A common tavern that connects all fantasy worlds

This guy was also wearing clothes, but they were already tattered and decayed; the ax thrown by Dosten was imbedded in his forehead, and the heavy force not only broke his cap in half, but also brought his head back violently, So much so that the cervical spine was broken.

At this moment, this guy was lying on the snow, but looked up at Dosten from a rather magical angle.

"Regenerated corpse?"

Dosten frowned, stepped forward, stepped on the head and pulled out the axe, rubbed it in the surrounding snow, wiped off the black pus and blood, and then inserted it back into his waist.

Sure enough, not long after, the dead body on the ground began to yell again, struggling to get up from the ground.

Dosten simply put the torch aside for the time being, and pulled the guy's head off with both hands. When he broke his hands, the skull was broken in half, and the black, rotten brain juice spilled all over the ground.

The headless corpse on the ground struggled for a while before finally calming down.

But the expression on the face of the young Harrogath man did not relax at all. He threw half of the head in his hand aside, squatted down to pick up some snow to wash his hands, and at the same time carefully checked the traces around the monster.

There are no footprints around it, only the snow and soil in this area have been turned up, it seems that it has just climbed from the ground.

"On the road in the wild of Harrogas...how could there be regenerated corpses crawling out? There is a holy mountain behind!"

Dosten was talking to himself in his heart.

The surrounding darkness grew thicker, and even the light of the torch flickered in the wind and snow.

Chapter 3 The People of New York

In fact, the money Dosten lost to Lyon was not just for a camera.

Those gold coins did not have any formal source of proof, but the pawnbroker didn’t care about this, and gave him a price of 900 US dollars for a gold coin according to its quality; the man in the tavern grabbed a lot with his palm-like hands, and it was 7000 yuan .

You can't spend that much on a film camera, even if it's more expensive, even with the extra lenses.

This made him feel as if he had stolen someone's money, so he was embarrassed... I wish he could buy that big man a few more drinks.

After buying a camera, saving money, and leaving more than 1000 yuan in his wallet, he went back to that pawn shop, found a perfect angle of light, and wanted to take pictures of those who came to pawn their items...

The mental states and facial expressions of these people are the ones that most arouse his desire to create.

Except for those who really live in New York, everyone has only one image of New York, that is, the prosperity of capital and hysterical materialism.

Many people yearn for it... who wouldn't want to enjoy it?But you have to ask yourself a few questions first. First of all, do you have any credit for the prosperity of capital?Secondly, will the prosperity of this capital share the benefits with you?Finally, are you a rentier?

If your answer is yes, then you are welcome in New York.But unfortunately... the answer of most people is no. These people live in New York and live in other places without any difference. Live a boring life every day.

You have to envy others, and you have to thank them for giving you the leftovers!

New York is like a mill, grinding people's body and soul into powder, brewing it into coffee and drinking it.

Anyway, Leon has this impression of the city he lives in, and because of this, he is keen to explore the other side of this glamorous place, capturing it with his own camera and highlighting it.

People in pawnshops are like that.

They hadn't lost hope entirely, because at least they still had something they could exchange for money; but it was clear that those things had once been important to them, and no one would give them up if they hadn't reached the point of desperation.

The necklace left by the dead mother, the medal worn by the grandfather who was a veteran, the gift from the husband before the marriage...these things have different meanings.

Even the employees of the pawn shop didn't make such a fuss anymore, no matter what the other party took out, they couldn't change their emotions a little.They will only give a quotation with a blank face, and after the other party agrees, they will take the money from the safe, enter the account, and take the things to the back warehouse for storage.

People who need pawns basically have encountered similar problems, such as no money to pay rent, recent illnesses, family accidents, etc... Although a small sum of money cannot completely relieve them from the pressure of life, it can at least help them Take a shot and live.

Leon just took a few photos like this before he was discovered by the security guard in the pawn shop.

Of course, those who open a pawn shop must pay attention to security. The security guards here are all armed, otherwise, sooner or later, people will come to the door every day to buy for zero yuan.

"Sir, what are you doing? Please leave the shop immediately!"

These guys in uniform came around and blocked Leon who was taking pictures in the waiting area.

What else does Leon want to defend: "Uh, I just took a few photos, I'm a freelance photographer..."

"Sorry, this store prohibits taking pictures. For the safety and privacy of other customers, we ask you to hand over the film and leave the store immediately." The tone of the security guards was very serious.

"Okay, okay."

Leon put the camera down and pretended to snap out the film, but actually slipped the bag with the discarded film in his sleeve.

He's been a freelance photographer for a few years... well experienced in this situation.

The security guards who snatched the film unsurprisingly shoved him and threw him out of the pawn shop.Judging from their expressions, they already regarded him as the kind of most unwelcome guest... Don't even think about doing business in the short term.

Of course, after tens of thousands of dollars were suddenly added to the account, Leon had no intention of going to the pawn shop again.

Looking at the weather, he decided to go home early today... On the one hand, he has already bought a new camera and captured several good photos in a pawn shop, so he doesn't need to shop around the street until midnight like before; on the other hand , He is also eager to share the good news that he has made money with his girlfriend.

