Chapter 1 Begging

"So, Baudrillard believes that both "things" and "needs" are false symbols. He criticizes Marx's use value theory, and believes that the latter has also fallen into the trap of political economics of capitalism, thus proposing his own symbol politics economics."

Wu Weiren finished his report, clicked on the last slide, nodded his thanks to the teacher and a dozen classmates, left the podium under the teacher's indication, and waited for the next classmate's report.

"Tears!"

At the next moment, Wu Weiren, a former graduate student, woke up from his dream.

He curled up, lying in a cold old hole in the wall, feeling the cold wind blowing from the gaps in all directions.

Wu Weiren sighed. After five years, he would still dream of his previous life.

The life before crossing is boring, but it is better than the miserable situation in front of me.

"Ties, Ties!"

A large hand reached out from the wall hole, grabbed Wu Weiren's ear, and rudely grabbed him out of this small broken den.

This is a broken house. Through the collapsed roof, you can see the bright stars in the night sky, just the arrangement and shape of the galaxy, which is very strange to Wu Weiren.

Wu Weiren couldn't resist the rude hand: what can a child as young as seven years old do?

His knees rubbed sorely.

But he still gritted his teeth without saying a word-Quaid was particularly impatient with the child's cry.

"I asked Rick, your regular money this week is five copper less than last week! Are you hiding it?" Angry Quaid is like a lion with red hair, and his protruding nose makes him more fierce.

Wu Weiren was crushed to the ground, and Yu Guang in his gray eyes saw the surrounding wall hole, and the five beggars who lived with him, ranging from four to ten years old, were all in Quaid's roar Shivering.

Among them, in the innermost wall hole, a young girl with short hair clenched her left hand tightly, her face turned red, and she was looking at Wu Weiren on the ground with fear. In the hole next to her, the six-year-old boy Ned was even scared. Cried out.

It was Coria, and Wu Weiren knew what she was afraid of.

In fact, Wu Weiren had a lot of luck this week. He, Kyle Tells-Wu Weiren's current name-got 37 coppers this week, 18 more than last week.

But he handed in only fourteen bronzes to Quaid, the leader of the Black Street Brotherhood who was in charge of the beggar business, and ran to the grid with the money he had worked so hard for two years. Rove pharmacy, in the hands of the kind helper Yanni, "purchased" a pair of typhoid pharmacy at a cost price.

Tyres fed the potion to four-year-old Coria: She had typhoid fever at her age. Without potion, it was almost a dead end.

In the past five years, Taylors has experienced a period of memory formation from two to seven years old again, and the young children who have been ignorant and understandable have gradually recovered their memories of the past life.

Among them, the children's memories seem to be fragmented and scattered. Even so, in this five years of lucid understanding, every time he witnessed the death of others, he was impressed by Thales.

From death to death, to death, drowning, hang to death, and-even once, Taylors saw a crying beggar suffocating under his power-was killed alive, from human trafficking The profitable Black Street Brotherhood has never had any bottom line and principles.

Even a gangster needs time to settle rules and order.

The Brotherhood originated from the Black Street, from the rise to the growth, only about ten years ago.

Even if it is a rival of the Brotherhood, it has a history of ninety years, the blood bottle gang known as the "noble in the gang", the life and blood debt of the hands is not rare.

Most of the time, Tyers, who witnessed death, was powerless. Even himself, with the help of scattered memories from his previous life, avoided the scourge of more than one death.

For example, nowadays, Quaid, who is flexing his muscles, is showing the brutality and viciousness of the gangster's sadism.

"I don't have any possessions! It's winter this week. There are a lot fewer people passing by the three districts of Lower Town..." Taylors got up from the ground, turning his brain quickly, and spit out the excuse he had made.

"Snapped!"

He was greeted with a merciless slap and hit Taylors back to the ground.

"Hand over the secret money, and then I will beat you up! Or I will beat you up first, and then you hand over the money! Choose it yourself!"

Obviously, Quaid did not want to listen to his explanation.

The leader of this brotherhood may just want to search for some wine money, or just want to find someone to beat him.

"But you can also be hard-mouthed. I like the hard-mouthed child the most." Quedger smiled and moved his fists.

Looking at the fist as big as a sandbag in front of him, Tells knew that even if he didn't say anything, Quaid wouldn't let himself go.

Last month, Quaid abused a beggar in the fifth house.

Tyles covered his swollen cheek and thought quickly.

On weekdays, Quaid doesn’t care about his accounts. He goes to the sunset bar in the underground street at night or hangs around holding a bottle of wine. How much money did we pay-it was his deputy who seemed to be responsible for Rick.

And even shrewdness like Rick knows that it is normal for the beggars to float seven or eight copper coins a week.

Someone reported it.

This is the only conclusion.

Thales glanced around the beggars.

When I got the money from the female noble, I went directly to the abandoned house, which must be seen by the children in the same room.

