When was it, and who was it? This phrase seemed to emerge in memory along with the overflowing information.
They will surprise you and will also make you despair.
They will make you despair and will also surprise you.
Strange.
The commotion here caused by the corpse collectors alarmed the guards at the checkpoint outside the city defense department, who came over with guns raised.
“Come drink with us tonight,” Zhao Lü waved at them. “Our Brother Shi is back.”
“On duty, can’t leave our post,” one of the guards said.
“We’ll send some over later,” Zhao Lü replied.
A few of the guards glanced around, and one of them whispered, “Thanks.”
Then he raised his voice again, “Get back to the shelter! It’s a critical time, stay hidden!”
Watching the guards leave, Qiu Shi finally managed to extricate himself from the crowd, clutching his chest, “Damn it, I just patched up this wound!”
“How are you?” Zhao Lü immediately asked. “Xiaoling said you almost died.”
“If you keep squeezing me like this, I’ll die for sure,” Qiu Shi said.
“Xiaoling said it was thanks to…” Zhao Lü’s gaze shifted to the car’s driver seat.
“Brother Bi!” Hu Xiaoling ran to the driver’s seat, patting the car door. “Come out. We’ll park the car behind the mountain and hide it.”
“Okay.” Xing Bi got out of the car.
Everyone had seen Xing Bi before and was quite familiar with him, but now that they suddenly knew this guy wasn’t a security guard at the protection bureau, but one of the fabled, elusive hidden guards of Yun City, they suddenly didn’t know how to act, standing there stiffly and politely staring at him.
“Maybe I should get someone to send me flowers,” Xing Bi said.
“Dammit!” Zhao Lü shouted, “That’s the right attitude!”
“Go, go, go,” Qiu Shi started herding them away. “Move the stuff from the car, and prepare some food and drinks. We’re going to relax tonight.”
“More stuff?” He Jiang was shocked. “Is Yun City Mining going bankrupt or what? Is the protection bureau looting the place?”
“Hurry up and move,” Zhao Lü said. “Before someone says we’re giving away our position again.”
“Let’s go.” Qiu Shi tilted his head towards Xing Bi as they walked towards the shelter and asked Zhao Lü, “You’re getting pretty close with the city defense guys now?”
“Had to. If we didn’t, they’d keep coming over and causing trouble. It’s annoying enough as it is. We’ve already fought them twice. The longer this goes on, the more we lose,” Zhao Lü frowned.
“Guess you’re useful after all.” Qiu Shi patted him on the shoulder.
“Still not the same without you here,” Zhao Lü glanced at Xing Bi. “Which room are we giving Brother Bi?”
“He’ll be in my room,” Qiu Shi said.
“I don’t sleep much,” Xing Bi said. “I don’t need a room.”
“Oh.” Zhao Lü thought for a moment, then lowered his voice, “Still gotta be Brother Shi’s bodyguard, huh? In case he gets stabbed again.”
“If I get stabbed while I’m here,” Qiu Shi said, “it means all of you are dead.”
“Fair point.” Zhao Lü laughed cheerfully.
Everyone started moving supplies, busy preparing for drinking and merriment. After tumbling down the hill, Xiao Lei finally had the chance to stand before Qiu Shi.
“I thought you weren’t going to talk to me,” Qiu Shi glanced at him.
“Their feelings for you are different,” Xiao Lei said. “Had to let them get excited first.”
“Didn’t seem like you were calm when you tumbled down here,” Qiu Shi said.
“Not too bad,” Xiao Lei patted his pants, glanced at Qiu Shi, and then at Xing Bi. “You guys worked hard.”
Xing Bi paused for a moment, said nothing, and turned to enter Qiu Shi’s room.
“You’ve got skill,” Qiu Shi gave Xiao Lei a thumbs-up. “You even left Xing Bi speechless.”
“I didn’t really have anything special to say,” Xiao Lei said. “It’s just good that you’re back safely. Every time Zhao Lü had me ask Director Li about your situation, I was terrified, scared of hearing bad news.”
“You’re fitting in well,” Qiu Shi nodded, then turned to go inside. “Starting to think like them, always thinking I’m dead.”
