Chapter 98 - Going Back
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
At the port to the side of the colonial planet, the star ship that was painted with the Crosson Show logo slowly pulled away to begin its return journey.
The atmosphere containing the dark volcanic ash and smog shrouded forest gradually shrank from sight, eventually coalescing into a distant bright spot that could be seen by the lights from distant stars.
Inside the star ship, the life-saving capsules were pried open one by one.
Most of the contestants were seriously sleep deprived. They were so sleepy that they were oblivious to the world, and a few of the stage crew quickly stuffed sleeping bags into their arms before skillfully pointing to the arrows nearby, “Hey, don’t sleep here. Go straight and turn left…”
Wu Jin opened up his eyes to the light.
The lights inside the ship were orange. The doctor was currently using a flashlight on his left arm, and his white gloves were holding up Wu Jin’s elbow. It had obviously been a while since the capsule opened up.
“Slight scratches that just need simple treatment. Use the disinfectant spray.” The doctor adjusted the nozzle and sprayed twice before bandaging it up and patting Wu Jin on the shoulder, “Alright! Get some rest. The results will be announced tomorrow.”
Wu Jin, who’d just been struggling to sit up, was patted back into the life-saving capsule. A note fell out of his arms.
Quarantine and isolation notice, #B44. Observation and isolation time: 12 hours. Species: Peteinosaurus (Sauropeda Pterosaur). Original production: Evolutionary Scale Laboratory.
Wu Jin stared at it in a daze for a few seconds, then picked up the note, “Excuse me––”
The doctor glanced at it, “Oh, your Pterosaur has been sent to quarantine. You can go to your right and then upstairs to ask about how to get a pet certificate for it.”
He thought about it and added, “This kind of small Pterosaur is only worth several dozens of credits each. When I was studying, they were popular at the dinner table for a few years. Triple Tria.s.sic period barbeque or something. The labs all got together to raise them, like raising bamboo rats! But when the popularity pa.s.sed, we ended up with too many and made a loss!”
“……” Wu Jin quickly put away the note and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the program team didn’t care that he’d smuggled in something from the game!!!
Wu Jin immediately thanked the doctor and threaded through the sleepy, panda-eyed trainees to the quarantine office.
The contestants were released from their capsules on the first floor, and most of the staff were gathered on the second floor.
As soon as the door opened, the bright background lights and the noisy bustle swept over him like the tide.
The second floor cabin was divided into functional areas both large and small.
On one side of the corridor, the program producer was holding an auction for the fan merchandise linked to the fourth elimination match with Blood Pigeon, and there was a sage-like health care expert beside him.
“This one, this is our Contestant Caesar’s most roasted lizard, right?” The program producer asked.
“Yes.” The old expert nodded, “To be exact, this isn’t a lizard; its scientific name is the Lepidosauria. This Lepidosauria’s skin has high nutritional value, especially for our friends with blood or qi deficiencies. It’s very useful when used to brew wine! Instructor Blood Pigeon, don’t you agreek2026;”
Blood Pigeon nodded stiffly.
Wu Jin stuck his head out and glanced around before discovering that a little lizard had been stuffed into the teacup that Blood Pigeon usually used for his wolfberry tea.
Next to the live broadcast room, one of the program crew that dictated the lives and deaths of contestants was now holding a microphone and selling things pa.s.sionately, “Good news, good news, a great gift for the Mid Autumn Festival! The raptor set is 50% off, and the first 100 to place an order will be given a set of Crosson mooncakes…”
Wu Jin snuck through the studio and finally found the door to the quarantine room.
He saw the little Pterosaur behind a gla.s.s cover as soon as the door opened.
Two staff members from the sponsorship company who were next to the gla.s.s enclosure immediately stood up to greet Wu Jin. One of them took out a pen and asked Wu Jin for an autograph.
“Little Witch, my little sister really likes you.” When the researcher heard that Wu Jin wanted to take in the Pterosaur as a pet, he immediately printed out a guide:
“The Peteinosaurus is a Tria.s.sic species. The oxygen content in the Tria.s.sic period isn’t much different from modern times; only the carbon dioxide levels are a little higher! There’s no problem with raising it as a pet, and you can take it out for walks. It’s just that the Pterosaur is likely to sleep more when the air composition is poor.”
Wu Jin was finally at ease, his eyes curving as he thanked them.
The 12 hour quarantine was in compliance with the Federal import and export regulations. The little Pterosaur couldn’t come out from its enclosure yet, so Wu Jin played with it through the gla.s.s for a while then stuffed his combat suit inside before he left.
The little pterosaur was finally satisfied and engaged in an epic battle with the combat suit zipper.
A quarter of an hour later, Wu Jin walked out of the quarantine room having finally gained a vague understanding of the biotech companies of 3018––
Most of the colonial planets were used for cultivation and breeding, while the rest were used for the entertainment industry. After the program crew left, a new crew had come in and seamlessly began to set up to shoot a online drama. Additionally, there were also customized luxury tours, hunting packages, and so on.
