Embers of Embers

Chapter 271
Just like every spring in Old Dunling, the cold rain washes over this steel city. Although it is often maintained, in this hazy water vapor, the whole city still looks rusty and rusty. The light was dizzy and turned into a magnificent neon.
The residents of Old Dunling have long been accustomed to this kind of climate. The dark umbrellas opened one by one and gathered into countless blooming flowers on the streets. These black flowers followed the flow of water and swayed between buildings. Surges in the gaps.
Joey held a black umbrella and stepped through shallow puddles.
The rainy season has arrived in Old Dunling, and the city will look like this in the next few weeks. The rain keeps falling, and it is extremely gloomy, as if it will never stop.Joey felt like his soul was being soaked.
This mysterious conversation finally ended with Lorenzo leaving. Joey just followed orders and stayed outside the gate. He didn't know what was specifically discussed inside. He just saw the abominable scene of Lorenzo leaving. look like.
Arthur didn't reveal much information, but just asked Joey to observe Lorenzo's mental state after that. He didn't know what happened to them.
Finally, when Joey came to the building again, the door number of 121A Cork Street was hanging on it.
After gathering his emotions, Joey knocked on the door, then pushed it open and stepped inside.
"Is Lorenzo back?"
Joey stood at the door and shouted into the room. After a while, Mrs. Van Rude came out and looked at Joey with a puzzled look on his face.
"Huh? Didn't you take him away this morning?"
There are often strange people taking Lorenzo away. Of course, Lorenzo looks different every time he comes back. Sometimes he looks like a tired social animal, and sometimes he is radiant, like he has robbed a bank. Happy, of course, more often he is covered in blood, but it is often the blood of others.
"Has he not come back yet?"
It seems that after leaving there, Lorenzo did not return to 121A Cork Street, which confused Joey.
As Arthur said, everyone has a place to return to, except Lorenzo. Joey couldn't imagine where Lorenzo would be at this moment. Only here did he realize that this guy is so unrestrained. .
"Is that so..."
It looked like he had missed the point, but there was no need to worry so much about Lorenzo. Maybe that guy was venting his anger on a group of unlucky people in an alley in the lower city.
"Joy?"
Suddenly another voice sounded.
Sigg walked down the stairs slowly. He only heard the familiar voice upstairs, but he didn't expect it to be Joey.
Joey raised his head and saw Sigg looking at him in surprise.
It's obvious that Joey is one of Sigurd's few friends, although this way of making friends is a bit strange.
"Are you going out?"
Joey saw Sigg fully dressed and holding an umbrella in his hand.
"There is a mutual aid meeting today, and the doctor wants to discuss spiritual issues with us."
Seager is very concerned about the mutual aid society. It can be said that he was able to get rid of hallucinogens, and to a certain extent, he also has to thank those patients.
"Mental problems?"
Joey couldn't help but care about this word. After the end, Arthur always mentioned this word intentionally or unintentionally. It seemed to be the main content of that secret conversation, not to mention that he came here just to understand Lorenzo's mental state. .
"After all, that doctor came from Black Mountain Hospital. To be honest, I have always heard some strange stories about Black Mountain Hospital, but I have never seen it with my own eyes."
Higgs said a little confused.
There will never be a shortage of mysterious urban legends in the city of Old Dunling, such as the rat that knows everything, the butcher bird that eats flesh and blood, the mechanical city built deep underground, etc... Black Mountain Hospital is also one of them. It is a hospital specializing in mental health, and it is also equipped with a sanatorium covering an extremely large area.
Some people say that there are many lunatics hiding there. They whisper crazy prayers all day long, and those who hear them will be contaminated by them and join in the crazy murmurings.
Some people also say that cruel human experiments are being carried out there, and Yin Erweg is trying to create terrifying monsters to dominate the world.
Of course, these are just some common rumors. Under the news control of the scavengers, these surprising things have become a small piece of information for citizens Tu Yile.
However, Black Mountain Hospital still has its own weirdness. For example, it is so huge, but in this crowded old Dunling, you can hardly detect its existence.
Yes, that's it. Everyone knows that there is such a hospital, but when asked about its location, no one knows its location.
"Black Mountain Hospital..."
As he whispered the name, Joey tried his best not to think about his experience in that hospital.
"Do you want to be together? Joey, it seems that you haven't been to a mutual aid meeting for a long time."
Higger asked tentatively. He really hoped that Joey could go with him. It was always better to have a companion than to go alone.
Just when Joey was hesitant, Sigg continued.
"If you are looking for Lorenzo...he usually comes back at night, and you never know where he will be until he comes back? Waiting is just waiting anyway, isn't it?"
Joey was silent for a while and looked at the gloomy rain curtains outside the window. They were falling, and the hazy mist seemed to be some kind of unknown monster, swallowing up the passers-by one by one.
"Ok."
He replied like this.
……
In fact, Joey's mental state is not very good. Although he is normal on the surface, sometimes he feels that he is somewhat similar to Lorenzo, but to be precise, they are both somewhat negative people.
Lorenzo has a serious self-destructive tendency. Although it is said to be negative, this guy is always full of enthusiasm on the way to death. Joey is a little unclear. He just sometimes feels that everything he does is meaningless. Can't afford the strength.
This may be related to fighting monsters. Being an enemy of that kind of evil creature is more or less psychologically traumatizing.
Joey seemed to be thinking of those bad pasts again, and Joey forced himself not to think about them, as if those pasts did not exist.
"How are you these days?"
During the march under the rain, Higg asked suddenly.
He was slightly shorter than Joey, and Higur raised the edge of his umbrella and looked at him with a smile.
"It's okay."
