Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 392 Birthday

  June 26 at 9 am

  The train stopped in the area controlled by the International Equality League, in the city closest to the Kingdom of Sder.

  After almost a day of getting along, the eight people in the same company have a deeper understanding of each other and have carried out a preliminary run-in.

   Among them, Oscar from the Propaganda Department was the best speaker, followed by Connie who was in charge of security, and then Stuart and Quentin. However, Quentin, who doesn't talk much, under the guidance of Verac, also talked about his past, so that everyone has a more comprehensive understanding of this seemingly cold person.

   "Come on, let me carry the luggage." When getting out of the car, Oscar enthusiastically helped several people carry their luggage.

   But because this meeting took a long time, everyone took big bags and small bags, and they were too embarrassed to let Oscar take over. In the end, they each brought their own exit stations to meet their comrades.

   "Hello, Comrade Verac!" Vernon, the station chief of Simbaton City, came to receive the group with several comrades.

   "Hello, Station Master Vernon." Verac shook hands with Vernon, and then introduced the people around him.

   "Hello everyone." Vernon invited everyone to get on the car, "I have arranged accommodation and meals for everyone, come with me."

"The comrades at the Bash substation are still waiting, and we are too embarrassed to waste too much time on the road." Verac didn't plan to take more rest in Simbaton City, and they were not so hypocritical, "It's not too early or too late Yes, we are here to have a casual meal, please arrange a car to take us away."

"That's it... OK, as you want." Verac's team shouldered heavy responsibilities, and Vernon station master followed their wishes, first took eight of them to have some dinner, and then just after ten o'clock, They arranged for a vehicle to take them to the Riches Federation sandwiched between Brecy and Stall, where they handed over to the comrades there.

  Leaving Simbaton City means leaving the sphere of influence of the International Equality Alliance and entering a dangerous zone where government forces are active.

   As a result, their traveling conditions became much worse. When leaving Simbaton City, they had to choose to hide in the truck according to the old method to deal with possible inspections.

   Just like that, the truck bumped all the way around the city under martial law, and arrived at a quiet and peaceful town in the middle of the night.

The identities of a group of people are too sensitive, no matter how the townspeople treat them after learning about the situation, they will definitely bring trouble to the town, so Verak thinks twice, and decides to stay in the carriage overnight, and only let the driver accompany him. Contact the townspeople to solve the supply problem.

  In the early morning of the 27th, the truck continued to move forward, and entered the territory of Brisey Joseph County in the afternoon of the 28th.

  The city of Tswold in Joseph County is the hometown of Vilak. At the same time, the Kingdom of Insdell and the Empire of Castelia had previously competed for the Marcy region not far away, which led to the concentration of Brexi government forces here.

   It can be said that they have really arrived at the territory of the government army now, and the possibility of encountering patrols has become extremely high, and they will be caught and arrested if they are not careful.

  The atmosphere, which was originally quite relaxed, gradually became heavy with the difficulty and danger of the journey.

   "Comrade Verac."

  In the dark and shaking carriage, Oscar cried out worriedly.

   "What's the matter?" Verak was used to hiding in the cargo compartment of the truck, and was reciting Bash silently with his eyes closed.

   "Should we...should we think about countermeasures?"

   "What countermeasure?"

"There are people from the government army everywhere here. What if we are discovered by them? We should think of a solution first. If such an unlucky thing happens, we can resolve the crisis in time." Oscar added The International Equality League has only been in a few months, and has not come out to perform missions, nor has it experienced any danger. Since entering the territory of Joseph County, he began to lose his composure.

   Before Verac could speak, Stuart snorted and said, "What are you afraid of? Comrade driver is experienced, and with Comrade Verak in charge, we cannot be in danger."

"You can't say that." Veraker is not as confident as Stuart. "Comrade Neil is familiar with the terrain, and it is safest to ask him to drive us there, but it does not mean that there is no possibility of danger. As for me, I am just a Ordinary people of flesh and blood will still die if they are shot, if there is any serious trouble, there is no difference between me and you."

   "This...then do we really have to think of a countermeasure?" Oscar asked.

   "Responsiveness." Verak replied four words.

