Foreword:
I couldn't stand the thought of my life passing so quickly and me not really living.
——Ernest Miller Hemingway
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[Part 1·A stranger in a foreign land]
Whispering chatter came from the frontline command post.
"Did you hear that?"
"The gunsmiths are also coming to the front."
"Really? Would a big shot of that level personally come to such a dangerous place?"
"Are you a new recruit?"
"What happened to the new recruits?!"
"You must not know the rules of anonymous..."
"I...I just can't believe it."
"What don't you believe?"
"Squad leader, I have always been curious before, why do people who are already successful and famous like General Crying and Gunsmith have to go through life and death and continue to struggle on the line of life and death? They can obviously live a better life, they are not short of money to spend, right? "
"Hmph...hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
'Hehehehahahahaha! '
"What are you laughing at?!"
A tall man walked out of the command post. He was the leader of the Frost Moon Knights. His name was Igarashi Rongxi. He was a Japanese and a descendant of former Shinto City residents who had emigrated.
"Jane Doe doesn't care about money, boy."
Captain Rongxi was over fifty years old, with traces of time on his face. He was wearing a Morpho suit, sat down next to his brothers, and explained the nameless rules to the recruits who had just made rude remarks.
"The Gunsmith is a formidable and honorable man, and the anonymous organizational structure is not as comfortable as ours."
He took out a pack of cigarettes from his luggage, gave them to his brothers one by one, and finally lit one himself.
The UV headlights in the shape of a lotus leaf ship shone on the faces of the soldiers, making the Morpho clothes emit a golden light.
"Young man." Commander Rongxi patted the recruit's crest and said in a gentle and kind tone, "Why did you join the army?"
The recruit said: "Of course it is to make money to support the family! To honor our ancestors!"
Captain Rong Xi continued: "Good idea. This power can make you an excellent warrior. Family is like a kite string, pulling you tightly and instilling the will to fight in you. You will definitely become an excellent team member in the future." , if you treat your teammates as your own brothers - you can become a team leader."
The recruit looked like he couldn't stand the compliments, and his face was full of embarrassment.
Igarashi Rongxi continued: "But one day, you will become a centurion and the leader of the battle group? Are you still willing to charge into battle?"
"Of course not!" the recruit said immediately: "I have to be responsible for an entire regiment! Where can I find a general who will lose his life casually?"
"That's right." Igarashi Rongxi did not mean to make fun of the new recruits. Instead, he nodded in approval: "The formation of Guangling Zhixi's regiment should be like this - so the nameless gunsmith is scary and respectable."
The recruit was stunned and seemed to vaguely understand the implication of the regiment leader's words.
Igarashi Rongxi explained patiently.
"These elite soldiers are always active on the front line. Everyone in the Anonymous team can do their own thing. When they come to us, no matter how bad the situation is, it will be reversed immediately - they are experts in combat."
"Adventure is like an indispensable spice in life for them. What's the saying?"
"In the city block where the gunsmith is located, not to mention the soldiers of the Crazy Butterfly Holy Cult, even if they pass by a blood-giving military dog, they will take two bullets from him."
"These people are naturally fond of fighting. The medal ceremony prepared by the boss for the two brothers was temporarily canceled - because there were too many medals, and the battle medals had to be customized according to the flags and emblems of different cities and regions. That dress would definitely not be enough. .”
"If it were made into a trophy, the entire Anonymous Bar would have to be converted into a display cabinet to accommodate it."
"So young man..."
Commander Rongxi looked serious and carefully explained to the recruits.
"Don't use your values to measure Anonymous or comment on Anonymous. We can return to TD (the abbreviation of Shinto City's downgrade) and establish a frontline stronghold instead of fighting in the Dragon Pond and Tiger's Den where the Crazy Butterfly Holy Cult is entrenched. There is no other reason. Anonymous has already taken over most of the work we should do - you should thank the gunsmith and every Anonymous soldier."
The recruit hesitated to speak: "I..."
At this moment, a hot monsoon blew in outside the door.
A man wearing a raincoat pushed open the door and entered. The soldiers turned their heads in unison and became silent and solemn.
The man took off his poncho, revealing the smelly linen coat of a scavenger, and a pair of shining eyes lit up from the hood.
