Editor: Xinghe
Translator: YuQiChen/Churen
The driver, though noisy, excelled in driving skills and safely delivered Jiang Que to the research institute.
As the car slowly braked, causing a slight jolt, Jiang Que finally emerged from his own world.
Setting down the tentacles he had been holding, he looked out of the window. He saw himself surrounded by lush green mountains, with the mountain in front of him silently parting to reveal a long, narrow tunnel just wide enough for a small car to pass through.
How miraculous. Was this the “Anomaly Investigation Department” they had mentioned?
Jiang Que’s respect for the organization’s abilities increased once again. He resolved to listen to Shen Tazhi, cooperate obediently, and not cause trouble for him.
He wondered how much time was left until the end of the ‘day’, but whenever he was with Shen Tazhi in the past, the ‘day’ always passed quickly. It wouldn’t be long before Shen Tazhi could come to pick him up.
Encouraging himself, Jiang Que couldn’t help but hug his own tentacles tightly.
As the vehicle descended into the mountain, Jiang Que realized that the mountain before was just a cover. The true base of the Anomaly Investigation Department was underground.
The brightness above slowly dimmed, and the surroundings gradually darkened to the familiar darkness he knew. Just as Jiang Que hesitated whether to take off his sunglasses, the door in front suddenly opened, and the cold, bright light shone in again.
Jiang Que quickly adjusted his sunglasses.
This was a silver underground space, with a fully transparent glass room inside containing a small bed and a simple washbasin. Outside the glass room was a long table and two chairs.
It seemed somewhat like the prison he had seen before?
Ignoring the driver who had opened the car door for him and the two research institute members nervously waiting there, Jiang Que struggled to recall the limited knowledge he had about humans.
The next moment, the second vehicle also descended underground, carrying Xi Jing and Duan Yansu.
Seeing the dilemma the driver and the perplexed members of the investigation department were in, the two of them immediately understood what was happening.
They exchanged a glance, and Xi Jing stepped forward first, knocked on the car door, and said with a smile:
“Jiang Que, this is the temporary accommodation we’ve arranged for you. Is there anything you’re not satisfied with, which is why you didn’t want to get off the car?”
Jiang Que then came back to his senses, realizing he had kept everyone waiting for a long time.
Calmly, he got out of the car, as if he hadn’t realized how impolite it was to keep others waiting while immersed in his own world.
In fact, he didn’t realize it either, after all, Shen Tazhi never blamed him for being self-absorbed in his own little world and ignoring others.
Xi Jing, thinking like a normal human being, interpreted Jiang Que’s behavior as his way of expressing dissatisfaction, speaking in a softer tone, “If you’re not satisfied, we can change it anytime.”
“Why did you suddenly call me ‘Jiang Que’? Weren’t you calling me R-021 before?” Jiang Que blurted out without any preamble.
He wasn’t intentionally avoiding Xi Jing’s question; he was genuinely puzzled and needed to voice his own confusion first.
He spoke the same way in front of Shen Tazhi, feeling that he was behaving well and couldn’t find any fault in himself.
But to others, this indifferent youth lightly skipped over the topic of accommodation and used ‘naming’ to challenge Xi Jing, putting the other party in an unreasonable position and expressing his dissatisfaction while making it difficult for Xi Jing.
What a skillful way of speaking, the members of the investigation department present looked at each other.
Is this really the legendary emotionless monster that hates humans? This was simply another cunning fox that Shen Tazhi has trained.
Xi Jing forced a smile and awkwardly chuckled, “Because we only knew your code before, not your name…”
“So, you could hear what I said in the car? What was in the car? A listening device?” Jiang Que asked sincerely.
He shook his head halfway through, “No, wait, the group of people Shen Tazhi brought before called me by my name. You should know, were you thinking my tentacles were called Jiang Que?”
He asked earnestly, and his tone sounded quite mocking.
After being harshly mocked by Jiang Que, Xi Jing felt so embarrassed that he wished he could disappear on the spot, casting a pleading look at Duan Yansu, who could only respond with a helpless expression.
You guys just had to go and mess with that little couple, now look, you’ve angered Jiang Que and he’s mocking you.
Xi Jing compromised in frustration, “I apologize for what happened earlier. We will arrange a room with privacy for you shortly. You’ve had a hard time on the way here. Would you like to go to the cafeteria first or rest in your room?”
Jiang Que didn’t understand why the sudden apology, but he was indeed a bit hungry, so he replied, “I want to eat.”
He loved human food the most.
Xi Jing said, “Alright, follow me.”
Jiang Que followed him, having to retract his tentacles when passing through the narrow door designed for humans, holding his tentacles close as he walked.
In the moment when Jiang Que retracted his tentacles, he felt a sudden sense of enlightenment, “I see, your previous apology was because you thought my tentacles were named Jiang Que? It’s okay, I won’t get angry over such a small matter.”
Xi Jing: …
Xi Jing was at a loss for words.
