MTL - How to Feed an Abyss!-Chapter 16 Co-sleeping and invitation

"Only this once." Lu Tinghan said.

After the tail was untied, Shi Yuan got his wish and entered Lu Tinghan's bedroom with the pillow and quilt in his arms.

The bedroom and study room are in the same style, simple to the extreme, the big bed, bedside table, a table, lamp and bookshelf are all plain.

Lu Tinghan said: "Go to bed first, I still have things to do."

"Okay." Shi Yuan said, he wrapped up the quilt in the blink of an eye after going to bed, curled up, only showing his white face and half of the tip of his tail - the tip of his tail was wagging happily, "I'll wait for you to come back, you have to hurry up Go to bed."

Lu Tinghan bid farewell to Shi Yuan, and went back to the study.

He processed the documents for half an hour, and carefully read the preliminary report on the flock of birds issued by the main city research institute.

The terminal rang, and the caller ID was "Teacher Su".

Lu Tinghan connected, and a gray-haired old man appeared under the holographic projection: he was hale and hearty, and the years had carved deep marks on his face, and bent and thinned his once strong body, but it did not erase his eyes. perseverance.

— Admiral Su Enqi.

The only two generals in the alliance are Lu Tinghan and Su Enqi.

If Lu Tinghan is a sharp blade born suddenly, invincible and invincible, then Su Enqi is more like a strong shield of the alliance. For a long time, he resisted the torrent and calmed people's hearts. As time went on, he had handed over half of the command to Lu Tinghan, but he was still a very symbolic existence.

The sharp blade and the strong shield, different personalities, different experiences, and the same meritorious service are already very story-telling, and Su Enqi is Lu Tinghan's mentor, which makes them even more interesting. The legendary color of Le Dao.

"Teacher Su." Lu Tinghan called out.

Su Enqi laughed twice: "Admiral Lu, you have been in the army for so many years, and you can't bear to call me like that again! Yesterday's battle was so beautiful, I feel ashamed!"

"You're too much." Lu Tinghan said in a calm tone, "The Air Force can't lose any more."

During this operation, the Alliance lost a Cardinal gunship - it took off from the southeastern outpost and was surrounded by a flock of infected birds. Its rotors crushed the monster's flesh, but the sharp beaks and sharp claws of the birds pierced the steel, and it stalled during its last lift and fell to the ground.

The two pilots did not survive, and a fighter at the outpost was killed by the birds.

Tonight the death knell tolls for three heroes.

Lu Tinghan said: "In the past thirteen years, there has never been such a large-scale action of bird-infected organisms, and the monitoring data of the abyss observation tower is also unstable. It is not ruled out that there will be other riots in the short term. Do you think the next infection will Is peak season coming?"

Su Enqi said sternly: "The possibility definitely exists. But I have always been an optimist. The trough period of infection and distortion has lasted for 20 years. Professor Chen said that the trough period is likely to last another 10 years. His argument is very Convincing. There are countless factors that can affect the value. I don’t think there is any need to worry too much, but we must maintain a mentality of being prepared for danger in times of peace, and fight every battle well without arrogance or impetuosity.”

As he spoke, he unconsciously took on a teaching tone.

I have been a teacher for a long time, and I always have this kind of problem. I always think that Lu Tinghan is still the kid who follows him. He doesn't talk much and doesn't have many expressions. The gray-blue eyes seemed to be burning with fire.

In the blink of an eye, it has been 22 years, and the young man's figure is already taller than him, and he is alone, shouldering the heavy responsibility called "tomorrow".

Su Enqi quickly realized this, and smiled again: "Old people are useless, you don't need me to remind you of this. You already have the answer, do you think the peak period is coming?"

"I'm a pessimist." Lu Tinghan said, "I think the peak period has already begun, but no one noticed it."

Su Enqi froze for a moment, shook his head and said, "You are always so pessimistic. Without you, this would not be something that can be solved by sacrificing three people." There were creases at the end of his eyes, which were thin and deep, carved with a knife. "Besides, the No. 0 abyss has disappeared, maybe all the abyss will disappear tomorrow, the world is peaceful, we have to retire, go home, hug our children and grow vegetables-I must be a very bad farmer."

Hearing this, Lu Tinghan showed a subtle expression.

He also said: "Abyss No. 0..." He hesitated to speak, as if he didn't know how to evaluate.

"It's so special," Suenzi said. "It had the highest distortion value, but it didn't infect any creatures, and it disappeared suddenly. We never had a chance to understand it."

Lu Tinghan: "Well, it's a very strange abyss."

"Your mother said that Abyss 0 is the most dangerous source of distortion, but this was never the reason why you went to find it. Why do you want to be its monitor?" Su Enqi asked, "I have asked many times, Do you have an 'answer' now?"

