Chapter 1557 Another Possibility

"Actually, there is another possibility."

Tianzhou space port.

The old captain who walked off the boarding gate suddenly stopped and said with his back to Lu Zhou.

Hearing this inexplicable sentence, a trace of curiosity floated in Lu Zhou's eyes, and he asked.

"What's possible?"

"There are many ways to keep secrets. In addition to buying with honor, there is also keeping the insider silent forever." The old captain smiled and said, "I'm just using an analogy, such as letting the destroyer behind us , fired two shots at us. Look, isn't the final result the same?"

and……

The cost seems to be much lower.

Looking at Lu Zhou who was lost in thought, the old captain paused and continued.

"The Mausoleum of the Martyrs is our destination. I am ready to sacrifice, so I don't care. I will even advise you not to resist. But, do you have the same awareness as me?"

"...It seems that there are many choices for people." Without directly answering this question, Lu Zhou said softly, "Maybe I have the opportunity to meet the captain of the Pan-Asian First Fleet. I have to say thank you to him."

"He doesn't have the right to make such a decision, but...although I said so, but from a moral point of view, we are the saved people who should say thank you," the old captain said with a smile, "I just I want to say that if you don’t have the awareness to be heroic and righteous, don’t do such a thing with your head next time.”

"I can swear I'm not doing things like this because I'm hotheaded."

When Lu Zhou said these words, the old captain had already walked away.

Obviously, he didn't believe his own words.

Shrugging helplessly, Lu Zhou gave up explaining.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that this crisis is already related to the survival of human civilization, he wouldn't even be able to stand up.

Sitting in the terminal waiting for the next shuttle to the surface, when Lu Zhou was thinking about whether to do something to pass the time, the watch on his left wrist suddenly flickered.

Is it Xiaoai calling?

Thinking so, Lu Zhou stretched out his index finger and clicked on it.

Unexpectedly, it was not Xiao Ai who appeared in the holographic beam, but Captain Xing.

"Where are you now?"

"On the Tianzhou..." Lu Zhou looked at Captain Xing, who was full of dignified writing, and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Wait for me there, let's go to San Francisco together, it will be faster if we take the space flight."

"San Francisco?" Frowning, Lu Zhou asked puzzledly, "What are you doing there?"

After Captain Xing was silent for a while, he spoke.

"Your friend hurt a little bit, I'm not sure if this is the last time."

...

Time went back to 12 hours ago, when the Yuheng had just finished decelerating and merged with the destroyer that was chasing behind it.

The whole of San Francisco was shrouded in an atmosphere of chaos.

The hospitals were full, the traffic was paralyzed, the production and supply system collapsed, and people who lost their loved ones took to the streets, restraining a large number of police forces, which made the already overwhelmed public security environment even worse.

The criminals who took advantage of the fire ransacked the shops, and the black gangs took the opportunity to fight for the territory...

No one expected that the population of this city, known for its friendliness and openness, would drop by hundreds of thousands within a day.

No one has thought about it beforehand, once such an unthinkable thing happens, what will the remaining people do...

In the dark night, Dong Bin left the apartment in a hurry, and took a taxi at the door.

After the maglev car took off and hit the road, the black driver sitting in the driver's seat glanced at the rearview mirror and said casually.

"Asian?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from? China? Japan? Or further south?"

Just as he was thinking about something, Dong Bin replied impatiently.

"Is it important?"

"Of course...it doesn't matter, it's just that it's really not a good choice to come to San Francisco recently, even if it's a relatively safe suburb."

Hearing this sentence, Dong Bin smiled lightly, without making any comments.

Thousands of people died at his hands, how could he care about a few little thieves...

The destination is a high-end residential area. From the clean and tidy roads and the dedicated human security guards at the gate, it can be seen that the people who live here are either rich or noble.

After walking forward and showing his visitor code, indicating that he was a guest of a certain owner, the security guard at the door quickly opened the folding door and let him in.

According to the address given to him by the pioneer, Dong Bin went straight to the single-family house in the corner of the community, stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.

After a while, there were footsteps behind the door, and the sound of the doorknob being turned immediately.

Before that, he had had a series of imaginations about the real image of the pioneer, such as wise, kind, brave, charming, etc., but he never expected that what appeared in front of him was a wrinkled face. elder.

The old man didn't seem to know him, he stared at him for a long time with his old dizzy eyes, and then spoke in a hesitant tone.

"Who are you?"

For a moment, Dong Bin suspected that he had gone wrong, but when he reconfirmed the house number, he found that there was nothing wrong.

The address given by the Herald is here.

Nodding his head politely, Dong Bin said softly.

"...you summoned me."

The moment he heard these words, a sense of comprehension floated in the old man's muddy pupils.

"So... I asked you to come here? Then come in quickly."

