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01 For the Benefit of Mankind（第2页）

BrotherTeethtookhishesawthathisside。Thebladewasthisserrationsrazor-sharp。Thehandlewassolidddecoratedwithbeautifulukiyo-epatterhesaedaroundhiswaistlikeabelt，as，hewouldunwinditanddrawaviolinbowacrossthebackoftheblade。Bybendingthebladeandbowingacrosssesofdifferentwidths，hecouldprodug，melanusigihemournfulcriesofspirits。Ofoothborehadheardtalesofthesaw’sotherappli，buthehadoherTeethuseitinace。Itwasduringahigh-stakesgameofdioldwarehouse。BrotherTeeth’sseand，amannamedHalf-Brick，hadgambledbigahing，eves’house。Withbloodshoteyes，heofferedtoputbothhisarmsoableihi。

BrotherTeethrattledthedidsmiledathim。Half-Brick’sarms，hesaid，tablebet。Afterall，thefuturewaslong–andwithouthands，howcouldtheyplaydicetogether?

&ys。’hesaid。

SoHalf-Brickhadbetbothhislegs–aagain。

AlthoughSmoothborewasyoung，hehadbeenatrustedmemberofBrotherTeeth’sente。Havihemaniopowerfrage，hewasobloodshed。Whehfinallyscrapedtogetherafortuhebloodyguttersofsodsoughttoshifthisbusiomorerespectableels，hismostloyalretainerswereenfiefedasoftheBoard，VicePresident，aitles。OnlySmoothborewaslefttoserveasBrotherTeeth’sbodyguard。

Thosewhokhuhattheleveloftrustimpliedbythisappoiwasnosmallmatter。Themaraordinarilycautious，perhapsasaresultofthefatethatbefellhisgodfather。BrotherTeeth’sgodfatherhadalsobeeious;ih’swords，themanedhimselfiniroheopportunity。Aftermahouti，heboardedaflightandtookhisassig，flahersidebytwoofhismosttrustedbodyguards。WhentheplanelandedinZhuhai，thestewardesshreemeed，asiflostinthought。Asedlookrevealedthattheywerealreadydead。Likehisgodfatherbeforehim，BrotherTeeth’sjourophadbeeful。Now，navigatiywaslikegaforestofhiddenbladesoramarshcrateredwithpitfalls。HelaghislifeintoSmoothbore’shands。

ButSmoothbore’sussoohreatwiththearrivalofMrK。MrKwasRussian。Atthattime，itwasthefashionamongthosewhocouldaffordittoemployex-KGBofficersasbodyguards。Havingsuchapersoninone’semploywassomethingtobeproudof。Thosewhoranih’scirclesstruggledtopronouncehisRussianname，andsimplycalledthenewer‘KGB’。Overtime，theysettledonMrK。Iy，MrKhadotheKGB。MBofficerswerecubidcivilservahoseoliflitraiofpersoy。Instead，MrKhadworkediralSecurityBureauoftheSovietUniasbodyguardtromykothethenMinisternAffairsknowas‘Mr’。Hewaseverybitthegeicle，atrueexpertinkeepinghistsbreathihhadhiredhimonavice-’ssalarynotoutofadesiretoboast，butoutofrealforhiso

FromthemomentofMrK’sarrival，itwasclearthathewasutterlyuherbodyguards。Atthediherbodyguardswouldouteatandout-drihyemployers，alyfortableiialk。Whenrealdashead，theywouldeitherwithalltheartorleavetheirthedustoftheirpa。Instarktrast，atbasotiations，MrKwouldstalybehih，hishulkingfigurelikeanimmovablewall，readytoiahreat。WhileMrKheopportunitytoprotecthisacrisissituation，hisprofessionalismaionodoubtthatshouldsuchasituationarise，hewouldfulfillhisdutieswithateexpertise。Smoothborerofessionalthaherbodyguardsanddidheirobviousfailings，buthewasfullyawareoftheworldofdiffereweenhimselfandMrK。Forexample，itwasalongtimebeforeherealizedthatMrKwlassesatallhoursofthedaynottolookcool，buttocealhisgaze。

AlthoughMrKpickedupesequickly，hekeptalooffromthepeopleinhisemployer’sinnercircles。Hemaihisdistancecarefully，untilonedayheaskedSmoothboretostepintohisSpartanroom。Afterheplassesofvodka，hetoldSmoothboreinstiltedese，‘I，waospeak。’

‘Tospeak?’

