The street outside the hospital has not been cleaned for almost a year, and the autumn wind is whirling, and a handful of garbage is flying along the road. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Zhang Jiqian doesn't like the wind, which adds a bit of doomsday feelings to the already bleak Bincheng. Originally, in this season, the greenery of the plane trees on both sides of the streets of Bincheng City should not have faded. Later, when disaster struck, the street trees were left without anyone to take care of them, and they withered very quickly, leaving only the shriveled and waterless wrinkled leaves still hanging on the trees, torn by the wind little by little.

In addition to rolling up dust, the autumn wind also brings a foul smell. The stench came from the public toilets not far away, and when the water supply was cut off in the city, the government set up a lot of aqua toilets in some settlements. When the wind comes, the stench can be smelled from hundreds of meters away.

Pulling the collar a little higher and covering his mouth and nose, Zhang Jiqian quickly walked through the road closer to the dry toilet. Both sides of the road are covered with army-green tents, which were distributed by the government after the refugees entered the city, and because there are too many victims at one time, the tents are far from enough, so the various public buildings on both sides of the street are also full of people. Long-term hunger makes most people not have the habit of moving, and when they have nothing to do, they lie down in the place where they live, on the one hand, they are hungry and have no strength to move, and on the other hand, they are afraid that they will be hungry faster after moving.

Two more streets away, you'll be in the market. The bazaar is one of the few lively scenes in the post-apocalyptic coastal city, where locals and migrants trade together. Every Sunday, a large number of people gather here to buy and sell things, in fact, in troubled times, many people have already lived a mess, and weekends are no different from weekdays. The opening of the market on Sundays was originally a leftover habit, and now it has become a way for people to keep track of their days. It doesn't need to know what day of the month it is, as soon as the market opens, people will know that they have one more week to live.

The market is in a large square where aunts used to dance, and the huge square is filled with stalls of all kinds. If you just walk in the eastern half of the market, you will feel like you have returned to the past. Rice and flour, grain and oil, all kinds of groceries are readily available, at this time it is only more than half a year before the start of the disaster, many packaged foods produced in the old era have not passed the shelf life, but the price is very expensive. There are not many fresh things, the wild vegetables in the mountains are almost dug up, there are very few fresh vegetables sold in the market, the only thing is grown by local residents using "balcony farming", the price is simply sky-high, even so, there are very few that can flow to the market, most of the vegetables are collected by a few small leaders in the market and the surrounding area.

Most of the people who can set up stalls in the eastern half of the market are people with some capital, some connections or some brains. They traded food, medicine and water for valuable things in the hands of the refugees, and then used these valuable goods to find a way to get more food. In the eyes of people above a certain class, the current grain shortage has not reached a particularly serious point, and Bincheng City has built a state-level grain reserve, and this grain depot and the bulk grain of the surrounding districts and counties were transferred to the city in the early stage of the disaster. Even according to the regulations of the Republic many years ago, grain production areas are required to have at least three months of reserves, while sales areas must have six months' reserves, and this does not include the grain stored in the homes of residents and the grain circulating in the market. Therefore, in the eyes of people with resources, food is not the most valuable thing, but it is more valuable to have cigarettes, alcohol, special drugs and other things that are difficult to produce in Bincheng and have limited stocks.

In the eastern half of the market, there is also the so-called inner market, which is isolated by a white protective net, and legend has it that there will be high-end goods such as cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline and even bullets, but Zhang Jiqian has not been in, and only looked inside a few times when he was visiting the east market. Knowing that there was still electricity in the inner city, and the restlessness of the stereo could be heard when I was close, I found that there were a few more billiards cases this time, several cleanly dressed young people were playing billiards, and some scantily clad women were snuggled to the side.

Being able to wear clean clothes is a status symbol in this era. Zhang Jiqian's clothes have not been washed for a long time because of lack of water. The clothes on the little girls who accompany the billiards are hot enough, but in autumn, the clothes that can't cover a few pieces of meat make people look cold. The pretty girls stood tremblingly beside the boys, and from time to time they clapped in jubilation.

If you only look at a corner of the market, you will have the illusion that you are still living in the old days, this is an ordinary night market, when the lights come on, it will be even more lively, and it will be crowded with citizens who come to stroll around. However, this is an illusion after all, this ordinary night market scene in the old era has now become a gathering place for small people with power in the lonely city.

I came here to try my luck and find 8mm steel balls, which can be used in many places, such as instead of crossbow arrows. I had prepared a lot before the disaster, but in order to practice my head, I lost a lot on the windowsill and wanted to come to the market to replenish some. I walked around and didn't find it, I didn't come for more than a month, and after a closer look, although the market still seemed lively, the things sold were much less in terms of quantity and category, and the price was more expensive.

