In front of the iron gate guard box in the B14 living area, there is a large iron sign marked in Chinese, Japanese and English.
From its dense rust and weathered traces, the words "Sixteenth Iron Works·Residence Building for Cadres and Their Families" can be vaguely discerned.
Jiang Xueming took out his mobile phone and took a round of photos of the building's main body, guard booths, mail warehouse, stadium, public canteen, recreation room and bathhouse.
Then he changed direction and photographed the water tower and city vistas on the hilly highlands of Area B15.
In the family building of the iron and steel plant, other functional facilities are labeled in Chinese, Japanese and English. Like the iron plate on the gate, it also matches the language used by Chief Nanami - it seems that the people living in Area B14 should also be using these three languages, and the race will not be too different.
"You two." Commander Nanami took out three yellow plastic cloth dust-proof cloaks from her weapon bag. "Put this on, hide the gun, don't let the residents see the gun, they will associate it with [death] - understand?"
Nanami spoke Japanese, which Jiang Xueming didn't understand, but he could understand the rough meaning from the other person's body language. He took the initiative to take the dust-proof cloak and hid all the weapons on his body.
As Xing put on his cape, he pointed to a large merchant in the family building, "Jessica, I saw the McDonald's sign! Can I buy a spicy McChicken?"
"No!" Nanami took out a switchblade from her weapon bag, "Everything here must be obeyed by me! I didn't say you can come in, so you absolutely can't come in."
She pressed the button of the folding knife and popped out the shiny blade, pretending to be ferocious but not scary at all.
"Understand?!"
Jiang Xueming didn't understand a word of the Japanese words that came out of Commander Nanami's mouth. He thought the commander was about to issue a knife, so he carefully took the spring folding knife into his hand and tried the reliability of the high-voltage steel spring. Sex, I played with it several times, and finally seemed relieved. I folded the knife and put it into MOLLE's chest plate.
"Understood!" Bu Liuxing stood at attention and saluted, looking like a good baby.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Nanami folded her arms, looking satisfied: "This makes sense! Very good! Very energetic!"
"Sir Jessica!" Axing still maintained the saluting posture: "If you can't buy spicy chicken, can you buy a Big Mac?!"
"No!" Nanami was a little crazy. She took out another folding knife and slashed the greedy Ah Xing a few times in the air, as if to vent her anger: "You two were sent by the BOSS. A comedian?"
"Relax..." Jiang Xueming then carefully took the second knife from Nanami's hand, folded it, and threw it to Axing, "He has always been like this, sir, he will ask you later. The most important question..."
Bu Liuxing spoke righteously, like a new recruit in training, and his tone was serious. When asked, it made no sense: "McChicken is not allowed! Big Mac is not allowed either! So sir, what is your zodiac sign?"
"All Right..." Nanami didn't want to say anything else. She wrapped triangular bandages on her arms, and then wrapped bandages on Jiang Xueming's arms.
"Is this simple arm guard used to deal with pets in the hospital?" Xueming looked at the layers of bandages and gauze on the arm, slowly turning into a strong and exquisite armor under the skillful hands of Chief Nanami.
She ran to wrap Bu Liuxing's arms again and answered in Chinese.
"Kevlar, hand cutting, stab-proof clothing, too heavy. Bandages! Cheap! Easy to use!"
These protective tasks have been completed.
Chief Nanami took deep breaths repeatedly, finally pursed her lips and took the lead into the courtyard of the family building with a serious face.
"Follow me, let's go back to the staff dormitory first and put down your extra luggage."
Bu Liuxing provided simultaneous translation for Xueming.
The two of them followed Chief Nanami closely and rushed into the compound.
Under the illumination of artificial ultraviolet headlights, the L-shaped family building looks strange——
——This kind of weirdness is not indescribable, but weird that Jiang Xueming can describe in words.
He followed closely behind the officer, leading from the cement road in the courtyard to the parking apron.
An uncle poked his head out of the security guard box behind him. He looked like he was a resident here. He was not wearing the uniform of a police security guard, but was only wearing water-resistant and oil-resistant overalls.
The uncle tilted his head, as if he heard the three people breaking into the door, and immediately came out and shouted a Japanese phrase.
"Welcome back."
"You're welcome!" Nanami responded and continued walking forward.
Then Jiang Xueming saw the car parked in the yellow line frame.