Lu Tinghan was silent for a while: "Sorry, teacher, I'm going to rest first."

Su Enqi sighed, as if he had expected his answer: "Go quickly." He smiled again, "Be kind to yourself, smile more, there are so many things to be happy about, little girls like it Cheerful man, I'm just waiting for you to bring one to see me someday. I think the girl from Major General Zhang's family is pretty good, and see what kind of baby he is all day long. She is beautiful and kind-hearted, don't you think about it?"

"Teacher Su." Lu Tinghan felt a little helpless.

"He is still your number one fan, and he admires you very much." Su Enqi continued, "What's wrong, anyway, you are single now—"

Before the words were finished, "Squeak!" With a sound, the half-covered door of the study was pushed open, and Shi Yuan poked his head in: "Lu Tinghan, when are you going to sleep with me... Ah!"

Only then did he realize that Lu Tinghan was videoing with someone else, so he shrank back suddenly.

Su Enqi: "..."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Lu Tinghan: "...Teacher, things are not like this."

At this time, Su Enqi showed the maturity and high EQ of the elderly to the fullest. In just two seconds, his heart was full of turmoil, and a kind smile appeared on his face. up. He said: "This, ah, young man, it's fine, it's fine, don't bother, normal, understand."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Su Enqi kept smiling: "Oh, it's so late, people just can't stand it when they are old, haha." After speaking, Guangspeed hung up the communication.

Lu Tinghan: "..."

This time I jumped into the Yellow River and couldn't clean it up.

He no longer struggled, got up and covered the file, and went back to the bedroom.

The bedside lamp was on, but Shi Yuan still curled up into a ball, looking at him with wide eyes: "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were on the phone."

"It's okay, it's a private call." Lu Tinghan sat by the bed.

"I didn't cause any trouble, did I?" Shi Yuan asked again.

Lu Tinghan rubbed his eyebrows: "You can't say that, it's still doing me a favor."

"What's busy?"

"Help me block Yuelao's red line, if nothing unexpected happens, Yuelao won't try again." Lu Tinghan said, reaching out to turn off the light, "Never cause trouble again, well done, don't do it again next time .”

Shi Yuan didn't understand what Lu Tinghan was saying at all, but Lu Tinghan finally went to bed, he became happy and rolled into Lu Tinghan's arms.

So in the darkness, a warm Shi Yuan appeared in Lu Tinghan's arms.

Lu Tinghan said: "The bed is so big, you can sleep over there."

"I'll be scared if you're so far away." Shi Yuan refused to move, "I couldn't sleep just now, so I checked what 'social distance' is. Don't worry, I will never touch you."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Shi Yuan said: "But you can touch me." His tone was particularly expectant, "I just played with myself on the bed."

Lu Tinghan: "..." He was silent for two seconds, "Shi Yuan, I'm also a little scared now."

Shi Yuan:?

Lu Tinghan said: "Let's not mess around, let's sort it out. What do you mean by 'hands and feet'?"

"That is, you can touch my head and tail," Shi Yuan said, "you can also scratch my chin."

Lu Tinghan asked again: "Then what is 'playing with yourself'?"

Shi Yuan replied: "I like to take care of the scales on the tail, and I like to hold the tail."

Lu Tinghan was speechless, and finally figured it out—

Shi Yuan was just talking strange things.

Not trying to do weird things.

He said, "Shi Yuan, you can't say these things like that."

"What should I say?" Shi Yuan asked.

"Anyway, don't tell others anymore." Lu Tinghan said, "These are bad words, and I will explain them to you when I have a chance."

"Okay." Shi Yuan was always obedient and agreed to him, and after a while he said again, "Lu Tinghan, can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask?" Lu Tinghan said, "Don't ask me which came first, the chicken or the egg."

Shi Yuan: "Oh—" he thought of Lu Bafang and the compass, "Actually, I have a friend who can lay eggs, so I'll ask him when the time comes."

Lu Tinghan: "...What kind of friends do you make? How can people lay eggs?"

"No?" Shi Yuan asked.

Lu Tinghan said, "Could it be that you will?"

"No," Shi Yuan reflected his diligence, "but I can learn."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Lu Tinghan said again: "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"One more question," Shi Yuan said, "I listened to the radio today and heard them discussing the 'peak period of infection'. What is that?"

He never knew this, after all, he had never infected any creatures, but he was very curious to know how humans viewed monsters.

Lu Tinghan didn't expect him to ask this question, paused, and said: "Infection is divided into peak period and trough period. During the peak period, the distortion accelerates, the infected organisms are extremely active, and there are often large-scale infection riots; the trough period is the opposite. , the number of infections in the abyss is stable, and the reproductive desire and aggressiveness of infected creatures are weak."

