Chapter 57 Chapter fifty-seven

"—In the past 31 years, thirty-one states have been involved in civil war. In that war, the number of Americans killed far exceeded the cumulative number of deaths in other foreign wars, because everyone who died in that war was a Americans. For four years, the country was devastated. Whenever the war smoke cleared, the piles of corpses you saw on the devastated battlefield were actually brothers. More than half a million Americans died, but according to Estimates put the actual death toll at over a million. Some died of disease, some died of starvation, and every living person had a broken heart—"

Lucas was reading the description of the battlefield in the book, when the lights suddenly started to flicker, and the whole room suddenly fell into a light red halo.He looked up at the lights on the ceiling.The originally bright white light suddenly turned into a twinkling red light.That meant someone had walked into the server room above.He clipped the silver divider tape back into the book, closed the thick book, carefully put it back in the tin box, and then put the tin box back on the original position of the bookshelf, so that the entire row of silver book backs Complete again.Then, he walked to the other side of the room, walked to the front of the computer, bent down and moved the mouse, and the dormant screen lit up again.

A window appeared on the screen, and there were several side-by-side real-time images in the window, which were from different servers, but because it was shot with a wide-angle lens, the images were a bit distorted, making them look particularly wide.There are many secret devices in this room, this is one of them.From this room you can spy on certain places far away.Lucas went through each frame, wondering if Sammy or some technician came in to fix things?At this moment, his stomach grumbled.He suddenly wished someone would bring him lunch. He looked at the frame in shot four and finally saw who it was: a short man in gray overalls, with a beard under his nose, glasses, and a little hunched over, holding a tray with a rim Clinging to his round belly.The tray contained silver cutlery, a covered plate, and a glass full of water that kept splashing.When Bernard passed in front of the camera, he glanced up and smiled, as if he was standing upstairs looking at Lucas.

Lucas hurried to the other end of the corridor, ready to help him unlatch the door.He didn't wear shoes, and stepped barefoot on the gridded iron floor.Then, he climbed up the iron ladder, grabbed the old red handle, and pulled it aside.Just when he lifted up the grid iron plate, Bernard had already arrived at the entrance of the cave, a huge figure blocked the light, and the passage suddenly plunged into darkness.Then, he pulled the grid iron plate aside to expose the hole, and Bernard placed the tray on the ground beside him. "Today I want you to enjoy yourself," Bernard said.He leaned his nose over to sniff, and lifted the cover of the plate, a burst of white steam immediately emerged from the plate, and Lucas saw two pieces of hot pork ribs inside.

"Wow!" Upon seeing the two pieces of meat, Lucas immediately felt a "gurgle" in his stomach.He hurried out of the hole, sat down on the edge of the hole, dangling his feet, then put the tray on his lap and picked up the knife and fork. "Isn't the bunker implementing strict food rationing? Isn't it going to end when they surrender?" He cut off a small pork chop and stuffed it into his mouth. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining." He chewed the meat in his mouth, enjoying the taste, secretly reminding himself that he should thank the animals for their sacrifices.

"The quota has not increased," Bernard said.He knelt down and pointed at the plate, "Our people met the enemy on the market floor, and the two sides fought. This poor pig broke into the middle of the camps of both sides and was killed like this. So we had to catch it and eat it. Otherwise it would be too wasteful. Of course, most of the meat goes to the families of the fallen guards—” "Oh?" Lucas swallowed a mouthful of meat, "How many people did we lose?" "Five. Plus the three who died in the first attack." Lucas shook his head. "Fortunately, the casualties are not too heavy." Bernard pulled his beard with one hand while watching Lucas eat.Lucas chewed the pork, while raising his fork to point at the pork, meaning to ask Bernard if he wanted to eat some, but Bernard shook his hand.Then, Bernard sat down on the ground and leaned against the server.The server was empty, and the external communication line was hidden inside. There was a handle on the bottom plate of the case to control the switch of the secret door.After hearing what he just said, Lucas deliberately remained calm.

