Chapter 260: Scene 10 (Inverted V) A step in her bloody life...
Later, just as He Fangying said, she and Sun Zhang became busier and busier.
We used to have dinner together every night, but now we are both so busy that we only go home once in a long time, and we barely see each other a few times a month.
"I'm back."
“…”
"You didn't go home again..."
After returning home, He Fangying turned on the lights in the empty and dark house and sat on the stool at the door, staring at the photo she had taken with her camera on the opposite wall.
Two girls with youthful smiles hugged each other and made the standard "yeah" pose for photos. The background was the organization's camp, which was still full of tents, and there were many people busy working behind them.
“…” Taking off the gloves, He Fangying looked at her hands.
He Fangying was capable and willing to take on more tasks, so later on, she would drag a pair of swollen hands and feet home almost every day. After being soaked in blood for too long, they were no longer the same as before.
Raising her head and looking at the mirror again, He Fangying saw that her face no longer had a natural smile due to wearing the mask for a long time, and was only numb and cold.
"...Huh, I'm so tired." He Fangying took off her mask and helmet, shook her hair, changed her shoes, and slowly stretched.
On the way back, she passed by a bakery, chatted with her colleagues working there, and bought a few loaves of bread to fill her stomach. Now she is no longer hungry.
He Fangying then walked straight into the bathroom. In the mirror, the woman had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and her short hair was wet with sweat, hanging wetly on her forehead.
"Oh," she scratched her hair with her hands, "If my younger self saw me like this now, I would definitely scold me to death. Back then, I was determined to grow long hair."
Yes, long hair. When He Fangying was a child, her hair was not very long, so when other children could tie their hair into braids, she was still at the stage where people would mistake her for a boy.
Therefore, when she was a child, He Fangying secretly decided that she must grow beautiful long hair in the future, pin it with pretty little clips, and tie it into small braids.
But now, because of her mobility problems, she had to cut off her hair, which had finally grown longer, bit by bit with her own hands.
"Don't blame me, this is not what I wanted." He Fangying said, pointing at herself in the mirror.
Then she paused again, pinching her face with her hands and making various expressions, but they were all very stiff.
It wasn't until her cheeks turned red from being pinched and the scars from the previous accidental injury protested with dissatisfaction that she was stunned and put down her hand.
It’s strange, how did I become like this now?
When she was a child, there was also a girl among He Fangying’s classmates who liked to talk to herself. At that time, her classmates said that she was weird and had a bad brain.
But He Fangying didn't believe it. She found an opportunity, sneaked up to the little girl, poked her and asked her, "Are you a weirdo?"
The little girl burst into tears immediately. She sobbed and said, "I'm not a weirdo. My mom said, 'I'm not a weirdo. I'm not a weirdo.'"
Not long after, the teacher came to take her away. Before leaving, she told He Fangying that every child has his or her own personality and asked her not to discriminate against others.
When He Fangying grew up, she heard by chance that the child's mother and father had an accident and passed away very early. The child went to and from school alone and took care of herself. She suffered from schizophrenia and would talk to herself because she imagined that her mother was still alive.
He Fangying knew very well that she was not sick, but the events of the past could not help but pop up in her mind. Those events filled her brain in an instant like a sponge soaked in water.
“Clatter…”
The shower was turned on, and clear water rushed down, washing away the dirt and blood stains on He Fangying's body.
When cleaning up the infected, she would have some adverse reactions and feel uneasy at first, but now, it is just a common thing.
“…”
Looking at the blood all over the floor, He Fangying felt vaguely uneasy.
She suddenly began to feel fear, fear of becoming numb to killing "people" and "death", fear of being assimilated by this strange city.
“Clatter…”
After taking a shower, He Fangying brushed her teeth, climbed onto the bed and snuggled into the quilt.
She picked up the newspapers she had brought back over the past few days and looked at them carefully under the light of the desk lamp.
"Shocking, a man actually ****** in public", it's just melodrama, don't watch it.
"Our Sea", landscape photography, don't look at it.
"Recently, a woman..." Excellent deeds, don't read.
"The monster appears again..."
"Well, I looked and found it."
"Ding! City Daily, xxxx, x month, x day. Shocking! A certain man... our... Recently, a... monster has appeared again. Shocking! A monster is actually roaming the city streets, and..."
He Fangying read the contents of the newspaper aloud using the communicator, turned off the desk lamp and closed her eyes.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“No, no…”
"don't want!!!"
“…”
"Hahaha……"
He Fangying was covered in cold sweat. She sat up from the quilt, gasping for breath.
