How to Feed an Abyss!

Before going to the cemetery, Lu Tinghan took Shi Yuan to another place.

The car was parked outside the old city, and the February spring breeze was blowing unexpectedly. The two walked on the street, with moss crawling in the cracks between the bricks and a few trembling weeds growing.

In a war, this area was completely destroyed. Even if it was rebuilt, it could not return to its original appearance, leaving a lot of ruins.

This is a residential area with inconvenient transportation, few urban facilities, and no bus station. The nearest supermarket is 11 kilometers away. The power supply and water supply are not stable. The only advantage is that the rent is cheap. Work a little harder to hold back the ceiling and peeling off at any time. It is not difficult to buy an old house with cracked walls.

The road was empty, Shi Yuan looked around, the windows were either covered by curtains, or the glass was so yellowed that no one could be seen.

After walking like this for about ten minutes, laughter came from the wind.

A pure white building stands not far away, and there is a small courtyard at the entrance, where children are chasing and playing with each other, swings, slides, sand pools, wooden horses... There are cartoon graffiti painted on the wall, which are exaggerated and bright colors. There is a sign on the iron gate at the main entrance: [Star Children's Welfare Institute]

The staff waited at the main entrance and opened the door for them.

Shi Yuan followed Lu Tinghan through the madly running children, all the way to the 5th floor of the building, and entered the dean's office.

The dean was Martha Faith, an elderly woman with graying hair and reading glasses.

She stood up to greet them, held Lu Tinghan's hand, her eyes were narrowed into a smile, "General, you haven't been here for a long time, and the children are clamoring to see you." Her eyes fell on Shi Yuan again ,"Who is this…"

"Hi, my name is Shi Yuan." Shi Yuan said.

"Hello." Martha shook his hand too.

It was an old hand, Shi Yuan felt its wrinkles and loose skin, but it was not annoying, she said with a smile, "This is the first time the general brought someone here, you are his of…?"

Shi Yuan thought for a few seconds: "Card friends."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Shi Yuan felt that if Martha hadn't been there, he would have been shot in the head by Lu Tinghan.

Martha led them down the corridor, talking as they walked.

She said that the west wall collapsed when the alarm was issued, and it has been repaired all the time, and some children naughty approached the construction site to play, but fortunately she found out;

She said that 4 more children were adopted, but there were almost 10 new children, some were abandoned, and some lost their parents accidentally;

She said that thanks to the policy support of the alliance, when it was the most difficult time, someone helped to go to the supermarket more than ten kilometers away to purchase, and the children could still eat healthy food. If they had the opportunity, they would expand the dormitory and kitchen. The building capacity is too small now. , the children are crowded together;

She said that fortunately, for so long, Lu Tinghan has been donating money to the orphanage in his own name, so that the orphanage was not too tight and survived the most difficult period.

Martha walked very slowly, with her back hunched, Lu Tinghan followed slowly, reaching out to support her when going down the stairs.

Walking to a corridor window, they looked out.

Sunshine filled the small courtyard, the chains of the swing creaked, children slipped down the slides, laughter and screams continued, and it was lively.

Martha said: "I have discussed with the people in the courtyard, and when I retire, let Scott be the dean."

"How is your physical condition?" Lu Tinghan asked.

"It's just like that. When it's cold, my legs and feet are always painful." Martha smiled. "I have a little bit of everything, but it's not serious. It's like this when I'm old. Fortunately, I can still climb 5 feet." Lou, your head is also clear."

Afterwards, she hesitated for a long time and asked, "...Admiral, tell me the truth, is the peak season coming soon?"

Lu Tinghan replied: "You don't have to worry about this. The scientific research department has been paying attention to various signs. If there is a conclusion, everyone will be notified as soon as possible."

"That's good." Martha's strands of white hair trembled in the wind and curled up, "Then I don't worry, otherwise the children will pester me and ask, I don't understand these things, I'd better listen to you." Don't worry after saying that."

A group of children ran over in the stairwell, and the girl called softly: "Grandma Martha! Come and play with us!"

Immediately, they surrounded him.

Shi Yuan saw the heads and hairs of those human cubs, a large group surrounded Martha, all smiling.

While coaxing the children, Martha said to them: "Just take a walk and have a look. If you are not in a hurry, eat lunch in the courtyard before leaving. It is rare to come here, sit more and have a cup of tea— "

She went with the children, and Shi Yuan and Lu Tinghan strolled around the courtyard again.

A few older children secretly followed behind them, as if they recognized Lu Tinghan's arrival, they whispered to each other.

They walked around the entire orphanage, and Lu Tinghan looked at everything, from the walls to the gate to the slide in the courtyard, as seriously as if he was reading a military report.

Walking back to the first floor, before the courtyard, Lu Tinghan stood still.

