【Ruijin】Eye of the Storm

The west end of Tenggaloo has the largest garbage dump in the whole city. After a few attempts at the beginning, Gray quickly adjusted himself and integrated into the life here.

Jin likes to go out with Gray very much, because as a child born in a standard-oriented family, whether it is the excellent genes in his body or the rigorous training he has undergone since he was a child to become an excellent fighter in the future, all of them make Greg Rui has superhuman advantages in physical fitness, observation ability, hands-on ability and so on."Expedition" with him can always do things that he could not do alone before, and they can always return with full rewards.

Bartering is a transaction method that everyone living in Dengalu knows well. Money is far less popular here than the straightforward "transfer station sales".People can use the items they have collected to display in the "transfer station" and exchange them for another item they need in other people's hands.

In a hidden alley behind the garbage dump in the West District, there is a small transfer station managed by an elderly man wearing reading glasses.The "customers" of this transfer station are mainly young children, and the children in Dengeru like to come here with all kinds of novelties they have picked up to exchange some toys or candy snacks.

Standing behind Jin, Gray silently watched the little blond boy stand on tiptoe and talk to the old man sitting inside the narrow window: "I want at least three screws and two new batteries."

The old man's cloudy eyes glanced at him from behind the lens, took a look and immediately put it back, shaking the old newspaper he held in his hand and said: "What you want is not cheap, save enough and come again, kid." .”

Jin nodded quickly, propped his hands on the table and tried to stand up a little bit: "I will, but can you save it for me first, I will definitely come, the day after tomorrow... no, tomorrow, I will come tomorrow Change!" He paused, took out three or four crystal-clear candies from his trouser pocket, put them on the table and pushed them in front of the old man, staring at him with blue eyes, and said, "Please, I will definitely come, don’t let others.”

The old man in charge raised his eyebrows, and slowly reached out to gather the pile of candies into his hand, before he could speak, he was interrupted by another voice suddenly sounding from the side: "I picked that up, you What do you want to replace it with?"

Jin and Gray turned their heads to look at the sound source at the same time. A boy about their age jumped down from the high ground on the other side, holding a thick tree branch in his hand. He was taller than Jin.Behind him came two other companions who looked smaller, following behind the boy like followers.

The boy looked arrogant and his tone was not very friendly.Jin jumped back to the flat ground from the window of the transit station, looked back at him not to be outdone, and said, "So what if you picked it up?"

"You don't know anything, you don't know how much the battery is worth, right? Can you afford it?" The man mocked unceremoniously, and his companion laughed in cooperation, "Of course, you really want to It’s not impossible.” He shook the branch in his hand, pointing the tip at the hat on Jin’s head, “You keep this, and the battery will be yours.”

Jin raised his hand to pinch the brim of his hat, and refused vigilantly: "No! I won't exchange this with you."

Hearing this answer, the other party was a little annoyed.The boy seemed to feel that he had been slighted, and after swearing, he walked towards them aggressively.Gray grabbed Jin's clothes from the back, pulled him behind him, took a small step forward, and stood between Jin and the boy expressionlessly, his indifferent purple eyes staring at each other's eyes. face, without saying a word.In an instant, the boy felt as if he was intimidated by an invisible and intangible aura, and when he stopped, most of his arrogance was instantly extinguished.

Kim poked his head out from behind Gray and made a face at him.The boy was extremely angry, but still had some palpitations, and he didn't even dare to look at Gray for a long time, as if he instinctively sensed that the situation was not good, he hesitated for a long time before he hurriedly left.

Kim and Gray walked home together, and all the way Kim kept talking to him about the things he had to get.Gray didn't understand what Jin wanted those batteries and screws for. The blond child was only mysterious about this matter, and he was still unwilling to explain it to him.As soon as he got home, Jin began to rummage through boxes and cabinets non-stop, digging out everything in his treasure house. After putting together things for a long time, he still felt that it was not enough, so he finally gave up the small wooden box in his hand and ran into the kitchen instead.

Gray followed behind him, watching him move a small ladder and climb up to the door of the furthest storage cabinet, and carry down a small amount of bread, a small pile of vegetables and a box of butter that had been allocated inside.

Gray watched silently for a while, and finally couldn't help but stepped forward and pressed his wrist, saying: "These are your own food for three days, even if it is enough to exchange for those things, what do you want to eat for the next three days?"

