336. To Alice

May 16, 2157, 2:30 p.m., Washington, D.C. Public Cemetery, USA

Under the black sky, dozens of black-clothed people looked at the black cross in front of them with heavy faces.

The priest in black recited the prayer for peace in a low and solemn tone according to the Bible. But it was clear to everyone that there were no remains in the grave.

Yes, it's just the black cross standing on the grass.

What is stored here is only proof of disaster.

'New Zealand Misty Monument

Alice. Angela

Sergeant, United Nations Security Forces

This lovely and great freedom fighter gave his life in the mist of New Zealand

May God bless her soul as she ascends to heaven

2137.9.16~2157.4.6’

The inconspicuous corner of the black steel base is inscribed with such a line. And the same words were neatly arranged in three columns and four rows, a small line of twelve names, under the huge cross. Counting Alice at the top, a total of thirteen people's lives are condensed on this black cross.

Behind the cross, there stood a tombstone that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Countless towering crosses stood silently behind the shadow of the cross, meaning that all of them had died in that fog.

To this day, countless men and women dressed in black support each other, weeping and offering flowers to each cross.

Only a little more than a month has passed, and the grief still hangs over everyone's hearts.

"There are already too many people who have died......"

But why you?

Rubbing the 'Alice' inscribed on the cross, Paul, a black man who was over fifty years old, touched the steel structure in the corner of his eye and sighed slightly.

As a close friend of Alice's father George, he also likes the little girl with freckles on her face and a righteous heart. Just look at the way she jumps. I can always recall when I was a big soldier.

At that time, I was just as young and vigorous, I didn't know how to advance or retreat, and my mind was full of America for freedom. But in reality? The battle with East Asia Heavy Industries in the Middle East will eat away the good fortune of a qiē.

Whether it is those nightmarish virus strains or those near-perfect East Asian fortifiers, the first dreams have been torn apart without reservation. Only some dust remains.

America's strength is built on death and steel.

If it weren't for the hidden powers of Europe and the Middle East, everyone would have been destroyed.

Paul was well aware of this.

And that's what it is. Only then did he transfer his friend's lovely daughter to the United Nations forces as a security sergeant.

Caring for civilians, moving civilians, fighting crime, that's what that little girl should do. He knew that Alice's adaptability was one of the few in the whole of America, and he loved the country immensely, which was why she could not see the most vulnerable side of the country.

The defense line was torn apart, the army was destroyed in the blink of an eye, and the lives of the fortified men and the ships were as fragile as mustard. It is even unceremoniously said that the situation in the Middle East has been maintained until now entirely because the United States has done something and the virus. The cooperation of the deep seas. Otherwise, the entire interests of the United States in the Middle East will be brutally and rudely destroyed.

Will she be able to see this? Even if she is the latest type of nano soldier super S-class, what can she do? Is it being cut into pieces by those East Asians who are more targeted?

It is our duty as a creature to create a safer and better living environment for future generations.

He himself lost his fertility and had no offspring to speak of. Alice is more like a friend's daughter to him, it's more like his own.

But because of his own actions, Alice has disappeared from this world forever with the fog.

Why did God bring down so much suffering...... Little Alice ......"

"It's not your fault, Paul."

"George ......"

It's not a question of right or wrong.

Listening to the voice coming from behind him, the old man felt his heart throb with it.

Alice's father. George. Angela.

The last person he wanted to see at this moment was little Alice's father, the strongest sane enhancer in the United States who was burdened with a gag order and lived at home.

Back then, they were the hardest buddies. Now it's also the most worthy of a new friend, and his best friend entrusted his daughter to disappear into this world. What kind of face does this make him face his friend back then?

What if he is a colonel in the American Special Forces Reinforcement Department? If he could, he would rather trade his life for Alice's survival. But this world is so unreasonable, those who want to die will never die, and those who don't want to die often pay with their lives.

“…… I said, it's not your fault, Paul. ”

The man behind him took a deep breath. Reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"But, I know you're right, but I'm really not reconciled. Little Alice died in obscurity because of a mistake, and I was not reconciled. ”

"Unwilling? What can we do, George? 'Fog' is such a thing. It can't be helped. ”

Standing in front of the cross, the old man took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice:

"It's like accidentally getting involved in a volcanic eruption, and I'm not going to shirk my responsibilities. But this time it's a natural disaster. ”

It is like a natural phenomenon like thunder and rain, like a natural phenomenon like an earthquake and tsunami, and no one can know their existence until a real disaster strikes.

It was because of his old buddy's unwillingness that Paul felt that his heart ached as if it had been stirred by a steel drill. Even when the strengthening man of East Asia Heavy Industry chopped his shoulder, it was not so painful.

Reason prevented the man behind him from venting his sadness, but he himself would not let himself go.

“…… George, kill me. ”

After a long silence, looking at the black and gray cross in front of him, the black man reached out and covered his face.

