Mantel listened quietly.
The dry sea breeze blew from behind the two of them. On this open deck, the sound of the harmonica seemed particularly faint, as if if the wind were stronger, it would break the phrases. For a moment, Mantel even felt a palpitation in his heart. It seemed that the endless sea in front of me suddenly became a little scary.
Its calmness and boundlessness became alien and intolerable.
As the song reaches its end, Mantel looks back at Anna.
"Do you like it?" Anna asked with a smile.
"It's... touching." Mantel replied in a low voice, "Is this... the ditty of Veluchinsky Wasteland?"
"That's right."
"Really?" Mantel didn't quite understand the answer. "What's the name of this piece of music?"
"The Porcupine Song."
"What a strange name..." Mantel laughed, "It doesn't sound like that at all, and it doesn't even sound like a waka."
"Have you ever heard that story about the porcupine?"
"...Ah," Mantel was startled, "Is it that story about keeping warm?"
"This tune is very old. The last time it became popular was at the end of the Golden Age."
"Golden Age..."
“AI composition was very popular at that time, and anything could be converted into music: a piece of light and shadow, the bio-waves of some plants, even a painting, a poem... After abstract digital processing, it could be converted into musical notes; The raw material of "Porcupine Song" comes from a story created by AI, and you can understand it as a plot-based soundtrack, with a strong Veluchinsky Wasteland style."
Mantel nodded thoughtfully, "...So, the story about the porcupine keeping warm was created by AI?"
“No, Porcupine Warmth was a figment of a Silver Age philosopher, but AI gave it an ending.”
"What kind of ending is it?"
"This is what she wrote," Anna looked into the distance and whispered, "In the cold winter, porcupines will gather in caves to keep warm. However, if they are close, they will sting each other, and if they are far away, they will feel cold. They must Adjust the distance several times until you find the most suitable position, so that each other will not get hurt and can keep each other warm.
"However, there are some porcupines - because they live alone in the spring, summer and autumn, or for other reasons, their quills are strangely shaped, some are long and some are short, so that they can no longer stand well with other porcupines as before. in one place.
"So, in order to continue to survive in the cold winter, the porcupines must make a choice, such as whether to grind off their uncomfortable long quills, in order to continue to survive this cold winter in this cave.
"In most cases, porcupines do this, but there was also a porcupine who walked out of the cave and walked into the snow. This was not because it thought its long thorns were something it was proud of, but because Rather than relying on the remaining warmth to survive, this porcupine wants to use its feet to escape this winter."
Anna looked at Mantel.
"This song is about the journey of this porcupine."
Mantel thought for a moment.
"This is the end...it feels like it's just the beginning? What happened to the porcupine in the end?"
"Yes, how is it," Anna spoke very slowly, "Has it met a partner or a hunter? Has it run out of the snowfield and found a land where snow no longer falls... the land of spring? ?
"Maybe it didn't encounter anything and just froze to death in that snowfield," Anna said softly. "When spring comes again, its companions leave the cave and see its body. Some shed tears on the spot, and some left it behind. The next laugh, some did not say a word, but secretly made up their minds...who knows."
Mantel frowned. She looked at the boundless sea, and it seemed as if a snowfield really appeared in front of her eyes. A porcupine was running in the boundless wildness, its four hooves stepping on the frozen soil, on the hard snow. There was a splash of mist, and this imaginary scene made Mantel feel hot in his eyes——
"Oh," Anna's tone suddenly lightened, "It seems that you are the one who shed tears."
Mantel burst out laughing. She pressed her eyes with both hands and quickly resumed her breathing rhythm.
"How long will it take to learn this song "Porcupine Song" if you study it seriously? For someone like me who has no musical foundation at all?"
"Well..." Anna shook her head and thought for a while, "If you practice for a long time every day and study day and night, then you probably only need-"
"Ah, why is there someone here at this time!"
A sound of gnashing teeth came from behind the two of them. Mantel turned around. Anna made no move, just smiled happily - Chiba appeared behind them with Boshanfu.
Chiba was like a shepherd, silently driving Bo Shanfu forward. The man always looked lifeless. After nodding to the teacher, he stood silently beside the boat, looking at the vast expanse in front of him. of sea.
Mantel's gaze just glanced at Chiba's face, and she immediately felt an instinctive fear - Chiba's expression was stiff at the moment, but she seemed to be trying to squeeze out an approachable smile, so that her expression was particularly weird, Mantel He quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with Chiba.
Chiba stopped beside Anna. She did not lower her head, but rolled her eyes downward, staring at Anna expressionlessly.
The hairs on the back of Mantle's neck, who was standing nearby, stood on end.
"You came out to enjoy the air too," Anna said warmly to Chiba, "It's really stuffy in the restaurant, isn't it?"
Qianye didn't answer. Her throat moved slightly, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned around and walked towards Boshanfu.
"I'll take him out for a walk," Qianye said softly, "What's the point of being stuck in the room all the time."
"Yes," Anna nodded in agreement, "Ms. Mantel was just telling me about the grand scene of the old theater in this area, but it's a pity that we can't see it anymore."
"Yes haha..." Mantel's palms were sweating, "Hahaha...hahaha..."
None of the four people spoke anymore, and they just looked for a place to gaze. The sun in the distance was bright and bright, leaving shadows on the unobstructed stern deck.
High up, the eyes behind several sniper scopes never took their eyes off Anna's head for a moment.
"Is there no kill order yet?" One person was a little impatient and asked in a low voice to his partner behind him, "Now that Boshanfu is next to Anna, there is no better time to kill by mistake than now..."
"Don't be impulsive. The mercury needle is right next to you. There's no point in shooting."
"She's not in bullet time now. I don't believe she can react so quickly if I fire a shot from here?"
"Don't seek death," his partner suddenly glanced at the device in his hand, "...there are new orders."
(End of chapter)