As he was about to close the door, he added, “Don’t go far these next couple of days. If I need anything from Director Li, I’ll need you around.”
“Got it!” Xiao Lei perked up immediately.
After closing the door, Qiu Shi sighed, “To say the inner city is good, those bureaucratic dogs are all scum. But to say the inner city is bad, people like Xiao Lei still exist. You wouldn’t find someone this innocent in the outer city.”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi stood by the table, fiddling with the MP3 player. “But this place has people like you, and people like Zhao Lü. A different kind of innocence.”
“Innocent? Me?” Qiu Shi lay down on the bed.
“Innocent,” Xing Bi said, “and simple.”
“We weren’t born with the same quality checks you had,” Qiu Shi said. “And for us to grow into something whole, it takes years. The end result still depends on the environment.”
Xing Bi chuckled.
“Is it charged?” Qiu Shi asked. “I want to listen again, see how the song goes.”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi looked at him. “Are you going to sleep?”
“Not sleep. Just lying down,” Qiu Shi said. “I’m tired.”
“Do you usually sleep like this?” Xing Bi asked. “Wearing dirty clothes?”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue and sat up. “I changed in the lab and even took a shower… You’re the one who doesn’t sleep, but you’re directing others how to.”
“Go to sleep then,” Xing Bi said.
“You said that,” Qiu Shi took off his jacket, “How am I supposed to sleep now?”
As he threw his jacket aside, he noticed the bloodstain on his chest and froze. “What the hell… This wound is never going to heal. Qiu Yu is probably laughing in his grave.”
“Take it off and let me see,” Xing Bi said. “I’ll help you deal with it.”
Qiu Shi took off his shirt and put his jacket back on. “We’ll need to get a heater in here soon. It’s freezing.”
Xing Bi gently peeled back the gauze covering Qiu Shi’s wound. When his fingers brushed against Qiu Shi’s skin, Qiu Shi grabbed his hand in surprise, “Are you warm-blooded?”
Xing Bi looked at him and asked, “What exactly did that refugee school teach you?”
“What’s wrong?” Qiu Shi also looked at him.
“You are naturally warm,” Xing Bi said.
“But my hands are cold,” Qiu Shi said, “At least my hands aren’t warm.”
“Okay,” Xing Bi said, reaching over to pull the medical cabinet nearby.
“What do you mean ‘okay’?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Brother Shi is right,” Xing Bi said.
“You’re a piece of work,” Qiu Shi laughed.
Xing Bi skillfully treated the wound, disinfecting it, applying a wound adhesive, and then covering it with gauze: “There shouldn’t be any problems inside, but the surface wound has torn open again.”
“Is this also one of the skills of a hidden guard?” Qiu Shi changed into a clean set of clothes.
“Not exactly,” Xing Bi said, “I know a bit of everything, but I can’t compare to the specialized bioroids.”
“Your specialization is combat power, right?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied.
“Oh,” Qiu Shi thought for a moment, “So, for those who aren’t hidden guards, there are others who specialize in cooking, laundry, and housekeeping…”
“Those are generally referred to as domestic service,” Xing Bi said.
“I need that,” Qiu Shi said, “Could people in ancient times have those kinds of bioroids too?”
“It costs money,” Xing Bi said, “Buying services. Usually, a Level 2 bioroid is good enough.”
“Is it expensive?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Not cheap,” Xing Bi said, “I’d recommend self-reliance.”
Qiu Shi picked up his coat and shook it out: “These winter coats, I never wash them. I just rotate between two. By the time spring comes, they’re worn out anyway, and then I can wait for Director Li to get me new ones.”
“They wear out in one winter?” Xing Bi asked.
“They’re clothes for refugees; the quality’s not great,” Qiu Shi sighed, “The uniforms from the inner city are much better in quality, and antique clothing too. When I used to go out on my own, I found some clothes in an abandoned town to the south. I wore them for many years.”
Xing Bi chuckled and pointed to a phone on the corner of the table: “Is that antique from there too?”
“No, I had Li Feng find that for me,” Qiu Shi went over and picked it up, “You must’ve used one before. I meant to play games on it, but I never did.”
“Don’t you have a little pet? Can’t you play games on that?” Xing Bi asked.
