Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 15 A hot pot meal

The dark streets a few days ago were inexplicably bright today. Ever since Wright's spirit came to this strange world, he had never felt that the pure light was so close to him.

After changing into his daily clothes, Wright decided to take advantage of the few hours the dome was open to buy some food and further observe this fascinating wasteland world.

After walking out of the three-story building along the creaking wooden stairs, Wright lowered the "Bear Bear" pistol on his waist again, just covering the pocket containing 50 New Zealand dollars.

After all, today is a holiday for him and the working people in the city of Sogra, not a working day.

First of all, he didn't want to cause trouble in the city. After all, so many things that he couldn't understand had happened in just a few days. The second thing was safety.

Although the management of the committee and the duty of the escort team have played a good role in the current state of the city of Socra, the lost people hiding in the darkness and those who are exposed to extraordinary power are always a threat. If you encounter people like Natasha again, Such a crazy woman...

Thinking of this, Wright shuddered. After all, a woman is a dangerous creature at a certain moment, let alone a "witch" who comes into contact with magic.

After walking along the stinking ditch that exuded the familiar sour and rancid smell, Wright came to the kerosene lamp shop he saw when he first came to this city.

Recently, due to the approaching "Blood Night Ceremony" and the dome test in Socra City, the door of the man named Ward seemed deserted and there were not many guests.

"Hey, Wright, here we come." When Ward saw Wright walking by, he stood up from a distance, raised his arms and said hello.

"What's wrong? So deserted?" Wright greeted him in the familiar way in his memory in order to appear as normal as possible.

"Aren't you asking questions knowingly? Those people on the Socratic Committee are not good at anything else, but they are very good at formalism. After all, this is an event that happens once every forty years. I don't know how much it will cost this time." Ward complained.

Although he is just a business owner selling kerosene lamps and small mechanical items, he has a very strong interest in urban development and situation changes, and even history.

"Grand party? How big can they make it?" Wright asked seemingly casually.

After all, due to the lack of memory, he still needs to obtain information, but the information obtained by inadvertently asking questions is more reliable.

"Who knows?" Ward sat back on the metal reclining chair, crossed his hands and held the back of his head and complained:

"I heard that the last ceremony cost half a year's production value of the city of Sogra. If it weren't for the safety of the entire city, I'm afraid the committee would be drowned in saliva. You know, the ceremony here is not as simple as setting up a few altars, that is It was a long-standing practice. Now, hum, we have to fly airships, fighter jets, etc. to the top of the dome. And then use mirrors made of pieces of burning liquid to reflect the moonlight. Anyway, we people don’t understand the principle, what does the committee say? We believe whatever we want. As long as it doesn’t disturb my business.”

"Burning liquid, mirror?" Wright felt a little confused.

Do you want to use the burning liquid from Wu Xin's body? Can cautery liquid be used to make a mirror? This is really a strange thing. It seems that the rules of this world are biased towards magic, or the original magic source of the world. As for steam machinery, it is like an accessory.

If I had known earlier, I would have promised Natasha, that crazy woman, to go and take a look behind the door, and I shouldn't have refused so quickly. But she's so crazy, I'm afraid she won't get any good results if she goes there.

"Yes, a mirror made of burning liquid. It is said that the goddess of light will send down the power of dawn at that time, and the Lord of the Night will send down the breath of darkness. Only the burning liquid can bring them together and put them into the city dome and a big metal thing. , so that the city can survive for another forty years. But, Wright, you have to listen to your uncle." Ward explained to Wright, minding his own business.

"what?"

Wright, who recovered from the complaint, seemed to see something different in Ward's slightly sad eyes. He couldn't say what it was, but he could only feel that the emotion was important. For humans.

"Run away if you can. The people on the committee are not doing anything right now. If you are greedy for the power or status of the Guards, you may fall into the quagmire." Ward said, with a trace of fear in his eyes.

"Why?" Wright became interested and learned from the broken memory fragments that he had been fighting Wuxin for almost four or five years before he got the chance to enter the holy city of Sogra. Wouldn't it be a waste if he left just a few days after entering? Lost your life?

"Before answering your question, I want to test you with a question. You should have read the History of Socrates that I asked you to borrow from the library last time. It shouldn't be difficult to answer my question." Ward sat on the chair. He straightened his body slightly and said.

"I saw it, I must have seen it." Wright nodded.

"You believe in the goddess of light, I will definitely not ask this. My question is, do you know the title of the Lord of the Night?"

Although Ward's accent was orthodox Zine Mandarin, slightly masculine, Wright felt an inexplicable biting coldness from the question.

Just like walking on a polar glacier, if you are not careful, you will be swallowed by the cold darkness and fall into the endless abyss, causing your soul to fall into eternal pain.

Wright shook his head vigorously, trying not to let his subconscious emotions affect him.

After holding his chin and thinking for a few seconds, he still gave the correct answer:

"The guardian of the eternal night, the creator of the core of hope, the guardian against the scorching heat, and the leader who guides the lost."

"That's right. This is the Lord of the Night. Therefore, I need to explain another issue. The power of gods comes from humans who believe in them. Earlier, when humans first entered the New Era, although unintentional people have been invading us, many of us We were also infected by the burning liquid and became careless. But we always maintain hope in our hearts, eternal hope for life and the future. These are the sources of the power of the goddess of light," said Ward.

