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Short Series
墨書 Inktalez
At the beginning of 2020, a global infectious disease outbreak occurred. Due to deliberate concealment by Country C, the origin of the outbreak, epidemic prevention work was delayed for too long, and the situation quickly got out of control.
In 2021, the global number of infections has exceeded 100 million, and the death toll has surpassed three million. However, after the development of vaccines, the epidemic was temporarily alleviated.
In 2022, the virus mutated rapidly, causing the economy to plummet again after the successful development of the vaccine, due to its subsequent failure. The global economy suffered a severe blow, leading to artificial famines in some underdeveloped countries.
In 2023, scientists discovered that the mutated virus would damage male reproductive function. By this time, the number of infections had exceeded 300 million, with the majority occurring in developed countries.
In 2025, due to the prolonged economic recession, Country C experienced a civil war, leading to heightened tensions in East Asia.
In 2026, the warlords of Country C continued to use nuclear weapons, drawing condemnation from countries around the world. At this time, the global infection count continued to climb rapidly, surpassing one billion, and the death toll exceeded ten million. However, the progress of vaccine development was slowing down due to the stagnant economy. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of declining birth rates due to economic issues was further exacerbated by the virus.
In 2028, the civil war in Country C spread to Central and South Asian countries. At this time, due to the impact of the epidemic, the Western countries and Europe, which were already powerless to intervene, could only allow frequent internal wars in Asia. The total human population on Earth dropped to below six billion, and the declining trend is accelerating.
In 2030, a large number of refugees from the frequent internal wars in Asia fled to Europe, causing serious security problems. The governing power of various countries in Europe has greatly declined, and some small countries with already low populations even experienced internal unrest composed of refugees.
In 2032, unable to stop the turmoil, the medical systems of various Europe countries completely collapsed, leading to a large number of Europe refugees fleeing to North America. At this time, North America, which was already troubled by South America refugees, experienced another epidemic outbreak, leading to internal unrest three years later. Various state governments declared martial law and restricted the entry of foreign populations.
By 2033, the global infection count had exceeded 2.5 billion, with a remaining population of less than 5 billion. Order in Europe and America collapsed, while Asia was plagued by ongoing civil wars. The flame of human civilization teetered on the brink of collapse in the darkness brought by the epidemic.
The time is 2070, fifty years after the outbreak of the epidemic -
An eagle is soaring in the sky, a motorcycle is racing under the blue sky.
Wearing windproof goggles and a black safety helmet, the rider looks like a cowboy with a scarf around the neck, gripping the handlebars of the motorcycle tightly. In front of them is a dilapidated road filled with potholes and abandoned vehicles, barely recognizable as an asphalt road, extending infinitely into the distance.
The motorcycle is moving fast, but because it's electric, the engine noise is not loud. The skilled rider adeptly avoids obstacles and traps on the road, humming an unknown tune lightly under their breath.
The scenery on both sides of the straight road remains unchanged, with one side being the blue ocean and the other side being the lush mountains. For someone arriving for the first time, they would likely be captivated by the magnificent scenery and stop to admire it. However, the knight has been here many times and is no longer surprised by it. He maintains a high speed, swiftly passing through one stretch of mountains and rolling waves after another.
"It's a long road..."
The vague words dissipated in the wind, and faintly, an old English song could be heard. After riding for who knows how long, his gaze finally landed on a relatively intact building.
The motorcycle slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. The rider stopped in front of the building and glanced at the doorplate.
"Sigh... I missed it by two numbers, it's not here yet."
Stepping on the gas again, the motorcycle raced forward, kicking up a cloud of dust. The eagle that had just been in the sky landed on the roof of a building, gazing at the distant motorcycle. It tilted its head and straightened its feathers, then after a short pause, flapped its wings and flew off towards the deep green mountains.
In the middle of the day, the knight parked his car on the side of the road and set up a solar energy panel to charge his motorcycle. He took out a high-energy dry food bar and took a few bites, then opened the lid of the iron water bottle hanging from his waist, took a few sips of water, and washed down the chewed food into his stomach.
Looking at the battery level display on the motorcycle, the rider estimated how much longer they would need to charge. They took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from the pocket of their vest, carefully pulled out a cigarette, and placed it in their mouth.
They took out a lighter from the compartment, lit the cigarette after a few clicks, and took a deep drag, entering a trance-like state. They smoked in silence, one puff after another, until the cigarette was finished. Sitting in the shade under the solar charging panel, they took out a small package from their vest.