The results for the fourth elimination match had also been revealed in advance by the enthusiastic researchers.
Zuo Botang had really come first.
In the final battle in the cave, the Velociraptor that the Jingyi sniper had raised up was invincible. Zoe’s Sarcosuchus couldn’t climb up the mountain, and Ming Yao’s Diplodocus couldn’t get into the cave. Wei Yan had been surrounded by four Velociraptors and was limited in where he could go, making it possible for Zuo Botang to snipe him down.
As for Ming Yao… It was said that he’d still been giggling foolishly when he was shot into the life-saving capsule, and his facial muscles had stiffened over the two hours spent in the capsule. He had no choice but to have Ying Xiangxiang’s makeup artist help him ma.s.sage his face.
Wu Jin went downstairs, back to where the lighting was dimmed down.
Even though the day and night cycles in the compet.i.tion were short, it had still taken 100 hours from beginning to end. The 250 trainees needed to catch up on sleep, and there wasn’t enough s.p.a.ce in the cabin, so the logistics team had removed the dining room table so that people could lay out on the floor.
There were only a few sleeping bags left by the time Wu Jin went to pick one up.
Ying Xiangxiang, who was idly reading an ebook nearby, immediately smiled when she saw Wu Jin, “Come here, Little Witch! Your instructor saved the warmest one for you…”
Ten minutes later, Wu Jin finished taking a shower and walked out of the dressing room with a small, white rabbit sleeping bag in his hands.
While all the contestants were snoring in their sleep, he quickly found a corner near the wall to spread out the sleeping bag in order to avoid losing face.
He swept his gaze left and right and saw that n.o.body was looking. Wu Jin darted into the soft rabbit fur with a swish and spread out comfortably––before quickly covering his b.u.t.tocks and bouncing back up.
It was b.u.mpy!
Wu Jin scurried back out in embarra.s.sment and looked at the rabbit tail that had prodded at him just now. It was round and fluffy, and Wu Jin could only turn the sleeping bag around to sleep on the rabbit’s belly. The small curls were pillowed on the soft and furry rabbit’s ears, rolling around in the warm fragrance of cotton––
The rabbit ears on the pillow were suddenly crushed.
Wu Jin sat up quickly. The light in the dining area was off, and the contestants were sleeping in a messy heap around him. It took him a long time before he distinguished the significantly fatter Caesar beside him. Caesar slept very freely, with one foot kicked out to the East and one elbow stuck out to the West. He even managed to sleep like an a.s.sault position.
Wu Jin could only pull the rabbit ears out from beneath his elbow and carefully tuck it beneath the pillow, closing his eyes in the quiet dining area.
Until someone new came in.
There was a dark shadow sketched out against the light from the door.
The sleepy, woozy Wu Jin suddenly woke up.
Inside the dining area full of trainees, Wu Jin arched inside his sleeping bag like a persistent caterpillar as he made his way towards the door, all the way until he reached the big boss.
Wei Shi caught the Wu Jin who’d sent himself to the door.
The round pupils glowed in the dark, and the man’s arms slid across Wu Jin’s shoulders that still carried the scent of bath gel, his fingers toying with the floppy rabbit’s ears that had been dragged the whole way over.
His eyes shifted slightly.
Who gave you this. Wei Shi asked without words.
Wu Jin mouthed the words, Instructor Ying Xiangxiang––
Wei Shi spread open his sleeping bag.
Wu Jin hastened back to the big boss’s side and huddled in delightedly, only to be caught off guard as the rabbit tail prodded him again.
Wu Jin quietly covered his b.u.t.t.
“Uncomfortable?” The man looked down at him and ordered, “Open up your sleeping bag and come over.”
Inside the quiet dining area filled with a chaotic jumble of trainees, an artificial breeze seemed to stir up one dream after another.
Wu Jin leaned into Wei Shi’s embrace. He’d taken over the smaller half of the big boss’s sleeping bag and was much more comfortable.
In his half asleep, half awake state, he seemed to have temporarily returned back to the tent they’d put up in the Tria.s.sic.
The Pterosaurs were letting out long cries from outside the tent.
Wei Shi leaned over and pressed down the rabbit spirit who was moving about everywhere, preventing him from further fanning the flames.
“Sleep.” The man’s voice was a little hoa.r.s.e, the reason for it unclear.
Wu Jin was super sleepy, but he was unwilling to fall asleep just like this. He scrunched up his face and closed his eyes and dropped a soft kiss onto the man’s cheek.
The shoulder that the small curls were resting on tensed up slightly, like a giant beast lying dormant in the dark locking onto its prey––
Wu Jin smacked his lips and fell into a satisfied, contented sleep.
A long time later.
The man turned his head and looked at the heartless Wu Jin’s sleeping face by the moonlight. He gritted his teeth and finally closed his eyes to the sound of even breaths.
Juurensha: Such a tease, Little Witch hahahaha. And yaaaay, he gets to keep his dinosaur as a pet!
xiin: they’ve got a little menagerie going, a cat, a rabbit, and… a pet dinosaur. poor Wei Shi’s still gotta hold back…