In 2007, the mountains of the western part of the Old North State, Mitchell Mountain.

This is the highest point east of the Old Man River, and from the top of the hill you can see the magnificent Old Man River, which was once considered by Protestants to be a "blessing from heaven".

Halfway up the hill there is an abandoned church with a hole in the roof and an ancient bronze bell hanging from the top, which has been rusted by centuries of invasion.

The attic door opened, and a man in a black evening dress walked in.

"I don't understand why you would choose to live here. "The visitor seemed to complain that the attic was littered with discarded portraits of the former faithful depicting heaven.

There was no light in the room, and in the dim darkness of the night, one could see that the old man dressed as a priest was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, motionless.

"This is the perfect place for me. Drink tea and ring the bell every day, and life is quiet and peaceful. The priest opened his eyes, "Come and sit, Stuart." ”

"Shouldn't I be glad that the old man was able to have someone visit him before he died? Stuart went straight to the couch next to the priest and sat down, not caring about the dust on the couch.

"No one is happy that he is about to die, unless it is a relief for him. The priest chuckled, "But I have to say that your outfit does look like you're at a funeral." ”

The priest stood up and took out a glass from the corner of the attic, took out a bottle of wine from a corner, poured a small half glass and handed it to Stuart.

Stuart curled up in the couch, took a sip of his wine, and casually played with his glass, looking inside the room.

Fourteen years later, it's still as small and closed as it was then. If anything, it's that the gray on the frame is thicker.

Stuart, who knew everything about the place, quickly took the cigar and ashtray from the hidden compartment under the sofa, opened his mouth to bite off the cigar head, and then turned to look at the priest, "You don't mind if I smoke in the house, do you?"

"That's the last sicars!" the priest stroked his forehead, "and your father would be ashamed of his heavenly spirit if he knew that you had so violently destroyed the heavens...."

"I'm sure he wouldn't!" Stuart rummaged through the cabinets and finally found an old-fashioned diesel lighter, flint rubbing, cigars burning quietly in the flames, and the whole room was filled with a faint smell of smoke, "Only you would believe that there is such a thing as a spirit in heaven after death! My father was a staunch atheist!"

Stuart came to the attic as if he were home, he knew exactly what was in the room, where it was, and he didn't skimp on the dust of his haute couture suit, which had once been his home.

"We found him, and in fact he hasn't left the city since you left. Stuart pulled out a picture and handed it to the priest.

"Grown up!" the priest smiled as he rubbed the picture at his aunt.

"I asked Tianlin and Su Ru to write him a letter, believing that he would arrive in Laobeizhou soon. ”

"Does anyone else know about this?" the pastor asked suddenly.

"In addition to Preston and the people in charge of watching, the Presbyterian side should also know. Stuart said truthfully.

"You pick him up when he comes, I'm afraid they're in danger. ”

"Understood, but I don't understand, why do you think it's him? The people of the organization have been watching him since you left, but after all these years, he has not shown any signs of awakening. ”

"He's just a poor kid now, living in lies," the priest sighed, "weren't you just an ordinary kid before you woke up?"

Stuart was silent, the old people in the family deliberately left him in Newman, Angola in order to sharpen him, it was a world of crime and punishment, death and bloodshed happened every day, and at that time Stuart was just a fifteen-year-old ordinary person, he could not remember how much he was bullied and how much he suffered, he only remembered the man who grabbed him by the collar and forced him to crawl under the crotch of others, wantonly mocking his onlookers and the heart full of violence and hatred. There was no one complete skin on his body, and the group of do-gooders even brought liquor to pour on him, the heart-rending pain stimulated his nerves, he didn't make any sound, just stared at the group of people in front of him viciously, blood dripped from his brows, just when the other party lost interest and threw him downstairs, he suddenly had a feeling of rebirth, his heart beat like a drum beat powerfully, the blood of his whole body was flowing like a surging river, and every cell was greedy. Breathing with all his might, endless power was transmitted along the muscles and nerves, and at that moment, he woke up.

The scars all over his body recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, he raised his head, the desire to kill in those extremely rare purple pupils was soaring, he only had one thought, kill everyone present!

"Understood. Stuart bowed his head slightly, his purple pupils were as cold as ice, and his whole body was trembling slightly, this was the sequelae of his awakening, whenever he remembered everything that happened to Andra Newman, there was always an irrepressible desire to kill.

"After all these years, you still can't overcome your fear?" the priest gently shook Stuart's hand, and a chill came from the pastor's palm, and Stuart immediately calmed down.

"I've been trying all these years, but they've all failed. Stuart gasped.

