Gray Velus glanced at the wall clock. It was now 8:10 pm, 10 minutes after the closing time of the chapel.
Halfway through the evening prayers, old man Flam from Elderberry Street came urgently to seek medical advice. Flam lost his legs in an accident when he was young, when the street's plant doctor was still Gerry's father. Dad personally made two wooden prosthetics. These two wooden legs supported Flam through a long journey in life, helped him keep his job, and helped him raise his children.
When Dad was making the legs, Gray helped with them. In the past thirty years, they had never had any major problems, and Gray was proud of this. But today, this pride was shaken. The old man was almost absorbed by his rapidly growing right leg and became the nourishment for the prosthetic body.
"It's time to get a new one." Gray advised after finishing the treatment, "Regular prosthetics are safer."
"It's also more expensive." The old man said stubbornly, "I don't want to give my pension to those damn capitalists. I earned this, and they won't take a penny back. My son told me about those damn capitalists. There are so many evil people out there who leave a few backdoors in their new products. When the warranty expires, bam! Your leg will no longer be usable. Either buy a new one or spend a lot of money to repair it. Every one of them deserves to be shot."
Gray comforted the aggrieved old man for a while. He knew that the old man did not have such a big complaint against society. He wanted to find a reason to vent his anger about his broken legs. He took a token 30 krit of medical expenses and sent the old man away. He used the 30 kilograms to buy three boxes of carbonated drinks, and he opened a can and drank it first.
Gray's lame leg ached slightly, but he was not sleepy at all. He was still thinking about those wooden mechanical prosthetics. This is the fifth patient this week. There have been a lot of prosthetic accidents recently... Is there anything strange happening recently? He thought of the girls who had come to visit him this morning. Should he talk about this? But this seems too much fuss, just a doctor from a small church having bad luck... Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to ask other colleagues...
"Hey, Gray! Are you still there?"
The female voice from outside the door sounded familiar. "Sorry, the church will be closed soon..." Gray responded reflexively, searching for the source of the sound in his memory. "Oh! My God!" Gray remembered, and he hurriedly walked to the door with a cane. The blond female ranger was standing in front of the chapel, followed by two strange men and women. This time she put on new and different clothes and smiled like a fox that got the chicken.
"Miss Servais? Long time no see!" Gray said in surprise.
"This place has really changed a lot. At least you haven't changed positions yet, otherwise I would have failed again." Servais shook hands with the priest, "Let me introduce you to Father Gray, the best plant doctor and skill I know. Worst priest ever.”
"Compared to S-class rangers, most of them have poor skills." Gray smiled, "Who are these two?"
After Gongsun Ce introduced himself, he showed the token (a small shiny cross) given to him by Agent Will. After verifying his identity, Father Gray expressed his willingness to cooperate and provide support on the spot. He flipped through page after page of the armed design drawings restored by Gongsun Ce using white matter, and said with unprecedented confusion: "Sorry, Mr. Gongsun, let me confirm again. Do you want to combine part of the equipment with the prosthetic body?"
"Yes."
"I can understand up to this point. But your request is... to be impressed?" Father Gray scratched his gray hair, "With all due respect, most practical prosthetic weapons have an ordinary appearance."
"I want to use it as a carrier for spells."
"I understand." Father Gray understood. "The structure has theoretical usability, regardless of material strength and practical application. The appearance details are relatively simple to facilitate your own adjustment. A usable white mold, right?"
"You are so professional." Gongsun Ce praised.
"A small number of agents have had similar needs, but they are not as extreme as you. They always consider practicality." Father Gray made a joke, "In our industry, we call this kind of work 'designing big toys'. You Just make it look movable, and the rest of the Impermanence Mages will take care of it themselves.”
It sounds like the process of some alien species using mental force fields to build their own equipment. Our impermanent wizards are standard liberal arts, not green-skinned orcs.
