A wisp of smoke slowly drifted back and forth in midair, and at its end, a little fire seemed to breathe in the light and darkness.

"Phew..."

With a long exhalation, a dense puff of smoke suddenly rose into the air, hovering in midair, entangled with the previous wisp of light smoke.

In a flash of light, the flame was thrown to the ground with a force, and then trampled by a shabby-looking leather shoe.

"Yo. Old John. Do you want another one? The owner of the shoes tried to turn away after stepping on the cigarette butt, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Huh? Pete? Why are you so free today? According to the work schedule, you are now on the job. John Sr. turned around and saw that his colleague, who was supposed to be at work, was standing in front of him, and reached out and handed a cigarette. When I saw this cigarette, the addiction that had just been calmed down began to work again.

Due to the natural disaster a year ago, the Federation later announced that it had to implement material control due to the large area of the disaster area and the large number of victims. In the beginning, each victim received enough supplies, but over time the ration quietly shrank. By the time everyone found out, the entire distribution center was guarded by a group of heavily armed soldiers.

Whether it is the selection of representatives to negotiate, or the demonstration, or even the initiation of riots, it cannot shake the power held by the material distribution center. Thus, the cigarette that Old John had smoked just now was the last cigarette he had bought in exchange for the rations he had accumulated over the months.

"Old John, let's go ahead and have one." Pete seemed to know the details of Old John, and handed over the cigarette while laughing.

It seemed that Pete had a flattering look to ask for him, and Old John was not polite, and directly reached out to take it, and even when he tried to light a cigarette, Pete directly sent the fire to the cigarette. With a spicy pungent smell sweeping in, the craving for cigarettes that had just begun to be troubled was once again suppressed.

"Phew..."

After exhaling a puff of smoke, Old John turned his gaze back to Pete. The young man in front of him, he knew. Not so long ago, it seemed that the distribution of rations was insufficient. The newly established Disaster Reconstruction Committee has put the idea on the young strong people who have nothing to do after the disaster, so it has also introduced a measure - compensation through work. Each young man who participated in the enlistment received one person's supplies or rations for each hour of work.

From the moment this measure was announced, countless young and strong people who were half-fed and half-starved to the point of madness enthusiastically participated. And Pete in front of him is one of them.

"Old John. I heard from Bower that you used to be a pilot? Seeing the satisfaction on Old John's face, Pete knew he had completed the first step in touching people's hearts. Next, it's Pete's turn time.

"Huh? Powter? Don't listen to their nonsense. It's just a driver of construction machinery. Not the MS pilot you think you are. Old John smiled self-deprecatingly, unceremoniously denying Pete's speculation.

"Really?" Although he didn't get the result he wanted, Pete's eyes rolled, and he immediately changed the topic and asked, "Even if that's the case, old John, you can apply for a position in the inner factory, right?" It's crazy to want a construction machine driver over there! ”

What Pete said, John Sr. knew, and before that, the head of the factory had come to him and invited him to join the inner factory. But old John, who has a lot of life experience, did not agree to the invitation of the person in charge. Although the person in charge did not say it explicitly, Old John vaguely felt that what was produced in the inner factory was not as simple as advertising to the outside world as food processing.

"Don't overthink it. Peter. It's time for me to get off work. You'd better go back quickly! Thank you for the cigarettes too! Old John took a hard puff of his cigarette, and after taking it all in one gulp, he waved his hand at Pete and turned away.

"Hey... Hey... Old John. Pete's cries grew quieter, and old John did not look back, nor did he stop waiting for the lad who had just handed him a cigarette to catch up.

After walking out of the factory, old John stopped, looked up at the sky, looked at the sunset that was gradually sinking in the west, and then turned and walked towards the road next to him. A few days ago, he used all his connections to find out that a batch of special drugs would be delivered to the distribution center in charge of the area today. Knowing that this batch of special drugs was his son's hope for healing, Old John naturally would not let go of this opportunity. So, through his tireless efforts, some connections and the only supplies he had, John Sr. finally got the promise of a distant relative who worked at the distribution center.

As long as Old John had gotten the special medicine from that relative as quickly as possible, his son, who had been tormented by the epidemic that had broken out after the disaster for several months, might have been cured quickly under the effect of the special medicine. Thinking of this, Old John's heart became more and more hot. In the face of such an earth-shattering natural disaster, nothing is more important than a loved one.

