Cyber ​​Sword Immortal Iron Rain

Erni had a sad face. She dipped the tip of her chopsticks into the bubbling sauce and licked it with the tip of her tongue:

"Ugh... Uh. Uh?"

……

She suddenly opened her eyes wide, picked up the soup spoon with the hand that was still holding the chopsticks, and scooped up a large ball of sticky paste and stuffed it into her mouth:

"Salinmu! It's delicious! What's in it?"

“Haha! It’s just so-so. You’ve never tasted anything made by a true master.”

Fang Bailu folded his arms and leaned against the counter with a disdainful look. He scratched the tip of his nose and covered the corners of his mouth that were curled up in smugness:

"I added it... You wouldn't understand even if I told you, but it's a good thing anyway."

This delicious taste comes from the special “ingredients” and their careful proportions.

Nutrient solutions with different flavors were discontinued decades ago: why have two production lines when one can solve the problem?

Most of the "high-end" synthetic foods on the market nowadays are too stimulating to the taste organs and are too much of a cookie-cutter, which is a case of "too much is as bad as too little" - as the saying goes, "everything goes to the extreme and then turns into something else", and they are very greasy to eat. However, after being blended with "old canned food" in a fine proportion, they can actually highlight the flavor similar to natural food.

Of course, you may have diarrhea and vomiting several times after eating:

“But it’s definitely worth it, haha!”

Looking at Erni who was wolfing down her food, Fang Bailu suddenly became curious:

"You come from a big company after all. What did you eat before?"

Erni was at least once an ace courier, so why does she look like she has never eaten good food?

"I'm always on the road delivering orders, so I don't have time to eat in the company's employee cafeteria. I usually soak the distributed 'marching pills' in wine, which is convenient! If I'm really busy, I'll just do an intravenous injection." Erni snapped her fingers at the windproof goggles around her neck; "Intravenous injection with some VR, a full meal for couriers!"

"My goodness...you didn't eat as much as I did before."

Fang Bailu took out another ice tray, which contained the edible-grade silicone balls that Old Liu had given him. He picked up a few with his gloved fingers, kneaded them into balls in his palms, and placed them on the plate.

"You're in luck. Try this - use chopsticks to pick it up and dip it in soup or sauce. Don't swallow it! Chew it and spit it out. Next time, continue with the nutrient solution."

Hardware stores don't have a food service license, nor are they blessed, so they can't stock synthetic meat. But you can dip a ball of edible-grade silicone into the nutrient solution and eat it, which tastes pretty good; it's even a little chewy - but it's not good if you swallow too much.

"It tastes a bit like a meatball, right?" Fang Bailu gestured with his hands; "Well, just imagine round synthetic meat."

Erni tied a knot on her empty left sleeve, which swung left and right as she pounced on her prey like a vicious dog:

"Great! Boss! With your cooking skills, I think you can make money by opening a restaurant!"

Fang Bailu shrugged and shook his head:

"It's difficult to get catering qualifications, and the consumption power of Alor Street is just like that - the ingredients needed are hard to come by and generally can't be bought at all."

Fang Bailu looked at the sweatshirt she was wearing, which was covered with yellow spots, dark brown bloodstains, and gray mud. It was impossible to see its original color anymore, as if it had just been fished out of a puddle on the street.

"Speaking of which, how did you lose your left hand?"

He didn't mention Erni's missing royal blue courier vest or the tattoo on her severed hand: the reasons for employees being fired are the same, and ultimately can be attributed to damaging the company's interests.

Erni chewed the silicone ball soaked in nutrient solution, causing her cheeks to bulge out comically. She adjusted her ponytails with one hand—the hair tie was covered in rust, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a twisted wire—and uttered an indistinct answer from her swollen mouth:

"I hit a wall when I was chopping him! That guy was very capable. He fought Lin... and me for three hundred rounds." Erni shrugged. "In the end, my foot slipped and I missed a move by accident, and my arm was cut off."

"You were able to beat Erni? That's a pretty good skill! You won't come to kill us, will you? Forget it, if you have a tough idea, just ask An Benlai to help."

Fang Bailu pinched Erni's empty sleeves - the blood and stains on the sweatshirt had dried and hardened. Like a pair of jeans that had been kept for more than ten years, they would probably stand up if placed on the ground:

"You really need to wash your clothes... Hey, if you cut them into strips and use them as mops, no one will want them." He frowned and fiercely dusted off the dust on his hands; "Otherwise I'll get you two sets of clothes. This is damaging the image of our store."