He had not trimmed his beard and looked unkempt. Throwing away his hood and linen clothes, he finally revealed a tight-fitting work vest - Jiang Xueming immediately found Captain Igarashi.
"Where is the bathroom? Can I clean up?"
Igarashi Rongxi stood up and saluted the unknown warriors.
Jiang Xueming: "I've been to four outposts along the way, and I'm fed up with all this red tape."
Rongxi: "Gunsmith."
As soon as these words came out, the soldiers on the side immediately stood up with the regiment leader and saluted the gunsmith.
The recruit's eyes were full of curiosity and he looked at the man in his thirties with a scruffy beard.
The group leader offered cigarettes to this guy, but he waved his hand and refused. Instead, he took a razor and trimmed the hair on his cheeks and chin. He then went to the bathroom to tidy up and shaved off the long hair on his temples and forehead.
When the gunsmith changed into a carrying gear, he finally looked a little bit like a warrior——
——At this time, the soldiers were able to connect this man with the high-spirited gunsmith in the newspaper.
He is so ordinary and inconspicuous. Among all the soldiers, he was so short.
Except for the sharp look in the VIP's eyes as he inspected the room when he first walked in, at this moment he looked like a blue-collar worker who had just gotten off work and picked up his children from school.
The fleshy palms were full of wounds, and they were not like the legendary craftsman with delicate fingers and the appearance of a master craftsman.
Those two arms and deltoid muscles are indeed scary, but compared to the strong body of the crying general, there is nothing special about him.
When the man talked about the mission objectives with the team leader, it was like chatting at home. He asked about the specific situation of Shinto City, took out his diary and wrote down each item one by one, never saying unnecessary words.
The gunsmith simply responded to the crisis that the group leader repeatedly emphasized and immediately moved on to the next question.
"I know the general situation." Jiang Xueming recorded the geological information around Howling Ridge, "Take me to see Luo Ping'an and Marco, and you come with me."
Captain Rongxi stood up immediately, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I'm really sorry for causing trouble to Anonymous."
The trouble here refers to the matter between Bu Liuxing and Ah Hei——
——If the troops of the Frost Moon Knights could follow Meteor to explore Shiqiu Town, maybe Meteor would not be completely missing.
Jiang Xueming took Brother Rongxi's arm and walked towards the communication station.
"Don't be anxious, there's no point in being anxious,"
When he opened the curtain, he saw Luo Ping'an and communications officer Marco sitting at the conference table, having been waiting for a long time.
Xueming took his time and reconfirmed with several core personnel what had happened in Shiqiu Town, the enemy's main equipment, Luo Ping'an's incarnation of soul power, and other information.
"Brother Ping'an, your Mingde bones were broken in two?"
Luo Ping'an: "It is true."
Jiang Xueming: "Yes, I understand."
Luo Ping'an: "Xue Ming, are you absolutely sure?"
Jiang Xueming shook his head, memorized the topographic map around Shiqiu Town in his mind, and then continued.
"I'm not sure, but I can give it a try. The incarnation of Brother Ping'an has already gone to the city?"
Luo Pingan nodded: "Yes."
Jiang Xueming: "Is there any new information?"
Luo Ping'an: "I was caught. I'm being held in a prison in Ginza Town - even the Shinto people don't know what my incarnation is."
After Luo Ping'an's soul power was shattered by the executioner, he created a fake body and sneaked into the Shinto City, hoping to get back the broken ruler magic weapon. However, this incarnation was still no match for the typical night patrol person. This time he was captured alive—and imprisoned.
"I feel ashamed to say it." Luo Ping'an pursed his lips, a little embarrassed: "Xue Ming, I didn't take good care of Little Meteor..."
"Don't be anxious, it's useless to be anxious." Jiang Xueming packed up his gear and asked for a set of standard bombs and firearms for light infantry breaker, "If this is the only way for Ah Xing to pass, then he won't be able to escape - —is a good thing.”
Luo Pingan continued: "That city is dangerous and weird. If you want to go explore it, I am willing to accompany you in my true body."
"Taoist Master, you should rest here." Jiang Xueming hung the equipment on his body and said in a leisurely manner: "Leave the dirty work to a young man like me - if you have any shortcomings, [The Gate of All Wonders] ] brothers have lost their backbone, that is the worst thing, modern warfare must be done by professionals."