Jin bent down to put the bread wrapped in oiled paper into the wooden basket. When he bent down, the golden arrow necklace hanging around his neck fell out of the collar fabric.

The necklace was originally Qiu's personal belongings, but when they first arrived in Tenggeru, living supplies were very scarce, so Qiu exchanged her own necklace for the necessities of life for her younger brother.Since the last time Jin secretly helped her sister get back the necklace with the price of a beating, the matter was kept well hidden, but Jin himself carelessly let it go during a certain meal.I thought my sister would be very moved, but the not-so-old woman instantly sank her face. She walked over and picked up her brother's old T-shirt without saying a word. scolded him.Gray was also punished by Jin for concealing the truth, and the two were fined together for two days in confinement and were not allowed to go out.After that, Qiu simply gave Jin his own necklace, put it on his younger brother's neck with his own hands, and asked the boy to keep it for him.

Jin sat on the ground, raised his head and blinked at Gray: "It's okay, it's only three days, just bear with it, or think of other ways. But if those things are not exchanged quickly, they will definitely be taken away .Mark is a very dishonest person."

Gray thought for a while before realizing that he was referring to the kid who challenged them today.Jin seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. While carefully tucking the necklace pendant back into his collar, he plausibly reported to Gray: "I knew him before you came. He always likes to lie, only me I won't be cheated, so he always finds me in trouble. But don't worry, today at the gate of the transfer station, I saw that he seemed to be very afraid of you."

Gray didn't speak any more, turned around and left after staying for a while.After getting along for a period of time, Gray has clearly understood that although Jin is careless on the surface, even a little too casual and careless, if he really decides what to do, it is impossible to persuade him to give up.

On the second day, Jin really used his food for the next three days in exchange for two new batteries and a bunch of scattered small mechanical parts, and then locked himself in the room to tinker endlessly.When it was time for meals, she always used excuses such as "not hungry" or "sneaked snacks outside", but Qiu really didn't notice the reduction in the amount of food.Only in the middle of the night, when Gray was lying on the bed, half asleep and half awake, he vaguely felt Jin sneaking up from the other side of the bed, and then there were bursts of screams from the boy's stomach.Since he hadn't eaten, Kim had to drink lots and lots of water to temporarily subside his hunger.The winter nights in Tenggeru are very cold, and it is difficult to get up and sleep many times at night.When Jin finished drinking the water and quietly crawled back to the bed again, the small lamp beside the bed was suddenly turned on.Jin was startled, and when he looked up, he saw Gray sitting on the head of the bed in his pajamas.

Stared at by the other party's slightly condemning eyes, Jin scratched his head a little helplessly, and didn't know what to say after calling the other party's name.The silver-haired boy threw off the quilt and got off the bed, walked to the corner cabinet and slowly opened a drawer, and took out half a piece of bread wrapped in a clean cloth towel, which was obviously left over from dinner secretly.

Gray turned around and took a few steps to stand in front of Jin, with the same faint expression on his face.He reached out and handed the bread to Jin, and said in a low voice, "Eat it."

In this way, relying on the bread that Gray secretly "helped", Jin quickly survived the difficult three days.It was another ordinary and peaceful night, and Jin suddenly pulled Ge Rui who was leaning against the window to read a book, not only turned off the light, but also mysteriously locked the door of their room.The two young boys sat cross-legged on the floor next to the bed facing each other. Gray looked at the smiling man opposite him through the darkness and frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

Jin clenched his left hand into a fist, put it on his lips pretendingly, and exaggeratedly fake coughed a few times: "Mr. Gray, next, I want to show you something grandly."

He took out a merry-go-round music box from behind him, and deftly removed its base with his fingers.In front of the silver-haired boy, Jin stuffed the two batteries he had just exchanged into it one by one, closed the lid again, and placed the beautiful music box in the middle of the two of them.

"Let's start!" Jin smiled at him, reached out and pressed the switch.

With a pleasant sound, the wooden horses on the top began to rotate slowly in conjunction with the golden lights around the music box, and the music singing "Happy Birthday to You" was repeated, and the sweet singing filled the children's simple room .

A stunned expression appeared on Gray's face, looking at the "birthday gift" that was still singing in the floating light and shadow, he didn't speak for a long time.

