Chapter 15 Chapter 14 City in the Sky

Seven forty-three in the morning.We reach the second coordinate point. We passed the first coordinate point an hour ago, which is an island about the size of two or three football fields. There are hundreds of albatrosses with black wings and white bodies circling in the sky, and the island is also full.We circled the island for a week, that is, we continued on. The reason could not be more simple. Birds are the most sensitive. If there were human activities on or around the island for many years, they would not be here long ago. At this moment, the breeze was blowing, and the surface of the sea was covered with scales and folds, shining with golden light.In this golden light and shadow, a small piece of blue-black became bigger and bigger in the field of vision.

The speed of the boat has slowed down. I stood on the bow, my heart was beating violently, and anticipation and fear surged together. Such a strong premonition was not there when I reached the first coordinate point before. "The island is very small, it seems to be smaller than the previous one," said Wang Meifen who was standing beside her. "Looking closer, I have a hunch that this may be our goal." The speed of the boat suddenly slowed down, the sound of the motor was abnormal, and there were some waves on the bow. "What's going on?" I turned my head and asked loudly.

The first officer shouted to us on the second deck: "Slow down in the reef area ahead." After the speed of the boat slowed down, the outlying island was close to less than one nautical mile. I ordered the boat to go around the island while watching the situation on the island with a telescope. The entire island is bare and exposed to the rocky surface, and its circumference is only the size of a football field. In the center of the island, there is a single house standing alone. This is a gray and white one-story house, which seems to be built with bricks or rocks on the island.There were no yards, no plants, no attics, no chimneys, not even pitched spires for rainwater to pour off.

This is the most ordinary small house, but its appearance here means that it is not ordinary. On the west side of the island, two boats, one large and one small, are parked. "It looks like a place where ascetic monks live." Wang Meifen said. "You don't think it's Base Camp?" I asked her. "It's really strange to have such a house on such a small island. But if this is the base camp... How many people do you think that house can accommodate?" "We will go around to the side where the boat is moored in a while, and lean up to have a look."

Such a small island, even if our boat has slowed down, it will not take long to turn around.But after we showed our intention to berth.The smaller of the two boats over there sailed away from the shore and came up. This is a shuttle-shaped boat about 20 meters long, with double cabins, gray paint, and some places are peeling off. It looks like it was ten or twenty years ago, and there is nothing unusual about it.It leaned twenty meters away from us and shouted at us with a horn. Two Asians stood on the deck and looked at us, but the speaker was speaking English, to the effect that this is a private island, please do not approach.

Twenty meters is already a very short distance, our boat basically stopped, and John ran up to ask us what we were going to do. "How can there be a private island on the high seas!" Wang Meifen said. "Are you going to use a tweeter to reason with them?" I said. Of course, there are no private islands on the high seas. What the other party said is a strong statement that he does not want us to continue to approach. "If you're not sure that this is your destination, I suggest you don't go up there." John said. "How to say?" "Obviously, we have a boat, they have two boats, oh, and a house." John said deadpan and humorously.

Still no one came out of the house. I glanced at the boat parked on the shore. It was longer than ours, nearly 50 meters. Although it was not a big boat, the advanced nature of my boat was impressive Not reflected in the confrontation. "Also, the draft of this ship is a bit deep." John added. "What does draft mean?" "The boat is much heavier than normal." I waited for him to speak, but he spread his hands. There were many possibilities for the boat to be heavier than normal, and of course he couldn't be sure which.But it would be too unwise to fight against a party with secrets on the high seas, and that party's strength is obviously stronger than oneself.

"Let's go first." I said. "Yes, although this island seems to have many secrets, it is indeed unlikely to be the headquarters of the association. There are too many secrets in this world." "Slow down, turn sideways, the boat has flippers." I said to John. Then, I turned to Wang Meifen and said, "By the way, you can swim." "Yes, but you mean to swim secretly?" "Yes. It's strange to have such a house in such a place with no fresh water. And two boats like this are too much for this small house. The draft of the boat is another problem, and the two people on deck , although he is not wearing a uniform uniform, but his expression is calm, he is not angry at all, and he has good training. Except for the draft of the boat, other things can of course be explained by the fact that a rich man with a penance habit is practicing. , or the holy land of the secret sect, it does not look like a stronghold compared to the size of the Feeder Association. But don't forget, our coordinates are only four, and the first one has been excluded, so only Three. Although there are many secrets in this world, they are not so dense that two of these three coordinates have big secrets?"

Wang Meifen was thoughtful. "So, I will never be reconciled if I don't go ashore to see what's going on." "You're right. I hope the water isn't too cold." There are not only fins on board, but also wet and dry wetsuits.With October water temperatures, a wetsuit is sufficient. It was agreed with John that the boat would stop five nautical miles east of the island and approach it every three hours.We did not come back for more than 24 hours, so he asked Liang Yingwu to find a way to rescue him.In addition, I asked Wang Meifen to copy a separate copy of the Feeder Association information from her computer on a mobile hard disk for emergencies. When none of us can come back in the end, this hard disk will be handed over to Liang Yingwu , although that might not do much.The data has a full 27.5G, which shows its level of detail.

We went into the water on the other side of the boat. In order to avoid being discovered by the people on the island, each of us carried a 12-liter oxygen cylinder.Wang Meifen swims more freely than me, and it seems that she has dived a lot.We kept at a depth of five or six meters underwater and swam towards the small island. The water here is very clear and the view is excellent.Faintly, I saw the appearance of the island underwater.The island is a mountain peak protruding from the seabed. If one day the sea is covered with mulberry fields, the island in front of you will become a wonder.This place is already far away from the continental shelf, and the depth of the sea is unknown, but it must be several thousand meters. When I looked down, it was an unfathomably deep black abyss, which made people feel frightened.But looking forward, less than 100 meters away, the island rises abruptly from the bottom of the sea, like a stalagmite uprooted abruptly, until it stops abruptly at a place 40 to 50 meters above the sea surface, forming a middle height. Surrounded by low and gentle peak slopes.This slope is also the reef area mentioned by the chief mate earlier.