"Then, how long do I have to stay inside?" He deliberately pretended to be nonchalant, as if he didn't care what Bernard answered. "It's been three weeks, isn't it?" He said, cutting off another small piece of pork and putting aside the potatoes. "You can go out in a few days, right?" Bernard rubbed his face and scratched his head: "I hope so, but I'm not sure yet. I let Sim judge the situation by himself. He thinks the threat has not been lifted. The electromechanical area is tightly guarded. They are threatening to cut off the situation." Electricity, though, I don't think they'll. I think they'll eventually understand that the electricity on our side is out of their control. Maybe they cut it off before they called in, only to find us here The lights are still on."

"They're not going to cut off the power to the farming and livestock areas, don't you think?" He was thinking about the food supply.He was worried that the whole bunker would starve. Bernard frowned. "It is indeed possible in the end. When they are desperate, they may jump over the wall. But in this way, they may not be worth the loss, because there are still people supporting them above. If they do this, they will lose all support. Well, you too Don't think too much, anyway, in the end they can't stand the hunger, and they will naturally surrender. The 'instructions' are clearly written."

Lucas nodded, took a sip of water from his glass.The pork was literally the best thing he had ever eaten. "Speaking of that book." Bernard asked, "How much have you read? Have you kept up with the progress?" "Yes." Lucas didn't tell the truth.In fact, he didn't read that "instruction" at all.He was more interested in those other books. "Very good. When this troublesome matter is settled, I will arrange another shift for you and let you work in the server room as much as possible, so that I will have more time to guide you. After a while, we will choose a new one." The date, the general election. I think, no one will come out to run against me. Once I am elected, I have to stay on it often, and when the time comes, the information area must be handed over to you. "

Lucas put down his glass, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and thought for a moment. "Well, I hope this arrangement doesn't start in a few weeks. I think I'll need at least a few more years—" Suddenly a bell rang, interrupting Lucas, startling him so much that the napkin in his hand fell onto the tray. Bernard was also frightened, and bounced away from the server as if he was electrocuted, as if the black casing of the server had suddenly turned into red-hot iron. "Fuck!" he cursed, punching the server, and hastily pulled his master key from his collar. Lucas put on a nonchalant look and took a bite of the meat.These days, the server keeps ringing, making Bernard more and more restless and emotional.Lucas suddenly felt that Bernard looked more and more like his father.His father finally died of moonshine and was buried under a potato field.