During the negotiation, Gongsun Ce secretly consulted Zhenfan for his opinion by writing with telekinesis. The doctor wrote on his palm and told him that this person was a powerful expert. Gongsun Ce was relieved and had some exchanges with the priest about the general direction of the prosthetic body. Because Gongsun Ce's request was too general and vague, Father Gray suggested that he make a part of the template, and then Gongsun Ce himself would try it out before making the next decision.
The commission was completed happily, and Servais professionally ran outside the chapel during their deliberations and did not eavesdrop on the customer's privacy. After Gongsun Ce finished his private work, he invited the knight in and exclaimed, "You are so popular."
"I'm a serious ranger, okay? I'm not the kind of guild ranger who stays in one city all his life, but one who really travels all over the country and re-takes the pilgrimage route!" Servais put her hands on her hips proudly, "In our industry, people are generally very popular. Well, if you get a commission, you will have one more friend. The kind of fool who offends people everywhere cannot survive in this industry, and no one will ask him to do tasks. "
"Once I met a bad-tempered customer. After the prosthetic body was replaced, he said it didn't meet his expectations and wanted to buy my hands and feet. It was Miss Servais who helped me out of trouble that time." Father Gray recalled the past, "That was also me. The opportunity to join the church, since I became a priest, no gangster dared to mess with me anymore.”
"I remember you were pushed into the trash can and beaten so hard that you cried like a child." Servais snickered.
"And you were wearing jeans and a cowboy hat, with a red and blue striped bikini and a small jacket on your upper body. You were so sexy that it could drive young men crazy." The priest said cheerfully, "I was beaten so hard that I couldn't even see. It became clear, and I could only see my white breasts and hot belly. I thought to myself, could it be that the Supreme God sent an angel to pick me up? Miss Angel’s figure is so awesome, so her days in heaven must be wonderful!”
Gongsun Ce couldn't help but talk: "I can't believe that a gentle and gentle person like you, Mr. Gray, can be so passionate."
"Which man has not been so fascinated by a beautiful girl that he can't find a way out? If he doesn't act like a fool, he wouldn't be called a man!" Father Gray was very free and easy. "Later, when he converted to the Supreme God, he wouldn't act like a fool... But I still have to say that if he had been a fool back then, How could I, who was ten years younger, be so stubborn that I chased her and wouldn't leave her? Even if I was scolded bloody, I still had to chase her. If I didn't chase a beautiful and capable girl, I would regret it for the rest of my life."
"You see, this is the charm of men and women killing each other." Servais raised her legs and pointed at herself with her thumb proudly, "This man in his fifties is still obsessed with me and his eyes are shining."
"Yes, yes, it's a pity that such a beautiful woman as you is not a superstar."
Gongsun Ce responded calmly and asked, "Father, are you infatuated with your charm?" I'm afraid it's the old man who is watching you reminiscing about your youth. What he misses is not your bikini and your hot body, but the time when you still had time and thoughts to do something.
While the three of them were chatting, Maho was not as indifferent as she usually was, and her eyes swept over Father Gray's injured leg several times. Gongsun Ce noticed this, and with a thought, he took the initiative to help her open the topic: "Sister Mafan, you are also a professional doctor. Will the industry use prosthetic technology to treat diseases now?"
"Yes." Maho said, "After the establishment of Sky City, the development of biochemical technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Medical applications have been popularized around the world, and ordinary people can also receive support from this technology."
"This is one of the few good news that the dragon phenomenon has brought us." Gray smiled, "It's a pity that it has nothing to do with me."
Maho frowned: "I know the professional ethics of this industry, but I can help you in another way. My ability is good at healing illnesses."
"Thank you, kind girl. But no need, I'm fine as I am now." Father Gray was unmoved.
"This is not prosthetic technology." Maho emphasized.
"The key is not what technology is used, but whether there is treatment." Gray said kindly, "I am also a well-known figure in this industry, and I want to set an example for my colleagues. This leg of mine is The warning to myself is also the advice to everyone. When other doctors want to have wrong thoughts, they will think of Father Gray's leg that has been lame and has not been cured, and they will let themselves think more and think calmly.