We swam into the reef area, and looking down, it was no longer pitch black, but sharp stones and schools of colorful fish passing in and out of them.This made me feel at ease a lot.Thinking back to when I swam here before, I saw the curved surface of the stalagmite in the sea in front of me, and I felt that its cross-section might be a few square kilometers, which is more than a thousand times the exposed area.It sounds like a lot, but if it really grows straight out of the bottom of the sea as I saw just now, it will be far more slender than any land mountain range, just like a ballpoint pen. Looking up, towering over the floating mountain in the movie "Avatar".But when I thought about it again, it was really strange that the stalagmite didn't break when the earth's crust underwent such drastic changes when the ocean changed into land and land became ocean. With this thought, my heart trembled, and even the flippers were a few beats slower to kick the water, and the whole person dragged Wang Meifen a few positions behind.She turned to look at me, and I signaled to her that she was fine, so I quickly fetched water to catch up.I couldn't talk to her underwater, but at this moment, I really began to believe that no matter how different this island looked, there was a great possibility that it was the base camp of the Feeder Association.Because if the explosion of the atomic bomb caused the earth's crust to shake, once the stalagmite broke, the base camp would be destroyed. This would be much more tragic than the Diaoyu Islands sinking tens of meters into the sea! I made up my mind and swam forward.Not far from the shore, I signaled to Wang Meifen to swim around the island to the side.Before going into the water, I had a clear view of the terrain of the island. The terrain of the entire island is relatively flat, with only a slight rise at the northwest corner, which can provide some cover for our landing and further sneaking to the hut. Otherwise, in other places, Once ashore it was obvious like fleas on a bald man's head. As we got closer to the scheduled landing point, the underwater situation became weirder. Originally, among the underwater reefs, there were many schools of fish, and shellfish, corals, starfish, etc. also abound.But the closer you get to that place, the fewer and fewer these living creatures will be until they are completely extinct! The sea water is still clear, and the stones of various shapes below are so clear that they are close to our eyes.At first, I thought there was a kind of beauty in them, but now I feel that they have strange shapes and exude a dead air! Yes, it's literally a dead zone here.Subconsciously, the two of us slowed down, and Wang Meifen looked back at me frequently, obviously she was also very disturbed.At this time, a palm-sized red fish came out from nowhere and attracted our attention.I watched it swim flexibly in front of me, and felt a little relieved.But all of a sudden, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, and it seemed that there was a fierce beast attacking in front of it. It turned around at 180 degrees and passed under us quickly. The front view is still unobstructed and clear, there is nothing in the sea, what is that fish afraid of? Ten seconds later, Wang Meifen and I had already reached the area where the fish turned around, and nothing happened.But I raised my heart, feeling that there must be a huge danger hidden in the clear underwater world in front of me. Because my heart was not at ease, the movement of my feet slowed down even more, and Wang Meifen was about one body ahead of me in a blink of an eye.I saw her body turn slightly, as if she was going to stop sideways.That's right, in such a situation, don't rush forward, just observe carefully.Or maybe it's time for us to surface and exchange ideas with each other. But immediately I realized that it was not Wang Meifen who was turning, to be precise, not only her body was turning, but I was also turning.The same swimming strokes have not changed, but our bodies are all sideways.There are forces in the water that affect us. This force became stronger in the blink of an eye, from when I thought Wang Meifen was going to stop, to realizing that I was wandering, it took only half a second, and in the next half second, the two of us were sucked and sank rapidly! A vortex formed in an instant, and we were on its periphery, but no matter how hard we struggled, it was useless.In a blink of an eye, I sank more than ten meters obliquely, and slid over a huge protruding rock, and I saw the deep hole behind it.This suction came from the hole, and Wang Meifen and I had no room to struggle, and fell into the hole with the current. The hole is seven or eight meters wide and pitch black.The suction force is a little stronger in the hole, but the hole seems to be infinitely deep, and I don't know where is the head.I covered my oxygen mask with one hand and covered my head with the other. Every time I took a breath, I felt that the next breath might be sea water, and my mind was filled with dull rumbling noises. The blood boiled, and the peaceful underwater world collapsed to nowhere a minute ago. Bumping repeatedly on the rock wall, the hands, ribs and legs were about to be smashed.Don't crash the oxygen tank, I