68 Heart

I hope you have a strong heart.

Blank cards will be stored in the system after use, and Zhu Ning's palms are empty.

Lin Xiaofeng was forced to enter the blank card at that time. Although Zhu Ning had never been there, he must have been unhappy to be taken in by someone.

Lin Xiaofeng is only ten years old this year. Zhu Ning has read all her social media accounts but still cannot summarize her personality.

She had just lost her mother and suddenly became a source of pollution, or a person with superpowers. It would probably be difficult for her to control her abilities.

At this time, no matter what Zhu Ning said to her, he seemed very superior.

The room was silent for a moment, without even a rustling sound.

Zhu Ning sat on the sofa, with her shadow reflected on a large black TV screen opposite her.

"Let me tell you a secret," Zhu Ning began, "I'm not actually from this world."

Lin Xiaofeng didn't answer her, so it looked like Zhu Ning was talking to herself, but in fact she was just talking to herself.

"Our world has been taken over by zombies. Do you know what a zombie is? It's a kind of monster. When a person is bitten, they turn into a monster, and then they bite others. Then the whole world will be infected."

Zhu Ning spoke in a very relaxed tone, just like telling a story to a little girl.

"When the zombie crisis first broke out, our area reacted quickly. The training base was filled with national-level athletes with highly developed motor skills, making their reaction times ten times faster than the average person. The security facilities were also comprehensive. We assessed the situation and immediately formed a new shelter."

"I'm also on the shooting team. We have ammunition and guns readily available. We shooters are the team's favorites, and everyone gives us a lot of leeway."

During a zombie crisis, every bullet is a limited resource, and shooters are the best firepower output.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't move at all when Zhu Ning was talking. He probably wasn't interested at all.

But Zhu Ning continued to talk to himself: "Our camp is very safe. I don't think there are many places as safe as this. But I have to leave. I have to find my mother. They all think I'm crazy because my mother is a doctor and the hospital is the busiest place. It would be stupid to cross the city to the hospital to find someone who is 80% dead."

Lin Xiaofeng was hiding in the corner, but suddenly raised his head when he heard this.

Zhu Ning didn't even look at her, she was looking at the TV.

Zhu Ning's mother is a cardiologist and is so busy that she can't go home.

Zhu Ning was used to finishing his homework, playing with his friends, and then waiting for Zhu Yao to come home when he was very young.

Zhu Ning always thought it was a miracle that her mother worked so hard to raise her, and it was also a miracle that she was raised by her mother with so much hardship.

Zhu Ning used to be disrespectful and called her Ms. Zhu.

Ms. Zhu’s parenting philosophy is very rough. I don’t know what books she read, but she thinks that as long as the child doesn’t fall off the cliff, everything else doesn’t matter.

Zhu Ning grew up with a casual education.

Zhu Ning was interested in shooting, so Ms. Zhu just threw her into the training camp and let her play around.

Zhu Ning's shooting talent was revealed very early. She won awards all the way until she met the professional team.

Playing against a professional team for the first time, Zhu Ning was badly beaten by them. She had always won gold medals before, but that day she couldn't even get a bronze medal.

It turns out that there are so many geniuses in the world, and the gap between geniuses can be so huge.

Zhu Ning was only nine years old at the time and faced a severe blow in life.

After the game, Ms. Zhu went to pick her up.

It was the first time that Zhu Ning came out of the competition empty-handed, and he felt a little uneasy. He secretly looked at Ms. Zhu's expression, and she was not disappointed at all.

Zhu Ning said dejectedly, "I didn't win."

"fine."

Zhu Ning was even more unhappy after hearing this and asked, "Don't you have any requirements for me?"

Ms. Zhu walked with her and said nonchalantly, "What can I ask of you?"

There's no hope.

Her mother didn't even have any expectations of herself.

She gave up on herself.

The sun was particularly strong that day and the car was parked far away. They walked back and forth under the shade of the trees, from one to another.

