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墨書 Inktalez
“Cheers!”
A circle of glasses clinked together at the center of the rotating glass table, the crisp sound resonating in the air, reflecting the joyful faces of everyone present. On the late-night streets, only a few cars passed by this cozy Japanese restaurant, where warmth and light carried heartfelt secrets into the distance. The restaurant was well soundproofed; outside, no sounds could be heard from within, only the sight of a dozen people gathered together, laughing and chatting.
Such simple tranquility in life might not be much, but for them, it was a rare moment of time.
“Thud!”
Lu Sha slammed her empty glass down on the table, but everyone was used to it. Lu Sha's toasts seemed as if she were completely drunk, yet everyone could see clearly—she had been pouring coconut juice for herself all along.
“I say! Ladies, today is our first gathering together!” Lu Sha exclaimed, looking at the girls sitting nearby. “The captain's girlfriend, Liu Xuan's girlfriend, the Ming Family's young lady, and me with Sister Jiao An! This is truly our first time!”
“Hehe, yes,” Ma Yihan giggled behind her hand, still a bit shy as she gently set down her chopsticks. “I’m so happy to be with everyone.”
“Come often if you’re happy! You don’t know how Liu Xuan talks about you every day!” Qin Weishan pointed at Liu Xuan, who was sitting next to Ma Yihan. Liu Xuan merely smiled politely and exchanged a playful glance with Ma Yihan.
The table was nearly cleared of all the Japanese dishes, and only a bit of fruit and cream remained on the three-tiered cake at the center. Yet Lu Sha still looked unsatisfied, picking at the decorative cauliflower that had been placed in a dish that originally held salmon. Seeing her pitiful expression, Jiao An affectionately smiled and offered her the last piece of sushi with three flavors from her bowl.
“Mr. Song, thank you so much for your generous hospitality,” An Xiaotian said as everyone finished their meal.
“A mere meal; it’s just a token of respect,” Mr. Song replied with a smile and a nod. He then turned to Ming Juan, who sat quietly with her head down. “Let’s reserve our blessings and thanks for our birthday girl today.”
Before Ming Juan could respond, Yang Meng began to praise her: “Miss Ming is truly known for her beauty and kindness. I used to watch her beauty and skincare videos online every day when she was a blogger; her recommendations were always so reliable! I even sent rockets to join her fan group! Meeting her in person now, she really is the perfect woman in my eyes.”
“Oh dear, that was ages ago; I was just bored after graduating high school,” Ming Juan quickly waved her hands in modesty and cast a gentle gaze at Yang Meng to show friendliness.
As conversations gradually quieted down, the gathering began to wind down. Yang Meng placed her phone on the table and leaned against An Xiaotian’s shoulder just as her phone screen lit up with an incoming call.
“Hello?”
From Yang Meng's expression, it was clear she was surprised by the call; soon after, her lips turned down slightly in disappointment. An Xiaotian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently rubbed her cheek with his fingers in an attempt to soothe her agitated demeanor.
“What? Do they think retesting will cost them their lives?” Yang Meng exclaimed as she slapped her thigh. “I get it… okay… I’ll go to the site tomorrow or the day after.”
“What’s wrong?” An Xiaotian leaned closer, nudging his nose against Yang Meng’s hair.
“Nothing much; they want me to work overtime,” Yang Meng reluctantly turned her head away and looked up at An Xiaotian with adoring eyes. “If that’s the case, I’ll have to return to City S early tomorrow.”
“Huh?” An Xiaotian glanced at the time. “It’s getting late; why don’t you head back to rest first?”
“No time to rest.” Yang Meng pouted. “This is an emergency assembly; I need to leave now. Our Satellite Matrix Control Lock has been attempted to be breached without authorization and triggered an alarm. The higher-ups are demanding a thorough investigation; I must cooperate.”
“Leaving now? Let me drive you back then; City S is only three or four hours away,” Xu Yicheng volunteered eagerly.
Knowing there was no way around it, An Xiaotian nodded in agreement with Yang Meng’s departure. As Yang Meng and Xu Yicheng prepared to leave, everyone else stood up one after another and walked toward the restaurant exit. The gathering came to an end.
The Spring Festival arrived just after the end of the zombie war, but no one was going home. With such a rare peaceful holiday, the team members began to make their own plans to return home at Liu Xuan's suggestion.
"No, no way! You just got here, and you haven't even unpacked your bags? And now you're going out to play?" Xiao Zhongda hung upside down in the shadows of the poplar tree outside the restaurant, chewing on fruit flesh and mumbling to the group gathered under the tree.
