I threw the strip of cloth back to the ground, the soaked blood on it not even drying.
"Is this what Mr. Sun left behind?"
Li Xiang squatted down, his face equally solemn.
"These strips of cloth should be torn from clothes."
I said in a deep voice, looking up towards the passage in the living area. There was no movement in the corridor.
"Go and take a look first."
Li Xiang nodded.
Xiao Leng and the others also heard our conversation.
I reassured them.
Li Chong smiled naively and patted his chest.
"Don't be afraid, I'll protect you! I'll light a fire and roast chicken for you!"
The disgusting stench still lingered around the tip of my nose.
The flesh and blood stuck to the cloth strips looked more like they had been torn from the skin after decay.
I didn't say anything to them, as that would only add to the unfounded panic.
He and Li Xiang walked towards the living area.
The corridor smelled of dust.
I remember that the room Mr. Sun chose was right next to the water room.
Room 11.
When we stood in front of the door, the door was ajar and the lights were not turned on.
I put my hand on the door, "Mr. Sun? Are you there?"
No one in the room responded.
Li Xiang frowned and pushed the door open.
There was no one in the room.
"No one..."
A chill suddenly rose from the bottom of my heart.
Where can he go?
What happened?
Turn on the emergency light in the room, and the white light comes on in front of the desk.
The manual that Mr. Sun had been holding in his hand was placed on the table.
There is also a piece of paper tucked inside the manual.
I picked up the manual and opened it to see writing on the white paper.
'Water flow internal circulation system, centrifugal turbine, iron smelting furnace, reactor test pit...'
The names of the equipment written above seem to match the equipment in the base.
"Is this written by Mr. Sun?" Li Xiang came to the side.
Although the paper is not big, it is densely written with small characters, which are crooked and even penetrate the back of the paper in some places.
I can imagine that perhaps because there was no light in the base, Mr. Sun took a pen and paper and lay on the steps of the air raid shelter to record these things.
But where did the paper and pen come from?
Did he go out to find the pen and paper himself, or did someone come here?
"Well, he's not at the base."
I found the pen in the corner of the desk, the cap missing.
"Where can he go?"
Li Xiang realized something was wrong and turned around to observe in the room.
"The bedding is folded very well...ahem..."
Li Xiang covered his nose because Mr. Sun's bedding exuded a strange stench.
He reached out and opened it. There was nothing wrapped in the quilt.
I found it strange that there were no signs of fighting in the room. It didn't look like it had been robbed or had an accident.
When I walked to the quilt, my pupils couldn't help but shrink.
There was indeed nothing wrapped in the bedding. The smell was emanating from the bedding itself.
I picked up the quilt and pulled out some scraps of dead skin from the cotton wool. The dead skin was stained with blood.
This is...
This kind of dead skin is all too familiar to me.
The rotten skin stuck to the bedding, which was the source of the stench.
"Has Mr. Sun been exposed to nuclear radiation?" I asked in a deep voice.
When the black rain came, I stood in the rain.
On the third day after I was exposed to the black rain, red spots appeared on my body.
Starting from the fourth day, I started to feel weak, and the red spots on my skin would gradually turn black and then spread and rot...
"He arrived at the air-raid shelter early the next morning." Li Xiang said slowly, "At that time, I thought it was an earthquake, so I took Li Chong to the nearest air-raid shelter."
He looked at me and seemed to understand something, "You mean... Mr. Sun..."
Li Xiang's expression was a little strange. Although he didn't explain it, the answer was already in their hearts.
I turned around and went out, walking into the water room next to me.
The floor of the water room is slippery, and there are still water stains on the cement floor that have not dried up.
Under the dim light, a few bloody cotton balls were thrown into the corner of the sink.
Li Xiang followed in, "There's no one here, where can he go?"
I turned around and said, "He has left."
"Let's go out and tell them."
I said and walked out of the water room.
Although he said he was leaving, everyone knew that Old Man Sun would not survive.
Absorbing excessive radiation caused his body to begin to break down. At Sun's age, it was already the limit for him to be able to survive until this point.
Even if it were me, if I hadn't drank the blue solution in the test tube, I would probably be worse than dead now.
The decay of nuclear radiation will not kill people.
What really kills people is the infection caused by wounds.
Radiation particles destroy DNA chains in the body, and you will see with your own eyes that the skin is dissolving and rotting layer by layer.
This is the horror of nuclear radiation.
When passing by Mr. Sun's room, I paused outside the door for a moment.
After thinking about it, I picked up the manual on the table.
Outside the room, there are yellowed photos posted on the corridor. The person in the black and white photo is smiling, and he is watching everything here silently.
There is a name written under the photo - Sun Shicheng.
He is Sun Lao's father.
I paused in front of the photo and remembered when I left two days ago.
At that time, Mr. Sun was eager to write down the usage of these devices. I am afraid that at that time, Mr. Sun knew that his time was running out.
It was his choice to leave here.
He chose to die on the street rather than pollute this place.
It's hard for me to imagine a person walking alone in the darkness, dragging his weak and broken body, and slamming the iron door shut.
I bowed slightly towards the photo and put the manual in my arms.
When Li Xiang and I returned to the operating area, Li Chong was already next to the vent and had lit a fire.
Li Chong smiled and sat next to Xu Xinyi.
Seeing us coming back, Li Chong immediately waved.
Xiao Leng also stood up quickly, "Brother, isn't Mr. Sun here?"
I hesitated slightly and finally said, "He left and left a note in the room."
"ah?!"
Xiao Leng was obviously shocked, "Leave? Where can you go? What did the note say?"
"He told us not to worry, that he had a better place to go."
I smiled and touched Xiao Leng's head.
Xiao Leng's eyes were slightly cold.
In fact, my words were easy to understand, but we all tacitly agreed not to mention a word of death.
"It's true, Mr. Sun, shouldn't he be asked to take good care of the house?"
Li Chong said blankly, but when he looked up, he found that Li Xiang looked at him in the wrong way.
Li Xiang just barely had the word "Stupid Coin" written on his face.
"Uh hehe... I'm going to boil the water and set up the pot. You guys can help me light the fire."
Li Chong touched his head and stood up holding the iron pot.
Xu Xinyi and Jiang Xiaoman were a little confused and looked up at me in confusion.
Before I could say anything, Xiao Leng took my wrist and said, "Brother, I want to take them to take a bath, just so they can try on the clothes I brought back this time, is that okay?"
When they heard about taking a shower, the two women's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Go ahead, but save water and don't waste it."
"I know! You are so verbose!"
Xiao Leng smiled playfully and turned to wave to the two girls.
Looking at their backs, I couldn't help but chuckle.
Why should I take in these two girls? Because they are beautiful?
They are indeed beautiful, I don't deny that.
But in today's world, being beautiful doesn't bring half an advantage.
I took them in because they were Xiao Leng's classmates and I didn't want Xiao Leng to be lonely.
And this is my choice, unlike most choices.
In the first week of the end of the world, some people have already kidnapped living people in exchange for supplies.
I don't want to do that, I'm not a saint, but I have to be worthy of myself.
I can't kidnap people for no reason.
I want to see hope in humanity, and I want to rebuild our home.
At least, the square inch of land under my feet should sprout sprouts and open new flower beds.
Mr. Sun made his choice, he chose to bear the loneliness of death alone.
And my choice was clear at this moment.
My choice is like...
Like Xiao Leng's words, "You are so verbose!"
It's like... the disaster never happened.