Shi Yuan followed his gaze and saw a little girl in a floral dress standing by the sandpit, watching two little boys build sandcastles.

Lu Tinghan said: "She is He Yu's daughter, do you remember him?"

Of course Shi Yuan remembered.

After the man was infected, he was unwilling to accept euthanasia, and fled the convoy taking Shi Yuan as a hostage. After that, he died at the hands of Lu Tinghan.

He said his daughter was only five years old and he still wanted to see her.

What surprised Shi Yuan was that Lu Tinghan still remembered He Yu—even he knew that no matter what the reason was, there must be many people who died directly or indirectly at the hands of Lu Tinghan. , He Yu is by no means special.

Not to mention remembering his daughter.

Lu Tinghan said: "The children of sacrificed soldiers under the age of 14 will be sent to welfare institutions."

Shi Yuan asked him: "Do you know any other children?"

"Part of it." Lu Tinghan continued to walk forward.

"You only need to meet them once to remember them?" Shi Yuan asked.

Lu Tinghan: "Almost. I may not remember the full name, but I know someone."

Shi Yuan thought that when Lu Tinghan taught him how to play cards, he always asked him to memorize and memorize the cards. For Lu Tinghan, this is probably very simple, like he can easily remember those people who met once.

His humans are smart.

They ate lunch in the yard.

Shade salsa, they carry dinner plates and sit at the table under the big tree in the courtyard.

The meals for children and employees are the same, but the portions are different. Shi Yuan got mashed potatoes, boiled broccoli, tomato spaghetti and boxed milk, all of which tasted good.

Shi Yuan bit the straw and asked, "Lu Tinghan, will I be as smart as you one day?"

Lu Tinghan raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't expect him to ask this question, and replied: "Maybe. And everyone has their own strengths."

After lunch, Lu Tinghan asked Shi Yuan to walk around casually, and went to meet Martha and other faculty members by himself. When he came out after the meeting, he couldn't find Shi Yuan.

Looking around, he walked outside, and saw Shi Yuan surrounded by children under the banyan tree. Shi Yuan was at a loss, saw him as if he saw a savior, and immediately walked towards him—

The children disagreed, laughing and throwing themselves on him one by one, yelling for brother and brother to play with us!

So, Lu Tinghan watched helplessly as Shi Yuan strenuously walked towards him, but more and more children were hanging on his body, and more and more, and finally he sank like a wooden boat that was overwhelmed, and fell down softly and slowly. A bunch of kids drowned.

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Lu Tinghan took a few steps forward, accurately grasped Shi Yuan's devil horn, lifted it out, shook it, and shook off five or six children, and then put Shi Yuan on the ground smoothly.

Shi Yuan curled up his tail and hid behind him: "This place is too scary!"

Human cubs are not as scary as adults, but they are more numerous and more enthusiastic, so they still scare him. Relying on Lu Tinghan, Shi Yuan finally got rid of the terrifying pile of children.

They stood beside the sand, the swing was blown by the wind, the group of children didn't know what they had found, and laughed together.

Shi Yuan calmed down only after he touched it.

He and Lu Tinghan said: "I thought about it while I was waiting for you. I don't have any strengths either. Although Mr. Cheng always praises me, acting is very difficult for me, and I can't be called talented."

"No, you have." Lu Tinghan said.

Shi Yuan was stunned for a moment: "What is it?"

Lu Tinghan smiled, but pinched Shi Yuan's face without answering.

Shi Yuan:?

He didn't understand what the answer was, and his tail curled up into a question mark in confusion.

They left the orphanage.

Shi Yuan looked back in the car, the children's laughter and the cartoon wall of colorful graffiti swayed away, and the white buildings were covered by old houses, so they couldn't be seen at all.

"Where are we going now?" He asked Lu Tinghan.

"Nanping Cemetery." Lu Tinghan replied.

The cemetery is not far away, and it is only a 20-minute drive from the orphanage.

It was the first time Shi Yuan saw a human cemetery, the white tombstones were arranged in steps, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Just left the orphanage, said goodbye to those young faces, and immediately came to the place of burial, from life to death, there is a clear difference.

In order to facilitate maintenance and save floor space, 10 people were buried in each tomb, and their names were engraved on the tombstones. Some of them are family members, some have nothing to do with each other before they were alive, and they all sleep here peacefully in the end, uncontested with the world. For them, the long and arduous journey is over, and for the living who came to mourn their deaths, the past is buried here, and they used to be the shining love in their hearts.

Shi Yuan followed Lu Tinghan, and Lu Tinghan was holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. The two passed through the scattered tombstones and came to a secluded independent cemetery in the far west.

Here are all the tombs of military officers. Flowers have been placed in front of many of the tombs, and they are all very clean. Someone probably came here to clean them.

Lu Tinghan squatted down in front of a pure white tombstone and put down the bouquet.

