Wu Lun spent 300 RMB on a bus ticket that was supposed to cost 150 RMB.
She climbed down from the balcony and sneaked out of the neighborhood. It was only then that she realized that she did not have any ID with her. Without an ID, she could not use any public transportation.
Her family had to send her to the hospital and report her missing. It would be a while before they found out that she was missing. She did not dare to go directly to the bus station in the city, so she found a truck that transported fruits and vegetables. She gave the driver 50 RMB and begged him to take her to his next destination, no matter where it was. Fortunately, the next destination was a small city. It was even smaller and more run-down than her hometown. There were plenty of ticket sellers who were willing to turn a blind eye to it for the sake of earning 150 RMB for free.
It was only when she got the bus that she suddenly remembered that they would sometimes check her ID. She curled up into a ball in the last row. Every time the bus stopped, she would be so nervous that she could hardly breathe. She knew that no matter in front of her or behind her, there must be an inescapable net laid out to capture her.
However, she was lucky. After more than ten hours, she was about to reach the city where she first met Lin Sanjiu. She still did not run into anyone who would check her ID. At least until now, the big net had not touched the small fish Wu Lun. As for how much longer she could swim, only God knew.
Perhaps it was not a bad thing to be caught. If everything was over, she would be able to see her mother again.
The phone of a man next to him rang, interrupting his meditation. A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone. It sounded like it was either his girlfriend or his wife. "Hmm, we will arrive in about two hours … Oh, not yet. We still have to stop at River West in the middle." As he spoke, he rubbed his feet that had been freed from his leather shoes. Wu Lun had been smelled for more than ten hours, so she could no longer feel the stench.
The morning sun had not warmed the glass yet. She leaned her head against the cold glass in a daze. She tried to imagine the situation at home, but her heart was empty. Suddenly, the man raised his voice, "What?"
Someone next to him turned to look at the man.
"Really?" The man returned the look, hinting that he had received information that they did not. "Is there really a terrorist (in brackets) in the city? Is there a notice? Aiyo, that's not far from Xiao Li's house … "
The passengers in the nearby rows all reacted. They all turned around, exchanged glances, and swept their eyes over him. Seeing that they were all waiting for him to hang up, the man became more talkative. "Is anyone hurt? Ah, no … "He seemed a little disappointed and said," Don't be afraid, what's there to be afraid of? It's so far away from our house, completely in the opposite direction … Hey, can it be more powerful than a machine gun? Two rounds and they'll all be killed. They won't be able to come over. "
When he finally hung up, half of the people in the car were awake. The whispers were immediately interrupted by a question. A middle-aged woman asked, "What's wrong? What happened? "
"My wife said that terrorists (in brackets) have infiltrated the city, and they've been blocked at the Copper Pier since yesterday." The man excitedly sat up straight and said, "Her unit does import and export. Today, they sent out an internal notice telling people not to go to the docks."
"No one died?" one of the passengers asked.
"I don't think so." The man also realized that his information was not explosive enough. Seeing that everyone's attention seemed to be waning, he added, "She said that it's not easy to enter the city now. There are roadblocks on every road, and they have to check ID. I reckon that there will be a traffic jam soon."
Wu Lun suppressed her trembling and asked as calmly as she could, "What … what kind of terrorist (in brackets) is it?"
"Who knows. Anyway, my wife heard that boats are not allowed to dock because they are afraid that there are bombs on the docks." The man shook his head and sighed. "I think it's because the security is not strict enough. We need to strengthen the security in the future."
Wu Lun's mind was in a mess due to excitement and fear. 'Copper Pier, and the so-called terrorist (in brackets) … It's too much of a coincidence. Could it be related to Lin Sanjiu? Could it be her? '
However, why would Lin Sanjiu be blocked by ordinary people at the Copper Pier for an entire day?
"What time is it now?" she asked again.
"6: 20 am," the man said as he looked at his phone.
Coincidentally, a passenger in front suggested to switch on the TV to watch the local news. Someone got the remote control from the driver and turned on the small TV screen on the bus. He dialed four to five channels in a row. They did not watch the local news, but they did see some news about the expired milk in the kindergarten, the launch of the "Journey" rocket at 10 am that day, the new investment policy of a certain place …
When the bus stopped at Hexi City, Wu Lun hurriedly got off the bus. It was at least 60 to 70 kilometers from here to her original city. She did not have an ID, so she couldn't pass the checkpoint. She thought about it for a while and didn't know what to do, so she went to a gas station to buy a map and walked on foot. When she didn't need to look at the map, she would place the map on her head and pretend to block the sun. She hid her face from the dense security cameras on the roadside.