have time to think so. Another slam, the side, first the elbow, then the waist.But the pain was different from before. I stretched out one hand and danced wildly, and the palm touched the rock wall—it was smooth! Even with such weird turbulence all year round, it is impossible for the cave wall and rock surface to be polished to such an extent. This is unnaturally formed! Every second of rolling and advancing in this long and narrow cave is as long as breaking out seventeen or eighteen petals.When it was first sucked into the hole, there was still light, but the light became weaker and weaker, and soon it was dark.The darkness lasted for a long time, and then there was a faint light. This light made me vaguely see the appearance of the cave wall. It was no longer a cave, but a corridor, a dark corridor made of metal.Wang Meifen is a little ahead, and farther away, the source of the light is a door. Up and down, the gate is slowly closing towards the center! Wang Meifen disappeared behind the gate first.If the door closes before me, I'm afraid I will be knocked to the point of bleeding. Even if I don't die on the spot, I will definitely not have the strength to swim out of the cave and return to the surface of the sea. Fortunately, the closing speed of the door was extremely slow. I was walking close to the bottom of the cave, and the opening was a few meters above. I struggled to kick my flippers, but I couldn't control my body at all.When I was about to collide, a stream of water rolled me up from the front. My eyes lit up, and I just passed the gate, and then quickly slid down tens of meters and plunged into a pool. The water was not deep, about three to four meters, and the huge momentum made me sink straight to the bottom. There was a bright scene in front of my eyes, full of air bubbles, and suddenly the bright white bottom of the pool was in front of me. I supported the bottom with my hands to avoid hitting my head.With a slap of flippers, the person jumped out of the water, took off his oxygen mask, and gasped for air. Wang Meifen was floating not far away, coughing after choking on water, it seemed nothing serious.I had no intention of swimming over to meet her, and everything in front of me was too shocking. Under the dome, a waterfall more than ten meters wide descended from a height of thirty meters and fell in front of me, rolling up thousands of piles of snow, roaring like rolling thunder.The curtain of water slowly thinned, and then began to narrow.Two minutes later, the gate was fully closed, the last water poured into the pool, and the thunder ceased. But the blisters as fine as snow are still there.I lowered my head, and the light came from the bottom of the water.It is not a white bottom, but a white light bottom.There are many milky white pebble-like things under the water, and the bubbles come out of these "pebbles", and it looks like the whole pool of water is boiling. The light was very strong, but after it penetrated the water, it became much softer.I can vaguely see the closed gate, which is the same gray and black as the four walls and the dome.It was some kind of metal, perhaps an alloy.Realizing this, I was genuinely appalled, not because of the size of the space I was in - a rectangular pool ten times larger than a standard swimming pool, larger than a standard football field, could use a lot of money if it were all made of metal To describe it, what about the metal tunnel I just passed?From the time I touched the smooth cave wall to the gate, how long is it between, one hundred meters, two hundred meters, or three hundred meters?This kind of thickness is all the metal in front of you? How did the Feeders Association do it? Even if this island is actually a high-content mine, it is a big project beyond anyone's imagination. The association has built its base camp into an indestructible steel fortress, which is enough to resist a large-scale nuclear explosion—if it does not induce changes in the earth's crust. Wang Meifen stopped coughing a long time ago, but her open mouth has not been able to close for a long time.Of course I do too.Although I have had various conjectures about the base camp of the Feeder Association, even if the base camp is underground, it is not beyond my expectations, but everything in front of me still proves that my imagination is still too barren.The majestic strength displayed by this pool even made me feel a kind of majesty. The water cleared slowly. The water is already very clear, and it feels this way because the bubbles are decreasing. It seems that those white stones at the bottom of the water are like vitamin C boiling tablets, which will disappear after a long time. Then I heard a strange sound, a great low hum, and the water began to shake.Then, at one end of the large rectangular pool, nine arched gates were opened.After the gate appeared, I discovered that there is a high drop at the bottom of the pool, just like the shallow water area and the deep water area of ​​the swimming pool. The end where the gate is located is the depth. The gate starts from the bottom. At first glance, the top seems to be about the same height as the bottom where I am.It stands to reason that after the nine gates are opened, the seawater should quickly drain out of them, and