He politely asked Xu Le to remove his backpack, and the cold metal probe stick rudely pressed against the back of Xu Le's neck. After a beep, the identity data reading and verification was completed in an instant. The soldier in charge of the inspection glanced at the information on the small screen on his elbow, looked at Xu Le with a smile, and said, "So it's senior. You look young."
Xu Le's smile was somewhat forced, and the corners of his mouth twitched a few times before it became more natural. He put on his backpack and said, "Squatters, they can't see the sun all day. If you want to, you can go."
There were not many types of soldiers in the Donglin garrison, but the most difficult of them all was the mineshaft maintenance team, which was what the soldiers called the squatters. The soldier patted Xu Le's shoulder with a smile and said, "Senior, your luck was bad in the past, but isn't it good this time? You can wait for a ship as soon as you retire. After our former squad leader retired, he had to wait for half a year in the garrison before the Department of Defense sent a spaceship over. "
They chatted for a while, but because there were still many passengers waiting in line for the inspection, the soldier reluctantly let Xu Le go and waved his hand to let him pass. Xu Le walked a few steps and did not forget to turn back and thank the soldier. Everything was very normal, but when he sat on the big greyhound bus and leaned back in the seat, he realized that his back was full of cold sweat, soaking through his clothes.
Xu Le gently exhaled, spitting out the tension in his body. He wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and sat down tiredly on the soft chair. It was just a checkpoint, but it had already scared him quite a bit. Fortunately, he remembered the identity set by the disguise chip behind his neck, so he barely passed the checkpoint. But then he thought, if in the future someone really found out that he was from the mineshaft, what would he do?
Being able to pass the inspection so easily had nothing to do with Xu Le's luck. The entire Federation had long gotten used to the convenience, speed, and accuracy of the Federation's electronic surveillance network. The human chip had long since replaced identity documents. Except for certain important areas of the Federation that might carry out fingerprint and iris comparisons, the majority of identity confirmations relied on the human chip. Every citizen of the Federation was shrouded in the glory of the First Charter from the day they were born, so much so that everyone subconsciously came to the conclusion that the electronic surveillance network would never make a mistake.
In fact, for countless years, the central computer of the Bureau of Proclamation and the electronic surveillance network throughout the Federation society had indeed not made any mistakes, except for … that mechanic and the youth who was currently sitting limply on the long-distance bus.
…
…
Twenty-three days later, in the capital of Fuji State, the sky was gloomy and so was Xu Le's heart. He sat in a fast food restaurant on the corner of the street, eating the beef noodles in front of him tastelessly. From time to time, he would raise his head and anxiously look at the solemn building in the middle of the street in the distance. He chose to have his lunch here because this fast food restaurant was the closest to the First Instance Court in the State of Foggy. He could immediately inquire about the trial today.
The police car flashed its lights and turned off its siren as it drove past the street outside the fast food restaurant. Xu Le looked out through the glass window. At this moment, he was a little absent-minded. He immediately lowered his head and buried his face in the wide bowl of noodles. He felt like he saw the faces of Li Wei and Xiao Qiang in the police car just now.
The Orphan Gang that Li Wei was in had disbanded under the attack of the Second Police Station. For some unknown reason, the trial of the case was arranged to be in the First Instance Court in the State of Foggy. The Federation's operation to eliminate the mechanic was top secret. Naturally, it was impossible for them to charge the orphans of Clock Tower Street with the meaningless crime of colluding with traitors. Li Wei, who was completely innocent, was finally sentenced to a year in prison. This was because he had just turned eighteen.
This result was quite good. Presumably, the lawyer assigned to Li Wei by the government would not recommend him to appeal to the Court of Appeals or the Circuit Court. However, Xu Le still felt sorry for Li Wei. It was not only because of the prison sentence, but also because he knew that Xu Le definitely felt sorry for himself. This was because the Federation government knew about the existence of Xu Le and the mechanic from him. More importantly, Li Wei must have thought that Xu Le was already dead.
"Young man, why are you frowning?" The old man sitting opposite Xu Le who was also eating noodles looked at the young man's distressed expression and said with a smile, "At such a young age, you are already pretending to be lonely and imitating despair. This is unacceptable."
Even an old man eating noodles on the street could say such interesting words. Xu Le suddenly felt that the heavens had no eyes, allowing him to be surrounded by such strange people. He didn't know why, but he suddenly had the urge to tell his secrets, but he had no one to tell them to. He stared blankly at the old man's wrinkled face and asked, "Old man, have you ever encountered any big trouble in your life? Has there been anything that has made you sad? "
"No." The old man's answer was very straightforward. He had the crispness of the people of Donglin. "In this world, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome. If you really can't overcome it, then it is your fate. Who can fight against fate? It is just a little bitter. Think about it, when have we, the people of Donglin, ever been afraid of hardship? We also do not complain to the Federation about anything. Living happily is not better than anything else. "
"But I just want to live an honest life. There are also troubles that will come to me, and I might even be wronged."
"Then don't live too honestly." The old man licked the oil soup on the side of his lips and said, "Just like noodles, you need to be chewy, but the broth needs to be smooth and oily. This way, you will not be bullied in society."
The Donglin area was rich in stones, but it was also rich in silent and optimistic people like the old man, who were as tough as weeds. Xu Le suddenly thought of the people around him in this life. His emotions calmed down, and he thought of the things that he had not thought of because of his fatigue, anxiety, and sadness.
There had been that explosion many years ago, and the boss had survived. Why couldn't he survive this time? Perhaps the boss had switched to another chip and was pretending to be an old university professor. Was he fooling those young female university students? Or perhaps the boss had transformed into a business rookie and was playing with his ability to get money without risking anything? Or perhaps the boss was in some corner laughing at his depression and sadness?
Xu Le looked at the old man across from him and said, "Your surname can't be Feng, right?"
The old man's surname was naturally not Feng. He looked at the neurotic youth, sighed, and left with the bowl of noodles. Xu Le sent off the old man sent by the heavens to wake him up. He smiled foolishly at the broth and understood what kind of person he should be in the future. Just like the noodles in the bowl, he should persevere in what he should persevere in and maintain the tenacity in his heart. But to realize the form of tenacity …
The boss might be dead, or he might be alive. It was just that he could not meet him. He was wearing a white robe and drifting away. Was this true? But what did it matter? If they did not meet for a lifetime, what was the difference between life and death? The key was what to do about his future, wasn't it?
Xu Le had a smile on his face and cheered for himself in his heart. At this moment, this simple and sincere youth's mentality finally changed a little. It was like a ray of sunlight shining into his heart. At this time, the gloomy weather above Fuji had finally dissipated, revealing the incomparably beautiful sunlight.
The youth walked out of the restaurant and whistled nervously at the girls on the street. He tightened the backpack on his back and walked in the direction of the garrison.
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