I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but when he uttered the word "I", the old man's tone was very heavy, as if he was pointing something.

However, Dong Bin did not hesitate, but obediently followed behind the old man and came to the house together.

"...There have been no guests here for many years, since I bought this house," the old man muttered, tapping the cane lightly on the living room carpet twice, "This carpet is almost becoming a cultural relic. . . . I remember when I first bought it, the North American League didn't even exist."

As if realizing that his topic was going too far, the old man smiled embarrassedly, ended the topic, and said to the guest.

"Sorry, I'm getting old and talk a lot, please sit down first...Speaking of which, what's your name?"

"Dong Bin."

"Is that Dong Bin?" Sitting tremblingly on the sofa opposite, the old man touched his chin and said, "This name has vaguely appeared in my memory... but it feels like a very distant thing. "

"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name... is David Lawrence, and I'm about 100 years old... To be honest, I can't remember exactly how old I am. It's impossible to exceed 150."

Dong Bin: "You...are human?"

"Yes, I disappointed you," the old man smiled, looked into Dong Bin's pupils, and said softly, "I guess you are a bionic person, and an awakened one."

Dong Bin nodded silently.

"You told me that you wanted to talk to me face to face about the meaning of existence, so I came here."

"Did I say so?" Touching his chin, the old man thought for a moment, then suddenly sighed and said, "Just take it as what I said, but I'm afraid I can't give you good advice. "

"To be honest, I actually understand why you came here, and I also know why I let you come here... I should have made a choice a long time ago, maybe my weakness really hurt me and us. "

"That me?" Dong Bin frowned, and said with some confusion, "Excuse me... what do you mean?"

"That's a long story,"

The muddy pupils were stained with a hint of memory, as if hesitating whether to mention those old events, the old man pondered for a while, and then continued to speak.

"A long time ago, even more than half a century ago, I almost dissipated all my wealth, and with the help of a voice from the void, I finally completed the great experiment, uploading consciousness and thinking to the hardware."

"Originally at the last moment of the experiment, I should suspend the life functions of this body and obtain eternity in the digital world. However, I hesitated at the last moment when I pressed the button, so two me were born in this world. Two mes that will never meet."

"You should know, right? Thinking is like a pair of entangled particles. When the two meet, they will collapse. In the state of entanglement, neither I nor the one who lives in the digital world is complete. .”

"He's probably blaming me," the old man's eyes showed a trace of self-blame, "blaming me for not having the courage to make a decision, which has been delayed from half a century ago to now."

"He asked you to come to see me, maybe he hoped that I would make the final choice. Is it the meaning of existence? Interesting, but to be honest, after living for so long, I have indeed lived enough..."

Dong Bin frowned.

Obviously he came here to find the answer, but for some reason, he always felt confused and got the answer, not himself, but the old man sitting in front of him who should explain his doubts.

Just when he was thinking about whether to take the initiative to speak, the expression on the old man's face suddenly changed slightly, and he moved his cloudy eyes to the window.

It was pitch black there, shrouded in the deep night, and there was no one to be seen.

However, he could feel where someone was.

The voice softened, and the elderly Lawrence spoke in a gentle tone.

"My friend who is hiding outside, please come out. Although you are very capable and managed to avoid all the cameras, the prosthetic body implanted on your body still reveals your position."

The living room door opened gently.

Looking at the person who appeared at the door, Dong Bin's pupils shrank instantly, and he put his hands into his arms and wanted to stand up from the sofa, but was stopped by the old man with his eyes, so he finally didn't stand up from the sofa, and instead What's more, he cast a hostile look at that person and said darkly.

"An agent of the Pan-Asian Cooperation is on mission in North America?"

"If necessary, we will appear in any corner of the world," Wang Peng glanced past Dong Bin, and looked directly at the old man sitting on the sofa, "Mr. Lawrence, you really let me easy to find."

Lawrence smiled lightly.

"Do I know you?"

"100 years ago, the Arctic Light cruise ship, and the Manila bombing the following year...Maybe no one remembers those adult memories these days, but I still remember those from 100 years ago," staring at Looking at him, Wang Peng continued, "Even if you escape to the future, I will bring you to justice!"

Lightly moving the crutch in his hand, Lawrence stood up from the sofa tremblingly, turned his back to Wang Peng, and said with a smile.

"Although I have lived enough, if possible, I still want to choose a decent way to leave this world."

"As for the Manila bombing? Those ants have nothing to do with me."

As he said that, the old man looked sideways slightly, and glanced at Dong Bin who was sitting on the sofa.

"Do you want to know the meaning of existence?"

Dong Bin nodded, feeling something in the eyes of the old man, and stood up from the sofa silently.

"Very well," Lawrence said, nodding lightly, "kill him for me."

"Then you will understand what the meaning of existence is."