The new year is still more than a month before its conquest of the world is announced, but the city is already beginning to diffuse with the joy of the beginning. For everything unknown, time has already predestined its importance. The splendor of neon, the crowding of traffic, the crowd of people surging in the streets and alleys, whether it is night or day, the endless flow of civilized world.

Wu Zhaoxing greeted Yao Luoxuan at the veterans' office. Wu Zhaoxing was wearing a casual suit, his leather shoes were very shiny, and his hair was neatly placed back with a brush. He didn't have the usual sincere color, the smile on his face was very helpless, and a kind of loneliness in his eyes was still faintly revealed.

When Wu Zhaoxing saw Yao Luoxuan's arrival, he just stretched out his hand and shook hands with her, and then said hello briefly. He was very reluctant to see Yao Luoxuan here, but out of the will of being forced by others, he had to do it. This office is located in the Convenience Service Centre and shares the same building with the offices of several other departments. Together, the two walked through the hallway and into the elevator to the third floor. I got out of the elevator door and went around a few more office windows to get to a very small office. That's where veterans are served. The two were speechless all the way, perhaps because of the unhappiness they had brought in the café. Yao Luoxuan once said tentatively: Your military and public security have infiltrated, and I don't know where there is no infiltration. Wu Zhaoxing smiled reluctantly and did not answer, because the answer was self-evident. All the disguises are useless in front of Yao Luoxuan. Wu Zhaoxing knew in his heart that once he had something to hide, that young man named Nian Hao might destroy everything they had established. Seeing Wu Zhaoxing's expression, Yao Luoxuan didn't ask anything, now, what she needs is everything she knows.

Wu Zhaoxing opened the door of the office and invited Yao Luoxuan in. After Yao Luoxuan walked in, he immediately entered and closed the door, looking very carefully at the eyes of an old foreign man inside.

"Here, Officer Yao!" the old man said to Yao Luoxuan, then pointed to the chair and made a gesture of please.

Yao Luoxuan nodded, pulled the revolving chair in front of the desk back, and sat down. Konstantin nodded at Wu Zhaoxing, Wu Zhaoxing understood, walked to the water dispenser in the corner of the room, took out a disposable cup from the cabinet that came with the water dispenser, poured two glasses of water, and placed them on the table in front of Konstantin and Yao Luoxuan. Then, Wu Zhaoxing walked to the side of the office very cautiously, with his hands on both sides of his waist, standing straight like a soldier. Yao Luoxuan looked at the office, a place she visited almost every year, and it was simply furnished, with a desk with a computer, two chairs, and a cabinet full of files, and the air conditioner sat above a very white curtain. Nothing has changed, and it has always been so mindless.

Konstantin smiled, and then sat down across the desk across Yao Luoxuan. The fluorescent lights in the office were extremely white, and here it was in the middle of the building, and there was no sunlight rushing in, only the color of darkness being driven away. Konstantin's beard was full of wrinkles, he was wearing the training uniform of the militia, he was burly, and the physique of a European was perfectly displayed in him, but he did not feel old as the material depicted that he was only fifty-five years old. Perhaps because of the different races, Konstantin's skin seemed to be smeared with a layer of white powder, which was very evenly spread over the skin as far as he could see. Twelve years ago, Yao Luoxuan knew that he was the director of the office, and he was here to serve the retired soldiers every year, but for so many years, he didn't seem to be aging, and there was a vague way to move towards youth. At first, after Yao Luoxuan met for the first time, she wondered how to make a European become a clerk here, and after questioning, she learned that he was a Jew who came to Shanghai with his family to escape the massacre during World War II when he was a child.

Yao Luoxuan thought, this Wu Zhaoxing in front of him maintained respect for this old man, it seemed that this old man's status in their organization was not ordinarily high. An organization that can infiltrate the public security and the military, and its high-ranking personnel play the role of the personnel of an office and work diligently. With such an attitude, the size of this organization is not understandable to ordinary people.

Konstantin sat still and did not speak. Yao Luoxuan didn't care about any of this, she lit a cigarette and stared at the few thick blue file folders on the table. Yao Luoxuan understood that before his own people arrived, they had prepared a sufficient reason and all the information they needed. However, she doesn't need anything deliberately to make things secondary, she needs everything that is real.

"Take a sip of water. Konstantin said calmly, "It's not good to smoke too much." ”

Yao Luoxuan lifted the water glass, took a sip gently, and looked at the old man after putting it down.

