Anzhe was dreaming.
The sound of rain, the sound of pattering rain.
Water drops pattered on the broad leaves, flowed down along the intertwined veins, dripped on the edges, rustled into the bushes, flowed down along the roots of the old trees, and seeped into the moist soil. That was the wet rainy season, and his memory began there. The whole world was like a rain.
He was a spore, floating down from the umbrella of a mushroom, and was blown into the soil by the wind before the rain. He seemed to have been sleeping all the time, until he smelled the wet water vapor after the rain.
Everything was out of his control. In the moist soil, the hyphae stretched out, became longer, branched, extended outward, and aggregated. He grew from a spore smaller than sand into a mass of hyphae that had taken shape, and then pulled out the stem and grew an umbrella.
Everything was in order. Mushrooms were not like humans who needed to be taught from generation to generation. He had no impression of the mushroom that produced him, but he knew what he wanted to get from the soil, and he also knew in what season he should be born, what he should do, and in what season he should die. His life's mission was to produce a spore.
The rustling sound of rain rang in his ears, around him, in his body, mind, and memory. It was everywhere, as if urging something to happen. Then came the kind of ripples from the distant sky, the boundless void, the boundless terror—until he suddenly opened his eyes.
The quartz clock hanging on the wall showed nine o'clock in the morning. There was no one beside him, and he was tightly wrapped in the quilt. But the feeling of being hugged by Lu Xun's arms seemed to still be there, and the heat stayed on the skin, burning people bit by bit. Lu Xun originally hugged his upper body, from the shoulders down, but in the middle of the night, his arm was uncomfortable because of the pressure, so he pulled it out, and the man's arm moved down a little, to his waist, with the center of his hand just close to his abdomen.
When being held by Lu Xun, he seemed to be isolated from the danger outside. He felt very safe, but this person himself was the most dangerous. An Zhe could no longer remember what kind of mood he was in when he fell asleep again.
An Zhe looked at everything in front of him, his mind was empty. He moved his fingers, and the joints of his bones were soft, as if he had taken a nap too long and had no strength in his body.
The air around him was so humid, as if it had just rained.
Thinking about the strange and bizarre dream that seemed to have a foreshadowing, he sat up from the bed and stretched out his hands. It was too cruel to take the spores out of the stomach. Only a certain officer named Lu would do such a thing. He controlled the flow of spores in his body. Three minutes later, a group of white mycelium stretched out, and appeared on his right hand with spores.
When he put it into his body, it was only half the size of a small group of spores, but now it was as small as his fist.
He carefully examined it with the light of the gas lamp. At the end of the spore mycelium, there appeared a fine antler-like fork, with a white and transparent luster, like a snowflake, and its shape began to change.
He touched it with his left hand, and it stretched out mycelium and entangled his fingers affectionately. He could feel its fresh and luxuriant life, and it was about to mature.
He didn't know the exact time when the spores matured, but it must be in the near future.
Their mycelium will no longer be entangled, it will become a mushroom that survives on its own. The moment it matures, it will automatically leave him, just like he was blown away by the wind.
This is the instinct of the mushroom. Where should he plant it? Will it remember him in the distant future? An Zhe didn't know, he only felt a faint sense of loss before leaving, as if all the tangible things in the world were going to be separated.
There was a noise in the corridor. His spores first raised their mycelium, as if listening to the sound, then moved energetically and rolled towards the source of the sound. An Zhe clasped his hands and held it tightly. Fortunately, he took this gluttonous little thing back into his body before Lu Xun came in.
Lu Xun stood at the door and raised his eyebrows at him.
"Get up." He said.
An Zhe got up obediently and went to eat. They spent the next few days like this. An Zhe would help Xibei cook and clean up the mine. Lu Xun often went out. An Zhe was always worried that he would not come back, but the colonel was safe and sound every time, and sometimes he could even bring back a small flying bird.
Most of the time they stayed in the cave with nothing to do. Anzhe read all the books here, and at the colonel's request, he read him a love novel and a whole weapon illustrated book - he was too lazy to read it himself.
Finally, they started playing chess with small stones, all very simple games, Gobang, flying chess, Lu Xun taught him first, and then they played together. Anzhe lost more than he won, and secretly suspected that the few times he won were because the colonel secretly let him win.
