Chapter 2 Chapter two

In the morning, the wind was cold and the sky was dark, as if dusk was approaching.People look forward to solar power rekindled today.The Roger Germins were walking on Pine Avenue. According to the habit, no matter what people think in their hearts, they should always show a calm look on their faces. As special as this morning is, even astronomy experts believe that the day of the Sun's re-creation is approaching.After all, it's been like this for 41 days.But people should still pretend that today is the same as usual, neither hopeful, looking at the sky from time to time, nor worrying, fearing, worrying.

The Germins bumped into some old friends, and they raised their hands to each other and stopped for a few words.Conversation is casual, and it is also a habit not to talk about any topic that the person talking may know, think of, or wish to ask, that is, to show complete aimlessness.Jermyn read to his friends a poem he had written to celebrate the reinvention of the sun and listened to their opinions, and then they played with verses for a while until someone frowned, expressed impatience, or wanted to change During the gameplay, everyone just quoted a few improvised rhyming lines, and then broke up happily.

Jermyn glanced up casually.The sky was the same, unchanged, with the dying sun hanging over the southeastern horizon—south-east, to be exact.A thought suddenly flashed in Jermyn's mind: Could it be that the sun cannot be recreated today?Tomorrow, what about tomorrow... No, you shouldn't think like that, it's really an ugly and shameful thought. Jermyn thought so. The sun may never be recreated. Jermyn struggled to control his uneasiness, calmed himself down, and said to his wife, "It's time for us to go to the porridge stand for breakfast." The wife did not answer him immediately.Jermyn felt a little surprised, and glanced at her calmly.I saw her staring straight ahead.On the dark street, a man waved his arms, striding forward, his behavior was very indecent.

"That person is not like a human, but more like a wolf." She said suspiciously. Jermyn knew the man, Troppel, one of the few eccentrics in the town who was neither a farmer nor made his home in Wheeling City.Germin has some banking relationships with him. "Yes, that's a rough, uninhibited, ill-bred fellow," said Germin, and the couple continued on to the gruel stand.They walked with the typical gait of earth villagers, with loose arms, feet barely leaving the ground, and their steps were delicate and extremely slow.This kind of gait is suitable for people who only consume 1.5 kilocalories a day, and one calorie will not be wasted.

People eat a severe calorie deficit and need more calories to sustain the energy they need to walk, gather food, and do limited play.Especially in these days, more heat is needed to resist the severe cold.Yet there are no more calories left, and people all over the world get only what is needed to sustain life.With half of the Earth's landmass submerged in seawater and the other half covered in snow, it is no longer possible to farm for more food.A man of his own accord understands this and does not fight.Besides, it is also a very shameful thing to do something when you know it can't be done, and to waste your energy knowing that you can't succeed.Only those who are called wolves fight in vain, wasting calories and losing their dignity, which is disgraceful.

Germin didn't want to think about these annoying things, he had his own fun.On this freezing day, the cold wind tore open the skirts of his clothes and got into his bosom.The bony ribs were like needles, like knives.In such weather, drinking hot porridge is really a great pleasure.Think about the taste and experience of drinking the first mouthful of oatmeal: the porridge is warm in your hand, warm in your throat, and comfortable in your stomach.From this point of view alone, the cold is not only painful, but also has its pleasures.Here the old sun is about to go out and the new sun has not yet been ignited. New ① Calorie for short, heat unit. 1 cal is equal to 4.186 joules. ——Editor's Note The old alternate seasons, the eve of the sun's re-creation, human beings should be frozen!What is there to complain about? "I think he looks like a wolf." The wife was still talking vaguely about the man just now.

"Pay attention to your tone." Germin accused his wife, but at the same time as he spoke, a strange self-deprecating smile appeared on his face to dispel the irritation in his words.The vulgar man also went straight to the porridge stand and stood in front of the counter.In the dimness of the early morning, he was covered with lumps of muscles, with well-defined outlines and clear lines, turning his head clumsily on his shoulders, staring intently at the peddlers behind the counter, with his hands not hanging on his sides, but placed On the counter, fidgeting restlessly.The peddler weighed the oats by himself and poured them into the pot.