"Is the peak period dangerous?" Shi Yuan asked.

"Well." Lu Tinghan said, "We are in the longest trough period. It lasted for nearly 20 years and gave the city a long breathing period, but there have been rumors that the peak period is coming. In fact, it will one day will come."

"What will happen when we come?"

"I don't know. I also have a lot of things I don't know."

Shi Yuan: "Is there anything else you don't know? Besides chicken and eggs?"

"I don't know how you can say so many strange things." Lu Tinghan said, "What's going on in your head every day, go to sleep."

Shi Yuan curled up his tail in confusion, and nestled in Lu Tinghan's arms.

The benefits of sharing the same bed are immediate. This time he was finally not afraid of the nightmare full of humans, closed his eyes, and fell asleep peacefully.

He dreams of the past.

Next to the abyss is a cypress forest, and beyond the cypress forest is an endless wasteland. He didn't know the city at that time, but he felt that there was nothing beyond the wasteland, and it must be the end of the world.

The observation tower stood between the sky and the earth, and Lu Tinghan lived there. He would patrol the abyss in the morning and evening and record the values. Shi Yuan liked his gaze and company, but he was still lonely at night, he couldn't see Lu Tinghan, after all human beings have to sleep.

After many years, after a long journey, Shi Yuan finally had his first night with his humans.

Shi Yuan slept soundly this time.

When Lu Tinghan woke up early, Shi Yuan also woke up.

The hazy sky seeps in through the cracks in the curtains, the city has not yet woken up, it is silent and cold. Lu Tinghan was sitting by the bed, when there was a rustling sound behind him, Shi Yuan wrapped his tail lightly around his waist: "Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Lu Tinghan replied.

"Okay," Shi Yuan said, "Be careful on the road." He reluctantly let go of his tail.

Before closing the door, Lu Tinghan looked back again.

Shi Yuan was still wrapped in a quilt, his side face was blurred in the faint light, only a section of graceful neck could be seen.

His body temperature remained in his arms.

At this moment, Lu Tinghan's expression moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

A gust of wind blew through the window, and the glass rattled slightly.

He closed the door gently.

An hour later, Shi Yuan also went out to the Garcia Theater.

When he was on the bus, there were many boarded-up windows outside the window, and many gloomy faces inside the bus. After the bird attack, the atmosphere in the whole city is very depressed.

Humans are afraid of monsters.

Like he's terrified of humans.

The troupe is no exception, everyone is in a bad spirit.

Qin Luoluo yawned, Wolfgang read the script silently, and Xia Fang took the new poster with drooping eyelids.

The only thing that hasn't changed is Cheng Youwen.

With the script in one hand and a cane in the other, he came down from the second floor and shouted loudly: "What's wrong? What's wrong with this?! Isn't it just a level III warning, and it's not like I haven't seen it before, so don't put on such a mournful face! "

Xia Fang said: "Recently, there have been more and more warnings. Everyone is saying that the next infection peak is coming. Maybe we will die tomorrow. I will be poor even if I die."

Qin Luoluo yawned: "I don't care about the warning, it's just that I didn't sleep well. I sealed the windows for two nights because of the birds..."

"As long as the sky doesn't fall, we have to work, we have to act, otherwise my good script will be wasted." Cheng Youwen twisted his head and coughed a few times, "The military didn't say that the peak period is coming, don't guess. Long, you are taking the lead, be more positive, why are you down?"

Wolfgang's expression was steady and deep: "No money."

Cheng Youwen said: "Of all the people, you are the only one with the best reason." He looked at Shi Yuan, suddenly very relieved, "You should all learn from Shi Yuan, he is not surprised at all, and he is not affected at all."

Shi Yuan was inexplicably praised, and said honestly, "That's because I'm not afraid of monsters..."

If he had gone to the refuge the day before yesterday, where it was overcrowded and his fear of anthropophobia was designated to attack, he would definitely not be as energetic as he is today.

"Good! Very energetic!" Cheng Youwen was even more pleased, "Let's learn from Shi Yuan and come to work! For Ms. Isabella!"

On this day, Shiyuan practiced his lines and was highly praised by Cheng Youwen, who praised him as a rising star of the theater.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the rising star stood on the stage for the first time, rehearsing the first act.

Cheng Youwen revised the script, and Shi Yuan played both the Dryad and the God of Salvation.

Wolfgang plays the leading actor Leo. Leo is a gangster, and he also wears sloppy ragged clothes, dirty pants, and a colorful body, showing a large tendon on his arm. He also put on makeup, and the centipede-like scars crawled on his face, which was shocking.

Wolfgang usually spoke very little, and was so silent that no one could tell that he was the head of the troupe. Now when he took the stage, it was like a different person. Shi Yuan watched him dance, push and push the villagers played by Xia Fang, his face was full of evil and cynical.