"Fuck it!" Bernard cursed, unlocked all the locks, and turned his head to glance at Lucas.Lucas was slowly chewing the meat in his mouth, but suddenly he felt a little bit uninspired. "I want to give you a job." He finally opened the last lock—Lucas knew in his heart that the lock was not easy to open, "I want you to add an LED panel to this back panel, and design several groups of codes. , In this way, we can know who is calling at a glance, whether it is important or not, and whether we need to answer it." He tore off the back panel and slammed it down in front of server number forty behind him.Lucas took another sip of water, sneaked a peek inside the dark server, and looked at the flashing light on the communication socket.The piercing ringing of the server's bell drowned out Bernard's curses. Bernard probed to the server for a look, then looked up quickly, his face flushed with anger.When Lucas put the cup on the tray, he turned to Lucas and said, "Actually, only two lights are needed here." Bernard pointed to the side of the server and said, "One red light, one Green light. If it's from the Seventeenth Bunker, it's red, if it's from somewhere else, it's green. Got it?" Lucas nodded, then looked down at the tray and began slicing the potato in half.At this time, he suddenly thought of his father.Bernard turned around and grabbed the backboard. "Let me put it back for you." Lucas ate a mouthful of potatoes, said while eating, and let out a breath of hot air so as not to burn his tongue.The potatoes are too hot.After a while, he swallowed the potato and took a drink of water. Bernard left the panel on the spot, turned his head to look inside the server, his eyes shot out with anger.The bell in the server still kept ringing, and the lights on the ceiling flickered. "Fine, I'll leave it to you," he said. "Maybe you should get this done first. First priority." Finally, the server's bell finally died down, and the room fell into silence, save for the sound of Lucas's fork hitting his plate.This moment of silence suddenly reminded Lucas of his childhood, when his dad usually fell asleep on the kitchen floor or in the bathroom after a bout of drunkenness.Similarly, after Bernard loses his temper, he will leave soon. At that moment, his teacher turned off the light on the ceiling, and the whole room was plunged into darkness. "Take your time with your dinner," he said. "I'll get Peter to clear the dishes later." Lucas skewered several beans with a fork: "What, isn't this lunch?" He stuffed the beans into his mouth. "It's already past eight o'clock in the evening." Bernard said while pulling his clothes, "Oh, yes, I met your mother today." Lucas put down his fork: "Oh?" "I've been telling her that you're doing important work for the bunker, but she's still insisting on seeing you. I've talked to Sim about letting her in here—" "Into the server room?" "Just come in and check to make sure you're okay. I'll arrange another place for the two of you to meet, but Sim doesn't think that's a good idea. He still doesn't have much faith in the loyalty of our people inside. He's still checking, see Let's see if any of us will turn against-" Lucas sneered: "Sim is too neurotic. How could the technicians in us have the same nostrils as those workers? It is impossible for them to betray the bunker, let alone you." He grabbed a pork rib , Eat off the meat on it. "No matter what, I decided to follow his advice and try to protect your safety. I will let you know when I arrange for you to meet your mother." Bernard suddenly approached Lucas and patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you for your patience for so long. For a long time, I have been hoping to find someone to replace me, someone who really understands how important this job is. I am very happy I finally found it." "Oh, I totally get it," Lucas said. "I'd give anything for the bunker." "Very good." Bernard squeezed his shoulders again, then stood up, "Read the 'Instructions' carefully, especially the part about mutiny and riots. I hope you can learn a little experience from this incident, then , After you become the person in charge, if the same thing happens again, you will know how to deal with it. Of course, God bless, I hope it won’t happen again.” "I'll read it," Lucas said.He dropped the gnawed bones into the tray and wiped his fingers with a napkin.At this time, Bernard turned and walked away. "Oh, that's right—" Bernard suddenly stopped and turned to look at him, "I don't think you need my reminder, but I still want to remind you that you are not allowed to answer the server's call no matter what .” He pointed to the server. "I haven't formally introduced you to the other directors of the information area, so if you talk to them before you officially take office, then your situation may be... dangerous." "How could I answer the phone?" Lucas shook his head. "Someone made you so angry, how could I still talk to him? Impossible." Bernard smiled, and raised his hand to wipe his forehead: "You are really nice, Lucas. I'm so glad I picked the right person." "I am also very happy to accept your guidance." Lucas said.He reached for another pork rib and smiled at his teacher.Then, Bernard turned and left. Lucas heard him stepping on the grid iron plate towards the big iron gate, and then walked out. At this moment, the footsteps disappeared.So, now only Lucas is left guarding these servers and keeping all the secrets. When Bernard entered the new password on the electronic lock at the door just now, Lucas pricked up his ears and listened carefully, silently memorizing it.He was very familiar with the tone of those keys, so he could tell that the password Bernard entered was new, and it was obvious that Bernard had no intention of telling him the new password. Bernard said it was for your own good.He chewed the meat in his mouth, heard the big iron door slam shut, and found that the blinking red light in the hole under his feet had also disappeared. Lucas dropped the bones on the plate and pushed the potatoes aside.Now, when he saw those potatoes, he suddenly felt sick, because it suddenly occurred to him that his father was buried under the potato field.He lowered the tray to the floor, stuck his feet through the holes, and stood up and walked behind the server.The back panel is not covered and there is no sound in it. He quickly took out the earphones and put them on his head, raised his hands and rubbed his face.After three weeks in it, he has a beard all over his face.He grabbed the end of the wire and inserted it into slot seventeen. He heard a dial-up "beep" sound, and imagined that the other party's server rang, and the indicator light on the panel began to flash. Lucas waited, too nervous to breathe. "Hey?" He heard a voice in the earphones.Lucas smiled. "Hi," he said. He sat down, leaning against server number forty, making himself more comfortable. "How are you doing?"