For a fleeting moment, Xiang Kun felt as if he were a king, reigning supreme over his subjects, and he even vaguely sensed the "emotions" in the Giant Owl's memory.
Previously, when he watched these scenes, it felt like watching a first-person VR movie.
Looking at the canary in the cage in front of him, which dared not move, Xiang Kun knew that if he left directly, the canary would recover in a few minutes.
However, he did not leave. Instead, he continued to watch the canary, then relaxed his body and cleared his mind.
The canary remains unchanged.
So Xiang Kun began to imagine himself wearing beach shorts, dozing off on a deck chair outside a small wooden cabin by the sea, with a gentle sea breeze and the sound of crashing waves—it was very pleasant.
A dozen seconds later, the chirping of birds gradually rose up around him, and the canary in front of him seemed to have been unleashed from its "magic," starting to hop around in the cage and making short chirps.
Xiang Kun took out his phone, recorded the bird's chirping, and sent it to a blind woman nicknamed "Little Apple" whom he had met while hitchhiking last month, asking her what the bird meant.
Last month, after killing the "Giant Owl," drinking its blood, and obtaining many memories, he went into the mountains to search for the area where the owl used to live. On his way back, he hitched a ride with three people: Detective Li Sheng, Associate Professor Li Yang, and Li Yang's daughter, the blind girl "Little Apple."
"Little Apple" loves listening to the calls of various birds and can distinguish the meanings of many of them, making her a highly talented "bird whisperer".
During this time, Xiang Kun would occasionally discuss bird-related knowledge with her via WeChat.
Although "Little Apple" is blind, both Android and iOS systems now have voice modes to assist blind users, so she has her own mobile phone and can send and receive voice messages on WeChat without any problem.
After hearing the bird calls sent by Xiang Kun, "Little Apple" quickly sent a voice reply:
"Is it a canary? Could you record another segment? It's hard to tell from just that one."
Just as Xiang Kun was about to record another segment, the bird shop owner came out, looked at him with a smile, and said, "This bird is quite good, isn't it? The color of its feathers is very beautiful. It would definitely be a favorite gift for a girl."
He clearly heard a girl's voice coming from Xiang Kun's phone and assumed the customer wanted to buy a bird as a gift.
With the shopkeeper talking nearby, Xiang Kun naturally couldn't continue recording the birdsong, so he asked, "How much is this bird? Including the cage?"
The shopkeeper first praised the canary's appearance again, then said, "I could have offered 600 if I had kept it for another two months, but seeing that you have a special connection with this bird, I'll just make it 500. The birdcage is free, plus a serving of birdseed."
Although Xiang Kun had no idea about the price of these ornamental birds and hadn't researched it beforehand, he knew with a grain of salt that the price was definitely inflated.
"Boss, give me a fair price. If it's reasonable, I'll buy it," Xiang Kun said.
The shop owner hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about this, if you buy this one next to it too, it'll be 700."
Xiang Kun shook his head. "I only want this one."
The shop owner hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, then. Ah, you don't know how beautiful these birds are. With these canaries, you not only have to look at their appearance, but also listen to whether they can sing. Generally, if the bird you buy is too young and hasn't learned from an older bird, it won't sing well, or it won't sound good..."
While he was speaking, Xiang Kun kept observing his facial expressions, using the FACS (Facial Action Coding System) he had learned before, combined with comprehensive sensory information about his heartbeat, breathing, and smell, to judge his state while speaking, and thus analyze his true attitude towards the price.
"It's still too expensive." Xiang Kun shook his head.
The shopkeeper frowned and said, "How about this one, handsome? Take a look at these over there. For example, this one, if you want it, it'll be 100 yuan with a regular small steamer basket. And this one..."
"How about this one for 100 yuan?" Xiang Kun asked, pointing to the canary that had been there before.
The shop owner's eyes widened, his lips twitched to the side, he scoffed, and shook his head, saying, "Brother, that's not how you bargain. Why don't you go browse other shops first, take a look, and ask around?"
Based on the details of the shop owner's facial expressions and subtle changes in his heartbeat and breathing, Xiang Kun estimated that he really couldn't accept the price, so he added, "I meant the bird is 100 yuan, and the cage is 150 yuan in total."
The shop owner's brow was still furrowed, but it relaxed slightly. He sighed, "This is really a loss-making venture, sigh... Add a little more, 180 it is. This bird is really of very good quality, otherwise I wouldn't have displayed it here."
Xiang Kun didn't haggle any further and paid directly via WeChat transfer.
He judged that the boss could barely accept 150, and if he insisted on that price, there was a high probability that a deal could be reached.
He had noticed before that the streets around the flower and bird market were rather desolate, with little foot traffic and many shops displaying signs for sale or clearance sales.
As long as the price difference isn't too large, we will try our best to complete the transaction and recover the funds.
However, he was waiting to reply to "Little Apple's" WeChat, and since he had just recorded the canary's chirping, he didn't want to waste time changing targets.
After carrying the birdcage a short distance from the shop, Xiang Kun overheard the shop owner return and complain to a companion, "People these days are so stingy, so calculating, so difficult to deal with..."
Xiang Kun shook his head and smiled. If it were the pre-mutation version of himself, he would basically never bargain.
Before making a purchase, he will always do his research to find out the approximate price range of the item and set a budget accordingly.
If I were in a situation like today, I would at most ask, "Can you make it cheaper?" If the price the boss gives me is within my budget, I would buy it. If it exceeds my budget, I would leave and come back when I have more money, or I would mentally assess whether I need to increase my budget.
He was neither used to nor good at this kind of negotiating communication with people, even in his familiar field of work.
It's not that he suddenly enjoys communicating with people. The main purpose of negotiating with the boss today wasn't to lower the price, but rather to apply and test the knowledge and skills he currently possesses.
It's like buying a high-performance car that cost a lot of money; when you encounter good road conditions, you can't help but want to floor the gas pedal and experience the acceleration. Or like buying a rugged phone and feeling an urge to smash a walnut when you see it...
In actual use, we can also identify areas that need improvement.
Xiang Kun carried the birdcage and recorded a longer audio clip of the bird's chirping, which he then sent to "Little Apple".
Then he noticed that Tang Baona had tagged him in the group chat, asking if he wanted to go swimming together that afternoon. It was Sunday, and the three of them had gotten together again.
"I'm not going, I have something to do this afternoon," Xiang Kun replied.
Yang Zhen'er said in the group chat, "Chef! How about we come over for lunch? Just make a couple of dishes, and we'll bring whatever ingredients you need."
"I'm out right now, so I probably won't have time to cook lunch." Although he has now found a way to make food stay in his stomach a little longer, the process is really unpleasant. Eating with people once or twice is okay, but eating together often is really painful.
"Where have you been all weekend?" Yang Zhen'er asked curiously.
"The flower and bird market," Xiang Kun replied simply.
Yang Zhen'er sent a horrified emoji. "You... you're not going to start researching how to cook bird meat, are you?" She originally wanted to add "I don't eat bird meat," but hesitated for a moment and didn't.
Xiang Kun was taken aback, then gave him a speechless look. "What are you thinking? The flower and bird market sells ornamental birds, why are you thinking about eating everything?"
But silently, he added in his heart:
Besides, bird blood doesn't taste very good...
Except for the mutated owl...