The alley was narrow and dark, with many women wearing makeup leaning against the walls or doors playing on their phones. Every now and then, they would look up, smile at you, and ask if you wanted to come in.
Perhaps because Qingmu's outfit was really not good, the women usually just gave him a disapproving look and went back to looking down at their phones.
At the end of the alley, at another, more spacious exit, lies the old farmers' market. It's busiest in the mornings, when nearby residents flock here to buy groceries. Some even take five or six bus stops from afar just to get there, because the vegetables are a few cents cheaper per pound than at other markets.
The vegetable farmers here basically only do business for the morning; by the afternoon, there are only a handful left. People who come home from get off work to buy vegetables have to go to other markets.
There's an internet cafe next to the vegetable market; I wonder if it's on the site of the internet cafe that burned down years ago.
Qingmu felt uneasy, but he was the kind of person who didn't like to think things through, so he didn't bother to figure out where his discomfort came from.
He was just following his instincts, sensing that something was about to happen here, and that he had to do something about it.
He would stroll around the farmers' market, always taking the Boss Coal out for a walk after dinner.
The Crow were quite quiet at this moment, as if they were waiting for something to happen.
A figure flashed by at the entrance of the internet cafe.
The Boss Coal straightened up, Qingmu knew he had to do something.
Liu Huaian, crying and making a scene, was taken to the community by Director Liu. He ate a good meal at the community canteen and then wandered aimlessly around the streets in a daze.
His mission is to continue searching for the "nerve center" of AI.
He managed to eliminate one of them at the supermarket last time, but he wasn't satisfied with his small achievement. He wanted to find a larger central hub, like the one from twenty years ago. He even once thought he could find the core brain of the Internet, and then he could become a hero who saves all mankind.
He had always suspected that the internet cafe next to the old farmers' market was an important network nerve center, and that the owner of that internet cafe might have a chip implanted in his body, just like him.
Liu Huaian had infiltrated this internet cafe more than once to search for evidence. He had figured out the server location and the wiring layout inside very well; now all that was left was to find an opportunity to take it down.
So, after leaving the community canteen, he went to the old farmers' market.
He wandered around the internet cafe for a while but couldn't find an opportunity to make a move.
The internet cafe owner saw him and shouted, "Hey, Madman Liu! You're here to freeload again?"
Liu Huaian said, "Your machines are all empty! They're just sitting there doing nothing!" As he spoke, he went to get cigarettes from the shelf behind the counter.
"You son of a bitch, trying to smoke my cigarettes for free again!" the shopkeeper cursed, shoving Liu Huaian's hand away and taking two cigarettes from the loose pack under the counter. "Here you go, have a smoke!"
Liu Huaian noticed a bulge under the collar of the boss's shirt at the back of his neck.
That must be where the chip is located, he thought.
He chuckled as he took the cigarette, skillfully turned on a computer, and surfed the internet for a while. Only when the internet cafe became crowded did he sheepishly stand up and leave.
Liu Huaian left the internet cafe, he glanced around and saw the psychologist with the messy hair standing not far away, with a large black bird perched on his head.
For some reason, he was a little scared and didn't want to meet this person.
He came up with a reason for himself: he couldn't let the people over there know about his plan to destroy the internet cafe; everything had to be done in secret, just like twenty years ago.
He slipped into the farmers' market, stepping over the sewage and rotten vegetable leaves, intending to exit through another exit.
It was already getting dark, but there were still quite a few people buying and selling vegetables in the farmers' market, with shouts and bargaining sounds rising and falling.
"Hey, isn't this Wu Dalang Dalang's son? You're here to buy groceries too?" someone greeted him.
Liu Huaian chuckled and slipped into the crowd like a thief. He found it strange that there were still so many people so late.
"Hey, Huai'an, your father's calling you to finish your meal!" someone called to him.
Liu Huaian said without turning his head, "I won't eat."
He walked out of the farmers' market, shook off his shoes, and went into an internet cafe.
The internet cafe was dark and packed with people, most of them wearing headphones and completely absorbed in their games.
"My second uncle isn't here, is he?" Liu Huaian asked the internet cafe cashier. "Give me a computer."
The cashier gave him a card and said, "Ten yuan."
"Put it on my second uncle's tab," he said impatiently.
He turned on a game machine with his card, lit a cigarette, and played for a while when his stomach started rumbling. He thought of the lamb skewers and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) at the street corner, and his mouth watered.
He was about to stub out his cigarette when he glanced at a pile of black electrical wires in the corner, twisting and turning like snakes, spitting out apricots. His second uncle had used these wires to tie him up and beat him, and he could still vaguely feel the pain.
That's ruthless! He only got someone pregnant, it's not like he's being irresponsible, he thought.
Liu Huaian did have a bit of a crush on that girl. He didn't believe she would look down on him; if she didn't, why would she get pregnant? She wasn't a balloon that could be blown up.
But his second uncle said that the other party looked down on him and simply paid them a sum of money to leave. He felt that his second uncle did it on purpose.
"Hmph! I'll burn you all to death sooner or later!" he said, looking at the snakes on the ground.
He tossed the cigarette butt into the corner, and the red Mars were instantly swallowed up by the pile of black wires.
As he was leaving, he said to the internet cafe manager, "Hey, turn the exhaust fan up a bit! We can't smell this much sweat!"
The lamb skewers from that guy from northern Xinjiang at the alley entrance are getting better and better.
He was enjoying his meal when he suddenly heard someone shout, "Fire! Fire!"
He ran back to check and saw black smoke rising from the direction of the internet cafe.
"What karma!" he thought to himself, chuckling to himself.
Soon, the fire grew larger, the flames a bright red that pierced the sky, shining especially brightly in the darkness and illuminating the entire Liuying Lane. The whole street was in chaos, with people shouting "Help!" and others yelling "Fire!" The cries and screams were deafening.
Liu Huaian became a little scared, looking around nervously like an ant on a hot pan.
Someone patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay, it's okay, the fire department will be here soon. Wow, you're lucky to be alive!"
The fire trucks arrived and completely blocked Liuying Lane, fighting the fire all night long.
Charred corpses were carried out from the rubble and laid out on the road. Police cordoned off the area from a distance, prohibiting residents from approaching to watch.
"You started the fire!"
Liu Huaian was startled when he heard someone speaking behind him. He turned around and saw a young man with messy, unkempt hair, wearing a drab old trench coat, ripped bell-bottoms, and slippers, walking towards him with a clattering gait.
"Who are you?"
"I'm from that side."
What do you want?
"You betrayed the organization, and the organization sent me to eliminate you!"