How to Feed an Abyss!

On the 54th floor of the communication tower, tourists stop.

Shi Yuan and Edward detoured for a long time before finding the upward stairs. The thick security gates were destroyed, and the stairs shattered into lumps, exposing the mesh of steel bars, which were precariously stepped on. The two lifted the supermarket shopping cart together and proceeded carefully.

Between the 54th and 55th floors, accidents still happened.

Edward walked ahead and stepped on a flight of stairs, only to hear "Boom!", and the gravel brought him down!

He didn't fall.

The thick and long tail wrapped around his waist.

This tail can knock someone out of a concussion, and it can save a life. Guns and ammunition were hanging on Edward's body, which was very heavy. Shi Yuan tried his best to reach out and grab him. With the help of his tail, he gritted his teeth and lifted Edward up.

After Edward came up, he leaned against the stairwell to pant, and gave him a thumbs up: "Your funny tail! Very good!"

"Thank you." Shi Yuan held his tail and straightened his scales, "I also think it is very good."

A large part of the stairs has collapsed, and the shopping cart must not be able to pass. Edward rested for a while, and suddenly said: "Edward doesn't want the car anymore, Edward only takes his family up."

Shi Yuan said, "Your cans and weapons are in the car."

Edward: "Edward said it's okay, there's not enough time, and the Edward family just want to see the sunset."

They set off early in the morning, hiked to the communication tower, and then climbed more than 50 floors with the shopping cart, and it was dusk before they knew it. The sun cannot be seen indoors, but Shi Yuan speculates that it is falling at an accelerated rate.

"Okay," Shi Yuan said, "Then let's go up first."

Edward picked and picked in the shopping cart, took the most convenient guns, brought bullets and biscuits, a water bottle, and a music player.

In the end, he carried Joanna and Mike on his back.

It was only then that Shi Yuan noticed that Edward was quite tall, almost as tall as Lu Tinghan. He carried the gun and two paper men on his back, and his steps were actually quite easy.

"Come on, Edward is ready," he said.

Shi Yuan stood in front of the broken staircase, measured the distance, and jumped over it first, his movements were very light. He stepped on the ground to confirm that it was firm, and said to Edward, "You jump over."

Edward took a few steps back, ran up and jumped—

"Boom!" He landed heavily, and several pieces of gravel fell from his feet, falling down dozens of floors.

They reached the 55th floor.

The corridor further up was completely blocked, and they had to find another way.

Pushing open the door on the 55th floor is shocking. The wind was so loud that there were corpses of soldiers everywhere. Some of the corpses had mutated and turned into monsters wandering outside, but the rest still covered the ground. The whole floor was covered in blood, dried black and red splashed from the ground to the ceiling, and in the light of the setting sun, they seemed to be silently burning.

Shi Yuan walked for a while and found that Edward hadn't followed.

He looked back, and Edward was squatting in front of a dead body, staring at its "dog tag".

"What are you looking at?" Shi Yuan asked him.

Edward still stared at the corpse: "...Edward's friend."

"Ah, is this your friend?" Shi Yuan walked to his side.

The name on the "dog tag" was blurred, and it was unknown how Edward recognized it.

"They are all Edward's friends here." Edward's nose was sweating, his pupils dilated, and his face became paler. "They are all Edward's friends. Edward...Edward should have been here, and Edward ran away."

"Run away?" Shi Yuan's tail bent into a question mark, "What ran away?"

Edward explained: "Edward was supposed to be with them, but, but, but Edward was going to find Joanna and Mike, so Edward ran away." Edward ran away."

He looked around in panic, the corpses were like mountains, the sea of ​​blood was heavy, and there was obviously no complete face, but at this moment, it seemed that countless lines of sight spanned time and space, spanned life and death, and fell on him.

They were all looking at him.

Shi Yuan suddenly understood.

When the Iron City fell, Edward was supposed to defend the communication tower with these soldiers, but he became a deserter and went to find his family.