Wright nodded in agreement.

"But now four to five hundred years have passed in this wasteland world, and the remaining hope in human hearts is gradually disappearing. More and more people choose to lie down and let unintentional people wreak havoc on the world. Remember that in the early years, we still We have been in contact with the big country in the east through the sea route, but now if anyone says that he wants to go to the ocean, he will be laughed out of his head. Disappointment and despair are the source of the power of the Lord of the Night. Wright, think about it, the two powers Balance maintains the stability of the city of Socra. What if one force is out of balance?" Ward stared into Wright's black eyes and asked seriously.

"It will destroy, it will kill," Wright replied.

For a moment, whether it was the memory fragments or Ward's conclusion that was too shocking, Wright seemed to see a dark castle standing in the ice and snow wasteland.

It has mottled walls and traces of erosion by time, and the half-opened giant door is pure black with no end in sight.

At this second, Wright seemed to hear a low whimper and the beast's breathing. As his thoughts moved further, a huge eyeball suddenly appeared in front of him...

"Wright?"

Ward's voice interrupted Wright's thoughts and pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm fine." Wright breathed heavily, trying to calm down.    Perhaps it's hallucination due to hunger? Or are the fragments of my own memory guiding me? In short, this is not a good thing. If you are influenced by hallucinations during battle, the consequences will be disastrous!

"Have you not had a good rest? Wright, as a friend, I want to remind you that your body belongs to you and your work belongs to others. If you hurt yourself for work, that would be too stupid. Oh, by the way, I heard that Tong Route 65 to the Silent Highlands is about to be opened, and the dusty ruins and extraordinary things will probably attract many adventurers. By then, your escort team must have a new mission." Ward said with a smile, and stood up and headed towards He took two steps towards the door of the store.

"Uncle Ward, how do you know so much?" Wright asked.

"Books and newspapers." Ward smiled, shook the book in his hand, and walked straight back into the dark kerosene lamp shop without a single customer.

After passing through Areas Z and X of the Sogra residential area, Wright followed the path in his memory and found the market near Area K.

Since it is close to the commercial district and tends to sell daily necessities for ordinary residents, Wright has not seen those sour-smelling ditches and muddy ground here.

Instead, there are clean streets and flat areas paved with well-proportioned stones.

In addition, mechanical vehicles and some jeeps and convertibles that he could recognize were also moving freely through the crowded roads, and the well-dressed gentlemen and ladies coming and going seemed very busy.

When he came here, Wright even thought he had traveled through time. It's as if the slums are a wasteland world, and this place has a British feel.

Wright walked along a familiar street and entered a large market. On the mottled wall at the door was a relatively neat wooden sign that read "Civilian Market."

It seems that you can buy the ingredients for hot pot here. Your body should need a lot of nutrients now. These things must not be so expensive, and you can make a filling hodgepodge. Just thinking about it makes you drool.

"Wolf berries, fresh wolf berries."

"Cilantro, squid, meatballs, everything."

"Blood clot, fresh blood clot."

……

Carrying his tired body and a large bag of fresh ingredients, Wright finally returned to the top of the small and closed attic.

Although the place where I live is not too small, fortunately, it has all the necessary organs.

After taking a short rest and drinking some boiled clean water, Wright began his cooking moment.

The first is an aluminum steamer, which can be transformed into a "hot pot" body together with the fireplace.

After filling it with semi-clean water from the faucet, Wright took out a box of dusty matches from the drawer, slid it slightly on the sandpaper on the edge, and threw the bright red flame and the ignition into the coals. .

"Jumping and dancing flames." Wright smiled.

Next comes the processing of tomatoes. For some reason, the world is still named after wolf fruits.

This didn't bother him. Along with the squid balls and blood clots, Wright almost used all his strength to chop them.

After finishing all this, Wright poured all the little lard he bought into the aluminum pot and placed a few broken boards next to the stove as an extension.

"The hot pot is in the middle, and the ingredients are placed on the wooden board next to it. This is the real hot pot. I didn't expect that you can eat hot pot in another world. However, since it is eating, it must have a sense of ceremony."

Thinking of this, Wright, who was a foodie in his previous life, suddenly felt an electric current passing through his brain, and he was instantly inspired.

Immediately afterwards, he picked up four or five ceramic plates containing different ingredients, shouted loudly, and poured them into the pot:

"This is the scarlet fruit."

"This is the guts of a plant."

"These are twisted tentacles."

"It's clotted blood."

"You blend in the realm of red and white."

"Struggle."

"Give me contentment and strength."

……

"bump!"

Just as Wright was pouring all the ingredients into the hot pot and preparing to feast, his old little wooden door was kicked open.

The intruders were the meddlesome landlady Rena, and a tall man in uniform, with a thick beard and a city emblem.

As soon as he entered the narrow room, he took out his pistol and pointed it at Wright's chest. At the same time, he took out his ID with his left hand and shouted to Wright:

"Raise your hands and squat on the ground with your head in your hands. Our Sugla security team received a report that someone was performing illegal rituals here!"

(End of this chapter)