Chapter 8 fourth quarter

Ion ran up the steps of the building behind the shrine and opened the door of the locker shop.The pistol girl wearing presbyopic glasses gave him a hard look. She was watching the portable TV, but she didn't want Ion to see it, so she hurriedly turned off the screen.Throwing the TV, which is only the size of a thin pocket book, into a black leather bag, complaining: "I came so early, it's only half past seven. Even if I arrived early, I wouldn't give you more salary." "It's okay. I didn't want to be late, so I came early." "It's so amazing, but you're actually afraid of the cold, right? I've already seen through that you want to come here to keep warm."

The pistol lady didn't even smile.She took out her favorite stick, but instead of rubbing her cheek, she rolled it across her wrinkled palm. "Auntie, can I stay here until work?" Ion asked politely. "No. The iron gate of the underground shopping mall should be open. You can go to the underground shopping mall or a convenience store to pass the time." The pistol lady refused without saying a word. Since a few years ago, convenience stores have adopted a time system. You have to leave within 20 minutes after entering the store, and you can't stay too long.And the underground street is occupied by a group of young people living underground, the "Underground Gang", outsiders will be driven away immediately.

Ian put his hands together and begged, "Please, I don't have a watch, I'm afraid it will exceed the time." "Isn't there an electronic clock at the station?" Ion didn't want to wait at the station like a cold iron box.Especially recently, in order to prevent vagrants and homeless people from entering, both the iron doors and windows are tightly closed, like a fortress.Because of the infestation of robbers, the shops that were stationed there disappeared, and almost all the stations became unmanned stations with only automatic ticket machines left.It is also heard that because the stations have become too threatening, taking the tram has become a pain, and many elderly people are increasingly afraid to go out because of this.Wealthy people drive their own cars and travel in urban areas with well-equipped parking lots that are new and clean; while the elderly or low-income classes who cannot drive go to neighboring urban areas where there is no need to take trams.So the old urban areas like Shinjuku or Shibuya are full of people who have nowhere to go, homeless people.

Ion hesitated, and the old woman said coldly: "If you don't want to go to the station, just wait outside the gate." Ion held back his yawn, and went to the corridor helplessly.The hallways were gloomy and dingy, flickering with fluorescent lights that were dying. A man in a suit hurried into the locker shop as if he was going to push Ian away.It must be homeless people who have to go to work to come and pick up things.After the man left, other men and women entered the locker store. Ion crouched down in the corner of the corridor with his knees hugged so as not to obstruct the passage.Even though the cold wind was blowing up from the stairs, Ion still couldn't resist the drowsiness and dozed off drowsily.

In the state of not being able to distinguish between reality and dreams, Ion saw the scenes of the copper and iron brothers who were still children running up the narrow stairs together again and again.The two stood in front of Ion and said in unison: "Get up, Ion, we are here to pick you up." Ion jumped up and looked around, and found himself alone in the bleak corridor full of garbage.He was disappointed to find that he was dreaming.I don't know how many times this dream has been repeated. "Ion! Ion!" Someone patted him on the shoulder.The real brass and iron brothers finally came, and Ion hugged him happily.

"You guys are here!" Ion felt the other party froze in confusion. "Ion, what's wrong with you?" Ion opened his eyes in surprise, and saw that it was an adult who was nothing like the Bronze and Iron Brothers—Mogami.The unchanging black down jacket was zippered straight to the top, but there was no black wool cap on his head, and he looked surprised. "How are you?" Ion was disappointed and heaved a big sigh. "What, it turned out to be you." Mogami smiled wryly: "I'm sorry." "It sucks, it's almost dead." Ian sniffed his nose, he didn't sleep last night, he was sleepy and cold.But the dream just now must be a prophetic dream, Brother Tong and Iron will come to pick him up soon.Today's Ian is full of hope and in good spirits.

"Why are you sleeping here? What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Mogami looked at Ion worriedly.Ian hated that kind of observing gaze, and said as if he wanted to shake off the other party's concern, "It's all right, leave me alone. You really like to inquire." Most Shang looked at his watch and said, "It's already nine o'clock, don't you go in? I'm here to see if you've come to work properly." Cock guy.Ion felt angry, but luckily Mogami woke him up.Even if she was just sitting outside the door, if she didn't go in on time, the pistol lady would definitely get angry and fire him.

As expected, as soon as Ian opened the door, the old woman who was putting on a frayed fur coat and was about to go home yelled, "Where did you go? How can I go home if you don't come?" "Don't be angry, don't be angry." Mogami smoothed things over. "You won't let him in, so he has to wait outside the door. Look how poor he is, he's freezing." "Fuck me. You have to laugh when you have a job. I haven't asked him to thank me yet." The old woman gave her the last look and left the shop in a hurry.After the old woman returns home, she will finish the housework in just three hours, buy a few meals, come back to the store, and then monitor the whole night.