“It’s not the same,” Qiu Shi said, “This one’s more fun. I saw the old man play with it…”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
“Hmm?” Xing Bi looked at him.
When talking about the old man, memories of the days on the second floor of the rock house flooded his mind, along with countless familiar scenes. Suddenly, he felt a pang of sadness. He could even recall the scent in the old man’s room, sometimes fragrant, sometimes strange.
Yes, the smell.
“Where’s your supplement?” Qiu Shi abruptly turned to Xing Bi, “Give me one.”
Xing Bi took a bag of supplements out of his bag and handed it to him. Qiu Shi quickly opened it and brought it to his nose: “Damn, this is it.”
“You smelled this at the old man’s place?” Xing Bi asked.
“Yes,” Qiu Shi said, somewhat astonished as he sniffed again, “I knew I’d smelled this before! It’s weird, so it stuck with me.”
Xing Bi said nothing.
“The old man used to have a bowl of this black, sludgy stuff,” Qiu Shi strained to remember, “It looked like… crap.”
“Black means gastrointestinal bleeding,” Xing Bi said.
“Huh?” Qiu Shi didn’t understand.
“Normally, it shouldn’t be that color,” Xing Bi explained.
“…I was just saying it looked nasty,” Qiu Shi said.
“I’m probably going to starve.” Xing Bi looked at the supplement in his hand.
“No, no, no,” Qiu Shi quickly grabbed the bag back and squeezed a bit out to eat, “Actually… it doesn’t really taste like anything.”
“Mm.” Xing Bi chuckled, “So you’re saying the old man ate supplements?”
“Yes, I’m sure it was this smell.” Qiu Shi stared at the supplement in his hand, “Back then, Yun City ‘didn’t have’ bioroids yet. There shouldn’t have been this kind of thing in circulation in the outer city black market either. Where did he get it?”
“I don’t know,” Xing Bi said.
“Was he a bioroid?” Qiu Shi furrowed his brows, “Do bioroids age?”
“No,” Xing Bi said.
“He couldn’t have been, could he? He was old, and I’ve known him since I was little. He kept getting older, and eventually became paralyzed,” Qiu Shi was confused.
“He was enhanced,” Xing Bi said.
“Enhanced?” Qiu Shi was stunned for a moment, then realized, touching the back of his neck, “You mean like the little cube added here? What does it do?”
“Based on the old man’s condition,” Xing Bi said, “It was probably because of illness.”
“To extend his life?” Qiu Shi was shocked.
“Yes, it can also improve bodily functions,” Xing Bi explained.
“So if I got one,” Qiu Shi looked at him, “How many more years could I live?”
Xing Bi looked at him without answering.
“What’s wrong?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Why?” Xing Bi asked in return.
“Just curious,” Qiu Shi said, “In case I die early and they give you a new partner, they might not be as good as me.”
Xing Bi looked at him silently for a while, then suddenly reached over and hugged him.
“Hey,” Qiu Shi was startled and quickly hugged him back, patting him on the back, “What’s up? Feeling moved? Actually, it’s not that…”
“Let’s drink!” Zhao Lü kicked open the door and cheerfully yelled.
Xing Bi let go of him. The sudden interruption startled Qiu Shi, and combined with the emotional moment they had just shared, the atmosphere became awkward.
“Still drinking?” Zhao Lü looked at the two of them.
“Drinking,” Qiu Shi said.
“Do you want to keep hugging a bit longer or start drinking now?” Zhao Lü asked.
“You’ve got a smart mouth,” Qiu Shi said, putting on his coat and motioning to Xing Bi with a nod, “Let’s go; time to drink.”
“Can Brother Bi drink?” Zhao Lü asked, “Or at least eat something?”
“I can,” Xing Bi said, “Thanks.”
“What are you thanking me for?” Zhao Lü asked.
“Thank you for not asking if he drinks gasoline or eats screws,” Qiu Shi said.
“Only an idiot would ask that,” Zhao Lü said, “He’s not a robot.”
Xing Bi laughed.
“I asked once,” Qiu Shi said.
“I’ll go get a plate of screws right now,” Zhao Lü immediately replied.
The group was already gathered in the largest shelter, the low table piled with food and drinks. Everyone was sitting on the floor, huddled together, looking warm and cozy.
