Chapter 81 – Sin City (15)
◎ A special commemorative model from twenty years ago ◎
Song Ke found a medical equipment store at the end of the trading street.
The store was located deep in winding alleys, with dim lighting, and artificial light sources didn’t reach there. She stepped on several puddles along the way, the underground sea was very close, less than a kilometer away. The cold sea breeze blew towards her, making her shiver and waking her up.
Probably due to its remote location, the business didn’t seem to be doing well, and the entrance was deserted.
Song Ke entered the store, and a middle-aged man behind the counter was busy with a calculator. He greeted her without much enthusiasm, saying, “See for yourself what you want.”
The interior space was quite large. Song Ke went straight to the wheelchair section, where there were various models, colors, and functions. After some research, she couldn’t make up her mind. She had initially thought of buying them all, but when she touched her money pouch, she felt helpless.
Thinking of Zhuang Qingyan’s critical gaze, Song Ke reluctantly chose the most expensive one, with a fancy description and even a small booklet.
When it came time to pay, the store owner glanced at her and asked, “Is this for someone else?”
“Uh-huh,” Song Ke nodded.
“Is it for a new one, or are you just exchanging it?”
“New, the previous one broke.”
The store owner calmly said, “This wheelchair doesn’t offer good value for the price. Many of its functions are superfluous. If you want something practical, you can take a look at those in the showcase. They’re from Qingsong Biotech, and they’re considerably cheaper.”
She didn’t expect the owner, who appeared uninterested, to be quite honest.
Song Ke went to the showcase and indeed found a familiar silver-white one that resembled the one Zhuang Qingyan used before. She happily picked it up and went to the counter to pay, saying, “I’ll take this one.”
The store owner’s forehead twitched, “This is a sample! Let me get you a new one from the warehouse.”
The store owner went through a small door, and Song Ke waited at the same spot. The main door opened with a “swish,” and two playful figures entered.
First, there was a six or seven-year-old boy with a face covered in sand, looking all dirty. Following him was a beautiful young man with a dark green snake tail. This time, he was wearing an old cartoon T-shirt with rolled edges. His tail swayed merrily, making a “clang, clang” sound as it bumped into the counter.
When the two entered, they were suddenly startled upon seeing Song Ke, and both of them trembled visibly.
Then the little boy quickly realized and turned to push the snake-tailed young man, saying, “Hurry, run, you run!”
The store owner, upon hearing the commotion, emerged from the warehouse and, after taking in the scene, sternly shouted, “Yanosh, I told you not to bring him in here!”
The boy clung to the snake-tailed young man, crying loudly, “Papa, don’t give Gabriel to the bad people, don’t give him to the bad people, waaaah!”
Song Ke, who was confused by being labeled a bad person without a word: “??”
The snake-tailed young man stared at Song Ke with his amber-colored eyes for a while, and the rings on his tail rustled. Suddenly, he burst into a cheerful laugh.
Song Ke, feeling quite awkward, shook her head and said, “Um, I think we should know each other.”
Yanosh’s crying abruptly stopped, and the bubble of snot popped with a “pop.”
After explaining the situation with the Rose Auction House, the store owner sighed, “Gabriel is a creature Yanosh found by the sea. I told him not to do it; these exotic pets are usually kept by wealthy individuals. He might have escaped from somewhere, and sooner or later, he’ll be captured.
“But Yanosh doesn’t listen and goes to play with him every day. So, I had to set a rule: Gabriel isn’t allowed inside the store.”
“He… Gabriel probably doesn’t have an owner yet,” Song Ke kindly informed the store owner. After all, the auction hadn’t concluded, and they had disrupted it. It was chaotic afterward, and the snake-tailed young man seemed to have sneaked out on his own.
Yanosh eagerly asked, “Papa, can we adopt Gabriel?”
The store owner shouted loudly, “Clean your face!”
Yanosh shrunk his neck and, leading Gabriel, went out to the seaside to play and wash his face.
The store owner settled Song Ke’s bill and hesitated for a moment before asking, “Are you sure the auction house has been destroyed, and there won’t be any more people coming?”