"It's amazing, as expected of someone who runs a locker store by himself." Mogami didn't seem to know about the fact that the pistol woman carried a pistol with her, but there was a reason why he admired it so much. Robbers broke into a locker store in Shinjuku last year.The thieves tied up the shopkeepers, smashed the locker with an electric drill, and ransacked the contents.Of course, the store has no insurance, does not know how much the loss is, and has no compensation. Now Shinjuku has become a very dangerous area, and the case happened in the middle of the night, but the job of looking after the locker store should not be a woman—no, a child.However, in order to save personnel costs, the pistol woman hired a child to look after the store for three hours every day.

"Ian, you didn't seem to sleep last night? It's best not to doze off." "I know, you're annoying." Ion sat down in front of the table and waved away people.Mogami silently crossed his arms and looked down at Ion. "You're not like usual." "What's the difference?" Ian looked up, tilted his head and said: "I can't tell what is different, but I always feel that the impression is different. Usually you are domineering and not cute at all, but today..." Mogami stopped here. "Isn't it cute today?" Ion was furious.

"Oh, yes." Mogami smiled happily. "Mogami, hurry up. I have to work, and Kemi won't be here today." Hearing Kemiko's name, Mogami's expression remained serious. "I'm not worried about Kemiko at all. What I'm worried about is you, Ion. Where did you go to sleep after you left Park Village?" "Why should I tell you?" Ion made up his mind never to tell anyone about Shibuya Palace. "If something happens to you, I will definitely help you, just tell me." "I will never tell. It's a secret." Ion and Mogami stared at each other for a while, but Mogami finally gave up and prepared to leave. "Okay, Ion, I don't want to force you to reveal your secret, so do whatever you want." Suddenly, Ian remembered what Kami wanted him to tell. "By the way, Cammy has something to explain." "Camiko?" Mogami frowned in surprise and turned around. "Cami can ask me to tell you that there are street children in the market, but mommy won't take them in." Mogami's sense of professionalism seemed to be stimulated, and he fidgeted. "I gonna go see." Finally left, Ion breathed a sigh of relief.He wanted to open his rented locker, read the clipping, and get the key out of his backpack.Attached to the key is a yellow plastic plaque with "STRONG" written on it. Because of the appearance of the Copper and Iron Brothers, Ian wanted to confirm his past. What happened to the house that day?Ian was not informed at all, only that a strange adult broke in suddenly, and then Ian and his group were sent to the child care center. Just as Ian was about to open locker No. 38, a guest came in.They were two middle-aged men who had been homeless for a long time. One went to the locker room inside to search for clothes, and the other seemed to be counting money, curled up on his back and concentrated on counting banknotes.Ion returned to the table, looked away and pretended to be indifferent. After the two left, there was a female guest.The weather has been very cold these days, and many homeless people come to get seasonal clothes or belongings. Finally, the woman went back, and changed back to the top.In his hand is a paper cup of creamy soup, which he seems to have bought from a convenience store. "Ion, I've searched, but I didn't see anyone." Mogami put the steaming cup of soup in front of Ion. "So caring." Ion didn't thank him, and Mogami didn't blame him either.He must be preoccupied with the new street boy. The absent-minded Mogami handed over the plastic spoon together, and Ion immediately started stirring.Yellow corn kernels loomed in the cream soup.He was drooling.A cold body craves a hot drink. "What kind of street boy is Kemi?" Mogami asked. "I saw it too. It's a pair of brothers, and the younger brother is very arrogant." Mogami was shocked when he heard that Ion had also seen it. "Why didn't you say it earlier? It has nothing to do with being arrogant, right?" Mogami looked serious and angry.Ian unexpectedly discovered that Mogami is a short-tempered person. "Stop pretending to be an envoy of justice there. Then why didn't you ask me if I knew from the beginning?" Mogami shook his head and sighed.Maybe it's because I don't like what Ian said, recently Ian has been able to observe Mogami's psychological changes. "Then let me ask you, what kind of children are they?" "It's in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school. He looks very cold in a black sportswear." Mogami wrote it down in a notepad. "And then it seems like twins." For a moment Mogami seemed to hold his breath, or was it just a psychological effect?Does Mogami know about the Bronze Brothers?Ion stubbornly suppressed the urge to ask.He didn't want to provoke Mogami Tanwen in turn. "Then I'll go again." When Ion finished the cream soup, Mogami left.Ian's body finally warmed up, his eyelids drooped after a while, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep on the table. Ion had many weird dreams, just like what often happens when he dozes off.The copper and iron brothers who appeared in the dream were exactly the same as when they were young.Although Ian in the dream thought it was incredible, he missed it very much. Their big eyes with upturned corners show a more stubborn and intelligent nature than others.The suntanned skin color is exactly the same, the two front teeth are particularly large, and the mole on the left cheek, etc., are all exactly the same.Both were wearing denim cropped trousers and a horizontally striped T-shirt that they often wear in summer. The fifteen-year-old Ian looked down at the eleven-year-old brass and iron brother: his heart returned