"Ha, this dream again..." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
It was still the scene when the tsunami broke out. He Fangying didn't know why she always dreamed of that scene.
Outside the window, the sky was dim, so He Fangying had no choice but to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
"4:44"
“…”
After getting dressed, washing up, and having breakfast, He Fangying quickly packed herself up and went out.
According to convention, He Fangying went to the organization first to report on the tasks of the previous period and to accept the tasks for the next few days.
Although it was still early, all the shops, big and small, on the street had already opened, and there were pedestrians hurrying back and forth on the road.
The street lights have not been turned off yet, but people have already started their busy day of work to light the lamp of their lives.
"Good morning, Xiao He, are you going to meet up with your friends again?" An old lady who was very familiar to me because I often passed by poked her head out from a fruit shop on the street.
"Auntie Chen." He Fangying greeted her warmly.
"Come, come," Aunt Chen waved her hand and took something out from behind her back mysteriously. "I prepared something for you. Take it with you and eat with your friends."
"This..." He Fangying was shocked when she saw the fruit being handed to her. "Auntie, no, this is too expensive. You should keep it for yourself."
"Hey, we've known each other for so long, and you always bring me things. I wouldn't be able to accept it if I didn't return the favor." Aunt Chen insisted, "Just take it. Fruits at this time of year are really delicious."
"...Okay, thank you Aunt Chen." He Fangying couldn't persuade her and had to take it.
"Hey, that's right. I like your straightforward personality the most. From now on, you can tell me if you want to eat anything. I'm very free recently."
"idle?"
"Yeah, I don't know what those people are busy with lately. They rarely come to check on the streets. I'm just enjoying myself."
"oh……"
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore, go ahead."
"Okay, goodbye Aunt Chen."
"Goodbye... Hey, wait, kid, why are you stuffing money into my pocket? Wait, wait, I don't want your—"
With a heavy load of fruit in her hands and that heavy dream thrown behind her, He Fangying hummed a little tune and walked towards the organization with light steps.
All the camps organized before were built in the wild and used simple tents. Now with the tokens, we have moved to this street on the edge of the city and have a small house that is very nicely decorated.
After walking for a while, the small house painted pure white and with patterns painted by everyone with colorful paint appeared in front of He Fangying.
Because most of the people in the organization have experienced disasters and entered the ideal country, this house was built into this familiar appearance according to their memories.
"Hehe, hehe, hehe, hehe, hehe..."
"Hehehe, hehehe, hehehe, hehehe..."
"Bang!"
"You, what's wrong? What happened?!!"
The fruit fell to the ground, and He Fangying ran over in horror and supported the woman covered in blood at the door of the organization.
"Uh, uh... ugh..." The woman opened her mouth to speak, but only spat out a pile of disgusting, sticky, and still wriggling flesh and blood.
"...Are you okay?" He Fangying suppressed the urge to kill the woman, supported her and asked.
Her body was not distorted, and she was not infected, but there was a strange smell on her body. He Fangying knew that it was the blood of an infected person.
"I, cough cough..." The woman grabbed He Fangying's hand, "They, found out, cough cough, they, want to, kill us..."
"they……?"
"Go, go, tell, the other, partners, hide, don't, expose..."
"Okay, okay, but," He Fangying turned her head to look at the still pure white house, "but what about those people inside? Are they all dead?"
"Even if they don't die, they can't survive..." The woman lowered her head. "They are very powerful. We are no match for them..."
“…”
Trembling, trembling all over, He Fangying wanted to rush in, wanted to see what was going on, wanted to save her other companions, but...
There are still many stalkers outside, and she must pass on this message. Moreover, she should stay alive. Reason tells her that she should live for revenge and for their common ideals.
"You, want, to go in...?"
He Fangying supported the woman and turned around: "No, no, we..."
"Don't go yet, come here and give me a hand." A light but heavy voice sounded behind the two of them.
He Fangying turned her head instantly, a glimmer of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Jiang Ruoshi..." the woman said, "You're not dead..."
The woman called "Jiang Ruoshi" nodded: "I'm not dead, and I brought a few people out alive."
"..." He Fangying looked at her, and the trembling feeling made He Fangying unable to move.
"What are you standing there for? Come over here and give me a hand, or do you want me to carry so many people by myself?" Jiang Ruoshi glared at He Fangying.
"Oh, oh, okay..." He Fangying then went over and took the two people.
The two people who were being carried in an inexplicable manner were taken off his body. Jiang Ruoshi relaxed his shoulders, supported the other four people, and looked at He Fangying: "Do you have a temporary base? We can't stay here anymore. The hospital is too far. I have medicine with me. Take me to a safe place. I'll give them a simple treatment first."
