The place where they found No. 9 was in a wooden house in the forest. No. 9 could no longer maintain his human form. He was just a mass of gray fog that seemed to disperse at any time.
The soil in the forest was soaked, as if it was a heavy rain. If one stepped on it lightly, they would be sticky with mud.
Many trees had fallen, and some had even been uprooted from the ground.
It was still raining, not too heavy, not too light.
This place was like a dilapidated tomb.
You Ye opened a black umbrella to block the rain for Luoqiu.
They then walked into the wooden house. He looked at the fog in front of him and seemed to be trying to gather it, but it was like sand that had dispersed in the water and had lost its stickiness.
"His strength and even stamina are almost exhausted. What is he doing? "
She knew that the state of the Black Soul Envoys was like a lamp that had run out of oil. Of course, even if the Black Soul Envoys died, they could return through the life lamp.
Luoqiu built a map from the ground. It was just below the fog. There was also a red mark on the opened map.
This mark could move. Every time it moved, it was instructed by Luoqiu.
In a moment of thought, the fog that was difficult to gather gathered little by little. The boss's thought inadvertently let the Black Soul Envoys, who should have dispersed and only left the life lamp, get a chance to reunite.
The rain fell from the broken roof, and the cold was strong. Just a glance could make people yearn for a stove or a pile of firewood.
In fact, it didn't take much time for No. 9 to return to his original state.
He gradually opened his eyes. It was not much different from what Luoqiu remembered. No. 9 seemed quite calm. Each Black Soul Envoys had a different personality.
Taiyinzi was good at flattery, while No. 18 was the type of person who observed people's expressions. Taisetsu was the type that could be reckless to the end, but there were some rough and some fine ones. Nero was actually a bit of a devil incarnate, but he cherished his own survival more than anyone else.
Number Nine was one of the earliest Onyx Souls that Luoqiu had come into contact with. Thinking about it, he was the same as You Ye, and could be considered as the legacy left behind by the previous generation.
A little wooden, but clearly the pragmatic type … Luoqiu hadn't known Number Nine for a long time, and at first he just thought that he would silently complete his duties.
Looking through the past account books, it was discovered that Number Nine had not been an Emissary for a long time. Compared to the Onyx Souls who had been active for hundreds of years, or even thousands of years, but were still on vacation, in hibernation, or on long-term missions, she was obviously too 'young'.
However, his achievements were not small … However, as a Black Soul Envoy, not only did he not seem strong, he could even be described as weak. This was because ever since he became a Black Soul Envoy, every achievement he obtained was used in other places — according to his wishes before he became a Black Soul Envoy.
…
"Let's make a fire."
In the dilapidated wooden house, Number Nine maintained a silent posture after reuniting and waking up … Luoqiu could hardly see any fear or panic in his eyes.
It was still raining outside the house. The rain was like a water curtain, falling on the roof above the center of the house. The place to make a fire was in the corner of the house, which was still intact.
With the help of the fire, Luoqiu looked at the red cursor on the map — Obviously, if he checked the location of the red cursor on the map, he would find that he was still some distance away from the red cursor.
Obviously, he stopped here and didn't complete the 'task' that Luoqiu had ordered him to follow the red cursor and pass these places on the map.
In fact, he looked relatively young, about 30 years old … It seemed that this was his appearance before he became a Black Soul Envoy.
A black old Chinese tunic suit, the type that looked like white hair.
"Number Nine, why did you consume so much power?" Miss Maid, who was in charge of the Black Soul Envoy's position, finally asked.
Looking at the firewood, Number Nine raised his head and said faintly, "The river in front has risen. These days the rainstorm has been incessant, and some embankments have burst. I blocked the flood. "
Miss Maid said indifferently, "But I didn't receive any reports of such transactions … Is this your private behavior?"
"Yes." Number Nine nodded calmly.
Miss Maid subconsciously looked at her master, and then frowned slightly, "Number Nine, you should know that although the master doesn't interfere with the envoy's actions and gives you a lot of freedom … But you also have the obligation to protect your own safety. Your power is almost exhausted, and you may have to return to the Ark of the Covenant to reconstruct your body, which will consume the master's power … As a Black Soul Envoy, you didn't create value for the master and even implicated the master. Do you know what you are doing? "
Her tone was a little heavy. This was the first time that Luoqiu saw You Ye a little angry … It seemed that Number Nine's behavior had really crossed the bottom line of her management — under the premise that it wasn't the purpose of the transaction, she almost exhausted her power for private purposes, and then needed to consume the master's power to replenish.
Luoqiu waved his hand to stop Miss Maid from speaking … He knew very well that most of the time, You Ye cared more about the consumption and increase of her lifespan than him.
