Chapter 191 - Changing
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
The test paper was pasted onto Wu Jin’s forehead. It went from the original inconspicuous and faint purple color to a slightly transparent pale purple macaron color.
After a bout of intense exercise, Wu Jin was panting for breath, and his cheeks carried a healthy glow. He was like a marshmallow baked on the stove that was just about to turn soft.
Wei Shi nodded.
Even before Wu Jin had time to protest against being pasted again, the big boss had picked him up and brought him to the car.
“Time to eat.”
Wu Jin immediately followed behind him happily.
Winters in Floating City were too short. After autumn ended, it seemed like spring had arrived in the blink of an eye.
The entire city was once again permeated with a sweet fragrance. After the ‘Autumn Festival’ was successful in bringing in a large number of tourists, the Floating City Tourism Bureau began to plan for a ‘Spring Festival’, a ‘Summer Festival’, a plum blossom festival, a narcissus festival…
At this time, they were currently holding a ‘flower naming festival voting event’ on the streets, and the next tourism festival was now a choice between a ‘Rose Festival’ or a ‘Plum Blossom Festival’. It was the ultimate showdown between rose and plum blossom enthusiasts.
Two animated Floating City mascots acted as the amba.s.sadors for the two flower types, and each vote cost 10 credits. On the other side of the street, on a street corner, the long lines filled with Floating City residents were frantically spending money for these two ‘virtual people’.
At the end of the downtown area was the city lord’s office––
Floating City was located at the border of the Star Region, and the city had originally been established as the city owner’s private domain. Even though the city-state system had been improved and reworked in recent decades, the city lord was still a symbol that the city couldn’t ignore.
The small mailbox that belonged to the city lord was just beside the street.
Half a month ago, men and women of marriageable age were still sending love letters through the mailbox.
Ever since the city lord’s personal status on the ‘honest and clean government bulletin board’ had been updated and changed to ‘married’, the latest trend has been to put coins into the mailbox in order to pray for a chance to lose their single status.
The streets were bustling, and the shops were full of people.
Wei Shi stood at the entrance of a bakery with his arms crossed over his chest. There was a banner placed across the door of the bakery: ‘Warmly celebrating the City Lord’s newly married status, buy three egg tarts and get two more for free’. A while later, Wu Jin came out from the queue with 25 delicious egg tarts in his arms.
Wei Shi skillfully took over the paper bag.
Wu Jin fished out an egg tart and uncovered a little bit of the big boss’s mask to hold it up to Wei Shi’s mouth.
His movements were smooth and practiced.
Wei Shi evaluated, “Very sweet.”
Wu Jin immediately beamed with joy and expressed that he’d eaten a full seven types of egg tarts just to determine that this pile was the best!
The two of them walked through the crowded downtown area. Wu Jin ate egg tarts, chilled noodles, ice cream, and kebab skewers. He solemnly expressed that only when salty and sweet were mixed together would he have a very good appet.i.te.
Wu Jin did a lot of exercise, so Wei Shi let him eat as he liked. When Wei Shi estimated that he’d probably eaten enough, he started holding him back to prevent him from acting like a rabbit that didn’t know when to stop even after it was already full.
Wu Jin protested vehemently.
Finally, he held a small egg tart in his hand. Because it was the last egg tart that he was allowed to eat, Wu Jin nibbled at it a little bit at a time, like a chicken pecking at rice.
The shopkeeper had given him a voting ticket when he purchased 25 egg tarts. On the street, the ‘Flower Festival Naming’ staff smiled as they invited the two of them to partic.i.p.ate in the event.
“Jasmine and wintersweet?” Wu Jin looked at the big boss.
Wei Shi: “Winter jasmine.”
Wu Jin agreed, “That’s right, Jasmine leaves can reduce swelling and relieve pain. It’s often smashed up as cold compresses for wounds in the wild.”
Wei Shi: “It can stop bleeding.”
Wu Jin: “Jasminum Nudiflorum is part of the Oleacae family. It seems that many flowers and leaves from the Oleaceae family can stop bleeding, such as the Forsythia Suspensa in traditional Chinese medicine. What’s the difference between Forsythia and Jasmine?”
Wei Shi: “Jasmine has five petals, Forsythia has four petals.”
The staff: “…….”
The staff member took the ticket and left in a daze. Before they left, they gave Wu Jin a small winter jasmine sticker.
Wu Jin quickly removed the backing that protected the adhesive and slapped the sticker onto the big boss’s shirt, right over his shoulder!
Who told you to stick things on me!
Wei Shi looked at the sticker on his shoulder and handed Wu Jin the paper bag that held the egg tarts.
Then, the fingertips with the gun calluses rubbed across the youth’s ear, wantonly ravaging the small curls that were protesting their treatment before suddenly pressing Wu Jin up against the wall amidst the trees in the alleyway, sliding his thumb across to open up a slit in Wu Jin’s mask.
It was like prying open a pistachio.
Wei Shi bowed his head and licked at Wu Jin’s creamy, egg tart flavored lips.