"Yes, yes, come with me."
Picking up the fruit basket on the ground, He Fangying took Jiang Ruoshi and a group of people and walked towards her home.
Fortunately, in this city, no one cares about the bloody and fleshless people on the streets, because such things happen too easily and there are such people everywhere.
The group did not encounter any difficulties along the way and arrived home safely.
He Fangying told Jiang Ruoshi where she put the things, and then started to notify other stalkers.
There is no time for them to be afraid, timid or escape, they must act as soon as possible.
“Beep.”
"Hey, Lao Sun, no, I don't mean I miss you. I want to tell you that something's happened to the organization. You stalkers must be careful and stay hidden. Don't expose yourself."
“…”
"Hey, yes, you spread the news, yes, um, yes, I'm contacting them now, um, you be careful, okay, bye."
“Beep.”
“Beep.”
"Hello, is this Qu Wei? Hey, I'm He Fangying. Something happened in the organization. You..."
"Hello, hello, I'm He Fangying..."
"Hello……"
"Hello, He Fangying, are you done with your call?"
“Beep.”
"What?" After telling the last stalker in the address book the message and asking for help in delivering it, He Fangying put down the communicator and turned her head away.
Jiang Ruoshi was taking off his clothes, with his back to him, his head turned away, holding a bottle of medicine in his hand, his face pale. "Will you take the medicine?"
"you……"
It was shocking to see a huge wound running from the right shoulder to the left hip, bleeding profusely.
"Whether it will or not, give me an accurate number."
"I can." He Fangying walked over and asked with concern, "You, why are you injured so badly?"
"Nonsense, it's good enough that I can get out alive, no matter how badly injured I am...hiss, can you be a little gentler?"
"Oh, haha, sorry..."
“…”
"...What about those people? Are they all right?"
"fine."
"Oh, that's good."
“…”
“…”
"He Fangying."
"How do you know my name?"
"You told me that when you called."
"Oh, so you call me?"
"You've also been to the Utopia, right?"
"……Um."
"So you don't know me?"
"Should I, uh, know you?"
“…”
“…”
"My photo and name are hanging right at the entrance of the organization. How dare you say you don't know me?"
"You mean, that abstract hand-drawn picture..."
“…”
"Uh, sorry, that's not what I meant..."
"Without a camera, I can only draw by hand. Then everyone draws by hand. It's just that, hey, are my drawings really that ugly?"
"No, it's not ugly, it's not ugly." He Yuezhe put down the medicine bottle, picked up the bandage, and smiled awkwardly, "It's actually quite nice."
Jiang Ruoshi was silent.
"Well, I have a camera, do you want to take a picture?" He Fangying asked.
“…”
"Just take a picture, just as..."
"Let's take a picture."
"Oh, oh, okay!"
After treating Jiang Ruoshi's wound, He Fangying happily took out her old camera and adjusted the parameters.
After taking one photo, He Fangying suddenly had an idea. She said, "Hey, could you remove the bandage and take a photo of me?"
"...Quirk?" Jiang Ruoshi spat out two words expressionlessly.
"No, no, no!" He Fangying quickly shook her head and explained, "I'm just thinking about living a low-key life from now on. I need to make a living!"
"What does that have to do with taking pictures of me injured?" Jiang Ruoshi frowned.
"Well... I'm planning on becoming a street performer and performing puppet shows. But just doing that isn't enough, so I thought, if I add the gimmick of watching puppet shows to heal injuries, your idea would be perfect..."
He Fangying felt more and more guilty as she spoke, and slowly lowered her head.
"First, it's false advertising," Jiang Ruoshi said as expected. "Second, it's unrealistic. Third, I agree."
"Well...what? You agree?!" He Fangying raised her head in shock.
"Yes, I said I agreed. Do you want to take the photo? Hurry up."
"Oh, let's shoot it right away. Let's shoot it right away."
"Is this position okay?"
"Well, okay, just don't move..."
“…”
"Oh, it's over, I think I hit your eyes crooked!"
"Is it crooked?"
"Yeah, look, what are you looking at..."
"He Fangying, I'm looking at you."
“…”
"He Fangying, it's just a photo shoot, why are you crying?"
"I……"
Raising her hand, He Fangying clearly felt wetness on her cheek and under her hand.
On the camera, on the small screen, in the album, there are many close-up photos of the child, from small to large, with the background including a warm home, a tree-lined path with lush trees, a school, and her friends.
At that time, when little He Fangying first received this gift, she couldn't lift the camera and could only put it against her face to take pictures.