But once my leg heals, some young people will take the opportunity to make excuses to convince themselves, and those radical doctors will also make false claims true and use them as promotional materials. What should I do with the principles I adhere to? "
Maho gently pricked his fingertips with his nails, suppressing his irritability with the pain.
"...I can't understand why you love your profession so much." She said after a moment of silence. "Being a doctor made you hunted by the underworld and made you subject to so many constraints. People in this era even have to Focus on 'attitude' and they will always find an excuse to attack...I don't see the need to stick with this industry."
Maho spoke so eloquently, with anger in his words that even surprised him. Only then did she realize how much negative emotions she had accumulated, about her career plans, about damn doctors and biochemical technology.
Father Gray looked at her with the tolerance typical of an elder.
"You're right, all careers related to biochemical research and medicine suck. As long as you do it for one day, you have to suffer for one more day.
When I was young, I also thought that this industry was terrible and I would quit. I had enough money to live freely for the rest of my life. After I cured my broken leg, I wanted to find a beautiful girl as a guide to travel around Hezhong and live a life like that. A life as cool as the movies.
But on the day I was packing my bags and getting ready to go, there was a traffic accident in this neighborhood and a young man had his arm amputated. If I don't help, he will be sent to a public hospital. He will probably be tricked by an unscrupulous doctor into buying an impractical prosthetic body, and then spend the rest of his life paying for it. Huge debt. "
Father Gray opened another can of Coke and swallowed the past with the carbonated drink: "So I have to help him. He is a broke college student who knows the inside story of the industry. If I don't help him, no one will help him... ...After doing this, I thought to myself, what would have been the outcome of this car accident if I had left one day earlier? There are so many poor, sick, kind and ignorant people on this street and in this city. They Everyone needs prosthetic bodies to treat diseases, but among those who engage in prosthetic body technology and biochemical experiments, conscience is a rarer thing than experimental funds. Can I safely hand over my patients to them? Hand them over to those who only have wild thoughts and dreams in their eyes. Money man?
Thinking of this, I find that I can't leave. If I stay here, I can treat a few more patients and infect a few more conscientious plant doctors. If there is any experimental accident, I can help think about it. Think of ways to. But if I leave, I will just be a lustful middle-aged uncle!
The evil-minded uncle will only squat on the roadside drinking beer and staring at the breasts and thighs of young girls. It doesn't matter if there are more of them or less of them. "
Gongsun Ce also took the can of Coke and said seriously: "That's not necessarily true, lecherous young men also look like this."
Father Gray clinked the cans with him and smiled.
Maho ignored the two's banter. She was silent for a long time and said dryly: "...I understand."
"Understanding does not necessarily mean agreement." The priest's voice was gentle. "You still have a long way to go in life. Think about it slowly. There is no difference between 'right' and 'more right' in this matter. Whatever you choose is the best. OK."
Maho never said a word after that. After discussing the business, the three people left the chapel. When leaving, Father Gray hesitated and talked about the problem of the prosthetic body accident. Gongsun Ce promised him that he would focus on the investigation.
"He's a pretty nice guy, isn't he?" Servais said.
Gongsun Ce nodded: "He is a good old man."
"Good people have the hardest time living in this world, while selfish people are free and easy." The blonde ranger counted the bills one by one and happily put away her mission reward, "Happy cooperation, handsome man! Come to me again if you need it!"
Ranger Servais left happily. Zhenfan leaned next to Gongsun Ce, looking anxious.
"I'm so annoyed, Gongsun Ce." She whispered, "I'm so annoyed. I never have any obligations, I am..."
I am a former victim.
I have experienced firsthand the hell that madness can cause.
The unfinished words rang in her heart, piercing her heart like a needle. At this moment, Zhenfan felt so uncomfortable that she was about to collapse. Gongsun Ce took the initiative to hug her and wrapped her in his arms like a coat.
"Come and recharge."