It seems that all coolness is short-lived and people always have to be exposed to sunlight.

Zhu Ning lowered his head, looked at his own shadow, and asked a question he had longed to ask: "What kind of person do you want me to become?"

Why doesn't her mother care about her?

She had no expectations for herself, as if she was growing up wildly.

Ms. Zhu said without even turning her head, "I want you to be a super happy person."

"Super happy?" Zhu Ning was stunned. She often heard other parents say that they hoped their children were happy, but why didn't Ms. Zhu play by the rules? Why was happy not enough, but she wanted super happy?

How happy is super happy? Why can't she imagine it?

Zhu Yao: "Even if I tell you, you won't understand."

Zhu Ning couldn't accept the second attack. "Who are you looking down on? I'm your daughter. You're a cardiologist, so I must be smart too."

Zhu Yao laughed. Why are you so arrogant?

She thought for a moment and said, "I think you have a strong heart."

Zhu Ning was stunned, her face fell in an instant and became very serious. Zhu Yao was walking with her just fine, but when she turned around, Zhu Ning was not following.

Zhu Ning stood there with a stubborn look on his face, as if he was about to cry.

Zhu Ning raised his head and looked at her firmly, "Mom, tell me the truth, am I having a heart attack?"

No wonder she had no requirements for Zhu Ning since she was a child. Her mind was full of melodramatic family ethics dramas. Zhu Ning must have a heart disease, so Zhu Yao was so indulgent towards her and just wanted her to be happy.

She must have a weak heart.

"Am I dying?"

Zhu Yao: “…”

She looked at the huge teardrop that was about to fall out of Zhu Ning's eyes and smiled in an unkind way. What was on the child's mind?

Zhu Yao: "You have a heart disease, can you run and jump like this?"

Zhu Ning not only ran and jumped, but also played like a mad dog when she was a child. After entering the training camp, she had to undergo physical training. Her physical fitness was at least twice that of girls of the same age.

Zhu Ning choked up. Zhu Yao was the director of the cardiology department, so what she said must be true.

A very authoritative diagnosis.

They stopped, Zhu Ning stood under the shade of the tree, and Zhu Yao half-knelt down, her whole body covered in light.

Zhu Yao poked Zhu Ning's chest with one hand, her young heart pounding.

Healthy and energetic.

Zhu Yao looked directly into Zhu Ning's eyes: "I hope you have a strong heart. I hope you can be at ease, relaxed, and happy."

I hope that when you reach the top, your heart will be strong enough to keep climbing.

I hope your heart is strong enough to withstand the hard times.

I hope you feel calm enough when you lie down.

I hope that no matter what the world becomes, you can find your place in it.

I hope that one day even if I am gone, you will still have the energy to move forward.

I hope you are confident, brave and calm.

I hope you are happy, super happy, doubly happy.

Zhu Ning was very young at that time, and she really couldn't understand what Zhu Yao said. She forgot a lot of details.

I just remember that day on the roadside, the weather was extremely hot, and the cicadas kept chirping.

Ms. Zhu looked at Zhu Ning gently and spoke in a very calm tone, as if she was talking about something very ordinary.

Zhu Ning, I hope you have a strong heart.

Later, the zombie crisis broke out. She knew that the training camp was the safest place, but she left the training camp and went to the Municipal People's Hospital to find Ms. Zhu.

Her teammates at the time saw this behavior as courting death. They had to face reality and give up their fantasies. It was good enough for them to just survive in this zombie world.

But Zhu Ning left the safe haven.

She felt that Ms. Zhu could do nothing except treat illnesses, had very low survival ability, and it would be difficult for her to survive without her.

Ms. Zhu can't even cook, let alone fight zombies, so Zhu Ning has to protect her.

She walked towards Ms. Zhu with a gun and some dry food on her back.

The streets were densely packed with zombies, who had occupied them. It usually took Zhu Ning nine days to get there by car, which usually took two hours.

