IPT 46.1

Chapter 46

 

“One, two, three, one, two, three.”

The soldiers worked together to push the cart, and the leading military vehicle finally got out of the mud. Jin Gao sat in the car and said to Gu Lin beside him: “This road is always rotten every time it rains.”

 

Gu Lin closed his eyes and leaned back on the seat, his hands in leather gloves clasped in front of his chest: “Has the town been blocked all the time?”

 

“Yes, since the search began, no one is allowed to enter or leave the town.” 

 

After going around Keko Mountain and going inward for a while, Keko Town gradually appeared in sight. The town has high walls, and the pointed roof exposed on the wall is gray and dilapidated. In the thick fog, a wall clock on the top of a spire can be vaguely seen. The whole town looks like a prison rather than a town.

 

There are two teams of soldiers on duty at the gate of the town. When they see the convoy coming, they immediately press the switch, and the thick metal gate slowly opens.

After the convoy enters Keko Town, the gate closes again.

 

The convoy was moving on the bumpy street. There were no other vehicles on the road, and no cars were visible. Occasionally, one or two people passed by the street, only looked at the convoy, and then turned away without interest.

 

Gu Lin’s eyes swept over the low houses one by one, and finally stopped at a three-story building.

 

“Ah…” A long scream suddenly came from the building. It was no longer a sound that a normal human could make, but rather like some kind of beast.

 

The screams continued to float out of a small open window, but the people on the street seemed not to hear it, just doing their own things, and did not turn their heads to look.

 

Gu Lin looked down at his forearm. There was a piece of tape on the exposed wrist, covering part of the skin. He looked at the tape quietly. His face became gloomy, and a black snake also floated on his shoulder, raising its head uneasily and hissing and spitting out the snake tongue.

 

Jin Gao was about to close the car window, but Gu Lin raised his hand to block it.

 

“Gu Lin.” Jin Gao was a little uneasy.

“I’m fine.” Gu Lin said.

 

A woman in a nurse’s uniform leaned out of the small window of the building. Although they couldn’t hear what she said, they could see from her mouth shape and expression that she was cursing. She raised her hand to close the window tightly, and the screams floating over the town disappeared.

 

The convoy continued to move forward, and the black snake slid down the back of the chair and coiled on Jin Gao’s knees. Gu Lin withdrew his gaze as usual. Jin Gao stroked the snake’s head and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

 

The convoy stopped at the parking lot of the government military headquarters in Keko Town. The local sheriff ran out of the small building and shook hands with Gu Lin who got out of the military vehicle.

 

“It’s so cold in Keko Town, and Colonel Gu still came here in person. Please, please, hot tea has been prepared in the room–“

 

Gu Lin raised his hand to stop the sheriff from speaking, and just stood in front of the military vehicle, pulling off his military coat: “I’m here for routine inspection. I’ll leave after taking a look, and I won’t come in.”

 

“Yes, yes, the military warehouse is waiting. I’ll accompany you right away.”

 

Gu Lin nodded without comment, but Jin Gao beside him asked: “I asked you to search the town for suspicious persons today. Did you get any results?”

 

The sheriff looked embarrassed: “We searched, really searched everywhere, over and over again, and found no suspicious persons.”

 

“Did you check the secret room and the cellar?” 

 

“We took a detector and searched every household. All spaces have been searched.”

 

“The staff checked?”

 

“We checked and everyone must show their ID as well.”

 

“The town’s sewer?”

 

“We have searched, we have searched everywhere.” It was winter, but the sheriff was sweating with fear.

 

“But he is in Keko Town, how could he not be found?” Jin Gao was about to get angry, but Gu Lin said, “Forget it, it’s hard for him.” After that, he turned and walked towards the car.

 

Jin Gao glanced at the sheriff coldly, turned around and followed. Gu Lin turned his head again at the moment he leaned over to get into the car and said to the sheriff, “Don’t relax, keep looking.”

