"A hand from a strong soldier, 5 Var Currency!"
"Will you sell it for 2 Var Currency?"
"Madam, that’s too heartless. This is fresh corpse at left from yesterday, which I managed to pick up."
In the howling cold wind, so slowly crawling shadows appeared faintly. They were closely adhered to the broken dirt embanknts or curled up in the leeward of huge craters, resembling withered leaves driven by the fierce wind.
Corpses were cheaper than livestock at, casually picking them up on the battlefield would yield several large pieces, and people ford a "vegetable market", discussing the prices.
Wang Xingkong covered his throat, gripping Su Ming’an’s sleeve tightly: "I can’t take it anymore, Yuhang, can we go ho? What kind of ghost world is this?"
"You wanted to escape; there’s no going back now," Su Ming’an said.
Wang Xingkong looked pale, "I felt that Mingxi campus was too fake, so I wanted to escape. I just miss Dad, miss Mom... I don’t want to be an NPC anymore, I want to go ho!"
At this point, his expression dimd: "Sorry, Yuhang, I forgot you don’t understand."
Su Ming’an gazed into the distance.
Traces of battle remained on the sand, blood-stained na tags were being picked up; ragged civilians bypassed the soldiers’ reprimands, picking up the at chunks on the battlefield and stuffing them into their pockets; soone by the river shouted wildly, claiming their oc was loved by countless people; there was a blind madman on the windmill, always waiting for her father to co ho.
Su Ming’an’s steps suddenly halted.
He saw a field, a rotating windmill, a flower shop, where inside, an old grandma was arranging flowers. Although he hadn’t seen this scene before, it felt familiar.
Yet upon approaching, he realized he was mistaken, the grandma was not arranging fresh flowers, but chunks of flesh; this was indeed a shop selling corpse at.
A different kind of impact surged, he instinctively felt that she shouldn’t be doing this; she should be selling flowers, beautiful daisies, Manzusha Flowers, not chunks of flesh...
"Want so at?" The grandma slowly raised her head: "It’s fresh..."
Wang Xingkong couldn’t endure it anymore, covered his mouth, and rushed out.
Behind him, soone saw his embarrassnt and mocked his weakness.
"Where did this kid co from, so easily rattled." Si Nian said faintly, arms crossed: "Here, a single attack, a single explosion, a baseless search... could end everything. A child as young as eight or nine could step onto the battlefield and be praised for bravery, the number of civilians killed can even beco a competition, yet we don’t even know who we’re fighting for."
Su Ming’an turned his head.
"You lot, all dressed up, mustn’t have seen this scene," Si Nian coldly said, "We..."
But Su Ming’an interrupted him, speaking gradually:
"You guys are like towels tightly gripped, twisted around into different shapes, yet unaware of who you were before becoming towels."
Si Nian widened his eyes, staring at Su Ming’an in shock.
Su Ming’an looked toward the hungry and cold refugees: "Perhaps you were ant to be pianists, supposed to be flower-selling grandmas, ant to be apple-planting farrs... but now, you are just ’towels’, with no other possibilities."
"You don’t rember how many people you’ve shot and killed, you’ll kill defenseless civilians on a single order, dropping bombs on their wildflower-filled hos... Within that, there are kids holding windmills, old people carrying rice and noodles mistaken for weapons, grooms just married but taken away, even newly pregnant brides not spared..."
"Sotis, you feel like this world is a big dream, you’ve slept for a long ti, dressed like everyone else in military uniforms, holding a gun that’s killed countless people, acting as a dried-up towel, unsure when you’ll wake up."
"You’ve lost friends, partners, loved ones, paid a huge price... just to make it to now."
"You almost died in a dawn that wouldn’t co."
Si Nian listened to these words, shaken, pointing at Su Ming’an: "How do you..." How do you understand our mindset so well?
Clearly such young youth, yet seems to have witnessed countless battles.
...
"Ding-dong!"
[NPC (Si Nian) Favorability: 60-20!]
...
Si Nian’s excited face instantly turned to disgust, words initially ant to praise were cut short.
Su Ming’an observed his facial change, suddenly realizing—his words, originally ant to increase favorability, had reversed, becoming a deduction in favorability.
Thus, "joining Li Dog to seek wealth and favor" earned genuine praise from this old soldier, yet such empathetic speeches only resulted in disdain.