As Xing Bi reached the door, Hu Xiaoling grabbed him and pulled him in: “Brother Bi!”
Qiu Shi was about to head inside when Zhao Lü called him from behind.
“Hmm?” Qiu Shi turned around.
“Do you still remember that bartender at Dayan? The one from before, the one who died,” Zhao Lü asked.
“I remember. What’s up?” Qiu Shi asked.
“His boyfriend has been hanging around the bar ever since,” Zhao Lü said. “Gets drunk and starts crying, makes you feel bad just watching.”
Qiu Shi looked at him, and after a long pause, he finally said, “What, are you thinking of stepping in as a replacement?”
“These days, if you’re going to fall in love, you’d better be prepared mentally,” Zhao Lü said, lowering his voice. “It’s chaotic times, and he’s still a hidden guard. What if he dies?”
“Zhao Lü?” Qiu Shi was shocked, not knowing whether he should explain that he and Xing Bi were just partners, or if he should explain that if one of them had to die, it definitely wouldn’t be the combat powerhouse hidden guard.
For the first time, he realized he could be so bad with words.
“Just giving you a heads-up,” Zhao Lü said.
“Thank you,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Don’t mention it,” Zhao Lü said. “We’re like brothers.”
“Get lost.” Qiu Shi turned and went inside.
This time, the drinking atmosphere was even livelier than before. Last time, everyone only knew that Qiu Shi was going to rescue Hu Xiaoling, which was dangerous. But this time, after the series of explosions and chaos in the inner city, even if no one spelled it out, they all understood what had happened.
And now, with the military expanding its defenses and checkpoints popping up one after another, large black vehicles passing through the tunnels several times a day, fear was in the air.
This time, the drinking had an outpouring, almost cathartic sense of joy, as if every peaceful day could be the last.
Hu Xiaoling poured wine into everyone’s cups, raising his glass. “What are we toasting?”
“To being alive.”
“To freedom.”
“To not dying.”
“To corpses.”
Everyone clinked their glasses against the table in a loud, messy toast.
“To the future,” Qiu Shi said.
“To the future!” everyone immediately echoed.
Qiu Shi threw back his drink, then glanced at Xing Bi’s glass, and drank that too.
The only one whose glass still had wine in it was Zhao Lü. If he wanted to eat enough tonight, he couldn’t finish his drink in one go and had to sip it slowly.
Qiu Shi originally thought these people would bombard Xing Bi with questions about being a bio-engineered human, but they didn’t. Maybe Hu Xiaoling had already introduced him, or maybe they didn’t care if the person in front of them was human or not. As long as they could eat, drink, and chat together, that was enough.
Suddenly, Qiu Shi felt a bit of sadness. At first, he thought that if they didn’t even stay in the outer city, they could just live here in this remote mountain shelter. But now, no one could escape anymore.
Xing Bi didn’t say much the whole time, just quietly leaning against the wall, watching the corpse collectors, occasionally taking a bite of food and a sip of wine.
“Brother Shi,” Zhao Lü held out his glass. “Let’s clink glasses.”
Qiu Shi picked up his glass and clinked it with him.
“You two went out,” Zhao Lü lowered his voice, “saw so much. Do you think… we’re about to go to war?”
Qiu Shi turned his cup around in his hand. Yes, right?
But he didn’t dare to say it, as if saying it would confirm his own thoughts, and he wouldn’t be able to avoid it anymore.
“With who?” Zhao Lü asked again.
“…I don’t know,” Qiu Shi answered.
“This group of people, no matter who we fight,” Zhao Lü raised his hand, pointing at the noisy crowd around the table one by one, “if we fight, it’s death. No chance of survival.”
“You better finish that drink,” Qiu Shi said.
“I can’t,” Zhao Lü smiled, “I’ll only drink half. From now on, I need to stay sober.”
“If… if a war really breaks out,” Qiu Shi lowered his voice too, “you take them and go.”
“Where to?” Zhao Lü asked.
Qiu Shi didn’t reply.
Though the conversation had been grim, it didn’t really dampen the mood. After all, despair was a constant. Any time they talked about anything further ahead than next week, it was always despair.
