Little Robot on the Run

Normal people don't come here.

Nan An's eyes widened in surprise.

Originally, he thought that he would need to search for a while before he could finally reach Shangshuilongtang, but now it seems that he doesn't need to spend any more effort at all—this place, which he was going to before reaching the human city, just like this, completely appeared in front of him .

Nan'an walked into the Shangshuilongtang without looking back, holding the cloth bag in his arms.

Judging from the previous hologram, this is a large building complex, densely populated, and the crowded windows are like black spots, like ants living in groups, densely packed.

As imagined, such a place is full of all kinds of shops, unlicensed vendors, and refugees fleeing.

But just stepped into the Shangshui Longtang, the too dirty environment made Nan'an frown.

Almost to the point of a mess.

Neon signs crooked and crammed into small openings, most of them rusty and termite-infested, crawling over the surrounding racks, crumbling.Despite the circumstances, these dental clinics, hardware stores and butcher shops are still open, and the smell of rotting meat, patina, sweat, and cooking fumes mingle in the endless alleys.

Nan An couldn't help pinching his nose.

He walked a few more steps, and at the end of his walk was a black shop selling pornographic discs.

Looking at the pattern of overlapping figures above, Nan'an remembered the scene when he and Lin Ze cleaned up together in Dashan Street.

For some reason, when he thinks of that human being, those scenes of getting along with each other, he still feels very sad.

Depressed little robot these days.

So Nanan didn't look at those anymore, he lowered his head and pulled the zipper of the windbreaker to the top position, and walked directly into the residential building on the side - this is the only way to enter the Shangshuilongtang, although he doesn't know where the end is.

The dim scene made Nan An squint his eyes.

For some reason, when he just walked in, he felt a burst of attention.

It was light, but it did fall on him.

Nan An looked around, but found nothing.

— It seems to be his illusion.

So he continued to walk in, the corridor was crooked, the rooms around him were stacked together, and even the voices were mixed together. Nan'an heard the rapid breathing, the sound of glass falling from the needle tube, and the sound of swearing on the phone, and then again. Taking a few steps forward, these sounds are covered by another sweet moan/groan.

How should I put it, Nan An felt that he had entered another human world.

In the society of luxury and money, there is actually such a hidden place, a paradise where criminals and refugees gather.

Just when Nan'an came to the end and was about to go upstairs from the other side of the corridor, a black shadow swayed not far away.

Nan'an became alert.

It seemed that his premonition was correct, there was indeed someone staring at him here.

Without staying too long, Nan'an walked up the stairs with the cloth bag in his arms as if he hadn't seen it - and the black shadow followed closely behind.

He seemed to have figured out Nan'an's speed, and every time he just kept up a little bit, he quickly hid behind the door on one side.When Nan'an raised his steps again, he continued to follow.

For some reason, in such a dim scene, the fear also magnified infinitely.

Nan'an's heartbeat quickened.

He walked up without looking back, the iron stairs made a sound, and when he reached the fifth floor, the stairs on the first floor began to make noise.

With the help of the light, Nan'an could clearly see the black figure - a strong man with a gold chain, his arm on the right was mechanical, and his fingertips were holding something, which seemed to be lubricating oil that had opened the bottle cap , and other indescribable sticks and long beads.

Nan'an became frightened.

He ran up in a hurry, and the huge figure followed him, like a boa constrictor locked on its prey, with dangerous eyes following him all the way, watching the direction of his action.

At the end, Nan An trotted into a corridor.

—There is no way.

Nan An took a sharp breath.

And the gasping sound behind him also became heavier, mixed with male slang and disgusting "baby" calls, getting closer.

at this time.

The door beside him opened, and then a strong force struck, someone pulled his arm and dragged him directly into the room.

"I..." Before Nan An could make a sound, he heard the other party "shush": "Don't make a sound."

Nan'an nodded.

He quietly leaned against the door, hearing the footsteps getting closer, accompanied by heavy panting, the man stayed in front of the door for a moment, then left cursing.

