Sometimes, Sang Jue’s adaptability wasn’t even as good as 007, the AI.
[He misunderstood your relationship with Huo Yanji, thinking your mention of pain referred to sex last time.]
Sang Jue: “Colonel Colin, your thoughts are so dirty.”
The little evil dragon even used honorifics.
Colin: “…”
With no one else around except the three of them, Huo Yanji’s tone was slightly cool: “Article Three of the Supervision Code. Recite it.”
Sang Jue wasn’t a supervisor, so naturally this wasn’t directed at him.
Colin stiffened, then after a moment said: “Supervisors have the duty to prevent intercourse between ordinary people and deviants, preventing unnecessary infection; active supervisors must lead by example and shall not engage in any improper relationships with any deviants; the public has basic supervisory reporting obligations to stop all ‘intimate entertainment’ by deviants toward ordinary people.”
“You remember it quite clearly.” Huo Yanji’s tone wasn’t harsh, but was cold enough to be frightening. “I thought you’d forgotten it all.”
Colin lowered his head.
There wasn’t much true love in this world. That deviants and ordinary people couldn’t be together was common consensus.
No one was willing to gamble their life on a bit of affection, so usually when these two groups had relations, the deviant was the one forcing and committing violence, because they had no risk of being infected by ordinary people.
If Colin and Wei Lan’s identities were reversed, Huo Yanji might have already sent Colin to the supervision tribunal.
Sang Jue looked at Colin with pity.
Colin was truly pitiful.
He couldn’t even freely pursue his own female.
Huo Yanji pressed his communicator: “Everyone return to formation, prepare to depart!”
Taking advantage of him turning around, Sang Jue cut open the old bandage and quickly wrapped on a new one.
The bandage style was rather special—single-sided contamination-proof and waterproof, more like a large band-aid that could be wrapped around.
Afraid that Huo Yanji would be dissatisfied with his bandaging, he deliberately wrapped it very tightly, making his throat hurt from the pressure.
The convoy set out again.
Teams Seven and Eight, who had gone ahead to clear the path, were very efficient. The road ahead encountered no more obstacles. Soon, Teams Seven and Eight sent word: “Report! Outpost A1 has fallen!”
Clear deviant bird calls could be heard in the background.
“Adjust the plan,” said Huo Yanji after much thought. “Colonel Wei Lan will lead a team through the East Gate, Lieutenant Colonel Wei Heng through the South Gate. Focus on gathering the surviving forces within the city. Colin will lead a team of supervisors and some mercenaries with me through the underground, infiltrating the city center.”
“Yes!”
They could already faintly hear some circling hisses. Unlike the clear bird calls of prehistoric times, these contaminants’ sounds were hoarse and strange, like curses from ancient demons.
“All supervisors, remember: when encountering infected individuals, do not show mercy. Eliminate them on the spot to prevent wider contamination.”
“Yes!”
Except for Wei Lan’s response, the deviant faction officers remained silent, some in contemplation.
Even knowing that Huo Yanji’s orders were undoubtedly correct, there was inevitably a subtle feeling of shared sorrow. When their own day of disorder came, the supervisors would also point guns at them without hesitation and blow their heads apart.
Half an hour later.
“Put it on.”
At this moment, they were on the underground rail car heading to the city center. This was an official rail line, not ordinary public transport.
Huo Yanji had Sang Jue wear a one-piece, suspender-style rubber protective suit. Although Sang Jue didn’t know its purpose, he put it on—the only suit that barely fit.
Sang Jue didn’t know how to do the side buttons, so Colin helped him.
Colin clicked his tongue: “Your waist is as slim as Wei Lan’s.”
But slim waist aside, Wei Lan’s muscle mass was considerable, and her body fat percentage was excellent, unlike Sang Jue.
“…Keep it low-key, or General Huo will mark you for punishment,” the little evil dragon said seriously. “Don’t touch my skin, or I’ll reflexively hit you.”
His senses were very sharp, so he didn’t like being touched.
Colin laughed: “Who do you think you can beat?”
Sang Jue: “I can beat you.”
Colin was skeptical: “I heard you tore apart a humanoid contaminant at the city gate?”
Sang Jue: “I think so, but I don’t really remember.”
Colin looked at Sang Jue’s thin arms suspiciously: “Let’s have an arm wrestling match.”