"You like to smoke as much as that teenager. ”

Konstantin said that he was a teenager and a young man. Yao Luoxuan knew that she didn't speak, but her face turned cold. The better countenance, under the transformation of her expression, solidified with the trend, and a kind of majesty and shallowness were revealed. This majesty is a feeling that can only be found in the military.

"I need a little bit of information. Yao Luoxuan said. She took a puff of her cigarette and slowly rose until it disappeared into thin air.

Konstantin was silent, he stretched out his hand, turned sideways, and turned on the desktop air purifier next to him. He can say no, or say yes. The former may be a little more, but he didn't look at Yao Luoxuan, regardless of whether he had done anything or not, whether he wanted to give it to the person in front of him, he knew from his slow movements, and he was still thinking about whether to agree or not.

"The surface of the matter is not so simple, Comrade Xiao Wu has already revealed this kind of information in front of you. Once you step in, it's not that simple to get out. ”

"I know. ”

"What do you mean?"

Yao Luoxuan threw the unfinished cigarette on the ground and stepped on it with the soles of his high heels. "I just want to know about myself. ”

"You mean to look out there and just come for yourself?"

Yao Luoxuan nodded, confirming his wishes. She wanted to say that she didn't want to change her life now, but she couldn't find a word to describe why she wanted to explore the reason, but the situation in her mind was not at all the same as what she remembered, and her brain couldn't stand this different approach. "Can I fulfill such a wish? Yes, I'm just here for myself, I don't want to know the surface. ”

"Yes. After all, I am an independent individual, and it is not so pleasant to be distorted by others. But you have to pay a price. ”

"Pay a price?" Yao Luoxuan said as if confirmed.

Konstantin nodded, "That boy is now stuck in such a boring thing. If you just want to know about yourself, lose all contact with this teenager. I'll have to confirm with you. ”

Yao Luoxuan didn't answer immediately, she was thinking about it, she picked up the cup in front of her and drank it all in one gulp. Wu Zhaoxing walked over, took her cup away, and refilled another glass of water. Yao Luoxuan nodded in thanks, and picked up the cup again. She pondered, she had a solid reason to agree with such words, but when she made up her mind, she felt a sense of disconnection that had never been felt before. It's like wiping away your past in front of you. And it's like a doctor holding a saw knife and amputating a soldier who has not been anesthetized.

"The kid has already looked for us. Konstantin looked at Yao Luoxuan's face and said slowly: "He asked us everything he knew, but he also agreed to enter this whirlpool and find it by himself. Moreover, he seems to be letting this vortex turn around only on him. Of course, this is not a good feeling. You should be able to feel that this kid's feelings for you are not ordinary, and he is still trying to get rid of you. Let's put it this way, you may be angry, but the way it looks now can be explained. He seems to be detaching from you, and everything seems to be for you. ”

"You know all about what I have to do with him, don't you?"

"I don't know about that. Konstantin replied: "What you have to do with him exists in memory, but not in facts." You came to me today, and it was the same, something that exists in your memory, but is not at all the same as reality, is harassing you. ”

"Which is the right one?"

Konstantin smiled with his lips open, his beard shaking shallowly with his smile. "It's up to you, do you choose everything you have, or do you choose something that doesn't exist at all? Choose everything you have now, but you will often be disturbed by these memories in every aspect of your life. And if you choose what doesn't exist, your life will change completely. But either way, it's really unfair to you. If someone harms you, blame the boy, he approached you. ”

Yao Luoxuan shook his head: "This is a kind of shirk responsibility. ”

Konstantin nodded: "Yes, shirk the responsibility." No matter who is where or not, your heart is the true direction. If for various reasons, you have the worst intentions, then it means that your heart is not very strong. ”

Konstantin coughed, put away his smile, and looked away from Yao Luoxuan's face. "The first folder in front of you may have the information you want, and the choice is yours. ”

Waiting for the words to fall, Yao Luoxuan picked up the folder in front of him without thinking and looked at it.

There is very little information, but the content is very interesting, at least for Konstantin. It's just that Yao Luoxuan became more and more surprised the more she watched it, she endured her emotions, and after reading one book, she read another one. Konstantin sat like this, waiting for Yao Luoxuan.

"How's that country doing?"

"As soon as the peacekeepers left, the snobbery of the Westerners completely infiltrated in, and although the whole country looked like a democracy, it was firmly controlled by those Western snobbery at a deep level. ”

"It's all a description of the situation, there are no complete facts, not even a conclusion, are these things true?"

