abyss rose

The old car was driving all the way, and Chai Yuening did not sleep soundly.

She dreamed of uninhabited wilderness, dreamed of giant alien beasts, and dreamed that she was running alone in the dense fog where there was no hope.

With a violent shaking, the coat covering her body slipped off, and Chai Yuening woke up from a dream like an electric shock.

"Old Xiang, can't you drive more steadily!"

"When will there be another hole on the ground!"

"Hey, why aren't you familiar with the road that needs to be opened every now and then?"

"I've been here yesterday and there is no such pit, you kid, don't bang, I can't drive well, next time you drive?"

"I drive it, I drive it!"

"Come on, don't think I don't know, your big car license is obtained through the back door, don't let me break it."

"Is there any room for your broken car to break down!"

The very poor quality of sleep made Chai Yuening's mind very groggy.

After waking up, the voices of Lao Xiang and Lu Qi made her feel extremely at ease.

She subconsciously looked to her left.

The girl was still curled up in the small corner beside her, with her thin arms wrapped around her knees, her chin resting on her knees, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly with the shaking of the carriage.

She fell asleep too, but anyone could tell that she didn't sleep well.

Chai Yuening gently covered the girl's body with the coat that someone had covered for her.

She stood up, stretched her arms a little, and looked down through the small window.

The scene in front of me is no longer the high-rise buildings of the old world, but the endless sandy plains instead.

On the plain, tall towers gradually appeared in twos and threes, lonely and scattered.

In order to prevent the black vines from spreading wildly, the base took a long time, turning the top of the base into a sandy land where vegetation was hard to grow.

And these tall towers are the signal towers with bases set up on the ground.

It's just that the rain in this year's growing season has been too continuous, and some black vines with strong drought resistance have spread into the yellow sand land with the help of the rain, and bloomed strange and gorgeous flowers on the high tower. .

The wheels of the armored vehicle ran over the black vines, and then bumped twice.

"This day is getting sadder every day."

Old Xiang complained casually, but everyone who was used to it did not respond.

Chai Yuening withdrew her gaze, turned around and bumped into the bright pupils of the girl in the corner.

"We're almost at the base," Chai Yuening said.

The girl nodded, looking out of the window quietly, like a little mute.

The car continued to drive forward, and it didn't take long to reach the entrance of the base.

It was a closed security checkpoint like an air-raid shelter, with the entrance on the left and the exit on the right. The entrance and exit passages can accommodate at least two large armored vehicles to pass together.

There is no black vine at the entrance of the cave, and it was cleaned up very clean by the military.

The base guards stood guard on both sides of the entrance with rifles/guns, neat military uniforms, and standing upright.

The armored vehicle drove into the entrance, and after the license plate was scanned and detected by a fully automatic process, the first heavy iron gate began to open to both sides.

Behind the iron gate is another iron gate.

The car door opened, and two guards came up, one carrying a powered cylindrical detector, and the other holding a small electronic scanner.

Chai Yuening motioned for the girl to get off the car with everyone for testing.

This is the rule of the base. People who go out must return to the base. First, they must scan their ID cards to confirm their identity. Second, they must detect whether there are signs of infection on the body, especially the wound.

If the former fails, an additional report is required, and then a series of more complicated ID card reissuance procedures will be carried out under the strict supervision of relevant personnel.

If the latter fails, the base will detain it for observation until it safely passes the longest infection incubation period, that is, there is no mutation for one month, and then it can be freed.

The four people who walked in front were tested very quickly. They had no wounds on their bodies, and they all passed in less than 2 minutes.

When the girl stepped forward, the guard's expression was obviously serious.

People with too many wounds usually have a high chance of infection.

The guard carrying the tester frowned. While testing the girl's wounds, large and small, he asked about the source of the injury and whether it was treated correctly.

The girl didn't say a word, Chai Yuening could only act as a temporary spokesperson.

"It's just some skin trauma, not serious. The wound was treated correctly at the first time. We have done reagent tests, and there is no infection."

"Reagent tests are not very accurate." The guard said impatiently, obviously tired of hearing such rhetoric.

Chai Yuening pursed her lips, and after scanning the ID card, she stood silently aside, waiting anxiously for the result.

A few minutes later, all the wounds were tested and the girl was released.

The guard with the scanner saw that she did not take the initiative to show her ID card, so he scanned her from beginning to end with a device.

Chai Yuening almost thought that the little girl's ID card was lost, but unexpectedly, the scanner made a "beep" sound that she had never heard before.

When the ID card of the base responds to the scan, the sound is not like this. For a moment, everyone's eyes are focused on the girl.

Confused, the girl followed the source of the voice, lowered her head and took out a small blue magnetic card from the blood-stained tattered pouch at her waist.

Chai Yuening glanced subconsciously.

It says - A0027, Chu Ci.

***

The Sixth District of the Underground City, Population Management Sub-bureau.

On the other side of the glass window, the female teller in overalls was typing quickly on the silver-white keyboard.

Click, click, the sound is crisp and continuous.