"There is a copy of the Heart Sutra in Pudu of Jingzhao Fuyou Temple, if you have time, you can go to him, it may be useful to you. The priest shook his head, "Your problem isn't that big, it's just that Leohhard's kid......"

"Is he still the same?" said Stuart, taking a deep drag on his cigar.

"Well, he came to me this summer and wanted me to help him, but I didn't agree, and he stayed at the foot of the mountain. The priest stood up and took a file from the secret compartment of the fireplace and handed it to Stuart, "It's time for some things to be over, give them to him, and let him go back and take over the shadows in two days." ”

"Will he agree?" Stuart tore open the seal with some confusion, and poured out a photo and several documents from it, the photo showed a girl in a black leotard holding a single M110 sniper rifle, although the photo was a little blurry, but Stuart still recognized the person in the photo at a glance, Attia Turinus!

"Are you sure?" Stuart hurriedly asked, the M110 sniper rifle was only equipped in 2004, which means that this photo can only be taken after 2004!

"It's basically certain, and I know it might be hard to believe, but it's what it is. The pastor said, "When you go back this time, I should go out for activities." ”

"The way you look now," Stuart whispered, "is this the final battle?"

The room fell silent, and Stuart could hear his own heartbeat distinctly, and he looked at the priest, hoping for an answer from him.

"I've lived long enough, and I'm relieved to see you stinky boys on your own. The priest looked out the window at the low dark clouds, and an astonishing murderous aura burst out from the priest's body, and even Stuart was suppressed by this coercion, and he didn't even have the strength to move his mouth, "This time, both they and "God" will be judged!"

Leaving the church, Stuart went to Chapel Hill at the foot of Mitchell Hill, a small town full of churches, where the light of the Lord was sprinkled on the earth, and the devout believers walked into the neighboring church every Sabbath dressed in fine clothes and prayed to the praise of priests and choirs.

But every city always has a dark and miserable side, and the same is true of Chapel Hill, where hypocrisy pervades the unknown corners, dark places where even the light does not shine.

At midnight, there is no shortage of homeless people begging on the streets, street girls with heavy makeup and bright clothes, and thugs who hide in bars and rely on marijuana all day long.

In the haystack next to the mouth of the narrow alley sat a sloppy man, full of alcohol.

He had been wandering here for a long time, from midsummer until late autumn, the alcohol in the broken bottle in his hand was the only thing he could rely on, and perhaps he himself did not know if he would be able to survive the coming harsh winter.

His daily life was nothing more than begging on the streets, and if he was lucky enough to meet a good Samaritan, he would be able to ask for a few coins, exchange some bad liquor from the store, and then return to the cemetery to stand by a tombstone.

It seems that this is the only place for himself, where his lover and friends are buried.

The cold wind howled, and he couldn't help but shrink back, wrapping the down jacket on his body that had been torn to tatters due to fighting with stray dogs for food, and some small blackened feathers flew out of the cracks of the down jacket, mixed with the rain on the ground, and could not be distinguished.

The sticky blonde hair drooped in front of his forehead, the rain dripped down his hair, and the man picked up the bottle and poured a sip of wine, the burning sensation running from his throat to the bottom of his stomach, choking on his violent cough.

In the distance, the dim street lamp reflected an elongated shadow, and the footsteps came from far and near, and he turned a deaf ear to drink.

Stuart stopped in front of him, not moving.

"I advise you to get acquainted!

Perhaps the visitor had no intention of leaving, and he instinctively thought that it was some tomb robber who wanted to make ill-gotten gains.

"How many years have I been running around and plotting everywhere, but now I have fallen to such a point. Stuart held his umbrella and sighed, "Numbing your nerves with alcohol all day is not like what you do, Leohard von Morgenstern!"

"Get out of here!" the man known as Morgan Stern put down his bottle and staggered to his feet, waving his fist to warn himself of the blurred figure in his vision.

"There's no way you can talk well. Stuart finished and punched Leohard in the stomach.

The huge inertia knocked Leohard to the ground, Leohard hunched over and vomited violently, spitting out all the spirits that were basically the same as fuel, without the suppression of alcohol, his consciousness gradually regained clarity, he raised his head and looked at the man in the suit and leather shoes in front of him and said hoarsely: "Are you here to laugh at me, Frederick?"

"Laugh?" Frederick raised an eyebrow, took out a cigarette and lit it in his mouth, "Do you think I have the time and patience to laugh at an alcoholic? ”

"Atia ......" Leohard muttered these three words repeatedly, and he looked up at the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, the girl's smile, and he cried.

If given the choice, he would rather be the one who lies here.

"The priest asked me to inform you that I would go back and take over the Shadows in two days. I've informed Slolante and he'll be cooperating with you on the next steps. Stuart lifted up the poor man in front of him with some distress.