He had already changed Jiang Que’s room and sincerely apologized, so why did Jiang Que still insist on mocking him relentlessly?!
Behind the two of them, Duan Yansu and the two investigators, who were originally supposed to assist, exchanged silent glances.
After a long while, finally, one researcher broke the silence, “This is… the emotionless R-021 you mentioned?”
The skill of this mockery left even the team leader speechless, a rarity even among humans!!
“Yes…” Duan Yansu reluctantly admitted, “I think our data might have been a bit off. Jiang Que might even have developed feelings for Shen Tazhi.”
The two investigators: ?!?
They displayed the same shocked expression as Xi Jing had previously.
Feelings for Shen Tazhi? What kind of feelings??
Leaving the two investigators still immersed in shock, Duan Yansu picked up the notebook that Xi Jing had forgotten in the car, and after ticking off the third test item, she helped him with the record.
[Test item 3: Is there a sense of shame related to privacy]
Look, there’s no need to bully others. Jiang Que endured the driver’s provocation all the way, and upon getting off the car, seeing such a disrespectful room, just a bit of mockery was already considered quite good-tempered.
Unaware of how his image had once again become more mysterious in the minds of the others, Jiang Que happily made his way to the cafeteria, reminiscing about the concept of time that Shen Tazhi had mentioned to him before.
He remembered that after eating two meals and sleeping, a day would pass, and now that he was going to eat, was he getting a little closer to another day passing?
Very well, he had behaved quite well during this time, so it was time to keep it up.
Walking into the cafeteria with Xi Jing, Jiang Que thought this way, showing Xi Jing a friendly smile.
Xi Jing shuddered.
Why was he still being coldly threatened with that smile? Wasn’t that incident over yet??
This was the employee cafeteria of the Anomaly Investigation Department. It was currently lunchtime, and there were quite a few people in the cafeteria. When Xi Jing, the team leader, and Jiang Que with his eight fierce tentacles entered, they undoubtedly attracted the attention of most of the employees in the cafeteria.
There was a brief moment of silence in the cafeteria, followed by the investigators who had seen countless strange monsters during their work continuing with their unfinished tasks as if nothing had happened.
“The team leader brought back a new containment item again? But why come to the cafeteria?”
“I don’t know, the chicken legs today are really delicious.”
“Speaking of which, this containment item looks a bit familiar.”
“It does…”
When Jiang Que followed Xi Jing to line up for food, someone finally remembered why it looked familiar.
“Oh my god! Isn’t this the R-021 that the team leader has been preparing for containment recently!”
This exclamation plunged the cafeteria into a deathly silence once again, and then some people silently abandoned their food trays and ran away.
It wasn’t their fault that they were slow to react. It was mainly due to Xi Jing’s ‘glorious act’ of bringing containment items to the cafeteria to eat and then leave. However, most of these containment items were little guys with danger levels far beyond three thousand. Suddenly, a humanoid containment item with a danger level in the top fifty appeared. Who wouldn’t be scared?
The team leader had indeed given them a heads-up earlier, but in the photos sent by the leader, R-021 was clearly a black-haired child with chubby cheeks. How did he suddenly become a teenager over 1.7 meters tall??
And he was wearing sunglasses, who could recognize him at once!!
For a moment, chaos ensued in the cafeteria, and Jiang Que looked around at the fleeing investigators in confusion, then turned to ask Xi Jing standing behind him:
“Why are they running away? Did I scare them?”
He had thought his performance was quite good until just now, so why did everything suddenly go wrong?
Xi Jing forced a smile, “No, it’s just that their courage is too small.”
He dared not tell Jiang Que that this was the fourth test, to see his reaction after causing panic in the crowd.
“I see, I knew it. I wouldn’t eat them anyway.” Jiang Que said as he looked at the lunch lady, “I’d like a chicken leg too.”
As the humans say, it’s delicious.
The lunch lady, who had worked in the Anomaly Investigation Department for over ten years, remained calm, “Just the chicken leg?”Jiang Que hesitated for a moment, then truthfully said, “I don’t know what’s left, and is there anything else delicious? I want some too.”
“You don’t know what’s left?” the lunch lady asked in confusion.
“Yes,” Jiang Que nodded, honestly admitting, “I haven’t eaten them before, so I don’t know their names or how they taste.”
The lunch lady’s gaze towards Jiang Que suddenly became very sympathetic, and she quickly waved a long ladle, “Such a handsome young man, how can you not eat anything? Let me serve you. Look, this is braised hairtail, this is oil-braised prawns, this is sweet and sour spare ribs…”
“Okay, thank you,” Jiang Que said politely.
Xi Jing behind him fell into silence for who knows how many times today.
This guy was even trying to get sympathy from the cafeteria lady. He’s been working here for over ten years, and he has never seen the lady being so enthusiastic!!
Who on earth provided false information saying that Jiang Que had no emotions?!
Suddenly, Xi Jing remembered something and asked, “Wait, Jiang Que, don’t you only feed on human emotions?”
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