Maho snuggled against his chest until power returned to her body. She closed her eyes and rested for a while, feeling the reassuring temperature, and whispered: "Don't take the initiative to get so close to me... Your girlfriend will scold you for cheating."
"My relationship history has been completely wiped out by them a long time ago. The girls in my family even know all the scoundrel things I have said to you before." Gongsun Ce pretended to die heroically, "What are you afraid of! In the worst case, I will go home and eat dogs. Liang kneeled on the washboard and used it as a sandbag and carpet for everyone!"
Maho couldn't help but smile and said, "I'll explain it to you."
Gongsun Cexin said it was a waste of explanation. He helped his sister apply sunscreen to charge up her battery. It was a sign of brother-sister love and she did this for her first love. If you say everyone is innocent, who would believe it?
But what can be done if the relationship is so complicated... In those lonely years when there were no family or friends, the only people who could provide comfort were each other who were also superpowers. They had long surpassed actual family and friends. After all, Gongsun Ce still had real family members who would come to the Sky City to visit him during the holidays, but the doctor who came from the Chikou Project really had nothing. Her social circle is very small. Mo Yuankai and Chi Zijing are considered acquaintances, and Cecil is considered her boss. In the past, the only people who really came into her heart were Gongsun Ce, Caldesia, and Kong Pang.
If even the little boy she stalked back then had alienated Maho, wouldn't her loneliness be doubled? Memories without regrets sounded wonderful... but he hoped that Maho-san would always be happy in the reality outside of memories.
·
The first day of investigation ended here, Gongsun Ce took Zhenfan back to their planned destination. The crew of the Daystar had booked a small apartment building this time, and the girls were gathering in the living room doing their own things.
"Sorry, I borrowed your boyfriend for an afternoon." The doctor said after saying hello.
"It's not borrowing, it's renting. You have to charge rent."
Shi Yuling walked up to Gongsun Ce and stretched out his hand menacingly. Gongsun Ce handed over the packed hamburgers and raspberry cakes, and the hunter immediately beamed and went to share the supper with everyone.
The doctor smiled quite delicately and went back to his room to rest. Gongsun Ce sat down on the sofa in the hall. Just as he was about to stretch his body after running around for a day, his face turned pale. Qin Qianbai and Qiluo sat beside him, pressing his shoulders like escorting prisoners.
"Ace, would you like to cuddle and cuddle with your unrelated sworn sister on a date?" Qin Qianbai asked coldly.
"Gongsun Ce, it's really cool to fly in the sky with your unrelated sworn sister on your back, right?" Qiluo smiled sweetly.
The girls pinched the flesh of his thighs at the same time, and Gongsun Ce broke into a cold sweat. Shigurei was humming a song while eating cake, pretending not to see someone's miserable condition.
"I wonder if you can give me a chance!"
"Gongsun Ce wants a chance? Sure!" Qiluo scratched his neck viciously, "Want to eat dog food, kneel on the washboard, or be a sandbag and a carpet?"
"...Can I use your sandbags as Qin Qianbai's carpet?"
Qin Qianbai geared up: "Tonight's evening class is about recycling old carpets."
"Ah! No!"
The Dawn Knight glanced at the miserable scene, lowered his head and went to feed Wawu.
Five minutes later, Gongsun Ce lay on his back in the middle of the living room in a plank position, with the girls sitting on his back and waist sharing the packed burgers. The person with superpowers didn't blush, and asked with a face as thick as a city wall: "How is the investigation progress today?"
The Dawn Knight raised his eyebrows: "Ce, do you really plan to communicate like this?"
"I don't know how to explain it to you, because I am a carpet." Gongsun Ce lowered his eyebrows and looked down.
Alandia couldn't help but laugh. They quickly completed the exchange of information and began to enter a normal state of thinking.
"There is nothing abnormal on the surface in the Wooden Machinery State, but Dr. Booli himself has a strange obsession with immortality experiments." Alandia concluded, "Judging from the current performance, there may be someone behind Booli Dadalion." Backed by a strong man with great strength."
