Chapter 654: In the shadow of a tall building (please vote for the big chapter)
"What's the matter?"
He Ao stared at the woman standing outside the door.
"Ah, this, me,"
The woman's outstretched hand was a bit at a loss, hanging in the air and waving it. Finally, she touched her hand to the back of her head and smiled awkwardly, "The weather is nice today."
At the same time, she also recognized that the old man's voice was exactly the same as the one she heard last night.
“Really good.”
He Ao glanced in the direction of the burned black window. The faint light from the window spilled into the house, clearly illuminating the dilapidated scene in the house.
The house that Kavi bought is not very high, only 12 floors. It is difficult to enjoy the sunshine in St. John City where there are many high-rise buildings and the higher the house, the more expensive it is.
Now there is sunshine shining into this house through the gaps between the high-rise buildings, which proves that today is indeed a good weather.
The woman looked at the house that had been burned into ruins and realized that what she said now seemed a bit inappropriate.
At this time, a little head popped out from behind He Ao. She lowered her head and glanced at the monster on the ground, "Oh, it's so disgusting."
Then she immediately turned her little head away and looked at the woman standing outside, "Sister, what's the matter with you?
"Um, my name is Ixia, I want to ask something,"
The woman took advantage of the situation and answered, "Were you the ones who saved me last night?"
Although she seemed to be asking about Jia Qian, her eyes kept drifting to He Ao.
"yes,"
Jia Qian nodded her head. She raised her head and glanced at He Ao. When she found that He Ao had not spoken, she continued, "So, sister, what's the matter with you?"
"ah,"
Isiya's tone paused again. She was confused by Jia Qian's childlike and direct question, and she didn't know how to speak for a while. She thought she would have to go through some twists and turns to get confirmation from the other party.
At this moment, she was actually certain that the old man in front of her was the one who saved her last night, even without the exact same voice.
In St. John City, there would probably be no other mysterious old man who could kill pollution monsters so easily and for whom she had no information at all.
After a brief thought, she quickly organized her words, "Can I treat you to a meal? And,"
She lowered her head, looked at the monster corpse on the ground, and then looked at He Ao, "Old sir, you came into contact with the monster from Werther's mutation last night, and your body is actually contaminated with the monster's breath. I don't know if you have come into contact with this monster before.
There are no monsters, there are some things that need attention, you may need to know about them.”
This time Jia Qian did not answer directly, but looked up at He Ao.
He Ao stared at Isia's brown eyes that exuded some expectation. He put away the handkerchief in his hand, folded the bloody side, and put it back into the inner pocket of his formal suit. Then he looked down at the ground and said, "You can wait a moment.
For a moment? I still have some things that need to be dealt with."
"certainly!"
Ixia nodded immediately, then she tentatively walked to the door of the room and said carefully, "Shall I help you?"
This time, He Ao did not answer her. At this moment, He Ao lowered his head and continued to rummage through the ruins.
Jia Qian, who was standing next to He Ao, looked at her somewhat reserved expression and blinked quietly at her.
Seeing the little girl blinking, Ixia hesitated for a moment, then carefully crossed the door and walked into the house.
He Ao noticed this scene, but did not say anything, but continued to look for intact things in the ruins.
Isia breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Jia Qian also turned around and started searching on the ground.
Ixia glanced at He Ao, then at Jia Qian, and walked carefully to Jia Qian's side. She followed Jia Qian to dig up the debris on the ground, and asked in a gentle tone,
"Little sister, what are we looking for?"
"Grandpa said, look for anything that is intact and has not been burned."
Jia Qian took away a piece of charcoal that was still burning and picked up a stainless steel spoon stained black from the ground.
She glanced at the spoon, and after a brief struggle, she took the spoon to the corner of the room and placed it among a pile of smoke-blackened metal pieces.
Ixia looked at the pile of metal parts. There were bent metal brackets, blackened knives, forks and spoons, as well as some metal toys that were not burned.
What can be preserved in a fire are basically metal parts, or some items that are lucky enough to be squeezed into some oxygen-free corners and escape the flames.
These are common household items, nothing particularly precious.
But what surprised Ixia was that Jia Qian's speed was very fast, far beyond what a child of this age should be, and even faster than some adults.
At the same time, she also saw clearly the strong muscles under Jia Qian's white and tender skin.
"Little sister, you are so fast."
She asked with some curiosity.
"I have been exercising with my grandpa since I was a child!"
Jia Qian nodded her head excitedly, then waved her arms, "No one in school can beat me."
"awesome,"
Ixia smiled and gave Jia Qian a thumbs up, and then she and Jia Qian helped rummage on the ground, "Actually, I just wanted to ask, weren't you scared when you saw the monster just now?"