Then, like magic, Jin continued to bring out a small piece of long-prepared cream cake from behind, pushed it in front of Gray, and said to him: "My sister said that I should eat cake on my birthday, but unfortunately I didn't find a suitable one. Candle……"

Gray shifted his gaze to him and asked softly, "How do you know my birthday?"

Jin pursed his lips and responded with a natural smile. Then Gray remembered that the other party could hear his inner voice, probably it was accidentally revealed by him one day before.

"Is that what you've been doing for the past few days?" Gray gently touched the exquisite wooden horse on the music box with his index finger.

Jin Dafang nodded and admitted: "When I picked it up, I wanted to give it to you as a birthday present. But a few parts were missing, and the original battery couldn't work, so I had to fix it before I could give it to you. sing."

The blond child approached him slowly, and suggested solemnly: "Gerry, it's time for you to make your birthday wish."

"If you make a wish on your birthday, it will come true. You should have known that it doesn't exist."

"Why won't it come true?" Jin looked back at him disapprovingly, and pushed Gray's arm in a urging way, "Oh, you can rest assured that with me, any wish can come true. Hurry up!"

Gray couldn't resist him, looked at the small piece of cake in front of him, and closed his eyes pretending to cooperate.Three seconds later, Gray opened his eyes again, but immediately heard Jin complaining.

"You didn't make a wish at all," Jin said angrily. "I didn't hear anything."

Gray raised his head and glanced at him, as if deliberately eavesdropping on his birthday in order to retaliate against the other party, he replied as if prepared: "You promised me before that you won't just listen to what I'm thinking."

The person who was exposed stuck out his tongue in embarrassment, and quickly waved his hands to show that he had surrendered: "...Okay, okay, I won't listen! I really don't want to listen! Then, then, you can make another wish, okay?"

Gray sighed deeply, closed his eyes again helplessly, and made a wish.When he opened his eyes again, Jin immediately crowded beside him curiously like a small animal, and asked enthusiastically, "What wish did you make?"

Gray lowered his head and picked up a small fork to cut off a small piece of cake and ate it self-consciously: "If the second person finds out about the birthday wish, it will not work."

Jin made a long ending "Oh—" and then immediately showed a teasing smile, deliberately bumped the other party with his shoulder, and said, "Hey, you just said that you didn't believe it!" He lay on Gray's back, Putting his hands on the shoulders of the silver-haired child, he shook the person back and forth: "So do you like my gift? You must like it! If you don't like it, I'll—"

"Just what?"

"——I want you to apologize for the three days' worth of bread I wasted!" Jin deliberately grimaced and bared his teeth at him, threatening, "This is a very serious matter!"

Gray turned his face away, pretending to be calm and responded briefly: "...It's okay."

Jin felt that he was quite hit, and continued to ask unwillingly: "Don't speak so vaguely! Why are you always like this? If you like it, you like it. What's wrong with me, even if it's just a compliment—"

"--thanks."

Jin didn't react immediately, he stopped in place, and asked stupidly: "What?"

Gray turned his head, and suddenly stretched out his hand to pinch the flesh around his cheek and pinched it outward. Seeing Jin's deformed face being pulled by his hands, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he repeated himself seriously. Words: "—I say, thank you."

Seeing the smile on the corner of his mouth, Jin suddenly felt embarrassed, and even forgot to resist the other party's behavior of pinching his face. After a while, he blushed and murmured "You're welcome".

That simple but beautiful music box was the first birthday gift Gray received from someone other than his parents, and was properly and carefully kept by the sentinel.From the winter in Dengeru to the summer in Yita, it and its giver accompanied Grey through countless reincarnations of the four seasons, from adolescence to youth all the way.

Gray looked at the old thing that had been engraved with the marks of time, closed his eyes, and solemnly sealed it together with the rest of the things in the only cardboard box.Kim was walking into the room just as he was smoothing down the last inch of tape.The things in the house were almost packed. The guide was wearing a light attire, and was putting his usual gun and dagger into the corresponding positions on his body one by one, fastening the buckles.Gray looked at him, got up and walked to the other party, and put the arrow pendant that the other party accidentally dropped off the neckline back inside, covering it with the collar.

Jin squeezed his fingertips, looked up at the clock hanging in front of the living room, and said softly, "It's almost time."

Gray didn't raise his head to confirm, but just looked at Jin's face intently, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long while, he answered in a deep voice, let go of the other's hand, took his own gloves and quickly put them on, stretched out his hand Opening the door, he said lightly, "Let's go."

TBC