But Zhao Lü truly didn’t drink much. His glass stayed half full.
When the group inside started drunkenly singing the Song of Yun City, Xiao Lei came over. “The checkpoint called, they need us to collect bodies.”
“Shit,” Zhao Lü cursed.
“Now they want us to collect bodies again?” Qiu Shi asked.
“They say they’re short-staffed,” Zhao Lü said, “and besides, who wants to do this kind of work?”
“Then go tomorrow,” Qiu Shi said.
“They need it done tonight,” Zhao Lü frowned. “Now it’s all immediate, collect the bodies as soon as they die. I’ll go.”
“I’ll go,” Qiu Shi said.
“I can go with Zhao Lü,” Xiao Lei said. “Qiu Shi, you’re injured, you should rest.”
Qiu Shi stared at Zhao Lü. “Have you taken him to collect bodies before?”
“No!” Zhao Lü quickly denied. “I absolutely haven’t!”
“I can go,” Xiao Lei said.
“You stay put,” Qiu Shi said. “You handle the contacts. Leave the physical work to us.”
Before Xiao Lei could say anything else, Qiu Shi stood up and looked at Xing Bi. “Want to see the corpse collectors at work?”
“Yeah,” Xing Bi answered.
It had started snowing outside, and quite heavily. Looking out into the distance, the uneven ground on the heights was covered in patches of white. It didn’t look pretty, just desolate.
The door behind them had already closed, but they could still hear the sounds of laughter from the group inside, warm and safe.
Qiu Shi glanced back, put on his gloves, and wrapped his scarf around his neck. “I bet they haven’t felt this relaxed in a long time.”
“You’re not the oldest among them, are you?” Xing Bi asked.
“No,” Qiu Shi led him around the back of the mountain to the car. “But I was one of the first to take over this territory, so they all call me ‘brother.'”
“Which car are we taking?” Xing Bi followed behind him.
“Of course, it’s that old car,” Qiu Shi said. “Dead bodies have a smell that sticks to the car and won’t wash off. The old car just has that scent of death.”
“Is that so?” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi pulled off the car’s camouflage cloth and got in. “I’ll drive; I know the road well.”
Xing Bi sat in the passenger seat and turned to sniff the cargo area in the back.
“Do you smell it?” Qiu Shi started the car and drove through a narrow waterway toward the checkpoint.
“Yeah.” Xing Bi glanced at him.
“Why are you looking at me?” Qiu Shi asked.
“When did you start collecting bodies?” Xing Bi inquired.
“When I was a teenager,” Qiu Shi replied. “Even earlier, I used to look for things on dead bodies. Of course, we still search for good items to trade for food and drink.”
“Are you scared?” Xing Bi looked out the window.
“Ordinary corpses don’t inspire fear; they just make you feel relieved it’s not you who died,” Qiu Shi said. “There are some scary ones, though. A man once gnawed a big chunk off his wife’s body and then jumped off a cliff.”
Xing Bi fell silent.
Their car wound around behind the checkpoint, surprising the guard when he saw them.
“How many routes do you corpse collectors have?” A guard who had been at the shelter came over to peek into the car.
“Too many,” Qiu Shi said.
“Go forward about a hundred meters to the right at the cliff’s base,” the guard pointed the way to Qiu Shi.
“How did he die?” Qiu Shi asked.
“He fell,” the guard replied.
“Your ancestor,” Qiu Shi frowned and cursed.
The cliff base was a field of jagged rocks; falling down wouldn’t just mean death; the sharp rocks could pierce you too.
After parking the car in a slightly flatter area, Qiu Shi got out to take a look. Not only could you die from falling, but you could also be cut open by the rock edges.
Qiu Shi tightened his gloves and frowned as he walked over to examine the bodies one by one.
“Eight people,” he sighed, dragging the first relatively intact body toward the car.
Xing Bi helped him place the body in the back of the vehicle.
“Do you remember how many bodies you’ve seen?” Xing Bi asked.
“Where would I even count?” Qiu Shi replied.
“What do you think about while collecting bodies?” Xing Bi looked at him.
“Interviewing, maybe?” Qiu Shi chuckled. “I just feel that people can actually live quite well. It’s so easy to die, but we haven’t all died off yet.”
