East of Eden

To the world, Sakuwa is like a slender flower under a rusty mecha.In the middle of the night, Su An sat alone in front of the window, tapping his index finger on the table lightly, the shadow of the oil lamp shaking on his face.The cool wind rolls in from the windows. Before Yelan City was bombed, every household used to have carved windows, but now there are only irregularly shaped holes.

Su An's world is always very quiet, so quiet that she can hear the night falling from mid-air, flickering between her eyebrows, and falling on the silver eyelashes.People can imagine such a picture, a hut in a scorched-earth city that has experienced artillery fire, there is no vegetation outside the window, only the endless blue sky, orange lights are on inside the house, and the shadows in the corners that cannot be illuminated by the lights are thick. It smells of tar.The silver-haired woman sits in the center of the picture on an old wooden chair, with her black skirt pointing to the ground, as beautiful and lonely as written in some modern poems moaning without illness. She closes her eyes and recalls the phantom of the past through the sparse iron net :

The boy and the girl ran hand in hand in the city, what a long way, passing through the arches engraved with inscriptions, the boy chanted the ballad with a clear echo: "The city gate is several feet high. , 36 feet high, ride a big horse, carry a knife, walk into the city gate and have a look..."

Recalling this, she laughed. If a person's memory had a voice, it might be blowing to Shano's ear on the wind.

Tonight is a moonlit night, Shano stood under the two-thirds of the arch now incomplete, and took the cigarette handed by the person next to him.He prefers smokes that smell more tarry.

"Brother Shano, you worked hard this time." That Sakuwa said, "After more than [-] years, I finally got it back."

"Don't be too happy, it's not the one we lost."

"The sacred objects are all of the same origin. I believe it will lead us back to the road of revival."

"You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to God." The man shook off the ashes, "This share is considered atonement, and all the sacred objects in the world, the Sakuwa, are guarded equally. And the share that was taken from us by Su Huang, there will always be one." I'll take it back one day."

"Are you going back to Beta City?"

"Ah."

"But...but for so many years we can't even break through its first layer of barriers, Su Huang is a fucking bottomless abyss, you should have seen the 'fortress' in the center of the city, even birds can hit it Die on it."

"Don't talk about this topic." Sano made up his mind, just patted the man's shoulder with a cigarette in his mouth and a smile.At this moment, a wild beast howled not far away.

Shano raised his head and asked, "Has everything been arranged?"

"Deployment is ready. They just went to the field to catch two fierce black panthers. Sentinels have been arranged on the tower to stand guard. The holy relics have been buried under the trees. All the swordsmen have polished their swords until they are white and shiny. Everything is ready. Wait for those five Weavers to come to you."

"Not enough, tell them to install chains and nets on high places, I think they will arrive almost tomorrow night." The man threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stared at it for a long time, and finally stomped hard, crushing He said: "Everyone who covets the holy things must die."

"Shanmu Zhelang and the man who fought with you last time?"

After thinking for a moment, he made a gesture of cutting his neck: "They are too."

Hold the handle of the knife on the opposite side, stand upright: "Yes, I understand."

In the brief silence, suddenly a guy came rushing over, tripped over a stone and threw himself on Shano's calf.With a disheveled face and no time to clean it up, he pulled Shano's clothes and said excitedly, "Hey! Come and see! The cherry tree is blooming! The cherry tree is blooming!"

"What?" The man standing with Shano almost swallowed his cigarette.

"Really! The cherry tree! Alive!" He opened his arms.

A row of swordsmen appeared on the city wall, shouting in unison: "Shanuo, come and see—!"

Shano felt his heart move, and hurried to the central courtyard, only to see a layer of light pink emerging from the scorched black branches that had withered for 24 years, shaking lightly under the moonlight.The black-robed old priest leaned on crutches and chanted to the sky like an oath: "They are about to be resurrected, they are about to be resurrected, the ancestors and the Holy Spirit, please let the light of the sacred tree last forever, and guide a great national revival!"

Shano approached and looked at the buds that were just opening on the branch, like a sleeping baby in a swaddle.He stretched out his hand but couldn't bear to touch it, almost crying in a few moments.

On the city wall, the swordsmen struck the shield with their long swords, and the deafening sound resounded through the sky. They sang in the wind, singing ancient festival songs:

my horses are back

The return of a hundred horses

screaming back

come back with joy

Please be sure to dance to the east

Hey yeah

Please be sure to dance to the east

......