Later on, this shooting angle seemed to become the default, and most of her photos were taken from this angle.
These photos are so warm and happy.
Now, those two bloody photos suddenly appeared in it.
The woman had short black hair and was standing in a pool of blood. Her body was covered in bandages and blood was faintly seeping out.
The whole picture is depressing and gloomy, but there is an extremely strong light flashing in the woman's eyes. It is an unyielding self-confidence, like a fire, burning the photo and also burning He Fangying's heart.
Later, He Fangying did not use this photo as a promotion for her puppet show.
To make puppets out of [all living things], He Fangying simply found a street where few people would pass by, and there she performed her simple puppet show day after day, tirelessly.
The organization collapsed and everyone's actions became covert.
Sun Zhang went home less and less often. He Fangying went home every day, ate bread bought from the bakery, and read the newspaper. Occasionally, when she met Sun Zhang coming home, the two of them would buy a bottle of wine and sit on the balcony to chat.
As the days passed, He Fangying's initial enthusiasm gradually dissipated.
Not long after, the land where the house was located was to be expropriated by Jinli Company, and He Fangying and Sun Zhang each received a sum of demolition compensation.
Their main workplaces weren't close to each other, so they said goodbye.
He Fangying built a small house in the wilderness. Although it was small, it had all the necessary facilities and she lived a good life.
The day after moving, Jiang Ruoshi came.
She asked He Fangying if she was tired and planned to give up.
He Fangying said, no, she just felt it was quiet here.
"So what are you going to do next? What's your plan?" Jiang Ruoshi's question was aggressive, but his voice was gentle. "He Fangying, have you thought about it? Have you thought it through?"
"..." He Fangying did not answer. She lowered her head, took out a bottle of drink from the brand new refrigerator, and asked Jiang Ruoshi if he wanted to drink it.
Jiang Ruoshi agreed.
That day, they drank drinks together and watched boring TV programs on TV.
Neither of them spoke.
The next morning, when He Fangying woke up again, Jiang Ruoshi had left, leaving behind a piggy bank with a jar full of tokens, enough for anyone to live a happy and healthy life.
She was silent for a moment, and without hesitation, she took the piglet and rushed to Jiang Ruoshi's home.
After returning the piglet, Jiang Ruoshi said nothing, and He Fangying also said nothing.
Stretching, He Fangying strolled casually on the street where she performed.
A thin figure attracted her attention.
——It was the little girl who came to watch his performance for several days in a row.
She was squatting at one end of the street, watching her puppets performing on the other side.
"Little girl, do you like puppet shows?" He Fangying walked over and squatted beside her.
“…” The little girl nodded.
Her body and face were covered in blood, dirty and like a homeless child.
He Fangying subconsciously reached out and wiped the blood off her face.
The little girl was stunned.
What happened later was like a dream.
He Fangying, a girl who was not even grown up herself, picked up a dirty little girl and took her home. She bathed her, bandaged her, gave her water, changed her into clean clothes, cooked for her, and watched her fall asleep.
Looking at the little girl's sleeping face, He Fangying began to think wildly in silence.
They were indeed very powerful, but that was only because their group wanted to outsmart them. After all, Jiang Ruoshi had escaped from their clutches with several people alive.
So, if there is a very powerful person who can defeat all opponents in the world and stands up, can we defeat them?
And this person must be strong, ruthless, and self-sufficient. He must never lend a helping hand to any weak person and will do anything evil for his own benefit.
Simply put, this person's appearance is not to save the world, but to save everything she cares about. To save the world, she only needs to be a stepping stone in her bloody life.
He Fangying thought so.
Although she could not have guessed that in the future she would regard this little girl as her most precious treasure and her beloved, she would find the key to her own redemption in her, and she would even sacrifice herself for her.
She could not have guessed that she would be able to meet and fall in love with herself at every stage of her life. After all, human life is limited.
"After all, human life is always limited. If I don't do something else in my life, I will be letting them down."
He Fangying smiled bitterly and said, "Child, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. If there is another choice..."
Taking out the communicator, He Fangying began to edit a message.
"No matter what, I will love you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just hope you're healthy, child. I wish you a life free from illness and disaster. I wish you a life of peace and prosperity, child..."
[Chat with "Jiang Ruoshi"]
[16:25]
[Jiang Ruoshi: He Fangying, I want to ask you one last time. Do you have answers to the questions I asked you last time?]
[00:00]
[Me: I think I have the answer.]
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The author has something to say: It will be finished soon, and the main text will probably be finished on October 2nd. Meow [cat head][cat head][cat head]
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