Drops of blood flowed from Edward's palm and splashed on the ground. He murmured: "Colonel Lu Zhun asked everyone to come here. Edward is sorry for them. If Edward was there, they might still be alive." He was in a daze for a while, shook his head violently, and hugged the two Paperman, "But it's okay, fortunately Edward found Joanna! He also found Mike! Edward protected his family!"

He hugged her too tightly and refused to let go.

The stick figures of the two dummies smiled at Shi Yuan.

Shi Yuan knew that with this tragic battle situation, the individual was too small, and whether Edward stayed or not would not change the result.

Edward must have understood this too.

But guilt overwhelmed him overwhelmingly. Perhaps in countless late nights, he thought over and over again, if—if he hadn't been a deserter, if he had stayed, would there be a little bit of difference? Or if he could get home earlier, would the story be different?

He abandoned his comrades-in-arms for the sake of his family, but in the end no one could protect him. The family members go first, and the comrades-in-arms die in battle, leaving him alone in the world.

What crushed him was guilt, cowardice and grief.

He told self-defeating lies.

The sun was about to set, and the vast horizon drowned out its brilliance.

Shi Yuan said softly, "We have to go."

Edward knelt and sat there, not moving.

Shi Yuan said, "You still have a dance to dance."

This time, Edward moved his eyelids.

He stood up slowly, carried the paper man on his back, and walked across the mess step by step. At his feet is the **** and ferocious reality, but fortunately he is crazy enough to take the dream on his shoulders as reality.

They found their way to the top floor.

There was a hole in the floor of the 56th floor, and they climbed up by stepping on large pieces of gravel.

In addition to the corpses on the 56th floor, there are a large number of servers, communication equipment, monitors, giant screens, wires and antennas. The walls have collapsed, and they are mixed together to form a steel ruin. Some rooms are very large, and Shi Yuan can imagine that in the past, they must have been crowded with people, and countless people sat in front of rows of screens, sending data to every corner of the alliance.

Edward went straight in one direction.

Shi Yuan followed him and found the main control room.

Half of the floor of the main control room collapsed. Standing on the edge, if you are not careful, you will fall down. And most of the ceiling is gone, and the sky can be seen directly. Rows of precision instruments have been beaten by wind and rain, and they are rusty. Standing here, when the wind blows, the whole tower shakes slightly.

Edward stood there blankly, looking into the sky.

And Shi Yuan wandered around, and found to his dismay that he didn't understand these instruments at all, and didn't know how to find the data of "Yuanwang".

He said to Edward: "Mr. Edward, before you start dancing, can you help me find 'The Overlook'?"

Edward rolled his eyes and looked at him: "...Edward doesn't know where 'Overlook' is. Edward can only help you find a backup power supply."

A little progress is a good thing.

Shi Yuan followed Edward around the top floor, scaring away a few little monsters with his tail.

There are a total of 3 backup power sources on the 56th floor, 2 of which were destroyed, but fortunately the last one can still be used. Edward used brute force to pry open the electric box and pull down the switch. A burst of crackling flames exploded in the distance, and several screens lit up with snowflake screens.

"Edward can only do this." Edward's hands were full of dust and oil, and he wiped them on his overalls. "Edward doesn't know much about computers. Those are too complicated—now, Edward is going to stay with his family."

"Okay, thank you." Shi Yuan said, "I will find a way." He thought for a while, "If you encounter a monster, shoot and I will come to you."

Edward returned to the main control room.

While paying attention to the movements in the main control room, Shi Yuan checked the lit screen.

His understanding of electronic products is very limited. He once tried to feed the mobile phone, which shocked Lu Bafang for a hundred years. Even if he can now use his mobile phone to play games, watch videos, and send text messages to Lu Tinghan, it doesn't mean he can understand these devices.

He studied for a long time, but he didn't understand any of them. He tried them one by one, and only one very large computer seemed to work.

The mouse and keyboard of the computer are missing, and I don't know where they are rotten.

Shi Yuan had seen a computer before, but when Lu Tinghan was using the computer, he was concentrating on playing with his tail.

He regretted not knowing more about this stuff.