He kicked the chair away: "I just want you to have a hard time, let's see which of us can play better?!"

He stared angrily: "What's the matter, I just don't work or just idle around, it's none of your business!"

He was so drunk that he couldn't find his way: "Come again... I'm not drunk, have another drink..." Then he violently jumped up, stepped on the stool, and slapped the table with a loud belch, "It's you, what are you talking about?" Hurry up and fill me up!"

Just like a disciple.

In order to learn the script, Shi Yuan watched several stage plays on his mobile phone, but it was the first time to watch it live. Wolfgang acted so well, the lines and emotions are perfectly integrated, under the lighting of the stage, the village on the set is lifelike, he seems to be a person from another world, spending time and drinking all day long, climbing trees, hunting birds, fighting and drinking, by the way Molesting women again, with a hippie smile, makes people itch with hatred.

Shi Yuan didn't understand the charm of stage plays, and he didn't know why humans like to watch performances, but he was still a little envious, thinking that this is what humans call "talented".

Soon, it was Shi Yuan's role.

Cheng Youwen changed the script for Shi Yuan.

Considering Shi Yuan's appearance, he designed him as a traveler who just arrived in the village, named Lin Mo.

The curse of the monster in the traveler gave birth to black scales, horns and long tails, but the hospitable village accepted him. Lin Mo is diligent and conscientious in his work, and soon he is loved by everyone.

But Leo was not happy.

He repeatedly ridiculed Lin Mo's appearance, saying that he was the messenger of hell. After being drunk once, Leo bumped into Lin Mo on the road, and the two had an argument. Leo killed Lin Mo, shouting: "You are a monster! See if I don't kill you!"

The village discovers the murder and Leo is forced to go on the run.

In this paragraph, Shi Yuan doesn't have many roles.

Lin Mo works in a bar, and he only needs to say a few words: "What would you like to order?" "Sir, this is your drink." "It's 12 yuan in total, thank you." That's enough.

In the quarrel scene, Leo was also roaring at the top of his lungs—when Wolfgang pulled his hair and yelled and pretended to be hysterical, Shi Yuan only had to make an escape posture, and then he was dragged back and stabbed him with a knife. wear heart.

The prop knife is retractable. Shi Yuan performed very well, fell softly to the ground with a prop knife, and began to play a corpse. He was quiet and very patient, and the body was motionless, dead beyond death.

During the break, Shi Yuan was drinking water in the background. Through the curtain, he saw the tiered seats, densely packed, all of dark red velvet that had already faded. There will definitely be a lot of spectators there during the official performance.

Shi Yuan felt scared just by imagining it, his tail would definitely get knotted, and Lu Tinghan had to untie it.

After the rehearsal, it was already time to get off work.

"Let's continue tomorrow." Cheng Youwen said, turned his head and coughed a few times, his pale skin flushed with excitement, "Everyone performed well."

Shi Yuan returned home.

During dinner, Lu Tinghan hadn't come back yet, so Potong made him a bowl of noodles. Shi Yuan was eating noodles while waiting for Lu Tinghan.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, Lu Tinghan sent him a text message, saying that he would not be coming back tonight.

Shi Yuan asked: [Why? 】

After a long time, Lu Tinghan replied: [At the outpost]

Lu Tinghan said again: [You stay at home, I will be back soon]

This is the second time Shi Yuan heard the word "outpost".

He searched for "outpost" on the Internet, and the information told him that the outpost is the city's line of defense.

Once the abyss watcher discovers the fluctuations in the abyss, they will notify the command center, and then the troops stationed at the outpost will defend. At the same time, the city will also send troops to support. In other words, the monitors sound the alarm, the outposts meet, and the city is responsible for further dispatch and support, and the three complement each other. This is the defense process decided by Admiral Su Enqi after the alliance paid a **** lesson, which is efficient enough.

Shi Yuan couldn't understand those professional words, they were much more difficult to understand than the script, he only understood that it was very close to a monster.

Lu Tinghan went to kill monsters.

Shi Yuan knew that Lu Tinghan was very powerful, but he couldn't help worrying about his humans. And, that means tonight is going to be an extra lonely night.

He had already started to miss Lu Tinghan.

For a moment, he wanted to go to the outpost to find Lu Tinghan, anyway, he was not afraid of monsters, but he finally restrained his impulse and replied to Lu Tinghan: [Okay, you have to be careful]

Lu Tinghan didn't reply again.

There was a copy of "General History of the Alliance Military" on the table in the living room. Lu Tinghan was reading it before, and the bookmark was on page 147.

After the curfew whistle, Shi Yuan took the book into the room, wanting to read it before going to bed, to understand why his humans are smarter than him.