‘Afuage。’

SoSmantolearnafuagefromMrK。HedidnotrealizehewasbeingtaughtEnglishandnotRussianuntilafewdayslater。Smoothborewasaquier，aheyuhEnglishaoldhim，‘Youarehers。’

‘Iknow。’hbore。

‘Inmythirtyyearsofexperience，Ihavelearoaccuratelydistinguishthosepeoplewithpotentialfromtherest。Youareonesuchraretalent，aimeIsawyouitchilledme。It’seasytoacoldblood，butit’sdifficulttostaycold-bloodedwith。Youeointhisbusiness，ifyoudon’tburyyourtalents。’

‘WhatIdo?’

‘First，studyabroad。’

Brreedreadilytestionaooothbore’sexpensesinfull。HehadhopedtoridhimselfofSmoothboreeversinceMrK’sarrival，buttherewereionsinthepany。

Arynight，thisboywhohadbeeayoungageaheunderbellyofsocietyboardedapassebeanddistantland。

*

DrivingarundownSantana，Smoothboremadehiswayacrossthespecteachoftheloswritteographs。HisfirststopwasBlossomPlaza。Itdidnottakehimlongtofihephoto。HewasrummagingthreSmoothborearrived，andafterafewminutes，hehauledhisbulgingtrashbagtoanearbybench。Hissearchhadbornfruitintheforme，almostubemissingonlyabite;severalperfectlygoodslicesofbread;andhalfabottleofoothborehadexpectedhimtoeatwithhishands，buthewatchedwithsurpriseasthetramppulledoutasmallaluminumspooofthedirtyovercoatheworeeveninsummer。Hefinishedhisdinnerslowlyahrewwhatremainedbate。Lookingaroundtheplaza，Smoothboresawthelightsofthetoflialldires。Hewasveryfamiliarwiththisarea，butsomethioff。Inaflash，itowhythemaoleisurelyeathisfill。Theplazawasaplacefortheelesspopulation，butatthemoment，noonecouldbeseenbuthismark。Wherehadtheygoheyallbeenprocessed?

Smoothboredroveontotheaddressoograph。Underanoverpassosofthetyellowlightspilledoutfromashackcobbledtatedoothborecautiouslypushedthebusteddooroftheshajustacrack。Ashepokedhisheadin，hesuddenlyfoundhimselfinafantasticalworldofcolor。Thewallsoftheshackwerehungwithoilpaintingsofallsizes，gaseparatewallofart。Smoothbore’seyestracedawispofsmokebacktotheitiist，layedoutbehabrokeneasellikeabeariion。Hishairwaslong，andhispai-shirtwassobaggyitlookedlikearobe。Hewassmokingacheappackofjadebutterflycigarettes。Hiseyesrovedoverhisartwork，andhisgazewasfilledwithwonderandloss，asifhewasseeingitforthefirsttime。Smuessedmostofhistimeentfawningoverhisownworks。Thisparticularbreedartisthadbeenoiesoftheprevioustury，butnowadaystheywerefewaween。

‘It’sallright，ein。’saidtheartist，hiseyesneverleavinghispaintingstolookatthedoor。Histoedthiserialpalaoothboresteppedinside，heasked，‘Doyoulikemypaintings?’

Smlandandsawthatmostofthepaichaoticsplotchesofcolor–pailyontoavaswouldhaveseemedrationalbyparison。Butthereiaveryrealisticstyle，andSmoothbore’seyeswerequitoohese:ainatedbyacrackedyellowearth。Aferotrudedfromthefissuresintheground，lookingasiftheyhadwitheredawayturiesago，ifierhadeverexistedinthisworldatall。Askulllayontheparchedearth。Thoughitwasbleach-ermeatedwithcracks，twogreen，livingplantssproutedfromitsmoutha。Insharptrastwiththedroughtahsurrouheseplantsweregreenandluxuriant，andatiefloweredthetipofo。Theskull’sothereye-sotainedahumaslimpidpupilstaredatthesky，anditsgazewasfilledwiththesamewonderandlossasitspainter。

‘Ilikethisohboresaid，pointiing。

‘It’scalledBarrenNo。2。Willyoubuyit?’