the water level will drop at a speed visible to the naked eye, but in fact there are no waves on the surface of the pool. I thought about it, and I understood the reasoning.There is no doubt that the base camp of the Feeders Association is built under the island.Looking at the pool and the metal corridor, one can infer the scale of the entire base camp.The first thing to maintain the long-term survival of so many people is to solve the problem of fresh water. For the Feeder Association, large-scale seawater desalination is naturally without pressure technically. The big pool in front of us is undoubtedly the first link of seawater desalination. Strong light must be a means of diluting it.I don't know how many similar ponds will be created in the future. I am afraid that after three or five links, the salt water will become fresh water.However, in the first link, there is an indispensable method, which is filtering.Now the fish know that this place is a restricted area and cannot come here, but it has been developed after decades of "survival training". Among the nine arched gates, there must be a preliminary filtering device, which will not allow the water from one pool to flow to the next pool without hindrance. Since the fish and shrimp will be blocked in this first pond, it is of course impossible for the two of us living people to pass through the nine gates.But when a large number of fish and shrimps are filtered out of each pool of water, how are these things cleaned up? There should be passages for people to enter and exit. Wang Meifen gestured at me.I followed her hand and looked back, and found that there was a steel ladder on the pool wall behind me, the color was also dark gray, and it was easy to be ignored.This steel ladder leads to a very high place, where there seems to be a small platform. We swam to the steel ladder, took off our flippers and held them in our hands. I started to climb up after her. The platform was more than 30 meters above the ground, and it was directly opposite the gate. After going up, I found that it was quite large, about 40 to 50 square meters, with a closed steel door and a round handle. I threw the flippers on the ground, went up and pulled the handle hard.Unexpectedly loose, with a little force, it turned a small half circle, accompanied by a slight "da da" chain sound.I quickly stopped, nodded to Wang Meifen, indicating that I can go out. Of course we can't just run out like this.After struggling to remove the oxygen tank and take off the diving suit, I immediately felt relaxed, and at the same time, the pain from the previous impact began to resurface, so I could only endure it here and now. In addition to the oxygen cylinder, we all carried a small waterproof bag with us.The things that can be put inside are limited, such as knives, small tool boxes, flashlights, ropes, and Wang Meifen also brought an IPAD-like tablet computer, which I guess could have achieved some amazing functions—if it hadn’t been smashed into pieces.Thankfully we all brought shoes, unfortunately we didn't bring any clothes.Wang Meifen was a little better. She was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, while I took off my diving suit and only had a pair of swimming trunks left.For the current situation that requires sneaking in, this is undoubtedly a huge mistake, and it makes the moment facing each other a little awkward. There was a crackling sound, and white "pebbles" were ejected from the dome and fell to the bottom of the pool.Then the gate on the opposite side opened again, the sea water gushed out and went straight down, and the waterfall reappeared.Amidst the huge roar, I carried the small bag on my back, held the one-foot-long knife with sheath upside down in my right hand, exchanged glances with Wang Meifen, and walked towards the steel door. "Da da da da", after two and a half turns, the door opened. The moment before the door opened, my hand holding the knife tightened, raised my vigilance to the highest level, adjusted my motor nerves, and was ready to respond to emergencies at any time. Whether it was drawing the knife to attack or retreating and dodging, I would never hesitate a cent. But when the door actually opened, we were both dumbfounded. I know that the Feeder Association is a mysterious and huge organization. I know that this base camp has been in operation for decades. I know that the base camp will be a very large-scale underground building. Even the huge seawater desalination pond before it has shocked me.But what I saw at this moment was beyond the scope of my imagination.So that the two of us just stood there for a while, forgetting to close the door. It's not huge, it's not majestic, it's not bizarre, even if it's described as a miracle, it's a little light. This is great! I seem to have opened a door on the mountainside of the Grand Canyon of Colorado and walked out, facing the vast wind blowing in front of me. I marveled at the previous desalination tank because it was as big as a football field.And the space in front of him might hold a thousand football fields!When I originally thought of underground buildings, what came to my mind was maze-like intertwined tunnels, or elevators that went down hundreds of meters, many rooms, or empty air-raid shelters.But the