144: Chapter 144 Days Without a System

After that letter was sent out, the System never sounded again. One day, two days, three days. Lin Feng squatted under the Old Locust Tree, biting on a straw, waiting for that rusty creaking sound. Nothing. There was only the rustling of the wind through the leaves, the purring of the cat in the tree pit, and the jingling of Uncle Zhou's bicycle chain. He waited for three days, and on the fourth day, he stopped waiting. He stood up, patted his bottom, and went to the restaurant to eat.

Margaret brought over a plate of mushrooms and placed it in front of him. "Still waiting for the System?"

Lin Feng picked up a mushroom with his chopsticks. "Not anymore."

"Not anymore?"

"Not anymore. If it doesn't sound, it means it's gone. When it was here, I found it annoying, but now that it's gone, I've gotten used to it."

Margaret sat down across from him. "Then what will you do from now on?"

Lin Feng chewed on the mushroom. "From now on? I won't use it anymore. I won't use those skills it gave me either. Emotional Perception, Happy Smell, Emotional Resonance—all turned off. I won't look at whether others are happy or unhappy, and I won't transmit emotions for others." He swallowed. "When I see things, I want to manage them; when I manage them, I want to help; and once I start helping, I can't stop. I won't look anymore, just squat. Squatting is fine."

Margaret looked at him for a long time. "Weren't you also squatting before?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Before, I was squatting to wait for people to come. Now, I'm squatting because they have come, and I am watching them. It's different."

Margaret didn't understand, but she didn't ask again. She stood up, cleared the plate, and went to wash the dishes. Lin Feng squatted at the restaurant entrance, watching the pedestrians on the main street. Some were going to the Coffee Shop, some to the church, some to the farm. No one looked at him, and he didn't look at them either. He bit on his straw and looked at the sky. The sky was very blue, the clouds were very white, and the wind was very gentle. He closed his eyes and soaked up the sun for a while.

In the afternoon, Lin Feng went to the church. The door was open, and there was no one inside. He walked to that wall, squatted down, and looked at those letters. The letter paper had yellowed, the corners were curled, and some of the words were blurred. He reached out his hand, but didn't touch them, just looked. He saw Eric's first letter— "My name is Eric. Twenty-three years old. I didn't graduate from college. I don't know what I can do." He saw Martha's letter— "My name is Martha. Seventy-three years old. I am learning the guitar." He saw George's letter— "My name is George. Seventy-three years old. I built this wall." He saw Lin Xiaohe's letter— "My name is Lin Xiaohe. Seven years old. Today I saw a wall." He looked for a long time, then stood up, walked to that small door, gripped the doorknob, and gave it a gentle turn. With a click, the door opened. The dirt path inside was still there, and the wildflowers on both sides were still there. He didn't go in; he closed the door. He turned and left.

Walking out of the church, he saw the cat squatting on the steps, its tail tip swaying gently. The cat saw him, stood up, walked to his feet, and rubbed against them. He squatted down and patted the cat on the head. "Did you come to the church too?" The cat didn't answer; it jumped off the steps and ran along the alley. Lin Feng watched its back and smiled.

In the evening, Lin Feng went to the farm. George was watering the mushrooms and, seeing him come in, sliced a piece of rainbow mushroom and handed it to him. Lin Feng took it and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he remembered the day he first saw a rainbow mushroom. George was squatting in front of the rack, holding that little brown mushroom in his hands, saying it was called "Listen." Later, it turned rainbow-colored, and eating it would make you think of happy things. He swallowed and opened his eyes. "Still sweet." George smiled. "Always sweet."

Lin Feng squatted in front of the mushroom rack, looking at that rainbow mushroom. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, circle after circle. He remembered the last task the System gave him— "Let the 'Xinfeng Town Model' influence the world." He didn't go to influence the world; he didn't even leave Xinfeng Town. But others went to influence it for him—Eric went to Millfield, Martha went to Greenfield, Lin Xiaohe drew a door, the cat planted trees, and Uncle Zhou delivered letters. They did better than him.

He stood up and patted his pants. "I'm leaving."

George didn't even lift his head. "Where are you going?"

Lin Feng said, "Back to the Old Locust Tree."

George smiled. "Where else could you go?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Nowhere. Just squatting."

At night, Lin Feng returned under the Old Locust Tree. Margaret brought over a plate of mushrooms and squatted beside him.

"Lin Feng, did you go to see the wall today?"

Lin Feng nodded. "I did."

"Did you go to see the door?"

"I did."

"Did you go to see the mushrooms?"

"I did."

Margaret placed the plate on the ground and looked at him. "Then did you see the System?"