In a harsh environment, children's hearts will become more terrible than adults think.

Quaid kicked again, and Thiels secretly covered his abdomen with his elbows, slightly relieved his strength, and pretended to be a painful face, as if he was kicked by this foot-he could not make a sound , Quaid likes the children's screams the most.

"I said!" There was fear in Tells' face, "Don't hit me!"

"It depends on my mood!" Quaid looked around and saw that the other five beggars were shrinking in fear, which made him very satisfied, and his authority was respected.

"I met a noble lady on Wednesday morning, and she gave me nearly ten coppers!" Tells shuddered, hiding in the corner of the wall.

"I knew it! Begging? It must have been stolen? No one can hide me, especially you little thief!" Qued rubbed his palm viciously, preparing for the next round of beatings: "Hand over the money !"

Without waiting for Quaid's frown to rise, Tyers added another sentence:

"But I went to Hongfang Street!"

"Red Square Street?" Quaid raised his palm down a bit, "You went to the site of the blood bottle gang?"

"Yes, we really can't get more money in our place." Apart from the Brotherhood's thugs, skilled rangers, and some special purpose guys, who would not pay attention to the three near Black Street Patrol in the waste area? Even the city defense team with swords and shields did not want to be close to this sinful place.

"I got so much money for the first time, and the people in the blood bottle gang didn't show up. Then I thought, there might be a chance the next day."

"idiot!"

Quaid kicked Tyles hard. Tells seeing Coria trembling in the distance, only to listen to Quaid's screaming, "Don't think about it, are there so many cheap sites to pick up?"

The body of Tells shrank a little and said with a trembling: "Yes, the people in the blood bottle gang caught me the next afternoon, they hung me up, I said I was lost, they didn’t believe it, I took the money They handed it over, and they still let me go."

"Waste! How did you escape?" Quaid gave a hard sip.

"Then I said I was the boss of Quaid, and they laughed."

"What?" Quaid clenched his fists, and he grabbed Tyers' tattered burlap collar and lifted him from the corner. "What are they laughing at?"

Tells shook his head in doubt: "I don't understand much... what they say."

Quaid stared at him fiercely: "Hurry up!"

Tyles pretended to be scared and shook a little, and said tremblingly: "There is a bald head among them. He said that since he is a child of Qued, he will give him a life because Qued needs too much. Child..."

Before Tells finished, Qued was slammed against the wall!

He tried his best to protect his head, chest and abdomen, with his back to withstand the impact of the wall, and then immediately turned his back to Quaid, to face the heavy blow under his anger, while feeling the power of the heavy blow, always changing the angle of the back , Buffer the strength of the blow.

"Bitch-son raised... you this... bald... Spence... how did he know... kill you... kill you... waste... stupid..."

Quaid yelled furiously, kicking to Footers foot to foot, screaming in his mouth that only a few words could be distinguished.

In the hole in the wall, several children watched terrified as Taylors was beaten, but they all covered their mouths tightly and dared not make a noise.

Tells was relieved by Quaid's rainy kick.

Although it looks terrible, Quaid, who is furious and mad, is far safer than when he was tortured happily.

What's more important-now Quaid will no longer ask where the extra money goes.

What Tells said is half-truth:

He did go to Hongfang Street, but he kept hiding in the corner of the dark alley, carefully watching the surroundings.

He did indeed meet a noble lady in a goose down costume, but she was followed by twenty ending swordsmen, which was why he did not interrupt him when he came out of the alley to beg.

In the hands of the goose down noblewoman, Tyers did get twelve bronzes-he would certainly not be stupid enough to steal in front of the twenty ending swordsmen, but he didn’t wait for the noblewoman’s team to go away, just It disappeared quickly in the crowd and never went back.

As for the bald Spinner, Taylors had never seen him before, only knowing that he was the leader of the blood bottle to collect the black account.

And Quaid used to be the beater of the fraternity to collect black accounts-until one time Quaid made a mistake and was beaten down the lower body, the news was more secret. It was Tells who was lying under the corner of the big house of the fraternity When listening to the fight between the killers Ley York and Belicia in the room, privately mocked Quaid only to know.

When Quaid had vented his anger, while cursing the bald Spinner of the Blood Bottle Gang, he took out the bottle from his arms and scolded away. Tyers' back clothing was already cracked and his back was purple.

Because of the deliberately sideways sideways in order to avoid a head-on blow, blood was scratched in some places, and pain came in bursts.

Blood flowed to the ground, and Taylors felt only a fiery pain.

It's been a long time since he was beaten, he felt his muscles were burning.

Since crossing into this world, beating and hunger, sickness and cold are commonplace, but after gradually recovering the memory of graduate student Wu Weiren, with carefulness and previous experience, Taylors has not been beaten so viciously for a long time. pass.

After Quaid's voice disappeared faintly, the other five children in the room crawled out of their holes and expertly carried the powerless Taylor into the yard.

