Chapter 254: The Feast

Night comes on time as usual.

In the dark and dull darkness, thick fog slowly dispersed like a ghost close to the ground. The sudden drop in temperature dispelled the remaining heat during the day. From time to time, rolling thunder came from the dull clouds. Occasionally, a few lightning flashed across the surface of the sky, causing the rotten wolf and hyenas wandering back and forth in the wilderness, looking for food to panic. They raised their heads and opened their hideous bloody mouths towards the sky, bursting out harsh and unpleasant howls like a demonstration, but were completely blown away by the strong wind that rushed, tearing the terrifying roar into an indistinguishable strange sound.

The second floor banquet hall of the Bloodstone City official residence is brightly lit. The closed windows are isolated from the strong wind and thunder that are irresistible in the wild. Even those pale and infatuated lightning are suppressed by the lights in the hall. Here, there is no cold feeling at all. The tempting aroma of food permeates the air, making the entire hall filled with a pleasant and cheerful atmosphere.

The amount of food stored in the public warehouses in the city was not large, and it was only enough to maintain the consumption of more than 100,000 slaves for half a month. However, the warehouses that belonged to citizens and the army were very full and had a wide variety. Naturally, the various barbecue, fresh bread and drinks that were originally qualified to enjoy were all delicious in the banquet hall on round wooden tables and were taken at will by the new occupiers.

The slaves had already changed into the gray-green combat suits of the Yinyue City Guards, and they had been cleaned for a whole day, so that the dust and dirt attached to the surface of the body had basically been removed, revealing the copper-black and slightly yellow skin color. The shaved scalp showed a faint blue-gray. Although there was a little short moustache that was not completely shaved on both cheeks, it no longer showed terrifying barbarism like before, but had somewhat restored a little bit of the special nature that humans should have.

Lin Xiang and a group of senior staff sat next to the main table in the hall. He stood up, raised his goblet that was red in the wine, straightened his chest, and faced everyone in the hall, and said loudly with enthusiasm: "Congratulations on your finally regaining freedom. You are no longer slaves, and you will not be subject to any restrictions in this city, anywhere-"

No one answered. The atmosphere in the whole hall seemed strange and cold. Except for the officials and guards sitting on the main table, all the slaves who had just gained freedom, without exception, looked silently at Lin Xiang with cold and wooden gazes.

The banquet suddenly became silent. Lin Xiang was not unacceptable to the scene where all eyes were focused in full view. However, he had never felt such a strange atmosphere as now. The slaves seemed to be full of hatred and fear for themselves. Their pupils were a little confused, as if they were looking for something, and they seemed to be re-recalling memories of some forgotten things. The lines made of edges and sharp lines, and the faces were covered with a thin layer of mist, making him unable to see through their inner world. He could only feel the sharpness and pain that pierced like a knife.

“We are not enemies—”

Although she didn't understand why this happened, Lin Xiang put down the wine glass in his hand, opened his hands, and said in an extremely sincere tone: "We are friends, and we are the same tribe with the same bloodline-"

Still no one spoke. In the hall that was so quiet that it was terrifying, only heavy breathing released from countless mouths and noses could be heard.

A strong man with a strong expression and age of about thirty stood up from his seat. He was wearing a summer combat suit issued by the Yinyue City Guard. His muscular arms stretched out from both sides of his sleeveless shoulders, and the surface was covered with crisscrossing scars. There were several old wounds that looked like shell explosions and bullets were rubbed by the bruises. The uneven skin was grayish white. Other marks were bruised and swollen, and there were red silk seeping in the depressions. Judging from the marks and shapes of the wounds, they were obviously strangled by shackles, and new wounds left by whipping sticks.

"…What's your name? I mean…your name?"

The man's tone of speech was calm and low, but it contained anger and coldness that were obviously suppressed.

This question was too rude and almost instantly angered all the officials and guards sitting next to the main table.

Lin Xiang's two thick eyebrows frowned imperceptibly. He walked a few steps in the direction where the man was, stood in the center of the hall, staring at the eyes that were staring at him, and said lightly: "My name is Lin Xiang, and I am the new owner of this city-"

As soon as he said that, all the slaves in the hall suddenly became anxious and angry. This ordinary and unconventional name seemed to have a special magic on them, which could completely drive away the kind and calm nature of human beings and turn them into violent monsters who are impulsive, cruel, and lose all their beautiful qualities.

The man looked at Lin Xiang coldly, and the eyes released in his eyes were filled with unforgettable hatred. The muscles in his body twitched suddenly, and the blood vessels coiled around his shoulders and neck instantly expanded, bulging into mesh lines like tree roots, and his fists were clenched so hard that there was no gap at all.