base camp of the Feeder Association actually hollowed out the entire island.Looking at the entire space, from the platform I'm standing on to the farthest point on the opposite side, the distance spanned in between is definitely more than one kilometer, maybe two kilometers, maybe three kilometers.I simply calculated in my mind that the Forbidden City in Beijing that made me break my leg is only one-tenth of that here, and the Summer Palace, the largest garden in China, can accommodate at least two or three here. And the greatness I'm talking about, and the sense of vastness, is not just created by a large area. There is no way to call it an underground cave here, maybe it is more appropriate to call it a ring canyon.I was near the top, looking up, a hundred meters above the bright blue sky.Of course it's not real, but it looks very similar, there are even slow moving clouds, some kind of technology makes it possible.Looking down, there is no bottom, and there are layers of clouds, but this is real water vapor.I can't help but guess, is it four kilometers deep here, reaching the bottom of the sea, or deeper, digging into the underground volcanic lava, using the energy in it to supply this world? Between the sky, the earth, and the clouds, is a city in the sky! There are all kinds of houses in this city. As far as I can see, there are the most ordinary three-story buildings, there are thatched houses, there are villas with terraces and yards, and there are twisted metal houses with a great sense of design. There are Indian-style towers and Japanese-style huts, and I even saw a domed mosque and a small church with a steeple. All these houses are not on the same plane, but scattered in every corner of the whole space.Of course, they are not suspended in the air. They are connected with each other by thick or thin metal keels, just like spider silk.I figured it must not be steel, but a stronger alloy.Because the supporting keels of some houses are so thin that they may be mistaken for floating in the air from a distance, usually three keels (or metal cables) thinner than the wrist can support or pull up a small two-story building.This magical construction method makes it possible to build a house at any position in this space. This place is really too big. I saw more than a hundred houses at a glance, but it still feels sparse and scattered. What is more conspicuous is the road for people to pass. Those thick keels are the roads, there are trails that can only accommodate two people in parallel, and there are avenues as wide as six or seven meters that can accommodate two vehicles, although I did not see a car.There are straight roads, there are curved roads, there are winding roads, and there are also undulating roads.This is really a designer's paradise. Sometimes a certain area is full of metal and full of punk style; sometimes a certain area is made of stone, full of ancient primitive style; or it is made of wood, which is naturalism.Of course, I believe that wood and stone are just appearances, and that kind of alloy is always used as bone inside.The intersection of two areas with different styles is usually gradual, which makes people look less obtrusive. And trees.Not only are there trees in the courtyards of houses, but also trees on both sides of some roads. There are lawns in the courtyards, and vines can climb on the stone walls. Two to three hundred meters down, I saw a circular public garden with trees and Flowers have pools and fountains.The most surprising thing is that there is a river.The river flows out from a sluice diagonally opposite me. Needless to say, the source of the water is the final desalinated seawater. The river is more than ten meters wide and twists and turns like a dragon dancing in the air.The river course is not particularly steep, but every time it circles for a while, it will break, and the water will discharge tens of meters straight from the section, forming waterfalls one after another. This is a fairyland-like city in the sky, just like the residence of elves in mythology. The wind comes from nowhere.There must be wind in such a closed environment, which involves the interaction with the outside air and the complex operation of internal airflow movement. For top meteorologists and the feeder association that created the scene in front of us, it is a piece of cake.The wind was not strong, blowing away the water droplets on my body, taking away the heat, and finally made me feel cool, woke up, put the knife into the backpack, and slowly closed the door behind me. We should not be able to go back the way we came, let alone climb up the intake gate. Once we climb up, when the gate is opened and the torrent rushes down, how can we go upstream.The only way is to go the right way.In the hut on that island, there must be a passage connecting the ground and the ground. Before considering how to get out, the first thing we face is to find the host of the tray, the zero number of this generation.I guess it's in the deepest part of this cloud-shrouded abyss. I raised my finger and said to Wang Meifen, "Let's go there first." "The artificial river? Why?" I shrugged and pointed to each other: "This place is so big, the scientists living here may not know everyone, but we are too conspicuous now. If