The legend of Tiga

Chapter 2072 Another Life

The lights are on and the night is still long, the lights are dim and people are wandering;
The ten-mile-long street is full of prosperity, I only wish that my life will remain the same as the beginning!

Standing on the street and looking out, all you see is splendor.

There were crowds of people and cars on the road, and lights on both sides were like stars and galaxies, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the night sky.

The descriptions of the city that I read in textbooks when I was a child now appear before my eyes.

It is indeed very prosperous, indeed very lively, indeed very noisy, and indeed has changed a lot.

Ten years is just a tiny period of time in the context of great changes in the world, but for the human world, it is enough to bring about earth-shaking changes.

Kisarazu!
Chiba Makoto's original place.

From being unfamiliar at the beginning, to becoming accustomed to it, and finally to being familiar with it.

But now, this place has become strange again.

The streets that were only four or five meters wide and had patched up roads have now become six lanes more than thirty meters wide; the electric poles with street lights on both sides have now been replaced with six-meter-high special lamp poles; the weeds that originally grew only in the gaps have become neatly trimmed green belts and landscape trees; the originally low-rise family cottages have now become neat small buildings and skyscrapers; the originally sparsely populated people and vehicles have now become dense traffic.
What prosperity brings is noise, what it takes away is memories, and what is left behind is confusion.

“What a big change.”

Chiba Makoto murmured in a low voice, how long has it been since he came back?
It’s been several years.

It seems that I haven’t been back since the battle in 2010.

No, after the demon of the night destroyed his own house and his neighbors' houses, he left. Even though his house was rebuilt later and was newer, better and taller than the previous ones, he rarely came back.

Because it's just a new house, it's no longer home. The familiarity of every brick and tile is gone, and all that's left is a sense of strangeness.

later
Never came back.

Coming back after a few years, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Everything in my memory has changed, and there is no trace of the past.

The rising tall buildings, the wide and bright roads, the constant flow of people and vehicles, and the bustling and prosperous streets are all very different from the small town that once was.

Demolish a home and build a city;

There are thousands of buildings in the city, but there is no home.

At this moment, Chiba Makoto suddenly thought of Obike and completely understood Obike. Why did he try so hard to keep the mountain even though he knew it was impossible?

Because that mountain is the only thing that is gone, and once it is gone, it is completely lost.

Memories will gradually become blurred until you can no longer remember what the past was like or how things were before.

It’s just the city that is prosperous and bustling, what does it have to do with you?

Even though it is bustling and prosperous, what I miss is still the dim, narrow, dilapidated path that was full of children's joy. What I miss is still the village with low houses, mud all over the ground, but curling smoke from cooking.

But what’s the use of missing and lingering on?
It can only become the loneliness and solitude in the midnight dream.

Just as the wheel of history rolls on, the development of cities is unstoppable.

The past and the old will be swept into history together, crushed into dust and turned into soil.

Following the noisy music and walking through the noisy crowd, I came to the corner and saw Katsumi Ikuta drinking one glass of wine after another. He was not watching the cool dance on the stage, but staring blankly at the hazy night outside the window.

After Chiba Makoto sat down, Ikuta Katsumo turned around as if awakened, gave Chiba Makoto a tired smile, and said, "Thank you for coming. Would you like a drink?"

The word "no" was on the tip of his tongue, but seeing Katsuma Ikuta's expression, he said, "Okay."

As he spoke, he reached out, picked up a can of beer, gently pulled the pull ring, and took a sip. It was cold and bitter, not as delicious as people said.

"I really didn't expect you to come, I just didn't know who to call." Katsumi Ikuta drank by himself, leaning on the stool. His glasses were crooked but he didn't adjust them. He was looking out the window, but it seemed that he was not looking out the window.

Chiba Makoto received a message from Katsuma Ikuta, which simply said "Want to come for a drink?" and also included the address of this bar in Kisarazu. There was no other words, and it was obvious that he didn't have any hope.

After hearing what he said, I wanted to find someone to drink with, but when I picked up the phone, I didn't know who to contact.

