on the surface of the box, the box opened with a crunching sound like it was falling apart. There was a crystal panel in the middle. And all around are different machines.

"Okay, let's start with the most basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as number recognition."

Fredo began to talk seriously, asking the two of them to count from 1 to 10, over and over again. Imogen was very happy and her voice was loud, but after Jamie counted several times, she felt that there was nothing new. No, he was not interested in these things at all, but his interest was in the weapons of the kangaroos.

After a while, Jamie began to feel sleepy, and his eyelids were fighting up and down. Imogen was still counting excitedly, and she had already counted to 30. At this moment, there was a bang, and Jamie's head was solid. It hit the table, and he grinned in pain.

"You're such an idiot."

Imogen cursed, Jamie yawned and looked at Imogen with a smile. Freddo sighed, you should go to the yard.

Jamie nodded immediately. Fredo asked Jamie to count from 1 to 10 again. Jamie ran out happily. The laser transmitter removed from the dead kangaroo yesterday was still there. He immediately picked it up. It was put on the arm and then waved, imitating the movements of kangaroos, but the laser transmitter would never light up, nor would it emit the kind of laser that could directly penetrate the human body, dissolve metal, and cause flames.

At this time, Fredo came out, looked at Jamie who was still tinkering with the laser transmitter, and then walked over and said.

"Even if you tinker until tomorrow, you still won't be able to shoot out the laser. I told you so."

"Infrasonic, right?"

Fredo explained.

"This is a digital sound wave converted from the sound control mechanism of the kangaroo cerebral cortex. It can control machines with the same digital sound waves as them, but you humans cannot do it because the human brain structure is different from ours."

"It just means I have to use my brain like you kangaroos!"

Fredo was a little unable to refute these words. It sounded like the truth. He grinned slightly and looked a bit ferocious. However, Jamie had adapted a lot because he knew that Fredo was not hostile, and he It's smiling.

"Just keep working hard!"

Fredo was about to leave, but then he remembered and wanted to ask Jamie.

"By the way, Jamie, why are you holding Imogen down so hard?"

"I don't want her to die."

Fredo nodded.

"It's just that sometimes it's more painful to live than to die."

"How could it be possible? It's so good to be alive. If you die, you won't be able to move or eat. You won't be able to move forever."

Jamie's voice was low at the end, and Fredo nodded. He was a little surprised by this child, because he seemed to be very patient and perseverant. Even though Fredo had told him that he could not activate the kangaroos' weapons, Jamie Still trying.

"Can you teach me to ride that?"

Jamie pointed to the motorcycle parked by the courtyard wall with a smile, and Fredo took off his sunglasses.

"Of course you can, as long as you grow taller and stronger."

"Like a machine?"

As soon as Jamie finished speaking, Fredo grinned again, and then jumped to the door, and Imogen's excited voice came from inside.

Fredo entered the room and watched Imogen excitedly pointing to something talking on the crystal screen. This was something she had never seen before. Jamie also ran in with a laser in his hand. launcher.

Jamie also looked at the little man who was talking in the luminous crystal screen, talking about the basics of mathematics.

"This is AI!"

The two looked at Fredo in confusion. He did not explain this time because it was impossible for two people with zero knowledge to know everything in a short time.

"You don't need to know at this stage. You can just watch it for two hours every day. Okay, I'll go out for a walk."

Fredo quickly came outside the yard and saw that there were not many cigars left in the mechanical jacket. It was enough for him to smoke for two or three days at most. He had to get some cigars, and there were many places to get cigars nearby. , because in kangaroo society, many kangaroos like this thing.

Fredo also decided on this trial. If the two children cannot pass, Fredo will ruthlessly abandon them. This is a prerequisite. After all, he is being hunted. He is about to arrive in Melbourne. There are several bases of the red kangaroo army, as well as many wandering humans. They are just like humans treated wild animals in the past. Nowadays, kangaroos just treat humans as wild animals and feed them from time to time.

For this kind of behavior, Fredo is shameless. Fredo does not agree with such strength. Real strength is created by inner courage.

Fredo's plan is to arrive at a technology factory in Melbourne, seize a light particle drive ship from it, and set off with everything needed to head to Brilliant City. The coordinates have been analyzed by AI. All he has to do is follow this Using the past coordinates of the planet, we can accurately reach the location of Brilliant City.

The humans here are hopeless unless their fellow humans come to help, so the Bright City is a place that Fredo really wants to go to.

