Chapter 1405
Envious? Earned with their lives.
Cui Ming hung the twisted hammer back on his waist and stood up.
"Meeting adjourned," he said. "Adam, come with me, the research department has some new equipment for you to test."
Adam rose, his scale-covered claws lightly bracing against the tabletop.
He looked at Sawai, a glint of light flashing in his vertical pupils.
“Thank you.” His Earth language had a hissing tone at the end, but every word was clear. “We will prove that this trust is worthwhile.”
Sawai smiled and waved his hand.
“No proof is needed,” he said. “If Choi believes in you, I will believe in you. It’s that simple.”
Adam paused for a moment.
Then he turned to look at Cui Ming.
Cui Ming had already reached the door, and without turning his head, he threw out a sentence: "Hurry up, what are you dawdling about?"
Adam quickly followed.
In the conference room, the hawkish representatives looked at each other in bewilderment.
One of them finally couldn't help but whisper to the person next to him, "What kind of bewitching potion did Cui Ming give Zejing?"
The man shook his head, his voice even lower: "It wasn't a mind-altering potion. It was when Cui Ming snatched Earth back from the Star Guides, that Sawai saw him covered in blood, still standing at the very front. From then on, Sawai said that whoever Cui Ming believed, he believed."
"...What if Choi Myung-hwan is wrong?"
“Then we’ll all die together.” The man shrugged. “But at least we’ll die knowing why.”
In the corridor.
Cui Ming and Adam walked side by side.
"I've already spoken to Mother Earth," Cui Ming suddenly said. "She won't reject you. As for the ancient monsters... don't provoke them for now; those guys have bad tempers."
Adam nodded.
“We know where we are,” he said. “Dinosaurs used to be just food, and now… we just want to add another fighting species to the Earth. That’s all.”
Cui Ming glanced at him sideways.
“That’s enough,” he said. “We’ll fight together. Don’t think too much about anything else.”
Adam's vertical pupils contracted slightly.
He suddenly realized that although this human's hand was small, it seemed capable of smashing many things when clenched into a fist.
Including that suffocating despair.
The door to the research department opened in front of me.
The sound of Spike crunching on an energy bar could be heard coming from inside.
Adam took a deep breath and followed Cui Ming inside.
In the Victory Team's locker room.
Horii circled his new dinosaur-man colleague three times, his eyes wide open, making clicking noises.
"Wow, your evolution is amazing!"
He reached out his hand, hovering in mid-air, wanting to touch but not daring to touch the other's scaled claws.
The dinosaur-man colleague took a half step back, a hint of helplessness flashing in his vertical pupils.
"Um, can you please stop doing that?"
"Uh, sorry, sorry, I'm just... hehe... you know what I mean."
Horii rubbed his hands together, a simple smile plastered on his chubby face, but his eyes were still scanning back and forth between the patterns on the other person's scales.
The dinosaur's heart said you're like a pervert.
It turned its pleading gaze to Cui Ming.
"Instructor, please explain this to me! I'm really not a pervert!"
Horii cried out in grievance.
He turned his head.
Then it froze.
Choi Myung-jung was sitting on a sofa in the corner of the lounge.
On the left, Misato was curled up, her head resting on his shoulder, her fingers unconsciously twirling the zipper of his combat suit.
On the right, Asuka crossed her arms. Although her posture looked arrogant, she was clearly leaning towards Choi Myung, her blonde hair brushing against the other side of his neck.
Cui Ming held a cup of coffee in his hand, his expression calm, as if he were studying the sediment at the bottom of the cup.
"It's break time now."
He said.
The voice wasn't loud, but every word was delivered with force.
"..."
Horii's mouth was agape, and he couldn't close it for a long time.
He looked at Misato, then at Asuka, and finally at Choi Myung.
"Instructor, how come you're so popular with women..."
Cui Ming raised his eyes and glanced at him.
"A harem built with lives at stake."
He spoke casually, as if reciting an archived combat report.
"..."
Horii remained silent for two seconds.
Then he silently turned around and walked back to his dinosaur-man colleague.
“Um…” his voice was weak, “Could you teach me how to evolve? I want to…” “What do you want?” His dinosaur-man colleague tilted his head, his vertical pupils full of confusion.
"never mind."
Horii waved his hand and plopped back down in his chair.
That cannot be refuted.
Every word Cui Ming said was true.
It was earned with one's life.
literal meaning.
Everyone else in the lounge went about their business.
Daigo was munching on an energy bar in the corner, his face still bearing the paw prints Spike had taken yesterday.
Xincheng lay slumped on the table, snoring loudly, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Lina walked by with her coffee, glanced at the trio on the sofa, a slight smile playing on her lips, but said nothing.
Megumi walked in from the doorway, carrying a stack of documents.
She paused when she saw the scene on the sofa.
Then he walked straight over and placed the document on the low table in front of Cui Ming.
"Cui, I have a meeting this afternoon."
"know."
Misato and Asuka both sat up straighter, but neither moved.
Kijima Hui didn't say anything, but bent down and kissed Choi Myung on the forehead.
"Don't drink too much coffee."
"Ah."
She turned and left, her skirt brushing against the sofa armrest.
Horii, watching from the side, nearly had his eyes pop out of his head.
His dinosaur-man colleague poked him with the tip of his claw.
"Are all human relationships this complicated?"
"Do not."
Horii shook his head, his voice weak.
"Only the drill instructors are like that."
He looked at Cui Ming again.
The man sandwiched between the two women was sipping his coffee with his head down, his expression as hard as a granite block.
It all seemed perfectly natural.
Horii suddenly felt...
I should go and study Maru-Sakunezha's neuronal structure myself.
That way, at least it won't make him question the meaning of life.
Spike poked his head in through the door, an energy bar dangling from his mouth, his gray fur covered in dust from the training ground.
It glanced at the lounge and impatiently patted the door frame with its tail.
The meaning is very clear.
The break is over.
Keep practicing.
Daigo stuffed the last bite of the energy bar into his mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound.
Xincheng was awakened by the sound of his tail slapping the door. He looked up blankly, with drool still on the corner of his mouth.
"...Is dinner ready?"
"Training has begun."
Choi Myung placed the coffee cup on the table and stood up.
Misato and Asuka got up and followed him, one on each side.
Horii watched the three men walk toward the door and suddenly called out.
"Instructor!"
Cui turned back.
"...Could you assign me a female partner for the next training session?"
Cui Ming looked at him for two seconds.
"can."
He said.
"Spike is short of a sparring partner lately, and Lina just happens to want to try close combat."
"...Never mind what I said."
Spike snorted and spat all over Newtown's face.
Xincheng wiped his face and followed after him, wailing.
The lights in the lounge went out.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor, mixed with the crunching sound of Spike munching on an energy bar.
Spike's going back home will get him a big steak.
By the way, Choi Myung recently moved.
Tom and Jerry wrecked the house. (End of Chapter)