American comics start with Zha Kang’s apprentice

Andre walked into a restaurant he frequented in Newcastle. The restaurant had just opened. The world outside the glass door was rainy and gloomy. There was a row of wet shoe prints on the ground and the unique smell of oil on the road.

Old Thomas raised his head. He was holding a pipe, wearing a dirty apron, and a crew hat that had been washed countless times.

Before opening this store, Thomas Sr. was a sailor. He had worked on the largest oil tanker. He once said that he had been a captain for several years and had seen scenes at sea that he had never seen on land.

Andre also remembered that Thomas Sr. said that although he was trapped on a ship at sea, he was very free there. It felt very strange, as if the rules set by humans on the ground were completely invalid. They no longer had invisible shackles and they could do whatever they wanted.

"This is your first time coming so early, kid." Thomas bent down and poked his head out from behind the counter. His wrinkled old face was so dry that it seemed like there was no moisture at all, but it shone like a stone. A pair of cloudy yet sharp eyes glanced at Andre, "I'm going to get you a bowl of soup. You look terrible."

Andre didn't say a word, his jacket was wet, and his face still bore horrific scars. The blood was solidified on his face, and every breath made him sting.

Andre sat down at a table near the window. He folded his hands on the table that had just been wiped. It was as damp as the street outside.

Old Thomas's shop was always the first to open on this street. He would make the first pot of coffee and would only drink it for the guys he liked. He didn't even hire anyone, and the business of this shop wasn't that great. good.

When Andre was young, he thought it was because Old Thomas was stingy. Later, when he grew up, he thought it was because the old man was too different. But now, Andre felt that Old Thomas was deliberately not recruiting people, and he didn't I hope the business of this store will improve.

Old Thomas seemed to be enjoying what he considered to be some kind of loneliness, which was not isolated from the world. After all, he was sometimes very talkative and could talk for hours. And those stories about the sea made Andre feel like it when he grew up. It's all bullshit.

But now?

Andre shivered. He felt that there seemed to be a hole in his chest, but there was still a heart beating.

In that nightmarish and bizarre experience, Andre was stuffed into a corpse. At least he thought so, it happened in some kind of conscious world, and the corpse didn't seem to be a real body.

Really?

What's going on with that guy named Chen Yu? No...what the hell happened to me?

Andre unconsciously covered his head.

It was raining heavily, and the water washed over the streets like the sound of ocean waves.

The voice of freedom.

Andre thought of what old Thomas had said. In fact, he was always lost in thought with his pipe in his mouth, and the way he tilted his head really seemed to be listening to the sound of the waves.

But Andre didn't understand why a man who yearned for the sea so much chose to leave the ship and land ashore in his thirties.

Thomas Sr. had no serious injuries. He had experienced the war and he was lucky enough to survive the war. Old Thomas was really lucky. He seemed to have no chance of death. He once said that almost all of his companions died in battle or disappeared in shipwrecks at sea.

Only old Thomas was not injured, and he was not a coward. He once subdued two robbers who wanted to rob this poor shop with a gun. The robbers even fired two shots, but he was not injured.

What kind of miracle is this?

Andre also wanted this kind of miracle. He even prayed that he could have such an ordinary life like old Thomas.

The excitement of the gang and the dream of success have awakened, but the curse that follows him doesn't seem to want to let him go.

"Drink it." Old Thomas's voice brought Andre back to reality from his chaotic thoughts. The sound of the rolling waves disappeared, replaced by the sound of raindrops hitting the window.

With his fragile nerves, Andre shook his head as if he heard the sound of countless bullets.

Then, Andre stared blankly at the bowl of hot soup in front of him. The aroma of beef penetrated his nose. Andre's stomach growled involuntarily in protest, and his mouth began to secrete saliva.

Hunger is always the most basic instinct of every living thing, and it can even temporarily defeat fear.

Andre picked up the somewhat hot bowl and took a sip of the soup. Under the rising heat, he saw old Thomas sitting on the opposite side of the table. He was leaning on the back of the worn sofa chair, still holding a pipe in his mouth. And his eyes were fixed on Andre.

Thomas Sr. knew who Andre was and what he did. But he never admonished Andre, and he had little contact with Andre's father.

But Thomas Sr. liked the boy Andre. When Andre's father went to work, Andre always ate in Sr. Thomas's shop. He was even the only clerk hired by Sr. Thomas, but of course Just help. Sometimes it's for a story, sometimes it's for a cup of coffee, sometimes it's for a bowl of beef soup or some pocket money.

But Thomas Sr. didn't stop Andre from joining the gang. He didn't shake his head, sigh, or look disappointed at all.

Andre felt that he was always looking forward to Old Thomas's reaction, but the old man was as calm as ever.

"I said that the sea always makes people feel infinite freedom, where there are no shackles." Old Thomas suddenly said, his voice was calm and peaceful, but extremely cold and emotionless, just like the cold voice under the rain curtain. Feng, "Of course we have rules, but they are for survival, nothing more. Apart from that, we are no different, because there is only the sea."

Andre raised his head, he knew these words, he had heard them many times.

And he didn't come here to hear these words.

"The sea is extremely dangerous, but that danger also comes from oneself." Old Thomas continued, "Because freedom also means the collapse of human morality and faith, and once we abandon the constraints that make us human, We’re going to be beasts.”

"Can you give me a cigarette, Thomas?" Andre put down the bowl, and he also looked directly into the eyes of old Thomas.

Old Thomas lowered his head, as if he was really taking something out of the pocket under his apron.

At this time, several black cars stopped on the street under the rain curtain.

Andre suddenly grinned.

Old Thomas on the opposite side grasped a revolver for the first time and pointed the gun at Andre.

Now, Andre finally knows why Thomas Sr. didn't stop him from joining the gang.

More people got out of the car, and they slowly approached Old Thomas' shop.

"You are indeed a captain, Thomas." Andre relaxed, "Now I believe it."