The further you rush, the faster you die.
The waves behind the river push the waves in front, and then all of them are scattered on the beach.
Li Wenjia's previous training had focused on combat techniques, but he had never encountered an enemy like this. It was a monstrous creature, one and a half meters tall and weighing two hundred kilograms. It was a head shorter than the shortest armored comrade, yet heavier than the heaviest man. A former teammate, the "scientific advisor," had speculated that it was likely made of bronze. Furthermore, the higher-ups had labeled this a terrorist attack, rendering many tactics useless, and the impact of the incident unavoidable. So what else could be done? They could only fight like they had during the liberation of Shanghai.
This only means that Li Wenjia is not a glorious soldier. He can become a famous "big man" of some other kind, but he will never be a martyr.
Putting aside those memories, he said to himself: "Let's talk?" He didn't really have any expectations, he just wanted to find someone to talk to.
Maybe this mysterious girl would be a good choice.
. . . . . .
After a few minutes of silence, the homeless man suddenly spoke again. This was beyond Jiang Youwei's expectations. Were these low-class people so talkative? She had never known much about them before, having only seen a short video shot by a very capable wanderer on a short video platform.
As if possessed by some unknown force, she asked, "How about we talk about the past?"
. . . . . .
Li Wenjia was surprised the girl was interested in chatting. Kitty had been completely indifferent to him before! He thought for a moment and continued, "As for the past, there's really not much to say. My father was a martyr, killed in that operation a few years ago. They probably took Nanzhou back. My mother could have received a pension, but she remarried. I had nowhere else to go, so..."
"So you've been a soldier?" A voice came from behind him, drowning out his thoughts.
He turned around and saw that the girl suddenly got down from the bench without making any sound, walked slowly to the fire, and sat down on the ground.
"How do you know?" Li Wenjia was a little surprised. Most people couldn't guess one's occupation from this little information.
"Ha, your movements and behavior are very similar to what I've seen on TV before, no, in 3D videos." She paused. "You have a sense of military efficiency."
He shook his head. No wonder everyone treated him with such respect every time he went scavenging. It turned out he'd been exposed all along. So he replied, "I see. What about you? Your past?"
He saw the girl move her butt calmly, and then he heard her say, "Your water is boiling!"
"Oh!" Li Wenjia quickly glanced at the aluminum bucket, noticing water bubbling inside. He quickly wrapped the bit of synthetic grain he'd taken and the other piece from the bag in a slightly dirty gauze cloth, then smashed them with a stone and carefully poured them into the bucket. He then pulled a few handfuls of wild vegetables and a piece of fat wrapped in paper from the bag, chopped them up with the tactical dagger hidden in his arms, and scattered them all into the bucket. "It seems like there's not enough water!"
"Take this." Two bottles of mineral water were handed over.
She poured a full bottle, then half a bottle. The girl waved her hand and said, "You can take the bottle."
. . . . . .
Jiang Youwei discovered that there seemed to be nothing he couldn't talk about with people like him. It was hard to imagine that everyone had a fantastical past, but when you tried to get to know them deeply, you would only be moved by those wonderful stories.
She suddenly realized that she was no different from them. She had been eliminated by this world, and she was stuck in the same place, feeling lost. "From a different perspective, the world seems a little different."
She didn't know what the mentality of the builders of this city was. She noticed when she came here that there was a public seat under every bridge arch.
"Why do we need to put benches in a place like this? There won't be any idle people coming here to rest, right?" She was a little confused.
"Are you concerned about those chairs?" He was stirring the soup in the bucket with a polished branch. "Those were left there on purpose. According to the political commissar, productivity has increased, and the little extra space left will definitely make life a little better for 'them'."
It is obvious that these are all carefully prepared for the homeless. This is care for the weak and a flash of civilization.
Jiang Youwei was a little excited. She had never experienced this feeling before, not even in the country before she traveled through time. It could be said that this feeling could not be experienced anywhere else in the world at that time.
"It's actually quite difficult to become a homeless person in our country. Many people don't have the courage to give up their welfare benefits!" The man laughed at himself when discussing "why they became homeless," and then said, "It's not that residents look down on homeless people. They don't think they're parasites of society. Isn't it strange? Sometimes they even envy them."
"What they envy is a mentality, a mentality that is necessary to become a homeless person, a mentality of contentment and self-awareness. I didn't have this mentality at first, but then I got it. It's strange, right?"
Jiang Youwei discovered that this "homeless man" might have a high level of education, and his casual remarks even had some philosophical meaning. However, when she thought about his words, she did feel a little strange, but soon it was no longer strange. To her, homeless people were actually people who had been eliminated by society, just like herself. There was nothing strange about sitting on the same level with them and chatting happily. But it was strange that he accepted the fact of being eliminated so calmly. So she asked, "How do you accept yourself?"
"There's no way around it. This is the truth, a fact destined for many people. I don't want to deceive myself like they do. Do you understand? You should understand!"
Does she feel that she is deceiving herself? No, she has never deceived herself. She accepted herself a long time ago. In other words, she just hasn't adapted to herself yet.
So the answer is not in the present, the answer will be in the future.
"We'll find out," she replied.
. . . . . .
After a while, the thick soup in the bucket seemed to be cooked. Li Wenjia stirred it again. After making sure it was evenly mixed, he moved the bucket away and placed it on the flat ground to the side, leaving it open and waiting for it to cool down.
"Would you love such a world?" the girl suddenly asked again.
A thought flashed through his mind as he thought of the two comrades who had protected him: "Hahaha, love! You have to know that our world is a world where the strong protect the weak with their lives. How can I not love such a world?" He smiled, and then his eyes became moist again. With a tearful voice, he said, "No one can love it more than I do. No one!"
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