"I've broken away from the Order!" Leohard said coldly, shaking off Stuart's hand, "I decided to leave this impersonal place just when you chose not to help me. ”

"It's not easy to leave the organization, some things are already deeply imprinted in your bones," Stuart pulled out a picture from his bosom and placed it on the tombstone, "think about it yourself!"

It wasn't until Stuart's figure disappeared into the cemetery that Leohard slowly stood up, glancing at the picture on the tombstone.

A flash of lightning flashed in the clouds, and there was a bang in my ears!

Song Yuan lay flat on the bed, surrounded by darkness, and lightning disillusioned in the clouds, illuminating Song Yuan's face. The old-fashioned residential building where Song Yuan lives is a resettlement house when the school was first built, due to disrepair, water leakage and power outages are common, and the ivy-covered building has an indescribable weirdness in the distance.

"Tick, tick, tick......" The clock on the wall turns tirelessly, the second hand crosses "12", the old day ends, and the new day begins.

Song Yuan lifted the quilt and stood up, stumbled around the cardboard boxes piled up in the living room, took a glass of water, leaned against the cabinet and bowed his head in contemplation.

Today is his eighteenth birthday, a person's birthday.

When Song Yuan was still in elementary school, his parents, who were also teachers, went abroad for further study, leaving him alone in an empty house, although every month there would be living expenses remitted to the account by the bank on time and daily necessities mailed by various courier companies from time to time.

At first, the uncle downstairs volunteered to assume the duties of his temporary guardian, but unfortunately the good times did not last long, and the uncle downstairs also died a few years ago because of his advanced age.

Song Yuan didn't know how busy his parents were, so busy that they didn't even make a phone call, only occasionally there would be a letter to encourage Song Yuan.

It's ridiculous.

Every time I send a letter, I always start with "I'm very busy with your mother, I don't have time to rush back to take care of you", and end with something like "Don't embarrass me and your mother", which is tired of watching.

Every parent has the extravagant hope that their son will become a dragon and their daughter will become a phoenix, and they will let their children embark on a life path they expect according to their own plans, but they ignore what their children themselves want.

What Song Yuan wants most is probably to find a deep mountain and old forest with beautiful mountains and rivers, and then die quietly.

The doorbell rang and pulled Song Yuan's thoughts back, "Who?"

"Post office, there's your letter!" the voice outside the door seemed impatient.

Through the cat's eye, Song Yuan saw a man wearing orange short-sleeved shirts printed with the "Postal" pattern standing outside the door, carrying a dark green backpack behind him.

It seems that it is indeed a staff member of the postal express industry, but there are many people who pretend to be robbers in the service industry these years, so Song Yuan cautiously pushed open the door, revealing only a crack.

"It's really fortunate that it's so late to send it over. ”

"A letter from the United States, and a package, you sign for it. "The receipt is in hand, the courier brother turned his head and left," the guest asked for delivery in the early morning, a few minutes late, please don't give a bad review. ”

A letter from the United States, Song Yuan looked at the postmark on the letter, it was sent by his parents.

"I'm sorry for you. Song Yuan signed and returned the courier receipt to the courier brother, and closed the door with the package.

Sitting on the sofa, Song Yuan's hand holding the letter trembled slightly, he was afraid that the content of the letter would not mention his birthday as before, since his parents left, he had always had an idea in his heart, he was like the garbage generated by his parents' love, and he would discard it at will.

After thinking about it, Song Yuan found a candle to light it, and opened the envelope with the only glimmer of hope.

"Happy birthday, my dear son.

Your mother and I are sorry not to be with you during your most important childhood, because we do have very important things to attend to. But your mother and I have always believed that a brief separation is for future reunions.

We discussed your eighteenth birthday a long time ago, and when this side is over, we will immediately return to China to spend the most important birthday of your life, but as soon as we finished working here, we had to rush to the next location non-stop, and we have complained about the impersonal practices above, but with little success, so we can only say to you, sorry.

Although the plans are not changing, we have prepared a passport and a plane ticket for you to the city we are going through, and if we can make it in time, we can celebrate your birthday abroad, which is the best way that your mother and I can think of at the moment.

Finally, I want to say that Mom and Dad love you, son.

Song Tianlin, Su Ru. ”

Song Yuan lowered his head and read the letter silently, tears flowed uncontrollably, his parents still remembered his birthday after all.

I opened the package that came with the letter, and it contained a passport, a plane ticket, and a birthday crown.

Song Yuan picked up the birthday crown and put it on his head, looking at himself in the mirror, looking a little funny.

Picking up the ticket, Song Yuan glanced at it, "United States, Old Beizhou." ”