Without saying a word, Hou Biao jumped into the river and swam toward Jiang Deguan. But when he reached the middle of the river, Jiang Deguan had disappeared.
He plunged into the water and searched the riverbed for a long time, surfacing for air before diving back down. He did this many times, searching the entire riverbed but still couldn't find Jiang Deguan.
He dejectedly went ashore and sat silently on the rocks of the embankment, soaking wet.
Qingmu walked over and said, "Let's go back to Wuzhong."
"Go back for what? To be your bodyguard?" Hou Biao laughed self-deprecatingly. What else could he do in his life besides being a bodyguard for wealthy lords?
Qingmu said, "I'm not a rich old man."
Hou Biao asked, "Then what are we going back for?"
Qingmu said, "Go back and try a different way of living."
Hou Biao said, "Let me think about it."
Qingmu said, "Alright, come find me anytime you've made up your mind."
Hou Biao Qingmu left, Hou Biao stood by the river for a long time, until dawn broke. He sighed at the calm surface of the river, stood up helplessly, and said, " Master Jiang, I've done my best."
Hou Biao walked onto the stone bridge and pushed the tricycle off. The vehicle was blocking the bridge and was an eyesore, so he wanted to push it into the mulberry grove next to it.
He had just pushed the tricycle off the vehicle when he suddenly heard a gunshot.
The gunshot seemed to come from a great distance, yet also sounded very close, echoing in his ears.
Startled by the gunshot, he suddenly realized something, and then the world spun around him.
Hou Biao steadied himself, looked around, and saw a dark mass of cars, piled up one after another, like a field of steel corpses.
Isn't this the same abandoned car parking lot where he hid his cars and switched to tricycles?
Hou Biao looked at the tricycle he was pushing and suddenly realized that everything he had just experienced was a dream. He had been hypnotized since he started looking for the tricycle in the parking lot. He had just found the tricycle, while Jiang Deguan should still be in the van he had come from.
After the gunshots rang out, the parking lot fell silent.
Hou Biao cursed "Damn it!" and pushed the tricycle over, running towards the van.
Jiang Deguan was lying in the van, holding a gun in his hand; a bullet had pierced his temple. Judging from the scene, he committed suicide with a pistol.
Hou Biao looked around blankly and saw Qingmu standing behind him, his hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against a wrecked old car.
"Come back to Wuzhong with me," Qingmu said.
Hou Biao said, "I could have saved him, but you hypnotized me."
Qingmu said, "Saving him would only mean walking a little further, and you've already seen the result in your dream. Rather than letting him float in the river and die in front of his fellow villagers, it's better for him to die here. Why bother?"
Hou Biao slumped to the ground in despair.
He raised the gun and pointed it at his temple.
Qingmu said, "You yourself said you've done your best. You owe him nothing anymore, so why bother?"
Hou Biao said, "I have no will to live. What's the point of living? Go back to being a mercenary, or continue being a bodyguard for these men?"
Qingmu said, "Perhaps there are some more meaningful things we can do, like..."
"For example what?"
"For example, saving all of humanity."
"Save all of humanity?" Hou Biao chuckled, finding it quite amusing to hear such a joke at this time.
Qingmu said, "Of course you can't save humanity, but some people can."
Hou Biao looked up. "So? What are you trying to say?"
"I mean you can use your skills to protect those who need protection more."
"The President of the United States?" Hou Biao suddenly found the joke unfunny. "Is there a difference between being a dog for the rich and being a dog for officials?"
Qingmu said, "It seems that although Jiang Deguan saved your life, he didn't treat you well. Otherwise, why would you feel like you're being treated like a dog as a bodyguard?"
Hou Biao fell silent, carefully considering Qingmu's words in his mind. Finally, he shook his head and said, "No, Master Jiang didn't treat me like a dog. I was just overthinking it."
Qingmu said, "Your subconscious doesn't lie."
Hou Biao remained silent for a long time before asking, "Whom do you want me to protect?"
Qingmu said, "Scientists who can save humanity, and good people who might be harmed. Protect them, and you too can become a respected person, not just someone people think of as a nasty jerk."
Hou Biao said, "Let me think about it."
"Okay, take your time thinking about it. Come find me anytime you've made up your mind," Qingmu said.
Hou Biao stood up wearily and walked numbly through the steel world of wrecked cars. After a few steps, he remembered that Jiang Deguan's body was still in the car, and it was ultimately inappropriate to leave it exposed here.
He thought he would turn back, drag the body out, and bury it somewhere, but when he turned around, he suddenly realized that the scenery had changed. There was no parking lot, no wrecked car, and no body anywhere.
Trees were everywhere, and the wind blew through the woods, carrying with it the calls of night owls, which sounded extremely eerie.
Hou Biao saw the hazy shadows of villages and scattered lights in the distance and suddenly remembered that this was the mountain they had entered on foot after abandoning their car. He was now planning to get some food and had even gotten a van. But that was clearly not real; time couldn't be reversed. It was a dream he had after being hypnotized.
At this moment, Jiang Deguan should be hiding in that crevice in the mountain, waiting for him.
Hou Biao thought that if he was hypnotized at this time, then the events of Huang Ziqiang's men chasing him into the mountains and Jiang Deguan being injured would not be real.
Thinking about it now, it makes sense. Huang Ziqiang could only have been watching his car; it was impossible for him to have chased him into the mountains after he abandoned his vehicle. If it had been Li Wei, he might have believed that the other party had such ability.
He hurriedly turned back and ran back, only to see Jiang Deguan sitting there blankly, looking up at the sky. The night sky was cloudless, and the low-hanging stars seemed about to fall.
" Master Jiang!" he called out.
Jiang Deguan slowly turned his face, looked at him and said, " Monkey, you've done your best. Don't worry about me anymore. You can go now."
Hou Biao began to wonder if he was dreaming. He didn't reply, but instead looked around warily.
Jiang Deguan said, "While you were walking away, I was reflecting on my life. This quiet forest is perfect for contemplation. Now I understand. I've lived my life to the fullest, even if it wasn't the kind I wanted. But the wealth and luxury I've enjoyed are things most people can only dream of. What is there to complain about? There's no point in living any longer. I might as well die sooner and be reborn, so I can be a different person in the next life."
Hou Biao increasingly felt like he was still dreaming; Jiang Deguan's words were completely unlike his usual self.
"Do you know what my childhood dream was?" Jiang Deguan continued, "When I was little, I wanted to be a scientist. My favorite cartoon back then was Robot Cat, oh, it's called Doraemon now, but we all called him Ding Dong back then. I loved his magic pocket, which was filled with my dreams for the future. I wanted to be a scientist so I could change the world. I even often fantasized that if aliens invaded Earth one day, I would be the hero who saved humanity!"
Hou Biao suddenly paused for a moment. "Save humanity?"
Jiang Deguan nodded with a smile, "Yes, what boy hasn't had a dream like that!"