Chapter 4 Chapter 4 The Traitor

Almost immediately, Terrence recovered. "Get out, hurry up!" He said and started to walk. For a moment he had the urge to drag the unconscious patrolman behind a column in the main hall and hide, but there was evidently no time. They came to the ramp, the afternoon sun brought light and warmth to the whole world, and the color of the upper city had turned to orange-red. Varona said anxiously: "Hurry up!" Terrence grabbed her elbow. He smiled, but his voice was stern and deep: "Don't run, follow me naturally. Catch Yu Ke, and don't let him run." For the first few steps, they seemed to be going through glue.Are there any sounds from the library behind you?Is it his imagination?Terrence didn't dare to look back.

"This way," he said, pointing to a lane sign.In the afternoon sun, the road sign shone slightly.It read: "Ambulance Entry." They walked up the drive, through a side door, and came between two impossibly white walls.In the sterile glass corridor, they were a few tiny foreign bodies. A woman in uniform watched them from a distance.She hesitated, frowned, and started walking towards them.Terrence didn't wait for her to come close, he turned and went into one corridor, and then another.Along the way, Terrence met a lot of people in uniform, and Terrence could imagine the doubts in their hearts—it was unprecedented for local people to come and go freely on the upper floors of a hospital. What should we do with them?

Of course, they will eventually be stopped. Therefore, when Terrence saw an inconspicuous door marked "Access to the local floor", he immediately felt his heart beat faster.The lift happened to stop on their floor, and he quickly pushed Yu Ke and Varona into it.That slight jolt as the lift started to descend was the best feeling of the day. There are three types of buildings in the city.Most are substructures built entirely in the lower city, such as three-story workers' dormitories, factories, bakeries, waste treatment plants.The superstructure is the residences of the Sax people, theaters, libraries, sports arenas and so on.However, there are also a few double-storey buildings, with floors and entrances in both the upper city and the lower city, such as the police station and the hospital.

So they can use the hospital to travel from uptown to downtown without having to take a big, slow-moving freight elevator and avoid overly conscientious operators.Of course, it's never legal for a local to do this, but for the criminal who attacked the patrolman, adding to the crime is irrelevant. They stepped out of the elevator and went to the lower level.The walls were still completely sterile all around, but the surface looked a bit worn, as if scrubbed less often; the corridors did not have the covered benches like the upper floor.The most notable feature here is a restless and noisy waiting room, full of tired men and panicked women.There was only one receptionist in the waiting room, trying to make sense of the mess, but apparently with little success.

She was yelling at a bearded old man.The old man was wearing a pair of trousers that were threadbare and kept smoothing and creasing and creasing and straightening the creases at the knees.He answered every question with an apologetic tone. "What the hell is wrong with you? ... How long has the pain been? ... Have you ever been to the hospital before? ... Listen, you can't expect to bother us with every little thing. You just sit here and the doctor will come and see you, and then Prescribe more medicine for you." Then she screamed, "Next!" and murmured something to herself while looking at the big clock hanging on the wall.

Terrence, Varona and Yu Ke moved carefully among the crowd.Seeing Florina's compatriots, Varona's tongue seemed to be no longer paralyzed, and she began to whisper non-stop: "I had to come, Mayor, I was so worried about Yuke. I thought you wouldn't bring him back, and..." "It's not important, how did you get to the upper city?" Terrence pushed away those docile locals, and turned his head to ask. "I followed you and saw you get on the freight elevator. When the elevator came down again, I said I was with you, and he took me up." "that's it?"

"I frightened him a bit." "These lackeys of Sac!" Terrence snorted. "I had to do this." Varona explained pitifully. "Later, I saw the patrolman pointing at you to a building. After they left, I went there too. But I didn't dare to go in. I didn't know what to do." I couldn't do it, so I had to hide. Until I saw you come out and was stopped by a patrolman..." "You guys!" the receptionist shrieked impatiently.She stood up and slammed the pen tip on the cement alloy table. Everyone present was so frightened that they didn't even dare to breathe.

