Chapter 554: Plot and Invitation
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Everybody stood at different heights, so they might be two different perspectives looking at the same problem.
Although Guo Caiying was born in the top political family in China, and had experienced a few years of so-called official honing, and had a more extensive field of visions and experienced than her peers, she was still a young girl who relied on her father’s power to live a good and smooth life after all. The reason why she asked Zhang Lisheng, whom she encountered by chance, out was that she could not help but wanted to spend more time with this man whom she liked and had always found to be mysterious.
As for Zhang Lisheng, who were already rulings tens of thousands of square kilometers of lands of faith and who had the ambition to engulf the entire foreign world, meeting Guo Caiying was because, first, he doesn’t really know how to refuse; second, he wanted to guard and expand his land of faith. There was already an irreconcilable contradiction between the young man and the powerful Atlantean civilization. In line with the principle that the enemy of the enemy was a friend, he naturally wanted to maintain a good relations.h.i.+p with the great powers on Earth, so he could share the pressure when it was necessary. Besides, one could say that the girl beside him was the best opportunity for him to forge a relations.h.i.+p with China.
Therefore, although Zhang Lisheng could tell from Guo Caiying’s words that she had a deep scruple against those supernatural beings, he was not at all concerned about it. Instead, he went along with the flow and said, “Letting a person who masters powerful force to have a social authority may easily bloat his ambition and desire to an unstoppable extent. This is indeed a terrible thing.”
“Do you really think so, Junior Brother?” Guo Caiying was stunned, not being able to ask in surprise, “But don’t you master powerful witchcraft too?”
“It’s exactly because I possess an unimaginable power that I would think this way…” Zhang Lisheng recalled his own experience and looked at the girl, who was looking at him with bright eyes, before shrugging, “Alright, Senior Sister. Stop looking at me with such admiring gaze. The reason humans are a high-level primate is that we know how to have a good look at ourselves. In the society on Earth where intelligence was already widely open to the public, perhaps ordinary civilians might admire and look up to those who have supernatural powers but they would not be willing to be led by them. Because deep down, people will subconsciously believe that those who master the supernatural forces as another species. Naturally, they would also have a scrupulous mindset that ‘those who are different from me would have another intention.’ For this reason, other than the potential influence brought by wealth, I have never sought any political power in the US before. It’s not because I’m virtuous, but because apart from having extraordinary power, I have a smart enough brain too.”
“Hah! I finally meet a ‘superman’ who doesn’t want to be a ‘savior.’ You know, Junior Brother, this feels so good!” Guo Caiying blurted out; of course, she did not realize that this young man who was all smiles actually needed the wors.h.i.+ping from the general public, instead of just mere acknowledgment.
“When I finally hear you talking to me without using those kinds of Chinese bureaucrat’s eccentric tone, I feel good as well,” Zhang Lisheng shrugged and pointed to a seemingly old j.a.panese restaurant on the street. “Ogawa Kyoto Restaurant. The only restaurant in New York that is still importing Wagyu beef from j.a.pan. Are you interested?”
“I didn’t mean to purposely use those kinds of hypocritical bureaucracy way to talk to you. It’s a habit,” Guo Caiying suddenly pulled the young man’s hand and did not answer him. Instead, he looked into his eyes and explained seriously.
When the two pairs of eyes met, the atmosphere suddenly became very ambiguous. Zhang Lisheng, whose human nature had been recovered and intensified, looked at the girl’s short hair that was swaying in the warm wind, the dewy-like, bright eyes, the tall nose, the soft, pink lips, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, as his mouth turned dry.
“Senior Sister, of course, I know that you didn’t do it on purpose…” Vaguely aware of his own state that did not seem right, the young man said calmly, but his lips were suddenly kissed lightly.
At that instant, Zhang Lisheng’s body stiffened. Colors crept upon Guo Caiying’s face as well. Even so, she stared at the young man without feeling embarra.s.sed and smiled cheekily, like she always did in the university, as she said, “I couldn’t control myself. Should I apologize?”
“I know that I’m charming, but I didn’t expect that I’m THIS charming. There’s no need to apologize. I also was… Sh*t! What I’m talking about? It’s very awkward now. Senior Sister, do we still want to have for dinner?” Zhang Lisheng replied incoherently.
“Of course. What’s there to be awkward about? A roommate of mine in the university even had s.e.x with her best male friend in the bathroom of the Montreal airport to kill time while waiting for their flights… Oh, is this the life of young people…” Guo Caiying made a random reply.
“Perhaps. So, wagyu?”
“Wagyu it is, then,” The girl nodded and walked towards the j.a.panese restaurant not far away together with the young man.
Before they could reach the front of the store, a few faint light b.a.l.l.s flew across the night sky and dropped speedily like a meteor. Bringing along with them a turbulent pressure, they stopped and hovered in front of the two of them.
“Are you Dr. Zhang Lisheng?” The light b.a.l.l.s contracted and were extinguished immediately. At once, four redheaded snow-white Atlanteans landed softly on the ground. The person standing in front looked at Zhang Lisheng and asked politely.