to the eight-year-old. "Long time no see, Ion." The two spoke at the same time, and Ian was so happy that he almost passed out. "Nice to meet you, Ion. What have you been doing?" "I live in Shibuya." "Are you alone?" "Well, by myself." "It's remarkable. But don't worry, we're coming." "You can rest assured." Huh?Ion was surprised.There was a bit of a gap between the voices of the two.Before, the two of them spoke word for word at the same time. Ion was a little disappointed, and compared the looks of the two, one of them became Mogami.The top suddenly grows taller.Ion shouted: "It's not the best!" "No, we are copper and iron." The most serious rebuttal.Ion punched Mogami angrily, but Mogami held down Ion.Ion was held back, that overwhelming force was the strength of the instructors he had experienced several times in the child care center.Ian felt that he had finally seen through Mogami's true face, and was struggling wildly in his dream. Suddenly, the table shook violently, and the sound woke Ian awake.It was so cold, but his back was covered with sweat. Fortunately, there were no customers in the locker shop, and no one noticed that he had dozed off.And it was only half past eleven, there was still some time before the pistol lady came back. Ion breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.Go to the small bathroom next to the entrance to wash your hands, and take a look at your own reflection in the foggy mirror.A small chin and a pointed nose are all evidence of nutritional deficiencies.Because I haven't cut my hair for a while, my hair has become longer. "Ah, if only there was another me." Ion touched himself in the mirror with his hand.How wonderful it would be if, like copper and iron, there is another self who is exactly the same, and the two live together.Everyone pays attention to us and likes us.If it's two people, the night is not scary, and if you help each other, street life must be nothing. Why isn't he a twin like the copper and iron brothers?Ian deeply felt his own incompleteness, and he wanted another self. Ion walked out of the bathroom, stunned in place, suddenly felt something strange.A discomfort of forgetting something. Suddenly, he saw the cabinet door wide open.The round yellow number plate attached to the key dangles.Thirty-eight. It's my locker!Ion ran over in a hurry, the cabinet door was opened, and it was completely empty inside.Envelopes containing cash and newspaper clippings and comics were all gone.Ion desperately remembered.When he took out the key just now, the guests followed up, so did he put it on the table? Mogami, two middle-aged homeless people, a female guest, and then Mogami again.Mogami gave him soup, and he dozed off.Someone found the key on the table while Ian was asleep, opened the locker and stole the money and newspaper clippings he had worked so hard to earn.Ion stood there blankly. The door of the store opened suddenly, and the pistol lady appeared with the cold wind.She seemed to have bought lunch and supper, and the packages of Korean pancakes and rice balls were exposed in the bag. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?" As expected of a pistol lady, she has a sharp eye.She seemed to notice something strange.Ian shook his head violently, the pistol woman stared at his face suspiciously, and then checked the shop.Ion pretended to be nonchalant and said: "Okay, give me my wages. I'm hungry, I'm going back." "It's okay, it's okay, nothing happened, right? You look bad?" The pistol girl murmured, took out nine hundred-yen coins from her wallet, and put them in his palm. Nine hundred yuan, this is all his property, Ian almost cried.Yesterday's sense of happiness disappeared without a trace, and he felt extremely embarrassed, thinking that if he didn't cherish and use the 900 yuan, he would be doomed. "Can I come tomorrow too?" Naturally, Ion also became servile to the old woman. "Well. Don't be late." Ion breathed a sigh of relief and walked down the stairs of the building.It's unbelievable what happened after just a little doze off.All of a sudden, doubts welled up in him. He insidiously wondered if it was Mogami who stole it? He felt that Mogami would never do such a thing, but didn't he always say that he wanted to know about Ion's past?Mogami will be very happy if he sees that clipping. Besides, maybe Mogami still held a grudge against Ion for throwing away his photo album.Ion wanders the streets of Shibuya, looking for Mogami. The newspaper that was originally placed in the locker was given to him by "sister" Selene in front of the rusty horizontal bar in the corner of the small sports field in the child care center.It happened seven years ago, Selene avoided the eyes and ears of instructors and senior students, and quickly stuffed a crumpled piece of paper into Ion's hand. Ian looked at the small clipping that was suspected to be the social edition of the newspaper, but he couldn't understand it, it was full of Chinese characters. "what is this?" "It says about us." Selene avoided looking at Ion and murmured softly.Because the child care center prohibits the exchange of items between children. "You don't want it?" Selene nodded quickly: "I've already read it, no need. I remember it." "What's written on it?" "See for yourself." Selene didn't seem to want to talk.Then she escaped the next day, so Ian kept it cherished.I didn't expect to lose it now because of negligence.Ah, I'm so frustrated.Once the mood is sluggish, Ian will feel painfully how precarious his life is. Once a person who sleeps on the street is timid and depressed, he will be swallowed by hunger, cold and loneliness in the blink of an eye, and then despair will take advantage of it.In this way, it will be ruined, and you will not be able to do anything vigorously, and you can only wait to die.Ian has seen too many adults like this.