"Da, da, da…"
The sound of the clock hands turning can be clearly heard in my mind.
First-level star gate - Qingliang Town, opening countdown: 6:00:00.
An ethereal voice flashed by, and Ren Ye's brain returned to calm.
In the office filled with pungent smoke, Huang Wei sat on a chair with a guilty look on his face: "Believe me, we have activated this pen before. The specific method is to copy and recite the sentence at the same time. Whoever gets it can use it. So, I really don't know that it will be bound to you... This may be related to the calling voice."
Ren also looked down at his palms, his eyes blank.
Just after the Star Mark Gate appeared, the ancient brush suddenly disappeared from his hand. Immediately afterwards, Ren heard the sound of the pointer turning in his mind, as well as the ethereal reminder.
And... who is calling me from that abyss-like star gate? When I thought of that voice, my scalp went numb.
This is so fucking weird, I can't explain it with my smart brain at all!
After a brief silence, Ren Ye felt that he needed to calm down, so he raised his head and hooked his finger, saying, "Give me a cigarette."
Huang Wei looked at him with some concern. He took out a cigarette and asked softly, "Do you... do you feel any changes in yourself?"
Ren Ye took the cigarette, and with his right hand trembling, he used the lighter to light it twice before he took a deep breath: "A voice appeared in my head. To be precise, it was a six-hour countdown."
The two looked at each other, and Huang Wei's lips moved: "Then it is completely bound."
"So, I have to go in?" Ren Ye felt the smoke choking his throat. He frowned and coughed twice: "No choice?"
"yes."
"So I only have six hours to prepare?"
"Yes. In six hours, you will go in whether you like it or not. In other words, the Star Mark Gate has chosen you." Huang Wei nodded.
Hearing this, Ren Ye's eyes gradually became calm: "Did you do what you promised me yesterday?"
"It's already been done."
"Hehe, I will leave this world in six hours. How about... you accompany me for a walk?" Ren Ye asked with a wry smile.
"Can."
Huang Wei stood up.
Ren Ye pinched the cigarette in his right hand and commented calmly: "Your cigarette is fake, it chokes my throat."
Huang Wei looked at him strangely, raised his hand and pointed: "Didn't you notice that the cigarette you smoked... doesn't have a holder?"
"ah?"
Ren Ye glanced down at the cigarette and froze for a moment.
"You smoked the wrong way and lit the cigarette holder."
"...!" Ren Ye still maintained a calm image: "The cigarette holder is good, strong."
Huang Wei could see that he was very nervous and had not yet completely recovered from the shock of the strange phenomenon, but this kid wanted to remain calm and talk to him.
Haha, interesting.
After saying this, the two of them left the office together.
When he walked to the main staircase, Huang Wei unconsciously looked behind him and blinked at the camera.
In the monitoring room, more than twenty people with different appearances were staring at Ren Ye's figure on the monitoring screen.
At the front of the crowd, a young man in dark blue cloth, with his back to everyone, said in a cold voice: "Notify Huang Wei and Ren Ye, Shanghai Stock Exchange number is 001. From now on, anyone who leaks any information about 001 will be treated as treason once verified."
"I understand." The middle-aged man standing next to him nodded.
"brush!"
In an instant, a cool breeze suddenly blew in the room, and the young man in dark blue cloth turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared. Where his body had just stayed, only a Taoist talisman was left, which slowly burned and fell to the ground and turned into ashes.
As soon as the young man "left", everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously, and then the atmosphere became chaotic.
"The Star Gate is calling an ordinary person? This is something that has never happened before."
"It's a blast. Brother Huang has completely blasted this time! Damn Red Eyes, he's so lucky."
"How hateful! Why isn't Ren in jail in our district?!"
"If this man is brought to me, what's the harm in finding him a few sexy girls?" said a beautiful young woman.
"The four people before me are all gone, how far can a newcomer go? Alas, the rarer it is, the harder it is."
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent.
No longer were the excited discussions going on, but instead everyone showed worried looks.
…
In the afternoon, next to an ordinary kindergarten, Ren Ye, wearing a baseball cap, was sitting under an outdoor parasol drinking hot coffee with Huang Wei.
He stared ahead with somewhat empty eyes, his brain working rapidly.
According to Huang Wei, there were four players before him who had experienced two consecutive missions, but they all died...
A corpse that had been dead for three days came out with the "pen".
Then, the pen was activated, and the final star gate opened, but there was an ethereal voice calling him non-stop...
Ren Ye thought of all this and felt a sense of fear as if the King of Hell himself had named him.