"Ah?" Qiluo said blankly, "Why?"
"Because of her attitude." Gongsun Ce answered, "She acted too informally in front of us. A crazy old doctor can be so arrogant, but there is no need for the head of an ancient family to be so impulsive on this occasion. "
"Perhaps Dr. Baioli is born with pride." Qin Qianbai argued.
"She can indeed risk her life for her bad temper. But what good will it do to her to piss me off?" Gongsun Ce asked, "Her immortality experiment will succeed if I piss me off?"
"So Dr. Baioli is not afraid of you taking action first..."
"Someone behind her will keep her safe, and even have an excuse to take the initiative." Gongsun Ce concluded, "But she didn't do it that thoroughly. I think she wanted Sister Maho's help more, but her request was too much. It’s outrageous that we can’t get the deal done.”
"Then let's just lift the table?" Shigure Rei asked lazily.
"The chess pieces haven't been put on the table yet, so what's the point of flipping the table?"
Rei Shigure tapped his calf with her toes: "You sound like a strong man, but before you speak, could you please pay attention to your current image, Mr. Carpet?"
"What's wrong with the carpet? It's as cool as mine. Even if it's a carpet, it's the latest and most beautiful gray color in the furniture store." Gongsun Ce's expression remained unchanged, "Let's see what her backup plan and totem are first. Qiluo, Wooden Machinery Prosthetics have recently Has the accident rate changed significantly?”
"Gongsun Ce, you will understand just by looking at the chart..."
Qiluo thoughtfully lowered the phone and hung it in front of the carpet. The accident rate statistics chart on the mobile phone is like a stock rising every day. This is a big data summary that Qiluo obtained after collecting data from all clinics, companies and prosthetic shops in the city.
Gongsun Ce nodded: "That's it for today. Let's recharge our batteries. I will observe the movement tonight. If there is nothing abnormal, we will take the initiative to look for the totem of the Dadarion family tomorrow. See if Dr. Boli How do you play your cards again?"
"Okay~" "Understood!" "Good night."
The girls showed kindness and spared the poor carpet and went back to their respective rooms. Gongsun Ce rolled over on the ground and collapsed into a big shape. The Dawn Knight stood on her head in his eyes, and there was a hint of reproach in her words.
"Ce, you are paying less attention to your image."
"Do I still have an image to speak of in front of you?" Gongsun Ce said.
"Of course, Mr. Gongsun. Please sit down and maintain your posture."
Gongsun Ce got up obediently and sat down on the sofa. They began to exchange a series of rapid exchanges, and the words seemed almost incoherent to others.
"Wooden machinery is by no means a pure product of the dragon phenomenon. It is a natural living tool. This kind of life that independently adapts to the environment and mutates rapidly is like a..."
"A prop to open up new environments. It has the potential to adapt to extreme climates."
"I think the word 'assimilation' is more suitable than 'exploitation'. Everything the wooden machines pass through will become part of them..." Gongsun Ce pondered, "There is a strong sense of 'artificiality' in the world of Qixiang. Interference' means that the entire Northern Continent is like an experimental site for gods. The interest of the King of Strange Phases is the reclamation of the New World? Or even interstellar exploration? "
"Don't jump to conclusions too quickly. We haven't seen enough yet."
"We haven't traveled far enough, right?" Gongsun Ce asked back, "Just three states is still too little, right?"
Alandia smiled back like the Riddler, and this time he thought he saw what the other person was thinking.
"Maybe I should buy a trench coat, hand ax and revolver." Gongsun Ce stretched, "I won't sleep tonight and observe the situation."
"You should take a broad perspective, the Wood Machinery State is huge."
"You're right, the sea of trees is her natural weapon." Gongsun Ce pondered, remembering the scene where Dr. Baioli controlled those runaway experimental subjects. She completed the order to all the plants in just one sentence.
"I'm not going to break my skin yet... I hope Dr. Booli can calm down."
(End of chapter)