Lin Feng chewed on the mushroom. "The System is not in the wall, not in the door, not in the mushrooms. It is gone." He swallowed. "But those things it saw are still there. The wall is there, the door is there, the tree is there, the pit is there, the mushrooms are there. Whether it looks or not, they are all there."

Margaret didn't speak; she also squatted down and watched that big tree with him. The moon rose from behind the canopy, casting the tree's shadow onto the ground, long and like a road. The wind blew over, and the leaves rustled.

Lin Feng said, "I want to distribute those unclaimed rewards to the people in town."

Margaret looked at him. "How will you distribute them?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Give it to whoever needs it. It's not about giving money, it's about helping them do what they want to do. Eric wants to grow more mushrooms, so I'll buy him spawn. Martha wants a new guitar, so I'll buy her one. Sam wants to release an album, so I'll help him record it. Lin Xiaohe wants to go to school, so I'll pay her tuition. Whatever the cat wants to eat, I'll buy it fish."

Margaret smiled. "You know what the cat wants?"

Lin Feng looked at the cat squatting in the tree pit. "It wants a nest that won't run away. The red cloth in the pit is old; I'll replace it with a new one."

The cat jumped out of the pit, walked to Lin Feng's feet, rubbed against them, then jumped back, curled up on the red cloth, and closed its eyes. Margaret looked at the cat, then at Lin Feng. "You even know what the cat is thinking."

Lin Feng said, "It's not knowing. It's guessing. If I guess right, it rubs against me. If I guess wrong, it ignores me. Since it rubbed, it means I was right."

The next day, Lin Feng went to find Uncle Zhou. Uncle Zhou was sorting letters at the Post Office. Seeing him come in, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket. "The letter you asked me to deliver last time wasn't delivered. I couldn't find the address 'System'." Lin Feng took the paper, looked at it, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "No need to deliver it. It received it." Uncle Zhou was taken aback. "How do you know?" Lin Feng said, "It stopped sounding. Not sounding means it received it." Uncle Zhou didn't ask again and continued sorting letters.

Lin Feng took a list out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "Uncle Zhou, help me withdraw this money." Uncle Zhou picked up the list and looked at it. "Why withdraw so much?" Lin Feng said, "To distribute to the people in town." Uncle Zhou looked at the names on the list—Eric, Martha, Sam, Lin Xiaohe, the cat... He smiled. "The cat gets some too?" Lin Feng nodded. "The cat gets some. Buy it fish." Uncle Zhou put the list away. "Alright. I'll take care of it for you tomorrow."

On the third day, Uncle Zhou withdrew the money. He rode his bicycle and delivered it door to door. He went to Millfield first and handed a bag of money and a note to Eric. The note read: "Buy spawn. Grow more mushrooms." Eric was stunned. "This is..." Uncle Zhou said, "Lin Feng gave it. He didn't claim his rewards, so he's distributing them to you all." Eric looked at the bag of money for a long time. "Why didn't he come himself?" Uncle Zhou thought for a moment. "He's squatting. Too lazy to walk." Eric smiled. "Then I'll grow mushrooms for him."

Uncle Zhou then rode to Greenfield and handed a bag of money and a note to Martha. The note read: "Get a new guitar." Martha took the money and touched the note. "He even knew I wanted to change my guitar?" Uncle Zhou said, "He guessed." Martha smiled. "He guessed right."

Uncle Zhou then rode to the Coffee Shop and handed the money and a note to Sam. The note read: "Release an album. Record the songs the wall sang." Sam looked at the note for a long time. "The songs the wall sang?" Uncle Zhou nodded. "The wall breathes and sings. You've heard it." Sam folded the note and put it in his pocket. "I'll record them." Uncle Zhou then handed a bag of money to Molly, and the note read: "Buy fish for the cat. Buy the best." Molly smiled. "The cat can't eat that much." Uncle Zhou said, "Keep it. Let it eat slowly."

Finally, Uncle Zhou rode under the Old Locust Tree and handed the remaining money to Lin Feng. Lin Feng took the money, pulled out a bill from the bag, and handed it to Uncle Zhou. "This is for you." Uncle Zhou was taken aback. "What for?" Lin Feng said, "Your chain needs replacing. Get a better one." Uncle Zhou looked at the money for a long time. "I just replaced my chain." Lin Feng said, "Then change the bike. You've been riding that bike for forty years; it's time for it to retire." Uncle Zhou pushed the money back. "No need. I can still ride it." Lin Feng didn't take it and placed the money in his bike basket. "Just ride it. We'll talk when you can't ride it anymore." Uncle Zhou looked at the money in the basket and didn't push it back. He got on his bike, the chain jingled, and he left. Lin Feng squatted under the Old Locust Tree, watching his back. The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. He smiled.

[ Chapter 144 End ]