Su Ming’an’s full-hearted words were choked, he paused in silence, not delving deeper. The existence of "reverse mode" ant he could never beco people’s true friend, just an inversion of friendship in an absurd situation.
The three walked silently for a while; Si Nian touched the scars on his face: "Today, I’m taking you to the military camp, it’s my last ti to collect retirent supplies. Every gunshot makes sick, it’s finally ending."
He liked Su Ming’an very much, because Su Ming’an wanted to join Li Dog, a person who sought wealth and favored the powerful. But, he felt there was a voice within him howling—this is not right.
Why?
He couldn’t understand it himself, always feeling sothing was wrong, as if manipulated by invisible hands.
After thinking, he mocked himself. Since their birth, they’ve always been manipulated by invisible hands, could they still claim freedom?
Suddenly, a sneaky figure approached, stuffing two flyers into their hands. Su Ming’an just glanced at them, when Wang Xingkong suddenly rushed out like the wind, grabbed the figure, and pinned them to the ground, beating them.
"Hey!" Si Nian shouted.
But Wang Xingkong was like a young bull, pressing that person underneath, sweat pouring down, his face flushed red, shouting while beating:
"——This is the day of my family! Day to commorate hotown! You guys want to snatch this too, you want to stitch it all! Get lost! Get lost!"
Su Ming’an lowered his head, looking at the flyers, they had so dates written on them, previously used to commorate hotown, but now those dates required future worship of the Radiant Mother God.
Su Ming’an crumpled the flyer, Wang Xingkong finally let go, the person didn’t dare to look back, stumbled and ran away.
Wang Xingkong was like a drained force, staggered a few steps, about to fall, but held up by a pair of large hands.
"Heh, tender cabbage dares to hit people now." Si Nian, biting onto a cigarette, picked up the flyer: "Those deities love to oppress people’s survival space most, now they won’t even spare the festivals... But, why are you so angry? A kid from your background should be eager to hold deities up high."
"Nonsense!" Wang Xingkong blushed, sweat dripping: "Who said I’m a noble kid, I’m just like you, an ordinary person!"
Su Ming’an saw a new side of Wang Xingkong, this guy seed timid, yet not afraid when it truly mattered.
"I always felt this world was strange, like stitched together. Watching them changing Qingming Festival into Worship Festival, declaring it’s a Radiant Mother God’s day... I feel like everything that belongs to is being stripped away, nothing from my hotown remains, I just, I just got angry..." Wang Xingkong cald down, fear crept up, he grabbed Su Ming’an’s sleeve: "I, I just hit that person, he won’t co back for revenge, right...?"
"Kid, scared now?" Si Nian, biting onto a cigarette, pat his shoulder: "No worries, those guys bully the weak, when you show strength, they understand fear."
That hit seed to finally remove Si Nian’s prejudice.
"Let’s go, big brother will take you into the military camp."
They walked along the desolate yellow dirt road and arrived at the entrance of the camp. A mont later, Si Nian ca out of the camp: "Co on, the chief is willing to see you. As for how you plan to et the Li Dog, that’s up to you."
Su Ming’an and Wang Xingkong went inside, and the camp was filled with flags of smoke-purple, depicting a beautiful woman’s face.
Su Ming’an asked as he walked: "Who is she?"
The leading captain proudly said: "That’s Princess Chenghua, our army is under her command. She is Princess Su Wenli’s sworn sister, noble and beautiful, the shining jewel of Luowasha!"
Su Ming’an turned his head and whispered to Si Nian: "Don’t you all hate Su Wenli?"
Si Nian shook his head: "That’s what the people secretly disdain, who dares openly. Only the ’Nest’ dares to defy. After I retired, I worked there, maybe I can show you..."
He paused for a mont: "Forget it, that is, after all, the rebel force, and you are still clean, better not get involved. Once you get this retirent pay, you’re free."
After walking for over ten minutes, they found themselves in a flat building.
"This isn’t right, captain," Si Nian looked at the leading captain: "The chief’s office isn’t in this direction, this is..."
The captain turned and raised his hand.
"Clack clack clack—" The surrounding soldiers imdiately raised their guns, aiming at the three of them.
A hat-wearing officer loudly proclaid Si Nian guilty, accused of leaking information and spying on secrets.
