Embers of Embers

Chapter 207 God's Birthday
In Lorenzo's life, which was neither short nor long, he had seen many strange things.
The things he had seen were beyond human belief.
Weird things that exaggerate fear, mysterious and strange things that ordinary people cannot see directly, and battles that are far more tragic than what humans know.
But now, all of this is not as exciting as what is coming.
Lorenzo had thought about what the scene would be like when he opened the door. It might be Mrs. Van Roode preparing food, or it might be Sig sitting in the corner looking at the fire... In short, it was definitely not this scene.
The small living room was filled with old wooden boxes with the lion's emblem printed on them. Some wooden boxes had been pried open, and the inside was filled with a metallic luster and a slight smell of gunpowder.
The familiar Mrs. Van Lund was sitting on the sofa, she was holding a rifle that had been out of production for many years, and there were scattered bullets under her feet, as well as many other weapons.
"Wait, this is not the right way to open it, right?"
Lorenzo was startled, and he wanted to exit and reopen the door, but Mrs. Veroude's eyes immediately caught him, making Lorenzo dare not move rashly.
"Well... good evening."
Lorenzo said dryly.
This feeling is very strange. No matter how powerful you are in martial arts outside and how good you are in chopping up monsters, when you come home and see your mother holding a rolling pin, you will still instinctively tremble...Wait a minute, is this my landlord?
I couldn't help but stretch my hands into my arms to see if I could find a place to rent.
"Lorenzo? I thought you died outside."
Mrs. Van Rude glanced at Lorenzo, as if she didn't realize what a terrible thing she was doing. She then lowered her head and continued to clean the gun in her hand.
She knew the details of Lorenzo, and she also knew that Lorenzo was also a desperado. Therefore, Mrs. Verde never asked Lorenzo what he had done. Instead, as long as he could come back alive, someone must have died. .
The model of the weapon was very old. It was a weapon that served during the Glorious War, and now it should be displayed in a museum.
Lorenzo swallowed. It seemed that Mrs. Vallude's thoughts were not on him, and at this time he became bolder.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
Mrs. Van Roode raised her head and gave Lorenzo a rolling look.
Lorenzo quickly crawled over, being careful not to step on the weapons on the ground.
"So... you really can't help it anymore and are ready to rebel on this auspicious day?"
He looked like he wasn't afraid of the trouble, and he leaned over the sofa and whispered to the landlady.
Thinking of Mrs. Van Rude's previous dissatisfaction with the municipal government, her fiery personality, and the weapons in this place, Lorenzo could already imagine that an old man was trapped by his pension, so he had to carry a knife and a gun. Sticks went to rob the bank scene.
"To be honest, I've been unhappy with these bitches for a long time... Can I drive for you and give you [-] or [-] minutes afterwards?"
Lorenzo was beaming.
Mrs. Van Roode stopped what she was doing and looked at him.
"what are you saying?"
"Robbing a bank?" Lorenzo pointed to the weapons here, "There are only a few divisions in the bank. You and I join forces, male and female robbers!"
Mrs. Van Roode was even more confused.
"Did you have your brain damaged after being missing for the past few days?"
"Huh? Then what are you doing?"
It's not a bank robbery, so why did Mrs. Vanlude prepare so many weapons? Today is God's birthday, so you can't use them to set off fireworks.
"I finally contacted some sellers. I originally wanted to sell these things, but they were all damp. I was looking for something useful."
Mrs. Van Lud said very unhappily.
These were the weapons that she took with her after she retired, but they had been kept in the basement. The old Dunling was damp and was not stored properly. Nowadays, most of these items are no longer usable, which made Mrs. Vanlude extremely disappointed.
"Then what?" Lorenzo asked.
"That's it," she said.
I saw her pry open another wooden box, open the oil paper, put bullets into the gun, and shoot at the wall under Lorenzo's watch.
"On the bull's-eye!"
The old lady shouted happily, then moved the box of bullets to another pile of boxes and wrote down the numbers in the book.
Lorenzo felt that his mind was a little hard to turn around. Looking at the bullseye that was about to be smashed, he wondered how many times this old lady had done this.
Or, what kind of landlords are there for what kind of residents?
"The trooper didn't come?"
"There's a lot of noise in the street, no one cares." Mrs. Van Rude said, "Lorenzo, you came back at the right time."
Mrs. Van Roode suddenly stood up. It seemed that she was tired. She stretched and walked to the kitchen.
