Prologue
(1)
Four people are playing a game.
One says, “I have money. I'll buy you all and make you lose to me.”
One says, “I have power. I can make the rules of the game.”
One says, “I have people. I can decide which of you wins.”
The fourth says, “I can't match what you have, but I have a gun.”
(2)
On this day, beneath the blazing sun, one person runs while another gives chase. One carries a knife, the other a gun.
The one with the gun pulls the trigger now and then, the bullets grazing the other person's side.
Blood flows along the road, leaving bloody footprints one after another.
They run from the bustling streets and markets into the wilderness, from the scorching daylight into the pitch-black night.
Sometimes the distance between them grows, sometimes it shrinks. But neither catches the other, until the bullets run out.
Then they meet a third person. He has no gun, only bullets.
And so, on this day beneath the blazing sun, one person starts running, with two people chasing him.
(3)
After Hong Zhan left this wasteland, he rented a house.
The house was in the slums and had a record player. So he used Yongze's record player to play Wu Xiao's collection of stories.
Those who brought food entered the crowd.
Those who brought armor occupied the land beyond the wilderness.
Those who brought guns and cannons built towering high-rises.
Those who brought gold coins bought the sandy ground.
Food was scattered across the fields, armor carried off the crowd.
Farmland became high-rises, and guns and cannons took away honor.
People walked this way, stepping on bright red footprints.
Gold coins fell, gravel scattered, and footprints vanished into the dust.
The song ended. A knock came at the door.
The man stood outside. Hong Zhan immediately reached for the gun on the cabinet.
But the man grabbed his wrist and demanded furiously, “You came out. How could you not come see me?”
Theme: They walked through smoke and dust.