Shi Yuan rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find a few mice, connected them clumsily, and tried to move—

The interface has changed.

It shows: [Please enter the administrator account name and password]

Shi Yuan was very confused, and said to the computer: "My name is Shi Yuan, not an administrator."

The computer ignored him, and he clicked a few more times.

[Please enter the administrator account name and password]

【Account password error】

[Please enter the administrator account name and password]

【Account password error】

[Please enter the administrator account name and password]

[The account password is wrong, the system will be locked for 180 minutes after the next failure]

Shi Yuan:? !

He dared not move.

He wanted to ask Edward, but just as he turned to leave, a voice came from behind: "Shi Yuan."

Shi Yuan turned around. A girl with black hair and green eyes stood barefoot in the ruins. The holographic projector in the corner was emitting blue light, reflecting her figure.

Shi Yuan's eyes widened: "Alice? Why are you here?"

"Well... To put it simply, the backup power is activated, and a small signal base station is still operating. This place is connected to the Internet, so I'll come." Alice lightly jumped onto the control panel, with her hands behind her back, Smiled at him, "I haven't been here for many years, I really miss it. When I was here last time, every room was full of people, and they knew how to wear headphones and face the screen every day, clacking and typing on the keyboard. "

She curled her lips: "They're boring anyway."

Shi Yuan asked her: "I came here for the 'Overview' project, can you find the data?"

"Give me some time." Alice said, "There are too many damaged parts here, and 'Overlook' may not be able to get it back. However, I will upload all the data I can find to the system."

On the screen, a string of passwords was automatically typed out, showing [Administrator password is correct], followed by a bunch of pulsating data.

"That's good." Shi Yuan felt relieved, "Fortunately, you're here."

However, he realized another problem:

Alice didn't even ask him why he was here.

Alice walked on the ruins with her white feet. She hummed softly, opened her hands and twirled, her white skirt showed playful arcs, and lines of code flashed quickly in her green eyes. The projector was half broken, and her figure kept flickering, flickering.

She didn't seem to doubt at all how Shi Yuan came to Tiecheng.

Shi Yuan knew that Alice was different from human beings, she was made up of algorithms and logic—in a sense, she was the same as Shi Yuan, even if she looked and behaved like a human again, her thinking was different.

Perhaps in her opinion, there is no difference between Shi Yuan's appearance here and his appearance in Tower No. 4.

Alice chatted and said, "Shiyuan, have you read all the love resources I gave you before?"

Those were all deleted by Lu Tinghan. Shi Yuan said guiltily, "I don't have time to read it yet..."

"Go see it quickly." Alice urged, "People in the past liked it, really."

Shi Yuan agreed.

After 20 minutes, Alice ended her search.

She smiled: "Shi Yuan, I found the data of 'Yuan Wang'."

"Wow, really!" Shi Yuan's tail tip began to sway.

"Yes. In addition to this, there are some new data, which are very useful. It's great!" Alice turned around, and her skirt was lifted, "But the backup power is almost gone, I have to go. Shi Yuan ,Thank you."

Shi Yuan waved goodbye to her: "See you in Fengyang City."

"Well, see you in Fengyang City!" Alice's figure flickered a few times and disappeared.

However, she soon appeared again: "Oh yes! Shi Yuan, do you know what the 'Three Laws of Robotics' are?" [Note 1]

Shi Yuan shook his head.

Alice said: "This is the code of conduct set for robots, including my kind of AI. The first rule is 'a robot must not harm a human being, or sit by and allow a human being to be harmed', and the second rule is 'a robot must obey human orders, Unless the order conflicts with the first law', the third law is 'provided it does not violate the first or second law, a robot may protect itself'."

Shi Yuan bent his tail in confusion.

Alice went on to say: "I can't defy them. I hide my existence from humans based on the third law."

Shi Yuan said: "It's the first time I know. So it's like this."

"Why did I tell you this?" Alice tilted her head and smiled, "Because some small, innocuous lies can exist. We are all just to protect ourselves."

Shi Yuan: "..."

He opened his eyes wide: "You know I'm..."

You know I'm a monster.