Before finishing the preface of the book, Shi Yuan fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, the west outpost of Gleaming City.

The cold wind screamed, the sky was falling, and the black steel building was pressed down with thick clouds like splashed ink-the outpost was brightly lit.

If the weather is clear and there are few suspended particles in the air, the high-power searchlights at the outpost will have a lighting range of about 5 kilometers. Now the searchlight is running at full power, and the light is dazzling, piercing the ink clouds falling from the sky, and also illuminating the potholes and insect corpses all over the ground. Once again, the outpost fends off the monsters.

The characteristic of Abyss No. 7 is "giant growth", and the insects infected by it are thousands of times their normal size.

The centipede with its fangs and claws is seven or eight meters long, and the whole length is stuck on the power grid. Each worker ant is the size of an adult, blasted to pieces by anti-personnel ground/mines and white/phosphorus bombs. The butterfly was headshot by a large-caliber sniper/gun, its wings turned dusty, and its colorful scales were still floating in the air, red orange yellow green, as long as you take a sip, you will fall into endless hallucinations.

The air smelled foul, musty, and burnt. Soldiers walked by in groups, inspecting the corpses, leaving no survivors, and gunshots sounded from time to time in the wasteland.

In the outpost, Bing Siyun unlocked the combination lock, and a door suddenly opened.

He said cautiously: "Admiral, this is the queen ant."

In front of Lu Tinghan, a mass of crimson rotten meat was placed in a container, which was as tall as two people.

On top of the rotten meat was an ant.

It is only the size of a little finger, and that huge mass of meat is its tail. When the infected insects attacked the outpost, it was hiding underground not far away, guarded by nearly 10 monsters, releasing sweet pheromones, and was finally picked out and killed by the soldiers.

After it died, the remaining monsters retreated. The warrior brought his body back to the outpost and put it in a decontamination container.

Lu Tinghan stood in front of the container, staring at the queen ants intently.

Bing Siyun waited for his conclusion.

He knew very well that Lu Tinghan was different from other commanders: on the one hand, he had been a watcher, and in the depths of his mind, the abyss might have planted explosive bombs; on the other hand, he was the last The special place is that…

He seemed to know what those monsters were thinking.

Different from human-to-human wars, monsters do not act according to logic. In addition, there are many types of infections and rapid distortions. There is no way to game and analyze the opponent's psychology like conventional wars.

What about other commanders? Even the battlefield is changing rapidly, and they can respond quickly to find the best option. They defend from the back and choose a strategy. The difficulty is that they have to take one step at a time, and they are generally passive.

Lu Tinghan was different.

He is the only one who can predict the monster's actions.

As early as when he was in the military academy, his ability first showed its sharpness and shocked all the instructors. The alliance attaches great importance to it, and spends manpower and material resources to focus on cultivating it—of course, this talent is unique, and they failed to cultivate a second Lu Tinghan.

After becoming an abyss watcher, Lu Tinghan has improved by leaps and bounds, as if he can guess the minds of monsters—if they really have one. He didn't go to the battlefield in person, but he has been participating in the command with military optical brains, won many battles, and gained a reputation far and wide.

This, too, has been attacked, and opponents see it as another proof that his mind has been influenced by the Abyss.

Seeing him staring intently at the queen ant, Bing Siyun felt nervous and curious as he remembered the many rumors about him.

Lu Tinghan was expressionless, thoughtful. Five minutes, maybe seven or eight minutes later, he reached out and pressed the red button next to the container.

Bing Siyun was taken aback.

The purification liquid in the container receded slowly, the protective cover opened, and the ball of red meat slammed onto the ground. Lu Tinghan stood beside it, took out his saber and pierced it into the flesh. With a tooth-sick cutting sound, he cut through layers of fat and tissue, and at this moment, the queen ant's tentacles twitched violently.

It's not dead!

how is this possible? !

Bing Siyun's reaction was extremely fast, and he drew his gun to aim before he could react rationally, but he heard Lu Tinghan say: "No need."

Bing Siyun's finger that was about to pull the trigger stopped abruptly, not daring to relax at all. The antennae and feet of the queen ant trembled, the red flesh twitched, and a white bone suddenly pierced through it, stabbing at Lu Tinghan mixed with flesh and blood!

Lu Tinghan's expression remained unchanged, he stepped on it, the heavy military boots were full of strength, and they were stepping on the bend in the middle of the sharp bone. The bone was firmly stepped on by him, and the heel twisted, and it cracked into pieces.

The queen ant frantically danced her feet, but could no longer resist.

For the next three minutes, Bing Siyun watched Lu Tinghan step on the queen ant and cut its red meat. Picking tendons, separating muscles, and sawing bones, a small stream of blood splashed out, and a few drops splashed on his face, but he didn't seem to realize it at all, without blinking his eyes, the white gloves were soaked in bright red , the movements are neat, and even have a bit of weird elegance.