Nan An breathed a sigh of relief, he swallowed, and whispered, "Thank you."

"It's okay." The man's voice was not young, it could even be said to be old, and he said slowly, "It's not unusual for anything to appear here."

Hearing this, Nan An raised his head, and the face of the other party gradually appeared in front of his eyes because of the neon lights outside the window——

An old face covered with silver spots.

He was wrapped in black clothes, with mechanical prosthetics hidden in the wide sleeves, glowing with a cold silver light.The exposed human skin is unhealthy pale, with folds piled up and gullies-it seems that this old man has lived in this dark place for a long time.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Nan'an looked away: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

"It's okay." The old man said.

He stood up tremblingly, took out a cloth bag from the half-eaten bookcase, filled it with some dry food, and handed it to Nan An: "These can be supported temporarily, and we can make plans when you escape to other places."

Nan An: "How do you know I ran away?"

"Hey, normal people don't come here."

"Too……"

Nan An responded in a low voice, opened the bread bag, took out a piece of dry bread, and bit it directly.

The sour taste of fermentation instantly fills the mouth.

For some reason, Nan An's eyes turned red as he took a small bite, and tears fell down in a few seconds.

Because of running away before, even if he thought of Lin Ze, he would not be like this now.

Sadness came so quickly, so suddenly, it flooded into his heart in an instant.

At this moment, a dirty tissue was handed to him.

"Don't cry." The old man said to him, "It's all here, there is nothing hard to overcome." He sat down slowly, picked up the engine oil on the side, and directly poured it on his arm a few times.

Seeing the black oily liquid covering the mechanical arm, the old man let out a long sigh of relief and lit a cigarette.

Amidst the smog, Nan'an was watching him.

"What's wrong?" the old man asked.

"It's nothing." Nan'an said softly, "I always feel that you are different from other people here."

Nan'an couldn't tell exactly what was different.

But it seems that from the first time he saw it, he felt that there was something familiar, including the tone, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

But Nan'an couldn't think of it anymore, or rather, he was more willing to attribute this to an inexplicable eye relationship, because usually he would never come into contact with anyone in Shangshuilongtang.

Nan'an dismissed that idea.

He took another bite of the dry bread, put away his sadness a little bit, and said after a while, "I'm a little curious."

"what?"

"Aren't there many hidden things here in the Shangshui Longtang..." Nan'an thought for a while, and found that he couldn't describe it accurately with words, but after a brief moment of stupefaction, the old man knew what he wanted to say.

"That's true." The old man said, "The police department can't find out here."

"Nearly [-] people live here, and almost the entire city is full of crime and poverty. If we investigate all of them, it will take more than ten years for the police to find out." His tone seemed to be self-defeating and humorous. Handed Nan An a cup of tea, "People can't live here anymore, but people from outside will come in, they would rather stay in the stairs every day, eat insects and ants, drink rainwater, and starve to death anyway. "

Nan An: "Why?"

"Who knows." The old man smiled, his eyes narrowed under his pale hair, "but I know one thing, you shouldn't come here."

Nan'an lowered his eyes when he heard this.

"Then why are you here?" He said, "You look very old, and it's so dangerous here..."

After the words fell, Nan An had no intention of meeting his eyes.

Under the wrinkled eyelids, those eyes had a different expression - he had only seen this kind of emotion in the research institute, and usually only elderly scientists had eyes.

But just for a moment, the old man's eyes dimmed.

He slowly opened his sleeves and wiped his elbows with a tissue.

And Nan'an looked at him holding the cloth bag.

After a while, a tiny trace appeared and appeared before his eyes.

Nan An was completely stunned.

——It was the symbol of a string of silver bells, a pattern completely different from that of roses, just like this suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

"I am a supporter of the Silver Bell Sect." The old man's voice slowly rang in his ears, with a hint of danger in his tone: "After the split ten years ago... I fled here."

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