‘Howmuch?’

‘Howmuchyougot?’

Smoothborepulledouthiswalletahehundredyuaaihemtotheartist，butthelatteronlytooktwobills。

‘It’sonlyworththismuch。It’syoursnow。’

Smoothborestartedthedpickedupthethirdphotographtostudythelastaddress。Hecuttheignitiolater，ashisdestinatihtaloheoverpass:thecity’slargestlahisbinodpeeredthroughthewindshield，seararkamongstthesgersgovertherubbishdump。

300，000junkmenmadealivingoffthegarbageofthemetrtheiroletewithitsowndistihehighestrankingjunkmehecity’sritzyvilladistricts。There，itossibletopickadailyhaulofshirts，sodbedsheets，usedohedelicatelysculptedwastebins–intheseneighborhoods，theseweresideredsingle-usegoods。Allkindsofthingsfoundtheirwayinthtlyscuffedpremiumleathershoesas，half-smokedHavanacigars，expeetheers…Butpiggarbagethereedheftybribestotheresideyguardsthatonlyafewcouldafford，andthosewhocouldafforditbecamearistsgers。

Themiddleranksofjuheredarouy’smaraiostopsformunicipalwaste。There，themostvaluablerefuse–wasteeleics，scrapmetal，is，discardedmedicaldevidexpiredpharmaceuticals–wasquiappedup。Thesesiteswereanyoationwasthedomainofajunkboss。Anysgerwhoetheirpermissionuorsofminoroffelybeatenanddrivenoff，whileseriousoffenderscouldlosetheirlives。

Littleofvalueremaihatpassedthroughthetraionstotherubbishdumpsandlandfillsosofthedyetitwasthisortedthelargestnumberofpeople。ThesewerethelowliestofjuhekindofpehtinfrontofSmoothbore。Worthless，unrecyclablebrokenplastidshreddedpaperwasallthatwasleftforthesgersosofjunkmaheresofrottenfood，whichcouldbegleaherubbishandsoldaspigfeedtfarmsattenyuantothekilo。Iaropolisshobrilliasradiaaflighalooverthefetidmountaine。Thejuheluxuryoftheybysiftingthroughitstrash。Miherottenfood，itossibletomakeoutaroastsugpigwithoenaway，abarelytouchedgrouper，wholes…Retly，ithadbeontofindwholeSilkiehens，owingtothepopularityofanewdishcalledWhiteJade。Thedisharedbyslittiomachofthe，fillingitwithtofu，asimmer。Theslicesoftofuweretherealdelicacy;the，whiledelierelyg。Likethereedleavesaroundrigs，anydinerfoolisheheitselfwouldbeethelaughingstopatrons…

&garbagetruckofthedaypulledi。Asittippeditsloadroupofjunkmetheavalae，quiishingintdustawasliketheyhadpassedintoanewphaseofevolutiohestencheheap，thegermsaoxicfilth。Ofcourse，thiswasanillusion，maintainedbypeoplewhoonlysawhowtheylivedandnothowtheydied。Likethecorpsesofisandrats，thebodiesofjueredthelandfill。Theypassedawayquietlyhere，soonburiedbyrash。

Inthedimlightemanatingfromthefloodlampsattheedgeofthelot，thejunkmey，indistinctshadows，butSmoothborestillswiftlylocatedhismarkamohespeedwithwhichhespottedherwasdueinparttohisownkeenvision，buttherewasalsoanotherreasohevagrantsinBlossomPlaza，thereweresignifitlyfewerjuhelandfilltoday。Whatwasgoingon?Smoothboreobservedhismarkthroughhisbinoculars。Atfirstglance，sheseemedhananyer。Thereetiedarou，andshecarriedalargewovenbagandalong-handledrake。Shesabitskiheothers。Uosqueezethroughthethrongofjunkmen，shelysgealongtheperiphery，siftingthroughthetrashoftrash。