Why it never ends

Chapter 46

The three of them put away the plates and rubbish on the table, and went to Liz's room like last time. Liz took out an old but well-preserved map from her drawer.

She spread the map carefully on the bed and showed it to Hesta and Turan.

This is the map of the Askia Wilderness, which claims to be the largest wilderness in the third district, as big as three Tanyis. It remains to be verified whether the land area is the largest, but it was indeed a very prosperous city-state At its peak, it was even comparable to some livable places far away from the core city.

Askia fell on a vast plain, and although the transportation was extremely convenient, it was not dangerous.

There are five districts in the entire Askia, and Liz's home is located at the corner of an artificial river in the east city.Not far from there is a small park where many residents with dogs play Frisbee with their pets on weekends.

Liz is familiar with every street in the vicinity, and she can even name the shops and their owners on a certain street in turn based on her impression.

"The area restrictions on the wasteland are not so strict," Liz said softly, "For example, Askia and Vilyuchinsky, although one is in the north-central part of the third district and the other is in the easternmost part of the fourteenth district, if If someone is willing, they can still move there—it seems that the elders of my family were among the first group of people who went to Vilyuchinsky, but the time interval is too far away, and the two sides have long since lost contact."

Turan slightly estimated the distance between the two in his mind.

"It's so far... so dangerous."

"The number of people that a piece of land can support is always limited. If you want to survive, someone must be a pioneer." Liz said softly, "Besides, this road to the east is not all no-man's land. When I meet different towns, everyone is very wary of strangers, and they don’t easily let outsiders in.”

"Then how do you want to settle down?"

"Larger wastelands generally have their own special contact stations and isolation areas, most of which are led by Mercury Needle. The general process is to first file an application, submit materials, and after the review is passed, the cerebrospinal fluid is taken for testing and tested in a special isolation area. Staying in the institute for three months... In short, it was very troublesome.

"Smaller wastelands are less strict, and you can do anything. After all, before the outbreak of chelate in Askia, no one had seen chelate for decades-in this case, all It is almost impossible for a human being to consciously follow a set of rules that are extremely troublesome."

Hesta also heard Arnold mention this point. Askia in 4620 and Hekla in 4621 are the only places where two chelate tides occurred in the third area in recent years. Most of the 67 reserve soldiers in the base come from the villages around these two wastelands.It is almost a miracle that the brothers Liz and Gringoire survived as residents of the center of the flashpoint.

Liz looked at the map, "The two chelate surges must have sounded the alarm for people in Habitable Land and other wastelands."

"It's hard to say, if the alarm bell can be sounded, two chelates will not sneak into the city of Katla." Turan lay on his side, "The municipal fortifications outside the city were repaired perfunctorily before, and the Ministry of Public Security They also failed to carry out their duty of patrolling the quarantine zone every night. Everyone felt that the Hekla Wasteland was far away from Katla City. Even if something happened, it would not be our turn for the time being... If you don’t really see blood, who can remember the lesson? ?”

The three lay on the bed, each recalling some past events, and fell silent for a moment.

Liz suddenly looked sideways, "Jane, what kind of place is Duan Ming Lane?"

Hesta didn't expect the sudden turn of the topic, and could only utter a soft and slow "um..." for a moment.

"Are criminals really everywhere?" Turan asked.

"Probably... yes? But it's not that scary," Hesta recalled. "After all, if you want to find enough food, clean water, and necessary medicines...you have to make a deal together. So in most cases Now, everyone will take the initiative to avoid some meaningless disputes, and many people only regard Duanming Lane as a temporary place to stay, and eventually they will find a way to settle down elsewhere."

Liz nodded thoughtfully, "It sounds a bit similar to Hekla's situation."

"Where is it like?"

"In the center of the Hekla Wasteland, there is a small town of about 40 square kilometers called Oasis. Have you heard of it?"

Hester shook his head.

Liz continued: "There are underground trading stations, hospitals, pharmacies, and some purchasing points... Except for the trafficking of people, arms, and drugs, it is no different from other wastelands.

"The oasis is the 'truce' agreed upon by all the Hekla people, because the locals also need a place where they can save lives and collect intelligence. So no matter what the dispute is, once they enter the oasis, both sides must temporarily put aside the dispute."

Hesta tilted her head, "It's like a sanctuary in a church."

"Really?" Liz blinked.

"Well, a nun once told me that before the blackout era, the church had a 'right of asylum'. No matter who it is, no matter what sins he has committed, as long as he steps into the church and rings the confession bell, then He will be immediately protected."

"...the police can't go in and arrest them?"

Hesta nodded, "Yes, the bishop, the priest or the head nun will give them asylum periods ranging from half a month to forty days depending on the situation, after which they will either be permanently deported from the country or be tried by a secular court—or Not getting away with it.”

Turan was startled suddenly: "Katla also has this kind of place. There will be a shelter near the church—it's used for these things."

"Maybe some habits in this land have been inherited from the golden age? Although they may have changed their appearance..."

Turan laughed.

"That said, even though it has been more than 800 years, we are still survivors of the golden age."

Among the three, only Liz's expression suddenly became complicated.

She got up and went to the wall to take down her bayan.

"'White Steamship' is a folk song from the golden age. It was taught to me by my grandmother," Liz said softly. "She also taught me another song. Do you want to hear it?"

……

The same night, the same song is echoing in Chiba's office at this moment.

The needle record player she placed under the window sill was spinning, and the metal-plated stylus was continuously reading passages in an unfamiliar language.

Chiba was humming the melody of this song. She once held the cover of this record and asked Mrs. Daria of the White Steamship for the meaning of its title.

These mottled characters make up a short sentence: "I would like to die young" (1)

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(1) The poem "I would like to die young" by Mira Rokhvitskaya

(End of this chapter)