Approaching the destination: the city of scorched earth.

The rest of the road cannot be traveled by car. The five of them brought all the equipment and food, and are currently walking through the legendary dragon skeleton.

On the last night before the equinox, the moonlight showed a light purple, and the dragon fossil lay silently in the middle of the desert, with the spine passing over the head to form a natural arch.Under the shroud of moonlight, it looks very much like the white palace of the Yin Kingdom in the past, and those ribs are the Ionic columns leading to the altar or the temple.

The legendary animal, even if it dies, will leave a thousand years of immortal elegance.

The moonlight interspersed in the skeleton, casting alternating light and dark stripes on Xing's face. When he raised his head, the light and shadow moved with his steps, like a flowing veil.

Siswell glanced at the sky, followed the men's footsteps in a muffled voice, and said after a long time, "Will anyone come from the headquarters?"

Shan Mu nodded of course: "Yes, of course. After all, the sacred object is lost. I guess they will even come here in the most popular spaceship Lucy."

"Then what is our plan now...?"

"Into the city."

"Not waiting for the headquarters?"

"Not waiting for headquarters."

"Really? Just the five of us?" Although Siswell understood the answer from their firm footsteps, she couldn't help but said, "So...we might...will..." She hesitated for a while, In the end, I still didn't have the courage to chew out the word "death".

The doctor knew what she meant, so he asked a question: "In almost all battles, there will be a 'vanguard'. They are the team with the lowest survival rate. Once they rush out, there is a high probability of death. But, have you ever thought What kind of people are leading the charge?"

Siswell thought for a while, then said she didn't know.

"Some are voluntary, and some are arranged. One is for honor, and the other is because of having to bear it." The man pushed the lens.

Siswell didn't speak, they stepped out of the keel and climbed up a gentle slope. The desert was very quiet, except for the sound of footsteps, there was only panting one after another.The reality is not like "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan". No organization will act to rescue individuals. People often ignore an obvious but profound fact: in a battle, someone must be cannon fodder.

"Do you want to avenge your teacher Terok?"

"think."

"That's good." Shan Mu smiled at her.

Siswell admitted that she was convinced that Sakuwa was an enemy they had to deal with themselves, no matter the cost.However, the reluctance to give up life caused a burst of sadness to burst from his heart, and bitterness seeped into every corner of his body.

"Hey, look up." At this moment, Yun An patted her on the shoulder.

She looked up in response, gasping for air.A jaw-dropping statue rises from the ground, and the strong visual shock instantly dilutes the wild thoughts——

I saw the statue standing between the sky and the earth, almost towering to them, the body presents an "S"-shaped kneeling posture, the head is broken and falls to the ground, half buried by the yellow sand, revealing a slender and compassionate eye as if gazing at the visitor .Its neck left a section facing the moon, and its body miraculously maintained the cleanness at the beginning of its construction. With its hands stretched forward, palms up, it reverently held up an inverted quadrangular pyramid suspended in the air, like an upside-down black pyramid.

Compared with it, how small and insignificant human beings are under their feet.She suddenly understood human beings' obsession with ancient times, it was like an era created by God.

Siswell's whole body was covered with goosebumps, and she could hardly stand still: "...This, is this made by them?"

"The technology of Yin Qi civilization." Shan Mu didn't take pictures, but felt everything with his eyes: "Seeing these, this life is enough."

Xing also felt a huge vibration, and his body seemed to resonate with it, the tag was hot against his chest, and some magnificent but indescribable emotions surged in his heart.These emotions reminded him that he came from the glorious past, the age of the sun, and certain memories gradually took shape in his mind, like an architect's first sketch, initially outlining a huge outline beyond imagination.

"Look, they're showing off their skills." Shan Mu pointed to the inverted pyramid: "God knows how the Yin people made it levitate, and it still hasn't fallen after 3000 years of levitation."

"The inverted triangle, Zhu Siliang Shiheng's totem." Siswell said.

"Archaeologist, help us translate the text on the base of the statue."

Siswell ran forward, carefully wiped off the yellow sand covering the inscription, and read aloud: "Enter the realm of the gods through this, and those who come will let go of all desires." roughly communicated.

"Here enters the realm of the gods, and those who come put aside all desires." This is a unique inscription. She has read many documents, but she has only seen it in two places-one is here, and the other is in the temple where Xing's corpse was found. .