we are by the river, this swimsuit is justified." "What about our shoes?" I suffocate.Also, two swimmers in dry shoes... "Or get to the river and get your shoes wet?" "Let's go in that direction first, adapt to the situation, but fortunately there is no one here." If my guess is correct, the people living in these houses are all core members of the Feeder Association.These people may not be known to the outside world all their lives, but they are definitely superb scientists.For them, their professional field is the whole of life, and it is normal to work all day long, so there are no idle pedestrians on the road.At a glance, I saw three people, some distance away from us, and lower than us.As long as they don't look up, they won't find us, and even if they do, they may not have the heart to meddle in our own business.Scientists are mostly autistic, and I hope the scientists here are more pure-blooded. As for whether there will be roles like patrol police or urban management, we can only count on our luck. There is nothing to hide, we two people who only have one piece of clothing all over the body, walked towards the river in the sky. There are three forked roads on this small platform. The two roads, the front and the back, are close to the canyon. They can all lead to the source of the Sky River, but they are far away.We took the third road and went straight into the canyon.Stepping out in one step, there is an abyss below, which is more heart-wrenching than watching it on the platform.But this is the real entry into this sky city. The road is very stable, without any shaking, just like on the ground.This is a keel with a trapezoidal cross-section, with a large top and a small bottom, about one meter thick. It is not solid, but interlaced with twigs, which must have achieved the best mechanical support.The widest part is more than three meters, and it is covered with a layer of light gray, which is slightly elastic when stepped on, forming a road surface.Guardrails were added on both sides. The section closest to Kongkong River here is three to four hundred meters away, and you have to go through five intersections and walk down tens of meters.The road has slopes, but not very steep.We walked along and reached the first intersection.This is another three-way road, one to the left, our road to the right, and we need to go down a dozen steps.A sycamore tree was planted on one side, and there was a bench under the tree, and a silver-gray metal plaque stood beside the chair. There was an equation engraved on the metal plate. I glanced at it and gave up on solving the problem. Obviously, it was not prepared for people of my level. There were three lines written up and down, half of the symbols were unrecognizable. "What does it mean to put a math problem on it?" Wang Meifen glanced at it for a while and said, "It seems... a real variable function. This is a street sign." "Street sign?" "Well, this aerial city is a big three-dimensional maze with thousands of forks. If there are no street signs, it's too easy to get lost." "What do you think of this street sign?" "As far as I know, every house here has its own digital code. No matter where you are going or standing at any intersection, you only need to know the digital code of your destination, substitute it into the equation of the intersection, and find the solution. You will know which fork road to choose. Look at the three directions corresponding to the three fork roads on this road sign, each of which has several numbers engraved on it. You can choose which road the last digit of the answer is in. In fact, There is a detailed set of rules, most of the time it is the last digit, but sometimes it is the first or second digit, and you will know which number to take in the process of solving the equation. It is a very delicate number System." Wang Meifen sighed. I took a deep breath: "Then if you want to go out for a long trip, you have to go through more than ten or twenty intersections, and you have to solve more than ten or twenty such complicated equations? And you can't solve it wrong?" "If you don't know where you're going at all, that's true." "Why can't we use a simpler way? Could it be that for scientists, this kind of equation written in three lines can be solved at a glance?" "No matter what, it will take a few minutes to solve it. If it is me, it may take ten minutes." "It can be solved in ten minutes? In my opinion, you are really awesome. But every intersection in ten minutes is too troublesome." "I think it's an interesting model. And for the people who live here, it's more of a lubricant for the brain. You know the brain is use it or lose it. Um, you give me ten minutes." Wang Meifen's hands and fingers kept twirling, just like the gestures of a Feng Shui master when looking at Feng Shui, probably a way of mental calculation.In the end, it only took her seven minutes. At that moment, I really felt the intellectual gap between each other... "Go this way." She pointed to the path to the left.And the road leading to the Sky River should obviously be the one on the right. "Do you know the number number of the address where number zero is?" I asked. She nodded. "You know a lot about this place." "Although I don't know where the base camp is, it doesn't mean