“You’re so boring and childish,” Sang Jue added. “And your mind is dirty—you won’t get any females that way.”
“…” A dagger to the heart.
The rail car’s broadcast sounded a cold reminder: “Attention passengers, the rail car will arrive at the station in ten minutes. Please disembark in an orderly manner.”
Huo Yanji had brought over forty mercenaries and a team of supervisors.
The mercenaries were not forcibly conscripted but had voluntarily signed up for the rescue mission yesterday afternoon and evening.
Huo Yanji arranged the tasks for each team and walked up to Sang Jue: “If things get chaotic, I might not be able to look after you. Stay close to Colin.”
“Oh.”
Sang Jue wanted to follow Huo Yanji but didn’t want to cause trouble at this time.
007 had just told him he was only a few kilometers from the spacecraft, which was inside District Seven.
But he still found it strange. The spacecraft wasn’t easy to move. Without being able to control it, how did the people of District Seven manage to bring it back?
“Can you touch my—” Sang Jue paused, “head?”
Sang Jue used to like having his horns and tail soothed, which made him feel secure—but he only let the doctor touch them.
But since waking from the spacecraft’s hibernation pod, he hadn’t had his horns touched for three days.
Sang Jue didn’t want to reveal his identity for now, so rounding up, touching his head was acceptable.
“Remember what I said last time?”
“…Learn to keep your distance from people.” Sang Jue looked at him. “Can’t friends touch heads?”
“Usually not. Head-patting as a soothing gesture usually occurs between elders and juniors, like fathers and sons.”
Sang Jue wrinkled his nose and turned to leave: “Then I’ll go find Colin.”
Huo Yanji: “Come back.”
Huo Yanji took off his black leather gloves and gently placed his hand on Sang Jue’s head.
Sang Jue’s hair was fine and soft, very pleasant to the touch.
Huo Yanji rubbed it twice and noticed Sang Jue’s ears twitching, seeming quite comfortable.
“No!” Sang Jue quickly covered his ears. “Why are you pinching my ears?”
Huo Yanji said two words: “Payment.”
“Huh?”
“You asked me to pat your head, shouldn’t you pay me?”
“Should…” Sang Jue felt the logic was a bit off but couldn’t say where.
His other ear was pinched again, especially the most sensitive earlobe.
Sang Jue’s whole body trembled. Huo Yanji was definitely doing it on purpose. Naughty, friendship points deducted by ten.
“Don’t pinch.”
“Can’t touch here, can’t pinch there, why still want someone to pat?”
“…” That was a strange thing to say. “Because it feels awkward to pat myself.”
“Short hands.”
“My hands aren’t short.”
Huo Yanji briefly curled his lips: “Hmm.”
…Dismissive, friendship points deducted by five.
Sang Jue could of course pat his own head, but it’s not the same as someone else doing it.
Considering Huo Yanji’s touch was quite comfortable and he looked good, add one point.
The little evil dragon never loses out.
“Ding—The train has arrived.”
Huo Yanji returned to his usual cold demeanor: “Let’s go.”
Sang Jue knew why he had to wear the rubber protective suit—it was because they were going through the sewers. To prevent contamination genes from spreading through the air in the extensive sewer system, they even had to wear protective masks.
The sewer was about three Sang Jues tall in diameter, similar in structure to the sewers in the city ruins, but cleaner, tidier, and wider.
Walking here, he felt like a little person walking in the sewers of a giant city.
Every step he took caused splashing water sounds. The sewage flowed strongly, and Sang Jue happily went against the current.
“All teams watch out for stink rats!”
“Yes!” Although they hadn’t undergone systematic training, they were at least battle-hardened mercenaries who had fought outside. They moved in an orderly fashion and understood the importance of following orders at times like this.
However, Colin still noticed the dismissive expressions on several deviants’ faces.
Most deviants had a poor impression of Huo Yanji. Many even believed that Huo Yanji could occupy this position purely because his surname was Huo.
Colin had no particular reaction, dutifully following Huo Yanji’s instructions to supervise Sang Jue. He really didn’t know what was special about this little guy. With such thin arms and legs, he’d probably have trouble even killing a stink rat. How did he manage to catch that slippery, slimy humanoid creature and tear it apart with his bare hands?
