32 days

Yi Alan left the simple technology building in a daze. The hot and dry weather in August made his emotions sticky like melted asphalt.

The center of the business circle is full of traffic and crowds. The towering buildings are full of people, and all kinds of sounds are intertwined with urban rhapsody. Yi Alan still seems to be in that bleak 32nd day, with so much excitement, and him. nothing to do.

Yi Alan drove aimlessly through one bustling street after another.

Until the ringtone of the mobile phone woke him up, he looked at the caller ID, and it turned out to be Zhou Yan'an.

Yi Alan hurriedly switched on the voice speaker, and Zhou Yan'an's deep and gentle voice instantly filled the small space in the car. In the cold air made by the air conditioner, it was like comforting red beans on slush ice.

After coming back early this morning, Zhou Yanan thought that Yi Alan would send him a message, as usual, casually say something like "I'm back", it doesn't have to be meaningful, just to repay each other's safety. It's useless to hug a group to keep warm.

But Yi Alan didn't, maybe he was no longer afraid of the 32nd.In the second half of the night, Yi Alan's thin and slightly fragile figure often appeared in front of Zhou Yanan's eyes, especially when they met for the first time, Yi Alan turned around in surprise at the police station, and he saw a picture that looked good in the girl's eyes. The face showed panic, bewilderment, innocence and deep resilience, which made Zhou Yan'an feel that there was such a person to live with at the end of the world, and he would not be too lonely.

Zhou Yan'an thought for a long time before deciding to contact Yi Alan.He was about to leave Nanlin City in the normal world, at least he had to say hello to Yi Alan.

"Are you okay?" Zhou Yan'an asked softly after answering the phone.

However, Yi Alan was about to cry all of a sudden, and the string that could not be relaxed in front of Jian Cheng completely collapsed after being tense to the extreme: "It's not good."

Zhou Yanan's tone became serious: "What's wrong?"

"I might be dying soon." Yi Alan said bluntly.

Zhou Yan'an immediately said: "Shall we find a place to talk in detail face to face?"

Yi Alan took a casual look outside the car, saw an ice room, and made an appointment here.

Zhou Yan'an came very quickly, and the shaved ice that Yi Alan ordered hadn't melted much.

When Zhou Yan'an was still far away, he saw the depression on Yi Alan's body, so he asked as soon as he sat down, "What exactly happened?"

Yi Alan talked about his relationship with Simple Technology and Xu Junbin.

Zhou Yan'an was silent for a moment, and asked: "The friend you mentioned is Jian Cheng, will he be able to find Xu Junbin?"

"I do not know."

"I don't think it's very likely." Zhou Yan'an judged this way, "I know Simple Technology, which is very good, but it is only an industrial technology company after all, and Jian Cheng is the new boss, he faces far more internal resistance than you can imagine. Big, it is difficult for him to mobilize the resources of the whole company to do something that has nothing to do with the company's development. All he can do is spend his own money. Give him time, and he may be able to find Xu Junbin who is deliberately hiding, but you only have one month gone."

Yi Alan was stunned, Zhou Yanan seemed to be giving him the death penalty.

"So you can't rely on Jian Cheng." Zhou Yan'an said again, "You have to find another way to survive."

Yi Alan asked: "What else can I do?"

Zhou Yanan's eyes were burning like a torch: "Depend on yourself."

He had already stood up, and Yi Alan stood up, and when the two walked out, Zhou Yanan said: "Call your friend, since you are in danger because of him, there is no need to be polite to him. Ask him to prepare two air tickets to the South Railway, and ask the South Railway to send a car to the airport, and a drone with high-definition cameras, and prepare an absolutely private space similar to a gym, equipped with a force measuring machine. instrument."

Yi Alan obediently took out her mobile phone: "When is the ticket?"

Zhou Yanan looked at him: "The sooner the better."

When they got on the plane to the South Railway, it was only two hours since Zhou Yan'an called him.

Yi Alan hastily followed Zhou Yan'an's instructions to do a series of things, but she still hasn't figured out what they are going to do.

"Do you usually exercise?" Zhou Yanan fastened her seat belt, turned her head and looked up and down at Yi Alan, as if she was carefully examining his body shape.

Yi Alan replied: "I don't go to the gym systematically, but I often go mountain climbing. I go there almost every weekend when I'm working. It's a wild mountain with no development and few people."

"one person?"

