It's very quiet in the carriage.
Lynn leaned on the seat and looked at the steel forest on the other side of the river through the car window.
In ten years, the skyline of Manhattan does not seem to have changed much. Vought Tower is still like a sharp sword thrust into the sky and is the most conspicuous landmark of the city.
But if you look closely, the atmosphere on the street is completely different.
The graffiti walls that could be seen everywhere in the past have been cleaned up, and the dilapidated alleys where homeless people gathered have been turned into neat street parks.
John is sitting next to Lynn. Today he put on the Stars and Stripes battle suit, and the cape behind him hangs on the edge of the seat.
The off-road vehicle just passed the bridge and officially entered the bustling neighborhood of Manhattan.
"Stop here for a moment."
John suddenly leaned forward and gave instructions to the driver in the driver's seat.
The driver didn't say anything nonsense, immediately turned on the turn signal and parked the car smoothly on the side of the road.
Lynn turned his head and looked at him with some confusion.
This is at least three blocks away from Vought Tower.
"What's wrong?" Lynn asked.
John scratched his golden hair, with a trace of expectation in his eyes.
"The road ahead is a bit blocked."
John made a rather poor excuse, and then moved closer, with a hint of showing off in his tone, "Let's walk over there, I want to take you around and see what Manhattan is now."
Lynn couldn't help but laugh when he saw the little thoughts in John's eyes.
"Okay, I just happened to be bored sitting in the car too."
Lynn opened the door and stepped out.
The two walked side by side on the wide sidewalk.
The early autumn sunshine shines on the clean asphalt road.
Since it was a weekday morning, although there were many pedestrians on the street, they were all walking in a hurry.
At first, no one noticed them.
Until a young girl carrying a schoolbag accidentally turned her head and glanced at John's dazzling blond hair and iconic battle suit.
The girl's footsteps instantly froze in place, and the coffee cup in her hand almost fell to the ground.
She covered her mouth and let out an exclamation.
This exclamation was like throwing a pebble into a calm lake.
Pedestrians around him stopped and turned their heads.
When they saw the blond man walking on the outside of the sidewalk, the rhythm of the entire street changed wonderfully in just a few seconds.
There was no crazy crowding or hysterical screaming.
People spontaneously retreated to both sides of the street, leaving a wide and flat passage.
Several office workers in suits stopped and bowed their heads slightly in greeting.
A young couple pushing a stroller stood on the roadside. The husband excitedly took off his baseball cap, and the wife hugged her husband's arm tightly.
A yellow taxi that happened to be passing by suddenly stepped on the brakes. The driver rolled down the window, blushed and shouted in this direction:
"Thank you for stopping that fire last week at Queens! You are a true hero!"
John did not assume a condescending attitude.
He just kept smiling and walked forward steadily.
When he meets a citizen who greets him, he will nod slightly;
When he heard someone shouting thanks, he would raise his hand and wave twice casually.
There is no sense of oppression from a tyrant in every move he makes. Instead, he is filled with a sense of security that feels like spring breeze.
If Ashley was present, he would definitely mutter silently, why does he feel like Lynn Director?
Lynn walked half a step inside of John and watched this scene quietly.
He noticed a detail.
When a five-year-old boy accidentally ran out of the crowd and fell in front of John, the little boy's mother turned pale with fright and tried desperately to rush out and apologize.
John took the first step and bent down, gently helped the little boy up, and even brushed the dust off his knees.
"Be careful, man, and remember to listen to mom."
John blinked at the little boy.
The mother and son were so excited that they bowed repeatedly, and the people around them even applauded spontaneously.
And throughout this whole process, John's peripheral vision has always been falling on Lynn.
Every time he nodded, every time he smiled, or even when he helped the little boy up, John was watching Lynn's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Did you see it?
I did not kill innocent people indiscriminately, and I did not become a madman.
I am everyone's hope now.
I learned the rules very well and have always worn them on my body.
When passing an outdoor cafe, the manager wearing a green apron came up to me at a trot with a red face, carrying two cups of steaming coffee.
"Sir! This... this is a little thought from the store. Thank you for protecting New York!"
The store manager held the paper cup with both hands, and his hands were shaking slightly.
John stopped and took the coffee with a smile.
"Thanks, it smells great."
He spoke skillfully, then turned around and handed one of the cups to Lynn next to him naturally.
"Try it, the beans in this store are well roasted, you will definitely like it."
John lowered his voice and spoke briskly.
Lynn took the paper cup, and a warm feeling spread throughout his body along the palm of his hand.
He took a sip of the bitter and mellow coffee, turned his head, and looked into those expectant blue eyes.
Lynn didn't speak, he just stretched out his free hand, patted John hard twice on the shoulder wearing the suit, and then gave him a thumbs up.
Just this simple action made John grin.
Even his walking pace became a little brisker.
The two of them just drank coffee and walked through the street where the crowd spontaneously gave way.
The sun penetrated the gaps in the tall buildings and fell on them. The wide square Vought Tower was already in front of them.
Vought Tower.
Lynn looked at this familiar place, feeling a little dazed.
"Good morning, Lynn Director."
"You look really good today, Director."
Along the way, employees dressed in smart professional attire stopped and nodded to him with smiles.
Their tone was familiar and natural, as if he had just had afternoon tea here yesterday and just came to work as usual today.
But he has been lying in that cold Cryogenic Chamber for ten years.
He didn't recognize most of these young faces; they were obviously new employees recruited in the past ten years.
What surprised him was why they were so familiar with his "dead man"?
Just as I was thinking about it, a fat man holding a pile of documents walked towards me.
Lynn frowned slightly and had an inexplicable headache for a moment.
The fat man was wearing an elegant suit and his hair was a lot thinner, but Lynn recognized him at a glance.
It's Bob, the guy who had one of his fingers broken off by the young John because he stole an apple when he was in the underground laboratory.
Looking at his outfit, over the past ten years, Bob has obviously been promoted and joined the management.
Bob also saw Lynn.
He was stunned for a moment, and then a bright smile appeared on his face like an old acquaintance meeting. He was about to open his mouth to say hello and talk about the days when we shared hardships at Basement.
But just when he looked over Lynn's shoulder and saw the blond young man walking half a step behind.
The smile on Bob's face froze instantly, and the fat all over his body trembled visibly.
Without daring to say a word, he turned on his heels and plunged into the fire escape next to him.
Looking at the back of Bob running away, Lynn turned his head and looked at John behind him.
"What the hell is going on?"
Lynn pointed to the new employees who were still smiling at him from a distance, "How do they know me?"
Hearing this question, John paused slightly.
He looked away unnaturally, stretched out his hand and scratched the back of his head, his ears turning slightly red.