support human beings

Chapter 2

Smoothbore looked around and found that most of the paintings were just a mess of colors, and even the random splash of oil paint on the canvas seemed more rational than them.But there are a few pictures that are very realistic, and Smoothbore's eyes are quickly attracted by one of them: the whole picture is filled with a dry and cracked yellow land, and a few dry plants protrude from the cracks, as if they have died For centuries, water never seemed to exist in this world.On this dry land, there is a skull, which is also white with dryness, and the surface is covered with cracks, but from its mouth hole and an eye socket, there are actually two living green plants growing, and they are verdant. Drops, in stark contrast to the surrounding drought and death, there is a delicate flower blooming on the top of one of the plants.In the other eye socket of this skull, there is a living eye, with clear eyes staring at the sky, like the eyes of a painter, full of surprise and confusion.

"I like this one," said Smoothbore, pointing to the painting.

"This is the second in the "Barrenness" series, do you want to buy it?"

"how much is it?"

"Look at it."

Smoothbore took out his wallet, took out all the hundred-dollar bills in it, and handed it to the artist, who only took two of them.

"It's only worth so much, the painting is yours."

Smoothbore started the car, then picked up the third photo to see the address on it, and then turned off the car, because this place was next to the bridge and was the largest dump in the city.Smoothbore took out the binoculars and looked through the windshield among the scavengers at the dump.

There are 30 scavengers living on garbage in this metropolis, and they have formed a class, and there is a clear hierarchy within them.The highest-level scavengers can enter the high-end villa area, where they can pick up new shirts, socks and bed sheets that are only worn once in the trash cans that are as delicate as art sculptures. These things are disposable items here; There are often only slightly damaged high-end leather shoes and belts in the trash can, as well as Havana cigars that have only been smoked for a third, and high-end chocolates that have only been eaten by a dime... But entering the trash here requires a lot of money to bribe the community security, so Only a few people can come, they are the nobles among the scavengers.The middle class of waste pickers is concentrated in the numerous waste transfer stations in the city, which is the first concentration of urban waste, where the most valuable parts of waste: waste electrical appliances, metals, complete paper products, discarded Medical equipment, discarded expired medicines, etc. have all been picked up.It's not easy to come in there. Every garbage transfer station is a territory controlled by a garbage leader. Other scavengers enter without authorization. The light ones are beaten and driven away, and the serious ones may lose their lives.The large piles and landfills of garbage that are sent to the outside of the city through the transfer station do not have much "nutrition", but the largest number of people rely on it to survive. They are the bottom of the scavengers, which is what Smoothbore sees now people.What is left to these low-level scavengers are worthless and difficult to recycle shredded plastics, shredded paper, etc., and rotten food in the garbage, which can be sold to nearby farmers as pig feed at a price of one cent per kilogram.Not far away, the metropolis shone like a huge bright jewel, and its light spread here, coating the stinking garbage mountain with a layer of changing light.In fact, even from the things they picked up, the scavengers can also appreciate the luxury of the metropolis not far away: in the rotten food they collected, they can often vaguely recognize roast suckling pigs that only ate four legs, Grouper with only one chopstick, whole chicken... Recently, there have been more whole silky chickens. This comes from a dish called black-bone chicken white jade, which is just a fashionable dish. This dish is to put tofu into silky chicken The real dish is those slices of tofu. Although the chicken is delicious, it’s just packaged. If you don’t know how to eat it, it’s like eating rice dumplings with reed leaves. It will become the laughing stock of tasteful diners...

At this time, the last sanitation truck carrying garbage arrived. When the dump truck was tilted up, a group of scavengers rushed up against the landslide-like garbage, and quickly melted into the mountain of garbage in the flying dust. .These people seem to have completed a new evolution, and the stench, toxins, and dust from the garbage mountain seem to have no effect on them. Of course, this is the impression of ordinary people who only saw how they survived but did not see how they died. Just as ordinary people don't usually see the corpses of bugs and mice, so they don't care how they die.In fact, the bodies of scavengers have been found many times in this large dump, where they died quietly and were then buried by new garbage.

In the dim light of a floodlight on the sidelines, the scavengers were just blurred shadows amidst a cloud of dust, but Smoothbore quickly found what he was looking for among them.Smoothbore found her so quickly, besides relying on his own sharp eyesight, there was another reason: Like the homeless people on Chunhua Square, the number of scavengers on the garbage dump has decreased significantly today. Why is this?
Smoothbore observed the target in the binoculars. At first glance, she was not much different from other scavengers, with a rope around her waist, a large woven bag in her hand and a long pole with a rake on the top, but she looked She is thinner and weaker than others, unable to squeeze in front, so she can only pick up outside the circle of other scavengers. What she rummages for is already rubbish.

