On her way back, Jiang Youwei was still debating whether to make an anonymous report. Of course, it was a report, not a police call. In this world, you had to provide basic information. "Forget it. Less trouble is better than more. Besides, I can't explain myself in this state." She remembered that she hadn't changed her ID card yet.
It's easy to imagine that even thirty years from now, personal identification documents will look largely unchanged. They'll still be the same small card, only with a holographic photo embedded inside. Their functions will remain the same, and any further changes will be limited to the same ones. Adding more bells and whistles will only increase production costs.
A bridge arch? Jiang Youwei spotted a large open space beneath a small bridge as she passed it. "I could spend the night there, but I'd have to find a better spot. Spending the night by the water isn't the best option, especially since it's still early spring!" She jumped off the streetlight and leaned against the bridge railing in the shadows, leaning down to survey the riverbank below.
Finally, she found a spot under an overpass. It was a prime spot, with a clearing surrounded by greenery, a small river nearby, and a public bench. But it seemed someone else had already gotten there. When Jiang Youwei emerged from the lush grass, she discovered a large black travel bag and a pile of dead branches hidden in the shadows. It was indeed a highly sought-after location, with little wind even here.
Seeing this, Jiang Youwei immediately considered a tactical retreat, but she couldn't bear to give up this good spot. Finding another one would be incredibly difficult. This bridge tunnel was already quite close to the edge of the city, and on the small map in her mind, this place was already at the edge. "Let's just stay here. If anyone comes, I'll just pretend to be dead," she decided.
. . . . . .
Li Wenjia had been wandering in this unfamiliar place for six days. After losing contact with the main force, he had been searching for almost three days. After exhausting the armor's backup energy pack, he could no longer go on.
He doesn't want to go back.
Now he stayed under the bridge, living a free and unrestrained life every day. Having given up on returning to the civilized world, he felt liberated in his heart. When he truly accepted his idleness, he suddenly discovered that the world was so beautiful!
This is a world where you can survive without working hard! This is a world where anyone can develop freely!
"So I'm the special one?" He realized his past had been a complete waste. He'd spent every day trying to emulate some great man or become some powerful person. "Now I live only for myself!" He felt like he had seen the future.
When he returned home in the middle of the night with two bags of trash he'd collected, he discovered an unexpected visitor to his little world. He'd thought many times before: what if someone from the army showed up? What if the city police showed up? But he hadn't expected the first person to come was a girl.
The girl was completely enveloped in darkness, save for the delicate lower half of her face and... and a pair of bare feet exposed to the cold air. "What a strange person!" he thought to himself.
The girl seemed to be completely unaware of him, just like the kitten that passed by here a few days ago. She just sat on the bench with her legs hugged - the bed he reserved.
After a moment's pause, Li Wenjia regained his composure. Having not seen anyone for so long, it was indeed difficult for him to control his emotions. However, staring at someone like that would have been rude. So, as usual, he walked straight to the haystack on the other side and fished out an aluminum bucket and a few rocks. He turned the bucket upside down and shook it gently, releasing some hay and a magnesium rod hidden inside onto the ground. He then picked up the magnesium rod.
Then, ignoring the girl on the bench, he arranged a circle of stones in the center of the clearing, creating a makeshift stove. He spread some hay inside, covered it with a piece of paper, and poured some freshly crumbed dead leaves onto the paper. He found a small piece of scrap steel from the bag and aimed it at the magnesium rod.
"Crack, crack, crack, puff!" He rubbed the broken leaf several times before finally igniting it. A spark landed inside, and a wisp of gray-black smoke emerged. Li Wenjia quickly put his mouth to it and blew slowly and carefully at the bottom of the smoke. The moment the wind touched the dead leaf, red sparks shot out from there, and at the same time, a large plume of white ash rose from it. He was delighted at the sight, but immediately calmed down and continued to blow harder. He also casually covered the dancing flame with small branches and some combustible garbage nearby. In this cycle, the fire gradually grew.
Civilization was born from fire.
Listening to the crackling of branches in the flames, Li Wenjia used wooden sticks to prop up a rack, suspended the aluminum bucket above the flames, and poured some clean water into it, which he had filled in the public toilet.
He felt the warmth of the flames, ignoring the dust on the ground, and sat cross-legged beside them. Then, as if thinking of something, he pulled out a piece of compressed synthetic grain from the bag, took a big bite, and then turned around and asked, "Do you want to eat?"
. . . . . .
In her human form, Jiang Youwei's perception wasn't very strong, and she was lost in her thoughts. She didn't notice anyone approaching until the homeless man was about to emerge from the bushes. She quickly pulled her hood over her face and nervously sat on the bench, hugging her legs.
Fortunately, the man wasn't hostile. She watched him light the bonfire using a method from the last century, a method Jiang Youwei would also be adept at. "He's quite capable, but his technique is a bit lacking," she thought to herself. If it were her, she could probably create a fireball in one or two tries—that magnesium rod required a rough-edged iron bar to produce fire.
Hearing that person talking, Jiang Youwei instinctively replied: "No, thank you!" Children should not eat food handed to them by strangers.
. . . . . .
Li Wenjia heard a voice from the side, as pleasant as wind chimes. Although he only replied indifferently, it still touched his heart. "It's been a long time since I last spoke to anyone," he thought of his days in the army.
That special unit, while officially designated as recruiting only the best soldiers, other units wouldn't dare send their elite troops out like that. Unaware of the enemy's capabilities, and unaware of their own strengths, this was the true nature of that newly formed unit. The armored soldiers were self-righteous, believing themselves to be omnipotent, but in reality, those first troops were mere cannon fodder. Their reputation for ferocity was earned through battle, their elite troops drenched in the blood of both their own enemies and themselves!
Li Wenjia was just that kind of cannon fodder. By the time he joined, the squad had already been reorganized twice. He clearly remembers the pity—yes, pity—in his teammates' eyes when he received his "Assaulter" exoskeleton armor. At the time, the Assaulter's death rate was about 80%.
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