“Yes,” Song Ke nodded. After all, the person behind the Rose Auction House, She Liang, had fallen from power. Now, with Hu Yong taking over, the chances of these illicit activities making a comeback were slim. “Adopting him shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
The store owner gazed out of the window at Yanosh and Gabriel playing in the water, lost in thought.
As soon as Song Ke pushed the door open to leave, Yanosh ran over, followed by the gracefully swimming Gabriel. He circled Song Ke a few times, then affectionately rubbed his tail tip against her calf.
“Gabriel likes you and wants you to touch him,” Yanosh enthusiastically translated.
Reluctantly, Song Ke extended her fingertip cautiously and touched Gabriel’s emerald green tail. The scales beneath her touch were smooth, cool to the touch, and slightly rough from the mixture of sand and seawater.
Gabriel seemed to thoroughly enjoy her touch, closing his eyes as the scales on his belly gently expanded, revealing a faint waistline.
With sharp eyes, Song Ke noticed a concealed row of small letters where Gabriel’s human body met his snake tail. These weren’t tattoos or engravings; they seemed to be naturally part of him. She bent down, getting closer to Gabriel’s abdomen, and carefully read the words: RYK1275.
It was a U-Lab experimental subject number.
Gabriel wriggled out of Song Ke’s palm and moved behind her, staring intently at her waist.
Song Ke, feeling uncomfortable, asked, “Why is he looking at me like that?”
Gabriel made a couple of “ah ah” sounds and tilted his head in confusion.
Yanosh earnestly translated for him, “Gabriel is asking, ‘Where’s your tail?'”
Song Ke replied, “I never had a tail to begin with.”
It seemed that Gabriel found the absence of a tail difficult to comprehend. He circled Song Ke at close range, observing her arms, neck, and face. Then, he suddenly straightened his upper body, bringing his beautiful face close to hers, locking eyes with her. His clear eyes gradually filled with confusion.
“Gabriel, you can’t. You can only like me first, and then you can like her!” Yanosh said, jealous of Gabriel’s closeness to Song Ke.
Gabriel burst into laughter, swaying his tail and splashing sand, showering Song Ke and Yanosh with it.
Song Ke spat out the sand and thought, with an expressionless face, that she couldn’t handle Gabriel’s affection.
…
Back at the safe house, Song Ke tiptoed toward Zhuang Qingyan’s room and quietly placed the newly bought wheelchair outside his door.
After contemplating for a couple of seconds, she decided it would be better to tell him in person and maybe persuade him not to be upset with Lu Xiaoyu. She was about to push the door open when she suddenly remembered Zhuang Qingyan’s repeated emphasis on “maintaining proper decorum” between men and women. So, she knocked on the door respectfully instead.
“Knock, knock.” She gently tapped the door twice.
No response from inside.
“Knock, knock.” She knocked a bit harder.
Still no response.
“Bang, bang!” She applied more force, and the door was flung open.
Song Ke stuck her head inside and scanned the room, but it was empty.
Oh no, Lu Xiaoyu is in danger!
…
Limping with a crutch, Zhuang Qingyan unceremoniously pushed open Lu Xiaoyu’s door.
Lu Xiaoyu was in the midst of adjusting his two new “legs,” and upon seeing the unexpected visitor barging in, he paused for less than a second before continuing his activities as if nothing had happened, one step at a time.
Zhuang Qingyan strolled in leisurely, glancing at Lu Xiaoyu’s familiar pair of mechanical legs, and calmly leaned against the wall.
Lu Xiaoyu proudly showed off, “I recreated them based on ‘Practical Theory of Mechanical Design and Structural Technology.’ How’s that? Oh, I forgot, your GPA is only 4.2; you probably can’t understand it.”
Zhuang Qingyan instantly countered, “At least I still have a 4.2 GPA, unlike someone who failed an elective course like ‘Language, Social Interaction, and the Arts.'”
Lu Xiaoyu quickly shot up to 2.5 meters in height. “Objection! You’re distorting the facts. I failed because I got the exam time wrong.”
Zhuang Qingyan disregarded his protest, saying, “I’ve said it before; I don’t like talking to people with my neck tilted.”
Lu Xiaoyu clicked his tongue and slowly descended, returning to his wheelchair.
“Why are you limping?” he asked.
“Accident.”