Ten-year-old "big man" Sinti grabbed a piece of broken bowl with a curvature and scooped water in front of the tank. The lame Ryan and the black-faced Kellyt are both eight years old. They collect the dead branches and weeds with difficulty, and use the flint to make a fire. Six-year-old yellow-haired Ned and the youngest Coria took a few wild leaves with strange shapes, put them in their mouths and chewed them, and gently rubbed on Tyers' scarred back.

Tells to endure the pain, looking for something to divert his attention, he looked at the weeping Coria, turned to the dejected yellow-haired Ned, and tried to calm his tone.

"It's okay, Ned, I don't blame you."

Ned looked up sharply, his face full of terror, and the other four children turned their eyes to him.

"How do you know?" The six-year-old child couldn't hide his thoughts, and guilt and panic were written on his face.

Just now, when Tells was beaten by Quaid, the older three children stared at this side, though they were scared.

Only Coria and Ned, one hiding her face in her hands, dared not look up, the other looked at the wall, occasionally turning her head to glance in horror.

Coria's typhoid medicine is the ultimate destination for those coppers. Of course she will not tell the story, but Tyers is still not sure about Ned.

Now there is no doubt.

He tried to squeeze out a smile, "It's all right, Quaid won't take care of it again."

"I, I," Ned's blushing was unreasonable. He looked at Tyers' back, tears falling down, "I didn't ask for money this week, and I didn't dare to steal."

He sobbed:

"Rick didn't say anything, but Quaid was very unhappy. If he said that again, he would sell me to the desert and cook for the boneless people. I was so scared, so I told him, said Tyles, Thai You got a lot of copper one day...I thought they wouldn't drive me like that...Quad drove me back and said he would come over at night..."

Coria's face also blushed, and her herb-wiped hand shook violently, and a few drops of blood dripped from the ground on Tyers' back.

Tells moaned silently, and the burning pain subsided, which was stimulated by Coria's movement again.

Ryan stared at Ned angrily, making the latter's head lower, and Kelly looked at Ned and then Taylors in surprise. Only Cindy silently continued to bring the water over.

Tells looked at Ned's glare.

The child is only six years old.

Tells himself.

He knew almost nothing, and faced Quaid, speaking in fear and panic.

He should not suffer such a fate in such a place.

"It's okay, Nid, Coria," Taylors breathed out, feeling the wound on his back seemed to be much better. He gently held Nid's hand, "Just, you see it too, Kui. What will Germany do..."

Ned whimpered in horror.

Tells looked at him seriously:

"Next time, who of you can't ask for money anymore, just tell me, I'll find a way."

"Compared to Quaid, we are a group."

Ned was crying more severely, and his words were a little vague:

"Ty... Tells, yes, right, sorry..."

Tells silently watched the sobbing Ned.

Finally, he turned his head and took a breath.

"Now it's all right, Ned," Tyers sighed slightly, took the broken bowl in Sinti's hands, took a sip of water, and said softly:

"Don't be afraid, I always have a way."

Except for Ned, who was crying silently, the children looked at the scene timidly without saying a word.

Tells looked at the ground under him, his eyes gradually solidifying.

Compared to countless predecessors who have traveled through countless worlds, his luck is undoubtedly much worse.

But even so.

Tells looked at the five children around him, especially Coria, who was recovering from typhoid fever, and there was still terror in her crystal eyes.

At least, he thought, he would make more money tomorrow.

————

In the Sunshine Temple of the Eternal Star City, the prayers of the sunset were ended, and an intern offering to clean up the altar stopped his movements.

She looked in amazement under the stone altar with a sacrificial lantern filled with eternal oil.

Since she started taking care of the altar, she has never lighted it, never used it, and can't talk about the unremarkable sacrifice lantern...

Suddenly a bright yellow flame ignited.

The flame flickered from yellow to red and red.

Like the color of blood, it grows stronger.

An elderly priest noticed the intern's gaffe, and she scolded in dissatisfaction.

"Niya!"

The intern turned his attention back to the altar.

But it wasn't until the elder priest saw the unusual sacrificial lamp that she screamed.

"Niya, hurry up and inform the prince!"

The astonishment of the elder sacrifice could not be concealed. She shivered in front of the lantern, raised her right palm, and turned the left palm up, posing in prayer, chanting words in her mouth.

"The setting sun is on..."

What's wrong?

Intern Nia was stunned.

For the first time, she saw the respected sacrificial lord so gaffeous that she was also affected.

Am I making a mistake?

But I didn't touch the lamp.

"But, what should I tell the prince?"

Nia asked flustered:

"Someone secretly lit up, lit a lamp beside the altar?"

The older priest stopped to pray.

"Do not."

The elder priest stared at the lamp, and put away the prayer.

"This lamp, even if it exhausts the two continents of the entire Errol world, countless islands, only one person can light up."

"That person is about the future of this kingdom."

(End of this chapter)