Smoothbore put down the binoculars, thought for a moment, and shook his head slightly.The most bizarre thing in the world is happening before his eyes: a city homeless, a painter who is too poor to live without a place to live, and a girl who makes a living by picking up garbage, these three are the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world , where is it possible to threaten those super chaebols who are at the top of the world's wealth, this threat even forces them to hire killers to kill them!

On the backseat was the second of the "Barrenness" series, and the eye on the skull stared at Smoothbore in the dark, making him feel like a thorn in his back.

There was a scream from the junkyard, and Smoothbore saw that the world outside the car was shrouded in a blue light. The blue light came from the eastern horizon. There, a blue sun was rising rapidly. It was the brother spaceship traveling to the southern hemisphere.Spaceships generally do not emit light. At night, the reflected sunlight makes it look like a small moon, but sometimes it will suddenly emit blue light that illuminates the whole world, which always makes people fall into inexplicable fear.This time the light from the spacecraft was brighter than ever, probably because of the lower orbit.The blue sun rose from behind the city, dragging the shadows of the tall buildings all the way here, like the arms of a group of giants, but as the spaceship rose rapidly, the shadows gradually retracted.

In the light of her brother's spaceship, the scavenger girl on the garbage dump could see more clearly. Smoothbore raised the binoculars again, confirming what he had just observed. It was her, squatting there with the woven bag on her lap, looking up There was a hint of panic in the eyes, but more of the calmness he saw in the photo.Smoothbore's heart twitched again, but like last time it was fleeting, and he knew the ripple came from somewhere deep in his heart, regretting losing it again.

The spaceship quickly crossed the sky and landed on the western horizon, leaving a strange blue sunset glow in the western sky. Then, everything was submerged in the dark night again, and the lights of the distant city were bright again.

Smoothbore's mind returned to the riddle: it was no ordinary absurdity for the thirteen richest men in the world to kill the three poorest men, and it was the greatest challenge to his imagination.But the train of thought did not go far before he stopped suddenly, and Smoothbore patted the steering wheel remorsefully. He suddenly realized that he had violated the highest spiritual norms of this industry. The words of the principal came to his mind. Motto:
It doesn't matter who you aim at.

Up to now, Smoothbore doesn't know which country he studied in, let alone the exact location of that school.He only knew that the first stop of the plane was Moscow, where he was picked up by a man whose English did not have a Russian accent. He was asked to wear a pair of opaque sunglasses and pretend to be a blind person. The rest of the journey would be in the dark. Spent.It took another three hours of flying and another day of driving before arriving at the school. Whether he was still in Russia at this time, Smoothbore really couldn't say for sure.The school is located in the mountains, surrounded by high walls, and students are absolutely not allowed to go out until they graduate.After being allowed to take off his glasses, Smoothbore found that the school's buildings were clearly divided into two categories, one was gray and had no distinctive shape, and the other had strange colors and shapes.He quickly learned that the latter type of building was actually a giant pile of blocks that could be combined into various shapes to simulate the ever-changing shooting environment.The whole school is basically a large shooting range with excellent facilities.

The opening ceremony was the only gathering of all the students, whose number was just over four hundred.The principal, with his silver hair and the awe-inspiring manner of a classical scholar, said the following:

"Students, over the next four years, you will learn the expertise and skills needed for an industry whose name we will never name, one of humanity's oldest, and which also has a bright future. On a small scale, it can solve problems that only we can solve for customers who make the last choice, and on a large scale, it can change history.”

"We were offered to train guerrillas by different political organizations at a high price. We refused, and we only train independent professionals, yes, independent, independent of everything but money. From now on, you must regard yourselves as a Gun, your responsibility is to realize the function of the gun, and to show the beauty of the gun in the process. As for who to aim at, it has nothing to do with the gun. A shoots B with a gun, and B grabs the same gun to shoot A. The gun should respond to each It is our basic work ethic that every shot is treated equally, and all operations are completed with the highest quality."

At the opening ceremony, Smoothbore also learned some of the most commonly used terms: the basic operation of the industry is called processing, the object of operation is called workpiece, and death is called cooling.

The school is divided into three majors: L, M, and S, representing three distances: long, medium, and short.

The L major is the most mysterious, with high tuition fees, a small number of students, and basically no contact with people from other majors. Smoothbore's instructors also advised them to stay away from L majors: "They are nobles in the industry, the most A person who may change history." L professional knowledge is extensive and profound, and the sniper rifles used by their students are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and when assembled, they are more than two meters long. L professional processing distance is more than 1000 meters, it is said that the longest can reach 3000 meters!Machining operations over 500 meters is a complex undertaking, and one of the preliminary tasks is to place a series of "wind chimes" at regular intervals along the range, which are delicate miniature wind gauges that can monitor The values ​​are sent back wirelessly and displayed on the shooter's glasses display so that he or she knows the wind speed and direction at different stages of the range.