"Those who want to leave, come here. You can't leave without being checked, don't pretend to be sick to avoid work. Come back!" In the end, the three of them ran out and came to the shadow of the lower city.All around was the smell and noise of what the Sacks called "the local area," and the upper floor became the roof again.Varona and Yuke were relieved to be able to get out of the suffocating Sac environment, but Terrence's inner anxiety did not disappear.They have gone too far, and may never find a safe place to live from now on. When he was still uneasy about this matter, Yu Ke suddenly shouted:

"Look!" Terrence felt a bitterness in his throat. The natives of downtown probably never saw a more horrific sight than this in their entire lives.It was as if a giant bird descended from the sky through the hole in the upper floor, and the sky became dark for a while, and an ominous and gloomy atmosphere enveloped the lower city.But it was not a bird, but an armed speeding car specially used by patrolmen. The locals yelled and ran in all directions.They may have no particular reason to be afraid, but they scatter anyway.One of them stood almost in the path of the car, reluctantly stepping aside.When the giant shadow enveloped him, he was running forward in a hurry, presumably in a hurry to do something.At this moment, he looked around, like a calm stone in the chaos.He was of average height, but his shoulders were almost monstrously broad.One side of his shirt sleeve was completely ripped open, exposing an upper arm as thick as an average man's thigh.

Terrence hesitated, but Yuke and Varona listened to him in everything. The mayor's conflict reached its peak.If they escape at this time, where can they go?What happens if you stay where you are?The cops might have been arresting someone after all, but the "maybe" of a cop lying unconscious on the library floor was hardly a consideration. The strong man was gradually approaching with a heavy trot, and when he passed them, he slowed down slightly, as if hesitating for something.Then, he said unhurriedly, "Krove Bakery is on the left side of the second alley ahead, just past the laundry shop."

