Ronnie fell asleep in the midst of his rambling thoughts. It was four in the afternoon when he woke up, ate something, and went out of the house. He also wanted to make some friends. Outside was a corridor twenty meters wide and three hundred meters long, twenty meters straight ahead was a one meter high glass balustrade, and below the balustrade was the "Sea of Dreams". He stood on the twenty-fifth floor and looked down at the water where a dozen people were swimming. As he looked down, he saw a young girl reading a book on one of the seats, so he decided to go over and meet her. He approached quietly, sat down next to the girl and said, "It's so hot today, it must be summer.”
The girl looked up at him, "What did you just say?"
Ronnie didn't realize that she was actually a little deaf, so he shouted loudly into her ear, "I said it's hot, there are lots of mosquitoes, and that summer must be here soon.”
The girl also shouted in his ear, "I'm not deaf, you don't have to be so loud.”
Ronnie's face heated up and he quickly changed the subject, "I'm Ronnie, can I get to know you?"
"I'm Peggy, nice to meet you," the two shook hands.
They chatted back and forth with great enthusiasm, as if they'd met before. Ronnie learned that Peggy was a City-state science researcher, twenty-one years old, born in the City-state, received the most formal City-state education, and now lived in room thirty-five on this floor. Just then, two boys came by and asked Peggy if she wanted to go swimming. Peggy refused because she was talking to Ronnie, and the two boys muttered as they walked away, "Peggy actually got so involved talking to a 'black onan'," they said this as if they wanted Ronnie to hear them.
Ronnie did hear, and he asked Peggy, "What's a 'black onan'?"
Peggy was a little embarrassed, but explained, "'Black onan' means hillbilly," seeing that Ronnie still looked confused, she went on to explain, "In the city-state, people who come from the 'free world' are called 'Black Onan', and the most respected people in the city-state are the researchers, the men usually work as city guards and emergency personnel, most of the women are paramours, and there are also garbage collectors, station guards, and guardians of the House of the Three Wolves. When the city-state was first founded, and everyone was from the 'free world', there was no such problem. Now that 80% of the City-state's personnel are indigenous, and most of them are researchers, teachers, and healers, this problem has arisen over time."
"Oh! no wonder they call us 'Black Onan'," listening to her explanation, Ronnie came to a realization.
"By the way, you're so smart, what do you do?" Peggy asked suddenly.
Ronnie scratched his head and laughed, "They guys are right, I am a city guard."
Peggy's face immediately dropped when she heard that he was a city guard, "I can't believe you're a city guard too, I'm sorry I have to go, bye!"
Ronnie hadn't expected her to react so strongly when she heard that he was a City Guard and that she was leaving. He could only reply politely, "Bye!"
He shrugged and laughed to himself, "Looks like a date gone wrong, forget it, let it go, too deliberate instead of finding it,” he thought to himself and turned to go back to his room. At that time he remembered Professor De Silva, he was eager to see himself when he was at the Baron's house and said to the butler, "Help me add the number SH9819-2546 as a friend. "A few moments later, the other party went through the friend and sent a message, "Ronnie, you finally came to the city-state, very happy about your arrival, I'm in block 9819 in You City, I'll look for you in block 9822 on the weekend.”
"Looking forward to your arrival," Ronnie replied. Momentarily bored, he wanted to go over to Alice's side. As he passed room thirty-five and bumped into Peggy again, she saw him too, but she just nodded her head and went into the room. Ronnie said in his heart, "That woman is really annoying. He took the elevator to the fourteenth floor and found Alice's room. Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened automatically, "Ronnie, what are you doing here? I was just going out, it's the first time you've come to my place, come in," Alice invited him in.
"Are you alone? not with Halle Berry?" Ronnie asked as soon as he entered.
"She's in the other room, you want something from her?"
"No, I just thought you were a little out of it with her and assumed she'd be here."
"Just neighbors and then friends, nothing unusual, don't be ridiculous," Alice raised her voice.
Ronnie looked at her quickly and laughed, "I saw her touching your hand all the time this morning and you said it was normal."
"Don't you hold my hand all the time too, have you forgotten?"
"Sister, can I sleep with you at night?" Ronnie took the opportunity to make a request.
"I also have a single room here, so you can only sleep on the grass on the balcony."
"Yes, just let me stay here, even if I have to sleep in the bathroom."
"What a scoundrel!" Alice pretended to be angry.