"I can't think of anything that can compensate you except death. How nice would it be if I had met someone in this kind of natural disaster? ”

"No, you're wrong. My old man. ”

This is not a natural disaster, this is ignorance.

There was a soft sound, and in Paul's surprised gaze, the middle-aged man standing behind him extinguished his cigarette with an expressionless face.

This rational enhancer, who had always been very calm in his impression, had never cried.

Whether it was when she was cut in half by a strong man from East Asia Heavy Industries during the battle, or when she was stimulated by the pain nerves of nanomachines, she didn't even cry when she learned of her daughter's death. But at this moment. As he looked at the cold words on the grave, a drop of water fell at his feet.

It's raining.

Looking at the overcast sky, Paul and George lowered their heads and stared at the rain-soaked ground.

Slightly clear raindrops washed over the steel cross, making the marks on it clearer, and making the eyes of the two old men shine.

“…… From a long time ago, I believed that 'fog' has its own laws of existence. ”

In the dense rain and fog, George's voice became a little ethereal.

"I've noticed a long time ago that these things are not just natural imaginations, because natural phenomena are definitely not going to happen in the near future."

"Human society has been around for thousands of years. And the emergence of subspace technology has also been a hundred years, and we have stalled on the road to conquering the sky, not because of our limited capabilities, but because of our **. ”

"Why should we develop the sky compared to the soil of the Earth that has already been developed and the soil of other countries that are much better? In the same way, even if I know that 'fog' is not such a simple thing, but because there is more 'fog' in the East Asia Heavy Industry Control area, I will ignore it. Even a restraining order was issued. ”

"I used to think it was the right thing to do. But now it's just stupid. ”

Like a puff of smoke of nothingness, a hoarse voice burrowed into Paul's mind along with a hazy spirit.

"The 'fog' is accessible. Because I used to feel that there was something in the mist. I once handed this report to the upper echelons for me to continue researching. But you know the results. ”

"For the sake of the stability of the American front and the greater interests of the capitalists in the rear, 'fog' is merely a reserve resource. Like the oil shale back then, these reserves will not be used until the oil economy collapses completely. ”

"So they just determined the state of the 'fog', the usability, and the indestructibility of the environment. Since then, there has been no care about the storage of 'fog'. And it was because of this that I was involved in the political struggle, and finally was removed from the military rank and became a family man. ”

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have given up at that moment. ”

The bespectacled man looked at the black cross, his palms trembling slightly, and pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

The black raindrops gradually blurred the lenses and gradually flowed down the cheeks along the black frames. Dripping on the ground.

"Paul, my friend, do you believe in the existence of fate?"

"If I had followed my senses and studied the fog, little Alice would not have been able to do this. If I had developed my abilities and continued to fight, Alice wouldn't be based in New Zealand. ”

"It's fate, the note of fate has been played. I'm sure Alice she's not dead yet. 'Fog' is not a phenomenon that cannot be detected and entered. This is my fate, I want to examine the 'fog' and uncover the fate of the 'fog'. I could feel the pulse of fate. ”

Holding out his palm to the sky, the air around him suddenly stagnated for a moment, but then resumed its normal flow.

The corners of Paul's eyes jumped, and he looked in amazement at the harmless friend in front of him with black-rimmed glasses.

Just now, his instruments detected some kind of force that shouldn't have been.

“…… My friend, have you bypassed the Entente? ”

"Confidentiality agreements are always one-sided, my Paul. Alice's fate is unknown now, and as a father, I can't stand idly by. ”

Pushing the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, the raindrops wet the lenses, making it impossible to detect the gaze behind them. Only the voice still came calmly from the man's direction.

"I don't care what the current government thinks, I'm going to save Alice in my own way. I will use my qiē abilities and relationships to save my little cutie. Paul, would you like to join me in the study of 'fog'? ”

“…… Your ideas are contrary to the American government. ”

After a long silence, Paul took a cigarette from his trouser pocket and lit it, took a deep breath of smoke, and his face was heavy.

"Our main goal now should be to develop machinery that can resist the strengthening of East Asian heavy industries, so as to maintain our precarious front. Seriously, old man, if I'm here with you, I'm going to die. ”

"I am the commander of the Superman Force in the United States of America, and I have the movements of thousands of Augmenters in the United States of America. You know my every move should be monitored by a lot of people. So I won't make any great promises or oaths to you directly, because I don't command the ship's armament troops, and I can't control them. ”

"However, if I don't find little Alice, I won't be able to die."

Spit out the last cigarette butt that burned to the end, Paul stomped on the last spark with a blank face, and reached out to make a fist to George.

The two old men looked at each other and smiled.

"For Alice."

"For Alice."

At the same time, melodious and solemn music gradually sounded in the cemetery, gradually absorbing the bodies of the two into a hazy rain curtain.

Only the sound of sobbing made the color of the sky more sad, as if it was sad that something was coming. (To be continued......)