Turn around and leave after speaking. "Okay." Terrence said desperately. He was sweating profusely as he ran.The patrolman's loud scolding came from the noise, and he turned his head to take a look. Six patrolmen came out of the speeding car and formed a semicircle.It was easy for them to catch him, he knew that.In this goddamn mayor's uniform, he stands out like the pillar holding up the upper town. Two of the patrolmen ran in this direction.He didn't know if they saw him, but that didn't matter.The two patrolmen collided with the strong man just now, and the collision was not far away. Terrence could hear the strong man's hoarse roar and the patrolman's curses.He hurriedly led Varona and Yu Ke into the alley. The words "Kroff's Bakery" are made of mottled plastic light tubes, like a sinuous, shiny earthworm with five or six broken places on it.The delicious aroma coming from the open store door will never make people mistake the place.Apart from going in, they have no other way to go. There was a dim light from the inside of the oven that was obscured by the flour, and an old man was looking out. Before the old man had time to ask them why they came, Terrence hurriedly said: "A strong man..." He stretched out his arms and made a gesture, just when a shout of "Patrol! Patrol!" was heard outside. The old man shouted hoarsely: "This way! Quick!" Terrence hesitated for a moment: "Is there a road there?" The old man said: "This is fake." Yu Ke climbed through the oven door first, followed by Varona, and finally Terrence.After a slight click, the back wall of the oven shifted slightly, becoming an upper-hinged trap door.They pushed the door open and entered a small dark room behind it. They wait patiently.The place is poorly ventilated, and the smell of toast makes them hungry but not full.Varona kept smiling at Yuke, and mechanically patted his palm from time to time.Yu Ke looked back at her blankly, occasionally putting his hand on his flushed face. Varona just said: "The mayor..." Terrence immediately scolded softly: "Don't talk now, Varona, please!" He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, staring at the sweat on his knuckles. At this moment, there was a sudden "click".Since their hiding place was a closed space, the sound was particularly loud.Terrence's whole body was tense, and he unconsciously raised his clenched fists. It was the big man, who was pushing his broad shoulders through the opening and just barely getting in. He was amused by Terrence's appearance: "Come on, man, I'm not here to fight." Terrence looked at his fists and lowered his hands. Compared with just now, the situation of this strong man is obviously much worse now.The back of his shirt was almost torn, there was a fresh red and purple welt over his cheekbone, and the upper and lower eyelids were swollen, squeezing the eyes into two thin slits. He said: "They have stopped searching. If you are hungry, the food here is not exquisite, but it is enough for you. How is it?" It is night now.The lights of the upper town lit up the night sky for miles, but the lower town was bleak darkness.The curtains on the bakery's door were drawn tightly to prevent the illegal post-curfew glow from escaping the door. After eating the warm food, Yu Ke felt much more comfortable and his headache gradually subsided. He fixed his eyes on the strong man's cheek, and asked timidly: "Did they hurt you, sir?" "A little bit," the brawny man replied, "it's nothing. It happens to me every day." He laughed, showing his big teeth. For those guys, the easiest way to get a local out of the way is..." He stretched out his hand and grabbed the air, as if holding an invisible weapon, and struck down fiercely. Yuke backed away in fright, and Varona hurriedly reached out to protect him. The strong man leaned back, sucked between his teeth, and cleared out some food residue.Then he said, "My name is Matt Kolloff, but everybody calls me the baker. Who are you guys?" Terrence shrugged: "This..." The baker said, "I see what you mean, and it doesn't matter if I know or not. But you have to trust me on one thing—I saved you from the policeman, didn't I?" "Yes, thank you." Terrence couldn't be more sincere, "How did you know you were chasing us? There were so many people running." The other party smiled slightly: "The faces of others are not as ugly as yours. At that time, your faces were so white that they could be ground into flour." Terrence tried unsuccessfully to smile at his humor: "I don't quite understand why you risk your life like this. But anyway, thank you very much. It's not enough to say thank you, but now except Other than that, I can't do anything." "You don't have to worry about it." The baker leaned his broad shoulders against the wall. "I do this kind of thing a lot. Whenever I see someone chasing someone, I will try my best to help him. No reason, just because I hate those patrolmen. .” Varona took a breath: "Aren't you going to get into trouble?" "Of course, look here." He pointed to his bruised cheek, "but don't think that this small injury will scare me. I made this fake oven for no reason, so that the police can't catch it Me, I won't suffer too much." Varona opened her eyes wide, full of horror and fear. The baker went on: "Do you know how many tycoons there are in Florenia? Only ten thousand. How many policemen? Maybe twenty thousand. And there are five hundred million of us natives, and if we all unite against them..." He Snap your fingers. Terrence said, "If we unite, Baker, it will not be against men, it will be against needle guns and thunderbolt cannons." "Yeah, we have to get some of this stuff ourselves. You mayors are too close to the big guys, and they're afraid they'll be scared to death." The baker sarcastically. Today, Varona's world has undergone earth-shaking changes.It was incredible that this man had the audacity to stand up to the patrol, and talk to the mayor with ease and confidence.She listened carefully to what they said, and when Yu Ke pulled her sleeve, she Just gently opened his fingers and told him to go to sleep quickly, almost without even looking at him. The baker went on: "In spite of needle guns and thunderbolt guns, the only way for those barons to control Florenna is with the help of a hundred thousand mayors." Terrence looked annoyed, but the baker went on self-consciously: "Look at you, for example. You're so well-dressed and well-dressed and beautiful. I bet you've got a warm little room with film books , private tackle, and no curfew restrictions. You can even go uptown if you’re interested. The tycoons don’t give you these privileges for nothing.” Terrence felt that he should not lose his temper, so he said: "Okay. But what do you want the mayor to do? To provoke the patrolman? What