Free Web NovelChapter 83: Chapter 82: The Lu Family
"Whatever, time to get memorizing!" Chu Bamboo clapped his hands together.
As he recited the material over and over, Chu Bamboo’s mood gradually improved.
Compared to brute-forcing the algorithm, memorizing a textbook was undoubtedly much easier.
Although Chu Bamboo had a photographic memory from becoming a Transcendent, a photographic memory didn’t mean that memorizing everything felt the same!
The textbook itself had a logical structure, and for the sake of teaching, its content was made as simple and easy to understand as possible!
The algorithm might have had its own logic, but Chu Bamboo didn’t understand it. So, in his eyes, the algorithm was just a pile of unrelated words and letters cobbled together for him to memorize.
Another hour passed.
The screen suddenly went dark.
The wall returned to its silver color.
Chu Bamboo froze for a moment. It wasn’t until he heard the door open that he belatedly realized, "Oh, Li Kang and the others are back... Man, memorizing this stuff has made me feel like a total idiot!"
Shaking his head, feeling both amused and exasperated, Chu Bamboo turned and walked away, still pondering the content he had just been memorizing.
’Hmm, Nuwa No. 17 divided the key points in the textbook...’
’There are seventeen textbooks in total. I’ve already memorized a third of the important content from the most crucial one...’
’On the surface, it seems even slower than memorizing the Spiritual Star Algorithm?’
But the two were completely different matters!
For one, memorizing the textbook was easy... For another, the content of the textbook was truly all-encompassing, touching upon everything.
In any case, after memorizing for just a short while, Chu Bamboo already had a general understanding of future AI... but understanding was one thing. If he were actually asked to handle it himself, he’d still be totally screwed...
"...Uncle Zhu, wait, what’s wrong with you!" The moment Ning Linglong saw Chu Bamboo, she almost thought she was looking at the wrong person.
’Weren’t you resting in the base? Why do you look so haggard right now...’
For a second, Ning Linglong almost thought she was seeing Wall Announcements after that one time he’d worked thirty-six straight hours on a high-intensity job, erasing the memories of bystanders everywhere—
The image of Wall Announcements from that day was etched deep in her memory. After all, the haggard look on his face—completely devoid of life, dazed, and utterly spent—was just too distinct. freewebnσvel.cøm
"I’m contemplating... the philosophy of life!" Chu Bamboo said softly, as if answering her, yet also talking to himself.
Li Kang: "..."
’Contamination!’ Li Kang’s scalp tingled. He grabbed Chu Bamboo’s wrist and dragged him in front of the silver wall.
Chu Bamboo: "!?"
"Nuwa No. 17!" Li Kang anxiously recited the prayer-like command. He snatched up a detection device and clamped it onto Chu Bamboo’s wrist. "Check his contamination level!"
And then...
Still 0!
"...Huh? You’re fine? Then what’s going on!" Li Kang was stunned.
"So that’s how it is!" Chu Bamboo finally understood. "So any change in emotion, or should I say, the vibe someone gives off, could mean an increase in contamination levels... Got it!"
But then again... Chu Bamboo felt like his pure mind had indeed been polluted by knowledge.
Li Kang eyed Chu Bamboo with a mix of suspicion and uncertainty. ’So what the hell is wrong with you, then?’
"What time is it? I haven’t even had lunch! Who’s treating?" Chu Bamboo yawned. Even though he could see Li Kang’s confusion, he had no intention of explaining.
"...I will!" Guan Fei’s eyes lit up.
"Let me!" Ning Linglong cut Guan Fei off, her tone cheerful. "Uncle Zhu, you still owe my dad a meal! I think it’s perfectly reasonable to transfer that debt to me now."
"...What are you two fighting about?" Li Kang shot them a speechless glance. "It’s already 1:27, and the interview is in thirty minutes! You want to eat now? What if you miss it?"
"Uncle Li, that’s where you’re wrong!" Chu Bamboo shook his head very seriously. "As the saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, but if you skip one meal..."
A piercing alarm blared once more.
"...What’s happening?!" Wall Announcements, who had been keeping his head down and trying his best to fade into the background and avoid the discussion, let out a desperate cry.
’Why! Why did I only get a moment of peace these last two days before the mission intensity ramped up again?!’
’What have I done to deserve this! I should never have stepped foot into the District Government Office. If I hadn’t entered the Third District Government Office, I wouldn’t have been detected by the instruments, and I wouldn’t be on the verge of working myself to death... all while making a salary that’s only three times higher than a regular civil servant of the same rank...’
’Those bastards... Which asshole rogue Transcendents are out there showing off and flexing all day, with no sense of restraint!’
’Can’t we just kill all these rogue Transcendents! This is never-ending!’
"Bamboo, for you!" After a few changes in expression, Li Kang pulled out his phone and tossed it to Chu Bamboo. Before Chu Bamboo could refuse, he pulled a tablet from his coat and waved it at him. "I’ve got something I can use..."