"Master …"
Luoqiu shook his head slightly, then broke off a branch and threw it into the firewood. The branch was wet, but the firewood was burning, and soon there was steam coming out. At the cut part, there was a squeaking sound.
"Actually, I haven't had a good chat with you all this time," Luoqiu said with a smile, "I think a boss like me probably fails."
Number Nine was startled and a little surprised … He shook his head, "No, in my opinion, you are better than the previous one … But I don't know how long you can maintain it."
"No. 9, watch your tone." Miss Maid's eyes were slightly cold, but Luo Qiu cast a glance at her to calm her down.
Boss Luo said, "No matter how long I can maintain it, I will do my best to maintain it … Can you tell me why you have to stop the flood at all costs?"
Number Nine said indifferently, "If we don't stop the flood, the fields downstream will be flooded. There are a dozen villages nearby, and their livelihoods are all here."
Luoqiu nodded and immediately asked, "If that's the case, it must be a large trade order … According to your past performance, you will probably do it, right?"
"I … I don't know." Number Nine was silent for a moment … His eyes looked somewhat blank.
Luoqiu saw a few old stainless steel cups in the wooden house, and some pine trees outside, so he took some pine leaves, put them in the cups, and boiled them with water.
As he boiled, Number Nine suddenly said, "I seem to have boiled pine leaf tea like this before."
Luoqiu smiled and said softly, "During this journey, what did you see and hear?"
Number Nine was deep in thought. He had just started over, and his thoughts were still in chaos, but now he started to sort them out bit by bit … thinking about this journey.
He said slowly, "I have been walking, and I have passed by many places. To me, they are like deja vu … I gradually understand that this journey may be related to my past memories. I clearly know what the route you gave me is … Yes, I know. "
Number Nine used a tone as if freedom was not his own. "He should know, but he didn't feel much about all this. It could even be said that he didn't feel anything. Until this time, when he came to the beginning of this path under the instructions of his master, he seemed to feel something different. "
"Did he remember anything?" Luoqiu personally peeled some pine leaves and threw them into the cup.
Number Nine shook his head. "He didn't remember anything, but he felt an uneasiness that he had never felt before. He kept walking like this until he came to a museum. He stayed in this museum for three days. "
Luoqiu asked, "What did he see?"
Number Nine said, "Strong and unyielding, full of hot-bloodedness … The things inside, whether it was a painting, a water bottle, or even a cracked leather belt, he could stare at them for a very long time, but at the same time, he also saw loneliness."
"Loneliness?"
"Yes, loneliness." Number Nine slowly closed his eyes like everything was happening before his eyes. "He didn't know what kind of feeling it was. There were too many things recorded there, but other than himself, he could not see anyone else. He went to the curator's office, but he saw that the curator was a young man in his thirties. Looking at this young man, the curator was writing a plan to renovate this museum, perhaps to attract more visitors … He suddenly felt angry. "
"Why was he angry?"
Number Nine said. "At the time, the bank outside was selling commemorative coins. He saw the long line of people inside and outside the bank … He saw the passion of these people, but he couldn't hear the story behind the commemorative coins."
"What kind of story?"
Number Nine said, "The story of the war."
"A commemorative coin that might increase in value attracted people to line up to buy it, but a museum that carried all this history was deserted … So you were angry, right?"
Number Nine did not answer. He looked out the window blankly, and his memory became clearer. "He left that place and continued to follow the established route. He saw many similar things … this kind of deserted place. Then he ran into someone. "
"Who?"
"An old man," Number Nine whispered. "A retired soldier. Many people went to find this old man."
"Finally, someone paid attention to him. Isn't that good?"
Number Nine shook his head. "He couldn't explain it clearly … He saw with his own eyes the old man sitting in front of his house, facing the reporters, the people from the government, and people who came for no reason. The old man's daughter-in-law helped him put on the clothes with many medals. He took pictures with the people who came one by one. He saw the old man's smile, but he did not see the old man's happy smile. He only saw the old man talk about that period of time again under the repeated requests. "
"You don't think it's good?"
"Initially, the old man was very happy to tell these stories, but slowly, he lost interest because the old man realized that after a few days, the people around him forgot about them. They started to discuss other things. "
"What kind of things?"
"Scandals, especially the scandals of celebrities, people never got tired of them."
"You think they stopped paying attention to this old man, right?"
"He saw that the old man's house was soon deserted. After that, another person became popular on the internet. It was a girl who looked not bad. She only said one sentence, and then she became popular all over the country. But she soon disappeared again, and people's passion turned to other people. "
"And then?"
