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墨書 Inktalez
"Pant, pant..."
The nameless shrubs that grew here would hardly sway in their lifetime, but today, a hand brushed against them. On the mountain path that had been cleared, a pair of brown leather shoes, caked in mud, stepped one by one into the vast land of reeds.
He could hardly move anymore, but after three days and two nights of arduous trekking, this mountain path finally had an end. Xu Yicheng pushed aside the branches weighed down by fruit, and not far ahead, a road appeared in his sight!
"Finally—" Xu Yicheng exclaimed with joy, his weary body suddenly feeling invigorated as if filled with fuel. In that moment, he completely indulged in his happiness and ran wildly toward the road.
However, when Xu Yicheng reached the road, he realized that there were almost no vehicles passing by. He walked along the road for a long time; the surrounding silence made even his footsteps seem jarring.
Once filled with hope, Xu Yicheng fell into despair again—who knows how long he would have to walk along this road before reaching a place with people!
Having finished the last fish skewer, Xu Yicheng now looked at everything as if it were food. It had rained lightly yesterday, and it seemed to have given him a fever; he felt weak all over. Exhausted, Xu Yicheng had no choice but to sit by the roadside and watch the geese flying off into the distance.
Just as he was feeling dejected, his ears caught a faint rumbling sound.
"Car!"
Xu Yicheng's hope reignited as he stood up and turned to look; a large truck was approaching from afar!
"Stop! Stop!" Xu Yicheng shouted as he ran to the center of the road.
The large truck came to a halt, and the driver leaned out impatiently: "What are you doing alone in a place like this? Get in!"
Xu Yicheng was overjoyed. He jumped into the truck and tossed his bag aside, saying, "Anywhere is fine as long as it gets me to the city."
"Hey, aren't you...?" The driver looked surprised.
"That's right, it's me. Just take me to the city first; I'll explain everything on the way." Xu Yicheng fastened his seatbelt and looked ahead.
Of course, Xu Yicheng fabricated a story—he lied that he had gotten separated from everyone and lost his way in the forest but eventually found his way out.
The driver shook his head in disbelief while tapping on the steering wheel and occasionally glancing at Xu Yicheng.
When they reached the outskirts of T City, Xu Yicheng learned that the driver was headed even further away. Considering T City was closer to home, he decisively got out of the truck. Before leaving, he thought about giving the driver two hundred yuan as thanks, but the driver refused to accept any money from Xu Yicheng.
"Just remember me. If any reporters interview you in the future, make sure to mention me."
On the streets of T City at seven o'clock in the evening,
The flickering neon lights on both sides of the street gave Xu Yicheng a sense of familiarity and belonging that he hadn't felt in a long time. He took out his phone and excitedly touched the screen: "Finally got signal."
Like someone who hadn't returned home for most of their life, Xu Yicheng felt tears welling up.
The first thing he needed to do was fill his stomach.
"Two hamburgers, three orders of fried chicken, one box of popcorn chicken... oh no, two boxes. Huh... lychee-flavored ice cream is on sale? I'll take two..." Xu Yicheng collided with the service staff's strange gaze and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"Sir, we advocate for food waste reduction," said the staff member while sizing up Xu Yicheng's slender figure with an amused expression.
"Ah..." Xu Yicheng unconsciously scratched his messy hair. "I have someone coming... they'll be here soon; just order for now."
Hearing this disheveled man claim he had someone waiting for him left the young staff member wide-eyed in disbelief; his incredulity was beyond words.
"Actually, you can order through your phone, sir," said the staff member gesturing.
"Ah..." Xu Yicheng avoided her fiery gaze and turned his head aside while deliberately sniffing. "I still need to give some meaning to your front desk service staff, right?"
"That’s not something you should say," replied the staff member with a serious expression.
To avoid being recognized by others, Xu Yicheng chose to eat hidden away in a corner of the restaurant. With such a hefty pile of food before him, he showed no hesitation; after devouring everything like a whirlwind, only greasy paper bags remained on the table.
Now all he wanted was some quiet time alone to sort through everything he had experienced. Before leaving the restaurant, Xu Yicheng hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to ask that same staff member for a mask.