He has lived in Kisarazu for many years, isn't there anyone with whom he can drink?
Then I heard Katsuma Ikuta say: "So many people have left, so many can't be found, they are all gone, they have disappeared, it seems that I am the only one left, haha!"

As he spoke, Katsuma Ikuta began to laugh, but this smile was filled with bitter sadness.

"Yeah, he's gone. He left." Chiba Makoto turned the can in his hand, lowered his head slightly, and looked at the table in front of him.

The inferior red paint has faded and peeled off.

When I returned to Kisarazu, I couldn’t see the old houses or the familiar faces.

Uncle Onoda, who took good care of himself, left Kisarazu as early as 2010. He even sold his house and never planned to come back.

Indeed, I haven't heard from him since he left. If I use TPC's information network, I can definitely find him. In today's world with developed networks, every move will leave a trace, so it's easy to find him.

But Chiba Makoto didn't do it. Since he had left, there was no need to disturb him.

Sometimes it's good to leave. If you stay in a sad place, you will always think of the pain in your heart. If you go to a new place, maybe you can have a new beginning.

It’s been almost seven years. I wonder how he is doing and whether he has gotten over it?

Probably so.

No matter how big the wound is, it will heal with time, but no matter how long the time is, it will leave a scar.

The daily busyness may make people not notice it, but when they see it, they will unnaturally recall the severe pain.

"I" Ikuta Katsumo burped and said, "I'm going back to my hometown. I've already sold the house and will take a bus tomorrow morning."

"Ah" Chiba Makoto was stunned when he heard this. He raised his head and looked at Ikuta Katsumo in surprise. He opened his mouth and then whispered, "You have to leave too. It's good to change the environment."

This is what Chiba Makoto really thinks. In the past few years, Katsuma Ikuta has indeed experienced and encountered too many things.

These are troubled times, and this is a troubled place.

"It's only today that I understand. I wanted to find a place to stay here, but this has never been a place to gain a foothold, it's just a busy place," Ikuta Katsumo muttered to himself, "You can stay here only because there are things you can do in this city. Once you are no longer needed, you will be eliminated without even a notice. It's really too cruel, too brutal."

Speaking of the latter part, Ikuta Katsuma laughed like crying, obviously thinking of the experience of the past ten years, struggling in the city, working hard in the job, but in the end, it was all in vain. He deeply understood the saying: When the times abandon you, they won't even say goodbye.

Just like Tomoko.

Somehow, Katsuma Ikuta suddenly remembered the girl he had pursued many years ago.

When did you come out of the shadow of "broken love"?

When did you stop paying attention to her?

It seems like it’s been a while?
"Tell me, why is it that after I pursued her for so long, she was not moved at all, while that man was able to bring her home after just a few dates?" Katsuma Ikuta suddenly said this, leaving Chiba Makoto a little at a loss for a moment, before he realized that he was probably talking about the person that Katsuma Ikuta considered himself to be his 'girlfriend'.

"Well, it should be fate. Sometimes it's fate, sometimes it's not."

Chiba Makoto thought about it and gave a more "official" answer.

"Really? It's fate, so that's what it is." Katsumi Ikuta didn't comment. He just raised his head, drank the rest of the wine in one breath, threw it away, and then picked up another can.

"Don't drink so much." Qianye Cheng advised: "Don't you have to catch the bus tomorrow?"

"It's okay, it's okay," Ikuta Katsumo waved his hand and said very proudly, "If you can't catch it, just take the next one. There are so many buses anyway, there will always be a bus that can take me home."

"."

Chiba Makoto paused and slowly retracted his outstretched hand, watching Katsumi Ikuta pick up a new can of wine and continue drinking happily.

Maybe I've been holding it in for a long time. Since I want to drink, I might as well drink to my heart's content.

Use alcohol to numb yourself, and when you wake up the next day, maybe everything can start over again.

"Actually, I don't really like her that much," Ikuta Katsumo said while looking out the window, as if he was talking to Chiba Makoto, or as if he was talking to himself: "It's just because she is the best person I can get to know."