Number Nine said, "He planned to leave this place again because he still had a long road ahead of him. Before he left, he secretly went to the old man's house. The old man's daughter-in-law and son were not there anymore. The old man was left alone in front of his house with an old dog accompanying him. He smoked his pipe silently like this, looking at the front door and dozing off. "
"He felt that this old man had been forgotten, right?"
"Perhaps." Number Nine shook his head. "But he actually knew that soon, another similar old man would enter the public eye … This is like a cycle. Because people like to find out about these things from time to time. "
"He knew why?"
"He knew why." Number Nine nodded. "But he felt that it was meaningless, so he continued on his journey."
"He is a Black Soul Messenger, so he has seen many things like this." The tea was ready, and Luoqiu split the tea.
Number Nine took it naturally and held it like a person who wanted to warm up. "Yes, he has seen many things, but he has always been a bystander."
Luoqiu smiled. "Where did he go next?"
"He went to a forest and met a mountain guard." Number Nine looked at the floating pine leaves in the stainless steel cup. "He suddenly wanted to interact with this mountain guard. So he became a backpacker and walked into the mountain guard's house. This mountain guard is called Zhang Jinquan. "
"He must be very hospitable. A guest came to the wilderness." Luoqiu thought of that scene.
A smile appeared on Number Nine's face. It turned out that a dull person could look so good when he smiled. "Zhang Jinquan raised chickens outside the forest guard station. That night, Zhang Jinquan killed a chicken to greet the guest. He is very hospitable."
"I want to eat it too." Luoqiu said with some yearning.
Number Nine smiled. "I don't think you will like that kind of environment. It is too simple. There is not even enough electricity and no signal at all. The only way to understand the outside world is to watch TV and listen to the radio. And it can only be used for a few hours … When watching the news, Zhang Jinquan is reluctant to use electricity at other times. "
Luoqiu smiled but did not say anything.
Number Nine took a sip of the pine leaf tea that was already at the right temperature. "The taste is still a bit lacking. If you boil it with snow water, it will taste better."
After taking a sip, Luoqiu turned around and took a few snowballs from the snowy peak thousands of miles away. He put them back into the cup and added some pine leaves. It looked very ugly and dirty.
"How long did he stay at the forest guard station?" Luoqiu asked.
Number Nine said, "About ten days. In those ten days, he and Zhang Jinquan patrolled the mountain once. It took four or five days. "
"He seemed to like it very much." Luoqiu smiled.
Number Nine nodded. "It was a very quiet place. In those ten days, his previous unhappiness seemed to have disappeared. He thought of it as a vacation … He still had to leave because he had to carry out his master's orders. "
Luoqiu thought for a moment and said, "Sometimes his master was not good enough."
Number Nine shook her head and said faintly, "When he left, Zhang Jinquan killed another chicken as a farewell. That night, he saw the old man who was guarding the mountain get drunk and shed two drops of tears. That was when he felt the old man's reluctance … This old man stayed in the mountain for forty years. "
"What will happen to this forest guard station in the future?" Luoqiu asked.
Number Nine thought for a moment. "He doesn't know. Zhang Jinquan said that no one was willing to take over his position, so he could only stay for the time being even though he had already retired … This old man still hoped that someone could take over his position. It was a very strong desire. So before he left, he made a white card with Zhang Jinquan's information. He planned to give it to his master after this trip. "
Luoqiu nodded. "I will go and take a look if I have the chance."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
…
The rain outside gradually stopped. When Luoqiu left, it was night. After he came here and stayed in the house for a while, it was almost dawn.
After telling Zhang Jinquan's story, Number Nine suddenly sang a song. He said that Zhang Jinquan taught him the old Huayin tune.
— — High on the mountain, the bell for battle.
— — The bell rings, the people rejoice, the mountains and rivers listen to the command.
— — The Happiness Canal is opened, the water is drawn to the mountain, showing a beautiful future.
— — A myriad of colors …
He really liked the ten days he spent at the forest station.
…
"Remember now?"
After listening to Number Nine's old song, Luoqiu suddenly asked.
Number Nine shook his head. "I don't have any impression at all. I can only vaguely guess … I might be from that era."
"You don't seem to have the same urgency you had when you came to find me last time, hoping to recover your memory."
Number Nine thought for a moment and said faintly, "Maybe it's because I'm afraid."
"What are you afraid of?"
Number Nine looked at Luoqiu and said, "Can I know where my performance was spent?"
Luoqiu shook his head. "According to the agreement you signed, you can't have the direction of your performance after every transaction."
Number Nine nodded. The boss could not violate the content of the agreement … whether it was the previous boss or the current boss. Unless the boss was willing to pay the price to tear the content of the agreement.