"Not afraid,"
Jia Qian shook her head while rummaging through various wreckage on the ground, "Grandpa is here, but it's just a little disgusting."
"It's amazing,"
Ixia sighed, "The first time I saw this kind of monster, I was scared to death."
"Everyone is different,"
Jia Qian dug out a metal frog toy from the rubble. "There are many children in school who are not afraid of bugs, and there are also many children who are afraid of bugs."
Hearing this sentence, Ixia paused slightly.
She realized that in Jia Qian's world view, the monster just now was actually no different from the bug that suddenly appeared on the roadside, only bigger, more ferocious, and more disgusting.
Fear often comes from being powerless, and Jia Qian's first impression of bugs was that they were easily torn apart by 'grandpa'.
For this little girl, there is actually no difference between big bugs and small bugs.
Of course, maybe this is also related to talent. Some people are born less afraid of monsters than others.
Ixia chatted with Jia Qian without saying a word.
The sunshine outside the window rises little by little, and then dims little by little,
The sun has moved away from this direction and the clock has moved towards one o'clock noon.
The three people basically rummaged through the entire house.
This is a small apartment with two bedrooms and one living room. It's not big, but it's a little troublesome to dig through the fine burnt residue.
In the end, what everyone unearthed were some small metal objects and old electronic products that were completely destroyed. There was nothing particularly important.
In the process, Ixia was once again surprised to find that the petite Jia Qian didn't seem to feel tired during the entire search. Even though she ran back and forth many times, she didn't rest, and she didn't seem to be tired.
Feeling tired.
She didn't even know if it was an illusion, but Ixia felt that Jia Qian was moving faster than when she first met Jia Qian.
Moreover, the old gentleman who looked very old seemed to be moving faster. Although the old gentleman did not show the agility when he just tore apart the monster, he seemed to be faster than when he first rummaged through the ruins.
Already.
Ixia felt that this might not be an illusion, but if it was not an illusion, the strength of these two people not only did not decrease, but also increased after working for a while, which was somewhat outrageous.
At this moment, the three of them are cleaning up the final place, which is the master bedroom of this house.
When Ixia was thinking wildly, He Ao pulled out a photo embedded in a metal picture frame from the foot of the double bed where only the metal frame was burned.
The metal frame, which was originally covered with pure white paint, has been completely blackened, and the transparent glass has also been stained brown.
But luckily, I don't know if it's because the photo frame is all metal, or because the photo frame fell in a corner.
The photo inside the photo frame was fortunately preserved. There was only some carbonization on the four sides, but the portrait in the photo was still intact.
In this photo frame, an elegant and simple-looking young man wearing square-rimmed glasses is holding the hand of his wife who is wearing a white wedding dress. He is looking at the camera, while his wife is looking at him, with their faces on their cheeks.
All are filled with happy smiles.
This is my son’s wedding photo.
This photo was not so beautiful because the photography studio I went to was not a high-end studio.
But the photographer captured the happiest moment of the two people very well and left this image.
My son has always liked this photo, so he bought an expensive alloy photo frame to frame it and has always placed it beside his bed.
He Ao put away the photo frame and glanced at the empty room again.
Then he stood up slowly and picked up the suitcase leaning against the door.
"Old sir, are you done?"
Isia, who was standing near the door, raised her head and looked at him.
"Yeah,"
He Ao nodded slightly and looked at Ixia, "Can I choose the restaurant?"
"certainly!"
Isia nodded quickly.
Before leaving, the three of them did some aftermath work.
He Ao and Jia Qian piled the things they picked up from the ruins in the corner, taking only the photo frame with them.
After seeking He Ao's consent, Ixia made a phone call and contacted a "colleague" to dispose of the monster corpse in the living room.
——Half an hour later—— 涶
Jumeiduo fast food chain
Ixia looked at the old windows in front of her, the oil-stained tabletop, and the dark-toned floor.
"A little surprised?"
He Ao looked at her and smiled.
"Well," Ixia did not hide her emotions, "I thought that a strong person like you, old gentleman, would choose a high-end restaurant or a high-end hotel restaurant."
“This store has been open for many years,”
He Ao raised his head and glanced at the decoration of the store. Although it was close to two o'clock in the afternoon, there were still many customers in the store. Most of the customers ordered the fried chicken burger set meal, which was served on a large plate.
He looked back and continued, "When I was young, my mother worked in this store. At that time, it was a new store and it was not yet part of the fast food chain. Of course, it was still sold at that time.
It’s this fried chicken burger.”
"Three of you, you can choose whatever you want,"
At this time, a waiter came over with an electronic menu, placed it in front of the three of them, and left immediately.