The man's situation made Germin's wife tremble slightly.He noticed, but didn't accuse her again.Why should she be blamed? That person's ugliness is really disgusting. His wife said quietly: "Sir, shall we have bread this morning?" Jermyn hesitated for a moment, glanced up at the ugly guy again, and then said leniently: "Yes. On the morning when the sun is recreated, it is okay for a woman to eat a piece of bread." Knowing that this would pamper her, Jermyn still Obeyed.When I think about the sun recreating, I feel that eating a piece of bread is just a little sweetness, and there is nothing wrong with it.

The bread is delicious and sweet.The two shared 500 grams of bread equally and ate deliciously without saying a word.Germin had finished the first slice of bread, and, as was customary, had to rest before eating the second.So, he wanted to take the opportunity to see what was going on in the sky. He nodded to his wife and strolled outside.Bright stars were shining in the sky, and the sun, with its last vestiges of heat, seemed larger than the nearby stars. Suddenly a man called out, "Good morning, Mr. Germin." Unconsciously, Germin staggered, turned around and took a look, and hurriedly raised his hand to greet the person who came.He moved too fast, his fingers curled up when he greeted, and he raised his hand before he could open it, turning into a gesture of greeting a woman, but that person was clearly a man.His name was Boye, an old acquaintance of Jermin's, and they had seen the giant ice together in Niagara a year earlier.

Germin quickly returned to normal, but the embarrassment just now was really embarrassing. He had an idea and said, "Look at those stars, would they still be so bright without the sun?" As soon as the words came out, I immediately regretted it.What a lame strain.But needless to say, Boyle would pick up the conversation and keep the conversation going, lest he be embarrassed.He has always been kind and a gentleman. But Boi didn't take his word for it. "Good morning," he greeted dreamily again, his voice slurred.Then he looked up at the sky, as if trying to answer Germin's question.Suddenly he screamed, his words full of condemnation: "There is no sun at all! Germin, what are you talking about?"