A premonition suddenly rose in her heart. Could it be that Sakuwa has something to do with the sacred object?Or do they have any connection to the stars?What was Sakuwa's purpose in stealing the holy object?She looked down, and there was inscribed the name of this god, the giant who guarded the west.

"Doctor, shall we move forward now?" Long asked, he had already seen the scorched earth city not far away.Six layers of surrounding walls guard it.

Shan Mu Zhelang moved his eyes from the statue, and met its eyes buried in the sand: "Go forward."

The team continued to move forward, Siswell looked back at the statue three times a step at a time, Xing followed them, but was suddenly stopped by Shan Mu:

"Xing, you stay here."

"?"

"You don't need to be with us, you wait here for the headquarters and get in touch with them." Shan Mu used an orderly tone.

"Why?" He suddenly realized that he was cut off from the world, and his heart was uneasy, but it was more of a brewing anger.

"Because we have enough people."

"It's not enough." Xingdao: "Every time you encounter danger, you let me go first."

"You cost us dearly—"

"Is it the revived thousand-year-old corpse?"

"It seems that you know it without me telling you, so you have to protect yourself." Shan Mu waved to the others: "Okay, let's go."

"Wait a minute!" Xing wanted to catch up, but when he just took the first step, something seemed to be wrapped around his ankle, and he fell to the ground with a plop.The fall was not light, the defenseless man curled up in pain, coughed violently, and was dragged backward by some force.

"I'm sorry." Shan Mu stood in front of him.

Xing looked towards his ankle, where an iron ring like a shackle got stuck there at some point, pulling him towards the small magnetic disk buried in the sand.

"This is Cameron's magnetic restraint device." Shan Mu explained: "You are here, waiting for us to come back."

Xing elbowed the ground, crawled forward in vain, and reached out to grab the cedar's trousers, but only managed to catch a little.

"Don't." He firmly grasped the man's corduroy trousers wrapped around the mechanical legs, eyes through the messy black hair: "Don't."

Shanmu winked, and Long and Yun'an separated Xing's fingers one by one.Xing held on tightly, like a wolf biting its prey. Both Long and Yun An felt uncomfortable and could only comfort the man with their eyes, but Xing had no intention of accepting comfort.Finally, Xing was forced to let go of his hand, and was pulled backward by the magnetic force, leaving a long mark on the yellow sand with his chin.

click.

Crisp sound.The iron cuffs were attracted to the magnetic disk.

"You just can't walk, but you can move your hands and body." Shan Mu left a few cans for him: "Don't be hungry."

What people didn't expect was that the silent star suddenly broke out.Maybe the wolf dog was finally dissatisfied with the situation where he was dominated by others, maybe it was the restriction of the shackles that made him extremely unhappy, in short, Xing stood up suddenly, hit Sugi Zhelang hard with his head, and the two rolled on the ground together.

"Stop! Xing!" Yun An and Long pulled him back one by one.

"What do you think of me? A tool for decoding sacred objects? I'm not a machine! I'm a human! I've been on the battlefield and fought! I don't need women, old people, and young people to exchange their lives for me!" The wound on the bridge of his nose was cracked, It's like venting all the unwillingness of 3000 years: "If all this is for me or to use me, then I would rather never come to your shitty new world!"

Shan Mu was momentarily speechless.

"I also have something I want to look for. I feel that it is getting closer and closer to me, as if it is in the city." Xing tried to grab his collar, but failed: "I don't understand the preaching of your Weaver Party, and I don't understand your beliefs, I just want to get my memory back... Do you understand? Don't stop me here!"

Shan Mu Zhelang lowered his head slightly, the light reflected by the mirror covered his expression.Both Long and Yun An didn't know what to do, so they had to hold back Xing and wait for instructions.

After a long silence, Shan Mu said: "Yun'an, Long, Siswell. Let's go."

The three people who were named exchanged glances with each other, and then looked at Xing.Finally, they left with rustling steps without a word, and the wind blew away their footprints again.

Xing stayed alone in the lonely desert, like a beast with a wounded abdomen, slowly wrapping itself tightly in the cold after people left the building.After a short burst, there was nothing left, only the blue light of the iron ring on the ankle was like a living thing.The huge headless statue still holds the suspended inverted pyramid, and under its shadow, a bound body, no one can hear his voice.