Steel Chang'an

Chapter 11

Chang'an, Guocheng.

On the dilapidated street, the neon signboard with five big characters of "Li's Machine Repair Shop" shone dimly.Looking carefully, the word "machine" is still missing a stroke.

Under the neon signboard is a small shop facing the street.Through the gray glass window, you can see a black-haired boy sitting in front of the dusty counter inside, holding a soldering pen in his hand, and is burying his head in fiddling with something.

Suddenly, there was a rumble from the street like a train passing by.The sound gradually became clear from far to near.The boy finally raised his head, for he noticed that the wooden counter under his arm began to creak and shake, and the panes on the window rattled, as if they were about to jump out of the window frame, and the soldering pencil in his hand was also there. Trembling, a drop of molten welding water dripped onto his finger, causing him to frown sharply in pain.

A feral cat looking for food made a shrill cry and ran past the store.

The boy put down his work, put his burnt finger in his mouth, and walked out of the shop.

He opened the shop door, and the stray cat ran back quietly, shivering and curled up at his feet.The boy held the wild cat in his arms and looked into the distance.

On the street, the old and messy buildings and dense wires were painted into a chaotic color block under the bloody sunset.At the end of this street, a huge black silhouette, like a giant who came out of the wilderness, staggered towards the boy.

The shadow of that mecha became bigger and bigger, even if the boy raised his head desperately, he couldn't see its whole picture.The wild cat in the boy's arms let out a low and restless purr, its claws stretched out from the pads, and it grabbed into the boy's sweater nervously.

The boy didn't know if he was petrified, but he stood in front of the store, motionless.

The huge mecha approached the boy step by step, and the empty streets trembled with the heavy footsteps of the mecha.Its giant-like body completely obscured the light in front of the boy, leaving only a few beams of blood-red light like the setting sun shining from the torn breastplate, making this giant's body look extraordinarily tragic.

Following a burst of loud metal mourning that made people want to cover their ears, this huge creature seemed to have exhausted all its strength, knelt down on one knee to the ground, and slumped forward.

A huge mechanical hand brushed past the boy's shoulder and landed on the ground, as if trying to support the huge body, but in the end it slammed to the ground together with the cockpit with its head!

The boy was still standing there blankly, the shop behind him was in ruins, only a rusty door frame was still standing there, shaking back and forth in the wind.

After a few creaks, the neon signboard with five large characters of "Li's Machine Repair Shop" finally fell from mid-air and hit the cockpit on the head of the mecha impartially.

The battle armor Xifeng fell down, but Mu Yun got up.

He climbed out of the cockpit in a panic and stood on top of West Wind.The sky was covered with white dust, as if it had suddenly snowed. "Snowflakes" fell on Xifeng and Muyun, and soon his clothes and hair were dyed white, just like the white ghost who came out of the storm in the legend of the northwest desert.

The white dust passed through the dim light of light and scattered to the ground one after another, revealing the deserted streets and dilapidated storefronts.At the other end of the street, a high gray wall stood among the ruins, blocking the afterglow of the setting sun.

The ancient and dilapidated walls, the metallic luster faintly exposed in the cracks of the masonry.

That is the ancient city wall of Chang'an City.

It turned out that there was only one step away from leaving Chang'an City, but there was no way ahead.

Looking at the city wall blocking the front, Mu Yun smiled silently.It turned out that this was my end point.

He still wanted to go on, but there was no way for the armor Xifeng to accompany him any longer.

It turns out that machines are more fragile than humans.

Mu Yun thought about it, and couldn't help but leaned down and touched the fallen West Wind.At this moment it is like a dying beast, the engine turbine that has been turned off is still making a hoarse idling sound, like a difficult gasp.

The few mechas behind him that were following him all the way, should have taken action when they saw Xifeng fall.

Then, we can only go here.

Mu Yun stood up, clenched his fists, and assumed a fighting posture.

You are tired, so leave the next battle to me alone.He said to West Wind in his heart.

"Hey! Let's do it!"

he shouted into the empty street.

He knew that those mechas with stealth mode turned on were dormant there. Although optical camouflage can confuse people's eyes, the dust that permeated this ghost street would not avoid the surface of the mechas, and fell directly on the ground. on the ground.

He also knew that it was ridiculous to want to use flesh and blood to fight mechs.

But since he is still alive, he must fight on until he dies.