If you walk in the East Market, the feeling of the landscape of the end of the world is not obvious, then in the west area of the market, which is only a few tens of meters apart, you can see the faces of all beings in the last days. Due to the long-term lack of vegetables and fruits, many people suffer from scurvy and other diseases caused by vitamin deficiency. Bleeding gums, mouth sores, and temporary night blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency bother many people. This disease is not difficult to treat, and only fresh fruits and vegetables need to be supplemented to alleviate it, but not to mention fresh vegetables, even mustard and dried vegetables have entered the ranks of luxury.

For most of the Ben Thanh locals, they don't have anything to sell and some may have some food at home, but these are the basis for their survival. For the refugees who rushed into Ben Cheng with the troops, what they could exchange was even more limited, and it had been more than half a year since the siege began, and most of the valuable things on the refugees had been turned into bags of instant noodles and a few pieces of bread and into the pockets of profiteers.

Therefore, what the victims can sell is nothing more than food stamps and water stamps distributed by the government. Except for those who come to "collect tickets", almost no one comes here. Many people were holding their children, and in front of them was a torn cardboard, with crooked words such as "Boy, eight years old, healthy, hoping to find a good family".

"It's broken so fast, it's already to the point of selling sons and daughters." Zhang Jiqian sighed in his heart.

Several women saw someone approaching and straightened up from the ground.

"Is the handsome guy massaged? Everything is available and it is not expensive. ”

"Little brother, I just came out to do it, my body is clean, I have a place, I have a bed, it's okay for a long time, I will definitely accompany you."

Shaped like a withered refugee, the children's thin faces and a pair of expectant eyes made Zhang Jiqian very uncomfortable.

Rewind to two years ago.

"Doctor, I have been feeling a headache lately, I always have some strange dreams at night, my brain is dizzy, and sometimes I don't know if I am awake or in a dream."

"Do you have a history of sleepwalking, have you been mentally stimulated lately?"

"Never."

"What do you dream about?"

"There's everything, I can't tell." Zhang Jiqian actually knows it very well in his heart, but it is estimated that no one will believe it when he says it.

"Have you been particularly nervous, anxious, or irritable lately?"

"Not before dreaming."

"What do you do?"

"I write novels at the beginning."

"Oh?" The doctor smiled, "What kind of novel are you writing?" ”

"The post-apocalyptic, wasteland type."

"Hehe, give me the title of the book, I'll go back and take a look, you should be too involved in work, pay attention to rest, and your mind can't be focused on these things. Consider buying an eye mask, closing the curtains when you go to bed, and making the house as quiet as possible. ”

"Doctor, sometimes I don't just sleepwalk, sometimes I'm awake, and there are some messy things in front of me."

"For example?"

"For example, what kind of cultivation, superpowers are similar."

"Your symptoms are more common in children who are fourteen or fifteen years old, how old are you this year? Young man, the energy still has to be in reality. ”

I went to the hospital to check around, and the doctor's words were similar to what the doctors in the previous hospitals said. But Zhang Jiqian knew that this was not sleepwalking, because even when he was awake, strange pictures would appear in front of him and strange sounds would be heard. This "illusion" is becoming more and more real, and from the illusion, Zhang Jiqian knows that there is a danger that will descend on insects, and there are many strange methods for cultivating an ability called "Nian".

However, the person who taught him these things in his dream was always vague and couldn't see clearly, Zhang Jiqian wanted to ask him several times, but the other party didn't react, just repeated these words to himself. After talking to a few friends, everyone's reaction was to ask him to go to the hospital. Is it because the spirit is too depressed? But the illusion in front of me is too real.

As time passed, this hallucination became more and more intense, and Zhang Jiqian began to believe that everything was true, and he no longer tried to tell others. I spent all my savings, borrowed some money from the bank, and desperately set up reserves at home, and cultivated according to the methods taught by the "dream man".

After starting to cultivate for a long time, there was no effect, and the world did not change much, but Zhang Jiqian did not waver, because the hallucinations became clearer and clearer, and the emotions of the people in the dream became more and more urgent. It wasn't until he cultivated this feeling that something in his body was slightly flowing that Zhang Jiqian breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the tips of the person in the dream, you can't do it for too long every day to cultivate your sense of qi. In addition to buying materials and exercising the rest of the time, the dream man also taught a lot of skills, such as how not to make a sound when moving, and the pace will not be unnatural, and there are some grappling and fighting techniques.

In the time when there were no hallucinations, Zhang Jiqian practiced shooting with the crossbow arrows he got and downloaded materials on the Internet. Chinese herbal medicine identification, poultry breeding, vegetable planting knowledge, first aid skills, learn everything.

In a year or so, under the teaching of this "teacher", Zhang Jiqian learned a lot of things. Later, when disaster struck and the global situation deteriorated dramatically, this illusion ceased to appear. If it weren't for the sense of qi, he even wondered if it was a dream.

The high wall has created a pure land in Bincheng, although the end of the world is coming, but in addition to staying in the house to cultivate, Zhang Jiqian does not know what to do. Compared to the coziness in the hut, the situation outside is becoming more tense day by day.