During these nine days, she became increasingly uneasy, knowing that Zhu Yao might be dead.

But she was very obsessed with going to the Municipal People's Hospital.

When the end of the world came, the only person she thought about was Zhu Yao, the person who was most closely connected to her in this world.

She must go and see Zhu Yao.

She had a little fantasy in her heart that she might still be alive, just in case.

The Municipal People's Hospital is densely populated, and when Zhu Ning walked to the door, his heart sank. There was no chance of a contingency.

She hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, and walked into the hospital.

The hospital campus is very large. Because of Zhu Yao's job, Zhu Ning is very familiar with the hospital. She grew up here.

When Zhu Yao was on duty, Zhu Ning would bring her homework to do. Many department heads knew her.

She saw many familiar faces on the way, and they all turned into zombies. It took her two days to walk through the swarm of zombies to reach Zhu Yao's office.

Zhu Ning opened the familiar office door, and Zhu Yao had his back to her.

Ms. Zhu really had no survival ability. She looked stupid and kept hitting her forehead against the glass window.

There was a bite wound on her neck and her white coat was covered in blood.

Zhu Yao noticed the movement behind him and looked over here.

Zhu Ning saw her current appearance. Her face was pale and her facial features were a little distorted.

Ms. Zhu was very clean and always combed her hair meticulously. Over the years, she had never even had a wrinkled collar.

She used to be so smart and calm, she used to shine, she used to be Zhu Ning's idol.

She once saved lives in the operating room with a scalpel in hand, but now she is foolishly banging on the glass window.

"Mom?" Zhu Ning called her.

That was the last time Zhu Ning called her mom.

Zhu Yao responded to her. She smelled the breath of a living person and suddenly ran towards Zhu Ning.

Relying on the strong heart cultivated by Zhu Yao, Zhu Ning did not dodge or be afraid.

She raised her gun.

Then she took aim, keeping her wrist steady and her fingertips pressed against the trigger, just as she had trained countless times.

With a bang, blood exploded, and blood spots and broken flesh were scattered all over the body.

Zhu Yao fell down.

Zhu Ning's face was covered in blood. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart pounding.

It was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to burst through my chest.

Blood and tears mixed together, and she seemed to be covered by something.

The zombies outside have heard the noise and are rushing towards this side frantically.

She casually picked up the pen that Zhu Yao often used, jumped out of the window, and left the hospital forever.

Later she came to the wasteland world, and the pen was gone. She completely lost everything about Zhu Yao.

She hadn't thought about Ms. Zhu for a long time, and she looked at her hands.

Ever since Yue Kaiyuan showed her the life of Zhu Ning in this world, she has been in doubt.

Does she really exist?

When he first arrived in the wasteland world, Zhu Ning was too lazy to struggle and just wanted to be a salted fish.

Later she entered the cleaning center. She was very excited at first and felt curious about everything she saw.

I was excited to read the tomb posts in the middle of the night, and after entering the polluted area, I tried to study and summarize the patterns of pollutants.

Now she feels that everything that is going to happen is so commonplace that it is hard for her to feel curious or excited.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to feel any emotion, as if she had lived here for a long time and had completely integrated into the world of the wasteland.

To be honest, she is a little confused about who she is now.

Does she really exist?

Is it possible that Zhu Ning does not exist at all? The real Zhu Ning is just a "brain in a jar", with his only brain soaking in a petri dish.

The zombie world and the wasteland world were just her imaginations created in the petri dish.

Is she real in that zombie world? Or is everything a memory implant? Can memory implants achieve this level of realism?

But she remembered Zhu Yao so clearly. She remembered many details of their time together, and even the back of her head when she drove her to the training camp.

She remembered that after she brought the trophy home, Zhu Yao raised his eyebrows and said, "Not bad, Ning Bao."

She remembered the faint smell of hospital disinfectant on Zhu Yao.

