The synthesized human voice was silent for a moment, and then spoke in the same cold tone:
"The second option is that you will participate in an honorary project to help organizations or individuals in the third district government enhance their computer security. After completion, AHgAs and the third district joint government will give you certain awards based on the completion of the project."
Sean was stunned - he suddenly understood that he had no choice at all. The first option was just to intimidate him, and he had to choose the second one.
Sean's eyes welled up with tears.
What's the cost?
His shoulders trembled slightly, "Is it just... to help them and enhance computer security... just?"
"If there is anything else to do next, we will notify you, and you can just carry it out." The synthetic voice said without any fluctuations, "If you agree, just nod, and we will collect fingerprints and record a commitment letter."
Sean followed the instructions and made a long promise to the camera while choking.
At the same time, he also realized very clearly that his dream of retreating to the livable third district and becoming an ordinary person might have been shattered forever.
…
When Sean returned to the reserve base again, the place had returned to its previous calm.
Calvin has already experienced his first actual battle outside - not against chelates as they thought. After all, this is a livable place and there won't be so many chelates for silver needles to capture, and the ones in the wasteland are The battle has too many surprises and is not suitable for newcomers, so Calvin's opponents in his first actual battle are human criminals.
He successfully rescued a hostage from a group of kidnappers without even turning on bullet time.
In comparison, Sean is much more depressed.
The base required him to start preparing an outline for the lecture, a basic safety course that would last about six weeks. At that time, he would need to go to the Tan Yi City Hall to give lectures to those important officials in person.
Due to the excuse of preparing for lessons, Sean completely stayed behind the scenes. The base's psychological assistance was of no use to him. He used to have 11,000 ways to frighten the counselors who were ready to listen, but now he was silent and said nothing - what do these people know? Do you think that opening your broad, self-righteous shoulders will allow everyone to land safely?
He shut himself in the house. When Calvin was away, he slept during the day and worked at night. When Calvin came back, he was forced to change his work schedule.
But there is another important reason why Sean chooses to stay out at night and day - he wants to avoid Hesta.
This is not a mandatory rule, but he must do it. Several times in his sleep, Hesta became his nightmare. She always appeared unexpectedly at a certain corner in her dreams. When Sean saw her, he ran away - but there was often a chelate standing at the other end of the corridor.
This nightmare repeats itself in various forms, but some things never change: Hesta on one side and Chelate on the other, approaching at the same time.
At the same time, Hesta's inquiry sounded like a demonic voice.
——What are you angry about and what are you afraid of?
——Why are you targeting me and making things difficult for me?
——What do you see in me?
Sean couldn't answer any questions and could only wake up in a cold sweat.
One morning when he was brushing his teeth, Sean suddenly thought of these problems again. He felt an unexplained pain again, as if he had been beaten with a stick.
He sat huddled on the toilet without any strength, but the toothbrush in his hand was still vigorously scrubbing his teeth and gums until his mouth was covered with blood.
A sharp fear suddenly arose in his heart - were those words Hesta said in the corridor true?
Sean returned to the mirror and looked at himself with red eyes.
He thought of his previous fantasies about his future life, and his face slowly became ferocious.
Am I worthy?
I do not deserve.
He approached the mirror and met his eyes.
I only deserve to... live in a stinking ditch.
…
As September approaches, the leaves of the phoenix tree have slowly turned yellow. The last week of August is a public holiday for all reservists. They will not be scheduled for any training during this week. A small number of them can be taken home by relatives and friends outside for reunion. , the rest can be free to move around in the base for a week, doing whatever they want.
Sean was still listless, but at Calvin's strong request, he still walked out of the apartment one morning and went to the cafeteria to eat with Calvin.
Sean was thinking about his own things, his mind completely blank. He watched the leaves swirling down from the branches, or quickly calculated the sum of the numbers on the license plates on the roadside.
He followed Calvin aimlessly along the way. He hadn't eaten at the buffet in the base cafeteria for a long time, but he didn't miss it too much.
He took the dinner plate as before, packed some meat, vegetables and fruits, and finally picked up two pieces of bread on a small plate and took them to the microwave to heat.
The bread rotated dozens of times in the microwave, and Sean just stared at it in a daze until it made a "ding" sound, and he reached out to pull the handle of the microwave.
Suddenly, a familiar figure entered his peripheral vision.
Hesta, Liz, and Rico walked out from the depths of the cafeteria.
The fear in the dream came into reality, and Sean's nerves immediately tightened. He suddenly felt a little gastrointestinal cramps, a little nauseous, a little breathless, and even a little tinnitus.
Fortunately, Hesta seemed to just glance at him and left without stopping at all.
Sweat broke out on Sean's forehead.
"Gringoire, your stuff is ready." The person standing in line behind Sean and waiting to use the microwave reminded him.
"okay."
Sean reacted. He opened the microwave oven with his left hand and reached for the plate inside with his right hand.
However, he suddenly found that he could not lift his right hand.
He frowned, not understanding what was going on - maybe there was something wrong with the bionic arm?
Sean suddenly felt very embarrassed. He planned to stop asking for the bread and leave directly. However, it wasn't until he tried to move aside that he realized that his left hand was still firmly holding the handle of the microwave oven and he couldn't take it off at all.
"What's wrong?" The classmate behind asked again.
Sean's face turned red. He waved his right arm and tried to force his disabled right hand against the door so that he could force his left hand off. However, the consequence of doing so was that the entire microwave oven was instantly knocked to the ground. The bread, plates, and the glass bottom of the microwave oven all fell to the ground. A burst of shattering sound shocked everyone and turned their heads to look here——
But the microwave oven with the door open was still tightly held tightly by Sean's left hand.
Sean roared like crazy, and he smashed the microwave oven on the ground. Everyone around him dispersed instantly, and everyone looked at him in amazement.
"Sean! Sean! Calm down-"
Calvin finally ran over and hugged Sean tightly from behind, firmly restraining his movements.
Sean couldn't break free from his brother's hand, and in the end he could only cry loudly. Calvin tried to comfort him, but was unable to find a solution until Sean choked and whispered, "Carl...I...I...forgot to charge my arm last night."
Calvin was startled, and then he patted Sean's shoulder gently. "It's okay, it's okay."