Freelance photographer Leon Kaufman rents an apartment in Manhattan with his girlfriend.

In this area where every inch of land is expensive, even for a small house, the rent would squeeze out all the monthly income of the two, and sometimes they even need support from family and friends to survive.

Both are vegetarians and some friends think they should spend less on food...that would be wrong.After all, human beings are omnivorous animals. In order not to suffer from malnutrition, both of them usually have to buy some nutritional supplements.

In this country, in this city, the cost of living is so high even for vegetarians.

It's been a long time since my girlfriend bought new clothes and jewelry... She didn't say that she cared about these things, but Leon, as her boyfriend, knew very well that she was just pretending not to care for the sake of living.

Now that you have a sum of money in hand, why not make your girlfriend happy?

Thinking of this, Leon finally put down his camera and walked to the mall.

On the glass curtain wall of the facade of the shopping mall, a female model with oriental charm is wearing a dress made of tassels, showing a shy smile to the street, and the slogan next to it reads: "The biggest discovery of the fashion industry this year - Sakaki Erika, VOGUE comment: "The girl of the forest who touches the world, the perfect embodiment of oriental elegance."

In the huge photo, the model looks a little shy and a little out of touch with the world, and with that beautiful face and figure, it blends into a unique temperament.

Leon, a freelance photographer, could actually make pictures like this and make more money than he does now...but he chose to focus on the dark side of the city, choosing to delve into areas that no one really cares about.

He doesn't regret his choice, even if his life is very poor; he doesn't need his works to appear on the glass curtain wall, but he hopes to appear in people's discussions and memories.

It would be nice to be able to say at the same time, "Wow, that's an amazing photo."

Before dusk, Leon returned to his apartment.

My girlfriend is already at home, preparing today's dinner in the kitchen that is too small to turn around.She was humming while tasting the soup, looking carefree.

But Leon knew in his heart that of course this girl also had troubles... Her optimism was just to cheer herself up and her boyfriend, so that the two would not be tortured by life and lose the motivation to fight.

"Hey... Maya."

Leon took off his shoes and said to his girlfriend.

"Oh, you came back a little early today, and dinner is not ready yet." My girlfriend Maya heard his voice and replied without looking back: "I don't have work tonight, do you still want to go out? Do you want to go out?" Stay home and let's watch a movie together?"

"...I'm not going out. Since you mentioned the movie..."

As Leon said, he took out a CD projector from the bag in his hand.

My girlfriend likes to watch movies, and I have wanted to buy one for a long time, but the two of them didn't have much money before, so they had to plan in advance to buy this kind of thing. It can be said that they are shockingly poor.

In addition to the projector, he also rented several discs from the video store on the corner of the street, and he wanted to watch all of them at once!If you don't pay back after the deadline, you can have a great time!

After a short period of excitement, it was a self-deprecating smile at himself for being so worthless.

"Maya?"

His girlfriend turned her head amid the sound of calling, and she couldn't help being stunned when she saw him carrying a big bag, then wiped her hands, walked over and said, "What's the matter? Has your photo finally passed?"

Under normal circumstances, this freelance photographer contributes articles to various newspapers and magazines in order to earn a little money to support his life, so there is the term "passed".

Maya knows that her boyfriend has always regarded works as art. It can be said that every time the shutter is pressed, she is calculating the amount of light needed, shutter speed, etc. like obsessive-compulsive disorder. If everyone who provides films to newspapers and magazines If they treat their work so strictly, then they basically won't make any money... because readers don't care about the quality of the pictures, no matter whether your photos are good or bad, the newspaper will give you the same money.

The only way to make more money is to specialize in nature photography or fashion photography, and then establish a long-term cooperative relationship with magazines in the corresponding field.

It's just that Leon can't do it.As I said before...is there a magazine in the world that only focuses on the dark side of the city?

"Yes, passed."

Leon didn't know how to explain to his girlfriend about the tavern that was said to be outside the world, so he could only skip this paragraph temporarily and simply explained: "It's not a newspaper office, but a rich boss who asked me to take pictures. took a huge private photo and gave me 7 yuan."

"7 yuan!"

The girlfriend covered her mouth and exclaimed, "No, my dear, of course your work has this value...but what kind of photo is that?"

"I'll show you later. Now... see what I bought. Do you like it?"

After receiving the package from Leon, his girlfriend Maya was immediately surrounded by happiness.The two have been together for several years. To put it bluntly, it is to share joys and sorrows, but to put it bluntly, it is to suffer together.Not to mention today's clothes and jewelry, the two of them had to plan carefully for a French meal before, and the places where they dated were basically public areas.

Seeing the beautiful clothes in front of her that she could only watch enviously through the window before, Maya couldn't keep calm.

"My God, Leon...you should use this money to buy something more useful..."

"I'm not a person who can speak well." Leon replied, "I'll just say it straight, I feel that these things are the most useful, because I finally let you who suffer with me be able to show such a happy smile..."

The girlfriend was happy for a while, hugged him and kissed him a few times, suddenly seemed to think of something, bit her lip and said: "Leon, I also have a gift for you.