Number Nine sighed. "I don't know what I'm afraid of, I just feel uncomfortable … Sometimes, I even regret making the request I made before … Maybe if I didn't, I wouldn't be afraid. During this journey, I don't feel like me, I feel more like him. "
"Then why do you still want to stop this flood?"
Number Nine was silent for a moment. "You haven't seen the disaster resistance."
Luoqiu shook his head. "I haven't seen it with my own eyes."
Number Nine said, "He saw it … he saw those red faces clenching their teeth. He saw them building a human wall to block the burst of the dam. Many people couldn't hold on and fainted. Then, someone immediately came to replace them. Some people jumped into the water to save people. Some people were soaking wet as they carried sandbags from day to night. When you were really tired, you would see groups of them falling asleep on the streets. He looked at them like corpses that had fallen on the battlefield. Their bodies were covered in mud, and he couldn't even see their faces clearly. But he knew that once the whistle was blown, they would all stand up … He suddenly realized that nothing was important anymore. "
Number Nine said in a low voice, "He suddenly felt an intense pain in his heart … When this pain came, he didn't feel afraid. Instead, he felt like something was calling him. His actions had already preceded his thoughts, so he didn't think. He knew that this flood resistance would fail in the end. He knew that these young soldiers would drown in the endless flood … But he didn't want to. He didn't want these young soldiers to silently sink to the bottom of the water like this … Along the way, he saw too many 'forgotten' people. He felt that he had no right to blame these people because they didn't experience that era. Without experience, they naturally didn't feel anything. Everything that was separated from experience wouldn't last long. So even if he saw those who felt disdain, those who felt that the era had changed and didn't need them anymore, and even those who ridiculed without restraint in order to become famous, he just looked on coldly … But at least, at least, he wanted to save the lives of these young soldiers. They were like this pile of firewood. "
"He suddenly became less afraid … Even though he didn't remember, he knew that some things had always been passed down. Like a torch, there would always be someone to receive it, someone to pass it on, and then someone else to receive it … He couldn't let it be passed down. So he forgot his own identity and stood in front of the mighty force of nature. He thought that even if his body was smashed to pieces, it would still be good … He suddenly felt happier than he had in the past few decades. "
"So, whether or not he remembered was no longer important."
…
…
The sky brightened a little, but it was still gloomy. In the following day, it would still rain here.
It had been a long time since new branches were added to the bonfire. Only layers of white ash were left, but there was still heat. The sparks under the ash hadn't been completely extinguished.
Luoqiu stood up. Staying up for a night didn't hurt him.
He looked at No. 9 and raised the map in his hand, "Do you still want to continue this journey? There are still two or three places before it ends. "
No. 9 shook her head and stood up as well. She looked at Luoqiu, "No … I haven't been on the post for a long time. It's time to go back to work."
Luoqiu nodded, "The cost of remodeling you this time will be deducted from your future performance … Is that okay?"
No. 9 was silent for a while. Finally, she suddenly bowed and said in a low voice, "I hope you … can treat this country well, Master."
After that, No. 9 left. She turned into a cloud of mist and blended into the forest that hadn't been completely lit up, disappearing.
"More or less, I remembered something …"
…
When they returned to the club, Miss Maid hurried to prepare breakfast.
When she sent the breakfast to the study, Luoqiu was looking at the account book, deep in thought.
"Master, are you looking at No. 9's performance booklet?" Miss Maid walked to Luoqiu's side and began to put the breakfast on the table.
"I'm thinking if I can increase his commission points." Luoqiu said casually, "Otherwise, according to the performance he can keep according to the agreement, he may not be able to stop the next flood … The Black Soul Envoys are too weak. They are half-dead even when they stop the flood. It's not good for the shop. But I really can't find anything to adjust … This agreement is too rigid … Well, I seem to be squandering again. "
Miss Maid didn't speak. After carefully putting the breakfast on the table, she took the performance booklet from Luoqiu's hand and said softly, "Master, let me adjust it."
Luoqiu mocked himself, "Then I'll continue to be a useless person."
Of course, it was just a joke.
Miss Maid smiled sweetly, lifted the hair by her ear, and opened the performance booklet to find a feasible adjustment plan.
— — In 2015, 10,000 points were consumed to increase the energy of ten Chinese Academy of Sciences academicians.
…
— — In 2008, 200,000 points were consumed to increase the earthquake survival rate by 1.5%.
…
— — In 1969, 3,000 points were consumed to extend the life of the scientist surnamed Qian for 40 years.
…
— — In 1962, all remaining points were consumed to restore rainfall in a large area in Xin.
…
Many years ago, a man named Zhang Ziru walked into the club and made such a wish.
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