He Jiulu didn’t have the confidence to protect his original body. Besides, there was an old saying: you can guard against a thief for a day, but you cannot guard against one for a thousand days.
Because of various reasons and considerations, he was forced to be vague.
“In the past,”
He Jiulu heard her own voice ring out. The tone was deeper than usual and much slower, carrying a deliberately crafted, hazy sense of weariness.
“I also encountered quite a few unpleasant things. But it’s all in the past.”
She paused, making an effort to lighten her tone as she tried to change the subject. “What matters is the present and the future, right?”
“Right now, we are Eshu who can beat those ‘Abnormalities’ until they’re looking for their teeth on the ground.” He controlled He Jiulu to flash a smile at Sui Luowen that looked as cheerful as possible.
Meanwhile, not far ahead, the shifting mass of living architecture — the Yulin City Branch of the Public Relief Society — was already right before their eyes.
“Senior, are you using your real identity at the Public Relief Society? I heard the uncles there and the people online saying that you’re 12 years old and a returnee from overseas.”
Sui Luowen asked using sign language, looking at He Jiulu’s body, which appeared slightly shorter than her own, with a bit of confusion.
“Oh, that,”
He Denghong didn’t want to hide anything regarding such minor details. “That was a fake identity the Red-Crowned Rabbit forged for me without permission. It doesn’t seem very useful now, anyway.”
Xuan Chenzi, being dragged along by He Jiulu, narrowed his eyes as he listened to their conversation, his thoughts unknown.
He Jiulu and Sui Luowen led Xuan Chenzi into the shifting living architecture of the Public Relief Society’s Yulin Branch. One of the cubes behaved as it had before, splitting off smaller blocks to form an entrance and a platform to receive them.
The interior remained that strange sight of flesh and metal in symbiosis, pulsating with a rhythmic beat.
Researchers dressed in uniforms bearing the national emblem of the Public Relief Society hurried through the writhing corridors and between instruments flickering with eerie light. They seemed long accustomed to the return of the two Eshu.
The Red-Crowned Rabbit’s voice rang directly in their minds, giving instructions in a lazy tone. *Chirp-cluck.* “The usual rules. Toss this old geezer into the ‘Transition Chamber’ for deportation. The coordinates are already set.”
“Tsk, I hope the ‘fellow travelers’ on that side take real good ‘care’ of this lunatic who almost split himself and half the city apart.”
Following the instructions, they dragged Xuan Chenzi toward the chamber emitting spatial distortion waves. After tossing him into the swirling light and shadows, Xuan Chenzi’s body twisted and vanished.
“Alright, the trash has been cleared out.”
The Red-Crowned Rabbit’s voice carried a hint of relief from completing a task. “You two coordinated decently this time.”
“He Jiulu, your ‘Berserker’ fighting style is a bit crude, but its efficiency is definitely high. Sui Luowen, your precision in controlling spatial rifts has improved again. Not bad, not bad.”
It paused, its button eyes seemingly scanning the military uniform on He Jiulu’s body, which had already self-repaired. “So, heading home?”
“Or… do you plan to stay and scavenge a meal of ‘Nutrient Solution’ before you go? Even though the taste isn’t great, the effect of replenishing ‘Elements’ is alright.”
He Jiulu refused immediately. “No thanks. I’m going back to eat instant noodles.”
Sui Luowen also shook her head gently, using sign language to indicate she needed to return to the orphanage.
“Fine, fine. That’s all for today then. Keep your communications open. I’ll call you the next time the branch gets ‘hungry’ or if a big one shows up.”
After the Red-Crowned Rabbit finished speaking, its voice vanished from their minds. It had likely run off somewhere to slack off or observe its “experimental records.”
***
Meanwhile, at a renovation site on the other side of the city.
He Denghong was carrying a bag of cement, walking with difficulty across the uneven ground. His face was somewhat pale with obvious dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t rested well last night, and the power consumption and emotional fluctuations synchronized from his clone had affected his original body.
Foreman Zhang looked at him and frowned. “Denghong, did you fail to sleep well again last night? Your face looks terrible. Why don’t you do a bit less today?”
Beside them, Li Qiang seemed like he wanted to say something snide again. However, for some reason, when he saw He Denghong’s gaze — which, though exhausted, carried a faint, sharp intensity that seemed honed from constant slaughter on a battlefield —
The mocking words at the tip of Li Qiang’s tongue were swallowed back down. He only muttered, “What’s with the act…”
He Denghong couldn’t be bothered with him. He set the cement down and took a breath.
In the evening, He Denghong boredly scrolled through the Eshu Archive [Beta Version] and the forum sections on his phone. He watched people discuss the “gap moe” of He Jiulu, who looked petite but fought with such bloody ferocity.
While looking at his phone, He Denghong simultaneously controlled He Jiulu to fly all the way toward the Hope Primary School where Lin Qingxia was a student.
“Hey, hey, hey, you. Forget about not going to pick up ‘batteries’ for the branch at night, but why are you flying around aimlessly? You aren’t planning to do something bad and give the Public Relief Society a bad name, are you?”
The Red-Crowned Rabbit manifested without warning, blocking He Jiulu’s path. It seemed to be in a bad mood.
“Please do not engage in behavior detrimental to the interactions between our two civilizations. Your words and actions represent the Public Relief Society to a certain extent. Or are you planning to meddle in that little Eshu’s business?”
“I didn’t know you were so warm-hearted. As an Eshu, all you need to do is deal with ‘Abnormalities’ every day. Don’t tell me you want to use your identity as an Eshu to specifically go and scare those children?”
“So what if I do?” He Jiulu deliberately provoked the Red-Crowned Rabbit. She felt like this damn rabbit needed a beating every time she saw it; it always managed to make her feel irritated.
“Besides, if I don’t look after her business, who will? The teachers? The police? Or should we go find those parents of hers, who are worse than pigs or dogs, to help her?”
“As an adult, if I see a child facing such things and I have the power to help but don’t actually do anything, do I still have the responsibility of an adult?”
“Moreover, I’m not doing this for her feelings. It’s just out of a self-satisfying sense of responsibility and a desire to improve her efficiency in assisting me with sealing ‘Abnormalities’ when we fight side by side.”
“I’ll help her if I want to, and I won’t if I don’t. Don’t label me a goody-two-shoes just because of this.”
“I heard recently that ‘tsunderes’ aren’t popular around here anymore… besides, what does a man like you have to be ‘dere’ about?” the Red-Crowned Rabbit said in a low tone.
“What adult would be responsible to this extent? You have absolutely no obligation to care about this. Don’t cause trouble for us!”
He Jiulu looked at the Red-Crowned Rabbit blocking her way. In her red pupils, the black cross patterns rotated slightly, revealing a look of impatience.
“Move it, you damn rabbit. I don’t need you to teach me how to do things.” Her voice was cold, carrying an unquestionable weight. “Whether I’m a goody-two-shoes or whether I have an obligation, I know what I’m doing.”
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Ima do my own thing!!!!🔥