Chapter 8 chapter eight

Her stick needles are a set of two thin wooden sticks of the same size, placed side by side in a leather case, and there are several sets.At first glance, it looked a bit like the wrist of an ancient corpse, with dry skin wrapped around the white wrist bones.Thin wooden sticks and leather sheaths, handicrafts are a bit like some kind of clues, passed down from generation to generation a long time ago, after the baptism of riots, wars and purges, they have survived to this day.It seems that the ancestors gave you a kind wink, implying that these things are not dangerous, such as fairy tale books or wood carvings, which have been passed down from generation to generation.Every clue can be vaguely traced back to the world above ground.Now, in that world, there are only dilapidated buildings standing behind the gray and desolate sand dunes.

Chief Zhansi considered for a long time, and finally selected a set of needles.Every time she chooses a needle, she takes great pains, because the precise caliber is the most critical.If the needle is too thin, it is difficult to knit, and the knitted cotton clothes will be too tight and feel oppressive when worn.Conversely, if the needles are too thick, the knitted clothes will be full of holes, and the tissue will be loose, and the skin will be faintly visible when worn on the body. After choosing, Janss took the needle out of the holster and reached for the cotton thread.Looking at the big ball of cotton thread, it was hard for her to imagine that with just her own hands, that ball of tangled cotton thread could be turned into wearable clothes.She pulled out the end of the thread from the cotton thread, and it suddenly occurred to her that the process of creating a piece of clothing is really miraculous.At this moment, her cotton clothes are just a mess of cotton balls, some ideas have not yet formed.Earlier, the ball of cotton thread was just a ball of cotton in the soil cultivation area. After harvesting, cleaning, and finally spinning and winding into long cotton thread.Even earlier, it was just a cotton tree growing on the soil of the agrarian area, and many people slept in that soil, their flesh and blood nourished the soil and the roots of the cotton tree, and the people above the soil The plant light exudes a warm and brilliant light.Perhaps, the cotton trees grew from their souls.

Janss shook her head, suddenly feeling a little sick.She found that the older she got, the more likely she was to think about death.Throughout the day, I always think about death. She carefully wraps the end of cotton yarn around the tip of the needle and hooks it into a triangle with her fingers.It can be seen that the skillful movements have been trained for many years.Then she threaded the point of the needle into the triangle and wove the cotton into it.It's called a needle, and it's her favorite move.She likes to start, to start a needle.Create something from nothing.Next, she no longer needed to use her eyes to see the movements of her hands, so she raised her head to look at the image on the wall.In the early morning, the violent wind rolled down the hillside, rolling up clusters of yellow sand.Today, eerie clouds hung low across the sky, like worried parents looking down on their children.The clusters of sand and dust rolled and twisted, passed over the depressions and valleys, like a group of children playing and laughing, and finally rushed to a small ravine in the middle of the two dunes, all the way up to the top of the ravine.There, two dunes become one.Janss saw a cloud of dust pounce on the two corpses, and then scattered in all directions, like a ghost. That scene, as if two children playing and laughing suddenly disappeared, turned into a puff of smoke and dust, and returned to the dreamland again.

Chief Janss sat on a faded plastic chair, leaning on the back of the chair, watching the unpredictable wind in the outside world.There, it is a forbidden place for human beings.Her hands kept moving, and the cotton thread gradually turned into a piece of cotton fabric.She only glanced down occasionally to see if she had made any mistakes.Dust often hits the camera, wave after wave.Every time she saw the sand and dust hit her, she would involuntarily shrink back, as if the sand and dust would fall on her.Every time the sand and dust come, the lens will become dirty and the image will become very blurred, and on the day when the lens is wiped clean, the feeling will be particularly strong.Every time I watch the sand and dust hit the camera, I feel as if I see a dirty man staining the girl Yujie's icy skin.It was a feeling of being violated.Janss remembered that feeling.Now, sixty years have passed, and sometimes she wonders, why does sand and dust make the lens so dirty?Why must a human life be sacrificed every time the lens is wiped clean?The pain was almost unbearable for her.

"Chief?" At this moment, on the dead sand dune, there is the body of the security officer.Yesterday, she lost her security officer.She turned her head and couldn't bear to look again, and then she saw Deputy Security Officer Manais standing next to her. "What's the matter, Manes?" "These are the things you want." Manes dropped three folders on the dining room table and pushed them in front of her.Last night, to celebrate the successful completion of the lens cleaning task, everyone celebrated in the big dining room, and the table was covered with cake crumbs and juice stains.Janss put down the cotton cloth in her hand and reached for the folder reluctantly.At this moment, she just wants to sit here alone for a while, and see the results of her weaving with her own eyes.She wished she could take one more look at the beauty of the sunrise and enjoy this peaceful moment.As time goes on, the lens will start to get dirty again, and the image will start to blur again, so she hopes to get another look before then.Moreover, in a short time, the people on the upper floors of the bunker will wake up slowly, rubbing their sleepy eyes, and then they will all squeeze into the big dining room, each sitting on their own plastic chairs, watching the sunrise.