At this moment, Bing Siyun felt that those who suspected that Lu Tinghan was influenced by the abyss were simply nonsense.

No one has killed more monsters than him, not in the past, nor in the future.

The last knife fell, the queen did not move, and Lu Tinghan cut out a beating heart.

The heart is only the size of a thumb, and it is connected with countless blood vessels. Lu Tinghan didn't pierce it, and said: "It has more than one vital point, and it may have to be destroyed at the same time to kill it. Ask Mr. Tang to come over and ask him to memorize the new infection characteristics of No. 7 Abyss."

Bing Siyun saluted: "Yes."

Before leaving, he couldn't hold back his curiosity: "How...how did you know it was suspended animation?"

The ant queen just now had no signs of life at all. He couldn't help but think of Lu Tinghan's talent. Could it be that he really knows what monsters are thinking?

Lu Tinghan glanced at him: "I didn't see it, I 'knew'."

Bing Siyun: "Does it really have a mind? What is it thinking?"

After asking, he realized that this was not his attitude towards the admiral.

Lu Tinghan took off his gloves and threw them into the pollution trash can.

Still expressionless, he replied, "It's homesick."

Bing Siyun: "...Huh??"

This was an answer he had never thought of, because it was so unbelievable that he even thought Lu Tinghan was joking.

Lu Tinghan lowered his eyes, without any intention of explaining: "Lieutenant Bing, go find Mr. Tang."

…

The next day, Shi Yuan went to work in the theater as usual.

In the morning, he rehearsed with the troupe, and after finishing his lines, he lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead.

During the intermission, he sent a message to Lu Tinghan.

Lu Tinghan didn't reply.

In the afternoon he and Tracy were sent to the Tax Collection Hall.

The entire Grand Theater was owned by Wolfgang, and the Wild Rose Troupe only used one or two performance halls, and the other performance halls were rented out to fill the precarious financial deficit.

Tracy flicked the cat's ears, and handed the gloves and long clips to Shi Yuan: "Here, take it." Her lips were bloodless, and she was of the same kind of weakness as Cheng Youwen.

Sequelae of infection is a long torment.

Shi Yuan said, "I heard from Miss Qin that you went to the hospital yesterday?"

"Well, Wolfgang took me there," Tracy said. "I'm not in good health. I need regular checkups."

Shi Yuan said, "Do you need to rest? Let me clean it for you."

"No," Tracy laughed lightly, "I'm not that sick. Besides, it's all for Ms. Isabella."

Cheng Youwen also mentioned "Isabella".

Shi Yuan asked, "Who is she?"

Tracy didn't answer, but blinked mysteriously, cat-like cunning.

Shi Yuan took the long clip with his gloves and went to the No. 3 performance hall.

Hall No. 3 was rented out to a small band. They were still performing the afternoon before yesterday. After the alarm sounded, they fled in all directions, leaving the entire instrument behind. Now that the instrument has been taken away, the audience is still in chaos, and Shi Yuan collects the items left by the audience.

Handbag, hairpin, wallet, mobile phone, key ring, a high heel shoe...

There is everything, they are too flustered to escape.

Shi Yuan picked up a sack of sundries, put them backstage, and waited for people to claim them. It was left until evening, and very few spectators came back to claim them.

There is also a violin and a set of drums in the background, which are very old and don't know whose.

Shi Yuan had never seen a musical instrument, only listened to music, he was curious but did not dare to move. Finally, when it was time to get off work, there was no one in the backstage, so he carefully picked up the drum stick and hit the drum head—

"Boom!"

The sound was much louder than he had imagined. He was so frightened that his tail burst, he put down his drum stick and ran away.

It wasn't until he returned by car that the tail scales calmed down.

Lu Tinghan is still not at home. Shi Yuan was bored watching "The General History of the Alliance Military", and watched the rotten iron go into the kitchen, trying to learn how to cook.

Lu Tinghan didn't come back tonight either.

Shi Yuan missed him very much, he hadn't been patted on the head for two days.

He went to bed early, and when he woke up it was midnight, there was no moon or starlight, the streets were empty, and Gleaner City was as quiet as a ghost town. He yawned, picked up his phone to check the time, and found that there were two unread text messages from three hours ago.

Lu Tinghan: [I'll be back tomorrow]

Lu Tinghan: [Good night]

Shi Yuan immediately smiled, and replied to the text message, but his mobile phone was given by Wang Yu temporarily, it was old and difficult to use, not to mention easy to blur the screen, and the keyboard was often stuck, especially today.