 

“Yes, I know. We will.” The sheriff agreed repeatedly.

 

Gu Lin did not check any military warehouses anymore, and the convoy drove directly out of the town and returned. Jin Gao looked at the town gate that was slowly closing from the rearview mirror and asked, “Why did he disappear out of thin air?”

 

“Have you searched other places? For example, the mine and the welfare home.” Gu Lin asked.

 

“I’ve looked for them all.”

 

Gu Lin looked into the distance, his eyes flickering, and after a moment he said, “I’m very busy today. When I have time, I’ll go to the two aircraft landing fields and find out who the aircraft pilot is. I’ll ask them in person.”

 

He thought for a moment and said, “Not only the aircraft that took off during Yun Tuo’s time period, but also the aircraft that was in the landing field that day. All their pilots should be called.”

 

“All the aircraft parked in the landing field?”

 

“Yes.”

 

***

 

Thanks to his strong sentinel physique, Chu Ya’s broken bones recovered very well. He found a pair of crutches in the hospital and started practicing walking.

 

He had tidied up the small courtyard, the paint-chipped furniture was polished to a bright shine, and the broken sofa cushions were sewn with needle and thread. There was also an open area next to the sofa, with two large cardboard boxes. One contained Shen Qianqian’s treasures, and the other contained his black wolf’s.

 

Chu Ya felt pain. Originally, there was only Shen Qianqian’s treasure box there, but one day, there was suddenly another one next to it , closer to the treasure box , with dirty copper and rotten iron thrown in it.

 

He thought it was Shen Qianqian’s things picked up.But then the black wolf suddenly appeared beside him, and with a bang, he put down the stuff into his mouth.

 

Chu Ya looked up. He picked it up and looked at it before asking, “Did you pick it up?” 　　

 

The black wolf’s eyes fell on his other hand, and Chu Ya looked at it and saw the faucet covered with foam in his hand.

 

The black wolf just turned around arrogantly, and lay down under the eaves. He seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, but a gleam of light shone through the slits of his eyes, and he was staring at Chu Ya without blinking.

 

Chu Ya understood immediately, and then he cleaned it carefully and put it into the new treasure box in the house.

 

The black wolf had been lying at the door without moving, but the moment it entered the house, it suddenly raised its head. After seeing him put the faucet into the cardboard box, he lay down again, seemingly unimpressed, but the tip of his tail was wagging happily.

 

After Shen Qianqian passed the message, there has been no movement from the welfare home, and Shen Qianqian was not asked to bring back a message, but every day he filled his bag with enough food.

 

Chu Ya understood that Dean Liu was behind the entire welfare home. If he was involved, once he got into trouble, I am afraid the welfare home would be involved. But through Shen Quanquan’s reminder last time, Dean Liu would definitely be more vigilant, which achieved the purpose of his message.

 

In the past two days, Chu Ya sewed up the ears of the stuffed bear, made a long cylinder with the remaining cloth of the surgical gown, filled it with cotton, and the bear now had a new arm.

 

Shen Qianqian didn’t seem very satisfied with the new arm. When he got it, he looked at the little bear and then at Chu Ya, and laughed dryly: “It has grown a different hand, so funny.”

 

“You think it doesn’t look good?”

 

Shen Qianqian said: “It would be better if its hand could be the same as this one here. Well, it’s also this color, also fluffy, and has a white fist.” He curled his hand into a ball and showed it to Chu Ya: “Look, it’s a fist, but with connected fingers.”

 

Chu Ya was silent for a moment before saying: “I can’t find this kind of original velvet, you can just make do with it.”

 

“Well, it’s also very beautiful, very beautiful… Having a hand is always better than having nothing.” Shen Qianqian nodded, and touched Chu Ya’s leg: “Just like your feet, you can’t walk with two feet, but it still looks better that you have feet.”

