Chapter 8 CHAPTER VII A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FORM OF LIFE

Although he hasn't said anything yet, I can already feel an extremely mysterious meaning from his expression and his tone. Lingling shivered, and I couldn't help but lowered my voice: "Xu Xin, did you see that... shadow again?" "It's not that shadow," Xu Xin shook his head, "but I believe it's his kind." My mind was so confused that I didn't understand what he meant when he said that. Xu Xin added: "That's another shadow. I brought him here. That's why I left Thailand to look for you. You seem to be very famous. I asked some people, and they all Said to have heard your name, but didn't know your exact address, so I had to go to a private eye."

I didn't hear what he said clearly at all. After hearing him say "I have brought him", my heart froze suddenly, and I didn't have time to pay attention to what he said again. I hurriedly said: "He...that shadow you brought, where is it?" My mood at the time was really contradictory, and I was afraid of seeing that weird shadow again. After so many years, I still shudder when I think of that incredible shadow. However, I hope to see that shadow again.Because now, I am no longer young, in these many years, I have experienced many strange things, when I saw that shadow again, I thought, maybe I can understand what that shadow is!

Xu Xin glanced at me. Without saying anything else, he opened the closet and took out a suitcase. He opened the suitcase and took out another leather bag. There was a spherical object in the leather bag. You can also see it in the bag. I held my breath. At this moment, Xu Xin's actions were like a great Indian magician, full of mystery. He opened the zipper of the leather bag, and took out a stone ball from the leather bag. I already knew that kind of shadow "lived" in the stone ball, but this was the first time I saw it. Stone balls like that. It was about the size of a bowling ball, dark gray, with a rough, uneven surface. It was obviously quite heavy, because Xu Xin took it out with both hands and placed it on the table.

Xu Xin pressed the stone ball with both hands: "Wesley, don't be afraid, I have proved that he will not hurt anyone." I smiled wryly: "You should also know that I am not afraid, but that mysterious feeling that makes me tremble!" My body was indeed trembling slightly, perhaps, this was why Xu Xin thought I was afraid. Xu Xin was still pressing the stone ball with both hands, and he said: "This stone ball was discovered by a farmer. According to the farmer, he worked in the fields at night. Most Thai people are very superstitious and believe in all kinds of magic. , some of the sorcery is indeed unbelievable—then I’ll tell you slowly, he saw many meteors flying across the sky, and then, not far from him, there was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.”

I took a breath: "This stone ball, fell from the sky?" "According to the farmer's narration, that was indeed the case. He walked over and saw the stone ball. According to him, there was a cloud-like thing around the stone ball at that time, but when he When approached, the cloud-like thing disappeared." I took another breath: "In other words, this stone ball looks like a meteorite? Although meteorites of this size are rare, there are also larger ones." Xu Xin said slowly: "You are right, but is there a shadow among the other meteorites?" As Xu Xin said, his hands moved away suddenly, and he stretched out his hand to flick it. The stone ball rolled on the table, and during the rolling, it split into two halves.

I really want to take a step forward to observe carefully, but I really want to take a few steps back, because the sense of mysterious fear in my heart is getting stronger and stronger. In such a contradictory mood, I finally became motionless, and I saw that after the stone ball was split in two, the middle was empty.To my surprise, its hollow part is not spherical, but square. Then, I saw a black shadow rapidly expanding in the hollow part of the square, and in a blink of an eye, a shadow appeared on that table, so Xu Xin and I both saw a The shadow is on the wall, as if someone is standing in front of the wall, and a spotlight is shining on that person, although no one is actually in front of the wall.

The shadow was exactly the same as the shadow I saw many years ago. When it was stuck on the wall, I had the feeling that it was "looking" at me again, and I stared at it. I let out a bitter laugh: "Xu Xin, do you still remember that you said that it might be the demon in Aladdin's magic lamp, and it will do whatever you want it to do, isn't that so?" Xu Xin also let out the same bitter laugh, and said: "Why do you need to mention the childish words from back then? Now, let me ask you, what is it?" My answer was so childish that even I felt sorry for myself, and I said, "That's a shadow."

Xu Xin screamed: "I know it's a shadow, but what exactly is it?" This question sounds ridiculous, a shadow is a shadow, what else is it, but what exactly is a shadow? I looked at the shadow, unable to answer Xu Xin's question. Xu Xin was obviously much calmer than me, maybe it was because he had been with this shadow for quite a long time, he pointed to the shadow standing on the wall again, and asked me: "Then, at least you have to answer me , do you think this shadow is a creature?" I still smiled wryly, there is absolutely no connection between "shadow" and "creature".Any creature, under the light, will have a shadow, and on the wall is the shadow of a person.Not only living things, but any object will have a shadow, which is something even children know.

But the shadow itself is not an object, since it is not an object, how can it be a living thing? I first thought about what I was going to answer Xu Xin in my heart, and then I said it as I thought. Xu Xin nodded: "You think the same as me. In the concept of me, you and everyone else, the shadow is not an object at all, but a phenomenon that appears when the light is partially blocked. The shadow is It does not exist, but now, what you and I have seen has destroyed all our concepts!" I turned my head to look at the wall again, the shadow was still standing, but when I looked at him, he moved, he moved to the window, and then moved out of the window, half of him, stuck to the window On the wall, it seems to be admiring the street view outside the window.