"one person."

Zhou Yanan nodded: "Have you ever learned fighting?"

Yi Alan shook his head.

Zhou Yanan smiled: "I'll teach you."

Yi Alan was stunned, and then understood: "You let me defeat Xu Junbin on the 32nd?"

"If Jian Cheng fails to find Xu Junbin in time, there is no other way to be safer than this. Your life is in your own hands."

Yi Alan was in a daze: "I..."

"I know it's hard. If you can beat him, you won't be like this." Zhou Yan'an looked at Yi Alan inexplicably reassuring Yi Alan, "But there is still a month to go. possible."

Two hours later, they landed at the South Railway Airport. Zhou Yanan carried the drone box Jian Cheng gave them. The personnel and vehicles arranged by Jian Cheng arrived at the airport early and picked them up with a sign.

Zhou Yanan sent the driver back and sat in the driver's seat, and Yi Alan sat in the passenger seat.

Zhou Yanan asked: "Do you still remember where you and Xu Junbin ended up?"

Yi Alan recalled: "I don't know the exact address, but I remember going south from a small food wholesale market."

"Then go to the wholesale market you mentioned." Zhou Yanan started the navigation.

The small food wholesale market is not difficult to find. Zhou Yanan drove the car to the main gate of the market and turned to look at Yi Alan: "What's next?"

Yi Alan didn't answer, but looked out of the car window at a unique and proud building in the northeast of the wholesale market. The straight-line distance was about 3000 meters, and the signboard couldn't be seen clearly, but Yi Alan had seen it on the satellite map just now, and it was The highest-star viewing hotel in Nantie City, about 400 meters high.

On the night of July 32, the searchlight was shot from that direction, driving Yi Alan into the darkest abyss with light.

Zhou Yanan also looked there: "On the 32nd, many people realized their dreams and forgot about reality."

I don’t know if those people who had fun on the 32nd, returning to reality and returning to the repeated life of nine to five, would just be satisfied with the 32nd as a gift from God, rather than greedy for more many.

Yi Alan stopped looking at the luxury hotel that symbolizes wealth, and pointed to a road on the ground: "Next, go there."

Zhou Yanan was driving, imagining Yi Alan's mood being forced to leave the city by a powerful searchlight.

According to Yi Alan's command, they entered a county road leading to the town. Along the street were some low-rise auto repair and auto parts shops. Soon, even these shops disappeared, only occasionally some residential buildings or small logistics centers.

"That's it!" Yi Alan saw the mine that impressed him deeply. The hill with no extraction value stood withered by the side of the road, and there were many loess pits with exposed rocks on the mountainside. One or two roads were built because of it, and now they are all deserted.

Zhou Yanan parked the car on the side of the road and scanned the surrounding environment.Then he opened the box and released the drone.

This is a small white drone that is only the size of a palm. Although it is small, it has a strong battery life.Jian Cheng found it from Jian Xuming's office and handed it to Yi Alan. It was a gift from a famous drone manufacturer to Jian Xuming. It was not available in the market, and the optical lens it used had reached the military grade.

Zhou Yan'an controlled the drone to inspect the surrounding environment and familiarized himself with the terrain from a high altitude.In case Yi Alan can't defeat Xu Junbin overwhelmingly, but as long as he can temporarily escape from Xu Junbin's hands, there may be good terrain for Yi Alan's final retreat in the 32nd day.

After doing all this, Zhou Yanan carefully preserved the video taken by the drone, and asked Yi Alan: "What was the state of the two of you at that time? Be sure to give me the clearest details."

Yi Alan will never forget that scene.

"You can demonstrate it to me again." Zhou Yan'an was not satisfied with Yi Alan's verbal description.

Yi Alan looked at the various vehicles that often passed by on the road, and then at Zhou Yan'an, who was seriously trying to find a way for him, and said nothing, lying down on the side of the road, with his hands on the ground, his upper body raised up, that kind of sandstone The tingling sensation from rubbing the palm reappeared, this time with the burning sensation under the scorching sun.

"I fell and barely had the strength to fight back."

"Where is he?" Zhou Yan'an picked up a branch from the side of the road, used it as Xu Junbin's knife, and gestured in front of Yi Alan, "Where is he? Is he standing behind your feet and facing you, or are you How far was the knife from you to the left, to the right?"