Konstantin nodded. "The facts that are engraved in black and white are all described by people. The conclusion is already shown between the lines. You should get rid of the subjective thoughts in those words and embed them with what you can remember, maybe that's what will help you. ”

"Why did these children die in the end, didn't it say that they were rescued by the peacekeepers?" asked Yao Luoxuan.

"Whether you save them or not, they will die. Konstantin said: "At that time, you did not have a refugee camp. Even if they are saved from the slaughterers, where can they be placed?"

"However, it also says that there is a refugee camp. The records here are clear and can accommodate more than 5,000 people. ”

"Your commander-in-chief at that time was an American, and the refugee camps accepted enough people from Europe and the United States, and rebels in the name of human rights. Konstantin explained: "The emergence of this method has led to the fragmentation of your peacekeeping forces, otherwise how could the United Nations abandon that country?"

"Can't you stop it?" Yao Luoxuan quickly turned the page, she pointed to it and said, "These are the evidence of street fighting." It seems that the street fighting is not their domestic army, but an alien army. ”

Konstantin took a sip of the tea in front of him, shook his head and said: "The government army has almost been destroyed by an inexplicable bomb, how many people can start a street fight?"

Yao Luoxuan squinted his eyes and asked, "You mean I participated in the street fighting?"

Konstantin shook his head, he put the cup down, and said, "This only shows that there was a record of street fighting, and a well-armed army of about seventy people, fought repeatedly against more than a thousand judges in that city for a week. Finally the rebel reinforcements arrived, and the mysterious unit retreated. Later, as you saw, the casualties were only those of the rebels, not the troops. ”

"There is only evidence of street fighting, and the number of casualties. But then why, and then put the evidence of no street fighting on it completely. Yao Luoxuan pointed to it, stared at it, and said: "This is an American reporter who recorded that at that time, the rebels entered the city without resistance, and the peacekeepers fled. There were no street fights. ”

"Can you believe the words of the American ghosts?" Konstantin snorted: "The real facts exist, but the facts in memory do not exist." That's the difference. You should be clear about the meaning of the information given to you. ”

Yao Luoxuan nodded, she tore one of the pieces of paper off it, and said, "This is what I need, and I don't need the rest." ”

Konstantin nodded, indicating that Yao Luoxuan could take these, and he asked, "Is there something to ask about the downside?"

You say. ”

"This proves to be a terrible struggle, and you only care about yourself?"

"The power of the individual is too small. Yao Luoxuan said: "Justice is not decided in the hands of one person. And, whether it happened or not, everything is in the past. It's enough to know only a part of it. ”

"Hopefully, if everyone thinks the same way, the world will be a bad place. ”

Hearing Konstantin say such things, Yao Luoxuan sighed and said, "Excuse me, do you have a family?"

Konstantin smiled and looked at Yao Luoxuan silently.

"I'm alive for who I am. Yao Luoxuan said heavily.

"But you've come to find the truth!" replied Konstantin at once, "You can recognize the swing in your heart." ”

"No matter how much I sway, I can control it. ”

"But emotions are hard to control. ”

"Then let's make a bet?" Yao Luoxuan said.

Konstantin shook his head: "I'm not talking about the emotions of the two of you that can be controlled, it's all the emotions around you, not what you can control." ”

"As long as you don't show it. Yao Luoxuan said, but the quarrel with Han Chen a few nights ago came into his mind. Suddenly she felt a pang of regret, she shouldn't have brought up the past to stimulate him. But now think about why he cared so much about his past. All this became a state of tacit approval between the two people. Is he breaking this state of acquiescence, or is he breaking this state of acquiescence?

Konstantin snapped his fingers at Wu Zhaoxing, Wu Zhaoxing understood, he walked to the iron cabinet next to him, opened the second drawer, and took out a huge envelope from it. Took this envelope and handed it to Konstantin. Konstantin placed the envelope on the table, but his palm pressed it.

"Are you ready?" Konstantin's tone became a little cold. "That's a very crucial piece of evidence. ”

Yao Luoxuan stared at the envelope, and his heartbeat couldn't help but speed up. She took a few heavy breaths, then nodded, and said, "Ready." ”

"It's easy to accept all this, but it's not easy to put yourself in shape. Konstantin said and pushed the envelope towards Yao Luoxuan.

"I understand. ”

"It's a gift for you. Honestly, I don't want to reveal that much, because from the facts, you are a good cop and you can't be caught up in it. But then again, we still have what we want. ”

Yao Luoxuan didn't take the envelope immediately, she looked up and asked Konstantin, "What do you want to get?"