The package had an address written on it, which was on the same street as the one just written on the doorplate, just a few numbers off. He stared blankly at it, not knowing what to think.
It wasn't until the sound of a fully charged battery came from the motorcycle that he snapped out of it. He casually threw the cigarette, which couldn't be smoked anymore, to the ground and put the package into the front pocket of his vest. He put away the solar charging panel, straddled the motorcycle, and after a moment, revved the throttle to continue forward.
"It should be close." The knight muttered to himself, "Just a few more days, it shouldn't be too far."
The scenery of mountains and sea remained the same, but the setting sun was already slanting down, swaying over the sea. The shadow of the motorcycle stretched long, and the dim sunset reflected on the windproof goggles. The sea breeze brushed the knight's cheeks, but there was no movement in the corners of his mouth.
The sun quickly couldn't hold on and sank into the sea. The night crawled over the mountain and spread out. The shy moon showed its face, and the pale moonlight shone on the broken road without streetlights, unable to illuminate the positions of the potholes.
The motorcycle's headlight and display screen lit up, and the displayed battery level was dropping rather quickly. The rider looked at the distant darkness without a single light and sighed helplessly.
"Can't help it, let's find a place to spend the night."
With the motorcycle's headlight stopped on the side of the road, he found a relatively flat open space and collected firewood from the surroundings to start a fire. He had traveled this route many times and knew it wasn't very dangerous, so he dared to camp so late.
Stack the collected dry firewood together, and lay a pile of dry leaves underneath. The knight took out a lighter to ignite the dry leaves, blew on it for a while to make the fire blaze, and then returned to the side of the motorcycle. He took out a tent from the motorcycle's side box and began to set it up. After everything was done, he turned off the motorcycle's headlight.
Munching on leftover dry rations from the morning, he drank plain water from the kettle. After a simple meal, the knight sat on the tent mat, gazing at the occasional sparks that leapt out of the fire.
After a while, he took off his helmet and goggles, revealing a weathered look in his eyes and a sharp, chiseled face. The sea breeze gently blew, bringing waves of sound. The moon hung high in the bright night sky, free from light pollution and air contamination, and the brilliant Milky Way spread like a ribbon into the sea.
The man took out a cigarette, looked at it, and then put it back in his vest pocket. Then he took out a package and looked at the elegant characters on it, lost in thought.
A distant howl from the mountains brought the man back to his senses. He sighed and carefully packed away his belongings. Then he added more firewood to the campfire and crawled into the tent to sleep.
The man had a dream, a dream from the past.
In his dream, he was a soldier, following his country to resist the invasion of outsiders. Many people died in that war, including his brothers, friends, and classmates.
Amidst the gunfire and rain of bullets, many people fell, but he still stood on the noisy battlefield, the surrounding scenery gradually turning gray. The dead became footless ghosts, drifting towards the dark end ahead.
He only wanted to leave with his loved ones, but his feet felt rooted to the ground. He silently howled, watching his loved ones enter the darkness, unable to do anything. Then he woke up, opening his eyes to a blurry sight of a gaping mouth.
"Wow!"
The man dodged the bite and immediately got up, only to see that the unexpected visitor was actually a hungry Stray dog.
"This is quite rare... Where did you come from?"
Due to the war, the surrounding area is barren, and even large animals struggle to survive. Most of them hide in the mountains to find food and rarely come out onto the roads. This stray dog is probably from somewhere else, unable to find territory in the mountains and trying its luck on the road.
The beast growled low, seemingly very angry that its food had escaped. There was little room to dodge in the narrow tent, and the exit was blocked, giving the man a headache.
"Fine..." The man untied the short knife from his leg and waved it in front of the wild dog. "If you understand, then get out quickly. I don't want to take a life."
Perhaps it was because it had been raised by someone before, the dog understood the man's intention. After hesitating for a moment, it turned and ran out of the tent. The man chased after it, but couldn't see its trace, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It's best to not have to fight, as getting injured and infected in the wilderness is troublesome. Although there are some antibiotics in the car, they are more precious than gold and cannot be used casually.
On the eastern mountain, a fish belly white mist rose, enveloping the surroundings in a damp and cold fog, which helped the man to wake up. He stretched and shook his arms, using his hands to pat his cheeks and drive away drowsiness.
Looking at the still smoldering campfire, the man casually kicked some sand to put it out. Not feeling hungry yet and with no plans to eat, he began to pack up his tent. After finishing, he closed the side compartment of his motorcycle, straddled it, started the engine, and with a flick of the handlebars, he rode off.