good would that do? I admit that I have been ordered to keep my town calm and productive. Meet the requirements, but I also keep them safe and sound. I try to help them within the scope of the law, isn't this a kind of contribution? One day..." "Ah, someday. Who can wait for that day? What difference does it make to us personally who will rule Florence when you and I are dead?" Terrence said, "First of all, I hate those tycoons more than you do. Having said that..." He stopped talking, his face flushed. The baker laughed. "Go on, say it again. I'm not going to denounce you because you hate the cops. What did you do to make the cops have to arrest you?" Terrence was silent. The baker said, "Let me guess. When the patrolmen ran into me, they looked very angry. I mean real anger, not the superficial anger that was shown to the tycoon. I know them, I know So I guess there's only one possibility, you must have wounded a patrolman, maybe killed him." Terrence remained silent. The baker's genial tone remained unchanged: "There's nothing wrong with being silent, but neither is excess caution, Mayor. You need help, and they already know who you are." "No, they don't know." Terrence retorted quickly. "They must have seen your ID card when you were uptown." "Who said I've been to Uptown?" "I guess, I bet you have been." "They looked at my ID card, but it was just a quick glance, and they didn't have time to read my name." "But they didn't have time to know that you are the mayor. The only thing they need to do is to find a mayor who is not in their town today, or who can't explain his whereabouts today. Now, all the communication lines in Florence may be hot , I see you've gotten into big trouble." "Maybe." "You know there's no such thing as maybe. Need help?" They have been talking quietly.Yu Ke curled up in a corner, and fell into a deep sleep; Varona's eyes looked at the two people who were talking in turn. Terrence shook his head: "No, thanks. I...I will try to solve it." The baker immediately laughed loudly: "I am very interested to see how you solve it. Don't look down on me because I am not educated. I have other skills. Well, think about it tonight, maybe you will Decided to accept my help." Varona opened her eyes in the darkness.Her bed was just a blanket on the floor, but it was about the same bed she usually slept in.Yu Ke slept soundly on another blanket in the opposite corner.After recovering from a headache recently, if he is excited during the day, he always sleeps deeply at night. The mayor declined the bedding.The baker laughed a few times (he seemed to laugh at everything), then put out the light, and told the mayor that he could pass the dark night with his eyes open. Varona's eyes were still wide open, not sleepy.Will she still be able to sleep in the future?She wounded a patrolman! For some reason, she thought of her parents. Her memory is very vague.In the years since they were gone, she had almost let herself forget about them.But now she remembered those nights, the muffled conversations when they thought she was asleep; and the people who had come to her house in the dark. One night, the patrolman shook her awake and asked a lot of questions she didn't understand, and she had to try to answer them.Since then, she has never seen her parents again.They were gone, His Excellency told her so.The next day, adults let her go to work, while other children of the same age can play for another two years.When she was walking on the road, people always pointed behind her; after work, adults did not allow other children to play with her.She has learned to live a life of isolation and isolation, and has learned not to speak.That's why people called her "Big Lorna" and used to laugh at her for being an imbecile. Why did the conversation tonight remind her of her parents? "Varona." The voice was so close, the slight breath ruffled her hair, and the volume was so low that it was barely audible.She tensed up, partly out of fear, partly out of embarrassment.On her naked body, only a sheet was covered. It was the mayor's voice: "Don't talk, just listen to me. I'm leaving, the door is unlocked, but I'll be back. Do you hear that? Do you understand?" She reached out her hand in the dark, grabbed his finger and pressed it hard. He was relieved: "Look at Yu Ke, don't let him out of your sight. And, Varona," he finally said after a long pause, "Don't trust this baker too much, his origin is unknown. Do you understand?" Then there was a slight noise of walking, and a fainter creaking in the distance, and it sounded like he was gone.She propped herself up on one elbow, except for the breathing of Yu Ke and herself, there was silence all around. She closed her eyes in the dark, squeezed her eyelids shut, and tried to concentrate.Why would the know-it-all mayor say that about the baker who hated the patrolmen and who had saved them?Why? She could only think of one thing.He was there, and just when things couldn't get any worse, Baker showed up just in time to act quickly.It's almost as if it was pre-arranged, or as if the baker was waiting for this to happen. She shook her head.It seemed strange, and if the mayor hadn't said that, she would never have thought of it. Suddenly, a loud and casual question shattered the silence: "Hi? Are you still there?" A beam of light enveloped her completely, and she was petrified.She slowly came to her senses and wrapped the sheet tightly around her neck.At this time, the light beam also moved away slightly. She didn't have to wonder who said those words, a burly figure was reflected in the twilight that leaked from the back of the light beam. "I thought you went away with him," said the baker. Varona replied in a weak voice: "Who are you talking about, sir?" "The mayor. You know he's gone, Miss. Don't waste your time pretending." "He'll be back." "Did he say he'd come back? If so, he's wrong, and the cops will catch him. The mayor isn't smart enough to know that there must be a purpose for keeping the door open. Are you planning to go, too?" Varona said, "I'm going to stay here and wait for the mayor." "It's up to you, but you have to wait. You can leave whenever you want." His beam turned away suddenly, moving forward along the floor, and finally fell on Yu Ke's pale, thin face.Under the stimulation of light, Yu Ke's eyelids naturally tightened, but he didn't wake up. The baker's tone became pointed: "But you'd better keep this man. I think you should understand that. If you decide to go, the door is open, but not for him." "He's just a poor patient—" Varona's high-pitched, horrified voice was interrupted midway. "Really? Very good, I specialize in collecting poor patients, that guy has to stay here. Remember!" The beam of light never left Yuke's sleeping face.