At 2:30 the next afternoon, the siblings and Halle Berry made their way to the Northwest Conference Hall. Ronnie followed alone, jealous as he watched Alice and Halle Berry, who walked ahead of him, move intimately. He felt that his sister didn't love him as much as she used to, when she used to put him first. The three of them soon arrived at the conference hall, the initiation ceremony started at three o'clock, and the newcomers present were only a few short of being all there. The three of them were still sitting side by side, just like last time, and the host and the six ceremonial ladies on the stage were also ready. Had Ronnie's eyes been sharp, he would have realized that one of the six ladies was his classmate Mish, with whom Ronnie had placed bets at the Monte Carlo Casino. Mish has been in town for three years with her brother and another girl, and the three of them live together. Ronnie was staring at Halle Berry's hand and Alice, seeing his gaze, knew what he was thinking and hastily pulled her hand back. The City-state was very punctual, and as soon as three o'clock arrived, the host signaled for silence. The image of the Holy Virgin "Saria" appeared on the big screen. Saria was twenty-six years old, with long hair, a melon face, and a red mark in the center of her forehead. She had a slender figure, a stunning appearance and a charming charisma. She was the nineteenth Virgin of the New World, chosen from 1.5 billion people. She spoke with a voice like a lark:
“Knights of the New World, every year on this day we welcome new members to the City State. This year, more than 6 million newcomers will join the City State, and they will integrate into our ‘New World’ with enthusiasm and anticipation. Let us welcome these new members with our sincere respect and warm applause. Their arrival not only injects fresh blood into our city-state, but also symbolizes that our common pursuit of progress and prosperity has been widely resonated and responded to.
Looking back in history, since the first Virgin 'Glo', our city-state has endured three hundred years of wind and rain, but it has always been resilient and has progressed to the grand scale of one and a half billion people. This is a glorious milestone, a testament to the wisdom, courage, and sweat of countless ancestors whose boundless creativity and unparalleled perseverance shaped the prosperous world we live in today. No longer content with the blue planet under our feet, but with awe and longing for the unknown universe, we have resolutely embarked on the journey of the starry sea. In this magnificent process, the spirit of chivalry is like a bright lighthouse, always illuminating the road ahead of us. Courage makes us fearless in the face of unknown challenges, daring to break the limits and climb the peaks of science and technology; integrity makes us uphold justice and fairness, respect life and maintain peace as we explore the moral and ethical boundaries of the universe; and the spirit of sacrifice makes us willing to give up the small to make the big, when faced with the choice between personal interests and collective well-being, unhesitatingly dedicating ourselves to the long-term development of human civilization.I now ask all new members to join me in taking an oath: to be fearless, to be bold and loyal, to be upright and truthful, to prefer death to deceit, to protect the weak, and to dishonor the heavens! This is your oath, remember it! Be knighted!”
The next nine vows are spoken by the ordained:
I swear to protect with my life every generation of the Holy Virgin.
I swear to fight bravely against violence.
I swear to fight against all injustice.
I swear to fight for the defenseless.
I swear to help those who come to me for help.
I swear not to harm any woman.
I swear to be honest and not to tell lies.
I swear to be faithful to my friends.
I swear to be faithful to the one I love until death do me part.
Ronnie and more than a hundred other couples stood up and read their vows simultaneously. At the end of the vows, the Dream Square in Zi City rang out nineteen times. Tens of thousands of white-headed sea eagles flew out from behind the Holy Virgin Saria. Accompanied by six female guards, the Holy Virgin left the square. When the Virgin's appearance on the screen ended, the host of the conference hall took over, "Our city-state has one hundred and three people joining this year, now I will read out the names of these people, please stand up and get acquainted with everyone.”
He read them out one by one, and when Ronnie was called, he lazily stood up and raised his hand. Mish's eyes lit up and he thought to himself, "This guy is here too, this is going to be interesting."
The host said a few irrelevant words and the initiation was over. Ronnie got up to go back to his lodging when he heard a girl's voice call out to him, "Ronnie, please wait.”
He turned to see a girl walking toward him. Alice and Halle Berry also heard someone calling out to Ronnie and stopped in their tracks, curious. The girl walked right up to Ronnie, tilted her head and asked, "I'm Mish, remember me?"
Hearing the word "Mish," Ronnie immediately remembered the Monte Carlo Casino. Back then he had been a little humiliated and thrown out.
"Of course I recognize you, why did you come to the city-state?"
Mish laughed, "I've been here for three years and there's a classmate who's also here, would you like to meet her?"
Ronnie didn't really care, but asked anyway, "Who is it?"
"It's 'Park Hye,' does that ring a bell?"
Ronnie had an unforgettable mind, but he rarely bothered to memorize the names of his classmates. He shook his head when he heard the name, which was the same as that of a stranger. Mish went on to explain, "That's the girl who sits in the corner and is shy and blushes easily all day.” Ronnie still shook his head.
Mish had to give up, "Are you free now? do you want to come to my house, I need you to take care of me more in the future."
Ronnie thought he had nothing to do at the moment anyway, so he turned his head and asked Alice, "Do you want to come with me?"
"I'm not going, they're not my classmates. go ahead!" she said and walked off with Halle Berry.
"All right then! we'll go to your house," Ronnie agreed with a hearty voice.