Not only him, but the eyes projected from all the slaves, were filled with naked resentment and hostility.

"The strength of the Republican Army is indeed amazing. In less than two years, the control antennae has already passed through the heavy radiation zone and the desert, extending to this place... Maybe you didn't come for us, and the purpose is just to want this city. But the reality is so cruel. You captured the Bloodstone City and we became prisoners of the Republican Army. The political commissar and the internal surveillance officer would not believe in the so-called court evidence. For the sake of all we are soldiers... I sincerely beg you-don't hand us over to the political commissar. Give us a bullet, or execute us in a more relaxed way... Please-"

Lin Xiang stood quietly, staring at the man with a sad expression and a face full of determination and indifference. His cold eyes released extremely rigidity, without ease of despair at all.

"Your name?"

Lin Xiang asked simply and clearly by suppressing all kinds of disorderly thoughts in the brain's thinking space.

The man hesitated for a moment and said, "Li Jiajun, the 11th Infantry Division of the Red Republic Army, the captain of the 29th Combat Brigade, with military rank, major."

Nodding gently, Lin Xiang turned his gaze to the other slaves sitting next to several nearby tables: "What about you? Can you tell me about your actual identity?"

The hall was silent, and everyone's eyes were gathered on Lin Xiang. In addition to hatred and anger, the content also added a bit of incomprehensible strangeness and confusion. After nearly five minutes, a man who was over 1.90 meters tall and extremely thin in shape slowly stood up from the table and said in a cold tone without any emotion: "Hao Jianhua, the 8th Mechanical Division of the Red Republic Army, the 72nd Fighting Squadron, the 4th Squadron. The rank is second lie."

Next to him, a short and strong man with actual height of only about 1.7 meters and a few shocking scars on his right cheek and forehead stood up and said, "Chang Kun, the 88th Combat Squadron of the 11th Infantry Division, Corporal."

"Zhang Mugen, the 21st Armored Regiment Cannonball Loader, Private."

"Li Zhenshan, commander of the 7th thirty-sixth armored combat team, rank, warrant officer."

"Andy Lau, who is affiliated with the 47th Combat Squadron of the Sixth Infantry Division, with military rank, sergeant..."

With the first person as a guide, the others no longer remained silent as before. They stood up from their chairs and handed over their identities and names in their respective positions in a linear order.

Lin Xiang slowly approached a dining table, his eyes directly ignored the countless slaves standing around, his face full of hatred and anger fell on a thin man with thin body and apparently malnourished for a long time.

"...Your name is Andy Lau?"

Lin Xiang spoke casually, with a hint of curiosity.

The man looked at him coldly. The long-term hunger and intense work made his shoulders, neck and head look like a bone frame covered with thin skin. Due to the lack of fat and muscle filling, the bulge of cheekbones on both sides of the cheeks is much more serious than that of ordinary people. His lips are very thin. Through the cover of wrinkles and mouth, he can even see the contours of teeth covered underneath, like large corn kernels. His eye sockets are severely sunken, and the crescent muscles, which have shown obvious atrophy symptoms, can only barely maintain the opening and closing of the eyelids. At first glance, it looks like a human-shaped skeleton wearing clothes that can speak and think.

"My father said - in the old days, it was a very famous man. Whether male or female, many people liked him and admired him. Although I had never seen that guy with my own eyes, I liked the name very much. The nuclear war destroyed an entire era, and many people had the same name at that time, and now it is no exception. But no matter what, I am called Andy Lau-"

A very arrogant tone and a very arrogant answer.

Although the man in front of him did not match the familiar celebrity face in his memory, Lin Xiang had to admit that he was right - his name was not a patent for someone. He was very thin, not handsome, could not sing and act, and his voice was hoarse and needed to roar loudly to make others hear it clearly, but he was indeed Andy Lau.

The atmosphere in the hall was still dull, and the gazes released from the slave's eyes were staring coldly at Lin Xiang, without any intention of ease. They did not reach out to get any food from the table, as if they were piled up in front of them, with the strong aroma of bread and barbecue, which had been added with highly poisonous, rotten, disgusting, and smelly rotten rice and smelly meat.

Lin Xiang clenched his fists with a gloomy expression, turned around and strode towards Li Jiajun's position. Feeling his eyes pointing, four guards with parasitic strength came from the opposite direction at the same time, with this man as the core, surrounding the entire table into an irregular square.

Among all the slaves, he was the only one with the school-level military rank. Judging from his position and identity, he obviously knew much more than others.