Most of them are family cars of Ryota (Honda, Toyota) brands, but most of them have been turned into scraps by the polish of time.
The metal parts of these cars have completely turned into rusty scrap iron. Large areas of peeling paint can be seen on the side doors and front hoods, exposing the rotten base materials, and the rubber tires have become flat.
He smelled a strong fishy smell, but it wasn't blood - he had smelled it when he was in the factory. It was the smell of oxidized, rusty and dampened steel, which was very similar to blood.
Further forward, there are still people active in the stadiums on both sides.
On the right side was the tennis court. Jiang Xueming counted carefully and found that there were nine people active in the court.
Four young people, both men and women, were playing tennis—no, perhaps simply swinging the racket.
They held in their hands non-perishable synthetic rackets, the metal mesh on top of which had long since rusted away. The handle of the racket is still stained with age.
With just one wave, it seemed as if a tennis ball was actually flying across the empty net.
Among the remaining five people, two referees sat on two high chairs with cloth nets respectively, and whistled from time to time to remind the four people on the field——
——Their expressions are very vivid and vivid. It's like cheering for the athletes, turning over the non-existent "scoreboard" again and again.
The last three people are a family of three.
Passing by the stadium, Jiang Xueming could hear their conversation and see their faces through the grid fence covered with rust and ivy.
Xueming can also get responses when taking photos.
The two brothers and sisters who were playing basketball each had their own reactions, or they were not used to being in the limelight in front of the camera, so they waved their hands awkwardly.
There are also people who are jumping up and down happily, trying to leave the most beautiful freeze-frame picture.
Hearing the murmurs of the family of three, they were a Japanese-speaking couple and an eight or nine-year-old boy.
Bu Liuxing leaned beside Xueming and translated simultaneously in a super low voice.
"Husband, that's a new face. He came with Teacher Nanami."
"That's great! He looks like Teacher Nanami, a very energetic young man!"
"Mom, when I grow up, can I be as tall and strong as that brother? He is like a mountain!"
The child here is talking about Ah Xing——
——A Xing’s height of 1.9 meters, which is as tall as a sky tree, will indeed make children envious.
"What is this kid thinking about!~ Our family doesn't have that much money to buy calcium tablets! If you want to grow so tall, I'm afraid you have to go to the ground."
"Mom, do you think so too? Can't I grow that tall?"
"Although it will make you sad to say it - my baby, I'm afraid you have to go to the ground to bask in the real sun. You can't stop for a moment and keep jumping, just like brothers and sisters playing tennis. Can you grow so tall? Look at that brother..."
Ah Xing felt a little embarrassed when he translated this, which made people blush with embarrassment.
"Look at that brother, he must not be able to stop all the time, and he drinks a lot of milk to be able to grow so tall, right?"
"I don't like drinking milk...but I can't stop! Mom! I can jump and jump all the time!"
"My stupid son!~ I'm afraid you will never be as tall as that tall guy in your whole life. After all, your father and I are only so tall!~"
"Husband! What's with that smug look on your face? That kind of attitude is really the worst kind of person! It's too much! It's really too much to talk about this kind of thing with your children!"
Then the child started crying, and the wife began to beat her husband, and was unwilling to say bad words in front of the child. In the end, the husband and wife comforted the child together, and nothing happened.
Bu Liuxing didn't say anything else in the end, and the three of them walked out of the stadium.
On the other side are eight table tennis tables, with more people, including men, women and children who are active, as well as people doing warm-up exercises next to the tables and preparing to take turns.
There were also spectators who were shouting loudly on the sidelines. They looked red in the face and slapped their empty cigarette cases on the water meter box. They placed heavy bets on their favorite players and would often shout out advice from afar.
...
...
Jiang Xueming could describe this weird feeling in words.
The instruments in the hands of these people looked like newly unearthed cultural relics, but their bodies were filled with indescribable vitality - as if they did not belong to this era.
Even in Jiang Xueming's hometown in Hengyin City or in Hung Hom - he has never seen such a [lively] community.
In the slow pace of life in his hometown, he once delivered milk tea to the campus of Binh Duong Agricultural University a few years ago. The stadium remains grassy for long periods of time—students mostly hide in their dormitories, blowing on the air conditioners and playing with their phones.
Old people gather in groups to invite their friends to drink tea and play cards. The middle-aged and young people are all thinking about how to make money from their careers or how to make money from others.
Later I went to Hung Hom. The city was busier, more crowded, and more lifeless.