"Sir, maybe you—" Germin was at a loss for words and swallowed the rest of the sentence. "No sun! Listen, no!" Boye sobbed. "Only cold, Jermin. The pyramids don't give us new suns, you know? They're starving us, freezing us. We're abandoned .We're done, we're done, everyone's done!" he shrieked.Except for a few people who couldn't help but glance at him, everyone on Pine Avenue turned their heads away from him. Boi reached out desperately to grab Jermyn.Germin struggled to back away. Finally the two got together. 【①One of the world famous waterfalls and tourist attractions.The Great Falls is located on the Niagara River between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the Great Lakes region of North America. It is divided into two sections, Canada and the United States. ——Translator's Note. 】 This talk seemed to waken Boyi a little, and a ray of reason flashed in his eyes again. "I—" He wanted to say something, but he stopped, looked around, and then said stupidly, "I think I should have breakfast." He rushed towards the porridge stand. Scratching and howling, hysterical, what is this like?Simply uneducated! Boyi was gone, leaving a terrified Jermyn.He froze his wrist and froze there, saying goodbye to Boyi.He stared at Boyi's back, tongue-tied and at a loss, as if he had lost his demeanor and decency. All this happened on Solar Reconstruction Day! "What does that mean?" Jermyn wondered uneasily. "Is Boi already at that-point? He's going to-" There was only one reason for Boyie's anomalous behavior.Germin didn't dare to think too much, for a man like him who kept his own way, it would be dishonorable to speculate on others. Even so, Jermyn couldn't help thinking: "Boy seems to be... yes, going crazy, going crazy and killing people." In front of the porridge stand, Troppel kept pounding on the counter with his fists, urging the boss to hurry up. The dull boss finally brought the salt bowl and the milk jug, and a pile of paper-rolled salt was neatly placed in the salt bowl.Troppel took a small salt roll from the top, glanced at the boss, hesitated with his fingers, then quickly tore open the roll, poured the salt into the oatmeal, and poured it with milk. Troppel ate quickly and deftly while watching the street. People were wandering around the streets as usual, but there were more people today, and they all thought that the sun would burn again today. Troppel has always used "they" to describe the hustle and bustle of all living beings on the street. "They" are a flock of sheep, earth villagers who keep their own way.Doubtless he sometimes uses "we," but that refers to himself alone. The scope of the word "we" is still not clearly defined, and even the marriage contract did not make him feel that he and his wife belonged to "us".In this regard, he is not in a hurry.As early as when he was 14 years old, he gradually and reluctantly realized some of his own characteristics, for example, he hated being surpassed by others; he always wanted to gain the upper hand in everything; The unbearable itch, the itch tormented him; and so on.Looking back at himself and discovering himself gave him a sense of fear.He began to understand that it might not be wise to be a member of "us" including himself. But he was convinced that he was in fact a wolf, a restless fellow. "Wolf" is not a good word.For many years, Tropel has been struggling with his wolf nature.Even if the children who played with him did nothing but say the word wolf, they would be severely punished by him.Gentlemen on the earth should not harm others to benefit themselves, but wolves do the opposite; gentlemen should be contented and happy, not chasing fame and fortune; they should know the little things and find beauty in the ordinary; no matter how life changes, they should overcome difficulties and change themselves ,adapt to life. And all this is beyond the reach of wolves.Wolves never sit in meditation, so they can't comprehend, and can't transcend.Only those who stay away from the fireworks in the world, transcend the vulgarity, devote themselves to practice, understand the "connection of all things", and realize the opportunities in it, can complete their merits and virtues and be saved.And wolves can never reach this level. In order to be saved, Tropel has been diligent and self-denying, working hard on many things that wolves cannot do. His efforts have achieved remarkable results, especially in his specialty "practicing meditation near water".A lot of local progress has also been made in the contemplation of "everything is related". Yet he was still a wolf, for he felt that burning desire to win, to gain the upper hand, still burning inside him, and tormenting him.For this reason, he can hardly get along with people and cannot make friends.Gradually he gave up the effort himself. Troppel, who moved to Wheeling a year ago, was one of the early settlers, as far as time goes, but no one on the street bothered to greet him. And he knew every one of them, their names and the names of their wives; knew that as the sun darkened and the glaciers moved south, each of these people moved from some northern state; Inventory, sugar, salt, coffee and other items, how many catties each, not a single cent.Of course, people store these things for their guests, not for their own use, and a well-bred gentleman never hoards for personal gain.Troppel knew this because it was to his own advantage.And let others know yourself, but you can't get any benefits. But there were one or two people who knew him, and one of them was Germin the banker. Troppel had approached him a month earlier to discuss a loan, but it had been an awkward and frightening meeting.Troppel had a simple and insightful idea, which was to organize an expedition team to explore the old coal mines nearby, find coal mines, mine them, and transport them to Wheeling for heating.For this, he needs a loan.But the idea sounded like blasphemy to Jermin, and he rightfully rejected Troppel's request.Troppel was lucky not to be howled out as a wolf. The