I don't know anything about the base camp. Do you really think that I didn't make any preparations and just rushed here after you?" This sounds extremely awkward. It didn't take a few minutes to walk to the second intersection, but it took us several times longer.On the tempered glass inlaid between a guardrail, there are some graffiti painted with colored pens—the graffiti is what I thought it was. Seeing Wang Meifen stop to look, and the more I looked more carefully, I tried my best to distinguish the pile of ghostly symbols. "Is this an equation too? This is not a fork in the road." "This... should be proof." Wang Meifen had a strange expression. "What proof?" "Fermat." "Fermat's last theorem? Wasn't that already proved more than twenty years ago? Why do you have this expression? Aren't the mathematicians in the association super-class? Does this proof prove that Fermat's last theorem is not true? " "That's not true. This is the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. God, it's really wonderful. Unfortunately, it's only part of it, but it's enough. It's incredible." Wang Meifen kept sighing, and I couldn't help interrupting her: "We are not here to play in the mountains and rivers. We will be discovered by the association at any time. We must find number zero in the shortest possible time." "You're right." Wang Meifen took one last look at the "graffiti" and left. I didn't expect her to be so straightforward, so I hurriedly followed.At this time, I became curious again, and asked, "Can you tell me what's special about the proof just now?" "When Fermat put forward that conjecture, he wrote on a page of the Latin translation of Diophantus' Arithmetic, I am sure I have discovered a wonderful method, but the space here is too small to fit. The next three hundred Over the years, countless mathematicians have struggled with this conjecture, and it was not until 1994 that Wiles gave a perfect proof. But do you know how many pages Wiles used, two or three hundred pages! This is A difficult proof is definitely not the beautiful and simple proof in Fermat's mind. What was written on the glass just now is only about one page, but the core part of the proof has been given. That is another way of thinking, an extremely beautiful way of thinking .So now you know why I was so surprised." I looked back at the graffiti and said: "I have a feeling that in this air city, there will be many such 'handy proofs', this is the graffiti of this city, created by the spark of inspiration from the top scientists Graffiti. This is simply a treasure trove of scriptures in martial arts novels. Just a picture or a book is a peerless martial arts that can make people invincible.” We walked to the next intersection with emotion. When Wang Meifen was solving the equation, I chose the left road and walked up.Because on that road, there is something strange. Similar things, if you pay attention, there are many air passages criss-crossing in all directions, and this is the nearest one. From a distance, this thing looks like a boat with a spherical bottom or a one-man aircraft, neither fish nor fowl.When I got close, it was still difficult to tell what it was. 它的上半部分像是三轮摩托车载人的那个兜，椭圆形，里面是个单人座位，有车把，无挡风玻璃。在座位边有条安全带，和汽车上通用的那种一模一样，这意味着它应该是个交通工具，可是却没有轮子。这辆车（估且这么叫它）用金属打造，车身最外侧镶了一圈弹性材料，让我想起碰碰车外面防撞的轮胎。车的底盘内凹，嵌了个大圆球，莫说轮子，连高科技的喷气孔也没瞧见半个，倒像个不倒翁，压根不可能行驶嘛。 这不倒翁车的身侧上有个搭勾，让它得以靠在护栏上。我把搭勾取下，它自动回缩到车身上的卡槽里，车就此和护栏脱开。我抓着车把，却根本推不动，相反因为是个球底，我要花很大力气来平衡车身，感觉这车子重得很，怕有百斤的份量。 车头中央有个圆型的按纽，看着很像启动健，我按下去，整辆车忽然就升了起来，把我吓了一跳。 我本以为车子浮了起来，定睛一看不完全是。底下的圆球还在地上，但是和车的底座分开了，车身浮在圆球上方半尺。我立刻明白，这一定是磁力的作用，但让人惊讶的是，车辆开启之后，圆球和地面的接触面只有那么小一点，但整辆车却变得非常稳。我试着手松开车把，它居然并不倒下。我用手推了推，很轻松地就把车推到了路的中央，松开，它就稳当当停在那儿。 这车的磁力平衡系统，真是匪夷所思。 我当然忍不住就坐了进去，背包换到胸前。上车的时候，车身有晃动，但极轻微，比上公园游湖的那种小船要稳得多。坐稳之后，我顺手扣上了安全带。咔答扣死的那一刻，车身又往上浮了一点，估计和轮子之间的距离扩大到了两尺。两侧车把是可以转动的，我把右侧把向前转，车子无声无息地向前行驶了起来，再转左侧把，没错，是刹车。 我转动方向，车身就原地向后转去，灵巧又容易上手。 “这是……车？”王美芬这时已经走了过来，盯着这辆磁浮车问。 “显然，看来你的资料里没有这玩意儿。如果这技术能够普及，交通问题就解决了，就是不知道它的动力是什么。你看那条路上还有一辆，你去把它开起来吧。” “是个主意。” “我先试试它能跑多快。” 先前我只是轻轻转了一下动力把，往回拧，车开始后退，再向前拧，车子一个停顿，然后迅速向前冲，几秒钟后就很快了，可能有三十到四十公里每小时，感觉还能再快，但这样的空中道路，让我不敢拧到底。 在右侧车把的一侧，还有个小圆纽，恰好是在我的大拇指能够到的地方。看这样的设计，应该是一个行车时常用到的按键。我忍不住按了下去，顿时一股力量从屁股底下传来，整辆车竟然弹飞起来，我拼命拧刹车，却哪还来得及。本来我的方向就有点偏，这一飞起，转眼就飞出了护栏，凌空于万丈深渊之上。 Hold! 我大声惨叫，怎都想不到，会以这种方式，挂在喂食者协会的大本营里。 但居然没死成。在原本道路的前方，本有一条横逸出的小路，通向一幢两层小屋。车斜着飞出护栏后，依原本的抛物曲线，本该是掠过这条小路的，但居然在小路的上方突然下沉。 “砰”的一声响，圆球车轮落在小路上，我这时才知道原来车轮被带着随车一起飞了起来。圆球在小路上原地弹了两下，而磁力车则在球上两三米的高度上下前后晃动，渐渐稳下来，像有根无形的弹力绳牵在车子和车轮之间似的。 等车完全停稳，回到悬浮在车轮上两尺的状态时，我已经一身冷汗。 “太他妈刺激了。”我叫道。 “是啊，虽然知道很安全，但我可不敢这么干。但下回，麻烦离房子远一点。有些材质的房子磁力引导点布得不周密，比如我的，撞上了你也许没事，但我的房子可就糟糕了。” 这里瑰丽的景象、开阔的环境、稀少的人烟和新奇的磁浮车，让我几乎忘了自己身处的是喂食者协会最绝密的大本营；所肩负的，是拯救整个人类社会不被托盘操控的使命；要完成的，是零零七都会死八回的绝地任务。而现在，这突然出现的陌生声音，给我了当头一棒。 我向声源处望去，忙着收拾自己脸上的惊讶表情，却不知该说什么。 这条空中小路的尽头是一方上百米平的“飞地”，其中的一半是院子，并无花草，按照日式枯山水风格布置。此时一个六十多岁的老人正站在院门与小路的接口处看着我。 “你是中国人？而且这么年轻！了不起。”他说。 我这才意识到他刚才说的第一句话是中文。 我冲他微笑，点点头，犹豫着是否要下车。 他似乎把我当成是住在大本营里的人了。这座城市这么大，可能住了上千人，或许更多，他看来并不认得所有人。作为一个只穿了泳裤的男人，哦还有一双鞋，此时的模样可说非常古怪可笑。但我不能解释，我只能笑，这时说任何话都有可能是错的。 他忽然往我身后看，穿着泳衣的王美芬女士也走了过来。 我觉得气氛简直僵硬的要板结起来了。但王美芬也是没办法，她原本就在不远处，处于这位老人的视野范围内，从穿着看显然是和我一起的，这时如果徘徊不前，或者往远处逃离，就是此地无银了。 “是……又进新人了吗？”他说。 “刚来。”我说。 "No wonder." 他眼神并没有过多在我们两个的身上停留。我该感谢他的有分寸，想必住在此处的人，大多有些怪癖，他估计把我们的穿着也看成了怪癖，开口问的话，就失礼了。又或者他根本不关心我们穿着什么，只要自己的房子不被磁力车撞坏就行。 “研究哪方面的？”他好像是在正经的社交场合遇见两个西装革履的科学家那样问道。 “客观状态下个体样本分析，和真实的相对性研究，并个体与群体关系的交互性描述。”