"what happened?"
Lorenzo was cautious.
"Today is God's birthday... Shige!"
As Mrs. Verrode was speaking, she suddenly shouted loudly. The sound was so loud that it shocked the man upstairs. Lorenzo clearly heard a heavy sound above him and saw that When I got up, my roommate fell off the bed.
After a while, Sigg slowly walked downstairs. After so many days, Lorenzo almost forgot that he had such a roommate.
Higg's appearance has changed a lot. Although he looks a little sick, but his face has a little blood. Lorenzo is a very sharp person, not to mention that he has been hanging out in the lower city. He found Higg very early. On the matter of taking hallucinogens, but now it seems that he has controlled himself.
Although they live under the same roof, the two of them don't have much communication because everyone knows that they are not the same person as each other.
They looked at each other awkwardly until Mrs. Van Lud shouted.
"Okay, come over for dinner. This is God's birthday after all, so there must be some sense of ceremony."
Mrs. Van Rude became rarely gentle, and then Lorenzo saw her sense of ritual. The table made of ammunition boxes was filled with food, and she also lit a few candles to enhance the atmosphere.
Although this enthusiasm came very suddenly and was a bit inexplicable, Lorenzo thought that he understood Mrs. Vallude relatively well. This old lady was just looking for any excuse.
An old lady living alone, with no relatives or friends, and a bad character... She is a strong woman from beginning to end, just like when she captured her husband on the battlefield.Even the release of good intentions is so bad.
Sitting down, Lorenzo was made a little uncomfortable by the enthusiasm and talked bad words.
"You actually believe in religion? I thought you were not interested in things from the Gospel Church."
Lorenzo said in disbelief that this is a festival originating from the Evangelical Church.
"It doesn't matter if it's God's Birthday or Egg Day, it's just a reason to celebrate."
Mrs. Van Ludd showed her carefree character, indeed, many people are not believers in the evangelical church, and everyone is just looking for fun through this festival.
Lorenzo suddenly laughed, and the previous feeling of loneliness was actually diluted a lot in this casual conversation.
"This is such a ceremonial feeling, sitting on the ammunition box to eat dinner... Are you thinking about your service life?"
Of course, the best way to repay this kindness is not to take it as kindness, and don't pity the old lady. This is a kind of disrespect to her.
"Service life? I'm an air cavalryman, first class! I won't eat dinner in the trenches with an ammunition box." Mrs. Vallude replied to Lorenzo in a dishonest manner.
Sigg was sitting between the two of them, feeling a little at a loss. He couldn't fit into this tasteless joke and seemed a little out of place.
In fact, this is quite strange. Higg, who has lived the longest, does not understand this old lady. He eats mechanically.
He came to Old Dunling when he was very young, and it was Mrs. Verde who took him in. Sometimes the two of them were like mother and son, but Lorenzo was the one who took him in.
"Xig, how are you doing? I think you're getting better."
Lorenzo said suddenly.
Hig was startled, Lorenzo's words caught him off guard, and Mrs. Vanlude's eyes became displeased. She didn't want Lorenzo to embarrass Hig, at least not today.
"I'm a detective, and hallucinogens are not a good thing, but it looks like you've got it under control, which is a good thing."
Lorenzo said calmly.
Sigg's eyes changed slightly, as if he didn't expect that his secret was not a secret at all in the eyes of the detective. He opened his mouth, thought about it several times, and finally responded with "Yeah."
"Oh, be happy, it's God's birthday after all!"
Lorenzo said cheerfully.
"Lorenzo, you have to know that not everyone is as heartless as you." Mrs. Verde said.
"Don't I want to communicate more with Sigurd? After all, we have been roommates for so long!" I don't know if it was true or false, but Lorenzo seemed to want to make friends with Sigurd, which made Sigg a little panicked.
Indeed, the two have lived together for a long time, but just like roommates on the surface, neither one knows the other, their schedules are completely staggered, and they hardly meet in daily life.
Maybe it was the reason for his resurrection from the dead, or maybe this made Lorenzo sentimental, and he became a little curious about this familiar but strange roommate.
Sigg was the most uncomfortable with Lorenzo's enthusiasm. He instinctively resisted Lorenzo. Sigg really didn't have any extra affection for this guy who slept next door to him and spent all day fighting and killing in the lower city.
"I won't touch that kind of thing again." Sigg said firmly.
