The New Tales of Old Shanghai Dulwich College Beijing , Gu , Anthony – 11
F
irstly , let me introduce you to the narrator ( which is me , of course ). I am the guy who controls your birth , death , extinction , and how things go onwards . I am time .
Let me tell you two short stories . As I walked towards my workspace room , which was full of advanced machines , my skin tingled slightly . Something was wrong . Quickly , I dashed into my office . My fingers flew around the key board of my “ stranger finder ” machine as I frantically tried to search this presense in the world . Finally ! A person came on the screen . I suppose it was in Old Shanghai , early 1912 .
The camera zoomed in on dark , graffitti decorated alleyway . Probably where the criminals and gangsters hang out . Snow covered the rusty dumpsters and the ground . Wind whistled in and out . Then , the camera pointed at a tiny , dusty door . On top of it , written in english letters , were THE RED BULLDOG . Boom ! Now I was seeing a inside view of the old pub . Lights blazed . Glasses clinked . Men shouted . The inside was totally different from outside . Then , I saw him . The person I was here for . An old man in his sixties sat with a few other people on a creaky table . He had wrinkled skin and rather large teeth . His eyes showed worry and was desperate .
“ -It ’ s true ! It felt so real ! I never had a vision so real !” cried the old man . “ Bleh !” countered a younger man , who had hair that fell down to his eyes , waving his hand . “ There is no way a weird horde of warriors are going to invade Shanghai 2167 !” “ No ! It ’ s true ! Plus , the defensive walls are going to be demolished by the new leader of Shanghai ! That ’ ll make things worse !” replied the old man . “ No way !” “ Yes ! And only those defensive walls can repel the warriors !” “ No !” “ Yes !” And it went on for a few minutes . At that point , I went out to take a break , maybe also get a cup of water . On the way , I passed Death and Diesese , who were twin brothers . “ Hi !” said Diesese , who was probably happy contaminating the earth with loads of dieseses . But Death , who was a big , burly man with a moustache , just grunted . He was probably not having a nice day like Diesese …
When I came back , I bumped into Technology , who was a little man with horn-rimmed glassses and a shock of bright red hair . He had various machine parts strapped to his limbs . I bought some Rovex ® Hammers from him and saw something horrible on the screen . It was labled : SHANGHAI 2167 . It showed a glowing , swirling vortex that was actually spitting things out rather than sucking in . Mysterious warriors dressed in strange-looking armour climbed out of the portal , attacking the city with hi-tech blaster cannons and sonic disruptors and ícluvêe Mœchuucäs . I don ’ t know what that means but I know it was a weapon . That ’ s because I am time . “ You okay ?” asked Technology . “ You look like you ’ ve seen a ghost .” “ Y-Yes , I ’ m okay .” He left . Suddenly , my skin tingled again . What now ? I groaned . On the screen , a live video showed . It was about 2019 . Maybe still in Shanghai .
A young girl , about six or seven , with large , shining eyes and long , dark hair , stands with her tall father in a vast living room . He had messy , unkempt hair and squarish face . Tiny but expensive-looking glasses were perched on his small nose . The massive house also seemed expensive . Priceless plates decorated the walls , vases stood proudly