Chapter 1: Sunshine and Dankness Part 2

They carried an innate Terror Buff, an effect that even extended to their photographs or portraits. Moreover, their individual identities were more or less… sensitive.

“That man looks a bit familiar.” Tao Fangyi fixed his gaze on the man’s photo. The man had a neat crop of short hair. Both his hair and eyebrows were silver. His eyes showed heterochromia—one gold, one red.

Although his aura was very gentle, it had to be said, he had an extremely eye-catching and flamboyant face.

The Warden who had placed Tao Fangyi on his shoulder suddenly smacked his forehead. “This kid can be considered an acquaintance of yours.”

Tao Fangyi looked toward the senior. The Warden explained, “His surname is Wenren. His parents actually met because of the operation to capture you. Did you forget?”

“Oh!” Tao Fangyi remembered now.

His current relationship with the two big-shot seniors from the Operations Department who had once pursued him was very good.

“Ah, truly impressive.” Tao Fangyi’s gaze on the man grew softer. Although his current, abstractly featured face couldn’t express overly complex emotions, it was there. “As expected of the child of those two. Not only good-looking, but a sunny, positive, gentle, and kind-hearted good kid.”

Tao Fangyi took out his phone from his briefcase, snapped a picture of the sign, and sent it to the two Demon Patrollers who had arrested him in the past. He added a casual comment: 【Your esteemed son is confident and graceful. I am truly happy for you.】

The status of the two recipients instantly changed to “typing in progress.”

This status persisted for five or six minutes. In the end, each sent only a sweating, smiling soybean emoji, followed by the words “You flatter us.”

Immediately after, they simultaneously changed the subject, asking Tao Fangyi how his work had been recently.

Not arrogant, not impatient. No wonder they had become the leaders of their generation.

Their child was so outstanding. He had to work hard himself, at least quickly get permanent employment and quickly obtain his own body.

Tao Fangyi jumped down from the Warden’s shoulder and ran out the door, briefcase in hand.

Returning to the T-corridor, Tao Fangyi pushed open a door again. Outside this door was a beautiful little town.

Blue sky, white clouds, rows of brightly painted standalone small buildings.

Tao Fangyi found his own house.

It was a normal-sized house, though he didn’t need that much space in his current state.

Beside the front door, there was a smaller door specifically set for his doll-sized body.

Tao Fangyi entered through the small door and placed his briefcase on the small entryway counter.

He then took off his suit and leather shoes, rolled up his sleeves, and began busying himself with cleaning, watering the plants on his balcony and in the backyard.

The area of the house was a bit too large for his current body size, making cleaning quite troublesome.

Tao Fangyi sat on the robot vacuum cleaner, pausing briefly to rest.

The vacuum cleaner carried him into the living room. Tao Fangyi saw the long-haired man leaning back on the couch, eyes closed.

The man’s eye and brow tails were both upswept. His nasal bridge was thin, the tip slightly upturned. His lip color was a peculiar purplish-red, making him seem somewhat unhealthy.

On closer inspection, one could see the gentle rise and fall of the man’s chest.

Unfortunately, this man wasn’t truly alive. He was just a body capable of running. His soul had yet to be infused into it.

This body was something Tao Fangyi had slowly built from the skeleton up, point by point, exchanging points for the raw materials.

The shaping process was kind of like molding clay.

It was identical to the Tao Fangyi of the past.

As the robot vacuum cleaner moved along, Tao Fangyi orbited his body, observing it.

After one more mission, he would be able to use that body for a short time.

Tao Fangyi stared at his body’s tightly shut eyes for a while.

He recalled the child he’d just seen on the sign, the one with the beautiful heterochromia.

Tao Fangyi was a traditionalist, unwilling to make major changes to his body. But now, he wondered if he could perhaps get himself a different-colored set of eyeballs.

His own iris color was black, a kind of black that seemed impenetrable to light.

Not vibrant at all. It made his whole person seem gloomy and dull in turn.

The vacuum cleaner took him around for another loop. Tao Fangyi gave up on the idea.

A vibrant, colorful iris didn’t match his overall style. It would look too out of place.

Tao Fangyi felt regret. He truly envied those sunny, affable looks.

It wasn’t just him; everyone in their department was envious.

After tidying up the room, Tao Fangyi received a message from his fellow batchmate, Han Yuxiang. Han Yuxiang’s body had finished being repaired. They met up at the town’s tavern.

Plastic cups were filled with glittering particles. What looked like an unconvincing prop from a child’s game of make-believe was, to them, genuinely potent liquor.

