Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

There are no so-called "roads" on the streets of Tokyo.The original road was twisted, cracked, and broken into pieces.On the road, broken vehicles and rubble were piled up layer by layer, and muddy water flowed everywhere. Fuyuki and the others' destination was the prime minister's residence, and there were still about ten kilometers to go.If you take the smooth asphalt road, you can get there in about three hours.But an hour after setting off, Fuyuki was in despair.The steepness of this journey was beyond his imagination. It was like slashing through thorns and thorns in the jungle. There was almost no smooth road, and sometimes even ropes were used to pull weaker people forward.They also often encountered large cracks in the road and had to make a long detour.The only difference from the jungle is that you don't have to worry about the attacks of wild animals, but on the contrary, you must always beware of objects falling from your head.

It has been more than six hours since I walked through the former Kaji Bridge Street and came to the vicinity of Hibiya Park.Although there were several short breaks during the process, everyone's exhaustion had reached its peak.Especially Shanxi Fanxiong, who had a leg injury, could no longer walk a step. "Brother, take a break." Fuyuki said to Makoto who was walking in front. Makoto, with Weiyang on his back, glanced at the watch after looking around at the exhausted crowd.Then, he looked up at the sky and bit his lip, as if feeling very unwilling.But he nodded anyway. "That's right. There's no other way, let's spend the night here tonight." He said to everyone.

"Sleeping here?" Toda looked around. No wonder he would say that.If it was in the Hibiya Park, which was covered with a large area of ​​soft grass, it might not be a big deal to sleep for a night, but the situation of the park is very miserable now.After the heavy rain, the ground is wet everywhere. Makoto looked around at the surrounding buildings. "From your point of view, Mr. Toda, are there any buildings here that are considered safe?" Hearing his question, Toda and Komine began to look around.After the two discussed it, Toda said to Makoto: "I can't see why from here, let's go and have a look."

"Please. I know you are tired too, sorry." "Thinking that I might have to sleep here, I don't care about being tired." After watching the two walk away, Makoto turned to Fuyuki. "Anyway, let's sort out a place to sit. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest if I'm like this now." "That's true." There were several fallen trees nearby, and Fuyuki and Makoto lifted them together. "Sorry, I can't move anymore." Taiyi said guiltily. "You have a good rest. However, you will be responsible for carrying the luggage later."

Fuyuki's joke made Taichi feel ashamed. Everyone sat down on the fallen tree trunk, Shanxi struggled even to bend his knees. "Are you okay?" Fuyuki said to Shanxi. "It's okay for now. However, I feel sorry for everyone. If it weren't for me, you might have arrived at the mansion long ago." "That's not the case, the others are actually tired too." "No, even so, the more I think about it, the more I feel ashamed. I never thought it was shameful to be old, but I didn't expect to become so useless." The old man turned his neck. "Although there is an aging society all the time, it is actually a false world and a bluff. It violates the operation of nature."

Dongshu couldn't understand what Shanxi wanted to say, so he had to keep silent.So the old man continued: "It is a matter of course that there is no barrier-free space on the natural land, and there are no escalators and elevators. No matter where you are, you must rely on your own feet to cross. But the society has been immersed in the environment for a long time. After the products of civilization, even the elderly with poor leg strength have the ability to go out at will. So we mistakenly think that we can really travel all over the world with our own feet. No, it should be said that we are forced to have this illusion So, once that kind of civilization is deprived, it will immediately fall into this predicament.”

"As the elderly population increases, social functions must be adjusted so that these people can also live comfortably. It is natural to stand on the national side." Hearing what Fuyuki said, Shanxi nodded greatly. "Yes. Although everyone criticizes that Japan's welfare policy is mediocre, we have done a lot of things after all. We also often complain to the public sector. For example, we want to add handrails on which side and where the steps should be removed. Kind of like that. But when those measures disappear, no one will be held accountable. So when there is an earthquake or typhoon, the elderly will be the first to die, and government officials probably feel that there is nothing they can do about it.”

"So, what should we do?" Fuyuki asked. Shanxi let out a breath of air. "It's hard for me to survive to this point. Not only am I old and weak, but I'm also injured, but there is no other reason for me to come here. It's all thanks to you. If you don't support my body , reaching out to help me, I absolutely can't do it. So I was thinking: the real welfare of the elderly is not to install handrails or create barrier-free spaces. What the elderly with poor legs need is not that kind of thing, but People who are willing to lend a helping hand. If the person who is willing to lend a helping hand is a family member, of course it is the most ideal, and neighbors are also acceptable. However, the government has turned this country into a country where "a family must divide things to survive" and put This world has become a world where 'it is better not to get involved with others'. As a result, the number of elderly people who have to live alone has increased, and the country has responded to this situation with the weapon of civilization. Therefore, the elderly rely on those things, thinking that they can do it alone Live on. I'm one of the people who had that illusion." He looked at Makoto as he spoke. "My wife's business has caused you trouble."

No, Makoto answered briefly.There was confusion on his face.Like Dongshu, he probably didn't understand why Shanxi suddenly talked about his wife at this moment. "I don't regret treating Chunzi that way. I think it was just a decision made in accordance with the laws of nature. So, I hope you don't hesitate to deal with me." "How do you say that?" Makoto asked. "As I said just now, I'm only able to come here thanks to everyone's gift. Therefore, I absolutely don't want to be a burden to you. Even if something goes wrong unfortunately, I absolutely don't want anyone to sacrifice for me. When I have to At this critical moment, please make a decision. This is my request, after all, it is in line with the laws of nature."