Walking up to him, Lin Xiang took a deep breath, his face showed a charming smile as usual, but his voice was as cold as ice. He said, "I don't understand what you meant before? Yes, I did hear the name of the Red Republican Army. But I didn't have no contact with them, nor had any contact. Tell me - what is the political commissar and the Inspector of the Household Affairs? Why do you hate me so much? I have never seen you, and I don't even know your name. Why do you rather be hungry than eat? Why do you want me to kill everyone here? Why? I need the answer - now-"

"It seems that you should be a new replica. It's strange that they didn't instill in you those dirty and evil concepts of thinking—"

Li Jiajun did not give the expected answer. He sarcastically said, "There is no difference between the new and the old. Your appearance and appearance will never change. Of course, maybe you gave us special preferential treatment out of kindness, or because of human instinct. But how long can this situation last? Twenty-four hours? One week? Or one month? Hahaha! Don't waste your energy, even you can't fight against the political commissar and the internal surveillance officer. They will pry your brain open and take away all the purest and kindest things in human nature. Then, stuff it in a bunch of despicable, treacherous, cruel, cold-blooded, bloodthirsty... Of course, there will be the kind of glossy surface, but in fact, empty and so-called loyalty to the country and the political party-"

After saying these words in one breath, Li Jiajun's facial skin, filled with excitement and anger, was quickly covered with a thick red color like blood. He tried hard to evenly breathe, and gradually calmed his chest, which had been undulating violently.

From his eyes, Lin Xiang could clearly see a faint trace of melancholy and sadness, and other unknown things that were completely covered by various complex emotions and could not explore the secrets.

After a moment of silence, Li Jiajun suddenly said something shocking, shocking all officials and guards.

"Thank you for your supper and for your actions to restore our slaves to free people. But that's not what we need. If you really want to do something for us, let's go back to the mine and continue our previous life. Also... it's better to erase the names of everyone here from the relevant archives. This is our only request and wish-"

...

The lights in the banquet hall are still brilliant and bright, and the strong fragrance of food floating in the air still exudes a strong temptation. However, except for Lin Xiang and Wang Mansion sitting on the main table, there are no extra figures in this huge and empty room.

The slaves have left. No one has ever used the food on the table. Even if it is just a small piece of bread, a little bit of barbecue, or a small sip of drink. They still maintain their original appearance, as if they only have the same appearance as the real thing, and can be viewed and appreciated, but cannot really eat the ornaments in their mouths.

"They seem to be scared...but this is strange-"

Wang Daxia looked at Lin Xiang, who was sitting next to him, frowning, turned his eyes to the mixed food on the table, piled up with mountains of food, and said, "It can be seen that these people are very hungry. I have checked the relevant material supply data - because Sosbia mobilized a large number of convoys to trade with the northern forces, the amount of food transported from Galgasone Castle and the cities in the northeast has also been greatly reduced. Since the day before yesterday, the standard for rations for slaves has dropped to 400 grams per person per day. It is really unreasonable to face such a sumptuous banquet without taking any use."

Lin Xiang leaned leaning against a wide high-back leather chair, staring at the rattan basket on the table in front of him with a piece of wheat bread that was roasted and covered with light red beet juice and thin butter on the surface, and did not speak for a long time.

Suddenly, he sighed quietly, shook his head inexplicably, reached out and pulled open the chest bag of his shirt, took out half of the unsmoked "marlboro" cigarette, took out a piece from it and held it between his lips. He took out a lighter with his right hand and lit the cigarette, and handed the whole pack to Wang Dasha with his left hand.

"In their eyes... am I... really that scary?" Lin Xiang asked to himself.

Wang Daxia stretched out his finger and groped in the cigarette box in the air, without raising his head, saying, "I feel... they are not afraid of you, but another person who has the same appearance as you."

"You mean... a replica?"

Lin Xiang asked thoughtfully. He kept the strange noun mentioned in Li Jiajun's words in his heart.

"The nuclear war did not completely destroy the world. Human survival ability is much more tenacious than imagined. Even people like me can survive from the old era to the present because of accidents. Those who hold the secrets and power of the old era will definitely not be willing to die. They are likely to have a large amount of resources left over from China in the old era. Not to mention anything else, just listening to the identity and army organization of those slaves, it is easy to estimate how powerful and huge the army it is. As for the replication technology, it is not actually a profound and mysterious technology. The army needs heroes as the object of worship. I have read countless propaganda materials about your personal record a century ago. Using cells to create several replicas who look like they look but have no common minds. This method is simple and effective, and it is cheap."

Lin Xiang's heart suddenly tightened.
Chapter completed!