He is Mu Yun from Baima City, and he comes from the northwest desert. In that desert, this is his innate creed.Even if he died, he did not become a real knight.

Mu Yun put on a fighting posture, ready to fight.

The gray outlines of those invisible mechas were outlined by the dust, like huge ghosts lurking in the dusk, surrounded the street from three directions, but for some reason they never took a step forward, as if they had no intention of doing anything at all. .

Could it be that he stood so casually, with the power of thousands of troops, to scare the other party?impossible……

Mu Yun scratched her head, sighed helplessly, and shouted to the empty street: "If you don't do anything again, it will be really dark!"

He looked up at the sky, and added earnestly: "It's lunch time, if you don't call, forget it!

"Are you sure you're not going to have dinner?
"Hurry up if you want to do it, staying up late is not good for your health!
"I'm alone, don't be afraid!"

……

No matter what he said, he didn't get any response. The invisible mechs just hibernate in place and didn't leave, but they ignored him, which made Mu Yun very puzzled.

At this time, an impatient voice finally came from the empty street: "It's so noisy! Do you know that you are disturbing the people by shouting so loudly!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mu Yun apologized subconsciously, and suddenly realized that this voice did not come from the mech's speaker.

He quickly looked around, and finally noticed a very small boy standing right in front of the battle armor Xifeng, next to the fallen signboard of "Li's Machine Repair Shop".

The little boy was wearing an old-fashioned gown, folded his hands on his chest, raised his head, and stared at him very dissatisfied.

Mu Yun didn't expect that there were still residents on this seemingly abandoned ghost street, and he was such a young boy. He was taken aback and quickly jumped off the top of Xifeng's plane.

The little boy seemed calmer than Mu Yun. Seeing Mu Yun standing in front of him, he just frowned and said, "Give it up?"

Mu Yun subconsciously stepped aside, but saw that the little boy was still standing there motionless, his eyes staring straight ahead.

It was only then that Mu Yun noticed that the little boy was indeed very short, he looked only twelve or thirteen years old, and a long shirt that was washed a little faded was lying on him. Look does not belong to him.

Mu Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at this strange boy.He originally thought that the boy was frightened and stupid, so he just stood there.However, he soon discovered that the boy was not dumbfounded. On the contrary, there was an almost fanatical light in his eyes, and his eyes were fixed on the fallen giant, as if he hadn't noticed the existence of Mu Yun at all.It wasn't until Mu Yun snapped his fingers a few times in front of him that he reluctantly withdrew his gaze and glanced at Mu Yun.

Mu Yun was a little funny.He is very familiar with this kind of look, because when he saw the mecha for the first time, he was so stunned, so excited that he would just stand there stupidly, staring straight up, as if he wanted to see every single thing on the mecha. Every detail is in sight.

"This is the first time seeing a real guy?" Mu Yun asked.For some reason, the boy's expression softened his heart, and a smile appeared on his face, which had little expression.

"Hmph, master, I have seen a lot. I have seen more mechs than women you have slept with!" The boy put his hands in his pockets.He has a small chin, and now he is raising his chin high, making a nonchalant look, but the fanatical eyes staring at the mech betrayed him, "It's just the forty tons I've seen, sir. Super special mechs are all in the crystal brain, this is the real special mecha, this is really the first time I have seen it!"

"Ha!" Mu Yun didn't expect that he could still be laughed at by this stubborn boy at this time, but the next second, the boy's words made the smile on his face disappear immediately.

"It's a pity, young master, that it was the first time I saw a real special mech, and it fell down like this, bah bah bah, what a bad luck! Why did it go so badly? Tsk tsk, the core engine was also disabled, yo, The leg balancer is disabled, no wonder you can’t stand firmly!" The boy turned his head and looked Mu Yun up and down, "It seems that your level is not very good, you were directly blown away by someone, right?"

"..." Mu Yun was speechless.It is true to say so, but he is considered a first-class expert in the entire continent. Even if he is blown up by someone, it will be blown up by the number one knight Li Jing. It is your turn that you have never even seen a real machine. Fart boy to mock?

"Well, seeing how ugly your face is, you know I'm right." The boy nodded, and walked behind Mu Yun to check the mecha.

Mu Yun clenched his fists tightly, the boy's cheeks looked very soft, the punch should feel very good, Mu Yun imagined it in his heart, but it's a pity that his character is not bad enough to bully the small.