Mrs. Van Rude's eyes softened a lot, but then became stern.
"So Lorenzo, please don't ruin the atmosphere, okay!" She said and waved the butt of her gun casually.
It feels strange to live an ordinary festival, Mrs. Van Rude said with emotion.
"Lorenzo, you've been coming to Jiudunling for seven years, haven't you ever thought of going home and visiting?"
"Go home? Where?"
Lorenzo forked a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, looking indifferent.
For Lorenzo, there is no home in this world, there is just a place to sleep. Even if such a thing as home does exist, it has long been destroyed in the night of Holy Advent.
Mrs. Verde stared at Lorenzo closely, as if trying to find some flaw in his expression. Some people are like this. The more heartless they are, the harder it is for you to discover his prototype.
But it was expected that it would be difficult for someone like Lorenzo to relate to those gentle words. She looked at Sigg again.
"What about you? You have been coming to Old Dunling much longer than Lorenzo."
Sigg's movements paused slightly, thinking that he had been coming to Old Dunling for many years, but he soon shook his head.
"No need, I almost forgot where I was anyway."
Just like many strangers running around in old Dunling, they stayed in this steel city for so long that they even forgot where they came from.
For Sigg, compared to home, he was more impressed by the bakery. Sigg worked there for a long time and finally saved up enough tickets to go to Old Dunling, so the wild dog ran happily in On the railway track, the past is far behind.
The atmosphere became strangely silent, and Lorenzo showed his ability to enliven the atmosphere at the right time.
"Xig, you are used to this too." He said suddenly.
Sigg was a little confused, while Lorenzo pointed at the bullets scattered on the ground.
His expression was a little subtle, and then he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"After all, this is Old Dunling, the center of the world. I won't be surprised at anything."
"He's very adaptable to new things." Lorenzo said, nodding.
Lorenzo is like a comedian, chatting and livening up the atmosphere. It's a pity that there are only three people here. No matter how lively they are, they don't have the same hobbies. It's just that the festival forcibly links everyone together. After tonight, Sigg and Lorenzo still don't have much interaction.
It's a bit sad to think about it this way, it seems that the joy tonight is all a dream.
Thinking of this, Lorenzo shouted loudly and raised his glass.
"Cheers to our fake friendship!"
Both of them ignored Lorenzo, as if they were used to the detective's nervousness, Lorenzo could only drink and get drunk without any interest.
Sometimes life is like this, it's really hard to find someone who is in sync with you.
However, suddenly there was the sound of horse hooves on the street. Logically speaking, there were not many people outside at this time. Everyone was gathering at home to celebrate the festival. Even the casinos in the lower city were closed today, and thugs licking blood from their knives would hide in the corners. Celebrating another year of survival.
Lorenzo didn't know who it was and didn't care who it was. On the contrary, it didn't matter to Lorenzo. He just felt that his life was severely fragmented.
The dispute between sensibility and reason, until the sound of horse hooves stopped in front of the door.
Lorenzo looked serious, and as a detective, his mind was racing with thoughts.
Mrs. Verde looked happy. She walked into the kitchen and brought a plate of cookies that had been baked. Lorenzo seemed to have guessed who the visitor was.
The man opened the door and raised the bell, making a crisp sound.
Looking at the somewhat unexpected figure, Lorenzo said.
"Yahweh?"
When he heard someone calling him, Yawei raised his head, and his apparently happy face suddenly became dead, as if he had eaten a dead fly.
This sharp contrast made Lorenzo very unhappy.
"Mr. Holmes? I thought you would be quarantined for a few more days."
It seems that he also knows these things, Lorenzo replied, "No way, the detention center is on holiday today."
"Oh, then I can let you retire directly."
Yawei said and raised his gun.
Lorenzo was often pointed at a gun, but he got used to it and didn't care at all. But this time something was beyond his expectation, and Yawei pulled the trigger.
"You're really playing!"
Lorenzo jumped up immediately, but what came out of the gun was not bullets, but color bars.
As if mocking Lorenzo's embarrassment, Yawei mocked unceremoniously and then got out of the way.
"Happy God's Birthday."
The girl stood at the door and said.
Lorenzo was stunned for a moment, and then the girl came over...as if she hadn't seen Lorenzo, and hugged Mrs. Vallude.
"Happy birthday to you too! Seleu."
Just like a big bear hugging a little bear, the little bear secretly smiled victoriously at everyone.
(End of this chapter)