But she has responsibilities after all.She is the leader elected by everyone, and the bunker needs a security officer, and she must find someone quickly.So Janss put aside her personal thoughts and looked down at the folder on her lap.She caressed the cover of the first folder and looked at the back of her hand with a sad but calm expression.The backs of her hands were dry and wrinkled like handmade paper protruding from the inside of a folder.She turned to look at Manas.His beard was almost completely white, with only a little black left.She still remembered what he looked like back then, with a thick black beard, tall and thin, energetic and full of youthful breath.Now, he looked so old and haggard.She thought he was still handsome, but that was purely because she knew him when she was young, because her old eyes still had his old look imprinted in her eyes.

"Actually." She said to Manais, "This matter can be handled in another way. Wouldn't it be better if I directly promoted you to be a security officer? Then you can find a deputy security officer by yourself, wouldn't that be more suitable? Tradition?" Manasi laughed: "Chief, this deputy security officer, I have been working for too many years, almost as long as you have been the chief. At this age, the only thing I am interested in now is to know when I will die , as for the rest, I'm not interested at all." Janss nodded.One of the reasons she likes Manais by her side is that he is terribly pessimistic, and she will appear brighter by comparison. "I think we're not too far away from that day," she said.

"That's very well said. I really didn't expect to live so many more years. Most of all, I don't want to live longer than you, because if I see you go before me, I will feel guilty." Manet Si rubbed his beard and looked at the scenery outside.Janss smiled at him, then opened the top folder and began to read the first resume. "According to your instructions, I have found three good candidates." Manes said, "I am very happy to have any one of these three people as my boss. One of them is Juliet." , her file should be in the folder in the middle. She is my number one candidate. She works in the mechanical and electrical department on the ground floor and rarely comes up, but Houston and I—"

Manais stopped suddenly and cleared his throat.Janss turned her head and glanced at him, and found that Manes was looking along the ravine to the top of the dune.He raised his fist to cover his mouth and pretended to cough.He clenched his fists so tightly that his veins were exposed. "Sorry." He continued, "I just said that a few years ago, the security officer and I went down to deal with a death case, and this Juliet...well, I think she prefers to be called Zuer ... She performed very well, she is a powerful character, she is very clear-headed and very shrewd. She helped a lot in that case. No clues can escape her eyes, and she has a strong leadership ability and is very good at leading people. Tactful, sophisticated enough, but principled. That's it. I don't think she's ever been above the eightieth floor, so she obviously likes being on the ground floor. That's rare."

Jans browsed through Juliet's file, looking at her family background, looking at her financial records, and her current salary points.She performed well at work and was elected as the foreman.There was never a lottery. "She's not married yet?" Janss asked. "Not yet. She has a bit of a masculine personality, a mechanic who handles a giant wrench, didn't you expect it? We stayed down there for a week and saw with our own eyes how those men looked at her. For example, those men would She rushed to line up to let her choose, but she is not willing to hang out with men. Let's put it this way, a man will never forget her when he sees her, and she would rather live alone. "