Chai Yuening was by Chu Ci's side, waiting for the result of the base's identity verification.

After an unknown amount of time, the teller pushed his glasses, raised the blue magnetic card to the small microphone in front of the computer, and said, "This is the certificate of the floating city, not an ID card, like a job number, but the base cannot recognize it. "

"This means that she is from Floating Void City?" Chai Yuening took the magnetic card and asked, "Is it possible that she just accidentally picked up something from Floating Void City in the foggy area?"

"There is no information about her in the base's file." The teller said, "Considering the problem that the outsider has no residence, the base has allocated a temporary residence for her. Let her have her fingerprints."

"Oh, good." Chai Yuening responded, and asked Chu Ci to press a fingerprint on the sensing wall.

In the next second, she hurriedly asked again: "Can't you help me contact Floating Void City?"

"The signal tower of the base is covered by black vines, and we will not be able to contact the floating city in the short term. Now the report can't be processed, so it's a waste of time." The teller paused, and gave way, "Let me record it for you. Okay? When the signal tower is recovered, it will be convenient for you to go to any branch to report."

As the teller spoke, he tapped on the keyboard for a while, and threw out a residential door card and a temporary ID card from the small window.

"...Thank you." Chai Yuening picked up the key card and gave Chu Ci a helpless expression.

The moment she walked out of the gate of the Population Management Branch, Chai Yuening couldn't help but sigh.

The long strip of white energy-saving lamps on the top illuminates the street at the entrance of the Administration Bureau.

There is no sky in the dungeon, let alone vegetation. There are only lights of various colors, and some humans who perform their duties and maintain the operation of the base mechanically like gears.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you go home for the time being." Chai Yuening's words were somewhat apologetic.

Chu Ci shook his head, and rarely whispered a word: "I don't remember anyway."

Chai Yuening nodded, lowered her eyebrows and glanced at the key card in her hand, and helped Chu Ci walk to the urban train station at the base.

The ground is a very dangerous place, but many people who can't find civilian jobs can only go to the ground to seek money.

Many people went to the ground and never came back. When a person is confirmed dead or missing for three months, his residence will be taken back by the base and reassigned.

The residence assigned to Chu Ci by the base is in the Ninth District, and it takes about two hours to arrive there by taking the Line 4 train from the Sixth District.

Adhering to the principle of a good person to the end, Chai Yuening sent Chu Ci over patiently.

She was afraid that Chu Ci could not find the way, and she was afraid that Chu Ci would not be able to use the key card, so she led him all the way to the door of the residence, opened the door, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

"You can live here with peace of mind for the time being. When the signal tower is recovered, you can report to the Floating Void City. Every subdivision of the base has a Population Administration Bureau, and you can find it by asking for directions."

As Chai Yuening said, she put the room card and temporary ID card in her hand on the small table in the house.

She thought she should go.

But when he raised his eyes, he saw the girl's bewildered eyes again.

"You..." Chai Yuening was stunned, and suddenly realized something, "Oh, I almost forgot..."

She fumbled for a long time in the small bag on her waist, and finally found a few crumpled bills.

This is all she has, even if it is too little.

She roughly estimated that these would be enough for one person to eat and drink for half a month.

The little girl has hands and feet, and when her injury recovers, she can always find money to spend on her own.

Chai Yuening stuffed the money into Chu Ci's hand, walked to the door, and waved to her with a smile.

Chu Ci, who had been following her all this time, seemed to be stunned for a moment, and when he raised his eyes, his eyes were dazed.

She opened her mouth and stopped talking for a few seconds before asking, "Are you leaving?"

"I don't live here." Chai Yuening said.

In the next second, she saw Chu Ci's eyes dimmed a bit.

It made her a little overwhelmed.

But Chu Ci quickly looked back at the small residence behind him, and asked softly, "I live here?"

"Ah, yes..."

"I see." Chu Ci lowered his head, bowed to Chai Yuening, and said politely, "Thank you."

With that said, he turned and walked into the house, holding the door with one hand.

It seems that you want to close it, but you don't want to close it.

Chai Yuening suddenly felt a little sorry, and quickly said: "If you have any difficulties, you can go to the sixth district to find me. The train will arrive in two hours. I live in building C9-D1207. If you don't remember, you can go to the sixth district and ask No.13 mercenary Team, everyone there knows it!"

"En." Chu Ci responded softly, and closed the door without raising his head.

Chai Yuening was stunned for two seconds, walked to the stairwell with two steps and turned her head, and then walked downstairs with a sigh.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to hear loss and disappointment in that very soft "um".

In fact, she could probably guess what the little girl was expecting, but she didn't know how to respond to that expectation. After all, living in such a world, she was just a precarious person.

She didn't remember the house number.

There are so many people in the base, and people die quietly every day. Relatives, friends, and partners who often go through life and death together may suddenly leave.

The fate between people is so little.

She thought that she would never see her again in the future.

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The author has something to say:

The young author knocks on the blackboard angrily: Negative textbook, focus on criticism.