Tao Fangyi installed the batteries for Blazing Flame and lent him some spiritual power to sustain him.
“You don’t want to wipe off the black marker?” Tao Fangyi asked. “I can clean you spotless. I can even restore the red paint on your body.”
“No need, Commander-in-Chief! I like the black marker.” Blazing Flame flipped his switch. His lights flickered, the lamp on his chest obscured by the dark ink, but his signature line finally rang out.
“You can leave this room and run around outside now,” Tao Fangyi told him.
“I can set foot in the Savage Lands?!” Blazing Flame was ecstatic.
After his joy subsided, however, he silently switched himself off again.
Blazing Flame dashed toward a small box. He dusted it off and lifted the lid. “Commander-in-Chief, can you wake them up too?”
Tao Fangyi glanced inside. He saw a small rubber ball, a plastic crab, and an enormous white wooden jigsaw puzzle.
“Are these Liu Xuanyong’s toys from childhood?” Tao Fangyi asked.
“Yes! They could move before, but then they fell asleep.” Blazing Flame said. “They’re all my old veterans.”
Tao Fangyi smiled. “Sure, we can do that.”
“Is that really a good idea?” The blade spirit lowered its body. “You aren’t worried they’ll cause trouble?”
“Are you implying this rattle drum might ‘accidentally’ kill someone?” Tao Fangyi picked up a silicone rattle drum shaped like cat ears. “This thing actually evolved. How fascinating modern society is.”
“But Liu Xuanyong has forgotten them. What you resurrect might not be the true them,” the blade spirit warned.
“If they leave this room, they’ll be formatted anyway. But they’re guaranteed to retain their feelings for their master.” Tao Fangyi pointed at the sword spirit. “You possess the memories of every lifetime, so naturally, you remember Liu Xuanyong before he turned three.”
“Is there any meaning in this? I’m just an illusion. I’ll disperse. The part that belongs to your true form will be reclaimed by you.” The blade spirit felt Tao Fangyi didn’t need to indulge the moods of these little toys.
“The destination of every ordinary person is death. No different from these toys.” Tao Fangyi reached out and tapped the toys. They trembled slightly.
“Just like you said: a grand dream.” Tao Fangyi stepped back. An eight-note xylophone leaped from the box, looking dazed and groggy.
“My comrade!” Blazing Flame embraced the xylophone.
“Hello.” The xylophone’s voice wasn’t raspy or gruff. It still carried a childlike clarity.
“Long time no see!” Blazing Flame picked up a stray mallet and struck the xylophone’s body.
The xylophone giggled, as if being tickled.
“All these are our glorious veteran warriors!” Blazing Flame presented the other toys.
The toys applauded in unison.
The observing fantasy creatures could only sigh.
Sophia asked Huangfu Yuan, “Did they not hear what Uncle Commander Teacher said? Once that black-mist man disappears, we won’t exist either.”
“How smart do you expect them to be?” Huangfu Yuan was deeply annoyed. He disliked Liu Wen’s lover, but he couldn’t do a thing about it. If he did, a ten-thousand-word self-criticism essay awaited him, maybe even worse. “Their master just started elementary school.”
Elementary schoolers differed from middle schoolers. Elementary schoolers couldn’t understand middle school angst.
Several puzzle pieces hopped past Wang.
Wang, who had been crouching in the corner, made a curious sound. “Where did these come from?”
Tao Fangyi was a bit surprised.
The blade spirit voiced the question directly. “Doesn’t he always stare at you? How did he not notice what you were doing?”
“I resurrected Liu Xuanyong’s toys from before he was three.” Tao Fangyi raised his paw.
“Ah? Oh. So they’re new toys.” Wang understood. He nodded, then fell silent again.
Tao Fangyi: …
“What’s wrong with him?” The blade spirit whispered to Tao Fangyi.
Tao Fangyi had no idea. He ran up and touched Wang’s pants. Wang glanced at him, scooped him into his arms, and held him close. After that one action, Wang fell silent once more.
Tao Fangyi scratched Wang with his little claw.
Wang pinched Tao Fangyi’s claw between two fingers and rubbed it back and forth.
Wang seemed lost in thought.
Was he facing some life crisis?
Tao Fangyi grew nervous.
Raising a child was like this. Kids encountered all sorts of trouble in places their parents never saw. A parent’s job was to guide them to voice their conflict or pain.
Tao Fangyi prepared himself. Once Wang snapped out of it, he would ask about his condition.
It had to seem casual. He needed a topic that wouldn’t offend.
Tao Fangyi began brainstorming. To an outsider, he appeared to be frozen.
Why were they both frozen?
The blade spirit stepped back. He needed to get far away from that spot.
Unbeknownst to them, Wang’s current state resulted from Wenren Fu temporarily being unable to “log into the same account on two devices.” Most of his emotions were now with his true body.
After losing control and crying in front of so many people, Wenren Fu had taken a long leave of absence. He didn’t want to stay in the Special Administration anymore. He even wanted to kill everyone who witnessed his tears.
Those people assumed he was scolded into crying.
“Those bastards! I wouldn’t cry even if stabbed!” He clearly forgot the prior incident of him weeping under that dual pressure. “Asking me what happened?! You think you’re so kind?!”
Wenren Fu kicked the sofa, blasting a massive hole straight through it.
He froze.
Then Wenren Fu immediately realized how much replacing a sofa would cost—and exactly how much his reserve salary was.
“Wretched Special Administration!” Wenren Fu bellowed. “Just because I’m a reserve, I get paid this little?! Mental torture doesn’t count as torture?!”
