Ming Ruan calculated. “Generally speaking, it’s either cultural landmarks, natural scenery, or popular tourist check-in spots…”
Su Yuyun followed Ming Ruan’s train of thought downwards.
There was no natural scenery on the Main Star. To see natural scenery, they’d need to take a spaceship and jump to another planet—that wasn’t feasible today.
Popular check-in spots: to Su Yuyun’s knowledge, there were none on the Main Star. Perhaps many existed on the Holonet—but that would have to wait until Ming Ruan’s Information Shackle was lifted.
If speaking purely of famous landmark buildings, Film Island was one, Clarence Garden was another—famous, but generally inaccessible to the public. And Ming Ruan had been to both.
As for cultural landmarks…
“The Council, the Imperial Palace, or the Mech Base?” Su Yuyun presented three options, earnestly seeking Ming Ruan’s opinion.
Ming Ruan was stunned by the question. “Can these places be toured inside?”
“Yes.” Others couldn’t enter, but Ming Ruan could visit any of them.
Ming Ruan trusted Su Yuyun deeply and immediately began to agonize over the choice. All three places sounded incredibly impressive.
“Gray Wolf is at the Council today. If you go, you can see him.” Only then did Su Yuyun bring this up. Although indeed asked by others, Ming Ruan’s holiday should be dictated by his own wishes.
But upon seeing Ming Ruan’s eyes light up at the words “Gray Wolf”, a mischievous impulse struck Su Yuyun, and he added, “The white tiger is at the Mech Base, and Lion is perhaps at the Imperial Palace.”
Ah, couldn’t he do all of them together?
Ming Ruan’s dream of a group outing was shattered, and he fell back into indecision.
A moment later, he settled on a decision. “Let’s go to the Council.” He’d follow the order the Boss mentioned and visit them one by one!
Su Yuyun: “…”
Ming Ruan asked cautiously, “Is, is there a problem?” He felt the Boss’s mood had worsened.
“No.” Su Yuyun denied.
…
Ming Ruan had originally thought that a place like the Council—which sounded so extraordinary just from its name—would have some kind of scheduled appointment process for visits, no matter how it was opened to the public.
Who knew, the Boss decided to go on a whim, driving the car straight to the main entrance of the Council.
Outside the car, the main building of the Council was a gigantic ring. Its surface was sliced into numerous flat planes, each reflecting different surrounding scenery. Before the circular building was a large square. In the square stood a massive sculpture—a three-dimensional emblem.
Ming Ruan looked at it a couple more times.
It looked very familiar.
He turned his head to look at the shoulder and cap of Su Yuyun beside him.
It was the same badge the Boss wore on his uniform.
Ming Ruan was soon led by Su Yuyun to the main entrance of the Council, directly facing the square.
To Ming Ruan, Su Yuyun himself was practically the best pass in all of Interstellar space. As they crossed the square, the Mecha Soldiers patrolling in formation around them all stopped to bow their heads in salute. The four columns of mecha guards at the main entrance, after a moment of surprise, also saluted.
No more words were needed. The identity verification passed, and layer upon layer of doors opened successively before Ming Ruan.
Was this really… a place meant for tours?
Ming Ruan was nervous, yet couldn’t resist the temptation and walked on in. The mecha guards flanking either side remained motionless.
However, as Ming Ruan passed through the first doorway, he suddenly heard the synchronized sound of mecha guards’ footsteps from behind.
Ming Ruan abruptly turned his head. He found that Su Yuyun had long since stopped walking. He was standing outside, and now the four columns of mecha guards were already standing paired up, sealing off the entrance passage.
They still saluted respectfully, yet stood silently blocking Su Yuyun’s way, showing no intention of letting him pass.
Ming Ruan’s gaze met Su Yuyun’s through the gaps between these mecha soldiers.
Su Yuyun: “Go on.”
Ming Ruan saw the Boss nod.
Su Yuyun: “I’ll come pick you up tonight.”
Under Ming Ruan’s watch, Su Yuyun lifted a hand to press down his cap brim and turned to leave.
His black-and-gold cloak lifted slightly. Sunlight spilled onto the completely unshielded square, illuminating everything in bright, stark whiteness. Only Su Yuyun’s single black silhouette walked under the sun, looking, unexpectedly… so lonely.
After Su Yuyun left, the mecha guards returned to their formation of paired columns, dividing to stand on either side of the main door.
Memories surged up. Only now did Ming Ruan realize—at least within his own memory—that everyone who saw Su Yuyun would first offer a salute, then fall silent out of awe or fear.
Aside from himself, it seemed no one ever dared to be presumptuous in front of Su Yuyun.
Ming Ruan hadn’t even seen anyone else speak normally to Su Yuyun.
Was this reverence, or was it fear?
Belatedly, Ming Ruan began to feel curious about Su Yuyun. He realized that despite being practically the person he’d interacted with the most in this galaxy, he knew very little about him.
Boss…
“Woof!”
Ming Ruan’s musing was suddenly interrupted by a short, soft wolf’s howl.
Turning around, he saw a familiar gray wolf trotting towards him.
“Hey, baby.” Ming Ruan crouched down in surprise, opening his arms to the gray wolf.
There was also a person following behind the gray wolf.
Xie Gewen could sense the people behind watching this direction, the mecha guards at the entrance also stealing glances back. Yet even so, the gray wolf jogged over, its tail swishing gently behind it, and threw itself into Ming Ruan’s embrace, resting its chin on Ming Ruan’s shoulder.