Soon, the excited old John unknowingly walked the half-hour walk that used to take him. After taking out all the supplies except for the rations for several days from the backpack behind him, and changing the special medicine from the hands of the distant relative who had a stiff face and looked like an official, Old John, who was full of flattery, thanked him again and again, and watched the relative of the "official" go away.

"I have to go back and get my son to take medicine." Old John looked at the special medicine in his hand, and he did not suspect that it was fake. Because he had seen the same potion from the head of the distribution center not long ago. In an excited mood, Old John hurriedly put the special medicine into his arms and walked back quickly in the direction of home.

However, after walking most of the way, old John suddenly saw his neighbor, who he usually knew well, standing not far away and pointing. Old John, who had a bad heart, hurriedly walked up to inquire about the situation.

"Huh? Old John?! Why are you here? "The neighbors were also surprised by the appearance of Old John." I thought you had gone back to your son. ”

"What, what's going on?" Old John asked again and again.

In the face of Old John's inquiry, the neighbor actually looked left and right mysteriously, and pulled Old John into the grove next to him.

"Old John, hurry up if you want to go back! JUST NOW WE SAW THAT THE A-LAWS FORCES WERE MOVING TOWARDS THE AREA WHERE WE LIVED. ”

"What? A-LAWS？！！ Suddenly, old John panicked. The panicked old John didn't even say thank you, so he left his neighbor and ran quickly in the direction of home.

"Don't be fine! Don't be fine! The special medicine has been obtained! My son will be healed soon! Don't be fine! Million!! ”

The cry in his heart became louder and louder, and old John, who was fast-paced, could not help but pray, but the prayer did not come true.

He was greeted not by the weak smile of his son, nor by the dim home of the past, but by a sea of fire that spread for several kilometers.

"Uh... Uhhh His eyes widened, and Old John looked at the sea of fire in a daze, and in the swaying of the firelight, he could even see the dilapidated old house. At this time, the old house where old John and his son had lived for more than half a year had been engulfed in flames. "John · My little John..."

Old John, who couldn't believe what he was looking for, dragged his tired body and walked slowly towards the sea of fire, muttering his son's name on the way. Since that catastrophe, John Jr. has been everything to John Sr. Now, the pillar that supported him was swallowed up by the sea of fire in this instant. From then on, John Sr.'s life was bleak.

The blazing waves of the sea of fire did not make old John wake up from his state of absence, but made old John have the illusion that little John had recovered his health and was beckoning to him.

"John · My little John... I'm coming... I'm coming!! ”

"Be careful!!"

At the moment when Old John was about to be buried in the flames, a figure suddenly flashed out from the side and threw Old John to the ground.

"Nope! No! My son!! Oh my son!! ”

At the moment of falling to the ground, the illusion was shattered after all. Old John burst into tears.

"Condolences change! Now we must continue to live, or we will be ashamed of the love of our loved ones. At the same time as the gentle voice sounded, a large warm hand was patted on Old John's shoulder. However, John Sr. was still indulging in the sad news that his son had died in the fire, and he could not extricate himself.

"Ahh A sigh sounded slowly.

At this moment, another unfamiliar voice sounded.

"How's it going, Lyle?"

"Oh. Moment. As you can see. The entire neighborhood has been burned down by A-LAWS. This old man is probably one of the few survivors of this residential area. "It turned out that the person who saved Old John was Lyle, and the person who asked him was Moment. How did they get here?

For a moment, his eyes fell on Old John, who was crying, and after looking at it, he looked at Lyle again and said, "Let's go!" ”

"Hmm." Lyle nodded, and before he had taken a few steps, he looked back at old John and said, "Uncle, I don't know if you heard it!" Alive! Gotta Live! Someone will come and take you away later. Hold on!! ”

On the edge of the sea of fire, which reflected half of the sky, Lyle and Instant quickly left this side and disappeared into the grove not far away, leaving old John alone in the face of the sea of fire and weeping bitterly.

"In an instant, we're late! I didn't expect A-LAWS to be so ruthless because of an unconvinced piece of information!! Although Lyle obeyed Moment's order to retreat, this does not mean that he is blind to the residential area that has been burned by A-LAWS.

"Well, we're late. So, that's our responsibility. Next time, we will never allow this to happen again. Let's go! ”