"Old sir, little sister, what do you want?"
Ixia looked up at He Ao and Jia Qian sitting opposite.
"I want a big chicken drumstick, a burger, and an ice cream cone."
Jia Qian immediately raised her hand.
"good."
Ixia chose what Jia Qian wanted to eat, and then handed the menu to He Ao, "Old sir, what do you want to eat?"
“A basic fried chicken set meal is enough.”
He Ao took the menu, made a choice, and then handed the menu back to Ixia.
"Then I'll also have a basic hamburger set meal and a cup of coffee."
Ixia quickly made her choice and paid.
Most of the time, this chain of fast food restaurants is unmanned. After payment is completed, the order will be sent to the restaurant's backend. When the meal is ready, a message will be sent to the electronic menu to remind customers to go to the counter to pick up the meal.
It would take some time to wait for the meal, and while waiting for the meal, Ixia's eyes fell on the menu prices in front of her, "I just discovered that the huge burger here actually costs 6 federal coins."
The giant burger is the signature dish of the fast food chain Jumeiduo, which is famous for being cheap, affordable and large in quantity.
However, due to different prices and taxes in different places, the price of the giant burger will also fluctuate, and it will probably cost between 4 and 7 federal coins.
In a sense, the price of a huge burger also reflects the local price level.
7 federal coins is only the price in a few scenic spots or remote areas. In ordinary restaurants in ordinary cities, 6 federal coins is already the highest price.
"New here?"
He Ao looked at Ixia and asked with a smile.
"Well, I just transferred here from Twilight City,"
Ixia nodded, and then said with some emotion, "The price of a huge hamburger in Twilight City is only 4.8 federal coins. I thought that St. John City, as a granary city, would sell this kind of food cheaper.
"
“It will be cheaper,”
He Ao said slowly, "About thirty or forty years ago, there were many grain companies in this city. Because there were no transportation costs for local sales, the prices of grain sold by these grain companies to local dealers were often
It should be lower. At that time, the prices of synthetic flour and synthetic meat in St. John's City were very cheap.
"A huge burger like this was sold for about 4 federal dollars at that time, of course,"
He Ao smiled and said, "It wasn't the cheapest at that time. A dozen or so years ago, all kinds of food prices were even cheaper. That was probably the cheapest food price in the history of St. John City."
At that time, the price of such a huge burger could even be as low as 3.5 or even 3.3 federal coins."
"So cheap?"
Ixia was stunned, "The price is already lower than the cost, right? How can it be made so cheaply?"
"At that time, the Kejet Group had just emerged and was expanding its sphere of influence on a large scale. They used many methods to try to quickly occupy the market in St. John City. Low-price dumping was one of them. At that time, almost all the grain companies in St. John City
Enterprises were all involved in that cruel war,"
He Ao turned his head and looked at the towering factory building outside the window and the dim streets in the shadow of the building. "At that time, there were not so many tall buildings in this city."
Tewei Group, where Sito worked, was one of the important participants in the entire food war.
"What happened next?"
Isia was a little fascinated by what she heard, and she continued to ask.
This well-dressed old gentleman seems to know a lot of stories about this city. At this moment, she has the feeling of asking about history from those who have experienced it.
"Later,"
He Ao withdrew his gaze and looked back at Ixia, "Later, the Kjet Group killed all the grain companies and acquired their factories, becoming the largest and only grain industry group in St. John City."
He lowered his head and glanced at the menu on the table, "Then the giant burger costs 6 federal coins."
So far, St. Jon, a granary city where more than one-third of the city's population is involved in food production, still has one of the highest food prices in the federation.
Ixia was stunned for a moment. She did not expect that the topic would return to her original question in such a way.
Her eyes glanced outside the old window.
Thin figures were walking in a hurry on the dark streets covered with shadows. Their skin was a little sickly white.
The towering factory buildings obscure everything and cast shadows on every road.
It is the afternoon when the sun is at its hottest, but people living at the bottom of this city are not even qualified to enjoy the sun.
Jingle Bell--
At this moment, the electronic menu sounded an alarm.
Ixia woke up from her thoughts. She picked up the menu and slowly stood up. "The meal seems to be ready. I'll go get it."
"Let's go together."
He Ao stood up with her.
Jia Qian also stood up and followed behind them.
They were sitting not far from the counter and quickly went to the counter to get their meals.
Jia Qian placed her meal on the table and excitedly picked up the ice cream.
While opening the fried chicken box, He Ao asked Ixia, "Let's talk about things I should know, such as the monster that just attacked me."
The movement of his hand stopped for a moment, and the steaming hot fried chicken was completely displayed in front of him.