Moreover, he’d heard that at the city gate, Sang Jue had kept throwing himself into the commander’s arms, wanting hugs and kisses—Colin had previously been 100% skeptical of this rumor, but now he was starting to have some doubts.
Colin asked: “Do you like the commander?”
Sang Jue waded through the water: “Which commander?”
Colin: “Huo Yanji.”
Sang Jue thought seriously. He had liked him quite a bit originally, but after Huo Yanji’s despicable act of pinching his ears—”I like him a little bit.”
What the hell was “a little bit”?
Colin: “Does Commander Huo like you?”
Sang Jue thought again and said confidently: “He likes me.”
No one didn’t like him.
Except for that one percent in his home planet’s laboratory.
Colin hissed, his face showing the sweet pain of someone who’d just gotten major gossip.
“But you should still keep a low profile and understand the commander’s discretion in not going public. His position is special—your situation might even attract the attention of the Supreme Council.”
“…” Did this Supreme Council even manage who people liked as friends?
How idle.
Sang Jue responded in confusion.
“I heard that General Huo has an estate. Is that true?” Yesterday while wandering around the main city, Sang Jue had heard passersby discussing this.
“It’s true.”
Sang Jue asked curiously: “Is he really as extravagant as the rumors say?”
“What do you think?” Colin asked.
“Not bad?”
“You should trust your own feelings.” Colin asked, “Why do you call him General Huo?”
Sang Jue: “I also call him by his name.”
“His full name? That’s too formal.” Colin suggested, “You should at least have a nickname.”
Sang Jue: “I can’t think of one.”
He had no experience with this. Back on his home planet, he called everyone by their names directly, even the doctor didn’t have a special nickname.
Colin gossiped: “What does he call you?”
Sang Jue: “Sang Jue?”
“Next time you could suggest he call you baby.”
“…I stopped letting people call me baby when I was six.”
“…Oh.” Colin made a sound. “If that’s embarrassing, you could choose something more ordinary. Common nicknames can be adding ‘little’ before the name, or repeating the last character.”
Sang Jue looked thoughtful.
“Anyway, isn’t calling him General Huo awkward?”
The large group slowly moved forward, with Huo Yanji leading at the front.
The surroundings were very quiet, with only the sound of flowing water particularly noticeable. Everyone spoke in low voices, otherwise the echoes in the sewers would create an unsettling panic.
After walking for about twenty minutes, they finally reached a large gate.
A supervisor tried to turn the valve, but after only half a turn, it wouldn’t budge.
“Report! The valve seems to be stuck.”
This unexpected situation caught everyone off guard.
This gate led to the isolation layer of District Seven’s underground transport passage. Because it needed frequent cargo transport and also served as an emergency backup passage, it was regularly maintained and shouldn’t malfunction.
“This ventilation duct seems to lead inside.” Colin used the nearby steps to reach for the square iron door. “Could we crawl through?”
A burly man flexed his muscles: “Look at this duct—which of us could it possibly fit?”
Everyone looked at each other, and finally all eyes fell on Sang Jue.
“…”
“It’s useless. Even if he can crawl through, we still can’t get past. Are we just going to stand here and watch?”
Huo Yanji: “Look to the right inside the gate. On the third row of stone bricks, there’s a protruding button of the same color—that’s the emergency brake switch.”
A mercenary asked: “How does the General know this so clearly?”
Colin answered for Huo Yanji: “The architectural blueprints for District Seven’s underground level were personally designed by the General.”
“…” These people finally restrained some of their dismissive looks.
Huo Yanji walked up to Sang Jue: “Are you willing to take the risk?”
Sang Jue looked at the duct and nodded: “If I can get in.”
Sang Jue could indeed crawl in—it was just barely possible—but the rubber protective suit would hinder his progress and had to be removed.
Huo Yanji asked: “Can you use a gun?”
“Yes.” Shooting was one of Sang Jue’s favorite sports. He often went to the shooting range at his home planet’s research institute.
Huo Yanji gave Sang Jue the gun: “Once you’re over there, no matter what emergency situation arises, prioritize staying alive, then press the emergency brake switch. Don’t worry about anything else.”
“Got it.” Sang Jue thought for a moment and added a nickname: “Ji-ji.”
Everyone fell silent, looking at each other.
Huo Yanji asked in a flat tone: “What did you call me?”
##