"Where are your parents?" he asked stiffly.

"Parents? What is that? Can it be eaten?" the boy said nonchalantly, "I don't have any."

He was stepping on the head of the battle armor Xifeng and was about to climb into the cockpit. Mu Yun grabbed his collar, pulled him down, and warned in a low voice: "Do you dare to touch it again?"

Mu Yun was really angry.

The boy's collar was still held in Mu Yun's hand, and he deliberately kicked Xi Feng's head with his toe, "So what? You want to sue my parents? Tell you that I don't have that thing." Son."

Mu Yun was already furious, and grabbed the boy by the neck, ready to let him throw a dog to eat shit, and learn to be civilized.However, after hearing the boy's last words, Mu Yun let go of his hand.

It turned out that this kid, just like himself back then, was an orphan.

Mu Yun loosened his hand on the boy's neck, "My little friend," he tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible, "This area is very dangerous now, so you'd better run away—"

"Huh?" The boy shrank his neck, first hid a few steps away from Mu Yun, and then showed that indifferent expression, "Run? Why should I run? Please look clearly, young master, where I am standing It's my shop, your mecha smashed my shop, and I haven't had time to ask you to pay for it, but you actually want to drive this young master away, you are called a hooligan, don't you know?"

Mu Yun really wanted to explain to this boy that the three words "playing hooligans" were not used in this way, but he really didn't know how to use the three words "playing hooligans", so he could only say with a straight face: "Well, I don't care about you. , you have to hide it yourself."

"Heh, you're not an urban management officer, why do you care so much?" The boy smiled, seeing that Mu Yun ignored him, he walked around the mech's head again, and then went back to Mu Yun, poking him, "Hey, do you have money?"

"What's none of your business?" Mu Yun said unhappily.Surrounded by heavy soldiers, Mu Yun was already upset, and the boy was still making noise. This kind of noise interference made Mu Yun feel mentally stressed.

"Why is it none of my business?" The boy said with wide-eyed eyes, "First of all, your mecha smashed up my shop, is that true?"

"Your shop?" Mu Yun glanced at the boy, thinking that I won't complain about how shabby your clothes are, "You are at best a part-time worker, right?"

"I don't care, the boss went into the city today, talking about some knightly competition, a duel between the boys of Baima City, etc. The boss is not here, so I have the final say in the store."

What a coincidence, the boy from Baima City is me!Mu Yun said in his heart.But seeing that the boy didn't recognize him yet, he was really embarrassed to speak.

Seeing that Mu Yun didn't answer, the boy assumed he accepted his statement, and continued: "Secondly, I think that although you don't have a good mecha, you still look pretty decent, you should still A little bit of humanity, wouldn't you kill such an innocent child like me?"

Innocent child!where?You are obviously a boy with a vicious tongue, okay!Mu Yun shouted helplessly in his heart.It's a pity that being talkative is really not his strong point, it's just a matter of complaining in his heart, and he didn't refute on the surface, just trying to make himself look a little more vicious: "Don't talk nonsense, I won't kill you."

"This is not nonsense, I'm talking about business with you." The boy squatted in front of Mu Yun seriously, as if he was afraid that just listening to himself would not be annoying enough, "Look, since my shop was smashed by you , you don't intend to renege on the debt, and you don't intend to kill me to silence me, then you can't pretend that this didn't happen, you have to pay for what should be paid, right?

"Of course, if you really don't have any money, even if this mecha is blown up, you can still sell it for a few bucks if you disassemble it as scrap metal, or—"

"Get off!" Mu Yun immediately interrupted the boy when he heard that, the armor Zephyr is his lifeline, and this boy dared to play against it. If it wasn't for his good temper, he would really beat someone up.

But the boy didn't pay attention to him at all, he was still looking at the armor Zephyr intently, observing the damaged parts of the body, and thinking about something.His messy black hair was subconsciously pulled on the top of his head with his hands, and it was playfully tilted up on his forehead, revealing the childish face that was originally hidden under the hair. When it grows up, it will call the girl a crazy face.Young but charming, delicate and wild.For some reason, Mu Yun suddenly thought of her past self, that wild child in the northwest desert, who was also so arrogant, fearless...

Of course, I didn't have such a cheap mouth when I was a child.

Mu Yun thought about it, finally sighed, and said, "Forget it... just give me a number."