Marco Laifu stood up and sat down beside him, as if he was exercising, and the young man's face turned purple.
Jiang Xueming: "What? You also have something to say?"
"Gunsmith!" Marco said immediately: "Can you sign your name for me?!"
Jiang Xueming smiled, but did not agree. He turned around and walked out of the door. Marco chased him to the edge of the curtain and heard Xueming's response.
"Stop this idolatry, please—please spare me."
After walking a few hundred meters along the railway, Xueming saw the mountains of Howling Ridge in the distance, and a familiar feeling came to his mind.
It was the powerful spiritual pressure that was provoking him, as if there was a giant thing hiding deep underground, roaring and howling silently at him.
A beam of light suddenly came on behind him, and the flashlight shook repeatedly. When he got closer, he could see clearly that it was Ah Xing's waiter 3301.
Teacher Sansan panted heavily and immediately shouted loudly when he came to the gunsmith.
"I'll go too!"
Jiang Xueming shook his head: "No, you can't."
Teacher Sansan: "I can do it! I can do it!"
Jiang Xueming was very considerate. He took out a pack of sweat-absorbent papers from his carry-on bag, took out his cell phone and took a picture of the reckless half-wolf girl.
3301 was startled when she saw herself in the camera. Just standing around Howling Ridge, the terrifying pressure of inspiration had already made her body begin to tire. The bags under other people's eyes were calculated based on the gloss. Hers The bags under my eyes are divided into three layers——
——Children who transform into holy beasts have extraordinary inspiration and are more susceptible to spiritual pressure. Her physical body is sweating crazily, and her chin has begun to drip.
"You are stunningly beautiful, girl." Jiang Xueming joked, pretending to be Ah Xing: "When Ah Xing comes back, let him tell you stories about Shinto City."
After saying this he was leaving.
3301: "Gunsmith..."
Xueming turned around again.
3301 carefully handed over a red scarf.
"Give him this, give him this..."
Xueming: "It will definitely be delivered."
3301 frowned, looking worried. He lowered his head and glanced left and right, trying to find more objects on his body, hoping to be of some help, but no matter how carefully he selected, he couldn't choose any.
She took out two panaceas from her pocket, which were rare supplies.
"Take this too..."
Xueming: "I do."
"It's different! I gave it to him!" 3301 pushed up his glasses and said very seriously and forcefully: "He gave it to me before! I gave it to him this time!"
Xueming took the panacea and turned to leave.
3301 shouted: "Bring him back!"
Xueming didn't respond. He raised his hand and waved behind him.
...
...
[part2·Stride forward]
"It's time to go back and take revenge!"
Meteor walked out of the VR training room, and there was a clicking sound in his neck.
He relaxed his muscles and geared up, leaving seven typical human corpses in the training room behind him.
[Boy, are you ready? ]
"Ah! It feels like I've had a strange dream!" Meteor responded with a buzz: "Your method of training warriors really works..."
He looked down at the pair of fleshy palms and could feel a steady stream of power emerging from them.
"The formation of muscle memory requires sleep. During the day, we practice guitar and piano. When we get enough sleep at night, the hippocampus converts short-term memory into long-term memory. Only when we touch these instruments the next day can we feel that we are indeed Progress has been made.”
[Is not this nonsensical? Fifty years ago, natural disasters occurred frequently. We had to share knowledge and pass on skills in a very short period of time. This was the only option. ]
Meteor clenched his fists; "Hey... I didn't mean to make fun of you! Hot air! It really works! Now I can hit at least seven typical people. I am praising your skills!"
[You kid...don't you feel tired? ]
"I'm born to like fighting with people!" Meteor looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahahahahaha! It's great to be able to find a place like this to keep fighting, keep fighting, and don't have to worry about running out of energy and losing your life!"
[What a weirdo...]
[People used to long for peace. Are the soldiers of the Abyss Railway now a group of fighting madmen? ]
"No! Anonymous is an exception!" Meteor examined his right arm. After mastering Soul Power's superpower, he had a new understanding of psychic energy. "We are the group of people in the station who like to fight the most."