Si Nian looked up, bewildered, not recalling committing such a cri.
"To embezzle military funds and line their pockets, so officers will deduct the retirent benefits of retired soldiers, and as long as soldiers are suspected of cris, all their benefits are canceled..." Su Ming’an suddenly spoke.
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it resounded throughout the place.
"You an..." Si Nian looked at him in astonishnt.
"Many armies are completely ruled by words of the officers, as soldiers who are ignorant of writing and false evidence are easily deceived, unable to overturn their cases and are often executed..." Su Ming’an continued.
Si Nian was at a loss, shaking his head repeatedly: "No, there must be so mistake."
"Clack clack clack—"
"Is it strange? For those without family, without achievents, and without wealth, it doesn’t matter if they die; being wrapped in horsehide is too usual, a perfect target for profiteers..." Su Ming’an seed familiar with such scenes: "And Wang Xingkong and I, unard and without identification, are too suspicious, simply to be dealt with along with you."
Though with youthful features, his eyes seed to have seen everything.
A young man who seemingly never fought on the battlefield, yet appeared to have traversed through blood and fire.
"No, it must be because they didn’t understand the situation. I’m Si Nian! I know Officer Sachet, just let et him once..." Si Nian pounded his chest and shouted.
"Click—"
Pairs of emotionless, apathetic eyes stared at Si Nian through their helts, as if he was just a scarecrow for them to practice on.
Just like how Si Nian would mindlessly pull the trigger every ti, without caring who the enemy was, nor whose father, child, or husband he was killing.
A soldier’s duty is to obey orders.
This was a command etched into his soul since he joined the army at fourteen.
The bodies of innocent civilians exploded before him, and he convinced himself it was his duty. Throwing grenades into the civilian area, he also told himself a soldier doesn’t need to think, only to be a machine that pulls the trigger.
At twenty-five, he adopted a girl who had lost her parents, nad Lanting, who decided to join the military. Yet the ssage she died to deliver was still in his hand, and her superior had already perished, leaving no one to prove her purity.
"So-called ’advanced,’ so-called ’glory’..." Facing the dark muzzles, Si Nian continued to hypnotize himself, his body frozen as if by the chill, the discipline engraved in his bones immobilizing him, like a lantable stone... unable to move.
The string breaks, the jade shatters.
This is just the ordinary life of an ordinary Luowasha person.
The correction by the Radiant Mother God is indeed absurd, but the most absurd thing is, that for a life like Si Nian’s, She didn’t change a single word.
Reality is like this.
"Three—two—one!"
Perhaps, it’s all a big dream. As soon as the gunshot sounded, he would awaken...
"Bang!"
The frozen stone was pushed over, and a living figure pounced, pressing Si Nian to the ground.
"—Are you an idiot! They didn’t even restrain you, and you’re standing there waiting for the shot!?" Wang Xingkong yelled, eyes red, while lying on top of Si Nian:
"Knowing full well those things are all to deceive your passionate naive hearts, you’re not truly fighting to protect anything, but rely to satisfy the deity’s selfish desires. Would you really die for that? Is that heroism, is that glory? You’re so much older than I am, why don’t you get it!"
A bullet grazed over his head, and Si Nian’s clouded eyes flickered.
Maybe soldiers don’t need to be bound; living at a command, dying at another. Invisible chains of ’honor’ and ’creed’ already have them tied long before... he couldn’t escape this shot.
However, the utterly clean and untainted Wang Xingkong helped him avoid it.
A blonde girl with purple eyes darted out, skillfully knocking the nearby soldiers to the ground. The captain, bewitched by her beauty, turned the gun on himself.
"No! Don’t kill him!" Si Nian, head foggy, imdiately shouted.
Hui Zi turned back, displeased: "He was about to kill us just now."
"He, he is just like ..." Si Nian murmured: "He is rely a part of this pitiful power system..."
"He was just asleep, not realizing who he was aiming at, unable to think..."
"He was once a painter, painted beautifully... but our brains have rusted in the storm of bullets, knowing nothing but firing and obeying..."
Hui Zi lowered her hands.
"Bang!"
Yet, a gunshot was heard, and blood splattered all over her.
She turned her head, the captain still fired.
The bullet passed through his own jaw, bursting into a waterfall of blood. His muddy eyes stared at Hui Zi as he died, murmuring "Su..."
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