我用最绕的学术词语说了自己的职业——记者，我觉得我没吹牛。 “网络和人工智能。”心里有底气的王美芬则说得很简单。 这世界就是这样，吹得云里雾里花里胡哨的，总是肚子里没货的。 这老头倒没往这方面去想，眉毛一扬，很高兴地说：“在托盘已经成型的现在，协会还在吸收人进入到这儿，还是研究这方面的，看来我的想法是对的，的确有问题，不光是我一个人想到了！” 我正想点点头顺着话头唬弄一番，没想到王美芬却问道：“什么问题？” 我心里大急，搞研究的钻牛角尖的劲头一上来，真是不分时间地点。你去管托盘还有哪些问题干啥，和这老头儿每多说一句话，就增加许多暴露的可能啊！ “问题大了。”老头子说到这个话题，两眼放光，一副恨不得猛拍大腿的模样。 “在中国的复杂测试失败了，你们是知道的，对不对。” 我心里一跳。 “中止了就是失败了，不论任何理由，最终的目的没有达到。这一次的公测中，失败的比率高达13.7％。主流的声音认为可以通过对失败案例的分析来修正托盘，以达到成功率无限逼近100％，但我认为绝不可能。非但逼近100％是妄想，把失败率大幅降低都是非常困难的，我甚至怀疑，能否把失败率降到个位数。” “是自由意志的不可测性在其中发挥的作用？你是这一派的？”王美芬问。 我想到了席磊的第二个愿望。我本以为他的第二个愿望算是达成了，只不过是他自己选择了放弃，但如果以老头的不论任何理由，未达目的都是失败来算，那么他这个愿望也没有达成。这就是王美芬所说的自由意志吧，在关键时间选择了放弃。就如我在两次受袭的关键时刻做出的反应，使我成功活了下来，这都是因为自由意志的选择，超出了托盘的掌控所致。王美芬所说的自由意志的不可测性是喂食者协会中的一派，那么另一派，也就是主流的一派，想必是相信不存在什么真正意义上的自由意志，一切都是可以被计算到的了。 老头子却没有正面回答王美芬的问题。 “自由意志什么的先放在一边，这个讨论了很久，一时之间也不会有结果。我们对于人的行为的判断，来自于他的行为模式和外界影响的综合。所有的因素收集得越齐，准确度越高。但目前来说，就外界影响而言，我们收集两类，一类是外部人群影响，一类是外部环境影响。这个环境说的是地理环境和气候环境，这两类对人的心理影响都很大。地理环境是死的，简单，气候环境是个大难题，至今没有解决。现在因为互联网，我们可以直接或间接监控到每个人每天大多数时候的行为，数据的问题解决了，才有了今天的托盘。但关于气候，就严重缺乏这种数量极的数据来支撑，哪怕我们建立起了数据模型，运用混沌原理来计算，在缺乏足够参数的情况下，误差还是很大。但是，基于蝴蝶效应，气候的问题是无法解决的，因为你不可能监控到全世界所有的蝴蝶，监控到了你也无法对蝴蝶的行为模式进行归纳总结预判，因为没有一个蝴蝶互联网来给你收集蝴蝶的个人信息。而你知道事情并不仅仅止于蝴蝶，地球上有多少种生物呢？任可一个生物都可能因蝴蝶效应对气候造成影响的。” “我们现在已经有了接近九成的准确率。”王美芬说。 “那又怎样，我们永远到不了九成。气候问题总的来说是个小因素，此外还有各种生物对人的影响，蚂蚁、蟑螂、路上的猫尸、蜇人的马蜂、落下的鸟粪等等，这些不可控的因素，和气候问题加在一起，也还是小因素。当采集到足够多的大因素后，就有很大的容错率，把因为不可控小因素产生的逆流覆盖掉，使事情重归正常的可控的轨道。可是，事情并不总是这样，很少的时候，小逆流会突然变大，成为一股不可忽视的力量。这点在简单测试中非常罕见，但是在复杂测试中，因为经过的中间环节很多，给了小逆流的成长空间，往往就会有突变产生。” “听起来，就像最初生命的诞生一样。从不可能中产生的可能，突变。”我说。 “正是这样。这是非常非常非常美妙的突变。我觉得这样的变化，才是宇宙真正秘密的所在，是属于上帝的禁区。看似不可触碰，不可掌握的10％，应该是协会所有人下一步的目标。可是现在……” 老头子说到这里，忽然停住，一副欲言又止的模样。他看着我，眯起了眼睛，后退了一步，又退了一步，转身走进了他的小屋，砰一声把门关上了。 这转折来得极其突兀，难道是我刚才说的那句“像最初生命的诞生”暴露了身份？Can't. 我看看王美芬，她也在看着我。 等等，她看我的眼神…… 我低头看看自己，看看磁力车，摊开手看看掌心，然后抬起头。 在如天空般的穹顶上，有一道白光直射下来，照在我的身上。 仿佛圣人得道时的神迹。 但此时此刻，这代表了最坏的一种可能。 幸好这似乎只是单纯的光束，并非什么特殊的可怕武器。我急忙驱动磁力车，从小道开回主路，试图摆托它。但努力是徒牢的，那道光一直跟着我。 “你被标记了。”王美芬跟上来说：“我们必须要分开了，立刻。” “可是为什么你没有？” “也许因为我本来就是喂食者协会中的人，系统里有我的信息。” “什么系统？”我立刻问她。 “这里显然有一个远程扫描系统，我们这两个人是多出来的，到现在才被扫描出来，已经算是速度慢的了。别废话了，你快点走，马上就会有人来抓你的。没办法，只有你帮我吸引一下注意力了。” "how about you?" “我去找零号，你得帮我争取时间。” “那然后呢，我们该怎么逃出去？出口在哪里，你到底知不知道？”我瞪着她问道。 “你看这空中城市并没有连到天顶上，我们刚出来时的那条环绕峡谷的走廊是最高的一条环形走廊，多半就在走廊上某道门后面。” 我没法再耽搁，问清她前进的方向后，驱车往反方向开去。 只是我的心里，却有太多的忧虑与不甘。 因为王美芬这个人，实在是太可疑了。 我对她的疑心，是从她第一次告诉我，需要进入潜伏状态以避免被协会发现开始的。作为一个下决心与协会对抗，想要摧毁协会并且已经付诸行动的人，她好像有些过于小心了。她的潜伏持续时间很长，一直到我对于黑站牌的调查有所进展，甚至遭遇托盘的第二次死亡指令，我都处于孤军奋斗的状态。在此期间，我的疑心越来越重。她口口声声说，促使她下定决心反出协会的，是中国的复杂试验，她无法容忍中国政府放弃D岛这个目的被达成。可是，在阻止D岛被放弃的关键时刻，她竟然因为自己的安危而躲了起来，让我这个帮手冲锋在前。这意味着，她对自己的性命，要比D岛什么的更在乎。惜命的人很多，懦弱的人更多，但一个懦弱的惜命者，是不可能下决心摧毁喂食者协会的，聪明如她，难道不知道走上这条路，是九死一生的吗？这种矛盾，只能有一种解释——她没有说实话。她对托盘提出的那个请求，真的是摧毁喂食者协会吗？在喂食者协会因为大本营受到威胁，收到托盘的报警，主动切断反应链之后，我就明白，王美芬提出的请求不可能是摧毁喂食者协会。因为这样的请求，触及到了托盘的红线。那么，如果不是摧毁喂食者协会这样的请求，会是什么呢？ 王美芬选择和我共赴公海，寻找喂食者协会的大本营，并没能让我对她的疑心减弱。我一直在提防着她。这就是我为什么不直接问她留在船上的手提电脑密码，而要多此一举地请她把喂食者协会资料拷贝在移动硬盘上的原因。作为一个有秘密的人，她不可能把密码告诉我，说不定她的电脑里还有自毁程序呢。 进了大本营之后，她表现出相当程度的熟悉，而这些内情，是之前从未提过的。包括会有类似天网的监控，任何外来者都会在短时间内被光束标注这一点，我怀疑她早就知道。我不由得想，到底光束只罩着我而放过了她，是因为她本身是喂食者协会的成员，还是她早已经通过托盘的后门，给了自己一个特殊权限呢。她虽然是会员，但她从未来过大本营，照理不会拥有在大本营的权限吧。 我原本的计划，是不动声色地跟着王美芬，直到找到零号，取得核心芯片。关键是我必须看着核心芯片被摧毁，或者掌握在我的手里。可是现在，我却不得不和她分道扬镳了。 这是她早已经计划好的吧。 然而，我再不甘心，此时此刻也只能选择相信她，只能为她吸引火力！因为如果被大本营的清理者把我们两个一锅端了，那就什么希望都没有了。 我驾驶着磁力车，往王美芬的反方向去，遇到路口时随意选择，对或错，通向何方，对我来说都失去了意义。 内心中有一个声音不停地在啮咬着我：这样的牺牲真的有价值么，托盘的核心芯片如果落到一个野心家的手里，是不是能再造一个托盘，在没有制约的情况下，危害会不会比喂食者协会更大？ 也许，我该试试，自己找到零号。 零号的个头一定很大，安放它的房子很容易认出来，象刚才老头子那种两层小楼，一眼就能排除掉。喂食者协会是一个秘密组织，而它的大本营，更是秘密中的秘密。在这座地下的空中城市构建之初，也许并没有对外来者的侵入作出特别严谨的预案。在他们看来，一个能辨识身份的天网系统已经足够了吧。如果以此来推测，那么零号的机房极有可能不会被故意藏起来。甚至它所在的位置，应该与它的重要性相匹配，它是心脏，是大脑，是灵魂！这座空中城市极具美感，如果由城市的设计者来安排机房的位置，会在什么地方？ 我能想到的，无非三处。第一处，穹顶中央；第二处，空中城市的正中央；第三处，底部中央。 第一处无路可寻，抬头望去，整个空间接近穹顶的五六十米内空无一物，要么它不存在，要么它位于穹顶之上。如果是后者，我根本没有时间去寻找入口。所以，只能把目标锁定在第二和第三处位置。 主意打定，我在遇见岔路时的选择就有了针对性，首先得是往下的，其次是往城市内侧去的。 开过几个路口，也见到了几个人，但远远望见我身上的光柱，都避走不迭。当这道光柱被我头顶上的街道或房屋遮挡时，立刻会从另一处补上一道光罩住我，简直三百六十度无死角。 我尝试着把磁力车越开越快，到六十公里的时候，因为道路狭窄，感觉简直风驰电掣，比在高速路上开到两百公里还有心惊胆颤。这车不知能开到多快，感觉还有余力，我想自己不会有太多的时间，咬咬牙把动力把一下拧到底，速度一下子再往上飙了一大截，短短一两秒内就突破了八十公里，耳中风声急响，原本还挺远的岔道口转眼就到了跟前。我连忙松动力拧刹车，车下的球体倒是很快就停了下来，钉子一样吸在路上不动了，但悬浮在上面的车体却刹不住地往前冲，猛撞在路口的护栏上。车身上的那圈弹性材料这时发挥了作用，居然没把钢化玻璃撞碎，我胸口被保险带拉得生痛，脖子差点断掉。但是，在车子反弹回去之前，我看见这条三岔道所连接的右前方的那条空中道路上，正有一溜磁力车急速驶来。 车子回摆，我晕得想吐，但等不及车子起稳，就急忙拧动了动力把，再次一拧到底。车把一转，磁力车嗖地往左边的岔道蹿了出去。 我在强烈的推背感中回头望去，看见这近十辆磁力车分了三辆追在我后面，其它车则走了另一条路，看起来是想要包抄。显然这是一个战术失误，我就不信把动力把拧到底，这些家伙靠绕远路能赶上我。 下一个路口，左转，再一下个路口，右转，下长阶，车身随着滚球的弹跳一起一伏，真是前所未有的架乘体验，哈。 我试图在逃跑中调节一下心情，却收效甚微。因为我意识到，哪怕后面那些家伙一时之间追不上我，但如果我不能把他们甩掉，就没法去寻找零号机房。 当我看见前方十字路口，正有另一溜磁力车驶来时，就知道自己真是太乐观了。 车速这时已经超过了九十公里，我咬着牙，死拧着动力把，对着十字路口冲过去，急转左，车身在护栏上狠狠侧撞了一下。又是长阶，总落差十几米，滚球的第一个落点就落在长阶三分之二的地方，车几乎是飞跃过去的。在下落中，我抬眼望去，前方蛛网般交错的空中道路上，还有一溜十辆磁力车当头赶来。另外还有两三辆一组，足足有四五组，四散着逼近中。 十秒钟之前我还觉得追兵布下的网捕不到我，现在我却已经在网中。 最近的一组三辆磁力车，已经开过前方的路口，和我处在同一条路上。这条路只能容两车并行，三辆车两前一后，我已经避无可避！ 他们开始放慢速度，但我还是直直冲了过去。 “STOP！”他们大喊。 我按下跳跃钮，磁力车腾空而起，拉起滚球在他们头顶上呼地飞跃过去。 只要不碰到一长溜那种跳不过去的车队，没人能挡住我。这跳跃的功能，真是逃跑利器。 我这一跳落下的时候就接近了路口，再转向已经不及，好在这是个十字路，就直直开了过去。这是被我甩在身后那三辆车的来路，所以算暂时在包围圈上撕了个小口。但短短两个路口之后，又是三辆车当头而来。 我故技重施，再次跃起。这次我起跳的时间早了一点，但以刚才的经验，跳过他们绰绰有余。 眼看要从他们头顶上飞过的时候，打头一辆在我视野里急速放大。他竟也选择了跳跃！ 在空中已经来不及做出任何的变化，他的车头狠狠顶在我车下的圆球上，发出沉闷的撞击声。圆球被顶得斜飞出去，拉着我的车身也一起偏出了护栏。 下面就是白云朵朵的美丽深渊，车子划出一道抛物线，开始下落。我脑子一片空白，愕然看着那辆撞飞我的车也同样被撞离了道路，往另一侧坠下。 这是铁血敢死队吗，为了干掉我毫不犹豫的牺牲掉自己？妈的他车身不是金属的吗，撞上我的滚球不该吸在一起的吗，这车身里的磁力系统做的还真够智能的。 不对，他没有掉下来！ 我抬头望去，见那辆车的滚球牢牢吸附在一根金属栏柱的外侧，整辆车竖着浮停在栏柱外，和路面呈九十度角。 How could this be? 我蓦然明白过来。磁力车的滚球不仅可以靠磁力