After their vehicle approached the wall, a massive platform extended downward from the giant moving city ahead, allowing their vehicle to drive onto it.
As they reached the gate, which was blocked by the wall, Ren noticed two individuals dressed in what looked like blue military uniforms standing atop the structure, watching them.
They were holding crossbows and wore masks equipped with advanced communication gear. Strangely enough, after spotting Ren's vehicle, the two soldiers seemed to pause briefly before quickly waving a signal to the others behind them. Moments later, the gate opened—almost as if urging them to pass through swiftly.
"Does Exia's company really have that much influence?" Ren couldn't help but think, noting how hastily the soldiers responded.
"Stop!!!"
But Ren's brief relief didn't last long. Mere seconds after they entered, a blonde girl with curled hair that made her look like a spoiled rich girl from a magical girl anime stepped in front of their vehicle, face stern, flanked by fully armed guards.
"Get out of the vehicle and let us search it! You troublemakers!" the girl snarled, her image—complete with tiger ears and a striped tail—making her appear even more intimidating in Ren's eyes.
"Just how many types of beast-people are there in this world?"
Though Ren hadn't asked Exia and the others any basic questions about this world—afraid they'd think he was crazy—he could vaguely guess that this wasn't a world populated only by humans like himself. It seemed more like something out of Middle-earth or Star Trek.
"Oh come on, Lady Schwein... another inspection? This is the third time already. We're hauling the same stuff as before, can't you let us off the hook just once? I'm starving~" Exia stepped out of the vehicle and pleaded cutely.
But Ren noticed something odd—the guards who had accompanied the stern blonde visibly flinched when Exia approached.
"No! Rules are rules! If I let you go this time, I'll set a bad example for the rest of my unit. Besides, you're not carrying that much anyway, right? Just put the vehicle through the scanner. It won't take long," the blonde girl said, keeping her serious tone.
Exia knew she couldn't bribe this one with petty items—after all, the other girl was a wealthy heiress. Why would small trinkets satisfy someone like her?
"Fiiine~" Exia sighed in defeat, lowering her head and letting the officers lead their vehicle toward the scanner.
But before that, Ren and Texas had to step out.
When the blonde girl saw the unfamiliar man exiting the vehicle—thin, gaunt cheeks, still in a patient's outfit—she immediately looked surprised. Her gaze lingered, full of suspicion.
"Who is this man? Don't tell me you've kidnapped someone again?"
Ren immediately turned his head to stare at the two women.
"Kidnapped?! Wait—have you actually done that before?!"
He didn't say it aloud, but his face said it all. Exia quickly stepped in to explain.
"R-Ren, don't get the wrong idea! Like I said, our company takes on protection contracts, right? Sometimes rich families hire us directly to guard their kids. Most of the time those kids are rebellious and refuse our help, so we have no choice but to take them somewhere safe for their own protection. Everything we do is for the mission!"
"Yeah, like knocking them unconscious, intimidating everyone, and keeping the poor guy locked up in a basement for days with explosives strapped to him. I heard that rich kid developed severe PTSD and a fear of women after that incident... But hey, I never liked that guy anyway. He was always hitting on my employees and broke their hearts. He totally had it coming," Schwein said cheerfully, clearly delighted by the memory.
Ren now understood that their relationship wasn't exactly hostile.
"So who is he then? Why did you bring him to Lungmen? Is this another protection job?"
"N-Not exactly... Ren's case is a bit special," Exia said with an awkward smile, before Texas, who had been silent, spoke up.
"We found him lost in the wastelands. He helped us out when we were attacked by pirates. So we wanted to repay the favor by bringing him safely to the city."
"What?! You were attacked by pirates?!"
The official blonde girl began asking for more details and listened closely to Texas's account. At one point, she leaned in to whisper something. Ren figured it was classified information, but whatever it was, it made her look at him with widened eyes.
"Are you sure?" she asked Texas again. The latter nodded firmly.
"I'm sure."
In the silence that followed, the officer sighed and turned to Ren.
"In that case, I'll take him in for registration. You two wait here."
"Can't we come with him?" Exia asked, clearly worried—not out of concern, but more afraid the woman would poach their newest employee.
"It won't take long. I just need to ask him a few questions and check if he's infected."