By the time the two of them came out of the alley again, Wu Jin was walking extremely quickly.
Wu Jin attempted to be very serious, “I have to take a driver’s license test this afternoonk2026;”
Wei Shi opened his mouth lazily, “Okay. Go to my car and get a feel for it.”
Two o’clock in the afternoon.
As expected, Wu Jin was late to Floating City’s suspension car driving second exam. Fortunately, Wu Jin looked young, and the coach pretended not to notice.
Nine suspension cars lifted off at the same time.
Wu Jin sat nervously in front of the driver’s seat and followed the examiner’s instructions to change speed, shift gears, and lower the car into a parking spot. In the 31st century, suspension cars could brake multiple directions, up, down, left, and right. The automatic driving mechanism was perfect, but emergency manual gear driving still existed to prevent the driving system from being taken over by illegal hacking.
Half past three.
The a.s.sessment was completed successfully.
Wu Jin happily came to a stop and opened the door, preparing to jump down––
The coach quickly raised up his loudspeaker, “Little student, please pay attention to the distance between the door and the wall! Our doors all open outwards, not upwards! Only luxury cars have that function!”
Wu Jin looked up in a daze, “……”
Wei Shi raised his eyebrows.
After the second examination, exam three and four were all pa.s.sed quickly.
Wu Jin was deducted 2 points for opening the door too close to the wall and was finally able to obtain his driver’s license with a 98 point score.
In the suspension car driving school’s waiting area.
Wei Shi turned off the projection of his terminal and scrutinized the Floating City driver’s license that was engraved with a silver and blue mask.
This was Wu Jin’s first piece of officially recognized identification in the 31st century.
Unlike the Federal work visa and the Floating City marriage certificate, the owner of this driver’s license wasn’t related to any organization or individual, but rather an independent person responsible for their own actions.
The suspension car license was just the beginning.
On the way back to Floating Base, Wu Jin chattered on from the co-pilot seat, “When can I get an A-cla.s.s driver’s license––”
Wei Shi stated facts, “300,000 kms of acc.u.mulated suspension car driving, with less than 5 deducted points.”
300,000 kms.
Wu Jin leaned his head in and looked at the driver’s seat with wide eyes.
Wei Shi’s private car pulled to a stop at the side of the road.
The two changed seats.
Wu Jin jumped into the driver seat and automatically switched to manual mode. His blood sped up slightly from a man’s desire to control the speed of the vehicle in his hands.
Before the suspension car started up.
Wu Jin suddenly leaned over and imitated the movements that the big boss had done countless times before, helping his lover fasten his seat belt.
Wei Shi bowed his head.
Their gazes connected gently.
Floating City military base, the laboratory at the top of the tower.
Researcher Song and psychologist Zhou Nan waited all the way until evening before managing to catch the Wu Jin who’d returned to the base.
Wu Jin had just finished another round of physical fitness training that included climbing and sliding, and after taking a bath, his entire person was soft and fragrant.
Zhou Nan smiled and handed Wu Jin two oranges, then stuffed him into the treatment cabin for an examination.
The physical examination results popped out.
His recovery was going well, and the values were almost back to normal.
“That’s enough. Little Witch, you can go out and play!”
Zhou Nan waved his hand, then filled in the physical examination report. However, before Wu Jin could go out to play, he was dragged off by Researcher Song to discuss the latest results from the experiments.
With regards to undoing the emotional lock for the genetically modified, Wu Jin was the best ‘scabbard’ model that Researcher Song could find.
The door to the laboratory soon closed behind them.
At the door, Red had a basketball in his hands as he went to find Wu Jin three times, but was unable to succeed.
On the other side of the door.
In the dim light, the volunteer from Floating City sucked in a cold breath. Researcher Song was still dealing with the blood sample, and Wu Jin quickly moved in to apply pressure on the wound and skillfully bandage it up to stop the bleeding.
“There’s no problem with the MHCC synthesized according to the formula.” Researcher Song said, “Based on Little Witch’s memories and the formula that the d.u.c.h.ess provided, the laboratory has been able to restore 80% of the emotional lock removal process. That means that the first three courses of treatment can be extended to all the genetically modified residents in Floating City.”
“We’re just missing the last 20%.”
“That’s the ‘seed technology’ that originally led to the establishment of the R-Code Base. Federal research into genetically modified humans is decades behind the Empire. This 20% won’t be in the Federal Academy of Sciences, which means that this knowledge can only be found in the Empire.”
Wu Jin tied up the bandage.
The unfamiliar genetically modified man thanked Wu Jin. For a moment, Wu Jin felt that the man looked familiar from a certain angle.
Wu Jin rummaged through his memories, “Professor Alfaso mentioned this part of the seed technology a long time ago. The d.u.c.h.ess was just a middleman. The chip was packaged in a black box by the time it reached her hands.”
Researcher Song nodded.
It was no different from his own guess.
“Little Witch, you can go back. I’ll settle this matter with Brother Wei.”
