“I believe, regardless of who manufactured this device, its advanced nature and simplicity are indeed beyond the reach of modern human technology.” The underwater person caressed it and sighed, “Long time no see.” “Nado!” The call of Shuisheng brought me back from my reverie, “Can you… help me with something?” I was taken aback for a moment, then realized, “You want to transform into a human using me as a template?” Shuisheng nodded, a bit embarrassed. “Of course, I have no problem with that. I just wonder if Su Ying would mind?” I said with a smile. “Of course not. I would be very happy,” Su Ying immediately replied. “But this device seems to have some issues. Normally, the template would be fine, but we can’t be completely sure,” another underwater person warned. Hearing this, I felt a bit nervous, but seeing the expressions on Shuisheng and Su Ying’s faces, a sense of heroism surged within me. Plus, Lu Yun, perhaps intentionally or not, said, “Be careful!” which boosted my spirits, and I firmly said, “Let’s do this!” I thought to myself, even if something went wrong, it would just be a change in lifestyle habits, nothing too serious. I held one end of the iron rod, which was wrapped with earthworms, and Shuisheng held the other. Under the guidance of the underwater people, we twisted the rod in opposite directions. Our forces did not cancel each other out but instead fueled the operation of the device. Under this primitive action, the device emitted a faint light and started to work. My hand tingled slightly, and I noticed Shuisheng’s appearance beginning to change at the other end. Although I didn’t feel any changes in myself, I couldn’t help but feel a bit tense. I glanced at Su Ying; she was so nervous she covered her eyes, not daring to look. Soon, the transformation ceremony was over. I carefully examined Shuisheng and found his appearance slightly resembled mine. After checking myself, I found no issues. “I didn’t complete the transformation fully,” Shuisheng explained, “First, having two Nados wouldn’t be fun; second, I wanted to retain more of my underwater abilities.” “I wouldn’t want another twin out of nowhere,” I laughed, “What abilities did you keep? Show me.” “Hit me,” he pointed at his chest, with a mischievous grin, “I’m really sorry for all the trouble this time.” “Hmph, well said,” I couldn’t help but laugh and threw a punch at his chest, only for my fist to sink in silently, unable to be pulled out. “How about that?” Shuisheng asked. I burst into laughter, “You’re probably not even scared of bullets now! You could be a bodyguard for some Middle Eastern leader!” We laughed heartily as Shuisheng threw the device back into the well. We didn’t have the capability to determine what was wrong with the device or if it would affect other organisms, but the X Institute could. The rest of the work would be taken care of by others. Then came the simple cleanup. We arranged the unconscious construction workers by the well to look like they had been knocked out, including Ruan Xiwen. Lu Yun told us that Ruan Xiwen would wake up in an hour, convinced he had been knocked out. Thus, the archaeological event at Zhidan Garden concluded perfectly. Su Ying and Shuisheng left me with a phone number before they both left the city together. I returned to my laid-back life as a journalist, as if nothing had happened. A month later, Liang Yingwu suddenly invited me for tea. “Stop pretending, kid!” Liang Yingwu, not one for small talk, sat down and immediately confronted me, “You were behind the Zhidan Garden incident, weren’t you?” Knowing his temperament well, I stuck out my tongue and made a face, “No, I wasn’t!” “Heh, you’ve got guts,” Liang Yingwu chuckled, “I suspected you when you asked about Ruan Xiwen that day.” “Ah, indeed, the wise after the event,” I praised, “Don’t slander people without evidence.” “I don’t,” he was straightforward, “But the X Institute suspects something went wrong that day. Ruan Xiwen’s memory is a bit off, and his family heirloom glasses are shattered, which is highly suspicious. However, unlocking Ruan Xiwen’s memory is beyond even our best hypnotists. So far, there’s no adverse evidence pointing to anyone. But I guessed it was you, and Ruan Xiwen mentioned you too. Though he thinks you wouldn’t have the capability.” “So, there’s still no evidence.” “Don’t you want to know what happened to that device?” “…What happened?” “Actually, that device was so old it became unstable. We brought it back to the lab, and within days, it was completely unusable. All the experimental templates died.” “Oh.” I listened with relief but couldn’t help feeling a bit worried. Back home, I dialed the number. “Hello?” The sound of waves came through, almost letting me feel the warmth of the sun. “Hello, Nado?” “Yes, Shuisheng, how are you doing? Everything normal?” “Normal? Yes, everything’s normal.” “I just heard that the device was indeed unstable and has now been scrapped. How are your… changes?” “Fine! We’re all good! Hahaha!” Shuisheng laughed, perhaps from genuine happiness. I breathed a sigh of relief. “By the way, Nado!” “Yeah?” “Now, hehe…” “What’s up?” Shuisheng lowered his voice suddenly. “Porn is no longer needed!” This time, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Along with the sound of waves, Su Ying’s silvery laughter came through the phone. I imagined Shuisheng enjoying the sea, the sun, and his human life on some beach with Su Ying. Smiling, I hung up the phone. Looking out the window, a group of archaeologists were still pretending to inspect the construction site.
(–End–)