Xu Xin's voice seemed calmer: "We have a lot of life experience, can we try to explain what this shadow is?" I sighed: "I want to hear your opinion." "That is a kind of life." Xu Xin replied. I glanced at Xu Xin, and Xu Xin was very sure, saying that the shadow was a life.But no matter how heavy his tone is, even if he swears to God, his words are still not convincing. So, I shook my head. Xu Xin was not discouraged: "That is a life. Our concept of life is that any life is always composed of cells. The life of all animals and plants is the same. The simplest life is a single cell. Not even cells, but, in fact, our conception of life is, so to speak, the conception of life on Earth."

He especially strengthened the tone of the sentence "the concept of life on earth". Then, he pointed to the shadow again. At this time, the shadow has shrunk back.Still stuck on the wall, he said: "And we don't know where this shadow comes from, but we can't deny that this is a life, it's not even three-dimensional, it's just a plane, just a shadow, his life composition, and the earth The composition of his life is completely different, we can't imagine it at all, but he can move, I dare say he has thoughts, and there must be a way to communicate thoughts among their kind!" Xu Xin was waving his hands, and his expression became more and more excited, like a speaker who was speaking heartily. However, what he said confuses me more and more. Perhaps, in the vast and mysterious universe, there is a planet where life is flat.But in any case, I cannot accept such a concept. I looked at Xu Xin and said slowly: "To be honest, I have never heard a more daring hypothesis than what you just said." "This is not a hypothesis," Xu Xin exclaimed, "This life is right in front of you, and you can see it." I stuttered a bit, and I said, "So, you think he's from another planet?" Xu Xin shook his head: "No, I don't think so, if he comes from a planet, then this planet—" He reached out and knocked on the stone ball, and then said: "This stone ball should be a spaceship, but it is just a hollow stone in the middle." My words are somewhat ironic: "Or, the concept of spaceships or machinery is also different. Their machinery is just a piece of rock!" Xu Xin smiled wryly helplessly. He couldn't refute my words. Life can be flat, or just a shadow. Then, why can't the spaceship be a stone ball? Xu Xin smiled bitterly, holding up the stone ball with both hands: "But I have my own idea. My own idea is that this stone ball itself is a star." I stayed for a while, but I didn't say anything. The stone ball is small, no bigger than a football, but of course it could be a star.There are planets that are incredibly large, and some that are extremely small, orbiting in the universe, and even a lot of cosmic dust, which are extremely small particles! Compared with cosmic dust, this stone ball is of course a huge star. In the universe, the concept of big and small is close to infinity and infinity. I nodded involuntarily. Seeing that I finally agreed with his words, Xu Xin seemed very happy: "There must be a lot of such stars in the universe, just like the earth, although they are small, they have the conditions to produce life, a single life , inside it, for some unknown reason, it got out of its running track and was attracted to the ground by the earth's suction, friends, this is the origin of the shadow man." I remained silent for a while, at this time, the shadow was gradually moving, he wandered around the walls of the room, entered the bathroom, came out of the bathroom, finally, he walked along the carpet, came to the table, and then he Moved onto the table. When he came to the table, his size was significantly reduced. When he came near the stone ball, he became only the size of a palm, but he was still humanoid. Then, as if he was determined to end its journey, he "climbed" into the square space inside the stone ball. At that time, he was just a small black dot. Xu Xin covered the other half of the stone ball, raised his head, and said: "He is like that all the time, not long after he comes out, he must return to the stone ball, as if he must be inside the stone ball, so that his life is safe. " I put my hand on Xu Xin's arm: "Xu Xin, I know that there is an institution that specializes in studying such weird things, and I also know the host of this institution, I will go find him with you, Together with him, study this... shadow." Unexpectedly, Xu Xin shook his head: "No, Wesley, if you and I went to another planet alone, what would we most hope for?" I stayed for a while, this is almost an unanswerable question, and it never occurred to me that I would go to another planet alone. When I was dumbfounded, Xu Xin had already answered this question by himself: "If I were at that time, what I needed most would be the other party's friendship, and I definitely don't want to be studied by others!" I felt another shudder: "Xu Xin, are you crazy? You want to be friends with this shadow?" But Xu Xin said very stubbornly: "Since he is a life, why can't I be friends with him?" I want to say something lighter, because that's a ridiculous thing to do.But I just opened my mouth wide and couldn't speak. Xu Xin said again: "Do you still remember what that Professor Mao said? He once said that the old monk and another shadow can communicate with gestures. I can conclude that this is a life, and it came from this point. He must be able to send out a kind of radio wave, or something like that, to know what's going on outside." I hurriedly said: "Then, why don't you let him participate in scientific experiments, let him display his abilities in various sophisticated and reliable instruments, to prove what he is?" "No!" Xu Xin replied loudly. He may be very angry because I once again proposed to send the shadow to be tested. Xu Xin is not such an impulsive person, especially in front of me, he should not be so impulsive, let alone we reunited after a long absence Good friend, he came