The processing distance of the M major is between ten meters and 300 meters. It is the most traditional major and has the most students. They generally use ordinary standard rifles. The L major has the widest range of applications, but it is also plain and lacks legend.

Smoothbore is an S major, the processing distance is less than ten meters, and the requirements for weapons are the lowest. Generally, pistols are used, and cold weapons may even be used.Among the three majors, S major is undoubtedly the most dangerous, but also the most romantic.The principal is a master of this major, and he personally teaches for the S major. The first course he taught was English literature.

"You must first understand the value of the S major." Looking at the confused students, the principal said solemnly, "In the L and M majors, the workpiece and the processor do not meet, and the workpiece is processed without knowing it. Processing and cooling, this is of course a kind of luck for them, but it is not for customers. A considerable number of customers need to let the workpiece know who and why they commissioned the processing before cooling. It is up to us to inform the workpiece. At this time, we are not ourselves, but the incarnation of the customer. We must solemnly and perfectly express the final message conveyed by the customer to the workpiece, so that the workpiece can be shocked and tortured before it cools down. This is the romantic and The beauty lies in the fearful and desperate eyes before the workpiece cools down, which will be our greatest spiritual enjoyment at work. But to do this, we need to have considerable expressive ability and literary quality.”

So Smoothbore studied literature for a year.He read Homer, recited Shakespeare, and read many classics and modern masterpieces.Smoothbore felt that this year was the most rewarding year in his study abroad career, because he knew some of the things he learned before, and he would learn them sooner or later, but this was his only chance to get in touch with literature in depth.Through literature, he rediscovered human beings, and marveled that human beings turned out to be such a delicate and complex thing. They used to kill people, but in his opinion they just smashed rough clay pots filled with red liquid. Now they are pleasantly surprised to find that they smashed It turned out to be an exquisite jade article, which added to the pleasure of killing him.

The next class is Human Anatomy.Compared with the other two majors, another major advantage of the S major is that it can control the cooling time of the processed workpiece to the ambient temperature. The terms are called fast cooling and slow cooling.Many customers require slow cooling, and the cooling process should be recorded for their collection and appreciation.Of course, this requires high technology and rich experience, and of course human anatomy is also indispensable knowledge.

Then, the real professional classes begin.

The scavengers on the garbage dump gradually dispersed, leaving only a few people including the target.Smoothbore immediately decided to process the workpiece tonight.According to industry practice, it is generally not hands-on during surveying, but there are exceptions, and suitable processing opportunities are fleeting.

Smoothbore drove the car away from the bridge, and stopped by a small road beside the garbage dump after a bumpy ride. Smoothbore observed that this was the only way for scavengers to leave the garbage dump. It was very dark here, and we could only vaguely see the grass growing The shadow swaying in the night wind is a very suitable place for processing, so he decided to wait for the workpiece here.

The smoothbore drew the gun and placed it lightly on the bridge.This is a crudely shaped revolver, 7.6 caliber, which can use the bullets of the Big Black Star (the underworld’s name for the May 3000th pistol). According to its shape, he called it Big Nose. It is a privately made gun without a brand. I bought it on the black market for 32 yuan.Although the gun is ugly in appearance, the material is very good, and the structure of each part is processed correctly. The biggest flaw is that the rifling, which is the most difficult to process, has not been made, and the inner wall of the barrel is smooth.Smoothbore has a chance to get a good brand of guns. When he first became a bodyguard, Brother Tooth gave him a [-]-shot short Uzi. Later, he gave him a [-]-style as a birthday present, but the two guns They were all pushed to the bottom of the box by him, and he never took them with him. He only likes big noses.Now it shone coldly in the halo of the city, bringing Smoothbore's thoughts back to school days.

On the first day of the professional class, the principal asked every student to show their weapons.It was a shame when Smoothbore put the big nose in that row of fine premium pistols.But the principal picked it up and played with it, sincerely appreciating: "Good stuff."

"There is no rifling, and the silencer cannot be screwed on." A student said disdainfully.

"The S major has the lowest requirements for accuracy and range, rifling is not important; what about the silencer, just put a small pillow on it? Boy, don't let yourself be crafty. In the hands of a master, this gun can produce you An artistic effect that this pile of expensive contraptions can't produce."

The headmaster is right, since there is no rifling, the bullet fired by the big nose will turn somersault while flying, making a frightening scream in the air that normal bullets don't have, and will continue to spin after being fired into the workpiece, like a sharp knife The spinning blades chop up everything in its path.

(End of this chapter)