"You don't seem to have forgotten her." As soon as the words came out, Janss regretted it immediately, she couldn't stand her sour tone. Manais adjusted his stance and switched to the other leg for support: "Uh, chief, you should know my plan. I am always looking out for suitable candidates and assessing their capabilities. I will try my best to avoid being arched." Go up and be a security officer." Janss smiled. "Where are the other two?" She opened the folder to see the names of the two people.She was a little skeptical. People who like to hide at the bottom are really suitable for security officers?However, it could also be that she was worried that Manes would fall for his boss.In the first folder, the man's name was Peter Berning.She knows that person.He works for the Ministry of Justice, and his office is not far downstairs, only a few floors away.The position seems to be a secretary, and it seems to be the "apprentice" of the judge. "Leader, let me be frank. According to the regulations, there must be three candidates for the sake of fairness, but in fact, I just picked up the other two. As I said just now, no matter who is my chief, I will I am very happy, but I personally think that Zuer is the most ideal candidate. It has been a long time since we have had young girls as security officers here. The next presidential election is coming soon. You can push a girl out to be a security officer. Everyone will be more interested.” "We can't choose a security officer on this basis," Janss said. "Whoever we choose in the end, he's bound to be in this job for a long time, maybe until we're both gone—" said Here she stopped, because she suddenly thought of Halston.She said the same thing when Halston was drafted. Janss closed the folder, then turned her head to continue looking at the image on the wall.Under a sand dune, a small tornado slowly took shape and slowly rolled into a ball of yellow sand.Not long after, the tornado rolled bigger and bigger, dragging its pointed tail and swaying left and right. At first glance, the huge upper part looked like a child's head, and it was rolling towards the camera .In the pale, frail morning light, the tornado looked brilliant. "I think we should go meet her," Janss concluded.The folder was still on her lap, and her fingers continued to fiddle with the edge of the handmade paper. "What are you talking about? I think it's better to tell her to come up by herself. Just like before, the interview will be in your office. After all, it's a long way to go down. When you come up, you will feel that the distance is even further." "I understand your concerns, deputy security officer. I really do. However, I haven't gone down to the bottom for a long time, and the furthest I have reached is the fortieth floor. I should visit my compatriots often, not always Use your knees as an excuse—" The chief suddenly stopped again.The tornado of sand and dust kept moving left and right, and suddenly, it turned around and rushed towards them.The tornadoes are getting bigger and bigger.Because the wide-angle lens outside distorted the image, the tornado seemed bigger and stronger, even though she knew it wasn't that big.Not long after, the tornado enveloped every shot, and the entire restaurant suddenly fell into darkness for a while.After a while, the tornado moved away, moved slowly in the picture, and gradually faded away.The tornado was finally gone, and the problem was, the clear picture disappeared with it.Now, the world on the wall has become a dark blur again. "Damn it." Manes gritted his teeth, unconsciously holding the handle of the gun.His leather holster was very old and creaked.At this time, an interesting picture suddenly appeared in Jans's mind.She seemed to see the deputy security officer appearing in the video, with thin legs, chasing the tornado and shooting desperately, but unfortunately, the dust had gradually dissipated. The two sat there in silence for a while, turning their heads to look around, checking to see if there was any damage in the large dining room.After a while, Jans finally spoke. "Manais, this time I'm going down, it's not for elections, nor is it to canvass votes. I believe that as long as I stand for election, no one will win me. So, this time I'm not going down for any benefit, and we don't need to wear Too formal, not too ostentatious. I just want to see my compatriots, not to put on a show." She turned to look at him and found that he was looking at her too. "It's for myself, Manes, just as It's an escape." She looked back at the landscape outside again. "Sometimes...sometimes I feel like I've been up there too long. Both of us. I think we've lived too long—" She stopped suddenly again, because she heard the clatter of footsteps on the other side of the spiral staircase.Its daybreak.Both of them turned to face the direction of the stairs, to the voice full of life.That voice means that a new day has awakened.At this moment, she knew that it was almost time, and she should shake off those images of death in her mind, at least temporarily. "Well, let's go down and see what this Juliet is capable of. The two of us go together. Do you know why I want to go down? Because we are forced by this world to do a lot of things we shouldn't do. Sometimes, sitting here, looking out, I see the consequences of what I did—my heart hurts, Manes, it hurts."
After breakfast, they met in Hoston's office.It's only been a day since Horston left, and Janss subconsciously still feels that this is his office.Right now, she can't use this place as someone else's office for the time being.There are two desks side by side, and an old filing cabinet next to it.She stood there, some distance away from the desk, looking at the empty cell.At this time, Manais was explaining something to Terry.To be away for a long time, things must be explained clearly.Terry is a security guard in the information area. He is a burly figure. Whenever Manes and Horston go out to handle a case, Terry will be asked to stay in the office.Standing behind Terry was a teenage girl with black hair and piercing eyes.Her name is Martha, she is a trainee in the information area, and she is Terry's "apprentice".In the bunker, more than half of the people were accompanied by an apprentice.They are about twelve to twenty years old, and they follow the master like a shadow, absorbing knowledge and technology like a sponge, so that the operation of the bunker can continue, at least, for another generation. Manes especially reminded Terry that every time the camera is just cleaned, everyone will become particularly irritable and