"Hehe, don't pretend to be tall, handsome and rich. You don't have the same temperament. Ask me to tell me a number. Will you be able to afford it if I tell you?" As soon as the boy opened his mouth, Mu Yun frowned. The child who hates it, just now I had shit in my mind, so I feel that this child is like myself in the past, ah!
Forget it, what are you fussing about with the brat, Mu Yun hypnotizes herself.He has been looked down upon a lot along the way, and he has just met Li Jing, a seemingly harmless but extremely lethal type, and his immunity to poisonous tongue has also increased.Besides, he was at the end of his rope, money was useless to him, and it was a fact that he had smashed someone's shop, so he took out a card from his pocket, said a number, and asked the boy: "Is this number enough? "

The boy's big maroon eyes suddenly widened.Mu Yun looked at him, both amused and sad.

The figure he mentioned was all his savings.From Baima City to Chang'an, he participated in many knight competitions along the way, and he has been saving the prize money he won, planning to save enough money one day to redeem Xifeng.

Although the current savings are far from enough to redeem Xifeng, this amount should be considered a huge sum of money for ordinary people.

Wearing an old unfit gown and trying to pretend to be an adult but looking more and more ridiculous, this poor child is just like himself back then, he has never seen so much money.

But now this money is useless to Mu Yun.

If this money can really help this cute boy despite his stinky mouth, it will be better than rotten in the bank.

Mu Yun was moved by herself, but when she looked up, she saw the boy squatting in the ruins and kept searching for something. She didn't feel moved at all, as if he was just air.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mu Yun shouted.

"Nonsense, of course I'm looking for a credit card machine." The boy replied without looking up, "I'm not a credit card machine, you said there is this number in the card, how do I know if it is there?"

Do you want to be so realistic!Mu Yun was completely speechless, silently watching the boy digging through a pile of bricks and tiles for a long time, and the credit card machine that he pulled out was not broken.Mu Yun had no choice but to swipe her own card silently, press her fingerprint, watched the boy confirm the amount, and swipe the money away.

After swiping the card, the boy was also silent.

The atmosphere froze for about a minute.

"Hey, why aren't you talking?" Mu Yun noticed that the young man had stopped making noise, and he was not used to it.This street was already deserted, and the invisible mechs were completely silent, so once the boy calmed down, the atmosphere became oppressive.Especially when he thought that there were several mechas squatting around him, this kind of silence seemed particularly frightening.At this time, Mu Yun realized that rather than waiting to die in silence, he would rather listen to the boy's venomous tongue.

Unexpectedly, the young man sighed deeply, "A large sum of money was placed in front of me once, and I transferred it to the boss's account so honestly. You don't understand this kind of feeling."

Are you regretting swiping my card with the credit card machine in the store?In a moment of excitement, I forgot to transfer the money into my own account!It's too late to regret now!Do I need to understand this feeling?Mu Yun was speechless again.

"Forget it, I don't have an account anyway." The boy was very thoughtful, and after a second he came back to life on the spot, "By the way, this benefactor, what's your name?"

"Mu Yun." Mu Yun said angrily.

"Muyun? This name sounds a bit familiar." The boy plucked his ears and tried to think for a while, "Forget it, this kind of rotten street name, I won't be able to remember anyone else with this name in a while. "

After a while, he changed his subject again: "Boss Mu, let me tell you the truth, the money that was transferred from you just now is actually a bit too much."

"Oh?"

"Oh, you're a foreigner, so you don't understand!" The boy waved his hand impatiently, "Don't think this is near the main city of Chang'an, but due to the failure of the planning, it has become a ghost town, and the housing prices have fallen to the bottom. Lah, the money debited from your card just now is enough to buy this street."

"Are you trying to tell me that you just slaughtered me for taking advantage of me?" Mu Yun narrowed his eyes. He was very tolerant, but it didn't mean he wouldn't get angry, and it didn't mean he wouldn't hit a child when he was angry, especially It was the little kid in front of him who looked like he wanted a spanking.

"Don't be so dark in your heart, okay?" The boy glanced at him, raised his hands, and stretched his waist, "Anyway, the money has been transferred away, and you won't come back. Look at this, okay? I'll help you repair your broken mech, and if the extra money is deducted, just give me a [-]% discount as the repair fee?"

(End of this chapter)