"Is our front desk service meaningful?" The young staff member shot him a mocking glance.
If only they knew that this disheveled man was hailed as "China's Edison," Xu Yicheng thought this guy would probably feel guilty for life.
"Great." Xu Yicheng decided to conceal his identity and gave a thumbs-up to this young man as a gesture of reconciliation.
At that large shopping mall on the street, Xu Yicheng had never worried about what would happen if he went inside before. Now looking at the enormous billboard above him, he shrugged and walked toward a nearby street vendor.
"This hat and these sunglasses—how much?" Xu Yicheng picked them up and asked the vendor. No matter how much they cost, he would accept it; all that mattered now was protecting his identity.
"Two for twelve." The vendor replied without hesitation.
"Huh?" Xu Yicheng's mouth dropped open; a meal at university costs more than this. "So cheap?"
"Well, we're all poor folks, no one is trying to cheat anyone." The vendor's words made Xu Yicheng feel a mix of amusement and disbelief.
"In this day and age, business is tough. Haven't you heard the talk about the apocalypse online? The key is... I believe it. Anyway, I'm just making a little money to support my family. People like us who have failed in business have long since burned out our passion."
Xu Yicheng paused his hand that was entering the payment password; he deleted the password and quietly added two zeros to the amount.
"There’s no apocalypse." Xu Yicheng smiled kindly, "We're all living well, making the most of each day—what could be more of an achievement? Just think about how many people don’t even have a normal family."
"Payment received: one thousand two hundred yuan."
"You?" The vendor sat up from his stool, his face filled with surprise, which quickly turned into a wave of emotion washed over by the cool glow of the streetlights.
"Keep going, continue your business venture, believe in yourself." Xu Yicheng gave the vendor a thumbs-up and resolutely turned to walk towards the end of the street.
Xu Yicheng's next destination was a bar. To ensure he looked presentable, he squatted in front of a broken mirror for quite some time.
"A glass of red wine, please," Xu Yicheng said to the bartender as he surveyed his surroundings.
Of course, Xu Yicheng wanted to catch up on some sleep, but sleeping wasn't something he enjoyed. In his eyes, staying up late seemed more appealing because he could accomplish many things during those hours; sleeping felt like a waste of time to him.
Lost in thought, the wine was already served. As he savored it and began to organize his thoughts, a conversation between a man and a woman nearby caught his attention.
The woman wore a fur coat and stood with her arms crossed, listening to the man who was speaking incessantly, appearing somewhat impatient.
"Give me two million for investment; trust me, I will make it happen," the man said.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Such things do not exist in this world," the woman replied impatiently.
"No, they do exist; they really do," the man lowered his voice and leaned closer to her. "Legend has it that it was brought by aliens and can give life to any object. Just think—if we could get our hands on this thing, wouldn’t we have the power to create life? This... this could be worth billions! Doesn’t that excite you?"
"I'm not uninterested," the woman scoffed. "It's just that your reasons for investing are absurd—like a child's silly joke. Sorry, I don't want to waste my time here; we can't reach an agreement on this deal. I'm leaving."
"Hey, wait!" The man looked at her departing figure and slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "That's the seventh one... damn!"
Although he had spoken quietly, Xu Yicheng was still able to hear most of it as he listened intently. He glanced at the man and realized he was talking about the Life Wand.
"Actually, that thing does exist; it's just that no one believes it," Xu Yicheng thought as he set down his glass and walked out of the bar.
After finishing his drink, his head throbbed even more painfully—a rhythmic pounding like drums inside his skull. Eventually, Xu Yicheng conceded to his body and navigated to the nearest hotel nearby, swaying slightly as he made his way there.
The hotel was small with just a tiny square facade. Next to most hotels are various restaurants, but beside this hotel was surprisingly a small scrap collection stall.
Between the hotel and the stall stood an old man with a bowl of coins and a gossip chart in front of him. "He must be a fortune teller," Xu Yicheng thought as he glanced over before heading toward the hotel.
"Young man, I see you have an elongated face with narrow features and round eyes; your luck seems quite good! How about I read your fortune?"