"I called Kyrgyzs a while back and asked him why he didn't introduce you to his friends in the art world.

"He said, 'I've been waiting for Leon to ask me!'

"So I said, he also promised to introduce you to Susan Hough!"

Chapter 4 Under the City

The next morning, Leon managed to get up, met his friend Kyrgyzs on time, and rushed to the Hof Art Gallery.

Susan Hoff is a well-known patron, buyer, and owner of the largest personal gallery in New York City.Any artist who wants to hold an art exhibition, photography exhibition, or sculpture exhibition in New York, no matter whether it is brokered by a brokerage company or started by his own contacts, will definitely find Susan in the end.

No matter where in the world, the circle of practitioners of any kind of art is actually not big.Such a rich, aesthetically pleasing, influential lady who is willing to sponsor artists to hold solo exhibitions is of course the top class in the art circle, and she is the object that everyone needs to curry favor with.

Leon never thought that one day he would be able to stand in her gallery, waiting for her reception.

But his friend Kyrgyzstan muttered to him: "No matter what you do, just don't mention Maya."

"What?" Leon asked bewilderedly.

But Kyrgyzs did reply with a tired face: "Susan likes single young male artists, and it's better to be a little handsome... Don't look at me like that, I have neither artistic talent nor handsome like you." Face."

"You make it sound like what I'm doing today is a different kind of business."

The atmosphere suddenly became a little dignified, and Leon could only make a joke like this.

The friend next to him didn't think it was a joke, but just shrugged his shoulders: "When did you have the illusion that art practitioners are not out to sell? Did it start when no one bought your works?"

"..." Leon could only express with his eyes, if you talk nonsense again, I will strangle you to death, performing a once-in-a-lifetime performance art in the most famous gallery in New York.

Just when the two of them were extremely bored and were about to start talking about something else, Susan finally came over.

In all fairness, she is quite a feminine person. Although she is a little older, her beauty is not diminished, and she has also added the temperament brought by the years.At first glance, she still has charm and understands men very well. Presumably, those "single young male artists" are easily played by her.

Such a beautiful woman who makes all men can't help daydreaming, but her words are unusually harsh.

"...Lyon, right? You said you were most passionate about exploring the inner city, unearthing things hidden under the glamor? But I only see fear in your works. For example, this one."

She pointed to a photo taken on the subway in the photo album Leon brought: "You were at the right place, but you missed the right time. Isn’t his most powerful expression at that moment on Clan’s body? Why didn’t you capture that moment? What were you afraid of?”

Leon was speechless. He did not go too deep at the time, but it was not because of what Susan said, but because of the excessive and straightforward expression that would make the viewer feel uncomfortable, destroy the imagination of the viewer, and lead to artistic drop in value.

But obviously, what Susan needs is something that can directly and strongly stimulate the viewer's emotions.

"Let me be blunt, if you don't dare to uncover the darkness in your heart, you can't uncover the darkness of this city. Your skills are impeccable, Leon, but a photographer with good skills can capture a large number of people in this city." Put... what I really want is someone who has his own unique perspective, that's called art. Next time we meet, I hope you can come with new works.”

After finishing speaking, she didn't give Leon a chance to answer, she just nodded and then went back to her own business.

The freelance photographer felt as if he had been blown by a typhoon and was cold from head to toe.

He couldn't say anything, so he packed up his collection of works silently, and walked out dejectedly.

At this moment, the friends around him came up again and patted him on the shoulder: "There is hope."

[111. No. 111]

"...What hope, didn't she scold my work..."

"But she still told you 'see you next time', which means that she approves of your skills, but you need to follow her wishes and take pictures of what she wants to see. Susan is like this, even if you think about it I like it very much, and I don’t care about it on the surface. You just think she is lowering the price... If she is really not interested, then she won’t tell you a word, or even if she does, it’s better than you. The attitude just now was much worse.

"You know what she said to a painter last time? It was going around the circle. She said to the poor guy, 'I fill the shredder with toner and press it into Anything made from a cake is more like a painting than your masterpiece'. Tsk tsk."

After talking about this, Kyrgyzstan solemnly said to his friend: "I will arrange for you to meet with her again in about a week. Then you can show her some new photos and let her see how savvy you are. Don't be disobedient. She means it! She hates people taking her words on deaf ears."

In other words, the next task for Leon is to dig deeper and more directly into the dark parts of the city, as Susan said, to show the less beautiful side of human nature.

Not knowing what to do, he walked out of the gallery in a daze, and walked down the street to the nearby subway station.

By the way here, in fact, a large part of his works are also shot around the subway... New York's subway has a sense of civilized dregs and a decadent technological society. It has been built for more than 100 years, whether it is the track, Both the train and the platform looked dilapidated and corroded.

Perhaps it used to represent the top civilization in the world, and it was once the largest urban public transportation system in the world, and it was the pride of the United States; but after so many years, it has gradually lost proper maintenance and repairs, and it has become old. And messy.

But the people of New York cannot do without the subway.

It’s the cheapest, most reliable form of public transportation, unaffected by traffic jams in New York’s busiest parts, and gets passengers to work on time—and that’s enough.