When Zhou Yan'an asked this question, she did the same thing step by step, as if she wanted to make Yi Alan feel a real sense of oppression.

"He jumped at me at that time..." Yi Alan closed his eyes, recalling the lemonade-like smell that Zhou Yanan was so close to, "the right foot crossed my thigh, as long as he wanted to , the knee can touch my stomach, the knife is very close to me..."

Yi Alan was speechless, Zhou Yanan imitated Xu Junbin at that time, with one foot on the right side of Yi Alan's thigh and one foot on the left side, with his knees bent, leaning forward, with one weak knee Half-kneeling, looking down at him condescendingly.This is actually a very classic and very useful fighting method. The person at the top can use the lower body to suppress the waist and abdomen strength of the person below at any time. If you have practiced and know some skills, you can even make the person below immobile. He punched and slashed.

But the pose was too embarrassing.

"How close is the knife?" Zhou Yanan asked.

Yi Alan couldn't open his eyes, the sun was dazzling and venomous, and his skin was slightly reddened by the heat.

"Probably..." Yi Alan stretched out his right hand into the air, and stopped at a certain position by feeling.He fancied that he could stop the sharp knife hanging on the 32nd with such a block.

Zhou Yan'an held Yi Alan's hand and confirmed, "Here?"

Yi Alan trembled: "Probably, I don't remember clearly."

"It's hard for you. It's not easy to remember clearly in that situation." Zhou Yan'an got up from him, still holding Yi Alan's hand, and pulled him up forcefully, "If your estimation is accurate, his The knife is no more than fifty centimeters from your neck, which is almost a blink of an eye."

Yi Alan lowered his head and wiped the small stones on his hands without saying a word. Zhou Yanan thought he was afraid, and continued to add: "But fortunately, it was at the time when the normal world switched from the 32nd, back to the 32nd. Xu Junbin, as the perpetrator, his emotions will not continue to be as violent as last time, and it may take a while to react. But you are different, you are facing life and death threats, and your emotions are highly tense. You can and must grasp this tiny Fight back with jet lag."

"Thank you." Yi Alan said sincerely without looking at him.

Zhou Yan'an smiled, blowing away the swamp mist like a breeze, and showed Yi Alan a way out amidst all the dangers.

Zhou Yan'an also wanted to come here again at two o'clock at night, so as to get closer to the real situation on the 32nd.They didn't rush back to Nanlin City, they found a place to have dinner in the nearest town, and then found a hotel to rest temporarily.Two people share a room.

Yi Alan was thinking about calling his mother, but when the call beeped, a burst of extremely rebellious emotions welled up in his heart, and he couldn't help thinking sadly that he might be going to die, and the death was unclear, but still Find a way to give Mom a valid reason for a sleepover.Even if his real reasons couldn't be more legitimate.

It's better to break the can and smash it, and confess everything.

But when Yue Ximing answered the phone, Yi Alan still uttered lies fluently: "Mom, I won't go back tonight. I was interviewing at Nantie during the day, and it happened that a batch of products in their factory were put into the production line for the first time. HR invited me to take a look at the factory. I was quite satisfied with this one, so I spent some time going to the factory, and it was too late after reading it, so I didn’t go home.”

"Why did you remember to go to Nantie for an interview?" Yue Ximing asked with a smile, but he had no doubts. Although Nantie is small, it has convenient transportation to and from Nanlin. It is also an industrial city. In recent years, it has become more and more high-tech. The development trend of the technology industry is a good choice for young people.

"I want to experience a different local culture."

"Okay, up to you. Be safe.

Yi Alan hung up the phone with a bad expression.Zhou Yan'an thought he lied because he didn't want his family to worry.

The only way to make Yi Alan feel better is to get him out of danger as soon as possible.

Zhou Yan'an asked Yi Alan to sit on the bed, then squatted down and held Yi Alan's right ankle involuntarily.

Yi Alan shrank her feet subconsciously, but Zhou Yanan restrained her in her palm and couldn't move.

"Is your foot twisted badly?" Zhou Yan'an asked.

Yi Alan knew that he was asking about the situation during the 32 days: "Anyway, it hurts, especially when I run. I usually don't twist my foot when I jump from the second floor. This time I was too anxious."

"Does it hurt like this?" Zhou Yan'an hugged her hard.

Yi Alan hissed, and understood why Zhou Yan'an asked him to sit. If he had to stand, he might kick Zhou Yan'an out of instinct.