The battery still has more than half of its charge, so it should be no problem to ride until noon. With this calculation in mind, the man relaxed the throttle and didn't continue to accelerate.
The rising sun climbed over the mountain top, and the air around gradually became hot and stuffy. The same beautiful scenery continued to pass by, and the man still hummed the same old song. The clear sky remained cloudless, and the sound of the unchanging waves continued to reach his ears.
Another building appeared in the distance, this time with a door number that was only one digit off. The man didn't linger, as the building looked half-ruined and seemed unlikely to be inhabited.
After the war, the population dwindled, as did the places where people lived. It had become normal for a package to take a week or two to be delivered, although it was usually done by unmanned drones. Only a few important packages were entrusted to people like him, and of course, the commission was generous enough, or else no one would want to take on such a risky job.
Who knows where the virus is still lurking? Or the dangerous situations like this morning? In this era where most people are hiding in self-isolation at home, those willing to take the risk to go out really aren't afraid of not making money.
However, such commissions are becoming fewer and fewer, and the human population can no longer recover. After the civilization was half destroyed, most of the survivors lost their drive and hope for the future. As for the matter of bearing offspring, it naturally became less interesting.
Perhaps for those people, life had already ended when the epidemic began. The knight, hiding in the shadow with the solar energy charging board set up, thought of this inexplicably.
The eagle swooped down and knocked over the stray dogs, the powerless stray dogs struggled in vain for a few times before they died.
The eagle flew away without even looking, then a dark cloud drifted over and a sudden rain poured down, but soon it cleared up again. The dark cloud moved rapidly southward, and a few hours later caught up with the man riding a bike.
"Tsk..."
The man hurriedly stopped his electric scooter and took out a waterproof canvas cover from the side compartment to protect it. After all, it would be troublesome if rainwater seeped in and caused a short circuit, especially since there weren't any decent repair stations nearby.
He also took out a piece of canvas to drape over himself to avoid getting wet and catching a cold. In the wilderness, he was cautious, even with light rain. Years of survival experience had taught the man that all deadly disasters start from small things.
Perhaps it was lack of sleep that caused the fall, or maybe inadequate warmth that led to catching a cold. Even a small injury, if not treated promptly, can turn into a big disaster. Such as wound infection, or losing judgment due to fever, or not zipping up the tent while sleeping, and getting bitten by a snake that sneaked in...
Thinking back to the stray dog encountered in the morning, it must have been smart enough to open the zipper because someone had bitten it. It looks like I'll have to put something in front of the door when sleeping in the future, to avoid encountering the same kind of trouble again.
"Oh, the rain has stopped!"
The man looked at the sun just emerging and began to fold up the waterproof canvas covering his motorcycle, shaking off the water droplets. As he finished preparing to ride, he furrowed his brow.
Due to a sudden heavy rain, there were puddles everywhere on the road. Unable to distinguish their depth, I had to ride slowly to avoid accidentally causing the motorcycle to malfunction. As a result, my speed decreased significantly, and I ended up having to spend the night outdoors again.
The rain fortunately didn't cover a large area, and there are still some dry firewood in the camping area. The man stared blankly at the occasional sparks splashing out of the campfire, lost in thought for a long time.
"Ah!"
In the dark night, the cry of a crow rang out in the trees, bringing the man back to his senses.
"Caw!" The noisy cry caught the man's attention, and he looked up but saw nothing.
The man shrugged, turned, and ducked into the sealed tent. He sealed it shut and then used a heavy object to press against the entrance, preventing strange things from entering.
Although he lay down, the cawing of crows outside the tent that night was very noisy, keeping him up late.
Waking up with dark circles, the morning had already passed, and the sun was glaringly high.
The man couldn't muster the energy and sat idly in the tent for a while. Finally, he took out a cigarette case and looked inside, finding only two left.
After hesitating for a long time, he pulled out one and lit it. After taking a puff, he closed his eyes and immersed himself, then slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.
Looking at the last cigarette in the box, his expression was somewhat complicated. He thought to himself, "If I still haven't found it today, I might as well turn back. After all, this package has been given to several people and all have failed, it doesn't matter if I do."
"After finishing this one, let's set off," the man said lazily.
When the motorcycle started again, the battery still had 70% charge, so he estimated that it would be no problem to ride until the afternoon and then take a rest. Thinking this, he revved the throttle and continued to head south.
The scenery was still the same, with the mountains, the water, and the clear sky. He was still humming that old English song. In that moment, the rider seemed to have a kind of illusion, as if time had been looped into a circle, and he was the mouse running non-stop inside this circle.