According to the original plan, Fredo was supposed to arrive in four days, but he met these two children on the way. He was just walking along the road and met these two children accidentally. He had previously detected a red kangaroo nearby. Fredo did not go over despite receiving the regiment's signal. I heard from Imogen this morning that there were more than 100 people who escaped, but only 31 of them were captured, and the others were all dead.

This is a sad and helpless thing. Imogen cried again this morning, but Jamie never cried. Fredo also asked some things about Jamie. He would always please the kangaroos and be humble. .

It is important to have dignity, but sometimes, dignity becomes a burden, and once dignity becomes a burden, you may die.

Fredo can't judge who is right and who is wrong, but now Fredo wants to conduct an experiment to see what human beings are like and what they really look like. The group that once ruled this planet in the past is definitely not what it is today. What I saw was that these humans were as desolate as wild animals looking for food everywhere.

What is hidden under the appearance of weak creatures like humans? Someone once told himself that humans are powerful, but Fredo has never seen a powerful human being.

What will become of these two children, Fredo is looking forward to it, but now he is a little afraid, because this trial may be the maximum limit of these two children, and they may die.

Nowadays, the situation in kangaroo society is becoming more and more tense. Although war may break out, and the close relationship in the past is now maintained closely by the blue-blood defense in the northeast, the five major legions are beginning to gear up.

There is not much time left for this land. If Fredo doesn't leave, the future may be very bad. He doesn't want to stay here for this kind of thing. Disputes over land for profit are really boring. , obviously everything in this world is unknown, but the leaders of the five major legions have no intention of going to the foggy world outside to explore the current status of the world.

"This is so ridiculous."

After wandering around the dilapidated streets nearby, Fredo returned to their temporary residence. At this time, only Imogen was still listening to the class seriously, but Jamie had disappeared. Fredo pressed the edge of his sunglasses, It didn't take long to figure out where Jamie was, he was defecating behind the house and looked in pain.

"Looks like we need to give them less food."

At this time, Imogen also ran out in a hurry, clutching her stomach. When humans are born, they only get something similar to breast milk in the infant stage. When they grow up, they start to eat grass dumplings. The human intestines are very difficult. Adaptable to some warm foods.

After a while, both of them looked a little uncomfortable and lacked energy. By lunch time, the two of them felt a little more energetic.

"Why is this thing?"

Jamie became a little dissatisfied when he looked at the slightly heated grass dumplings and the two small balls that Fredo asked the two of them to eat separately.

"Your stomach and intestines have adapted to it after eating this food for a long time. However, the food that humans often eat in the past is a little uncomfortable. It needs to be improved slowly. You have to eat some every day. I have made it with a little seasoning."

Jamie grabbed a warm straw dumpling, put it in his mouth and ate it. He immediately felt something was different from usual, and Imogen's face darkened.

"It's delicious. It's really delicious. Eat it and see."

Imogen turned her head and said.

"I don't really want to eat this kind of thing."

Fredo sighed, then nodded, and made vegetable pancakes for Imogen. After all, this is the easiest food to digest.

"By the way, I have to tell you about the trial."

Fredo said seriously.

"Can you give me some?"

Jamie, who had already eaten 10 straw dumplings, was still looking at the bet cakes in Imoqin’s hand with eager eyes. Finally, Imoqin gave some to Jamie.

After eating, both of them looked at Fredo seriously.

"In a few days, we will arrive at a city once called Melbourne. Your trial place is over there. You still have a week. During this week, I will tell you a little bit about the kangaroos. You need With practice, it’s not too difficult.”

Fredo said, taking out a cigar, lighting it with a laser, taking a puff, and exhaled thick smoke.

"Just help me get this thing. As for the method, it's up to you. This is the content of this trial. If you can't even do such a small errand, I will leave you behind!"

"It can be done."

Imogen immediately stood up and spoke, looking at Fredo with firm eyes, while Jamie's legs weakened and he trembled.

"If this fails, won't we die?"

Fredo nodded and went to steal the kangaroos' things. If he was caught, he might be brutally tortured to death.

"Can I not participate?"

As soon as Jamie finished speaking, Imogen stared at him angrily.

"You coward."

Jamie lowered his head and just smiled bitterly.

"Yes, but after a week, you have to leave us and make a living on your own."

Jamie hummed and turned around a little disappointed, but at this time he was caught by Imogen.

"You have to go with me. Even if you die, you have to go with me."

"How can you hold me back if you want to die? I am..."

After seeing Imogen's eyes, Jamie fell into silence. After a long time, he spoke.

"I won't go, I don't want to die!"