Inside a small hotel on the second floor.
Feng Zi's wristband vibrated twice, indicating that she had received an email. After seeing the title of the email, Feng Zi jumped out of bed and bent down to pick up the clothes that had been thrown everywhere on the ground.
The man on the other side also opened his eyes and saw Feng Zi's waist without a trace of fat, as well as the beautiful curve below. However, he didn't get to appreciate it for long. The latter had already put on pants and a shirt, and tidied her hair.
"What time is it now?"
"Six o 'clock." Feng Zi poured two glasses of water as she spoke. She drank one for herself and gave the other to the man on the bed.
"Why so early?"
"On the surface, it's because I'm very busy this morning. I just took on a big job, and I have a flower arrangement class at 10 o 'clock."
"Flower arrangement class? Are you serious? "
"What's wrong? Can't I learn flower arrangement with this hand that holds a wrench?"
"That's not what I mean." The man took the cup. "By the way, how's business at your machinery repair shop recently?"
"It's alright. Last week, I beat up two shifty-eyed guys and asked us to fix their companion robot dolls for them."
"If you don't want to fix it, then don't. Why did you beat them up?"
"Because they thought I was a fool. I couldn't tell that they were actually coming for you." Feng Zi sneered. "They thought I would really treat them like little bunnies just because they brought a companion doll. And the real reason why I left at six o 'clock in the morning was because I didn't want to see a few burly bounty hunters rushing to my bed the moment I opened my eyes."
"That was an accident. And didn't I kill them all?" The man pulled out the pistol under his pillow and shook it twice. "I killed all the people who saw you naked. Not a single one was spared."
"Heh." Feng Zi snorted coldly.
"Why? I remember that you used to like excitement."
"That's because I could only live according to the established trajectory at that time. Every day was boring." Feng Zi said, "But now, Shengtang Morgan has announced a series of new regulations, allowing clones to enjoy the same rights as ordinary people. They have completely removed the restrictions on entry and stay on the first and fourth floors, raised the minimum wage and basic living security, reduced advertising, and at the same time, tried to limit the expansion of large enterprises and protect the rights and interests of small and medium-sized enterprises … Everyone has found a new direction in life."
"Sounds good," the man said.
"What about you? Are you really not going to see her before you leave?"
"Who?"
"Miss F, you know she has been waiting for you, right?" "Why are you still unwilling to tell her the truth and explain what happened on the top floor of the signal tower that day? At first, you said that you were worried that she would not be able to stabilize her position since she had just taken over Mr. G's position. So, you said that she had to put a bounty on your head to make the people below accept her. But now, her position is stable enough. Why don't you go see her?"
"I didn't tell anyone the whole truth," the man said lightly. "And as I said, since Mr. G has been saying that he wants to create a new world, I will help him. Isn't he doing well now? Everyone who is living a new life misses him. Now, he can replace Baudrillard as the most popular and respected person in this city. I even bought a mug with his face printed on it last week."
"…"
"You'll never reach the truth. All you'll get is a carefully designed narrative." Feng Zi put on her clothes, but she did not leave immediately. Instead, she sat on the man's body again and wrapped her arms around the latter's neck. "I was really happy when I slept with you for the first time, but it seems to be the same after a while. But after you leave, I will probably still miss you."
"In that case, why don't you close the shop today?" the man said.
"Good idea, but I don't think you can last that long." Feng Zi raised her eyebrows.
…
An hour later, Feng Zi left the small hotel, and the man was no longer sleepy. He got up to take a shower, made a phone call, and went downstairs to have breakfast. After that, he drove the trunk full of shellac records and wandered around the city.
After a few stops, he drove to the central station, bought a ticket to the first floor, and checked in all the shellac records in the trunk.
Ten minutes later, the man walked out of the station.
Ever since he killed Mr. G last time, he had never come here again. The main reason was that he did not want to get himself into trouble. After all, Mr. G had always been a totemic figure on the first floor. After his death, he became even more powerful. Many young people who admired him even chose to tattoo his head on their bodies to express their remembrance and longing for him. He was now completely described as a revolutionary pioneer who exuded idealism and humanistic care.
"Reality is always more absurd than literature." When the man walked to a cafe, a voice sounded behind him.
Qiu Ming, who was wearing a trench coat, handed one of the two cones in his hand to the man opposite him. "Try it. It's a special edition for the 44th anniversary of Mr. G's birth. Unfortunately, the number isn't very auspicious."
The man took the ice cream, but he didn't eat it. Instead, he threw it into the trash can.
"You really don't trust me at all. How heartless. I've already done so many things for you." Qiu Ming smiled bitterly. "I'm helping you keep an eye on the management, and I'm also the one who sent the people from the headquarters. I thought you already treated me as a friend."
"Forget about being a friend. I'll be thankful if you don't cause trouble after I leave," the man said. "How could I dare?
"How would I dare? You're the famous Zhang Heng. Even Mr. G died in your hands. And for more than a year, no bounty hunter was able to kill you and collect the bounty. This is the first time I've seen someone kill a Type-VI robot alone. If I mess things up, who knows where you'll come from to kill me." Qiu Ming shrugged. "And after I die, no one will give me a commemorative ice cream."
"After I'm gone, you're the only one who knows the truth behind New Shanghai 0297," Zhang Heng said.
"Not really. There's still E-Goat and Xu Qian." Qiu Ming paused. "To be honest, I didn't expect you to make such a choice in the end."
"They've already sacrificed enough. They deserve the future they're looking forward to, regardless of whether this future is built on lies or not. As for whether anyone else will break into Shengtang Morgan's secret base in the future, it's none of my business," Zhang Heng said. "Also, remember, you'll never reach the truth. All you'll get is a carefully designed narrative."
Qiu Ming opened his mouth, a puzzled expression on his face.
However, Zhang Heng didn't explain further. Instead, he walked into the cafe, and Qiu Ming followed behind. Zhang Heng picked a table by the window and sat down. He could see the cinema outside.
About twenty minutes later, a figure wearing a cheongsam with a mechanical prosthesis on her left arm walked out. She was talking to the person beside her when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She seemed to have sensed something and raised her head to look at the cafe across the street. In the end, she only saw a stunned man staring at the empty seat in front of him with wide eyes.
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