[So this is it?]
Meteor: "That's it!"
[What are your plans next? I recommend...]
Before Refeng could finish speaking, Meteor immediately answered.
"I want to find Brother Ping An's stick and get some guys who can take advantage of it."
[You have to go to the headquarters of the night patrol. Shiqiu Town is a satellite town of Xiao Guandong. The law enforcement agency is located in the easternmost part of the city. It is 37 kilometers away from your apartment in a straight line. There you can find the laboratory department and evidence files. The room should have what you want. ]
Meteor: "Wake me up! Let's go now!"
Ishimura Sendo is preparing to cancel the VR training room, open the bridge stone gate again, and take Ah Xing back to the crypt, and send Meteor's software prosthetic body back to the physical body through the network interface of the crypt.
The old man typed the command symbols one by one, and when they were finally executed, the entire community space began to shake.
A sharp and piercing siren sounded——
"——Discovered!" Ishimura Qiantang suddenly raised his head.
Meteor looked at the old man nervously: "Who discovered it?"
Sentou Ishimura was still sitting on the crane arm, making output to the console. He was already breaking out in cold sweat and explained to Ah Xing.
"There must be something wrong with the software of the night watch! The Shinto people discovered the access records of the security center."
"The Internet police found my community, but they didn't know we were hiding here. I was about to jump back to my nest, and the bridge index was immediately disconnected!"
Meteor almost went crazy: "Old man! Say something I can understand!"
"It means! Someone is coming!" Sendou Ishimura explained in a panic: "The police officers at the security center smelled our scent! They cut off the return road to this community!"
Meteor asked nervously: "Is there any way?!"
"Yes!" Sendou Ishimura gritted his teeth, pulled off the operating panel from the crane arm, and took three steps at a time to reach Meteor, "Kid, hold it!"
"Me?" Meteor held the flickering secret key.
Ishimura Sentou looked back at Shimen——
——The bridge road has begun to flash garbled characters, and the people in the security center have followed the command symbols just now, and a new path will be generated at any time to send in the cyber police of [Elysium Space].
"Boy! My ID has been exposed, but Hot Wind's arm has the highest access authority. Use this device to escape! No one can find you!"
"Qiandang?!" Ryusei was at a loss and asked Ishimura Qiandang to push him all the way to the stone door.
Sendou Ishimura said in a serious voice: "Let's go! Aggressive boy! Stop saying you don't understand me! You can't fight them in this cyberspace! Every citizen's software can be turned into a weapon for Shintoists." !The trolls on the Internet are endless!”
Ryusei half-body fell through the door, leaving Sendou Ishimura in the training room.
The old man seemed relieved and left a few last words with Ah Xing.
"I can't go with you! They will follow my ID to find you!"
"And I can't walk anymore. My physical body is still in the nursing home——"
"——The weaknesses of the Shinto people are the same as mine. As long as you can destroy their servo hardware, as long as you can kill their physical bodies..."
The door collapsed and turned into countless pieces.
Meteor fell back into the phone booth and sat down on the street of Community Zero. The console in his arms quickly deformed and shrank, turning into an ancient-looking SD card.
"Hello..."
Bu Liuxing didn't seem to react yet and didn't know what happened.
"Hey...hot wind·hot wind."
He switched to Japanese and asked questions to the ghost in his head.
"Why didn't Mr. Sendo come out with us? What was he talking about just now?"
[He wants you to live well, like a meteor. ]
Meteor struggled to get up: "So what does he mean?!"
[My comrades have done everything. ]
Meteor didn't understand that in this cold virtual space, all partings seemed so sudden.
"So what do you mean?! I just met him! Less than a day!"
[We have only known each other for less than three days, Meteor Boy. ]
[If you want me to use artificial intelligence to introduce Sendo Ishimura, use written language to tell you what happened during this time. ]
[All I can say is the following. ]
[I found Sendo Ishimura and entrusted him to train you. ]
[He completed this task very well and had long had the awareness to face death. ]
[Your friendship ends here, just like the Internet era you are in, a user who disappears on the chat software, an avatar that will never light up again, it’s that simple. ]
[Don't take his death to heart, it's not your fault. ]
"What do you think I am!
! hot wind! ——”
Meteor was almost too angry to control himself.