gruel stall peddler stared at the salt roll bowl, fussing and fussing. Tropel tried his best to avoid staring at him. As long as you glance at him casually, this kind of person will immediately show you a self-deprecating and weird smile. Tropel is not interested in this.He knew exactly what made the peddler nervous, so let him worry about it.It was his old habit in Troppel to take extra salt rolls.Now the few salt rolls are in his pocket, staying there securely.Why are there less salt rolls?Let the peddler figure it out for himself. Troppel licked the spoon clean and strode out into the street.He was wearing a double fur parka, which was warm, but he knew that the north wind was blowing outside the coat, and it was very cold. Someone sped past Troppel, looking alone, with a look of despair on his face. "Strange, what happened?" Troppel thought.Even more strange was the haste, the sleepwalking confusion and absent-mindedness, which reminded Tropel of something.He couldn't help but look back at the man again.With "their" mild-mannered sheep, this never happens except in one case. Troppel crossed the street, following the distraught man.He knew the man, named Boye.When Boyie stumbled and grabbed Jermyn in front of the bakery, Troppel followed, saw and heard. Boi's spirit was about to break.What he saw just now confirmed Tropel's judgment. He guessed that was going to happen—Boy was going crazy and murderous. Troppel looked at the poor man with curiosity and contempt.Crazy madman! The gentle sheep are cornered!He had seen this situation before, and it was always like this. Needless to say, Troppel would still be able to take advantage of this happening.As long as you are willing to put your heart into it, everything can be taken advantage of.Tropel watched and waited.He chose a suitable place to stand and watched Boyi's actions in the bakery clearly.I saw him holding a knife clumsily, and chopped off half a catty of himself from the loaf. Troppel waits for Boi to burst out of the bakery... "Killer! Killer!" Suddenly, someone shouted, the voice was sharp and piercing, and it was creepy. It was Jermyn who yelled, and then there was Boy's furious howl.He waved the baker's bread knife in his hand, and the knife flashed coldly in the air.All the people on the street, except one, were running in all directions. A man felled by his own knife was the baker himself.Chop, chop, Boye hacked and hacked at him.Finally, waving a bread knife, he rushed out of it in a hurry, and the knife whizzed above his head.Those who are usually docile and accustomed to this situation were terrified and ran desperately in front of Boyi.Boyi roared, slashing towards the crowd receding like a tide.kill!kill!kill! This is one of those cases where gentlemen are greatly disrespected.There is another situation where they are not decent either.This latter case is relevant to Troppel. Troppel frowned and walked across the street towards the bakery. That lunatic Boye was running after the crowd, far away, and rushed up to the street corner. Troppel sighed and went into the bakery to see if there was anything to pick up.Boyie would wear himself out, the rage came and went quickly, and before long he would be a good sheep again.Then the other sheep would surround him and catch him.This is what happens to crazy people.At a certain critical pressure point, if one more gram of pressure is added, someone's spirit will collapse, and this point is the pressure limit of the human spirit.This kind of situation happens from time to time, and there have been two cases in Wheeling in the past two months.Troppel has been seen before in places like Pittsburgh, Altoona and Bronxville. Human beings have a mental stress limit. Troppel walked into the bakery and glanced indifferently at the baker who died on the ground. It was not the first time he saw a dead body. He was the first person on the scene, and no one saw what he was doing.He looked around, then stooped to pick up the half loaf of bread that Boy had dropped, dusted it off, and put it in his pocket.Food was always useful, and if there was enough of it Boye might not have gone mad.What is it that overwhelms a person?hunger?The pyramid on the Sakya-Mata Peak, the hovering air eyes, the fearful and long-awaited salvation, or the artificial life deliberately concealed?What's the point of looking for a cause?They're broken, crazy, that's all.And Troppel is not mad.That's all that matters. Troppel sprawled on the counter again, reaching for the loaf of leftover bread... Suddenly, he saw a pair of terrifying eyes staring at him.It was Mrs. Germin. "Wolf! Someone, help! There's a wolf here!" she screamed. Troppel was so frightened that he almost couldn't stand still, and he didn't have time to see where the damned woman was hiding.The man stood up from behind the counter and continued to scream, "Wolf! Wolf!" Troppel snapped, "Ma'am, please—" But to no avail, she continued screaming.Troppel panicked at the thought that her cry would attract people, and that the evidence was on him.He rushed over to stop her and try to calm her down, but it didn't work, she was still screaming, and someone nearby had heard the screaming.Troppel turned sharply and rushed into the street.But people were already pouring out from every corner where Boi had been hiding from just now. "Please—please wait!" cried Tropel, angry and terrified.But no one listened to him.All they heard was the woman's cry for help, and someone might have noticed the bread in his hand.They surrounded him, no, they were literally pressing on him, countless hands were grabbing him, tearing his fur coat, tearing his pockets, the little salt rolls they stole just now were scattered all over the ground, someone was pulling his clothes again, strong thread The seam was also torn.Troppel was caught without a fight. All were roaring: "Wolf! Wolf!" The roar drowned out the distant pursuit of Boyie, and drowned out everything else. They caught the "son of the wolf".It was yet another scene of their loss of decency.