Shi Yuan saw the writing on the tombstone:

【Father Lu Zhun (2172-2224)

Loving Mother Yu Qingmei (2179-2232)]

According to the biography, Lu Zhun is a colonel of the Union Army, and Yu Qingmei is an associate academician of the Academy of Sciences.

These two names are familiar, and Shi Yuan has heard them many times by accident, probably at the level known to all women and children.

There are photos on the tombstone. The man is handsome and the woman is beautiful, a perfect match. Their lives are densely packed, and their achievements are dazzling.

Lu Tinghan remained silent and stood in front of the tomb for a while. He didn't have much expression, he couldn't see sadness or nostalgia, as if he was looking at someone who had nothing to do with him, he was polite and restrained, but that was all.

Afterwards, he said to Shi Yuan, "Let's go."

They returned to the main road, and the shadows of the trees scattered along the road fell on them.

Lu Tinghan said: "My mother passed away due to illness, and today is her death day."

"Oh..." Shi Yuan couldn't think of words of comfort, so he could only imitate other human beings, "Sorry."

Lu Tinghan went on to say: "She focuses on the direction of infectious organisms, and has made great contributions to the study of the characteristics of abyssal infections, and also participated in the development and improvement of inhibitors. It is a pity that she failed to complete her last research, which is about 0 of the Abyss."

Caught off guard, Shi Yuan froze.

The air seemed to freeze, and he asked, "...what did she research?"

Lu Tinghan replied: "That research has just started, and it is still at the stage of hypothesis. There is no conclusion and no value. After her death, the project was stopped." He paused, and added, "After the disappearance of Abyss 0, some Many people mentioned this project again, saying that since one abyss can disappear, can other abysses also be able to disappear?"

The disappearance of Abyss No. 0 caused an uproar.

Some people believe that it is the hope of the world, while others think it is a sign of a nightmare. There are different opinions, and there is no conclusion.

The alliance intervened to investigate the disappearance of Abyss 0. A full year passed, manpower and material resources were spent, but to no avail.

The whole thing is too illusory, as if there is no end, and there will be no answer.

The abyss just disappeared.

Disappeared without warning and very willfully.

Resources are scarce, and the alliance cannot continue to invest heavily in a project that has no clue. It can only lengthen the front line and reduce costs.

Today, there are still projects to study the No. 0 abyss, but it is no longer the focus.

Everything gradually calmed down, and people accepted this fact, looking forward to the disappearance of other abysses.

Lu Tinghan said: "They all said that when the abyss disappears, everything will return to normal, and they will be able to return to their hometown."

If the abyss disappears...

The orphanage will be empty than it is now, and there will be fewer tombstones in the cemetery. There will be no more wars, no refuges, and no more farewells.

Shi Yuan was distracted, and his pace became slower and slower.

Lu Tinghan's steps were already long, and he took a few steps away before turning around: "Shi Yuan?"

"Hey!" Shi Yuan finally came to his senses, quickened his pace, and followed, but he lost his mind after a while.

The afternoon sun, diluted by the leaves, turned a bright golden-green. Spots of light danced across Shiyuan's cheeks and forehead, like a few golden fish, lively and nimble, making people's hearts tremble, and they wanted to reach out to catch them, but they escaped, leaving only a piece of white and delicate skin.

Lu Tinghan moved his fingers.

He stretched out his arms to embrace Shi Yuan, leading him stride forward.

The cemetery is very quiet, a sense of tranquility that belongs only to the deceased. The trees on the side of the road are full of vitality, with early spring buds hanging on the branches.

They are walking under the flower tree.

Lu Tinghan recalled the interview with Yu Qingmei when the project was established.

Woman in white study uniform stands in front of the camera with one hand in pocket. She is extremely beautiful, with a few strands of broken hair spreading out in front of her forehead, her face is like a white peony flower, different from her strict style, her temperament is free and easy.

"...You ask me why I want to study Abyss 0?" Yu Qingmei said, "I mentioned in the paper published in 29 that it has a very special infection value. Since then, my argument has been that it may Can 'override' other infection features."

She also explained: "Currently, we have not found a sample of the infection in Abyss 0, and we can only simulate its infection wavelength."

"Simulation is quite difficult. It took us ten years to build the model and simulate it in the computer. The result surprised us. We all know that the infection of the abyss is mutually exclusive. For example, this rabbit. "

Yu Qingmei picked up the transparent container at hand.

The Infected Rabbit was screaming like a furry centipede as it had grown many legs and writhed and writhed.

The interviewer subconsciously took half a step away.

Yu Qingmei's expression remained unchanged, holding the container: "It was infected by the No. 4 abyss, and its characteristic is 'multiple limbs'. And it cannot be infected by other abysses, that is to say, you cannot infect creatures that have already been infected. , it is impossible to have a rabbit that is 'giant' and 'multiple limbs' at the same time, and the infection characteristics are unique and mutually exclusive."