"No, no... How about you advance some of your salary? I'll buy it myself." Erni glanced up and down at Fang Bailu's clothes, turned away and shrank her neck; "Actually... have you ever considered changing your outfit? I see you always wear a shirt on top and jeans on the bottom, and your outer jacket is always that rubber raincoat, it's really hard... well, it's really monotonous."

Chapter 129 Great Disaster (IV)

Fang Bailu lowered his head and straightened his wrinkled shirt and battle-worn jeans: he was not a swordsman who paid much attention to his image, and he was always in the store on weekdays, so he had no time to take care of his clothes.

Unlike swordsmen who had to look respectable enough, Fang Bailu, the operator of a second-hand shop, didn't have to consider so much.

"As long as it's comfortable, it's fine. Just think about it: if I were wearing high-end clothes and had brand-name prosthetic limbs... customers would probably think that our honest hardware store is a black shop that takes advantage of others! But a swordsman like you should keep it clean, so that others will think that the sword in your hand can make a lot of money and is worth a high price."

Fang Bailu folded his hands and taught earnestly: Now that Erni is working in a hardware store, she can no longer act recklessly like before.

"Oh! That's right, boss." Erni nodded vigorously, expressing her agreement. "But you think about so many messy things every day, aren't you afraid of losing your hair? The more things you think about, the harder your life will be..."

This time it was Fang Bailu who was stunned: he never expected Erni to suddenly say such a thing.

crunch - crunch -

At this moment, both of them fell silent, and the monotonous noise echoing in the store became particularly harsh.

It was a continuous thread of friction that never stopped for a moment.

Erni put down her chopsticks, wiped the sauce off her cheek, and moved her mouth to the side:

"Boss, boss! Look at the little devil."

Fang Bailu had never seen Xiaoxin eat anything—he had never even seen him open his mouth. Judging from the fine smoke outlet of the respirator, Xiaoxin no longer had a "mouth" as defined by ordinary people. Fang Bailu felt that the respirator covering the lower half of his face was supplying him with energy: since it was a relic-level implant, it was nothing new that it had all kinds of strange functions.

Although he also went downstairs, he did not come to eat with Erni.

The hardware store covered Xiaoxin's board and lodging, which saved him the trouble of meals.

Xin was leaning against a shelf with his head lowered. The shelf, which was full of waste, scraps and goods, was shaking because of him - Xin was much heavier than he looked.

Fang Bailu tiptoed up behind him and poked his head out quietly:

His new eyes were unfocused, as if they had passed through the cement floor of the shop and looked at the other side of the planet. He unconsciously tightened and loosened the long cone-like sword in the holder, repeating it over and over again.

The never-ending noise comes from here.

Fang Bailu stretched out his palm and danced it up and down in front of Xin's eyes——

The young man didn't react at all, and simply ignored Fang Bailu as he looked into the empty space.

"Xiao Xin! What are you daydreaming about?" Fang Bailu patted his shoulder heavily; "It's time to eat, come and sit for a while."

He looked up blankly; the sword blade kept rubbing against the cement floor, and the dust and debris it scraped up formed two long, miniature mountain ranges:

"Ah? Ah. I don't want to eat, boss. I...I'll come to you guys later."

"How did it become like this... Did you miss your family so much?"

Fang Bailu scratched his head and suddenly realized that the matter of finding blood relatives for Xin had been thrown out of the window - various incidents came one after another, making him overwhelmed.

The new performance could be said to be restrained enough, which only made Fang Bailu feel vaguely guilty.

The dirty sleeve of a sweatshirt suddenly swung over from the side, and a slender elbow hit the new ribs hard, waking the depressed boy from his dream:

"Hey! Little kid! Come and sit with the sisters for a while! If you didn't know, you would think that our store treats its employees too badly!"

Erni stretched her one arm so wide that her sleeve was about to burst. She grabbed Xin's neck from below and pulled him to the dining table.

Fang Bailu was stunned: Why is this guy acting like he is dragging a kitten?

Erni's arms, which had become extremely strong as her meridians circulated, swung fiercely, hitting Xiaoxin's back with a "bang! bang!" sound, but it was unclear whether it was a beating or encouragement.

"I should have asked An Ben earlier... The young man is really pitiful."