Fuyuki was speechless.What Shanxi means is: if he can't move, just drop him. Even Makoto didn't seem to know how to respond, he lowered his head and bit his lip.The others should have heard Shanxi's words, but they remained silent. At this time Toda and Komine came back. "There is a restaurant that has just opened recently. The damage is not serious, and the earthquake-resistant equipment seems to be perfect. If you just stay for one night tonight, it should not be a problem." Toda said. "Really, that's great." Makoto stood up. "Then, everyone, work harder and try to walk to that restaurant." Finally, he greeted Shanxi: "Let's go."

Shanxi nodded and stood up with difficulty. The restaurant was built some distance away from the main road, probably in this way it was able to avoid the damage of the car accident.There also appeared to be no fire nearby.Although rubble and debris were scattered in front of the entrance, they did not seem to belong to this building, but flew over from other places. There is a large glass wall in the entrance.Therefore, although the power is out, the lobby is still bright.However, after dark, it must be dark here too. "It's been a long time since I sat on this kind of chair." Asuka nestled into the leather sofa and said excitedly. "Miss Rong Meizi, please find a place for the baby to rest. Taiyi, it's your turn. Go and see if there is any food." After Taichi heard Makoto's instructions, he shouted "I obey" energetically, and immediately walked towards the stairs. Shanxi also sat down on the sofa, looking up at the wide ceiling. "I haven't been to this kind of hotel since I participated in a relative's wedding. Before, I always wanted to live in this kind of place." Makoto smiled awkwardly when he heard that. "I'm sorry, please bear with me, don't go to the guest room. In case of an earthquake, it would be bad to be locked in the room." "Ah, I know. I mean, as long as you can enjoy this atmosphere, you are happy enough." Shanxi smiled. When Taiyi came back, his complexion was not very good. "Well, can you come here for a while?" "What's the matter? Have you found any food?" Fuyuki asked. "There's a lot of cans and stuff, and that's all right. The thing is, there's a weird thing." "Strange thing?" "Anyway, you should come with me first." Tai took him to the restaurant located in the open space on the first floor.There were tables covered with snow-white tablecloths, which must have been caused by the earthquake.The salt and pepper shakers that should have been on the table also tumbled to the floor. "What's wrong?" Fuyuki asked Taichi. "This is it. Here, see for yourself." Tai Yi pointed to a certain place on the floor.From where Fuyuki was standing, it was just blocked by the table. Fuyuki walked to the side and took a look. Plates, forks, broken glasses, and high-end champagne bottles were scattered on the floor. "Is there anything wrong with this? It should be left over from someone's meal." Fuyuki said. "I know this, but don't you find it strange?" "What's so strange?" Taichi squatted down and picked up something.It looks like an empty can. "This is caviar." "It seems so. So what? It's not surprising that such a big restaurant has caviar." "Then I know. But, why are there empty cans here? There shouldn't be any restaurant in the world that will serve the cans with the caviar after the guests order it?" Fuyuki cried out in shock.Indeed. Taichi pointed at the broken glass. "Also, there is a champagne bottle, but no champagne glass. The glass is, to put it bluntly, just an ordinary glass." On this point, Tai Yi was indeed right.After thinking for a while, Fuyuki was startled.If one wanted to explain the current situation, there was only one answer, but Fuyuki didn't have the courage to say it.Taichi seemed to be the same too, so he remained silent. "What's wrong?" Chengya came over. "What happened?" Taichi repeated the explanation just now, and Makoto's expression gradually became serious. "The others disappeared at 13:13, and the restaurant should have been open as usual at that time," Makoto said. "Perhaps one of the guests ate caviar and champagne in broad daylight." "However, there won't be any guests eating caviar from cans and drinking champagne from ordinary glasses, right?" Taiyi continued his words. "If you do that, you will definitely be kicked out of the restaurant. The man has not been treated in this way, which means that the restaurant was empty when he ate." "You mean that person ate these things after 13:13? In other words, there were other survivors besides us?" Makoto nodded in agreement with Fuyuki's deduction. "There is no other possibility." Fuyuki suddenly felt a chill down his spine.There could definitely be other survivors besides them, but unconsciously he had become convinced that there was no one else in the world.Therefore, the appearance of unidentified survivors at this time always made him feel creepy. It seemed that someone was getting closer.Startled, Fuyuki turned around abruptly, only to see Rong Miko standing in front of her with an uneasy expression on her face. "Excuse me... have you seen Wei Young?" "Wei Young? Has she disappeared?" Fuyuki asked. "When I was putting the baby to sleep, she seemed to run away by herself. I don't think she ran away..." "That's terrible." Makoto whispered. "Things are scattered all over the ground, and there are collapsed places. If you get injured by running around without permission, it will be troublesome. Go and look for it." Then he looked at Fuyuki and Taichi again, and whispered: "The matter of the survivors will be discussed later. .” Fuyuki glanced at the champagne bottle on the ground, then nodded slightly. Not long after everyone split up to find someone, a whistle came from somewhere.That was Dongshu's familiar voice. "It's Wei Young's whistle!" he shouted. The sound seemed to be coming from upstairs, and Fuyuki rushed up the next stairs.There are several banquet halls on the second floor, and one of the doors is open. The whistle sounded again, from the banquet hall with the door open.Fuyuki walked into the hall.It was pitch black inside and I couldn't see clearly. "Wei Young?" He called out, walking forward slowly. There were black lumps in the darkness, and Fuyuki turned on the flashlight. Wei Young lay on the ground, fear appeared in her big eyes.She had the whistle in her mouth. And at her feet, a man fell down.The man grabs Wei Young's ankle and doesn't let go.