to find me specially! However, it is very difficult for me to understand his mental state at this time. He seems to value the "friendship" with that shadow more than the friendship between me and him. As if "bewitched", he was full of anger, and while saying "no" loudly, while holding the stone ball, he paused hard on the table and made a "bang". His pause caused the stone ball to crack a small piece, at the same time, there was a sound similar to moaning and struggling in the stone ball. I tried my best to make the atmosphere more relaxed, so I hurriedly said: "Xu Xin, don't be impulsive, your shadow friend is frightened!" Xu Xin didn't say anything, he picked up the stone ball, wrapped it in a leather bag, and put it back into the box. Then, he looked up: "I'm disappointed." I know what he means: "What were you thinking?" "I would like to invite you to go back to that ancient temple with me. The place is very quiet, and we can study the shadow slowly. We can talk to the shadow together, but you obviously won't agree." I frowned: "How much time do you plan to spend?" "If I am alone, I think at least ten or eight years, but if the two of us are together, the time will naturally be shortened a lot. I think three to five years will be enough." It is not unworthy to spend three to five years trying to talk to "Shadow", if there are any achievements. I paused for a moment, and then said: "Xu Xin, I don't think you need to be disappointed, I can go with you. But there are a lot of things, you have to ask me to explain them properly." Xu Xin seemed very happy: "Okay, but I have to go back first, and now I am very unaccustomed to city life!" I have already seen this point. Not only has he become very unaccustomed to the city, but also he has become very strange.I said, "Why are you so eager to go back!" He said, "No, I don't want to stay longer than one day." I knew his temper, so I said: "Okay, then, let's have dinner together, and I will introduce you to my wife." Unexpectedly, Xu Xin shook his head and refused even this point, he said: "No, there's no need, I don't want to have too much contact with outsiders, I will leave immediately, you come to see me after you have arranged your mundane affairs!" He rang the bell, and when the waiter came in, he ordered: "Please settle the rent for me, I'm leaving." I stood by the table blankly, Xu Xin was so unreasonable, even though I thought he was a little weird living alone in that ancient temple for so many years, I was still a little angry in my heart. I watched him packing his luggage in a hurry, but I didn't say anything.When he was busy, I saw the fragments of the stone ball on the table, and I couldn't help but move in my heart. When he didn't notice, I put the fragments into the bag. Xu Xin left the hotel half an hour later, he even refused me to take him to the airport, he just said goodbye to me at the door of the hotel, saying: "Even if you don't come, I won't blame you, but you must I need someone to bring me a letter so I don't have to wait." I promised: "Definitely!" He got in the car and drove away.I stood at the entrance of the hotel for a while, and took out the fragment from my pocket. Instead of going home, I came directly to a chemical laboratory. The host of the laboratory, I know Yes, I handed the fragment to him and asked him to tell me the result of the analysis as soon as possible, and then I returned home. When I got home, I sat on the soft sofa and enjoyed the fragrant Longjing tea. I had changed my mind. Time for shadows to deal. So, I didn't tell Bai Su about this at all, but after a short rest, I went to my import and export company and asked a reliable employee to go to Thailand and tell Xu Xin, I didn't go, telling him not to wait for me. The clerk listened carefully to my words, and immediately went to go through the travel procedures, and when I arrived home in the evening, the host of the laboratory had already called twice. I hurriedly called him, feeling a little nervous, and asked, "What did you find in the results of your analysis?" "A lot of nickel and iron," he replied, "it looks like a meteorite, but it's very loose and full of gas." "What gas?" I asked hurriedly. "Naturally, it is impossible to know. When it is smashed into pieces, the gas escapes immediately. In addition to nickel and iron, it is silicon and aluminum. In general, it is similar to rocks on the earth." "No other ingredients?" "No, the analysis report did not indicate any specific ingredients. Do you have any questions?" I originally wanted to ask him if there would be a shadow-like life in that composition, but I didn't ask, because I knew that if I asked, there would be no result. I said, "Thank you, nothing else." I put down the phone and made up my mind to forget about it completely.But before the clerk came back, it was not very easy to forget about it. During those few days, almost as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw that mysterious shadow. At the same time, I thought over and over again what Xu Xin said, and I tried my best to make myself understand those words. , I believe that in the universe, there is really a kind of life, which is just a plane. However, I really have no way to do this, because it is really outside the scope of our thinking. Ten days later, the clerk came back. The news he brought me was beyond my expectation. He told me that two days before he arrived at the ancient temple, the ancient temple caught fire and burned to ashes. People, nowhere to be found, may have been burned to death. The situation was exactly the same as that of Professor Mao's house! Naturally, no one saw the shadow again, and the shadow seemed to have disappeared in the fire, but how could there be such a fire?Why is it such a coincidence that there is a big fire? Naturally, these questions cannot be answered, but I only remember Xu Xin once said: "What is that shadow? It is a life." Is that shadow really a life?If someone asks me again, I still can't answer!