Fang Bailu walked into the crooked shelves and pressed his palm towards Erni:

"You guys eat first. I'm going to make a phone call, so be gentle."

Erni nodded and gave a thumbs up - then continued to bury her face in the soup bowl and rice bowl.

……

"Hello? It's me. Are you busy now?"

Fang Bailu pressed the implanted throat microphone on his neck tightly, not intending to mention Mr. Kui's matter: In his own guess, the catastrophe in Kuala Lumpur must be closely related to the "fake immortal" - then Shou Niang behind An Ben would probably start further activities. Mr. Kui's backhand that came to him naturally could not be exposed at this time.

From the other end of the line came the sound of liquid pumping and the humming of machines - Anbennola was either mixing elixirs or circulating qi and blood circulation.

"The timing is perfect. Your visualization has allowed me to finish the formalities and I will be down soon. When you are ready to build your foundation, I will protect you."

what?

Fang Bailu couldn't help but be stunned:

"It's almost done? How come it feels so good..."

In the original speculation, Anbenola would definitely drag his feet on this matter, and it was not impossible that it would be dragged on silently until it was nothing...

After all, her acquaintance with Shou Niang came from visualization - so it was not impossible for Fang Bailu to figure out Shou Niang's secret from visualization.

This is the reason why I asked Mr. Kui for the visualization machine and permission.

Is it that the secret of "Shou Niang" is not in the visualization, or is it that she is not afraid of Fang Bailu knowing it at all?

But in any case, the sooner you can start the second visualization, the better:

Apart from the mystery about Shou Niang... Fang Bailu must verify whether the "destiny" that he had glimpsed in the previous visualization was a coincidence.

If he could meet the "store owner" again, Fang Bailu would like to hear what other riddles he could tell - and even if he couldn't speak, he could still figure out other details from the furnishings of "that hardware store".

But this communication was mainly to gather new information:

"Thank you very much. By the way, let me ask you a question: Are there any new Qigong practitioners joining the research institute recently?"

Fang Bailu glanced at Xiaoxin who was curled up and lying on the dining table.

Seeing his distraught look, Fang Bailu himself felt uncomfortable.

"No, I haven't heard any news about this." Anbenola's answer was firm. "Why, has anyone asked you to get information?"

Fang Bailu didn't answer immediately. He felt a strange sense of disharmony.

First, this unthinking negative answer was not An Ben's usual style. Second, this rhetorical question was also beyond his expectations.

"That's about right... A client of a client is very interested in the latest developments of the research institute."

He told a little lie - his tone was frank. This conditioned reflex of covering up had become Fang Bailu's instinct.

Anbenola paused for a moment and did not continue to dwell on this topic:

"She has a request. She wants you to search for someone."

"Are you talking about Shou Niang? Is she looking for someone?"

Fang Bailu frowned, but still kept his voice steady:

"You said."

Is the catastrophe really coming? This guy finally made a move...

"Physical age is approximately fourteen to eighteen years old, original gender: male. A barbarian, who has undergone mild to moderate transformation: the implant contains at least one relic."

What? That description sounds...

Fang Bailu turned his head and looked at Xiaoxin who was listening to Erni's nagging:

"No... That's impossible. There are many barbarians in Kuala Lumpur."

"Noted. Go on, any other relevant information?"

"'She' said that this person is probably looking for his twin sister, so keep an eye out for requests to find him. He may have entered the city, or he may be in the wilderness in the suburbs - this depends on your connections and resources."

……

Fang Bailu took a deep breath as slowly as possible and looked away:

This time he was sure who Shou Niang was looking for.

"Why are you looking for this person? Is it related to what we want to get?"

This "thing" naturally refers to the immortal's physical body.

"I didn't ask. 'She' has a lot of information and has her own considerations - you should be very clear about this."

Fang Bailu put his hand into his trouser pocket and swiped across the smooth screen of his "mobile phone": If Shou Niang hadn't pointed it out, he would never have thought that there would be a flying sword hidden in that old rocking chair...

"What do we do after we find it? Do we want it to be alive or dead? If it's dead, is there any requirement for the integrity of the body?"

A very simple indirect approach: since they are unwilling to state the reason, judge their purpose by the results they want.

"Contact me when you find him, and I'll handle it. If there's a conflict..." She paused, as if thinking; "I don't know if you can kill him, so it's best to run away."

"'Can we kill him'...?"