23: The past in Sinikov's mouth!

These foods and drinks were a mix of old and new; the old ones included high-proof liquor from 1988 and red wine from 1992.

The new ones even included bread baked last week and sausages with a spray date from three days ago.

Most of these items had already been opened and consumed.

Some of the more recent ones were still intact.

Things like these filled the entire room!

By the window in the room, there was a single bed, and on it lay an old man on the verge of death.

Just like the Rottweiler sitting on the floor.

Both the man and the dog seemed to be merely clinging to life in this world.

After a long while.

The old man stirred.

He raised his head, glanced at Wu Tian and the Fatty, then looked at the Rottweiler on the floor.

“Old friend...”

“Did you bring new friends home today?”

“Heh heh...”

“It’s been so long, why haven’t you left yet? You know... wouldn’t it be great if you followed these two young people?”

“Sigh...”

The old man's initial speech was slow, as if he was greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

But later on.

When he spoke about why the Rottweiler hadn't left with Wu Tian and the Fatty, a few tears welled up in the old man's cloudy eyes.

“Ten years!”

“It’s been ten years, why have you stayed with me for so long? Don’t you have your own life?”

“Don’t you have a female dog you like?”

“What are you doing wasting your time here with an old man like me?”

“...”

“Woof...”

The Rottweiler let out a low howl, then stood up and walked to the old man's bedside, gently placing his paw on the bed.

He looked at the old man and blinked.

“...”

The old man was startled.

Immediately, tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

He struggled to grasp the Rottweiler's paw tightly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

“Old friend!”

“These ten years are only a fraction of my life, but this... this is your entire life. Is it worth it for you to stay with me?”

“You deserve a better life!”

“Leave!”

“Please, leave!”

“Woof...”

A flash of human-like panic crossed the Rottweiler's face, and his paws waved continuously in the air, as if he wanted to wipe away the tears from the old man's eyes.

But his paws were too big, and the old man was too weak.

Fearing he might hurt the old man, the Rottweiler could only wave his paws in vain!

“Woof!”

“Woof...”

The Rottweiler's cries were mournful and piercing.

He seemed to sense that the old man's days were few, and a few tears welled up from his sunken eyes.

They were crystal clear in the sunlight by the window!

“...”

Suddenly, the old Rottweiler seemed to remember something.

Wagging his tail, he left the old man's side and rushed towards Wu Tian and the Fatty by the door.

“Woof!”

“Woof woof!”

The Rottweiler barked loudly twice at Wu Tian.

“...”

“Are you trying to tell me to save your owner?”

“Woof!”

The Rottweiler jumped in place, confirming Wu Tian's guess.

“Alright.”

“Then I’ll try.”

Wu Tian reached out and stroked the Rottweiler's head, then walked towards the single bed by the window... It wasn't until he reached the old man's side that Wu Tian had a chance to observe him closely.

He was emaciated and bone-thin.

Whether it was the effect of radiation or years of hunger, the old man's flesh was tightly wrapped around his bones.

The hair on his head had long fallen out, and the few remaining strands at the back of his head had already turned gray.

“Uh...”

Seeing Wu Tian approach.

The old man squinted, trying hard to see Wu Tian's appearance clearly.

“You are?”

The old man was very polite; even in such a desperate situation, he tried to maintain his composure.

“Hello.”

“I am an explorer from the Dragon Country!”

“I came to Chernobyl to uncover the truth of that year and give an explanation to the deceased victims!”

Wu Tian got straight to the point.

“...”

The old man fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed softly.

“Sigh...”

“Thirty-four years have passed, what truth is there left?”

“The so-called truth is what the public is willing to see now. As for the truth itself...”

“Does it still matter?”

The old man's tone was somewhat dejected.

[The old man's name is Sinikov. He was one of the officials in charge during the Chernobyl incident. He made no mistakes and fought for what he should have for the residents of Pripyat, but he was still misunderstood by the world and rejected by his countrymen.]

[In desperation, he dedicated the rest of his life to this radiated land. Regarding the truth of that year, he is very pessimistic.]

[Try harder, this is a good opportunity to uncover the truth!]

Wu Tian was startled, then his eyes lit up.

He reached out and tightly grasped the old man's frail arm, staring into his eyes and said with conviction!

“It matters!”

“If it doesn't matter, then how will the grievances of the tens of thousands of people who died be redressed?”

“If it doesn't matter, did those firefighters who died at the beginning of the disaster all die in vain?”

“If it doesn't matter, then why are you holding on here?”

“...”

The old man was somewhat moved.

He asked with trembling lips.

“Firefighters, you... ”

“What do you know?”

“I know a lot, but you are the eyewitness to that disaster!”

“What you say carries the most weight!”

As he spoke.

Wu Tian pulled out a waterproof voice recorder from his embrace and placed it nearby.

“This is a voice recorder. It will record our entire conversation!”

“I promise you!”

“Every word you say, I will record it verbatim and then hand it over to the people in Ulan Country and Bear Country who truly want to uncover the truth of that year, to give you and that year a real...”

“Truth!”

The old man was startled.

He tensed his body, staring into Wu Tian's eyes for a long time, then finally relaxed and lay back down on the bed.

“Your eyes are pure; you're not lying to me!”

“I’ll tell you.”

“These words have been bottled up in my heart for many years!”

“My name is Sinikov.”

“I was one of the engineers on duty at Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 that year. The situation was critical; the nuclear power plant operating at low power had already had over two hundred control rods removed, with only five remaining to suppress the nuclear reaction!”

“And...”

Sinikov's expression was sorrowful.

“The graphite in the graphite-moderated boiling water reactor slowed down the speed at which neutrons passed, thereby increasing the chance of neutrons colliding with Uranium-235 atoms. Although it was low power, the reactor was actually gradually operating beyond its capacity!”

“This was extremely dangerous!”

“I wanted to stop the experiment, but...”

“Gatilov stopped me!”

“He said it was fine, and told me to continue the experiment, even threatening to fire me if I didn't do as he said!”

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