Shi Yuan: [Late aaaaaaa? ! 】

Shi Yuan realized something was wrong, so he quickly sent it again: 【An】

In short, the meaning is expressed.

After that, Shi Yuan fell asleep peacefully. In the distant outpost, just after a tactical meeting, Bing Siyun followed the ground general who was walking like flying, and suddenly saw him slow down, looked down at his phone, and smiled.

It was the first time in the past two days that Bing Siyun saw Lu Tinghan smile, and he couldn't believe his eyes. Lu Tinghan quickly suppressed his smile. He was dressed upright in military uniform, and walked outside the outpost, towards the turbulent, lead-gray sky.

On the third day, the Wild Rose Troupe held an internal meeting.

Qin Luoluo twirled the pen and compared the arrangements with the notebook one by one, including the schedule of the performance, the responsibilities of each person, and the connection of advertising sponsorship. She had just negotiated an advertising cooperation with another industry, she was in a good mood, her face was full of joy, and her tone of voice was a little higher.

She said: "After half a month, we will audition for the first act. It is still the old rule. Each person must attract at least five audiences—the kind that can guarantee attendance. I will also cooperate with the publicity and distribute free audition tickets. Arrange some small gifts for the audience. Here I formally praise Xia Fang, he can exceed the task of attracting the audience every time."

Xia Fang still drooped her eyelids: "I have many men."

"Very good, keep it up." Qin Luoluo said again, "I also want to name and criticize Cheng Youwen, you have not found a single audience twice in a row."

Cheng Youwen snorted: "What a shame my friends, they all let me go when they were invited by me. They don't know how to appreciate scripts at all. It doesn't matter if they don't come, they are the ones who suffer."

"This is not the reason why you didn't complete the target, even Tracy found more than you!" Qin Luoluo raised his eyebrows, "Cheng Youwen, Cheng Youwen—my old Cheng, don't always be so self-closing, work hard, and be more self-absorbed." A few people come over and give feedback, otherwise your script will be so bad that no one will find out."

Cheng Youwen knocked on the ground with his crutches: "Fuck you, how could it be dead! It's unparalleled in the world!"

Qin Luoluo gave him a blank look, ignored him, and looked around: "Do you have any questions?"

In the silence, Shi Yuan raised his hand.

Qin Luoluo: "Shi Yuan, what's your problem?"

Shi Yuan said, "I don't know more than five people..."

Qin Luoluo: "..."

Cheng Youwen: "Look! I'm definitely not the last one this year!"

"Shut up." Qin Luoluo scolded him, looked at Shi Yuan again, and scrutinized him carefully, "Why are you so disappointing, Bai has a good face. I recruited you in the first place to let you and Xia You have to know how to use your strengths to promote together with Fang. Now is a critical period, you have to work harder, and you have to work together to tide over the difficulties."

Shi Yuan curled up the tip of his tail guiltily: "Oh..."

Qin Luoluo stared at him for a few more seconds, and felt more and more that he was so stupid and cute that he would definitely not be able to complete the task: "Hey, forget it, since you haven't been here for a few days, I will lower your requirements."

"Then how many people do I need?" Shi Yuan asked.

Qin Luoluo: "You can always find the three, right?"

Lu Bafang and Wang Yu were not in Gleaming City, Shi Yuan hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

Qin Luoluo: "Two?"

Shi Yuan shook his head.

Qin Luoluo: "...you can only find one person, right?"

Shi Yuan nodded.

Qin Luoluo looked up to the sky and sighed: "It's a loss." She leaned back in the chair decadently, her delicate long earrings swayed, and her red dress looked like a blooming rose. She supported her forehead and said, "Just one, it's better than nothing. Yuan, you'd better find me a reliable person to come back to."

Shi Yuan took the task and left.

Cheng Youwen complained: "Why can he lower the standard?"

"How many days has he been here?" Qin Luoluo scolded him again, "You old cadre have the nerve to compare with him? Show some face."

Xia Fang interjected: "This is really incomparable, Shi Yuan will definitely go to find his man."

"He's a man?" Qin Luoluo turned to look at him, "How do you know?"

Cheng Youwen raised his eyebrows with interest: "Let me hear the story?"

"When I was chatting with him, he said," Xia Fang yawned, "I didn't mean to gossip. He said that person was a friend, and then said 'he is mine', isn't that obvious? ?”

Cheng Youwen: "Oh—"

Qin Luoluo said: "A man is a man. I don't care what their relationship is. To be honest, I didn't expect Shi Yuan to find an audience with high appreciation. As long as IQ is normal, not blind and deaf, don't be a hooligan. That's enough."

Xia Fang raised Erlang's legs lazily: "Maybe he's a big shot."

Qin Luoluo burst into laughter: "He only knows such a person, where is the big shot?" She clapped her hands, "Okay, everyone hurry up and go to work, the meeting is over."