Even though he often went to Saint Maid High School to visit his sister, the school still felt like a harsh menopausal old aunt, not lively at all.
Occasionally, I can see a few younger brothers and sisters in the corridor of the school building after class. Once I talk about the future, such as this month’s exams, next month’s vacation, and next year’s plans, these younger brothers and sisters immediately sink in when talking about these. I can't be happy anymore.
...
...
After gathering and sorting out his thoughts, he returned to the family building of the ironworks in front of him.
Jiang Xueming could feel it - everything here seemed to be full of the flavor of youth, just like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning.
Entering the corridor, although the facilities here are old, they are still clean, as if someone has been cleaning them.
But after a while, an old aunt followed up and took Nanami's arm.
"Teacher Nana! Nana is beautiful!" The old aunt spoke in Chinese, very anxious and anxious: "You promised to bring me a broom when you come back this time. My broom cannot be repaired... .What can I do without tools? I have been picking up rubbish with my hands for the past half month. I am old! This is useless. I clean the bathrooms and canteen on the first floor. If these places get dirty, Are there still people living in this building? It must stink to death..."
Speaking of [death]——
——The old aunt was suddenly stunned for a moment, as if she had been struck by lightning.
Nanami's expression changed drastically. She immediately grabbed her aunt's wrist and explained quickly: "Broom! I brought it for you. Wait, wait, wait! Wake up! Wake up!"
The old aunt finally woke up, scratched her gray hair, leaned back to thank her, and glanced at the two strange young men next to Nanami.
"Hello, I am the cleaner of this building... Do you want to live here too?"
"No..." Bu Liuxing was about to speak.
Chief Nanami winked fiercely.
"It's not what you think!~" Axing immediately changed his mind: "Auntie~ We were called here by Chief Nanami. She didn't say how long we would stay..."
The old aunt looked at the two passengers with confusion at first, and then regained her enthusiasm: "Which floor do you... live on? If something happens, you can call me if you want to clean, and I will arrange someone for you."
Nanami immediately replied in broken Chinese: "They and I live in one room."
The old aunt didn't understand this complicated triangle relationship for a while, so she only said, "Ah... let's live in the same room?"
"Ah yes!" Bu Liuxing responded.
Jiang Xueming said nothing.
Nanami nodded vigorously.
When the cleaner walked away, he turned back and shouted: "Teacher Nanami! Remember to give me the broom. There are a lot of fallen leaves in the yard. My waist is not good, so I only picked up half of them. You must remember!"
"Okay!" Nanami breathed a sigh of relief, but was worried privately - she didn't remember this at all, and it would probably be difficult for the cleaning lady to ask her questions later.
Far away, I heard the cleaning lady murmuring in a low voice.
"When did the station have such cowherds... I'm so envious of today's young people."
When Nanami heard the cynical tone of the cleaning lady - her expression became very wonderful.
...
...
At this time, Jiang Xueming looked around, ran to the poplar tree in the courtyard and broke off a lot of twigs to use as wood. He rummaged through his bag, took out a bunch of steel cables, and made a broom out of local materials.
In just two minutes—Nanami was shocked by this operation.
When she got the broom, she saw the solid steel cable skeleton inside the broom, which looked like it could be used for a long, long time.
"Oh! You did a good job! You did a good job!" Nanami held the broom in one hand and slapped Jiang Xueming on the shoulder with the other. The force of her hand made Xueming tremble.
After watching her run to hand the broom to the cleaning lady, she finally returned to the corridor with peace of mind and continued to climb up.
Xueming had more questions in her mind.
When no one was around, he finally asked: "Sir Jessica, why do these people call you teacher?"
"I have said before that I give children extra lessons and homework. They think I am a teacher from outside." Nanami explained in Japanese: "I often bring new things in, such as vacuum cleaners and newspapers, peeling fruits Peelers, snacks and so on. They learned singing from me, very, very fashionable songs, and they kept calling me teacher."
After Bu Liuxing finished translating, Jiang Xueming saw from the window that on the other side of the L-shaped corridor was a small kindergarten called Yingying Kindergarten. There were children in class and other kindergarten teachers taking care of them. There were only five or six people in total.
Through the window grille, he took pictures of all this with his mobile phone, thinking about it in his mind - it seemed that this journey was not as dangerous as he thought.
Arriving at Room 411 on the fourth floor——
——When Chief Nanami took out the key and opened the door.
