NOVPUB26: Chapter 26: Secret on the Tip of the Tongue?
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26: Chapter 26: Secret on the Tip of the Tongue?
(Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote)
He Ao’s gaze shifted to the child’s handgun, which reflected a distinct plastic sheen under the dim light.
The object in the child’s hand was likely just a toy gun.
Selena now turned around as well, intuitively wanting to pull He Ao behind her, knowing that firearms could harm her but not him.
But He Ao slowly crouched down, bringing his head down to the same height as the little boy’s, who pointed the ‘gun’ in his hand tensely at He Ao’s forehead.
He Ao revealed a gentle smile, holding the hot dog in his hand, and offered it to the boy, “Can I trade this hot dog for the gun in your hand?
This is a trade, not a robbery, it’s legal.”
The little boy glanced at the hot dog in He Ao’s hand and swallowed, his throat moving slightly.
He nodded, “Okay.”
As he spoke, he snatched the hot dog from He Ao’s hand and ran into the dark street where the streetlamp was broken.
But within a few seconds, he ran back, placing the ‘gun’ about a meter or two in front of He Ao.
Then he took off again as swiftly as he appeared.
This was a child who honored his promises.
Watching him run away, He Ao leaned forward to pick up the ‘gun’.
The gun was light, indeed a toy, and when He Ao opened the magazine, there was only a plastic bullet, slightly soiled with mud, indicating it had been reused many times.
He pocketed the gun, casually slipping it into his pocket and stood up, meeting Selena’s slightly amused look.
“Sorry,” He Ao felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, the hot dog he had just given away had been bought by Selena for him.
Using someone else’s gift for a good deed, especially in front of them, was somewhat improper.
So he naturally joined the line to buy a hot dog, smiling, “That hot dog really whet my appetite, I’m going to line up for another.
Is there anything else you’d like?
I’ll treat you to something as well.”
He Ao himself hadn’t eaten yet, and after the exertion, he was indeed hungry.
Buying another would also indicate that he didn’t think the hot dog Selena bought was unsatisfactory; it was merely that he had unexpectedly given it away.
Selena pinched her hot dog and after some thought, tilted her head and smiled, “A Coke, please.”
It took He Ao another half-hour in line to finally get a hot dog.
It turned out Selena bought him the most expensive hot dog in the shop—the 15 federal coin super, invincible, colossal, deluxe hot dog.
A hot dog that cost 15 federal coins, when his daily wage was barely over a hundred, was a painful purchase, but he went through with it, and compared to the hot dog, the Coke was much cheaper at only 1.5 federal coins.
He Ao bought a hot dog and two Cokes, returning to Selena’s side and handing her the Coke.
His blond, big-sister boss must either have a very high salary or be somewhat of an heiress.
“Wouldn’t we miss something like this?”
He Ao looked curiously at the grand entrance of the ‘Crown Casino’ across the street, noting that the two of them looked less like they were out for work and more like they were out for fun.
“Don’t worry, I’m keeping watch.”
Selena took a bite of her hot dog, answering through her mouthful.
He Ao also bit into his hot dog, sipping on his Coke while gazing at the luxurious entrance.
At that moment, he suddenly paused.
With the food going down his throat, he felt a minute surge of energy at the back of his throat.
His brain worked rapidly, recalling the passages in the little book that pertained to the throat.
Soon, he found the relevant section.
The book’s second page covered the physical lines/routes of the throat.
This path was short, beginning at the throat, passing through the left shoulder, elbow, to the index finger and back, then traveling through the left shoulder, the throat, the nasal cavity, winding around, and going through the right shoulder to the right index finger, ending back at the throat.
He Ao tried to follow the route described on the second page, but the energy barely left his throat before it was depleted.
Even after finishing the entire hot dog, the energy had not broken through the position of his throat.
However, this also led He Ao to a new idea: not only is there energy in the air, but the food he ate also contained energy.
But it seemed like his stomach capacity was limited, and after a large hot dog and a cup of cola, he was already feeling slightly full.
It appeared that this energy was not converted from the food; it merely existed within the food and entered the body with the ingestion of the food.
If the food itself is a storage medium, then is it possible the energy contained in different foods also varies?
“Let’s go to the car.”
Selena, having had her fill of food and drink, threw the packaging bag into the trash can beside her.
He Ao followed her example and discarded his trash before following Selena into the car.
As he entered the vehicle, the car door instantly closed, the roof of the convertible slowly unfolded, and the windows gently rose, turning into a deep tint of one-way view mode.
One popup window after another emerged on the glass, and the massive windshield in front of He Ao gradually darkened, with dozens of surveillance screens neatly arrayed across it.
This enormous windshield also served as a display screen.
These surveillance feeds covered almost every corner of the entrance to the Crown Casino.
“What is this?”
He Ao was shocked by this sudden sci-fi scene.
“Contents of my field of view,” shrugged Selena, “these are all captured by the cameras installed on this car.”
So when Selena said she had been watching, she genuinely had been.
“So, we’re just going to keep an eye on these monitors?”
He Ao looked at the dense array of screens in a daze.
“Not at all,” said Selena as she reclined her driver’s seat, “I’ve set up a similarity capture, the system will automatically alert us when someone who resembles Mu Xiu appears.
I’ll take a nap, and if an alarm goes off, just wake me up.
The Crown Casino only has one entrance; we just need to watch it.”
“Shouldn’t we search inside first?” He Ao asked with some confusion, “What if Mu Xiu got here before us?”
“The Crown Casino, nominally owned by the Money Rat Gang, is actually an industry controlled by the Dawn City Grain Industry Group and the Nord Financial Consortium through several layers of indirect shareholding.
We can’t get in without a valid reason.
However, they will ‘self-inspect’ the internal staff of the casino to confirm Mu Xiu hasn’t slipped in.
We just need to stand guard here.”
After finishing her explanation, Selena closed her eyes.
Her chest rose and fell gently, breathing steadily as if she had deeply fallen asleep.
Had He Ao not previously felt her with his tentacles, he sometimes couldn’t realize that hers was a purely mechanical body.
Her body was just too human-like.
During the newbie mission, the system would label Selena as a ‘Mechanically Modified Person,’ but now even that marker was gone, apparently a benefit only for beginners.
He Ao leaned back on the sofa, opened his personal device, and began searching for ‘Dawn City’ in the search bar.
Now, he finally had the time to learn more about this city.
Meanwhile, at the end of the street, a figure shrouded in a black hood glanced up at the resplendent casino from a distance.
Then, they casually stopped a passerby.
