Chapter 12
Not long after Gu Liang arrived at the playground, many people followed him.
Yi Yan had returned to the team a long time ago and was not with them. Later, Zhuge Xiao could only go and say hello to other people he knew out of boredom.
Gu Liang looked at him, surrounded by a crowd of people, but still looking like a fish in water, and couldn't help but ask Yan Beichen who was limping over beside him: "We should have been enrolled for less than a month, right?"
How is it that Zhuge Xiao can get along so well with so many classmates from different grades and majors?
He couldn't even recognize the faces of the twenty or so people in Tang's class!
Yan Beichen covered his swollen cheek and sneered: "Who knows, maybe this is a socialite."
Gu Liangyi tasted a sarcastic, sour taste in his words.
But when he saw Zhuge Xiao smiling and making a group of girls around him smile like flowers with just a few words, he felt that he could still understand Yan Beichen's action of secretly going to the forum to expose his roommate's dirty laundry yesterday.
There's no way. This kid Zhuge Xiao is too hateful no matter his appearance, personality or the way he speaks.
After waiting for a while, Principal Zong and others finally arrived.
Zong Qinyuan performed as steadily as always. His impassioned speech made everyone present excited. Then it was time for the most exciting flag-raising segment.
Gu Liangyi stood at attention silently, and noticed from the corner of his eye that other people on the playground also had solemn expressions.
As the national anthem sounded, people on the playground began to sing in unison.
Whether you say they are simply passionate or full of enthusiasm, just like what is shown in those doomsday disaster blockbusters, the first batch of heroes who dare to step out of the safe zone and expand the boundaries of human survival will always be worthy of admiration.
At this moment, what they released was not the flag, but the courage and faith of mankind.
After raising the national flag, at the strong request of some countries and taking into account the international impact, the school erected a flagpole nearby and hung the United Nations flag on it.
This time, everyone looked much more relaxed.
During the process, Zhuge Xiao, who had disappeared somewhere, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding three incense sticks in his hand and waving them in one direction with an extremely pious expression.
"…What are you doing?"
Zhuge Xiao stood up and said seriously, "I asked someone to find out. Brother Yi and his team are heading in this direction today. Isn't this praying to the land god for them to get blessings?"
Yan Beichen thought he was talking nonsense: "There are also land gods in other worlds?"
"There must be someone like that in our school," Zhuge Xiao said, "and I'm not the only one who does this. Look over there."
He pointed in a direction.
Gu Liangyi looked in that direction and saw a statue of Guan Gong. Many students gathered there to pray and offer sacrifices to the advance team, hoping that the God of War would bless them with a successful start and a safe return.
The students’ intentions were very sincere and their tributes were varied.
...The only drawback is that I don’t know whether the old man Wu Shen is used to drinking Luckin Coffee.
In addition to those who were worshipping Guan Gong, Gu Liangyi also saw a middle-aged man in Taoist clothes sitting cross-legged on the track of the playground with his eyes closed in meditation. There was a circle of magical instruments around him. He was making hand gestures with one hand and holding a whisk in the other, and he was muttering to himself.
What is this doing?
Gu Liang was confused and thought, magic vs. metaphysics, do they all have their specialties?
Yan Beichen stood up in awe and said, "I've heard that one of the requirements for the school's infrastructure department is to be proficient in Feng Shui. Those whose horoscopes are unlucky for the principal are not accepted. Who is this person?"
"What a mess! We science and engineering students must believe in materialism. Feng Shui and horoscopes are all feudal superstitions, don't you understand? This is our Moda 2025 alumnus, Taoist Mingchen."
Zhuge Xiao had just finished worshipping the land god when he started talking nonsense again.
He lived up to his reputation as a campus know-it-all, and knew all about Taoist Mingchen's life and deeds. He said with a tone of admiration that we should strive to be stronger: "He graduated from our Desert University with a major in detection, guidance and control technology, but when he reached middle age, he decided to give up internal competition and find another way to make a fortune. In layman's terms, he has seen through the world."
"Did you see the Panamera parked outside the playground? That's his car."
Gu Liangyi: “…………”
There were so many things to complain about that he really didn't know where to start.
And do you really remember that the reason why we, Da Qing, got up from bed early was actually to see Yi Yan off?
Since the flag-raising ceremony, Zhuge Xiao and Yan Beichen have been standing on his left and right, like door gods. Seeing that the conversation between the two was getting more and more outrageous, and they were almost telling a crosstalk, Gu Liangyi quickly quickened his pace to get away from them.
He looked around and found two teams ready to set off at the edge of the playground.
There were many people around seeing him off, and he struggled to squeeze to the front row. During this time, he heard several complaints like "Fuck, are you Gu Liangyi? Can you give me an autograph?" and "Hey, don't push, my boyfriend is in there!"
After finally seeing the team, Gu Liangyi stood up while gasping for breath, and struggled to straighten his glasses that had been tilted by the crowd. When he looked up, he was stunned.
