"Head of the ETO Countermeasures Task Force—Captain Shi, you've done pretty well for yourself these past twenty years."
Hearing that, Zhang Qi teased him.
"Pretty well, my ass."
Shi Qiang shot him a glance through the rearview mirror and cursed irritably.
Freeing one hand, he fished around in the pocket of his faded jacket and finally pulled out a crumpled pack of Zhongnanhai cigarettes. He shook one out, clamped it between his lips, and lit it with an old-fashioned lighter. The metallic snap of its lid opening and closing was crisp.
"What the fuck's a promotion good for? I'd trade this uniform for the hideout of those ETO sons of bitches any day.
Can't catch anyone, so all I do is sit in meetings shooting the shit. My ass has grown calluses from sitting in the office every day."
He took a hard drag, drawing the harsh smoke deep into his lungs, then exhaled it along with a string of complaints.
"Besides, the world's changing too damn fast.
Fuck, who would've thought twenty years ago that cars could fly?
My shitty phone can't even scan a health code anymore.
There are so many new gadgets I can't fucking figure out. I have to go home and ask my son."
"Oh? You have a son now?"
Zhang Qi turned to look at him, somewhat surprised.
The Shi Qiang he remembered had been a man with no attachments, always ready to take someone down with him.
"Heh, listen to you,"
Shi Qiang snorted, as though mocking his surprise. "What, only you big-shot scientists are allowed to save the world? Us ordinary folk aren't allowed to settle down, start families, and carry on the bloodline?"
As he spoke, he swiped one-handed across the in-car terminal beside the steering wheel.
A photograph popped up