The door to the laboratory opened, and Wu Jin and the volunteer went out at the same time. He was about to turn right when he was stopped by Researcher Song, “Go from the left side.”
Wu Jin was puzzled as he glanced over at the right side, but he suddenly remembered something.
That was the pharmaceutical development area.
The drug tester Shao Yu was there.
Wu Jin gazed at the wall for a long time then finally let the matter go.
He walked out of Floating Tower with the volunteer. Only now did Wu Jin notice that this genetically modified man’s back was strangely ridged, and he walked with a difficult limp. Most of the genetically modified had strong physiques, and it was rare for them to have physical disabilities.
Wu Jin pretended to slow down so that he wouldn’t walk faster than the volunteer.
“Thank you. There’s no need to wait.” The volunteer said.
The two of them didn’t say anything else.
All the way until they reached the entrance to Floating City military base.
There was a little girl outside the door that was waiting for him to come out. When the genetically modified man saw her, his eyes moved a little and he seemed to want to smile, but like Wei Yan and Mao Dongqing, his expression remained the same.
The little girl was relieved when she saw him.
The two of them leaned on each other and limped away.
The moonlight fell on their faces.
The two of them looked somewhat similar in appearance and were probably siblings––
Wu Jin was startled.
He remembered this face.
In the big boss’s subconscious, on the day that the R-Code Base collapsed, all of the genetically modified subjects had rushed out of the base. The fire had burned coldly and there were fierce, ghostly howls. There had also been failed genetically modified subjects amongst them––the boy who was usually crying on the training grounds, his limbs spread out like a centipede as he crawled strangely over the ground.
That boy had also rushed out with the crowd and stared strangely at the new and fresh things outside the base.
He was still alive! Wu Jin suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he’d only encountered him in the subconscious, he still felt an inexplicable sense of joy.
Someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
Researcher Song sighed emotionally and didn’t seem to want to say more about it, “Let’s go back.”
Floating Base was brightly lit at night, and it was as warm as it was during the day.
Wu Jin went back to the big boss’s room.
And threw himself onto the bed.
He turned over.
The black cat jumped down from the curtains and meowed at Wu Jin.
Wu Jin was trampled on and muttered to himself, then went to open up a locked drawer, pulling out two small pieces of dried fish for the black cat as a reward.
The black cat ate the dried fish but felt that it wasn’t enough. It jumped up onto the bed and poked at Wu Jin with its paws as though asking about whether or not it could get more.
Wu Jin cuddled the black cat and rolled around.
Until the big boss came home.
The warm yellow lights were turned on, showing the paired tableware, slippers, and even matching sleepwear.
Even the coffee cups that were thrown into the dishwasher were a pair. The coffee cups leaned together, and there were also matching bowls for dinner, and a bowl for the black cat to eat its cat food.
At the moment, the robot was charging itself in the corner.
Taking advantage of the fact that the big boss was taking a bath, Wu Jin yawned and pressed the dishwasher b.u.t.ton. The machine shook as it started to wash the family’s dishes.
Then, Wu Jin plopped down onto the bed and snuggled into the quilt.
Wei Shi dried his hair and lifted up the other half.
“I’m going to the Empire tomorrow.” The man reported.
Wu Jin paused.
Wei Shi: “It’ll be less than three days, and then I’ll fly directly to Crosson to partic.i.p.ate in the elimination match.”
Wu Jin smacked the bed and expressed, “I want to go too!”
Wei Shi: “Okay.”
Wu Jin: “I want to…” He was stunned, “Okay? Is it really okay!”
The man nodded.
“The first performance game for the Stardust Cup will be held in the Imperial capital the day after tomorrow. Your opponent in the next elimination match will also be playing.”
Wu Jin understood.
The next elimination match would include rookies from the Stardust Cup. If he could see the other trainees earlier, he would be able to understand his opponent and triumph over a hundred battles.
Also, Brother Caesar would be playing! They’d originally had an appointment to watch the live broadcast, but maybe he could give Caesar a surprise––
“However.” The man continued slowly, “You can’t use your real ident.i.ty to go.”
Wu Jin nodded repeatedly.
The big boss was going to investigate the genetically modified’s ‘seed technology’. If he and the big boss were to act together, then they naturally couldn’t use their real ident.i.ties.
Wei Shi: “Tomorrow morning at 7 o’clock, come with me to the research room to implant facial camouflage. Then, we’ll enter the country as Imperial aristocrats.”
“And then, wear this.”
The mahogany closet opened up.
Wu Jin looked in eagerly––
In the deepest part of the closet, a large piece of clothing that had been covered with dust finally showed its true appearance.
It was the one that Wu Jin had once worn.
A character prop from the Versailles game.
It belonged to Madame de Montespan.
An embroidered gown.
Wu Jin took a deep breath, “No way!!”
“If it has to be worn, then you wear it!!”
Juurensha: It’s time to crossdress again, Little Witch!
xiin: Wei Shi – i’ll make it happen eventually, somehow…