The young man who still was at a loss at what to do a minute ago immediately had a change of expression. Putting on an arrogant and calm smile, he said sarcastically, “You’ve already flown directly up to me, but you still couldn’t confirm my ident.i.ty, oh Mr. Aliens?”
“Doctor, we are the chief of staff of Atlantis’ First Interstellar Fleet based in the New York military base,” In the face of Zhang Lisheng’s disrespectful att.i.tude, the Atlantean frowned with a gloomy expression but did not express any dissatisfaction. Instead, he pulled out their own identification doc.u.ments from their pockets and handed it over, “I’d like to invite you to return to the base to record the exploration information about the Shrimp World No. 2.”
“Wharton Dulphee, the third chief staff officer of the Atlantis First Fleet,” Zhang Lisheng looked at the doc.u.ment depicted with a flaming planet and a bald eagle and casually asked, “Since when did the aliens take over the federal law enforcement agencies? Don’t tell me that Earth’s former ‘selfless comrades’ have now openly subverted the White House?
“Dr. Zhang, I don’t understand, please tell us what is the relations.h.i.+p between giving intelligence exploration of the foreign world and the federal law enforcement power?” Dulphee asked forcefully.
“Then, can I say that I don’t want to go?”
“According to the relevant agreements between the US Government and the Atlantis Fleet before the exploration of World 30009, submitting the intelligence statements is an obligatory duty.”
“No matter how you tactfully put it, I still have to go to the New York base tonight, right? Then, the reason all of you came is to enforce law enforcement rights if I don’t agree, isn’t it?”
Dulphee choked and could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. However, pedestrians walking on the streets who would pay attention to them from time to time caused him to be unable to make his move. With no other choice but to restrain his emotions, he howled in a low voice, “Doctor, I’m not here to debate with you. It’s best for you to follow us obediently.”
Upon seeing the enraged look of the Atlanteans, Guo Caiying suddenly took a step forward in front of the young man, “Mr. Dulphee, I’m Chinese…”
“Senior Sister, this issue has nothing to do with you. I’ve not fallen to the point where I would need a girl to protect me. Rest a.s.sured, the situation is actually in my grasp, but it looks like I won’t be able to accompany you to dinner tonight anymore,” Zhang Lisheng reached a hand to pull the girl to stand behind him. After whispering to her, he shrugged at the Atlanteans, “Well then, since it’s an obligation, I’ll follow you back, Mr. Aliens, but how should I get there? By taxi?”
“What a funny joke, Doctor,” Dulphee smiled with a grave expression. Since the young man had already agreed on returning with him, he no longer continued his rudeness. Instead, he took a milky white square block the size of a golf ball out of his waist and handed it over. “Just grip it tightly. We’ll bring you back to the base.”
Zhang Lisheng took the soft and elastic square block that looked like a rubber material and squeezed it hard out of curiosity.
At once, faint glow exuded from his fist as his feet began to slowly hover in the air. A round halo appeared outside his body.
“Wow, what unbelievable transportation,” stamping his feet hard, he noticed that there seemed to be a layer of invisible gas below his feet, making him unable to touch the ground. At once, he mused with emotions.
“It’s just an ordinary, simple, flying means on our planet. If it’s not for the fact that we need a light stone to guide our flight, we’d have already made it common here on Earth,” A proud look appeared on Dulphee’s face. “Alright, Doctor, let us go.”
Together with his companions, he waved his hands down. At once, faint light radiated from his body as he began to rise.
Looking at Zhang Lisheng as he followed behind the Atlanteans slowly, she saw them lifted off into the air. After staying silent for a long time, a sense of panic suddenly burst into the depth of her heart. Without warning, the girl lost her cool as she shouted at the top of her lungs, “I’m Guo Caiying, Guo Caiying from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can investigate my ident.i.ty. Remember, I’ll be waiting for Dr. Zhang Lisheng to leave the New York base safely. I’ll keep waiting until he contacts me…”
When the words left the girl’s mouth, the Atlanteans and the young man who had already climbed to a certain height began to accelerate rapidly, transforming into meteors that drew a beautiful light ray as they disappeared into the night sky.
Flying a straight line in a fast speed, a few minutes later, Zhang Lisheng who was looking around the ball of light s.h.i.+fted his gaze from the big star to the ground and suddenly saw that the brightly lit bustling city had been replaced with a military camp that had its tree-lined roads dimly lit with street lights.
After over ten seconds later, under the guidance of the alien soldiers, he landed slowly in front of a large three-story office building on the seaside military port.
“You are the most courageous Earthling I’ve ever seen flying in the air,” After they landed, Dulphee, who kept accelerating all the way, wanted to see the young man embarra.s.s himself. He could not help but be surprised to see that what happened was the contrary.
Zhang Lisheng was taken aback. With a shrug, he smiled, “Well, I’m a biologist who has worked with an Atlantis sergeant major to explore the foreign world before. Of course my courage would not be too bad. Anyway, Staff Officer Dulphee, where shall we go next?”