irritable, because once the pressure is relieved, people will become more impulsive.At least for a while, they feel like they can do whatever they want. In fact, there was no need for him to give any special explanation, because in the big restaurant next door, everyone was having a carnival celebration, and the earth-shattering noise could not be stopped even with the door closed.The residents of the top forty floors of the bunker have already crowded the entire dining room and hall.Moreover, throughout the day, there will be hundreds of people climbing up from the middle and bottom floors.They all asked for leave, used up their vacation vouchers, and made a special trip to the top floor to enjoy the clearest view of the outside world.For most, that's like a pilgrimage.Some people only come up once every few years. They will linger on the top floor for several hours, muttering in their mouths that the outside world has not changed at all, and it is still the way they remember it.Then, they would rush the child down the stairs.They had to squeeze their way down the stairwell as the ascending crowd packed it. Manes handed all the keys and a temporary police badge to Terry, then checked the walkie-talkie to see if the battery was charged, then checked the main radio in the office to see if the volume was turned up enough, and then took out the Check out the pistol.Finally, he shook hands with Terry and gave him a few words of encouragement.At this time, Janss realized that it was almost time and they should go, so she turned away from looking at the empty cell, turned to say goodbye to Terry, nodded to Martha, and followed the horse. Ness walked out of the office door behind. When they stepped out of the office door and were about to enter the big restaurant, Janss suddenly asked: "The camera has just been washed, so it's really okay for you to leave your post now?" She knew how crowded the top floor would be at night The degree, and to what extent those people will be impulsive.At this juncture, dragging him along, it seems that the timing is not right, because this task is her private matter at heart. "What does that matter? The timing is just right, and I'm also looking for a place to hide." He glanced at the image on the wall, but there were too many people, covering his sight, so he couldn't see clearly. "I still don't understand what Halston is thinking. Why didn't he tell me what was on his mind? Maybe, when we get back, I won't feel that he is still in the office, because, now Staying there, I can't even breathe." Janss pondered what he had said as the two made their way through the crowd that filled the restaurant.Everyone was holding plastic cups, and the juice was flying everywhere, but she could smell moonshine in the air, but she decided to leave them alone for now.Everyone greeted her with gusto, wished her a safe journey, and promised to vote for her.Few people knew about their going down this time, and they didn't expect it to be leaked so soon.Most people believe that the purpose of the chief executive going down this time is to connect with everyone and warm up for the next general election.The younger generation in the bunker congratulated Manais and called him Security Officer, because they all grew up when Halston was the Security Officer, and they did not know the inside story of the successor of the previous Security Officer, and did not know that it was Manais who took the initiative. Concession, willing to serve as deputy.However, the older generation knew the inside story, so when the chief and Manais passed by them, they all nodded and secretly gave them another kind of blessing in their hearts.Their eyes reveal their inner hope: to keep the bunker as it is now, so that their children can live as long as themselves.Don't let the bunker collapse, at least not too quickly. Janss has been living under this pressure.This kind of pressure is more cruel than the pressure that age puts on her knees.She was silent all the way as they walked toward the central spiral staircase.Some people shouted for her to give a speech, but she was relieved that the booing did not follow.What can she say?Do you want to tell them that she doesn't understand why the bunker can still be maintained?Are you going to tell them that she can't even understand her own sewing?Is the cotton thread intertwined together, in the right order, and the clothes can be made?Are you going to tell them that if you just cut a thread, the whole garment will fall apart?As long as you cut it, the thread can be pulled out, and it becomes longer and longer, and finally becomes a ball of cotton thread?Did they really think she knew how to run a bunker?In fact, she was just following the rules left over from before. In this way, year after year passed, and she never expected that the condition of the bunker could still be maintained as normal. She couldn't figure out what power was supporting the operation of the bunker.Moreover, she couldn't understand their mood, and she didn't understand why they were celebrating.Why are they drinking and partying like this?Is it because they feel they can rest easy because they're glad they got away with it and didn't get sent out to have the lens cleaned?Now, a good man is dead, lying on the dunes, with his wife's body beside him.He is her good friend, her good helper, her good partner.He died, and the people in the bunker were celebrating?So, if she was going to give a speech, if she didn't have to worry about breaking the taboo of the bunker, then she would say this: Two good people volunteered to go outside to clean the lens.Can the whole bunker find better people than them?What are those of us left in the bunker compared to them? This is simply not the time for speeches, drinking and carousing and revelry.Now is the time to calm down and think about it.That's why Janss feels like she needs to get away from it all for a while.Everything has changed, and that kind of change is not caused in a day, but accumulated for an unknown number of years.She knows this better than most people.Also, the old lady McClane in the material area may also be very clear, and she also sensed that something was about to happen.One has to live long enough to see things clearly, and now, she saw.Time passed day by day, and the world she lived in was getting faster and faster, and she couldn't catch up at all.Chief Janss knew that before long, the world would leave her far behind.A great fear lurks deep within her.She didn't say it, but that fear haunted her every day.That is: one day, when she is gone, the world may not last long.