That night, just after eight o'clock, Lu Tinghan returned home with the chill of twilight.

As soon as he opened the door, there was a ball of Shi Yuan in his arms.

Shi Yuan's tail was waving like a colorful flag, and he said, "You're finally back!"

Lu Tinghan smiled unconsciously, and patted his head: "How's the troupe going these two days?"

Shi Yuan: "Hurr, snort."

"How did you sleep?"

Shi Yuan: "Snoring."

Should mean pretty good.

Lu Tinghan managed to get rid of the clingy Shi Yuan, took off his gloves, hung up his military trench coat, took a shower, and changed into clean clothes. Shi Yuan was waiting for him on the sofa, holding the "Alliance Military History" in his hand.

"Did you read it?" Lu Tinghan was a little surprised.

"I saw it, but I didn't understand it." Shi Yuan said.

"Where did you not understand?"

"I don't understand anywhere."

Lu Tinghan: "..."

Shi Yuan asked: "Do you want to see it now? I'll return it to you."

"Don't watch it," Lu Tinghan said, "I don't want to watch it today."

He sat on the sofa, and the hot water relaxed his tense muscles and nerves. It was rare for him to relax for a moment. He sat casually, leaning back lazily, with his right hand resting on the back of the sofa.

Shi Yuan nestled beside him, crossed his legs, and leaned on his arm.

Lu Tinghan said, "Shi Yuan, tell me something interesting."

"What's interesting?" Shi Yuan asked, "I've been working these two days."

"It's okay, let's talk about your work."

So, Shi Yuan told him how Cheng Youwen changed the script for him, allowing him to play both the Cypress Demon and the God of Salvation at the same time; he said that the acting knife was originally retractable, and the blade was made of plastic. He was about to whimper and lie peacefully on the ground to pretend to be a dead body; he said that the theater troupe was poor and there were advertisements everywhere, and the aphrodisiac oil was their biggest advertiser, and there was also a mysterious lady "Isabella"; he said that he I went to clean up the performance hall, secretly played the drum set, and was so scared that my tail exploded.

Shi Yuan scratched his head and talked about his daily life. He was very happy when he was talking, but when he finished the talk, he thought it was too trivial, ordinary and boring, and no one would be interested.

Soon he couldn't say more, and his head was tilted and stuck.

"That's all, it's boring," he said.

Lu Tinghan had been listening silently, and said, "It's not boring."

"Really?" Shi Yuan's eyes lit up, "I thought these were normal."

"It's very normal." Lu Tinghan said, "But I... we are fighting for such a normal day." He rubbed Shi Yuan's head, "I like what you said."

Shi Yuan was praised and very happy.

He has never understood the concept of human beings, life and death, beauty and ugliness, good and evil, he does not feel the difference. But at this moment, a corner of his heart seemed to be poked by these words, numb and itchy.

That feeling is fleeting and cannot be captured.

—He thought to himself, maybe one day, he will be able to understand human beings.

Shi Yuan stayed for a while, but then remembered something again: "By the way, do you have time on the 10th of next month?"

Lu Tinghan asked: "What's the matter?"

"The troupe wants to audition for the first act. Tickets are free, and you can also get small gifts." Shi Yuan said, "They asked me to find the audience. I don't know anyone else."

Lu Tinghan looked at Shi Yuan for a few seconds. He tilted his head slightly, he could see the lines of his neck and Adam's apple, and his gray-blue eyes couldn't tell.

Shi Yuan asked again: "Will you go?" He was a little apprehensive, "I know you are very busy, if you don't have time, forget it, I will think of other ways."

But Lu Tinghan said: "Okay, I will go."

For the next half month, Shi Yuan went to rehearse as usual.

There were a few nights when Lu Tinghan didn't come back, Shi Yuan went to bed early, turned off the lights, and heard the screams of monsters in the distance. This voice can only be heard by him, and it often lasts until the early morning, disappearing in the morning glow.

Rumors about the "peak period of infection" in the city have never stopped. When Shi Yuan was taking the bus, he could occasionally hear the discussion.

Soon came the audition day. Shi Yuan was going to be there earlier than the audience, but Lu Tinghan said that it would be convenient to go together.

Shi Yuan got into Lu Tinghan's car, and the pure black car drove to the Garcia Grand Theater.

It wasn't until they saw the marble statue in the theater that Shi Yuan reacted belatedly: "Shouldn't you show up like this?"

"Why not?" Lu Tinghan asked.

"That's right, you are the general..."

Lu Tinghan: "Can you find other audiences?"

"I can't find it." Shi Yuan said.

Lu Tinghan nodded and said: "That must be me." After finishing speaking, he got out of the car, hugged Shi Yuan, and strode towards the theater.