"Frankly, we're incredibly capable. But only in terms of ability, not to control someone. Speaking of which, you should be clear. We want the same as you. You want to keep your life as it is. And we're the same, we want you to keep your life as you are and don't meet that child. Or don't let that kid get involved. ”

"It's as simple as that?"

"Yes. ”

Yao Luoxuan didn't continue, she picked up the envelope on the table. He quickly took it apart and pulled out a photo. In the photograph is a picture of ruins and smoke, a soldier with a gun running, and next to her, a teenager. The boy seemed to sense danger elsewhere, and he turned his head coldly, half of his face sideways, looking for danger.

"Yes. Konstantin said, "The soldier with the gun is you, Yao Luoxuan." And that teenager is Nian Hao. ”

"This is a picture from 12 years ago. Yao Luoxuan seemed to have a hint of fantasy and said, "This photo is synthetic." ”

Konstantin smiled: "Would you believe that it was a composite photo?"

Yao Luoxuan was silent, just staring at the photo. Suddenly, she tore the picture with both hands. He said to Konstantin, "Are there any other copies of this picture?"

"Yes!" said Konstantin: "This picture was taken by an American journalist who witnessed the street fighting, but when he returned home he found that all the information about the street fighting had become fake." He reprinted the photos three times. This is because he wants to ask for a certificate. But he was just a journalist who pursued fame and fortune, and when he learned that the situation was beyond his control, he gave up pursuing it. ”

"Where are the other photos?" asked Yao Luoxuan.

Konstantin shook his head and said, "I don't know about this, we haven't investigated it yet, because your incident with the boy happened too suddenly, and we only have all this in our hands now." But can I tell you where the reporter is?"

"Where?"

"Where else can a Yankee reporter who pursues fame and fortune be? What else can he do in Hong Kong, China? You don't know that China's Hong Kong ghost is making trouble, and he uses his biased photos to provide those who make trouble with many inaccurate facts. ”

"Hey. Yao Luoxuan sighed, she raised her head, her eyes were towards Konstantin, a look of help.

Konstantin thought: "Then we can help you, we will bring back that ghost." On the one hand, we help you, and on the other hand, we don't want that ghost guy to do things in Hong Kong. ”

"You're very patriotic!" Yao Luoxuan said with mockery.

"During World War II, when the whole world was afraid of the devil rejecting us Jews, this country helped us. If you see that my Chinese is so good, it means that I have regarded this country as my motherland. I've done a lot of work for that. ”

"I can see it. With that, Yao Luoxuan took out a lighter, lit the fragments of the photos, watched them burn, and threw them into the ashtray on the table.

Konstantin could see Yao Luoxuan's face, and he said tentatively: "Doesn't it feel ridiculous?" ”

"Maybe. Yao Luoxuan said: "It seems that I was participating in a street fight at that time. ”

"Probably. Konstantin replied: "In real circumstances, if you participated in the street fighting, you completely betrayed the motherland." Because you meddle in the internal affairs of other countries, the army will never tolerate you. ”

"But really?" asked Yao Luoxuan with a shrug. When Yao Luoxuan said this question, he didn't believe it. The truth is, she participated in peacekeeping, did not participate in the internal affairs of other countries, and was discharged from the army smoothly. If she had participated, she would have been court-martial by now, or she might have died in a foreign battle. Everything you have now is in vain. Even her sitting here is fake.

"Can I name some of the information I summarized?" Konstantin said.

"Okay. ”

After taking this photo, this ghost guy described the scene of this photo in his records. He writes that the army of a certain great power in Asia, under the pretext of protecting its own people, has launched an attack on the army that the free people have stopped. But the freedom of human rights is invincible, and after the armies of the freemen fought back, these so-called elites began to flee. Freedom and invincibility!Look, this female soldier is so ridiculous!" Konstantin mechanically finished the words.

In the middle of the night, the whole room was filled with silence. Yao Luoxuan stared at the photo that had turned to ashes, she took out a cigarette and lit it for herself.

"Thank you for telling me all this. ”

Konstantin did not answer.

"But it's all fake, no. Yao Luoxuan suddenly smiled, the curvature in the corner of her eyes was very abnormal, and she said: "I just represented the country in a peacekeeping operation, and I didn't have any bad behavior, but I was bombed back to my country by terrorists." I'm a police officer now, I have a family, I have a career, and everything nice is right in front of me, isn't it?"

"Do you believe it?"

Yao Luoxuan shook her head, she sighed and said, "I'm still me." ”