   "Adaptive? This..." Oscar didn't know what to do.

   "It's enough." Stuart still looked calm, "Just put your mind at ease."

  Connie also smiled and comforted: "If there is a problem, I will be the one, so don't be afraid."

   "I, I'm not afraid." Oscar didn't want to leave a cowardly impression in front of Connie, so he forced himself to make an excuse, and never asked about it again.

   Quentin didn't know whether he was really sleeping or pretending to be asleep. He leaned against the corner and closed his eyes without saying a word.

   There are almost two days before arriving in the Riches Federation, and Verak is not idle on the road, so Clark can help him consolidate his Bash language.

  …

On the night of the 30th, the truck arrived near the city of Zwald without any danger. Afterwards, it only needs to bypass the city of Zwald and drive eastward for about two hours to escape from danger. Stand comrades meet.

   "Comrade Veraker, is this where you used to live?" Oscar squatted at the back of the car, pulling a corner of the cloth covering the cargo compartment and asked.

   During the long and boring journey, several people heard Verak talk about his past, so they naturally knew the connection between Zward City and Verak.

  Vickenji and August followed suit and looked towards the brightly lit town.

   "Yes." Verak had the idea of ​​getting up and going to have a look, but he didn't take action. "It's just that I don't live in the city, and I have been living in the outer slums."

   "You used to be a photographer here?" Stuart was also interested, and moved to the rear of the car, looking at the city of Zward.

   "Well, I have been working for a few years, and I can be regarded as a person who lives well in the slums, and can afford to live in a single room...even though the single room is a cage with only a few square meters." Verak recalled every bit of the past.

   "Have you not been back for a long time? Don't you want to visit again?" Stuart asked.

Verak sat at the farthest position in the rear of the car, and said calmly: "I wandered here alone when I was very young. Strictly speaking, I am not from Zward City. Although I have lived here for twenty years...but Do you really want to say that you want to come here? I really don’t seem to want to.”

   "You don't have a friend here or anything?"

   "At that time, my two best friends went to Laizein with me. Later, one died and the other joined us. It was Nord who got married on the day we set off." Verak said.

   "Is that so..."

"It's also a coincidence that I didn't know when my birthday was when I was a child, so I set the day when I came to Tsward as my birthday, which is July 1st." Verak laughed, "Tomorrow is just right It's the first of July, the twenty years since I've been in Tsward."

  Hearing this, everyone looked at Verak.

  Clark said first: "So tomorrow is your birthday?"

   "A day that I set myself, I guess." Verak shrugged.

   "It's been twenty years, it doesn't matter, this is your birthday! We celebrate your birthday tomorrow! Let's celebrate!" Oscar regarded the date that Veraker had randomly set when he was a child very important.

   "By the way, how old will you be after your birthday?" The new comrades did not know the exact age of Verak.

  Verak said: "Twenty-seven years old."

  Twenty-seven years old, not too old, not as ceremonial as 20 or 30 years old, it is a really nothing special age.

   "Alright, we will celebrate your twenty-seventh birthday tomorrow!" Oscar said.

   "No, everyone will send me a wish tomorrow." Verak didn't want to make a big fight for a birthday, and he didn't want to take away everyone's kindness.

   "Blessing? OK!"

   "It's not long until tomorrow. I think it will be twelve o'clock before we meet up with the comrades at the Riches station." Stuart looked at the time on his watch by the moonlight.

   "Then let's stick to the time and send blessings as soon as twelve o'clock." Connie suggested.

"Row."

   "No problem, do as you say."

   "Then I have to think about what to say."

  The rest agreed.

  Verak shook his head slightly with a smile, and said to Clark: "Everyone is really enthusiastic."

   "Doesn't it all depend on your hard work these few days to help everyone form a whole?" Clark said.

  …

time flies.

  The city of Zward has become a hazy bright spot behind them, and the time has come to the early morning of July 1st.

   "Comrade Verak, happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday!"

   "Thank you, thank you." Although the birthday was rushed and crude, Verak was flattered by so many people wishing together.

   "I wish you to learn Bash as soon as possible!" Clark's blessing was very pragmatic.