Ming Ruan nuzzled the gray wolf’s ears, his hand stroking down its back, even tentatively inching lower from time to time, wanting to sneak a belly rub.
The gray wolf dodged, gently catching Ming Ruan’s wrist in its mouth and nibbling.
Not here.
After the gray wolf and Ming Ruan had been nuzzling and rubbing against each other for quite a while, the person who had been following behind the gray wolf finally stepped forward.
He extended his hand towards Ming Ruan with a smile. “Mr. Ming Ruan. Hello, I’m Mr. Xie’s colleague.”
“Hello.” Ming Ruan took his hand and stood up.
The gray wolf automatically pressed itself against Ming Ruan’s leg, like a guardian.
“We knew you’d be visiting today. We should have prepared more.” The colleague laughed. “This way, let me introduce the place to you.”
“Thank you, but am I imposing on you too much?” Ming Ruan now felt this was definitely not a tourist attraction. Aside from himself, there didn’t seem to be anyone idle here.
The colleague instantly saw through Ming Ruan’s thoughts. He glanced at the gray wolf, then, while leading Ming Ruan further inside, said, “You’re too polite. It’s no trouble at all. Very few people visit here.”
“Gray Wolf is a very important companion to us. His current health is entirely thanks to your care. The Council is most welcoming of your visit. What would you like to see?”
“The Council’s main building is a work by the Alpha Galaxy’s great artist, Raymond, possessing immense artistic appreciation value. Or perhaps you’d like to first learn about the Council’s history, or its current operational status? We can start the tour from over here…” The colleague led Ming Ruan and the gray wolf along as he spoke. His articulation was clear, his cadence rhythmic, occasionally interspersed with a few interesting historical anecdotes, just like a professional tour guide.
Ming Ruan gradually became engrossed, finally getting a real sense of following a guide through a cultural landmark.
The gray wolf walked closely by Ming Ruan’s side, step for step, its eyes never leaving Ming Ruan.
And the people passing by them, though appearing to look straight ahead, after brushing past, once they entered blind spots out of Ming Ruan’s sight, would look back in shock, staring at the duo and the wolf.
Ming Ruan was unaware, but they all recognized them. The wolf walking beside Ming Ruan was The Former Council Speaker, also known as the Speaker of the Council. And the person playing the role of tour guide, introducing every plant and stone in the Council, was the current Secretary-General!
“Who is that?” Someone far away, unable to see Ming Ruan’s face clearly, grabbed the person next to them and asked, completely devoid of decorum.
Everyone knew that the occasions where the Council Speaker and the Secretary-General appeared together were not few, but accompanying someone like this, personally introducing the Council to them—that was absolutely unheard of! Not even the Emperor or the Adjudicator had ever received such treatment!
“Who else could it be?” The person beside them replied matter-of-factly, “That’s Mr. Ming Ruan.”
“Oh!” The questioner suddenly understood. Immediately, it all made perfect sense. He even involuntarily took a couple of steps in that direction, standing on tiptoes, craning his neck, peering eagerly to catch a better glimpse.
Strolling around the outer perimeter had already taken over an hour. Noticing Ming Ruan’s footsteps were lagging slightly, the gray wolf gave a soft huff towards the Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General nodded and seamlessly guided Ming Ruan to the rest area, his transition so smooth Ming Ruan didn’t notice anything out of place at all.
After sitting down, the gray wolf nudged the water glass on the table with its nose, gesturing for Ming Ruan to drink.
“Thank you, baby.” Ming Ruan scratched the gray wolf’s ears and asked with concern, “Is following me on this tour boring for you? Should we go outside and play instead?”
The gray wolf sat facing Ming Ruan, its gentle, clear ice-blue eyes telling him that it didn’t find it boring at all.
Ming Ruan being able to come here today made Xie Gewen very happy.
He had also received the news last night about Shi Huai’s Reverse Therianthropy. With Ming Ruan’s field shoot temporarily concluded, and coupled with the sudden emergence of Reverse Therianthropy, whether driven by Ming Ruan himself or the Research Institute’s influence, Ming Ruan was bound to continue interacting with the remaining Beastmen next.
Knowing Ming Ruan’s personality, he probably wished he could bring all the Beastmen out to play together. The Research Institute, on the other hand, likely hoped he would make contact with himself—after all, the possibility of him undergoing Reverse Therianthropy was higher than the others.
Thus, seeing Ming Ruan appear at the Council today filled Xie Gewen with great joy. This feeling of being chosen, of receiving special treatment, was something even he couldn’t escape, couldn’t refuse.
Although he knew the Research Institute’s influence was probably at play, Xie Gewen still couldn’t help but think: perhaps, in Ming Ruan’s heart, he was the special one?
He was the first Beastman Ming Ruan ever encountered. They had also shared a period of time belonging only to each other.
When Xie Gewen realized what he was thinking, he suddenly felt this wasn’t quite like him.
But since he was by Ming Ruan’s side right now, indulging a little for the moment should be alright, right?
Xie Gewen closed his eyes. As Ming Ruan’s hand touched his face, he smoothly leaned into the touch.
“Come to think of it, I always felt your owner wasn’t much of a good person,” Ming Ruan suddenly remarked with a sigh.
Xie Gewen: ?
The gray wolf’s closed eyes snapped open. He immediately sat bolt upright, staring at Ming Ruan with intense focus, carefully studying his expression.