Interviewer: "Abyss No. 0 is different?"

"Yes, it seems to be able to affect the infected organisms." Yu Qingmei said, "In the model, it changed the gene sequence of the infected organisms and destroyed the original infection characteristics."

Interviewer: "Destroyed?"

"Destroy, erase, destroy, cover, you can call it whatever you want." Yu Qingmei put down the container, pinned a strand of hair behind her ear, and called up a screen on the terminal, "It 'killed' the infection. "

In the simulation experiment, the infected rabbit was affected by the No. 0 abyss, the extra limbs degenerated, and turned back into an ordinary rabbit—of course, it was a rabbit corpse.

"Our model is very imperfect. Whether the No. 0 Abyss can really be 'destroyed' is not conclusive, and the deviation of the data cannot be ruled out." Yu Qingmei said, "So, the project needs to study its characteristics, and What happens to infected creatures affected by it."

Interviewer: "Okay, thank you very much for your answer. You have been studying the abyss for many years, and you have made a lot of achievements in this field. If you start from your personal point of view—it's just a personal guess. What do you think of Abyss 0? What? Assuming it can 'kill' the infection, does it mean that it can also end the end of the world?"

Yu Qingmei was silent for a long time.

With one hand in her pocket, her gaze seemed to drift far away, and she said slowly: "Let me put it this way, I don't think it is hope, it only represents 'destruction'."

Interviewer: "Can you elaborate on that?"

"There is nothing to say." Yu Qingmei said, "Destruction is destruction, destroying cities and destroying civilization, it is the end of mankind." She looked at the dumbfounded interviewer, and suddenly smiled, "Okay, this is groundless Guess—it’s actually the most harmless abyss that hasn’t infected any creatures, isn’t it?”

The interview ends here.

Before the research was completed, Yu Qingmei died of illness and the project was shelved. This is only a hypothesis after all, and it may never be proven again.

After many years, Lu Tinghan remembered her words again.

All the way back to the car, Shi Yuan was absent-minded.

He didn't know that Lu Tinghan's mother had been studying him, and he didn't know that his disappearance had caused such a big disturbance.

"Why are you always distracted?" Lu Tinghan asked, "Don't you like cemeteries?"

"No," Shi Yuan was still a little flustered, "I was thinking about something else, something else."

Lu Tinghan: "Can you tell me?"

"Ah, no..." Shi Yuan curled his tail guiltily.

Lu Tinghan didn't ask any further questions.

He just rubbed Shi Yuan's head skillfully, took him to a restaurant, and ate delicious fried rice with mushrooms.

In this way, he got another happy and purring Shi Yuan.

When Lu Tinghan finished eating, Shi Yuan was still immersed in the fried rice.

There were few people in the restaurant, and they asked for the most secluded box, where they could not hear the crisp collision of bowls and chopsticks, nor the noisy voices of people. This kind of environment is private and relaxed, Lu Tinghan took a sip of tea, looked at Shi Yuan, but remembered the scene in the afternoon.

The spring breeze, the flowers and trees, the quiet road, the golden fish swimming on the cheeks.

At that time, he moved his fingers, but he didn't know what he wanted to do, he just grabbed Shi Yuan's shoulder.

At this moment, the little golden fish reappeared, and the light from the chandelier was printed in a diamond shape by the hollowed-out wooden carving wall, falling on Shi Yuan's forehead, and then swimming towards the cheeks, neck, and collarbone, until it disappeared at the edge of the dark clothes.

A little erratic and a little rippling.

so vivid.

Lu Tinghan's face was expressionless, eyes downcast, the black tea in the cup was warm, and the hot air blurred his vision.

Now he knows.

—he wanted to catch the fish.

…

Two days later, the Garcia Theater opened its doors.

Shi Yuan returned to the Wild Rose Troupe and started working.

Everyone hasn't been together for almost two months, and everything is as usual, as if nothing happened. Wolfgang was taciturn, Tracy jumped up and down, Xia Fang complained that the man he had just met was stingy, and Qin Luoluo combed her hair while saying that a good man is really hard to find with a lantern.

Cheng Youwen threw the cane aside, stepped on the sofa with his disabled right leg, and said loudly: "Why are you all listless, cheer up! Where is your love for stage plays?!"

"Love is in the money." Xia Fang said listlessly, "For a man, love is also in the lower body. My **** still hurts even now, and two are still too reluctant..."

"Superficial!" Cheng Youwen scolded him, "We are a palace of art here!" He looked around and was satisfied to see that everyone cheered up, waved the script in their hands, and shouted, "People still have ideals in life Yes, after so many years and so many theater companies have given up, we are the only ones left. As long as we don't die, art will not die, so let's start acting until the world is destroyed!"