“I thought you’d have ‘accidentally’ died by now.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“So, did you find a backer because you couldn’t make it on your own?” Lu Xiaoyu inquired, his curiosity evident.
Zhuang Qingyan tilted his head and gave him a sidelong glance. “What, are you envious?”
“What’s your relationship with Song Ke? Are you using her?” Lu Xiaoyu’s ice-blue eyes flashed. His social interactions were always laced with aggression.
“No,” Zhuang Qingyan answered without hesitation, but then he paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he appeared unusually serious. “She is indeed my backer, but I won’t use her.”
Lu Xiaoyu remained quiet for a moment before relentlessly pressing on, “Why did you skip my first question?”
Zhuang Qingyan coldly retorted, “Why can’t you learn to read people’s expressions?”
Lu Xiaoyu clicked his tongue once more.
Zhuang Qingyan tapped his crutch on the ground and his almond-shaped eyes carried a warning. “Don’t mess with her. She grew up in District F. She doesn’t have as many twisted thoughts as you do, and she might take things seriously.”
“District F?” Lu Xiaoyu repeated, his expression showing some oddity.
“What’s the problem?” Zhuang Qingyan keenly noticed his unusual reaction.
Lu Xiaoyu said, “I thought she was from District B.”
Zhuang Qingyan straightened up, asking, “What do you mean?”
Lu Xiaoyu pulled out the light screen that Song Ke had given him before she left, saying, “Although this light screen is quite old, it’s a special commemorative model from twenty years ago, only available in a limited quantity in District B. You guys at Qinglan mentioned ordering a large batch, and it cost me the opportunity to get a first edition. That’s why I remember it vividly.”
“What does that have to do with anything? Light screens can be second-hand.”
“Light screens can be resold, but what about the data inside?” Lu Xiaoyu brought up a copy of “Particle Physics Advanced Microbiology” and glanced through it casually. “These textbooks aren’t within District F’s access rights.”
Zhuang Qingyan couldn’t help but frown. He had used Song Ke’s light screen before and hadn’t noticed anything special, but he had overlooked one thing: he had always been looking up the content according to his level of understanding. However, when it came to Song Ke… could she understand it?
Lu Xiaoyu continued, “There’s also something interesting. I found a hidden database and it took me a full 45 seconds to crack it.”
Zhuang Qingyan took the light screen from Lu Xiaoyu, and in the folder that Lu Xiaoyu had found were cutting-edge research papers and data on genetics.
“This light screen…” he began to say.
BAM! The door was abruptly pushed open, and Song Ke rushed in frantically.
“Please, please don’t fight!”
In the room, the two men, one standing and one sitting, and the expected explosive argument was nowhere to be found. The atmosphere remained peaceful and harmonious. Both Zhuang Qingyan and Lu Xiaoyu turned to look at her.
Song Ke found herself in an awkward situation, her words of persuasion stuck in her throat. She wished she could disappear on the spot.
“Song Ke, come here,” Zhuang Qingyan called out to her.
“Why…” Song Ke hesitantly approached.
“Where did this light screen come from?” Zhuang Qingyan asked.
“Huh?” Song Ke blinked, puzzled. “It belonged to my grandfather.”
Zhuang Qingyan and Lu Xiaoyu exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to skip the previous topic. Song Ke had mentioned that she was an orphan and had lived with her only grandfather. Until they figured out the true owner of the light screen, it was better not to reveal it and add to her troubles.
“I remember you said your grandfather left this light screen for you,” Zhuang Qingyan emphasized the word “left” deliberately.
“Yes, he wanted me to study every day,” Song Ke nodded.
“He wanted you to study these? Particle physics?” Zhuang Qingyan opened the rather complex textbook.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Lu Xiaoyu coughed lightly. “Just my humble opinion, but I think your grandfather intended for you to study the content of this database.”
Lu Xiaoyu swiped his fingertip, quickly switching to another layer of the system. The screen displayed a set of children’s textbooks and several peculiar e-books: “Learn Local Dialects and Travel Fearlessly Across the Alliance”, “One Hundred Clever Tips for Independent Living”, “Practical Everyday Applications of Legal Knowledge”…
Song Ke exclaimed, “Huh?”
Could it be that she had been studying the wrong books all along? No wonder she’d diligently studied every day and hadn’t learned anything!