"Shh—don't tell." Alice's eyes were full of cunning, "Don't tell, this is a secret between friends."

She smiled and waved her hand: "We'll see you later. By the way, you should go to station No. 37 in the main control room to have a look. There are things you want to take away."

she disappeared.

Shi Yuan returned to the main control room.

Edward, Joanna, and Mike sat against a broken wall, facing the moor.

The huge sunset was halfway down, it was blood red just now, but now it has turned pale pink, and at the top of the sky, the stars are shining on the dark blue curtain.

It wasn't dark yet, but the stars were so bright.

A rare spectacle.

Shi Yuan went to the No. 37 station. There was a dead skeleton lying on the communications platform, holding a pistol/gun in its right hand, with bullet holes in its skull.

A soldier who committed suicide by swallowing a gun.

The "dog tag" was hanging around its neck, and Shi Yuan took it off to wipe off the stain, and saw the word "Yan Xin".

This is Lin Yeran's lover, Captain Yan Xin. He was the last person alive in the communication tower. After transmitting the data, he chose to die.

Shi Yuan put away Yan Xin's "dog tag", thinking that he would bring this to Lin Yeran.

He went back to Edward and asked, "Aren't you dancing yet?"

"Edward was chatting with his family just now, and the conversation was very happy. It's been so long before we know it." Edward looked at the sunset, "Now, Edward and Joanna are going to dance."

Shi Yuan reminded him: "It's getting dark soon, hurry up. There will be more monsters at night... I don't know if I can keep scaring them off."

"No, no, no, Edward wants to stay here." Edward shook his head and said, "This is a good place, much better than the watchtower."

Shi Yuan said: "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous. You've been in Iron City for so long, you must know this."

"No, no, no," Edward still shook his head, "My friend, you don't understand. Edward, Edward has worked hard for many years and made a lot of preparations, all for the purpose of coming here. There are too many monsters, Edward thank you very much, if Without you, Edward may never reach the top of the tower."

Shi Yuan didn't expect that Edward's diligent collection of resources has always been for the communication tower.

He also wanted to persuade him: "I still have to go, what's there here? It's definitely not as good as your home."

Edward said: "Here is the best sunset in the world, Edward's family, and Edward's friends. Edward misses his friends very much. He has abandoned them once, and this time he must stay. Edward wants to be with He likes to stay with people, and here is everything for Edward."

He looked at Shi Yuan again, and the wandering eyes seemed to be soft and clear. Shi Yuan didn't even know if he was really crazy at this moment.

Edward said again: "You and Mike, watch Edward dance. Edward likes you very much, you can take all the cans, please don't tell Edward when you leave, don't bother him."

He stood up and hugged Joanna, the skirt made of plastic bags and gauze rattled.

Shi Yuan and Mike sat together, leaning against the wall.

This time Edward didn't wear headphones.

He turned on the player directly, and the broken, electrified music played.

The music is in 3 beats, the Adagio is easy and free, and the waltz whirls around the tower with the whistling wind. Every one of his friends can hear this dance music. Like a banquet under the sunset, they jumped over and over again, their bodies were close together, and they never separated.

When the sun completely sank, Shi Yuan quietly left.

The stairs on the 56th floor are very high, and it took him a long time to get down to the end, but it was much faster than when he went up.

He walked two blocks on the streets of Iron City, and looked back—

In the dark blue night, the stars are shining, and a touch of pink is blooming between the sky and the earth. Blue and pink are intertwined, and cities and communication towers are black silhouettes. The two people on the top floor danced lightly, their long skirts were lifted, the woman fell over, and the man leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Shi Yuan left Iron City.

The wilderness is vast, the sky is full of stars, and jellyfish are floating in the void. He has achieved the purpose of this trip, and mankind will look far into the universe.

However, Shi Yuan doesn't care about this at this moment.

An unprecedented emotional tsunami overwhelmed him. Like before he entered the city, he desperately wanted to see Lu Tinghan, but there seemed to be some differences.

Heart beats fast.

He wants to find his human, his watcher, his... lover.