After downing a heavy gulp, Han Yuxiang declared he was going to sculpt his future body to resemble that male Image Ambassador.

“You can’t. The aura we carry affects our physical appearance,” Tao Fangyi said, feeling his old friend needed to calm down. “That kid’s robust build looks reliable on him. On us, it would just look like a terrifyingly large monster.”

Han Yuxiang’s new body was a salted fish toy. He hugged himself in misery with his cotton-stuffed fins. “What about silver hair, then?”

“No matter what color your hair is, it won’t affect your aura.” Tao Fangyi patted the salted fish’s head. “Better to play it safe.”

Their aura was very useful when intimidating criminals, but it also made it very difficult for them to make friends outside the Warden corps.

When Wardens took human form, they always made their looks conform as much as possible to the aesthetic standards of the era.

Because individuals who were terrifying yet beautiful, while still unapproachable, carried a tiny, tiny bit of positive mystique.

But individuals who were terrifying and ugly were subject to discrimination, treated as genuine monsters, thoroughly and completely discriminated against from start to finish.

“What a realistic world indeed.” The salted fish once again downed a cup of glitter liqour in one gulp.

“The seniors really want to be Image Ambassadors, too.” Tao Fangyi felt that within the entire Special Biological Management Bureau, only people from their department would crowd around a “No Fighting” sign, envying the chosen Image Ambassadors.

“That new Image Ambassador is good-looking and has a sunny, cheerful personality. Seems like a carefree kid,” the salted fish said. “Probably so carefree that he doesn’t even realize what kind of life lottery ticket he’s drawn.”

Tao Fangyi took a sip of the glitter liquor. “But a kid like that is also a life lottery ticket for others. I feel like being friends with him would be pretty nice.”

The salted fish sighed, “Yeah…”

“Kids whose world is full of only sunshine are quite endearing.” Tao Fangyi mused again.

He had no idea that, at the same moment he was musing, the sunny and cheerful protagonist of their topic was on the verge of exploding.

The newly replaced signs printed with Wenren Fu’s face had been individually mailed to him. Those signs were currently lying in his trash can.

“I can’t take it anymore!” Wenren Fu’s short silver hair was a mess, ruffled by his own hand. “Why can’t I get permanent employment yet?! I want to officially enter the Combat Department!”

The person on the other end of the phone said something. Wenren Fu took a deep breath. “What do you mean my mental state isn’t stable enough?! How am I not stable?!”

“Just this morning! Some old zombie who’s been lying in a grave for who-knows-how-long came to process some documents. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying! And he insisted he was speaking the official language.” Wenren Fu’s voice grew louder and louder. “That old zombie even discriminated against my pronunciation! My Mandarin is clearly very standard!”

“He couldn’t even use a smart device! But he understood how to file a complaint! He filed a complaint against me!” Wenren Fu’s breathing was ragged. “My talent is one not seen in five hundred years! And what am I doing now?!”

“Mediating disputes between non-human races. Helping those old geezers and grannies who’ve drifted from society learn to integrate into modern life…”

“Do you know how many sets of my clothes they’ve torn to shreds?!?!”

“And I still have to smile! I hate smiling more than anything in my life! The sight of a smile makes me sick now!”

The person on the phone soothed Wenren Fu, saying that many people still liked him.

“Do they know I despise them?” Wenren Fu asked coldly in return.

“A person as exceptional as me, do I need them to like me?” Wenren Fu had known he was different ever since he could understand things. He knew he was an almost perfect genius. Looks, ability—he was top-tier in everything.

He should have entered the Combat Department long ago, rapidly surpassed his parents’ achievements, and become a rising star.

Not be trapped here, running around all day for other people’s petty domestic dramas, with his idiotic mugshot plastered on these idiotic slogans!

“Want to smooth off my edges? Let me tell you, never!” A low, rasping laugh seeped from Wenren Fu’s throat. “Never!!!”

Another call came through. Wenren Fu stared at the caller ID, and his twisted smile slowly vanished.

Wenren Fu pressed the answer button. An urgent male voice came from the other end: “Captain Fu! You need to come back quick. We’re short-handed. A Rat Demon called to report four of its children missing.”

Wenren Fu’s voice suddenly turned gentle and soft. “Alright, I’ll be right there.”

“I’m really sorry, especially since today was your day off.”

Wenren Fu: “No problem. The children matter most.”

Within the trash can, the pile of signs suddenly blazed up in a roaring fire.