"Good luck?" Xu Yicheng chuckled dismissively, thinking this was likely just another scammer as he hurried toward the hotel entrance.
"Have you experienced some bizarre events lately?"
"What?" Xu Yicheng froze and turned back to look at the smiling old man whose grin seemed almost carved on his face; staring too long made Xu Yicheng feel somewhat uneasy as chills ran down his spine.
Originally skeptical of everything, after this encounter, every morning when Xu Yicheng woke up, he would draw a cross over his chest—even wearing a lucky charm around his neck that his parents had forced him to wear when he was younger now felt necessary to him.
Xu Yicheng approached and squatted down saying, "Old man, please read my fortune."
"Five yuan."
Like other fortune tellers, the old man examined Xu Yicheng's face and palm before feeling around his ears. However, he seemed somewhat surprised; dropping his hands with a chuckle he said: "Young man, your life will be legendary."
Xu Yicheng smiled: "My life is already legendary! You didn't even ask my name; how could you know?"
"No need to ask; I know it's you—our Edison from China, Dr. Xu Yicheng."
Xu Yicheng was taken aback again; he patted his tightly wrapped face—after all, he was wearing a mask and sunglasses!
Now Xu Yicheng felt some admiration for this old man. He asked: "What else did you foresee?"
"In two years' time, you will face a calamity."
The old man locked eyes with Xu Yicheng beneath his sunglasses.
"But you will also encounter a few benefactors to help you through your difficulties. As for whether you succeed or not, that depends on your fate."
Xu Yicheng was somewhat surprised. "Benefactors? Are they human?"
"Of course... Why would you ask such a question?" The old man chuckled.
"Because, because... I don't really know how to say it."
"Have you met them?"
"Who?"
"The Stone Giant."
"Ah!" Xu Yicheng, who was crouching, nearly fell to the ground. He looked at the mysterious and somewhat eerie old man with wide eyes filled with astonishment.
The old man took out a yellowed piece of paper and lit it with a lighter, watching it burn. "Don't be afraid. Besides fortune-telling, I know a thing or two about certain legends."
Xu Yicheng watched the ashes being blown away by the wind and swallowed hard. "In that case, do you know about the Life Wand?"
"The Life Wand?" The old man's expression changed slightly. "According to legend, it was brought to this world by aliens and granted life to the first Stone Man... I can't say much more; it's a secret of my family."
"Family?" Xu Yicheng became even more curious. "Who exactly are you?"
"My surname is Song," the old man said, inviting Xu Yicheng to sit beside him while subtly reaching behind Xu Yicheng. "If you truly wish to pursue the whereabouts of the Life Wand, I can point you in the right direction. City B, National Library, Forbidden Books Section, the fourteenth book from the left on the bottom shelf of rack thirty-six. Remember this, young man." Xu Yicheng quickly took out paper and pen to jot down the information when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his neck and fainted.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Xu," the old man said as he stood up. "Three hundred thousand years, a new cycle has begun; we must not let evil seep into the Wand. You will only slow yourself down here; this is the only way for you to receive treatment and recover quickly. Go complete your mission." The old man dragged him to the street and shouted, "Help! Someone! Dr. Xu Yicheng is here! Dr. Xu Yicheng has fainted! Help!"
Inside City B Hospital
There was some commotion outside. "It's confirmed; Dr. Xu has a slight fever but otherwise is fine."
"That's good."
"Yes..."
Xu Yicheng slowly opened his eyes. When the nurse beside him saw he was awake, she shouted outside, "Director, he's awake!" In an instant, a crowd rushed in—not reporters but Xu Yicheng's friends, colleagues, and students.
Wang Ting and Chen Hao were both there. Chen Hao, like him, was a national-level physics PhD; they had known each other for quite some time. Chen Hao stepped forward first and hugged the sitting Xu Yicheng tightly. "Xu Dashen, why do you make us worry so much? I thought you..."
"How could that be? I just got lost in the forest; look, I'm back now," Xu Yicheng suddenly whispered in his ear, "Do me a favor."
Chen Hao looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
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