   "I wish you all the best in the future, safe and sound, and lead us to successfully liberate Bash!" Oscar's pattern is very large.

   "I wish you can do everything you want to do!"

   "I wish you more and more handsome! Haha!"

   "I wish you a long life!"

  Finally, Quentin also sent his own blessing: "I wish you all the best."

   "Thank you everyone." Verak kept expressing his gratitude to the comrades in the cargo compartment.

   "It's time for you to make a wish!" Connie reminded.

   "Making a wish? Oh yes." You can make a birthday wish on your birthday, Verak remembered.

  Clark saw that Veraker seemed a little unfamiliar with these links, and explained: "Just close your eyes and make a wish in your heart. Remember not to say it, it won't work if you say it."

   "...Okay." Verak closed his eyes, grinned and said, "Can I only promise one?"

   "Haha! It's your birthday, you can make as many as you want!" Oscar laughed.

   "Okay." Verak's smile restrained, and he sat motionless for more than a minute. "Okay, I've made several wishes, and I hope all of them will come true."

  …

  July 1st, 1am

  The only permanent neutral country, the Riches Federation, outside the border town

  Charlotte, the station master of the Riches sub-station, and a group of cadres finally waited for the arrival of the truck carrying Veraker and his party.

  The truck stopped, and the comrades at the substation held the flashlights and lifted the cover of the cargo compartment, and helped Verak and others, who were sitting with sore legs, get off the car.

   "Comrade Verac!" Charlotte, the heroic station chief, strode forward and shook hands with Verac.

"Comrade Charlotte, long time no see!" Veraker had heard that the stationmaster of the Riches station was an excellent lesbian, and he had also specifically inquired. Like the two of them, Yves was one of the thirty-eight backbones sent out by the Equality Society to establish sub-stations in eleven cities at home and abroad.

   "When I was leaving a year ago, I still remember the lecture you gave to our thirty-eight backbones very clearly." Charlotte boasted when she came up.

"Really..." When Sarah and Yves mentioned this, Verac was embarrassed once, and now that it was mentioned again, he still couldn't help but didn't know how to reply. After all, he was a very selfish person a year ago. The so-called lectures are all copying the content of "Theory of Equality" to fool everyone.

"These two are Comrade Bash, this is Comrade Clark, and these are Comrades Oscar, Quentin, Stuart, and Connie, right?" Charlotte asked to understand the situation without Verac's introduction. He easily recognized all eight of them, "Let me introduce you to the comrades in our sub-station, this is..."

  After exchanging pleasantries, Charlotte led everyone into the town.

  The town has been secretly controlled by the sub-station, they went in openly, and were arranged to have dinner together in the highest standard hotel in the town.

   "It's too rich." The Riches sub-station prepared a large table full of delicacies for Veraker and his party, which made them salivate with hunger.

"Everyone keeps everything simple, mainly because you have been traveling so hard during this time, so I plan to reward you with such a good meal." Charlotte spoke bluntly, fearing that she would be misunderstood as extravagant and wasteful, and explained to Verak A pass.

   "Thank you, thank you, I'm sorry to trouble you all." Verac did not refuse the kindness of the branch station, and sat down with the others to enjoy the food.

  While eating, Charlotte told Veraker, who was running all the way without a stable source of information, about the situation at Laizein.

  At present, a military conflict of a certain scale has broken out between the International Equality Alliance and the Briesi government forces at the junction of forces.

  Because in general, the Bresi government army is still in the stage of testing the details, and the International Equality League is also rapidly expanding its troops and training, so it is hard to say what the follow-up direction of the war situation will be.

  Verak had predicted this situation a long time ago, and the International Equality League is bound to have a hard time.

  After eating, the others went to rest. Veraker and Charlotte had a detailed chat about what happened to Laizein and the way and route to Bash, and then they also had a good sleep on the bed.

  July 1st at 9 am

  Neil drove the truck back the same way, and the Riches sub-station took over the heavy responsibility, arranging for the vehicle to transport Verac and others to the Kingdom of Sderr, where they joined the comrades at the Sdr sub-station.

  (end of this chapter)