novelraw Chapter 295: Walking Alone
Chapter 295: Walking Alone
The farmer saw that Su Zhan was about to leave and quickly stood up, enthusiastically trying to persuade him to stay. "Hey, brother, it's already noon. There's no need to rush off this very moment even if you're in a hurry to travel. Come back to my place for a hot meal before you go. I'll have your sister-in-law stir-fry a couple of dishes, and we brothers... uh, we can just eat something simple!"
Su Zhan shook his head, showing a grateful smile. "No, old brother, really, no. I appreciate your kindness, but I've already troubled you enough. I... still have to keep moving, take advantage of the good weather to cover more ground. Maybe in the future... if I ever pass by again, I'll definitely come see you."
Seeing his resolute attitude, the farmer didn't insist any further and sighed regretfully. "Alright then... be careful on the road! The town up ahead isn't far;
go to the relief station if you get hungry!"
Su Zhan thanked him again, tightened the woven plastic bag on his shoulder, turned around, and set off on the road heading south.
He walked and walked, walked and walked...
Only by truly being in the heart of the Central Plains could one deeply understand what a plain was, what boundless meant.
The outline of the village behind him had long since disappeared below the horizon. All around was flatness of the purest, most extreme kind.
As far as the eye could see, there was only sky and land.
Dark green field ridges stretched all the way to the limit of his vision, merging seamlessly with the clear, azure sky in the far distance.
There were no undulating hills, no forests to block the view.Even a single decent-sized tree seemed out of place.
The wind blew through the knee-high crops, stirring up layers of green waves, producing a soft rustling sound.
Su Zhan walked along the straight field path, his steps becoming a bit lighter.
His mood also improved somewhat, buoyed by the boundless, vast openness.
Here, the heavens and earth were too vast, the individual too small, which instead made one feel carefree and relaxed.
Su Zhan took a deep breath. The air was fresh.
Right at that moment.
A young man wearing a stylish windbreaker suddenly appeared from who knows where.
He was holding a stabilizer and a phone.
He practically shoved the lens right into Su Zhan's face, speaking in an excited tone:
"Hey, mister! Sorry to bother you! I'm a self-media blogger. I'm currently doing a series called 'Exploring Real Lives.' Can I ask you a few questions?"
Without waiting for Su Zhan to react, or even to indicate agreement or refusal.
The blogger started firing off questions at a rapid pace: "May I ask what circumstances led to you becoming homeless? Was it a family incident or unemployment? Have you applied for official poverty assistance? Logically, Daxia's welfare system should cover your situation. Is the process too complicated, or are there other difficulties?"
Su Zhan instinctively turned sideways, trying to block the view with his dirty hair.
But the other person's lens just followed his movement, sticking right in his face to film him.
"What do you think about living like this now? Do you ever feel despair? Look over there..." He panned the camera toward a distant, modernized farm. "Seeing others living stable, prosperous lives, do you feel particularly envious deep down? Or rather, do you have any plans for the future?"
Su Zhan was completely stunned, alarm bells ringing loudly in his mind.
Self-media?
An interview?
He had calculated a thousand things, evaded the official dragnet, avoided the Transcendence Society's vicious pursuit, but he never expected to be cornered by a self-media blogger chasing clout in this desolate wilderness.
Exposure. That was the greatest danger.
Although his new face was a disguise, if it was captured clearly, posted online, and seen by certain interested parties, the consequences would be unimaginable.
These self-media types would do anything for attention.
If the other person really posted the video and it got a lot of views.
That would completely shatter the low profile he had worked so hard to maintain.
Su Zhan lowered his head, using an even more exaggerated motion to wave his filthy sleeves, stubbornly blocking his face.
He quickened his pace.
But the blogger was relentless, holding up his phone and following closely: "Mister, don't hide! Talk about it. Let your difficulties be heard by more people;
maybe you can get help then? Do you have some unspeakable hardship?"
Su Zhan redoubled his efforts to play the part of an uncommunicative vagrant.
The blogger chased him for a few steps, then spoke to the camera with some regret: "Did you all see that, folks? This homeless gentleman seems unwilling to communicate, perhaps suffering from deep psychological trauma... What kind of story lies hidden behind this? My 'Exploring Real Lives' series will continue to focus on the living conditions of those at the bottom of society..."
Su Zhan, emanating a sense of pressure, took a large step right up to the blogger.
Before the blogger could react.
Su Zhan directly snatched the phone from his hand.
"You... what are you doing?!" The blogger was both shocked and angry.
Su Zhan completely ignored his shouting. His fingers swiftly swiped across the screen, went straight to the photo album, and thoroughly deleted every single video and photo taken just now, along with the backups in the 'recently deleted' folder, wiping it all clean.
After finishing this.
Su Zhan shoved the phone back into the dumbfounded blogger's arms and said, word by word: "Who gave you permission to film me? This is called violating portrait rights, understand? I don't consent! Get lost!"
The blogger looked at the now-empty photo album, shocked and frightened.
He had originally thought the other person was a soft target he could push around, but he had kicked an iron plate instead.
He mumbled, putting on a tough front despite his fear: "I... I just wanted to help you... to get people to pay attention..."
"I don't need it!" Su Zhan cut him off. "Don't bother me again!"
After saying that, he turned and resumed his stride.
The blogger stared at the empty photo album, taking a long time to come back to his senses.
Su Zhan quickly distanced himself under the cover of the crop fields, inwardly sneering.
Dealing with people who only want clout, reasoning is useless. Showing a tough, unyielding attitude is the fastest way to solve the problem.
Su Zhan wasn't surprised by the outcome of that conflict just now.
He hadn't emitted any Pressure belonging to a powerful being. His gaze, though cold, was limited to the anger of an infuriated person at the bottom of society.
The reason the blogger backed off wasn't because he sensed any substantial threat, but stemmed from a more common social psychology.
The Principle of Concession by the Fortunate.
This principle was simple: Those who possess more, who live happier, more stable lives, when facing someone who has nothing, often tend to proactively concede.
For that blogger.
He had a promising future ahead of him.
It wasn't worth it for him to stubbornly clash with a homeless man who seemed capable of anything, all for the sake of a video clip.
If the other person really flew into a humiliated rage and did something extreme, even just a scratch or a bite, for him, the loss would outweigh the gain.
His "shoes" were too precious;
he couldn't bear to have them sullied by the mud.
And Su Zhan was precisely that "barefoot" person.
In the other's eyes, he was the "unfortunate one."
He was utterly alone, carrying a bounty on his head, struggling on the edge of life and death. Apart from this one life, it seemed there was nothing left he couldn't lose.
Understanding this point.
Su Zhan revealed a self-mocking smile.
There was a time when he too was one of those "wearing shoes."
He was a proud son of heaven at the Vermilion Bird Academy, possessing a future of limitless possibilities.
But now, he had to rely on playing the role of society's lowest "unfortunate one," using others' wariness of the "barefoot" to protect himself.
Su Zhan tugged at his tattered collar, buried his head even lower, and continued moving forward alone across this vast plain, heading south.