"I spoke with Governor Lu before. It seems his interview... isn’t in a traditional interview hall? I’m not too clear on the details myself. He said he’d contact me a little while beforehand... I don’t have time right now, and considering you don’t have a phone yet! You can communicate with him in a bit... As for me, just give me the phone back tonight! Don’t stand on ceremony..."
Li Kang’s voice grew more and more distant. When Chu Bamboo looked again, he found that Li Kang had already left the Underground Temple Base.
"..."
’With that speed, he’s Jinghai’s own Flash, no doubt about it!’
Staring at the once again empty underground base, Chu Bamboo didn’t know what kind of expression to make.
The Captain’s Office in his imagination: Fighting the Shoe Sect, saving the populace, dueling Transcendents, quelling turmoil... and after everything was done, erasing the public’s memories of the disaster, guarding the city’s peace under the cover of night! Seeking neither fame nor fortune!
The Captain’s Office in reality: Running from the east side of the Third District to the west, from the north to the south, every single day. Driving a steam-powered car that chugged out steam, was loud as hell, and sounded like a tractor... all to deal with people who, for whatever reason, just loved leaking information about the Extraordinary! They’d give them a harsh lesson, then delete the memories of anyone who saw the supernatural sights.
"..."
"This... for some reason, the image of the Captain’s Office has gone from secret agents to construction workers."
The belated realization left Chu Bamboo with a strange, wry expression.
But then again, this kind of work... was actually a good thing for the Captain’s Office. After all, the danger involved was genuinely low!
Chu Bamboo was also sure that it wasn’t that Li Kang and the others never encountered the first type of situation... it’s just that they encountered it less often!
However, almost every time they did, it was a tough fight... They might even suffer casualties, or worse, a total team wipe.
"So what I should do now is... Never mind."
Chu Bamboo glanced at the silver wall and quickly left the underground base—
He felt like he was really going crazy. The thought had actually crossed his mind that he could keep studying until Governor Lu called.
...
「1:57 PM.」
Chu Bamboo arrived in front of a tea pavilion, staring at the plaque that read "Shuxiang Pavilion Tea," speechless for a long moment.
Yes, this was his interview location!
’Heaven knows why the interview is in a teahouse...’
’This could only happen in a dream. In the Real World... Chu Bamboo wouldn’t dare imagine the leader of an entire city doing something so outrageous.’
"...You must be Mr. Chu Bamboo, correct?" A middle-aged man in a black Zhongshan suit, who had been glancing at his phone every so often, brightened up when he saw Chu Bamboo. He jogged over, bowing slightly as he asked.
"And you are?"
"I’m Governor Lu’s secretary! You can just call me Xiaosong." Secretary Song shook Chu Bamboo’s hand with a serious and meticulous grip, without the slightest hint of perfunctoriness.
’It was precisely because of his close relationship with Governor Lu that he understood just how much importance that great man placed on the person before him.’
"Please, come with me!"
...
A tea room.
Upon entering, the first thing that caught the eye was a magnificent and vast ink wash painting hanging on the wall.
Chu Bamboo glanced at it, and the corner of his eye twitched. He was all too familiar with this painting style...
’It was painted by the very same master of traditional Chinese painting he had once studied under!’
Then, Chu Bamboo turned his head and, through the wide-open doorway, saw a man and two women in the inner courtyard to the left.
They were currently seated at a tea table... A beautiful woman in a white dress was smiling as she poured tea for her daughter and her husband!
’Her posture was rather pleasing to the eye, but compared to the way tea is poured in the Real World... there was a pretty big difference...’
Chu Bamboo appreciated the scene while snarking internally. ’To be honest, people here always like to add all sorts of strange things to their tea.’
’Things like salt, pepper powder, and the like...’
’But that’s normal, I guess. If I remember correctly, the tea people drink in the Real World now became popular during the Song Dynasty... The tea they drank during the Tang Dynasty was similar to what I’m seeing now—crushing a tea cake and then adding seasonings like salt and oil?’
"Mr. Zhu has arrived? Please, have a seat. Don’t be a stranger!" The man, who had a square face, a ramrod-straight posture, and a natural air of authority, sized up Chu Bamboo for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.
He pointed to the seat directly opposite him in an inviting gesture. "Although we’re calling this an interview... you’ve probably figured it out! This is just a pretext. In essence, it’s closer to a family dinner... or perhaps!"
The man glanced at Lu Muxue, who was currently staring intently at her teacup as if she could see a flower blooming inside, and said leisurely, "A dinner to express our gratitude!"
Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. After a moment of thought, he didn’t refuse, striding forward and sitting down directly opposite the man.
"!" Secretary Song was startled by Chu Bamboo’s casual demeanor. This was the first person of the younger generation he had ever seen act so relaxed in front of Governor Lu.
As his thoughts raced, Secretary Song could clearly see a flicker of appreciation in the man’s eyes upon seeing Chu Bamboo’s action.
He immediately realized that he was not meant to witness what came next. With a slight bow and a word of excuse, he turned, left, and closed the main doors behind him.
The teahouse fell into a tranquil silence once more.