Huang Wei was still dressed in a greasy and sloppy manner. He looked at Ren Ye's profile and asked softly, "Are you really not going to find an excuse to see your family? I have the power to do so."
"If you don't do it well, you will die." Ren Ye came back to his senses: "To be honest, I am a little scared. Seeing them... will only make me more scared."
"Um."
Huang Wei didn't say anything more. He just took out a bulging envelope from his pocket and gently pushed it in front of Ren Ye on the table: "This is the 100,000 yuan you asked for yesterday."
"Okay." Ren nodded but didn't thank me.
Huang Wei took a deep puff of his cigarette and said, "Also, I have applied for a special amount of more than 1.3 million yuan for you according to the pension standard of your original unit. You can use it now."
"If I can survive, I will get the money myself; if I can't survive...you have to give the money to my dad." At this moment, Ren also forcibly blocked the complicated emotions in his brain. He needed to calm himself down so that he could make reasonable demands and protect his rights in the subsequent negotiations.
Huang Wei nodded slowly: "Actually, although the amount of money is quite large and there has never been a precedent for early approval, I still think it should be given, no matter...!"
When saying this, Lao Huang actually felt that the amount was not small, and it was an advance payment. He believed that his behavior was righteous and that he had fully considered Ren Ye, so his tone was full of boasting, like a boss suddenly giving his employees a raise, and there was also a little bit of intention to comfort Ren Ye, but this was all well-intentioned.
Ren also sensed the other party's emotions, turned his head and interrupted, "Besides this money, is there nothing else?"
"Ah?" Huang Wei was stunned for a moment: "...Then what else?"
Ren also showed a businesslike expression: "Let me make a few requests."
"Okay, you mention it." Huang Wei subconsciously took out his notebook: "I'll write it down."
For such a dangerous job, it's normal for people to make some requests, Lao Huang thought.
"You should understand my situation. My parents divorced a long time ago, and it wasn't easy for my husband to raise us by writing online articles, so I have to consider many things for him in advance." Ren Ye looked at Huang Wei: "Can you find a way to link his future medical insurance with your department? To put it bluntly, it means taking care of his birth, aging, illness and death, and there must be certain standards."
Old Huang blinked and looked at Ren Ye, then took a breath and said, "Okay, I'll discuss this with the relevant colleagues later, but this matter...!"
"Also, my house is a bit small. Can we change it for them according to the allocation standards of your unit? It should have a 70-year property right and can be bought and sold. Because if I agree to you, I will be considered a member of the unit, right? This is not too much." Before Old Huang could react, Ren Ye made a second request.
"...!" Old Huang's hand holding the pen trembled, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Ren Ye suddenly became a little surprised.
"Also, my sister is in college. Her academic performance... well, let's not talk about that for now." Ren Ye rubbed his palms: "But she has always wanted to improve herself. I was thinking, can you use your connections to help her get into graduate school?"
Old Huang was stunned.
"Oh, we also need to find her a job after graduation. Our company should also be in need of civilian staff who are eager to improve themselves." Ren Ye immediately added: "My sister is very good-looking, she definitely meets the image standards, and she is also from a scholarly family..."
"I've looked up information. Your father writes online articles. He can't write anything else except driving. Legally speaking, he is at risk of going to jail. Do you know that?" Old Huang interrupted: "If you say that he comes from a scholarly family, isn't that a bit of a stretch?"
"Anyway, this matter about my sister...!"
"I understand what you mean, Xiao Ren." Old Huang put down the notebook, sat up straight, and analyzed seriously: "Do you think this will work? Your father's medical insurance will be arranged according to the standards of West Lake Sanatorium, and he will be given a state funeral after his death, okay?"
Ren nodded immediately, "Sure."
"And your sister, don't join any civilian department. I'll give myself to the higher-ups when I get back and let them command me, okay?"
"Actually, you don't have to be that high-level..."
"By the way, your father has been divorced for many years. I will try to find you a stepmother, so that your emotional life in your later years will be solved." Old Huang added seriously.
"Then let's do as you say." Ren Ye responded while looking directly at the other party.
"Hold!"
Old Huang couldn't help but curse: "How dare you think of that?!"
"My life is given to you, what is there to be afraid of?" Ren was also very calm, and replied word by word: "Don't raise me to a higher level, talking about the nation and the general public. More than three years in prison have taught me a truth. Individuals and nations should go in both directions, and both are worthy of love."
The two looked at each other, and Ren refused to give in, his expression as calm as a Wolf of Wall Street.
Finally, Lao Huang, a man of temperament, thought for a moment and replied, "I can't decide on the part that exceeds your personal benefits, but I will try my best to do it. As for the house and your father's medical insurance, I will find a way to approve it for a maximum of one year."