Although there is nothing to prove that Zhu Yao really existed, she hopes that Zhu Yao exists, and she cultivates a strong heart for herself.

Even if Zhu Yao was a fictional character fabricated by someone and implanted into her mind, she would still be grateful to her.

Zhu Ning closed her eyes. She was afraid that if she continued thinking about it, she would fall into complete nothingness and lose the ability to distinguish between virtuality and reality.

Until more evidence emerges, Zhu Ning still firmly believes that the zombie world is real.

"From a profit calculation perspective, that was the worst thing I've ever done in my life. I traveled across half the city, and in the end, I only shot my mother in the head. She's already dead."

Zhu Ning looked at her reflection in the TV and spoke, her voice flat and Lin Xiaofeng couldn't understand her emotions.

Zhu Ning added, "This is also the thing I have no regrets about in my life."

She couldn't stand the zombie pressing against Zhu Yao's face, and she felt that was what Zhu Yao wanted.

Zhu Ning took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I've finished my story. Now you understand me. We are fair."

Making friends requires understanding each other, and they are getting to know each other.

After Zhu Ning finished telling the story, there was silence in the room again.

After a while, she heard a rustling noise, and then one side of the fabric sofa sank.

There was someone sitting next to her.

Zhu Ning couldn't see Lin Xiaofeng. Judging from the reflection on the TV, she was the only one on the sofa.

Zhu Ning sat with a transparent person.

A person who lost his parents and became invisible to everyone.

A stranger who lost his parents and traveled to a wasteland world.

They now all have a common goal.

Perhaps because they had dealt with each other at the aquarium before, and Zhu Ning had guided Lin Xiaofeng, she currently had no hostility towards him.

Zhu Ning: "From now on, I will talk to you as if you were an adult, because you are all alone, just like I am all alone."

Without Su Qingqing's protection, no one will coax her to sleep anymore. Lin Xiaofeng has to face this.

Zhu Ning: "Bao Ruiming is not dead. He uploaded his consciousness and escaped a long time ago. I can't find his whereabouts. There is probably an organization behind him. You can't fight it alone."

Zhu Ning felt that the rustling sounds next to him were a little louder. It was difficult for children to hide their emotions.

Zhu Ning continued, "I don't know why he did all this. I initially thought he wanted to train you, but he doesn't seem to have that intention at all. I guess Bao Ruiming just sacrificed you to lure you to the cleaning center to divert attention from other things."

It's quite cruel, but Zhu Ning's guess is very likely the truth, and Lin Xiaofeng is just a victim.

She didn't even have any value and was discarded after being used.

Rustling——

Lin Xiaofeng next to him was making even louder noises.

"Stay rational, Lin Xiaofeng." Zhu Ning looked at the TV screen. The sofa reflected in it had been distorted. Lin Xiaofeng gripped the sofa tightly. With her ability, she could crush it in an instant.

"I will find a way to find the cloud where he uploaded his consciousness, and I will help you kill him. I can definitely do it, but there are conditions." Zhu Ning said calmly.

Lin Xiaofeng's rustling stopped.

"You can think of me as a very bad adult, but I'm impressed by your abilities. I need to form a team, and I want you to be a member of my team. You may face life-threatening situations during these missions."

These words were extremely bad, equivalent to asking a ten-year-old girl to work for Zhu Ning.

But this is a wasteland world, and everyone except first-class citizens has to find ways to survive, and Lin Xiaofeng is no exception.

In this shitty world, children have to face the same cruel life as adults.

Zhu Ning: "In return, I will provide you with shelter and assistance. You can rely on me appropriately."

The sofa sank deeply, and Lin Xiaofeng still looked very tense.

Zhu Ning didn't expect to make a little girl understand instantly. She had said everything she needed to say today.

Her understanding of Lin Xiaofeng was very limited. For example, she didn't know whether Lin Xiaofeng could speak, nor did she know whether Lin Xiaofeng was human.