 

In the afternoon, when the black wolf was not there, it often wandered around, coming and going without a trace. Chu Ya was not worried, and took Shen Qianqian to the town’s art center building, and looked at the highway in the distance from the first floor platform.

 

“What are you looking at?” Shen Qianqian stood beside him holding the little bear while looking into the distance.

 

The gray sky and earth merged into one in the distance, projected into Chu Ya’s misty eyes. He was silent for a moment and then replied: “Look at Dad and Mom, look at Yun Tuo.”

 

Shen Qianqian was fiddling with the little bear’s arm, but he suddenly stopped. He turned his head to look at him in a panic, then lowered his head and pulled the little bear’s ears hard.

 

Chu Ya was still immersed in his own thoughts, but Shen Qianqian slowly moved to the side, blocking the view right in front of him. Then he adjusted his position left and right until he felt that he had blocked Chu Ya’s sight.

 

“What are you doing here?” Chu Ya asked.

Shen Qianqian pushed his wheelchair again: “It’s not fun here, let’s go back.”

“You want to go back so soon?”

“Yes, go back, I want to go back.” Shen Qianqian pushed Chu Ya to turn in a direction, then climbed into his arms and sat, urging: “Let’s go, let’s go.”

 

Chu Ya took him downstairs, Shen Qianqian pursed his lips and looked ahead. He suddenly said: “You only have a younger brother.”

 

“What?” Chu Ya’s thoughts have not been completely retracted.

 

Shen Qianqian didn’t say anything for a long time, but after turning a corner, he raised his hand and slapped Chu Ya on the back of his hand, saying angrily: “You are Shen Miaomiao, you only have a younger brother Shen Qianqian.”

 

Although Chu Ya didn’t feel any pain, he frowned: “I’ve told you many times, we shouldn’t fight.”

 

As the wheelchair bumped, the cotton hat earmuffs bounced gently on the side of Shen Qianqian’s face, but he sat straight and his back was stiff.

 

After going down one more floor, he suddenly yelled angrily: “I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it.”

 

Chu Ya’s voice was still not loud, but it also revealed a lot of severity: “You have to control your temper. It’s not good to get angry all the time.”

 

“I just want to be angry, I just want to get angry!” Shen Qianqian retorted with his face tilted to the side.

 

Chu Ya braked the wheelchair: “Get off, walk by yourself, I don’t want to take you with me.”

 

Shen Qianqian panted heavily, and really jumped out of the wheelchair and strode forward: “Get off if you want to, I don’t want to take you with me either.”

 

He walked in front, swinging his arms, and Chu Ya controlled the wheelchair to follow behind. But Shen Qianqian became more and more angry. He suddenly took off the little bear on his back, raised his arm and wanted to throw it out of the building.

 

“You can’t just throw the little bear away.” Chu Ya shouted.

 

Shen Qianqian raised the little bear, not daring to throw it but not taking it back. From Chu Ya’s angle, he could only see his angry face.

 

“Tell me, why did you suddenly start to lose your temper?” Chu Ya asked.

 

Shen Qianqian’s chest rose and fell rapidly, and he suddenly bent his arms and tried to throw the little bear out again.

 

“No!” Chu Ya said.

 

Shen Qianqian did not throw away the little bear, but raised his hands stubbornly. His breathing became more and more rapid, and suddenly he burst into tears.

 

He cried very sadly, as if he had suffered a great injustice. He looked at Chu Ya while crying, with his mouth wide open, and tears kept flowing down.

 

In the past, Chu Ya would coax him, but now he was sitting in the wheelchair without moving. Shen Qianqian stared at him while crying, and when he saw that he had no intention of coaxing him, his crying became louder.

 

But Chu Ya remained unmoved, just looking at him quietly. Although his eyes were calm, they made Shen Qianqian panic for no reason, so he took another step towards him, reached out and grabbed his arm.

 

Chu Ya took the little bear from his hand, put it under the wheelchair, and dragged him to sit in front of him.