"You're a nice person." Ren also gave a thumbs up.
"...If I submit these conditions, the reviewer will probably think that you and I are related by blood." Old Huang was a little overwhelmed and took a sip of coffee.
The two were silent for a while, and Ren's eyes narrowed as he looked at the kindergartener, a smile on his face.
Across the street, a young kindergarten teacher, accompanied by three staff members, walked over with a little girl about three years old.
Ren Ye stood up and walked over. Unrelated people stood aside and avoided him. Only the little girl about three years old looked at Ren Ye timidly.
"Duoduo." Ren Ye stood by the road and squatted down: "You have grown so big?"
Ren had only met the little girl once, on the day of his court appearance.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked, dodging back.
Ren Ye was silent for a long time, and stroked the other's little head in the sun: "I am your father's friend, the best friend."
"They said... I don't have a father." The little girl blinked her big eyes, her face remained tense: "You... how are you a friend?"
Ren Ye was speechless for a long time after hearing this. He looked at the little girl's features carefully, and couldn't help but think of his friend's cheek.
He loves to laugh and is the team's funny guy and artistic backbone.
"You have a father, and...you can never forget him." Ren Ye showed the envelope of money that Huang Wei gave him and stuffed it into the little girl's schoolbag: "Take this back to your mother and remind her to read the letter inside."
"Mom doesn't let me take other people's things."
"Take it, he is also friends with your mother." The kindergarten teacher advised.
The little girl nodded slowly: "Thank you, uncle."
"Yes." Ren Ye stood up and waved his hand: "Sorry to trouble you, teacher, please bring her back."
"See you uncle."
"Goodbye, uncle."
The meeting was very short, only two or three minutes, and then the little girl returned to the kindergarten under the guidance of the staff and teachers.
Ren also stood there and watched him all the way.
"You've done a lot for their family." Old Huang stood up and walked over, whispering to them, "The dead are gone, and we can't always live in the past."
Ren also turned his head and looked at him: "Do you know why I shot and killed those two suspects seven times?"
Old Huang shook his head.
"If it weren't for my colleague, I would be the one who died." Ren Ye said in a hoarse voice: "I hate those suspects, and I hate myself too."
Old Huang stood quietly aside and did not respond.
"well."
Ren also sighed and put his hands in his pockets: "The pension standard is 20 times the average disbursable income of the previous year + 40 months' salary. If you do the math, it's over a million. It sounds like a lot, right? But with over a million, I have to support four elderly people and a child... In this society, is it a lot?!"
This sentence instantly made Huang Wei think about many things. He recalled the details of the negotiation with Ren Ye just now, and even imagined the difficulties of a single mother raising a three-year-old girl.
"This kindergarten charges the lowest fees in the surrounding area, but the child's father is a martyr." Ren Ye patted Lao Huang on the shoulder and walked towards the business car on the side of the road.
Old Huang stood there quietly for a long while before turning around to catch up. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number: "Hello? Old He, I have something to ask... Can you help me get a place in the second primary school? It's not my relative's child... It's a friend's, about three years old, a little girl."
"This is so difficult, brother. Last month my cousin almost knelt down in front of me...!" The friend on the phone immediately started to talk about the difficulties.
"What's so difficult? Just do it for me. It's just like you having one more meal with others." Old Huang understood Ren Ye's intention of bringing him here, and he responded with his actions.
…
In one afternoon, Lao Huang accompanied Ren Ye to several places, including his former unit, the school he had attended, and even the snack bar he often went to... He also met some people that Ren Ye considered important, but the only people not there were his father and sister.
It's not that he didn't want to, but he didn't dare. He was afraid that once he met them, the courage that had just been brewing in his heart would disappear.
Of course, this approach is undoubtedly irresponsible from the perspective of family affection. But for some reason, Ren Ye has some fantasies and yearnings about the "weirdness" he has just encountered...
He was a little scared, but wanted to go.
Perhaps, more than three years had only made Ren Ye look calmer and even a little silent on the outside, but deep down he was unwilling to be a murderer and live a mediocre life.
This afternoon was more like Ren Ye's sudden farewell to this world. After all, he was still happily pedaling a sewing machine in prison yesterday...
In the evening, the sun sets and the earth is shrouded in twilight.
Ren Ye was sitting in a guest room, holding a notebook given to him by Lao Huang.
Across from him, Old Huang leaned against the TV cabinet, not saying a word.
"Da, da da…"
The sound of the pointer turning rang in my ears again, and a voice came.
First-level star gate - Qingliang Town, opening countdown: 10:00.
Many books are hard to find now, so read them and cherish them.
(end of this chapter)