The smile that had always been on his face since they met disappeared for the first time from Katsumi Ikuta's face. He even stopped drinking the wine in his hand, but just held it and watched people and cars coming and going outside.

Even if you say you don't like him that much, does it mean the same thing in your heart?
She is the best person I can meet. Is it because she is the best or do I think she is the best in my heart?
Chiba Makoto thinks it should be the latter, because everyone has a different definition of beauty, but everyone has the same definition of liking, which is 'what I like is the best'. When you think he/she is the best, he/she is your favorite.

The best is because you like it.

It would be best if you liked me too, but unfortunately, things are often not like that.

"In fact, I forgot about it a long time ago, and now I don't have the same feeling as before, but I'm unwilling to accept that I didn't catch up with her when I wanted her the most, and I missed her just like that. It must have been because of jealousy. Why is it so difficult for me to catch up with her, but it's so easy for that guy.

But then I realized that this is how it should be.

"I have never been outstanding since I was young. I am very ordinary and common. My academic performance is neither good nor bad, my work is neither good nor bad, and even my life is neither good nor bad. But how can I give her the best? It is impossible.

Katsuma Ikuta said this with self-mockery, and suddenly raised his hand and took a big gulp. He didn't care even though a lot of it flowed out from the corners of his mouth and soaked his clothes.

Chiba Makoto also took a sip without saying anything. What Katsumi Ikuta needed now was not understanding, but just listening.

Say what's been stuck in your heart to a familiar person whom you probably won't see again in the future. This way, you won't feel bad when you think about it after you sober up, nor will you try to avoid seeing him/her because of it.

What I am saying now is more like what I am saying to myself than to Chiba Makoto.

Comforting myself, soothing myself.

The jealousy of the past has turned into resentment today, and I regret why I didn't do this back then.
I would also fantasize that I did this and had a happy ending.

But is it really like that?
The answer is no longer to be found, let alone known.

All that is left is regret in my heart and fantasy in my mind.

"You say, can't this world be a better place?" Katsuma Ikuta asked, he was asking Chiba Makoto, but his eyes were not looking in Chiba Makoto's direction. He was still looking out the window, as if he was looking at the bright lights and nightlife of the city and thinking about the helplessness of the world.

The ambitions that were once fulfilled have now become difficult to achieve.

Especially for Katsuma Ikuta, he felt it the deepest.

Everything he has learned and everything he knows has been eliminated by this society.

The high integration of big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence has replaced too much manual work.

His pencil drawings were no longer needed, but what else could he do?

Katsuma Ikuta didn't know, but he tried anyway. In the end, he found out helplessly that it seemed that he no longer had the possibility to choose and could only be chosen.

Of course, it is not completely impossible to find, but those
Katsuma Ikuta was unwilling to do it.

Because that would be just living, and life shouldn't be like this.

Finally, he made the only choice, which was to go back to the place where he was born and grew up, to try to unload some of the burdens and make himself feel more relaxed.

"Why is life so bitter?"

After a long while, Ikuta Katsuma raised his head and sighed: "The more you suffer, the more you suffer; the more you suffer, the more you lose.

But I finally let it go, I was finally able to let it go."

I did let it go, but I also gave up.

The house I bought after working so hard for so many years was sold;

The place I finally found in the city to stay is gone.

All the years of hard work have been wasted, become nothing, and become a dream, leaving only fatigue and scars in the heart.

"This world is so beautiful," Ikuta Katsumo looked at the lights of thousands of houses outside the window, and the jumping colorful neon lights. His vision gradually blurred, and finally he fell headfirst on the table. The beer in his hand fell to the ground, spilling all over the floor and his body. The murmur in his mouth became weaker and weaker:

"Don't come here in the next life."

It's dawn and I'm sober.

The city began to bustle from silence, and Katsuma Ikuta, reeking of alcohol, set out on his journey home.

Before getting on the car, the unshaven man turned around, waved to Qianye Makoto in a cool manner, showed a bright smile, then got on the car without looking back, embarked on his journey with expectations for the future, and left Qianye Makoto the set of drawing tools that he used to treasure.

(End of this chapter)