"Hey?" Lu Sha looked up in surprise at Xiao Zhongda in the tree, tilting her head to examine him closely. "A talking bird! How cute! I bet if I slapped it, it would cry for a long time!"
Xiao Zhongda was instantly speechless. Spreading its wings, it flew above Lu Sha's head and scolded, "What kind of human are you? Huh? Is this how you greet someone?! And I'm a bat, can't you see?!"
While Lu Sha was still entangled with Xiao Zhongda, the others had already started saying temporary goodbyes to each other.
"I haven't been home for over two years. We were supposed to go back this Spring Festival but didn't. Now that everyone is free, tomorrow we will each go back to visit our families," Qin Weishan said to the group while standing next to Jiao An.
"Go ahead, spend more time with the elders. Just make sure you can come back when we call for a gathering," An Xiaotian said, looking at Liu Xuan and Ma Yihan. "What about you two?"
"I'm going back with Han'er to her county where she works part-time. I'll keep her company while she sleeps; you know what I mean," Liu Xuan teased as he glanced at Ma Yihan, who blushed and lightly slapped his mouth. "What are you talking about?"
Hearing Liu Xuan's words, Xu Yicheng actually made a look of enlightenment, which made Ming Juan and Yang Meng chuckle quietly beside him. "Honey, I'll go back to work for a few days first, then I'll wait for you at your place. I'll cook something delicious for you, okay?" Yang Meng said while playing with her hair blown by the wind, making eye contact with An Xiaotian through her strands.
An Xiaotian nodded. He and Xu Yicheng didn't want to go home just yet; there was Antimatter Energy research that needed Xu Yicheng's attention at Song Family Home because An Xiaotian had mentioned that their research team had four projects in total, one of which was customizing Battle Armor for Xu Yicheng. Xu Yicheng stayed behind to explore the possibilities of applying Antimatter in this project.
"Why don't you take Yang Meng with you in my car?" Xu Yicheng suggested to An Xiaotian. "You don't have much to do here anyway."
"I'll stay for a few more days," An Xiaotian replied firmly. "I know too little; now that everyone is leaving, I can take some time to read and think about things."
Xu Yicheng understood what he meant. The mystery of the Song Family wasn't just about wealth; it also involved the connections between Earth civilization and Lunar Civilization across past and present lives. As captain, An Xiaotian had always forced himself to be strict; he needed to understand his opponents' strengths—at least for his team members' sake.
"Hey, how old are you? You seem much more immature than them," Xiao Zhongda landed in front of Lu Sha, its wings pointed down as it tilted its head and asked.
"I'll be 21 after my birthday this year, but... I am indeed the youngest," Lu Sha half-knelt down and examined the familiar Xiao Zhongda. "By the way, what kind of bat are you? Why do you have a Gauss Cannon on you? That's pretty cool!"
"Hey, good question! But it's a long story," Xiao Zhongda squinted at Lu Sha's red hair. "Originally, I shouldn't exist in this world anymore. But I was modified by humans who call themselves Kumler People, and then... my master bought me at an auction for eight hundred million. After that, I became a property manager here."
"Modified..." Upon hearing this word, Lu Sha suddenly felt sad. She empathized with Xiao Zhongda and couldn't help but reach out her hand. "So we're family."
"What? What? Are you out of your mind?" Xiao Zhongda looked confused as Lu Sha's hand landed on its head. "I'm a bat! Sister... hey! Don't touch my head! I have viruses!"
"Little bat, look at my comrades; they're all going home. Can’t you give me a home to go back to as well?" Lu Sha looked quite dejected; in Xiao Zhongda's eyes, she seemed like a mad person muttering to herself.
"Uh..." Xiao Zhongda thought for a moment but still couldn't understand why it was being told it was family with Lu Sha. "Well... okay then; just keep me company while I watch over the place. At most, I'll share some fruits with you every day."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade An Xiaotian otherwise, Xu Yicheng gave up as well. Late at night, Qin Weishan and Jiao An returned together to their respective bedrooms in the villa area to pack their bags for tomorrow's departure; Xu Yicheng drove off with Yang Meng towards City S; Ma Yihan applied for sick leave from her university counselor and stayed overnight with Liu Xuan; Ming Juan and Mr. Song were still discussing how to arrange accommodations for Ming Juan's family here; while An Xiaotian and Lu Sha chose to stay temporarily in Song Family Villa District—one was exploring the mysteries of alien civilizations while the other simply had nowhere else to go.
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