The sky and the earth seem to form a sphere, with oneself inside the sphere. The sun is still very big, and he feels a bit dizzy, probably suffering from heatstroke. There is very little water left in the water bottle, and he can't find a place to replenish it. He doesn't know how much longer the road is, or when he will reach his destination, or what is in the package.
There are very few obstacles on the road now, and even the potholes are rare. This section of the road, which few people have traveled, continues straight towards the distant center, even though it looks unreal, shrouded in steam at the end.
Hasn't arrived yet? It's as if I heard someone whispering in my ear, and my consciousness slowly becomes blurry. The clear sky reflects on the visor, and the shadows of the motorcycle and people slowly elongate. The surrounding scenery gradually turns yellow, like an old faded photograph.
When I finally regained consciousness, I realized that I seemed to have just skimmed past a building. The man, realizing he had missed something, quickly hit the brakes and looked back.
A plain wooden house stood alone by the roadside, with smoke still rising from the chimney, indicating that someone must still be living there.
After pulling the handlebars, he slowly rode up to the front door, took a package out of his backpack, glanced at it, and then looked at the house number. He was sure this time that he hadn't made a mistake; this was the address marked on the package.
Unexpectedly moved, the exhausted knight's face lit up with joy as he reached out his trembling fingers to press the doorbell beneath the nameplate. A clear chime echoed through the house, and before long, footsteps approached from the depths, accompanied by a female voice saying:
"Hi there, please wait for me, I'll be right there."
Before long, the door was pulled open, and in front of the man appeared a young woman wearing an apron. The man swallowed hard, noticing the special metal ornaments hanging from the woman's ears.
"Are you a robot?" he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Yes, I am the fourth model of the Alpha series, named Ellie," the woman said without surprise at her robotic identity being exposed, and continued to ask, "May I ask who you are? And what brings you here?"
"Um..." he looked at the recipient's name on the package and said, "Is Mr. Lee Tor Daojing here?"
The robot blinked its eyes and said calmly, "I'm really sorry, Old master passed away last year."
"This...this is how it is...haha..."
It was finally delivered, but the recipient is dead. All the effort was in vain at this moment. The Mission Accomplished courier now feels relieved that he doesn't have to continue delivering this damn package.
"Do you want to come in for a cup of tea?" The robot Miss Ellie smiled at the man.
"Can you take this package for me?"
"I can't do it without the permission of the old master."
"But your master is already dead," the man couldn't help but retort, "Besides, you just invited me into the room."
"No problem, because this is a set procedure," the man said with a hesitant expression. He first pointed at Ellie with his finger, then covered his mouth in deep thought for a long time. Finally, he sighed in resignation and asked:
"Can I resupply here?"
"No problem, the solar-powered water generator and Grain Bar Manufacturing Unit are both operating normally."
"Is there any cigarettes?"
"I'm very sorry, we don't have that here. But we do have some cigars that have been carefully preserved for many years. Would you like one?"
"Hey, can I?"
"Try to fulfill the requests of the visitors, this is the last thing Old master entrusted to me."
"That was a huge help," the man rejoiced in the fact that he could still find some solace in the end. After all, precious cigars like these were not something easily obtained in this era, much rarer than black market cigarettes.
"After returning, did you report to the company that you found the address but didn't meet the recipient?" The man muttered as he watched Ellie walk in to get supplies.
In the depths of the warehouse, a package lay quietly on the last shelf, the only item left. A warehouse worker in uniform noticed and turned to ask his colleague:
"That package is still here? Wasn't it picked up for delivery before?"
"Oh, that thing? I heard they found the place, but Recipient is not there."
"Not here again? How many times is this? Why don't we just have a drone deliver it for us?"
"The original sender spent a lot of money to have it hand-delivered, and it's because of that money that our company has been able to survive until now."
"Oh? So there's this story?"
"Anyway, just leave it there. There's always a rookie fool to take care of it, so let's just ignore it."
"Haha, humans always repeat the same mistakes."
"Aren't you also human?"
"Yes, so I've decided to let it go."
"Then let's close up, it's time to go off duty."
"What do you want to eat tonight? How about going to Xiao Mei's place together?"
"Sure, sure..."
The conversation between the two people gradually faded away, and the lights were turned off one by one, until the last bit of light seeping through the crack in the door also disappeared.
Finally, the package continued to lie quietly in the darkness, waiting for the next person willing to take it back.
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