Tao Fangyi and the others earned such high salaries. His own was so meager.
Having to worry about money over a stupid sofa!
Did the Special Administration even care about them reserves? What was left worth staying for?
He would resign! He would find his own job!
Non-humans didn’t have to work for the Special Administration. Wenren Fu had already planned it out: break free from his parents, use the money he accumulated over a century to pick a new profession, then start a business. He would be a hundred-plus-year-old youth entrepreneur.
He would be a real Boss, a CEO!
Since he could never get permanent status anyway, he would just buy a big house, leave the basement empty, and satisfy his desires.
Normally, he would strut into his company’s meetings looking sharp!
Wenren Fu opened his suitcase and packed his clothes.
His movements paused slightly. He thought of Tao Fangyi again.
He would recruit Tao Fangyi! As his secretary!
He would pay Tao Fangyi a higher salary!
Oh… imagine Tao Fangyi in a suit, standing right beside him.
Wenren Fu felt his mood improve slightly. He stuffed his clothes into the case with even more ferocity.
“Say goodbye to Reserve Wenren Fu!” He slammed the case shut. “You better pray I don’t succeed! Or I’ll squeeze you out and acquire the Special Administration’s assets!”
“Wait for your doom.” Wenren Fu laughed aloud. His laughter grew louder and louder—until a tiger’s roar cut it short.
The roar came from the balcony. Wenren Fu understood it perfectly.
That was his mother coming.
Wenren Huaishu bellowed, “Son! Son! My son!”
Wenren Fu tried to ignore it, but the roar’s penetrating power was too strong.
He held his breath and walked to the balcony. He pulled back the blackout curtain. A fluffy brownish-yellow shape suddenly flew at him. Wenren Fu dodged with an emergency maneuver. That giant ball of fluff crashed to the ground, dragging a long trail of blood.
It was a deer, bitten to death.
A massive tiger, meanwhile, clawed at the balcony railing, kicking furiously with her hind legs.
“Mom!” Wenren Fu yelped. “Mom Mom Mom! Did you use a spell to conceal your form?!”
“Of course!” Wenren Huaishu finally leaped onto the balcony. “I integrated into human society way before a little brat like you.”
Wenren Fu was skeptical of his mother’s claim.
For safety, he glanced down below the balcony. Sure enough, he spotted a huge Jiao dragon.
The dragon, after being spotted, slowly shrank. By the time he jumped inside from the railing, he had taken human form.
“We heard you were crying. You haven’t cried in ages.” Wenren Huaishu was about to claw the sofa, but her five claws stopped just as they extended. She remembered it belonged to her son and sheepishly retracted them.
“Go ahead. I already busted it open with a kick.” Wenren Fu pulled the curtain closed again.
“Why would you kick the sofa for no reason?” Wenren Huaishu extended her claws and raked them down fiercely. The foam inside spilled out.
“I was unhappy.” Wenren Fu glanced at the dead deer on the floor. “Is that for me to eat?”
“Eating something might cheer you up.” Wenren Huaishu lay on the sofa and nodded.
Wang Qiang silently walked in, found a stool, and sat. “So, what happened? Why did you lose control emotionally in front of so many people?”
Note that Wenren Fu hadn’t cried since becoming an adult.
“It absolutely was NOT because of that annoying cat demon!” Wenren Fu stressed loudly.
“Then what was it?” Wenren Huaishu also felt her son wouldn’t be driven to tears by some cat demon.
“It’s because… because…” How could Wenren Fu admit he cried out of pity for Tao Fangyi’s future?
How could he explain worrying about Tao Fangyi? As far as his parents knew, he had only met Tao Fangyi once.
“You don’t need to know the reason.” Wenren Fu decided to remain aloof. “Anyway, I’ve decided to resign.”
Wenren Huaishu and Wang Qiang’s eyes widened simultaneously.
“You’re going to WHAT?!” Wang Qiang found it unbelievable. From the moment his son grasped the concept of the Combat Department, he had been absolutely desperate to join. Previously, considering Wenren Fu’s situation, Wang Qiang and Wenren Huaishu had tried persuading him to pursue another path, but failed. Now Wenren Fu was leaving on his own?
“I’m resigning. The Combat Department isn’t all that great.”
Before, Wenren Fu believed the Combat Department gathered the mightiest non-humans. Turns out the mightiest were all on Level 19.
He thought his parents, being major seniors in the Combat Department, had a glorious history, the kind that made one’s blood boil hearing it.
Turns out their debut battle ended with them being thrashed by Tao Fangyi into a sobbing breakdown.
The Combat Department’s brilliance dimmed layer by layer. Wenren Fu cast off its glamour piece by piece. He felt his future had no meaning: “I’m going to study. Learn something truly useful again.” He would be a Boss.
Wenren Huaishu exchanged a look with Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang finally dropped his posturing, equally shocked by his son. “Why would you think this way?”
“Isn’t it perfect? You never wanted me in the Combat Department anyway,” Wenren Fu said.
“That’s a different matter entirely.” Wang Qiang said. “What’s this about wanting to quit the Combat Department right after a huge crying fit?”
This clearly wasn’t normal.
“Because I am deeply disappointed in the Combat Department!” Wenren Fu crossed his arms. “Very, very deeply!”
Wang Qiang and Wenren Huaishu exchanged another glance.
They communicated via sound transmission.
“What exactly happened? He seems so abnormal.” Wang Qiang was used to his son’s posturing.
“No idea. But I’m going to beat up that cat demon.” Wenren Huaishu said.
“Assaulting someone means fines.” Wang Qiang reminded his wife, though he knew reminders were useless.