"Why are you, Grandpa Qiantang, and you, the Foehn Chapter, all like this? You can accept the death of your companions casually, and you can say with peace of mind - it's not my fault? It's not your fault?"
[Abu Ryusei... Sendou Ishimura should have told you that his physical body is still...]
Meteor immediately interrupted: "Shut up!"
[If you can't accept it, use this memory as collateral and give it to Kurome Senju...]
"Should I sell this new friend too!" Ah Xing crossed his right arm and clutched the SD card tightly, "Pretend that nothing happened? Hot wind! Except for Ishihara Momo, except for your original wife—— You said that you once proposed to Kurome Senju, was it because she could make you forget your pain?"
[…]
[…]
[Meteor, I think you should be more sensible. You are already twenty-six years old. ]
[You have your mission, I have mine, Qiantang also has his mission. You might as well listen to what he wants to say to you. Maybe the software he left behind contains important information. ]
Meteor was silent for a long, long time.
He stuffed the SD card into his right arm as the only inheritance left to him by Sendo Ishimura.
Sendou Ishimura: "Step Ryusei."
In Meteor's eyes, the phantom of Sendo Ishimura appeared, like a head-up display HUD projected directly into the retina of the software. No one except Asing himself could feel the sound.
"This is a video. Don't make a fuss and spread it around. If you see me in this form - it proves that I am in danger and am about to embrace a complete life."
"Yes, I call it complete life. This is what you told me. Life without death is incomplete - it is what you, a little kid, told me."
"We only have a friendship of more than ten hours. Life is like a fleeting moment. Countless passers-by pass by in a hurry. I am lucky to meet you at the end of the journey."
"When you heard the news about the two unfilial children and grandchildren, you may not feel my heartache. As a Huangshi native, I am a warrior of Guangling Zhixi. The pride in my heart does not allow me to bow my head. I don't want to admit my mistake to you on behalf of these two prodigal sons - but Now that I am going to die, everything is relieved. As an uncle, I have to take responsibility and say sorry to the nameless soldiers on behalf of Junichiro and Takuma. I am really sorry."
"In addition, I want to tell you one thing - about [hot wind·hot wind]."
"Perhaps it has already told you about this, but I'm afraid you'll forget it, so I have to remind you again and again."
"It is no longer my leader or my brother. Compared with living people, the biggest shortcoming of artificial intelligence is its cold-bloodedness and cruelty."
"Because they have no experience, no real experience."
"The Black Eyed Senju and a group of Shintos want to collect people's memories and experiences because they use the Riemannian thinking model - an electronic brain whose structure is similar to that of the human brain. They need a lot of experience to perfect them. thinking.”
"They long to become humans, able to listen, taste, touch and feel everything in the world at the same time. This wonderful sensory experience is transforming the human brain all the time - the process of self-training of synapses is very complex and is an artificial intelligence It can’t be done no matter what.”
"When Refeng questioned me in surprise and asked me why I didn't accept the transformation of the prosthetic body to extend my life, I knew that he was not my captain."
"Because my leader is a passionate man. He will never admit defeat and will not despise this mortal body sent by his father and mother - just like he will not despise us who are weaker than him. Like Ben, he will always be my most respected leader.”
"For this reason, I took a desperate risk and tried my best to get a soft prosthetic skeleton that was abandoned by the Night Watch - I was very lonely, and now I am the only one left in the Foehn Chapter. Before the loneliness knocked me down, I still had Being able to stare at the boss's body and recall the past time over and over again is like a whetstone, allowing some light to shine through my rusty soul."
"I saw surging courage in you. Like the leader, you all have a fiery red rose. For a moment, I had the illusion that the hot wind was reviving the corpse through your body."
"But I immediately realized that you are you, you are no one's ghost - you are just Bu Liuxing."
"I have to do something within my power, even if it is risky, I think it is worth it. If you have an argument with the ghost in your arm, please don't forget that you still have a common goal. I also want to die. You are a dead person, don’t let the dead grab you by the ankles.”
"Bu Liuxing, I'm leaving."
"I can't accompany you further. Life has come to an end. I really can't keep up with you. I'm very sorry for this."
"You brave man, I'm blessing you."
