A Hunk Drops from the Sky and Pounces!

Sing Sing's fingers, gripping the microphone, rubbed the casing back and forth.

I tried different grips twice but still couldn't find a comfortable position.

In a daze, he saw the Las Vegas underground base again, with Luke curled up in a corner, his thin shoulder blades pressed against the wall.

After waiting for a few minutes, Professor Jiang Si grew impatient. "Are you planning to hold on until next year?"

"What do you know? I'm getting into character! Professional actors need to get into character before they even start singing."

"What kind of actor are you, a secret agent who sells pork?"

Sing Sing ignored him, composed himself, and held the microphone close to his mouth:

"Luke, you asked me before what Mutants really are. I didn't answer then because the cafeteria was open for lunch, and ribs were more important than philosophy."

"Later I figured it out. The word 'Mutants'... let the reforms go, but we can't lose people; people are the foundation."

Professor Jiang Si stared intently at the screen. "Go on, keep going! Don't stop!"

"Don't talk! I'm just getting into the swing of things! Can't you respect my feelings? If you interrupt again, I'll call Wenxi over to discuss science with you!"

Professor Jiang Si shut his mouth.

Sing Sing cleared his throat and said gently, "You did a great job guarding the three acres of forest and the firebreak; the organization was going to apply for an award for you. But I'm angry that you've made yourself like this."

The blue waveform rises, with a higher amplitude than before.

"It's fine if you stay behind to shield me from the fire; I would have stayed if I were there. But you didn't even leave yourself a way out!"

"Your company brought you back from the United States to process your immigration status and assign you a job. The Academy of Agricultural Sciences has reserved a workspace for you, and your colleagues ask you every other day when you're going back."

"And you, now that your wings can't fly and your eyes are blind, you open your mouth and say you're worthless! So all the paperwork we did for you before was just a waste of paper, and we were all just playing around?"

Even if you lose two wings, get a new arm, and have your eyes replaced, the organization will still recognize you. If you dare to resign without authorization, I'll treat it as absenteeism!

The waveform on the screen spiked, several data lines crossed the warning marker simultaneously, and red lights lit up one after another.

Jiang Si lunged to the control panel to switch channels, nearly throwing Xiao You off his shoulder.

"Week..."

Sing Sing gripped the microphone tightly. "I'm here, speak slowly."

"Brother Zhou... you're still... so noisy."

Professor Jiang Si quickly took notes. "Success! Consciousness feedback and semantic recognition are perfectly matched, it's a success!"

Sing Sing moved the microphone further away, ran his thumb across the bridge of his nose, and when he spoke, he reverted to his usual irritating tone.

"Look at you! You've barely learned to speak and you're already attacking your superiors! This kind of thinking is extremely dangerous. Once you recover, you'll have to write an 8,000-word self-criticism, and it'll be sent back for rewriting even if you're missing a single punctuation mark!"

"I won't write."

"You've gone too far! You're staying in a state-owned hospital room, using state-owned electricity, and you still dare to refuse reasonable requests from your superiors?"

"Damn it! Shut up! Don't break his newly reconnected nerves!"

Frustrated, Jiang Si reached out and blocked the microphone. "Only the speech center is connected right now! All motion signals are locked. He can't open his eyes, turn his head, or move his fingers. Say something comprehensible!"

Xiao You peeked out from Jiang Si's shoulder and gave Sing Sing the middle finger.

Sing Sing looked at Luke through the glass, his words circling around in his throat, but in the end, only a few sentences that didn't sound like something a leader would say.

"If it hurts, say so. If you're scared, say so too. Stop trying to be brave. There's no rule in the company that heroes can't cry out in pain."

"Good."

"Don't try to scare people with that body donation nonsense. Professor Jiang didn't accept it, and I won't sign it either. You can provide more research data while you're alive than you can lying in a culture tank."

"Brother Zhou, I was just..."

"Just what? Just that you can't waste your time after a failure? Who taught you that ridiculous logic?"

The speaker fell silent for a moment, the static lessening considerably. "I will live."

"That's more like it. After you get out of here, I'll take you out to play. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace —you can choose yourself. I'll save you a window seat."

"Is it reimbursed?"

Sing Sing's face fell immediately. "Who taught you this? Someone in the hospital ward is giving you financial training?"

The speakers were silent for a moment.

"You."

Professor Jiang Si snatched the microphone and pressed the hibernation button with his thumb. "Initial power-on reached its limit, neural response is stable, prepare to resume drug induction."

Sing Sing looked through the glass at the motionless person inside. "Sleep well, cooperate, I'll wake you up later."

"Brother Zhou..."

"What? You don't want to write the self-criticism? We can discuss it. I'll reduce it from 8,000 words to at least 7,900."

"Thanks."

After saying this, the Mayfly fell into a deep sleep.

Sing Sing watched as Professor Jiang Si randomly clicked on the control panel, looking exactly like when he was piloting the X-Men shuttle.

Before he could say anything, the energetic professor kicked him out of the room.

Looking back at the door guarded by Xiao You, Sing Sing felt somewhat depressed.

What kind of behavior is it to use something and then kick it away?

After changing back into his suit, Sing Sing went outside and looked up.

Goodness, there isn't a single building around here that I recognize.

The gray-white buildings are lined up along the foot of the mountain, without any unit names.

The house numbers are marked only with letters and numbers, and there are double sentry posts at each intersection.

Mobile maps are more convenient; the surrounding area is completely empty.

Sing Sing circled around twice, and the access control card turned red every time he swiped it.

How come a Chief Section Level chief like him is only allowed to breathe freely in the corridor?

Just as he was about to ask someone for directions, the sunlight overhead was blocked by a large shadow.

Looking up, Sing Sing, squinting, only saw a dark shadow falling from the sky.

Sing Sing stepped aside, his right hand resting on the Pig Butchering Knife: "What kind of monster is this! How dare you attack a Chief Section Level cadre in a key national research zone!"

"Boom!"

A dark shadow crashed down in front of him, revealing the face of the Moon-Boy through thick hair, with a temporary research zone pass hanging on his chest.

"Zhou, I've missed you so much!"

The hug from the Moon-Boy made Sing Sing's chest throb several times, and his hat was pushed askew to his ear.

"Let go! You can miss me, but don't send me away!"

The Moon-Boy quickly let go of him and chuckled, "Zhou, did you come to see me?"

Hearing this, Sing Sing nodded without even blushing. "Of course, how are you doing here?"

"This place is great! We get meat every day! Two kilograms in the morning, three kilograms at noon, and beef leg for dinner!"

The Moon-Boy counted on his fingers. "I've learned welding and lathe operation these past few days!"

"I was wondering why you smelled here, and I was just thinking of coming out for a stroll. I never expected you would actually come to see me!"

Before he could resist, the Moon-Boy grinned, grabbed Sing Sing's sleeve, and headed towards another laboratory building.

"Come on, I'll show you my studio!"