During the meal, Xibei said, "You two have such a good relationship."
"There are also people in the cave who are in love, and Grandpa is the witness for their marriage." He sighed softly and put down his chopsticks. He said, "I also want to fall in love, but there is no one else here."
Lu Xun did not say anything. Anzhe comforted Xibei, "There are people in the base."
- Although there are only 8,000 people.
Xibei seemed to be comforted and began to pick up the chopsticks in high spirits.
Seven days later, the communication was still not restored. Xibei told them a bad news. The food they had was not enough for two days, and they had to go to the city ruins a few kilometers away to search for supplies.
They left some dry food for Grandpa, and took the remaining mushrooms and dried meat in their backpacks, and also took several bottles of water. Xibei took out a small alcohol stove from the kitchen. Before the people in the mine died, they often went to the city to find supplies, so they were well equipped.
"We opened a dirt road earlier and rode bicycles there." Xibei's tone was slightly regretful, and he said, "Now it has become sandy and can't be ridden."
Before leaving, Yu An looked reluctantly at the several bicycles piled in the corner of the wall. He had never seen them before.
Lu Yu put his elbow on his shoulder and said lazily, "I'll take you for a ride when we get back."
Just as they were ready to open the lid on the top of the cave, heavy and slow footsteps came from deep in the mine.
An Zhe turned around and saw a skinny old man holding onto the wall in the dim light, moving around the corner. His hair was gray and messy, and the corners of his mouth kept trembling, like a pale candle flame swaying in the wind.
Xibei stepped forward: "...Grandpa?"
The old man stared at him with cloudy eyes, without any expression, and he didn't look like he recognized him. He opened his mouth and said, "You go too."
Xibei hugged his shoulders: "You just stay here, we will be back in a day or two, and we will bring back food."
The old man said in a hoarse voice: "You go too."
No matter how Xibei tried to stop him, he only had this sentence. His confused and sluggish face showed an unusual clarity because of this persistence.
Xibei had no other choice and looked at Lu Xun for help.
Lu Xun thought the old man was very weak and said, "Take him with you."
Xibei agreed and helped the old man out. His staggering steps were shaky and anyone who saw him knew that this aging life was about to end.
When they reached the cave entrance, Lu Xun said, "Take him with you."
Xibei shook his head and carried the grandfather on his back, saying, "Grandpa is very light."
Anzhe looked at the old man's skinny body. The disease had consumed his flesh and left only a loose skeleton.
They came to the ground and the sky was pouring down. Anzhe squinted his eyes and it took him a while to adapt.
He saw Grandpa lying on Xibei's back with his eyes closed. His face was covered with the kind of brown spots that appear on the body of humans in old age, but in the sunlight, his expression was very peaceful.
His mouth moved and he said something.
"People grow on the ground."
This was the only sentence that An Zhe had heard from Grandpa that didn't sound like gibberish in these days.
He looked up at the gray sky. At this time, the sky was showing a faint light green. Even if it was not dark, the aurora could be seen, which was different from before.
Lu Xun said, "The magnetic field is tuned."
An Zhe nodded. He didn't know the meaning of this sentence, but as long as the magnetic poles were fine, everything would be fine.
On the sand, they walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. It seemed that they were the only life in the vast and empty wasteland. The wind blew from an unknown distance. It blew like this for ten thousand years, one hundred million years. The creatures walking on the ground were replaced, some died, and some were born, but the wind would not change. When it blew into the cracks in the stones, a strange long howl like crying sounded in the wasteland.
In this distant cry, An Zhe spontaneously grabbed the corner of Lu Xun's sleeve and followed him.
Lu Xun glanced at him lightly: "Want to carry you?"
An Zhe shook his head, and he decided to walk by himself.
Lu Xun didn't say anything and looked back to the front.
After walking for a while, An Zhe was tired and his arms were a little sore. In the past few days, as the spores gradually matured, his physical strength seemed to be getting worse and worse. He wanted to let go, but he didn't want to.
Lu Xun's wrist moved, and An Zhe understood what he meant. He was annoyed with the colonel, so he let go.
Then, his body was held by the colonel.