"Wow, you’re drinking like a thirsty camel." After a soldier brought a case of mineral water outside the command window and watched Pei Yan gulp down seven or eight bottles, Liu Xuan squatted in front of him and teased with a smile.
Seeing that the case of mineral water was about to be empty, Liu Xuan was about to signal the soldier to bring another case when Pei Yan quickly said, "Sir, this is enough!"
"Enough? Really enough? Don’t be polite! Oh, before I met you, I thought you were drinking oil. Where does all this water go, anyway? Isn’t there something wrong with the machine?" Liu Xuan turned his head, reached out, pinched Pei Yan’s body, and marveled.
"I only know that I’ll still feel thirsty until I finish drinking, but as for where the water goes, I have no idea!" Pei Yan drank the last bit of water from the bottle and said helplessly.
Liu Xuan stood up and nodded sympathetically, "Yes, there are many unsolved mysteries about abilities. Even we, who awakened before you, have many questions we can’t figure out."
"Alright, let’s set aside irrelevant matters for later. Pei Yan, how is your body recovering now?" Gu Shenghui squeezed Liu Xuan out of the way, bent over, and inquired.
"Director Gu, it’s all good now!"
"Great! Then Xiaoxia, come over and test the new body’s status!"
Receiving Gu Shenghui’s order, Pei Yan, who was sitting on the ground, pressed his hands against the floor to stand up, but unexpectedly, his two mechanical arms emitted some white smoke, and a gentle motor hum followed, springing Pei Yan forward like a spring. Completely unprepared, Pei Yan was flung into the ground ahead, helmet auto-activating to prevent injury, leaving a trail of sparks.
"What the heck is going on!" Pei Yan, dazed from the impact, got up rubbing his neck and wondered aloud.
"This might be the result of you not yet adapting to the machine’s response. Director Gu, I think he should warm up first and get familiar with his body!" suggested Engineer Li, stepping forward.
"Alright! But this place is too small; how about we go back to the Bureau’s Jiezhi Space!" Hu Wenjun looked around and agreed.
"You’re mocking us, aren’t you? Only your Bureau has a Jiezhi Space; we don’t! Since we’re here, let’s test here and head back after dinner!" Liu Xuan loudly complained, grabbing Gu Shenghui’s arm to stop him from leaving.
Gu Shenghui turned and graciously held Liu Xuan’s hand, "No, no. We don’t want to inconvenience you!"
"Whether to add trouble or not, it already has. Isn’t half the warehouse’s stuff going to your bureau anyway? And it’s already mealtime," said Liu Xuan, pulling Gu Shenghui along while looking at his watch and shouting, "Xiaozhao, go to the Equipment Department and get the training Jiezhi Space I’m authorizing. I’ll give him a call in a bit. Manager Wang, notify the canteen to send the lunch here and then to Jiezhi Space, and prepare a special dinner to welcome our colleagues from the Bureau!"
"Yes!" Upon hearing Liu Xuan’s orders, two soldiers in the warehouse saluted and ran out.
After finishing his instructions, he looked at the soldiers outside the window and shouted, "Comrades, do you want to see our Bureau colleagues show off some skills for us?!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The soldiers outside immediately lined up, raised their necks, and shouted in unison.
"Then wait until they’ve had their fill to say. Go move tables and chairs into the warehouse; we’ll have lunch in the Jiezhi Space! We’ll have a party in the evening! Alright?"
After a synchronized cheer, the people outside quickly scattered and acted according to orders.
"Hey, Lao Liu, why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Gu Shenghui, seeing Liu Xuan arranging such a scene, knew that persistence would only let the soldiers down and could only shake his head helplessly.
"Old Gu, don’t overthink it. I was once part of your Bureau. How can I not entertain you when you visit? Besides, that little fellow is desired by higher-ups; if you can resist, I have nothing to say." Liu Xuan pulled Gu Shenghui aside and whispered as they walked.
Half an hour later, inside Jiezhi Space, Pei Yan sat uncomfortably on a sturdy chair specially moved for him, in front of neatly arranged soldiers waiting with their meals for the command to eat.
Except for him and the accompanying investigators, only the investigators had chairs and tables, making Pei Yan feel awkward. He nudged Hu Wenjun beside him: "Instructor Hu, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?"
Hu Wenjun also felt this was not right. He looked at Gu Shenghui at the other end of the table, who stood up with a lunch box: "Colleagues from the Bureau, shall we eat with the soldiers?"
"Alright!" Everyone, including Elder Lin, stood up, took their lunch boxes, and stepped away from the table.
Seeing this, Liu Xuan and Manager Wang rushed to persuade, "What are you doing! This is specially prepared for you. We’re used to training!"
"Xiaoliu, we’ve all had regular military training at our bureau; there’s no need to distinguish between us here. Let’s all sit down and eat together." Elder Lin said, taking the lead and sitting next to a soldier with a lunch box.
Seeing Elder Lin do so, Liu Xuan couldn’t stop them. Everyone, including Engineer Li, joined the soldiers, and under Liu Xuan’s order, they started the meal!
The soldiers sitting in front and behind Pei Yan looked at him curiously while eating. One couldn’t hold back his curiosity for long and asked quietly, "Can you still eat in your form? Where does the food go? Can you feel hunger?"
Pei Yan swallowed a spoonful of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, rested the spoon on the lunch box edge, and whispered, "I don’t know where the food goes inside, but it eventually comes out, if I may say something gross!"
Hearing this, the soldiers around covered their mouths to suppress laughter. Pei Yan earnestly continued, "I actually don’t feel hunger now. It’s just that everyone’s eating, and it would look weird if I didn’t, you know?"
"Right, hi, I’m Xiao Hai, from Shandong!" The soldier smiled and reached out to introduce himself to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan shook hands and responded, "Hello, I’m Pei Yan, from the Northeast."
After the meal, more than ten soldiers cleared away the dishes and moved the chairs, leaving the rest to sit in a row in a corner of the Jiezhi Space, full of anticipation for Pei Yan’s next performance.
Hu Wenjun approached Pei Yan, who was standing in place and stretching, "Can we start now?"
"Then let’s start with a five-kilometer run!"