Zhu Ning looked at the depression in the sofa and barely found Lin Xiaofeng's position. It felt a bit awkward to talk to a transparent person.

"You can think about it. You can answer at any time, or even refuse. Just tell me in a way that makes you comfortable."

If Lin Xiaofeng can no longer speak, he may need to type or write to tell Zhu Ning.

"There are two rooms, both the same size. I chose. I'll stay on the right and you'll stay on the left? Any objections?"

Zhu Ning still couldn't hear the answer. She looked like she was talking to herself in the room.

Not getting an answer, Zhu Ning walked into the room on the right.

"good evening."

After a while, the sound of taking a shower came from inside.

She is really brave. She is not afraid at all when she is with a transparent giant.

After Zhu Ning left, Lin Xiaofeng slowly loosened her hands that were holding the sofa cushion, and she sat there in a daze.

She couldn't see herself in the reflection of the TV, nor could she see herself in the mirror. She had become completely transparent.

There was no wind or other light in the safe room in the basement, it felt like a cage.

Lin Xiaofeng took a deep breath.

Stay sane.

She kept repeating these four words.

…

Zhu Ning was lying on the bed.

Song Zhizhang's tranquilizer was very effective. She felt sleepy as soon as she lay down. She stopped thinking about Ms. Zhu and her mind relaxed for a moment.

Suddenly, I heard a creaking sound coming from the door.

There was no one at the door. The door was pushed open a crack and a transparent person came in.

Lin Xiaofeng walked around behind Zhu Ning and stood quietly like a ghost.

Zhu Ning could feel Lin Xiaofeng's gaze. She didn't turn around or move. Her body was a little tense. She was not sure what Lin Xiaofeng was thinking.

After all, Lin Xiaofeng is the source of pollution in the Class B pollution area. If Lin Xiaofeng insists on taking action, Zhu Ning can only put her back into the card.

After a while.

"Can I sleep with you?" A little girl's timid voice came from behind. It turned out that she could speak.

Zhu Ning's body relaxed, "Okay."

She felt her bed sink and someone got into it.

Lin Xiaofeng put her arms around Zhu Ning's waist. Seeing that Zhu Ning had no intention of struggling, she buried her forehead in Zhu Ning's shoulder, snuggling up to her like a little animal.

Zhu Ning heard a clear heartbeat behind him, a human heartbeat.

The author has something to say:

I hope everyone has a strong heart, and I hope everyone can be happy, super happy!

The book Ms. Zhu read was Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye". She hoped to be a catcher in the rye to protect children and keep them from pollution.

Post a paragraph of the original text:

"Anyway, I always imagine there's a bunch of kids playing in a big wheat field. Thousands and thousands of them, and no one around—no adults, I mean—except me. And I'm standing right there on the edge of that damn cliff. My job is to watch, and if any kid comes running over the cliff, I'm going to catch him—I mean, the kids are all running, and they don't know where they're going, so I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's what I do all day. I just want to be the catcher in the rye. I know it's a bit crazy, but that's what I really like to do."

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2022-09-23 12:26:49 and 2022-09-24 16:21:36~

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: sigar, Yamamoto Wuyou, Yin Xuebaitou, cherryboom, the leader picked up the food and I turned the table, 28046211 1;

Thanks to the little angels who provided the nutrient solution: Bingbinggao, 28808042, Fushengrumengyunsheng, Xiaoman, 21118639 (20 bottles); Mercury (15 bottles); Not Too Po, Shuorenaoao, Sigar, An'a, Cimao, Yikefan, Yayano (10 bottles); Jiang Yuming, Xiaoxiaobukeai, Youxiandeyu, Qingqingcaoyuan (5 bottles); Nobody on the Field, Nicole (2 bottles); Zhuyi, Liangbaikai, Linnuohua, Bingye, Xingheshanhai, Yollanda (1 bottle);

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!