She had never walked so hard in her life.
Wu Lun avoided the main roads with checkpoints and purposely chose the residential areas and alleys. Naturally, she took many wrong turns. When she finally entered the outskirts of the city, she was exhausted. When she saw a sidewalk with many trees and few pedestrians, she slumped down on the side of the road. Her legs were weak and her body was drenched in sweat.
She didn't dare to think about her mother. Whenever she thought of her mother, she would be like a little child who felt wronged and wanted to cry.
After resting for an unknown amount of time, Wu Lun slowly got up. She felt thirsty and hungry. Out of the one thousand yuan that she brought out from home, there was still six hundred and fifty yuan left. She had to be frugal. If there was a small shop nearby, it would be enough to eat some bread and drink some mineral water … But why wasn't there even a small shop open? The shops across the road were all closed and locked.
Wu Lun walked around. When her gaze fell on the signboard of the building behind her, she couldn't help being stunned. "Green Hill Corning Hospital".
Anyone who had lived in the city would know that Green Hill Corning Hospital was a mental hospital.
Behind the gate, which was locked like an iron fence, came the sound of water. Even the sound was somewhat comfortable and cool. Wu Lun wanted to walk away, but her throat was so dry that smoke was coming out. She couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound of water. Of course, she wouldn't go to a mental hospital to ask for water. It was just human instinct.
A woman in her thirties, wearing a patient's gown, was watering a potted plant next to the gate. It was normal for mental patients who had the ability to take care of themselves and were in a stable condition to be assigned to do some chores. Wu Lun's gaze swept past her. She took two steps forward and suddenly couldn't help but look back at her.
She looked like she was watering the plant, but the female patient had other intentions.
She deliberately raised the spout of the kettle so that the water that dripped down was very thin. The work that could normally be done in ten seconds would probably take half a minute if the water flowed like this. Most importantly, on her long, round face, a pair of black eyes were looking up high, constantly sweeping over the wall. Wu Lun followed her gaze and saw the surveillance camera on the wall.
She was too familiar with this expression. Wu Lun had been like this along the way, sneaking around to look for the blind spots of the surveillance camera.
She stopped and stood next to a tree. She watched as the female patient finished watering the plant and slowly walked back. An old man who was resting in the yard suddenly walked up to her and whispered something to her. The two of them turned around and met Wu Lun's eyes. Wu Lun was startled. She felt that these two mental patients were a little scary, so she hurriedly walked away.
She was hungry and thirsty, but she was still thinking about buying some food and water. Her attention was focused on the shops by the roadside. After walking for a few blocks, she finally realized that something was wrong, but it was already too late.
At that time, Wu Lun was bending down and looking into a convenience store through the glass door. The store was dark, and there was no one there. It seemed to be another store that was not open that day. When she straightened up and turned around, she saw two men in uniform standing behind her.
"What are you doing?" one of them asked.
"I … I want to buy a bottle of water …" Wu Lun stammered.
"Buy water?" The man frowned. "Don't you know that the whole city is under martial law today? The shop is closed, so why are you buying water? "
Martial law? The man in the car didn't mention it. Could it have started after she got out of the car? Wu Lun didn't have a cell phone, so she couldn't receive the emergency notification of martial law.
"Take out your ID card," the other man ordered.
"I … I didn't bring it … I live nearby, so I didn't want to take it …"
The two of them looked at each other. Usually, when it came to such a small violation of the rules, it depended on whether the other party was willing to let you go. Sometimes, a verbal warning would be enough, but sometimes, if the rules were really followed, it would be no laughing matter.
Wu Lun swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She was wearing jeans and sneakers, and she didn't have a bag in her hand. If she lived nearby, she might be able to sneak past them … However, when one of them looked down and saw her hand, she was shocked, and her heart fell straight into the abyss.
"You live nearby, but you went out with a map?" The man sneered. "Let's go. Follow us back."
Just as Wu Lun clenched her teeth and made up her mind to run, a flurry of footsteps came from the other end of the street. It stopped her in her tracks and froze her in place. She couldn't help but glance in the direction of the footsteps. Then, she heard someone call out, "Wu Lun?"
She shuddered and stared at He Huan's face, unable to say a word.
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