All members of the advance team were dressed in black robes and silver masks in order to camouflage themselves and sneak into the fortress.
But the question is, how can he tell who is who?
But now the team had already reached the school gate. Seeing that the last chance to say goodbye was about to be missed, Gu Liangyi opened his mouth weakly, and suddenly heard Zhuge Xiao's loud voice coming from behind:
"Brother Yi! There are others! Come back safely!"
He turned around abruptly and saw a handsome young man with single eyelids standing in the crowd. He winked at him with a smile. Without waiting for Gu Liang to stop him, he stepped forward, put one arm around his shoulders, put the other hand to his mouth and shouted, "Besides me, there's also Yan Lao Er and our little mascot. They're all waiting for you to come back!"
"Did you hear that? We are waiting for you at Mo Da!"
Gu Liangyi's face flushed red: "Who, who is the little mascot?"
Zhuge Xiao ignored him and wanted to continue shouting with a smile, but the humiliated and angry Gu Liangyi covered his mouth with his hand.
Hearing the shout, a team member walking at the back of the team paused slightly.
But due to team discipline, he did not look back.
Instructor Jiao looked at the mess at the school gate, frowned fiercely, and suddenly shouted:
"Quiet!"
"Everyone, stand at attention and salute!"
During this period of time, Gu Liangyi had been trained to develop a conditioned reflex, and he would subconsciously obey orders when he heard them.
However, he is not alone.
All the students around him were the same as him. The moment Instructor Jiao finished speaking, they all raised their hands.
No one spoke, and the campus, which had been bustling just a moment ago, was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and countless eyes were focused on the figure in front of him. Gu Liangyi's nose gradually began to feel sore, and his unusual behavior also attracted the sidelong glance of Zhuge Xiao next to him.
The frivolous smile on the single-eyelid young man's face faded like melting snow.
Because he noticed that Gu Liangyi's fingertips were trembling slightly.
Looking at Yi Yan's tall and straight back, Gu Liangyi felt as if he saw again the Officer Fu who had carried him from the darkness to the sunshine step by step and whose shoulders were broader than the mountains and seas.
"Why are you crying? You are already a grown-up boy. Wash your face and cheer up!"
"But, but I can't find him."
"Who? You're the only child who's been locked in the basement according to the surveillance."
After a long silence, there was the sound of a child's sobbing:
"I lost him...it's all my fault..."
"Is it a toy? Or something else? Oh, I really don't know how to comfort children."
The police officer with dark eyes and a stubble on his face scratched his head, took out a piece of half-melted candy from his pocket and stuffed it into the boy's palm: "I bought this for my son. He likes sweet things, but I don't think I can go home next, so I'll give it to you first."
"No, I don't like sweet things."
"You are such a difficult kid," the police officer said with a sigh. "Just because you have a better brain than an adult doesn't mean you are an adult. There will be times in the future when you will have to drink coffee even if you don't want to. Eat more candy when you are old enough, otherwise you will suffer from the beginning to the end of your life."
“…Is this something you should say to a child?”
The boy sniffed and protested with red eyes.
"Oh," the police officer laughed, "Didn't I tell you that I can't take care of children? Now that I think about it, a jerk like me shouldn't have gotten married in the first place. It's better for me to end up alone for the rest of my life. By the way, remember to keep what happened in the past few days confidential. We haven't caught the drug lord who escaped yet. The welfare home needs to be closed down, and all the files need to be kept confidential."
In fact, from the first time Gu Liang saw Yi Yan, he felt that his facial features were somewhat similar to that police officer.
...If the police officer's son were still alive, he would have been admitted to university.
After all, he said that his son had very good grades, especially in liberal arts subjects. Basically, as long as he did not make any mistakes in the college entrance examination, he could choose any university in China.
Coincidentally, the two people who had the greatest influence on Gu Liangyi in his life both had the surname Fu.
It’s just that Officer Fu was the hero who saved him from the dark hell, while the other person betrayed his trust without hesitation and pushed him into the endless abyss.
——Gu Liangyi will never forget how half of his body disappeared.
Just the day before reporting to Mo University, he went to the Martyrs' Cemetery in the suburbs to visit Officer Fu again.
Because of the special reason of his position, the name engraved on the tombstone was not even Officer Fu’s real name. However, the bouquet of dying flowers and a wrinkled box of Hongta cigarettes placed in front of the tomb still made him feel a little comforted.
At least someone still remembers the officer.
He has always lacked courage, so he admires heroes who dare to stand up and save the world in times of crisis.
There wasn't much he could do except remember.
Therefore, Gu Liangyi was the last one in the crowd to put down his hands.
Throughout the whole process, he just stubbornly looked at the back of the team member who seemed to want to turn around when he shouted, and silently wished them a safe journey in his heart.
You must come back alive!
The school gate was wide open, and more than a dozen micro-reconnaissance drones took off collectively, paving the way for the advance team members in the sky.
A loud command came from the front line:
"Set off!"
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