Joey said briefly.
Perhaps because he didn't want to make the topic too quiet, he looked at the hazy rain curtain and then said.
"I quite like the rain."
Joey raised his head as he spoke. The gloomy sky was covered by heavy rain, as if the sea and the sky had been replaced. The giant steel whale slowly walked through the rain curtain, emitting melodious whale calls from time to time.
"They say rain makes people depressed," Seager said.
"To be precise, it's not seeing the light of day."
Joey said that humans are like plants and need the care of the sun, but Old Dunling is not a friendly city to humans, and there are few clear skies here.
"Is that so?"
"Pretty much, that's what I remember the doctors at Black Mountain Hospital saying. The rain just made it worse."
The two chatted casually, and soon the White Church gradually revealed its original appearance in the hazy rain and fog. It seemed that the place had indeed been reused, and the accumulated debris and weeds had been cleared away, making it a historic church. There was a faint singing sound, as if a group of people were holding hands and praising the sacred.
"Sometimes rainy days always remind me of my hometown."
Higgs said suddenly.
"I have never gone back since the day I left home. It has been so long that I can't remember it clearly. Only on rainy days, the blurry outlines may become clearer."
Halfway through, Shige smiled kindly at Joey. Joey didn't understand why he suddenly mentioned this. Maybe this was also a so-called inner conversation.
"It was a small coastal town...I don't remember much about it. The only connection with the outside world was a railway track through the wilderness. At that time, I felt that the town was a prison, and the railway track was the only way to escape.
Because along the coast, there will always be some storms affecting there, heavy rain pouring down at night, lightning and thunder. "
"You don't look like someone who would take the initiative to talk about this." Joey asked. Heig was a somewhat introverted guy, and introverted guys don't do this.
"Yes, but people always have to make changes. Change is a good thing. Just like the steam engine changed the world, sometimes our lives need to be changed."
As he approached Whitechapel, Sigg's expression showed a hint of uncontrollable joy.
"Is it because of the mutual aid association?"
Joey didn't know why, but he suddenly felt wary, and he didn't know why.
"Almost everyone has different flaws, but here everyone encourages each other to overcome those flaws and become a better and more authentic self."
Sig looked at Joey as he spoke, his voice filled with strange magic.
"Aren't you the same, Joey? You can see that you and I are similarly confused."
Joey was stunned for a long time.
"maybe."
Every member of the cleanup agency undergoes psychological evaluation regularly. Joey has always been normal, but he knows very well that data on paper is just data. As long as the psychological quality is good enough, these can be disguised. He is also aware of his loss, but he has always been Resistance and consultation with a doctor.
It is a process of opening one's heart, but not everyone wants to do this. Behind every door there is a person's ulterior secret.
"Hello everyone."
Sig's overly cheerful voice brought Joey's thoughts back to reality. The cold water vapor was isolated as the door closed, and the warmth slowly came closer.
In the candlelight that can see the sea, a group of people sit together, just as Joey saw at that time, they are of different ages, genders, and social status, but it is such a different group of people who sit together harmoniously. Together, like a close family.
At the front of the crowd, the man looked at you with a smile.
Joey could tell the difference in the man at a glance. His position was on top of the stairs. Although he seemed to be close to everyone, he was still high up.
He wears glasses, which gives him a peaceful temperament. Unlike those vicious doctors at Black Mountain Hospital, he gives off a peaceful temperament, as if he is the warm sunshine under the rain.
For a doctor, such a temperament is very convenient. Without your excessive words, your patients will regard you as someone to talk to, open their hearts, and reveal the hidden and sinful things.
Only the doctor seemed to notice the arrival of the two people, while the others were still making noises and talking non-stop.
Outside the window is a world of heavy rain, cold and lonely, but under this white brick fortress, different people gather together warmly, confiding their inner feelings. The contrast between all this is so great. In this cold world, here How warm it is
For a moment, Joey couldn't help but want to fall into the warmth, but soon he realized the strangeness of this feeling. Joey instinctively felt the strange danger, but he didn't know where the danger came from.
But soon he realized the difference.
Joey still remembered the appearance of these people when he came last time. Everyone looked repentant, but now that repentance was over, everyone was positive about life. This positivity was so strong, it was like performing too much. The force is the same, but there is an unspeakable sense of disharmony under the warmth.
Sigg also joined in, and they were laughing and chatting, but this weird feeling was like some kind of gathering.
Joey suppressed the weird feeling in his heart, and then slowly raised his eyes to face the man.
He was sober, and so was Joey.
A strange atmosphere filled the church, and everyone except the two of them fell into the inexplicable beauty.
Joey made a calm judgment. He couldn't tell where this weird feeling came from. Now he could only try his best to pretend that he didn't know anything, and just regarded it as an ordinary mutual aid meeting.
Then the man came over. He wiped his glasses and put them on as he walked.
"Joy Joshua, I remember you."
The man spoke first before Joey could speak.
"I wanted to say hello to you last time, but you left before I could say anything."
Joey didn't respond. He stared closely at the man in front of him, trying to get enough information from this face and find a way to tear off the weird disguise.
But he soon gave up. This disguise was so perfect, so perfect that the only doubt about it was that it was too perfect. Joey could only see an unknown blank on this face.
Suddenly the man stretched out his hand. Seemingly seeing that Joey had been silent, he took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Currently I am the consultant physician of this mutual aid association."
There was thunder outside the window, and the pale thunder was reflected on the man's lenses. It seemed that blazing white fireworks also briefly rose at this moment, overlapping with the thunder, and then dissipated.
"James Moriarty."
This is the man's name, like a strange spell, echoing in Joey's mind.
(End of this chapter)