"It hurts more than that."

"how about this?"

"It still hurts."

Zhou Yan'an didn't use any more force, no matter how hard she tried, Yi Alan's feet would still be injured in the normal world.

"Think about when you walk, it hurts more here, or here?" Zhou Yan'an pressed on Yi Alan's inner and outer malleolus, and the bottom of the tibia and fibula of Yi Alan's calf respectively. According to Yi Alan's vague feedback, Zhou Yanan thought that Yi Alan's foot A fracture is unlikely, and even if it is a fracture, it should only be a mild medial malleolus fracture, although the pain is not light.

But even at the scene, without X-rays, Zhou Yan'an couldn't accurately judge the degree of sprains and fractures, let alone this kind of interrogation.Everything is planned with the worst-case scenario in mind.

Zhou Yan'an squatted in front of Yi Alan and thought for a moment, then said helplessly: "No matter how painful it is, you must endure it."

Yi Alan nodded.It's a bit distressing to be obedient.Although what he thought in his heart might be that he couldn't bear it and died.

Zhou Yan'an sighed inwardly, sat down beside Yi Alan, and lay back again, with her hands behind her head as a pillow.The soft big bed bounced a few times, reminding Yi Alan of the feeling of playing on the trampoline under the watchful eyes of her parents in her distant memory.

"Replay it?"

Yi Alan: "Huh?"

"Your operation this time." Zhou Yan'an said succinctly, "There are many obvious mistakes. You only think about dealing with dead objects, and you don't think about facing the enemy. For example, you entered the simple technology building rashly for the first time without defense, and found that it was strange and suspicious. The vehicle is not damaged, and there are no emergency supplies on your car, such as the most basic nails. When a vehicle is chasing you, a nail with a flat tire can make the other party incapacitated. But this cannot be blamed on you, you are just a ordinary people.

Before Yi Alan could answer, Zhou Yan'an said again: "But that's all in the past. Entering the 32nd means that you are no longer ordinary. In the future, you may actively or passively be involved in some disputes that you have never thought of. You have to be ready."

Yi Alan was silent for a while, then asked softly, "Are you planning to kill someone?"

Zhou Yan'an was also silent, and after a while said, "I have to do this as a last resort."

"Actually, I had a chance to kill Xu Junbin." Yi Alan said, "In the factory, I knew at that time that he must be the murderer of Jian Xuming. He is not a good person. I could have programmed the robot to be violent. After going downstairs, let the robot smash the metal blocks at him. Even if the head is not accurate, if there are so many metal blocks falling down, as long as one or two hits the head, the person will be seriously injured if he does not die. In that world, serious injury is not far from death. It's far away. But I didn't think about it at all at the time, I just thought about disturbing his attention, and that's how the latter happened. When I think about it now, I don't know if I regret it."

"Also..." Yi Alan lowered her head, "I think I am very selfish. After I came back, I knew that the best solution was to kill Xu Junbin in reality, but I couldn't do it. I thought about it a lot. I killed him passionately during the fight, maybe I won’t feel guilty for too long. But now it’s different, it’s all about finding him in broad daylight, collecting information, making a murder plan, and thinking over and over again that I won’t be discovered The killing methods and cover-up techniques, this kind of calmness and strong purpose, make me feel, I seem to be, like a murderous maniac...

"But I want to live. I don't want to face it myself, but I acquiesce to Jian Cheng to help me. Use some means that are not allowed, violate the law, and trample on the rules to help me.

"Even if I get away this time, what about the future? Does it mean that on the 32nd, whenever I meet someone who feels that my life will be threatened, even if I haven't taken any real action, I will act first? 32 No matter how ridiculous the day is, if you die inside, you will really die. So what is the difference between me and Xu Junbin?"

Zhou Yan'an knew that Yi Alan was not very expressive. Most of the time, he would calm down and restrain his emotions, and only said what was necessary.But in some special occasions, he talked a lot. For example, when he went to the hospital to find his mother for the first time on the 32nd, he tried to cover up his fear with ramblings, and it was the same this time.

This means that Yi Alan is suffering from pain in his heart at this moment, and his values ​​and principles of life have been whipped repeatedly in the face of life and death.Morality and law are torn apart between the two worlds.

Yi Alan is as kind as Zhou Yanan made his judgment very early on.However, his kindness is destined to be let down by the 32nd.