Director, Send Money! I've Brought These Foreign Girls Back

"Polaris, Lorna Dane, magnetic engineering expert."

"Riptide, Janos Quested, weather risk control expert."

"Soft Serve, Amy, expert in low-temperature, ready-to-eat energy supplies."

"Anton Quist, um... has potential in records management and logistics. An administrative talent worth cultivating."

"Edith..."

Sing Sing glanced at Edith, who was sitting on the ground in a daze. "Do you have a nickname?"

Still groggy, Edith heard someone calling her and said blankly, "I do... everyone calls me Wandering Girl..."

"And this is Wandering Girl, Edith. Her name's too long. She's an international logistics expert who currently needs more traffic safety education."

Sing Sing turned around, lowered his voice, and continued pleading poverty to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Director, we need to sort out these comrades' official positions, benefits, dormitories, medical insurance, counseling, and food allowances right away!"

"And! To bring this talent back, I practically lost everything, survived countless brushes with death, and was left penniless and in rags..."

Sing Sing quietly nudged the bundle of ill-gotten gains behind him with his foot.

"I need to be reimbursed for all that."

Director Wang sneered on the other end of the line. "You'd better really be penniless, brat."

"Director, that hurts. My loyalty will shine through the ages. How could I possibly pocket any spoils?"

"All right, all right! I'll contact the Northwest Military Region and have them pick you up."

"Better bring some food!"

"Do you think the military region is a food delivery service?"

"Director, logistical support is part of combat capability too."

"Get lost!"

The call ended. Sing Sing listened to the busy signal, then stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

The sand-laden wind was still blowing.

Zhao Hongqi and the workers were still watching them, their eyes filled only with admiration and gratitude, along with awe at the unknown powers they had witnessed.

Lorna looked at him, still a little uneasy. "So we're really safe?"

Sing Sing thought seriously for a moment. "As long as you obey the law and don't damage public property, you'll be safe."

He paused, then added another sentence.

"Of course, you can't go chasing people down with rebar again."

"If you don't look where you shouldn't, I won't chase you."

Sing Sing looked up at the sky. "The sun sure is round..."

Amy suddenly asked in a low voice, "Aren't they really afraid of us?"

After speaking, Amy looked to the side. The workers were holding ice cream and giving her thumbs-ups.

Sing Sing softened his voice. "They're afraid of blowouts and poisonous gas. They're afraid of overdue wages, their children's tuition, inspections from their bosses, and having no air conditioning in summer."

"But they're not afraid of comrades who are willing to save people, willing to work, and even hand out ice cream."

From the laboratory to China.

From test subjects, fugitives, and monsters to comrades, perhaps what lay between them was someone saying to them in a moment of crisis—

"The time has come to prove your worth."

At the Deep Well project site.

The workers were no longer panicking, and the atmosphere was cheerful.

Each had a mung bean and mint ice cream, and their faces were full of contentment as they ate.

Not only that, Sing Sing had also stationed Riptide nearby to produce a breeze at twenty-two degrees Celsius.

Sing Sing squatted beside Zhao Hongqi, a Hongtashan cigarette between his fingers, spittle flying as he described his experiences in the United States.

"Lao Zhao, you don't know until you go abroad. The misery under capitalism is simply unbearable to witness!"

"Take New York. It looks glamorous on the surface, but its infrastructure is a complete mess! The subways are full of rats, and the sewers are full of alligators!"

"Their skilled people don't even have a minimum wage!"

Zhao Hongqi nodded repeatedly as he listened. "That's downright shameful! They don't even pay wages? How's that any different from an illegal coal mine? Why doesn't the labor bureau do something about it?"

"Do what? They don't even sign contracts!"

Sing Sing pointed at Lorna and the others not far away.

"Look at little Lorna. They locked her in a basement and drew her blood! And Amy, with such impressive cold-chain supply capabilities, could only do odd jobs on the streets! That's a serious misallocation of resources! A tremendous waste of productive capacity!"

Lao Zhao looked at Amy, who was handing strawberry ice cream to the workers. "That's a sin! How could such a good girl be treated so badly?"

"Don't you worry, boss. Once our engineering team's cafeteria is ready, we'll make sure she gets the best stall. Food and lodging will be covered, and she won't have to worry about a thing!"

"That's right! Now that's the class consciousness of China's working class!"

Sing Sing patted Lao Zhao on the shoulder.

"So I went there this time to restructure assets, rescue them from misery, and bring them into our nation's great wave of infrastructure development!"

"But then again, how the talent is assigned depends on Director Wang's arrangements. If you want them..."

The two were chatting away when a low rumble suddenly came from the distant horizon.

Several military-green Z-8 transport helicopters roared toward them from the far end of the horizon.

The helicopters circled overhead for a moment, then hovered over a flat patch of ground outside the mud pit.

Sing Sing stood up and straightened his mud-caked suit against the fierce wind from the rotors.

A major in camouflage was the first to jump down, followed by two columns of fully armed soldiers.

The major's name was Ma Weiguo. He was in his thirties and had been stationed in the northwest for years.

When he received his orders, the military region's commander had only told him, "Go pick up an agent from the 749 Bureau and several special talents returning from overseas. Be advised, the situation is rather complicated."

Ma Weiguo had expected to find the scene of a firefight, or a group of scientists in suits and dress shoes.

He was still a little surprised when he saw what was in front of him.

The man at the center of the crowd had a cigarette in his mouth and was looking at him with a melancholy gaze.

An old bedsheet tied into a bundle was hidden behind his feet.

"May I ask which of you is Comrade Ling Ling Qi of the 749 Bureau?"

"That would be me."

Sing Sing flicked the ash from his cigarette and warmly held out a hand covered in mud. "Comrade Major, thanks for the effort! You came all this way. Must be hard to get reimbursed for the fuel, huh?"

Ma Weiguo took his hand without a change in expression. "It was no trouble. The commander ordered us to pick you up. These people are..."

"Come, come, let me introduce them properly!"

Sing Sing took charge and led Ma Weiguo over to the Mutants.

This and that, such and such.

Finally, Sing Sing pointed at Amy. "Amy, get Comrade Major one! Make it plain!"

Amy obediently stepped forward and turned her little hand over. A milk ice cream appeared in her palm, giving off wisps of white vapor, and she held it out to Ma Weiguo.

Ma Weiguo took it reflexively. "This... how did you do this?"

"A self-circulating human refrigeration system. No pollution, zero emissions."

"Don't judge them by conventional standards. They're all pillars of talent urgently needed to build the motherland!"

Holding the ice cream, Ma Weiguo looked at blue-skinned Edith, then at green-haired Lorna. Finally, he looked at Sing Sing. After struggling for a long while, he managed to squeeze out one sentence: "The 749 Bureau really is extraordinary..."

Sing Sing patted Ma Weiguo on the chest, wiping the mud off his hand as he did so.

"All right, don't just stand there. Hurry up and arrange for everyone to board."

With the soldiers' help, the Mutants boarded one after another.

Sing Sing went over to Zhao Hongqi last and gave Lao Zhao's hand a firm shake.

"Lao Zhao, though mountains and rivers lie between us, we'll meet again. Remember what I told you!" Sing Sing lowered his voice.

Zhao Hongqi stood at attention, saluted, and said loudly, "Don't you worry, boss! The dry-cleaning bill, compensation for emotional distress, the electricity bill, and the high-temperature allowance—I'll go to the higher-ups and claim them first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Put the Seventh Engineering Team on the invoice! I'll order the biggest commendation banner too, with the words: 'Heaven-sent heroes saved the oil well, ice pops sweetened the workers' hearts!'"