"If Lady Schwein says so... Fine! Ren! Don't forget, our company is the coolest! Don't listen to anything she tries to sweet-talk you with! If you can resist all her offers, I'll treat you to all-you-can-eat apple pie tonight!!"
"You think I'm that kind of person?!" Schwein barked at Exia.
She already knew from Texas that Ren was interested in joining Penguin Logistics. And while Schwein was interested in him, it wasn't in that way.
Honestly, it was more about mutual understanding...
––––––––––––––
Ren was taken to a separate room, where he was greeted politely by the official named Schwein. She instructed another officer to draw some of his blood and insert the sample into a machine that resembled a photocopier.
When no unusual reactions occurred and the machine lit up green, Schwein visibly relaxed and took a seat across from him.
"Congratulations. It looks like you're not infected."
"Infected?" Ren looked puzzled. He'd heard the term earlier but assumed it referred to some common illness or plague. But judging by how seriously the officers took the blood test, he realized it had to be something far more serious.
"You don't know what 'infected' means?" This time, it was the girl who looked surprised. Her expression made Ren nervous—it must've been common knowledge here.
"I've been hospitalized for a long time... so I don't really know what you mean by 'infected'..." Ren tried not to lie and used his hospitalization as an excuse.
It might have worked—as long as she didn't ask something like, 'Didn't you have a TV?'—because he'd have no answer. Admitting he knew nothing about the outside world would make him even more suspicious.
Luckily, she didn't ask anything. She just sighed, took out a form, and spoke gently—very different from her earlier stern tone.
"All right... Let's fill out your identification record. Answer what you can. If not, I'll fill in what I can."
"Your name?"
"Ren." He said it without thinking, then flinched—worried that the mimicry system screen might pop up and lower his mimicry rate again.
But nothing happened. He sighed with relief.
"Age?"
"nineteen"
"Huh?" She looked up.
"You're nineteen?"
"Yes... Assuming the doctors didn't lie about my birthday."
She seemed surprised by that for some reason.
"Okay... What's your race?"
For some reason, her tone suddenly became much more casual—she dropped the formal speech.
"Race? Umm... Human, I think?" Ren replied uncertainly. He had a vague idea she was asking about his species, but didn't know what humans like him were called here.
"Human? We're all human. Don't tell me... you don't even know your own race? The doctors who cared for you never told you anything?"
She tried to spot any racial markers on him but found none.
"...They never told me anything." Ren smiled awkwardly. It wasn't a lie—who would ask something like that normally?
"Hm... That's going to be tricky. I'll have to send your blood to the hospital for further analysis. They should be able to determine your race from that."
"I'm sorry for the trouble..." Ren said, feeling bad.
"No, no! It's our duty. You don't have to apologize."
"Ahem... last question. What's your gender?" she asked, then smirked at his confused expression.
"I know, I know, it sounds silly. But trust me, you'll get used to it. We've had plenty of people try to sneak in while pretending to be the opposite gender. So we have to ask."
"I see." Ren nodded. Seemed like being a checkpoint officer wasn't so easy either.
"I'm male."
"Got it... all right, that's it! Are you hungry, Ren?" Schwein smiled and handed the form over to another officer for processing.
"I have a specially ordered hamburger here! Do you want to eat it?"
Without even waiting for an answer, she pulled the carefully wrapped hamburger from her expensive, well-crafted bag and handed it to him. The aroma made Ren, who hadn't tasted food in years, secretly swallow his saliva.
"I..." Ren tried to suppress his craving out of politeness, but in the end, he couldn't resist—like a man who had been deprived of water for too long—and accepted the paper-wrapped meal from her.
He unwrapped the food gently and stared at the most beautiful hamburger he had ever seen in his life before taking a decisive bite.
"!!" The explosion of flavor in his mouth made Ren's eyes tremble violently. The spiciness of the sauce and the sweetness of the red condiment, which he had long forgotten from the past, came rushing back, flooding him with memories.
Memories of days gone by, when he still ate meals with his family, smiling happily.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the young man who had thought they had long dried up, streaming down his face once more.
"Tha... thank you..." He didn't know whether his words were directed at the girl before him or at God, who had given him another chance.
But right now, he was truly glad... to still be alive.
[Imitation Rate: Zhong Li 21% ⇢ 25% [Humanity] [Complete]]
[The imitation rate will no longer decrease.]
[System unlocked: Shop]