Jiang Xueming and Bu Liuxing discussed in private and whispered.
"Axing, what do you think of this place?"
"McDonald's is open on the first floor, but I can't buy the fragrant chicken. I'll give it a bad review."
"Be serious."
"It feels weird, Brother Ming. I feel really weird...it's so weird that I shudder."
"How can I see it?"
"I am a post-00s generation. Brother Ming, are you also a post-00s generation? I feel that everything here is... very strange. I have only seen it in documentaries... It seems like... I have entered the set of an old movie. ——It’s like going back to the Showa era, riding on [the merry-go-round of life]. My mom told me about that era, when everything was prosperous and everyone worked with enthusiasm.”
"You're right. It's hard for me to understand all this. They seem to have a very strong..."
"It's vitality, vitality that can't stop for a moment. Whether it's a child or an adult, grandparents or uncles and aunts, just now I saw a very cute little corgi. It was circling the table tennis table like crazy. lock up."
"Why?"
"I have had a dog before, but no one walked the dog. It would play with itself, otherwise it would like to tear down the house and have nowhere to release its energy."
"That's not strange..."
"It's weird! It's so weird! That little Corgi is so cute! I can see it very clearly. It is biting its own dog leash, as if the owner... is still there..."
Speaking of this, Ah Xing broke through his defense in a second and burst into tears.
Nanami seemed to be suffering from dementia. She tried the keys one after another, and it took a lot of effort to open the dormitory door.
She turned around and saw the stupid big passenger crying.
"What's up with him?"
Jiang Xueming handed Bu Liuxing a tissue: "It's an old problem. Please understand."
Ah Xing still looked hurt: "No! You don't understand! Look at that dog, how cute it is! How it wants someone to walk it! How can you understand?! You cold Faced Demon Man!"
Xueming didn't pay attention to Ah Xing, but handed over a pack of tissues as usual. Then I looked into the dormitory and was mentally prepared.
——Then he returned to Bu Liuxing and almost cried with Ah Xing.
But he endured it, after all, when Bai Lu was sick, he was so difficult, he broke down so much without crying, and his dignity could not be compromised in such a place.
When he saw Chief Nanami's dormitory, it couldn't be described as a hell on earth. At least it was on the level of an eternal grievance, full of stories that made people angry but not complaining about their misfortune.
Xueming couldn't bear to look directly at the entrance hall of the main reception hall alone. In order to save some space, I won't go into details.
Originally, Chief Nanami said that the office would be a little more decent than the dormitory for meeting guests.
Regarding what the dormitory was like, Jiang Xueming thought that he was mentally prepared and thought that the emotions would not be so strong.
——When he looked directly at this house, he couldn't imagine how a person could live in such an environment.
It took him twenty minutes to clean Chief Nanami's office last time, but it took him a full hour to clean the dormitory this time.
If he stayed in this environment for several days, he would skip the infection process and go crazy without waiting for the mad butterfly to arrive.
After Jiang Xueming cleaned up everything, Bu Liuxing also cleaned up his emotions.
Chief Nanami asked the two of them to bring the necessary equipment and prepare to go to the first house to conduct investigation.
"I'm talking about necessary equipment." Nanami looked -
——Jiang Xueming held a P90 in his hand, a G26 on his waist, and a sword-shaped stick on his back. He took out a small cylinder of No. 4 compressed gas GAS from the bag and prepared a homemade incendiary bomb using flammable air conditioning refrigerant. Several cans of refrigerant were almost confiscated. If it weren't for the security check at the station, he would actually have brought more convenient liquor with a temperature of over 60 degrees as raw material.
I watched another Bu Liuxing take out two bags of Want Want gift bags from the bag, carrying six boxes of Hung Hom Bakery's local Hung Hom Egg Tarts, and holding the stereo with the other one. He was still muttering something like, "It's a pity that milk and eggs become stale after being left overnight."
Nanami almost turned into a meme and went crazy at that time.
"I'm talking about necessary equipment!"
What Bu Liuxing was thinking about was how to make friends with these [Desperadoes]. As long as he became good friends, there would be no danger, right?
"That's right..."
Jiang Xueming had just figured out how to make a simple design for delayed detonation of the air-conditioning refrigerant cylinder, and what he was thinking about was how to make friends with the [Desperado]. As long as he became good friends, there would be no danger.
"They are all necessary equipment."
