SIATOWITF Chapter 38
by Volare“Brother, can’t we stay for a few more days?”
As evening approached, Ji Mo Xin was still trying to make a last-ditch effort.
“Is your homework finished?”
“Don’t say such depressing things.” Ji Mo Xin immediately covered her ears.
“Sweetheart, if you disembark now, you can still go to the manor with Little Qian Xing for a bonfire. Oh, right, there’s also your pony and your brother’s little snake, and your little hats haven’t had a chance to shine yet.” Aunt Mu leaned against the railing, swirling her wine glass and chuckling.
The heads of the families still had to oversee the cruise, so only Old Master Ji Mo Lin and some younger members who couldn’t get away from work or studies disembarked from the Ji Mo family today.
“Okay, Brother, I want to see the pony.” Ji Mo Xin became happy again at the thought of the snow-white pony she had carefully chosen.
“Go ahead.” Ji Mo An nodded, anything was fine as long as he didn’t have to look at snakes.
“Yay!”
Some guests disembarked in twos and threes, but more remained in the luxurious setting, engaging in genuine or feigned conversation and business discussions.
“Brother, I want to stay in a hotel. There’s no one at the old mansion.”
“We’ll stay at the old mansion tonight, and we can stay in a hotel tomorrow.” Ji Mo An ruffled the little girl’s hair.
“Aren’t you going back to school tomorrow?” Ji Mo Xin’s eyes lit up instantly.
“It wouldn’t hurt to take a day or two off. Qian Xing rarely comes back.”
“Yay! I’m going to find Qian Xing for dinner.”
“Okay.”
Back at the old mansion, Ji Mo Xin skipped and dragged Mu Qian Xing to see the pony, leaving only Ji Mo An and Mu Xuan standing together.
“Grandfather also disembarked.”
“Yeah.” Mu Xuan looked down at the time. “Grandpa is getting old. The waves on the ship are still a bit much for him.”
“I’m going to guide things over in Donghai next month. I plan to take Qian Xing to learn a bit. Does Xin Xin want to come along?”
“To the military region?”
“Yeah, it’ll be about a month, round trip.”
“It’s up to her. She also said she wants to go skiing in Switzerland during the summer vacation.”
“Okay.”
“Mu-ge, I’ll head back first.” Ji Mo An said goodbye to Mu Xuan and returned to his room.
“Hiss~” The finally liberated chopstick snake crawled around on the bed. It had been cooped up in the narrow pocket in front of his chest for most of the day, and it felt like its bones were about to break.
Where had Snake Snake ever suffered such indignity before?
Xuan Bai was very unhappy, so it viciously hissed at the coat.
“Alright, there’s no one else here now, change back.” Ji Mo An looked speechlessly at the snake fiercely attacking his coat.
“What happened to you last night? You suddenly fell off the cabinet… Xuan Bai.” He hung up his clothes neatly, and when he turned around, he found that the snake was still so small.
“What are you doing?” Ji Mo An frowned slightly. He scooped up the little snake and weighed it in his hand. “Why haven’t you said anything all day?”
“Hiss…” The snake looked at the sky and the ground, but just wouldn’t look at Ji Mo An. After spinning around in his palm a couple of times, it began to chase its own tail.
“…”
“Did you get into trouble?” Ji Mo An suddenly became nervous.
“…” Xuan Bai’s tail-chasing action suddenly paused.
Of course, it hadn’t, but after tonight, that might not be the case.
If there were even one fewer accusations pinned on the snake, it wouldn’t be possible for Snake to get away with pretending to be cute. Xuan Bai continued to chase its tail with a mournful heart.
“You… never mind.” Ji Mo An couldn’t do anything with the foolish snake.
He got up and found a wooden box, lined it with a warm, soft cushion, and then tossed the little snake inside.
“I’ll consider what you said, but now I have to go find my grandfather. You’re not allowed to follow me.”
“Hiss…” The little snake raised its head, watching Ji Mo An wrap the opening of the box tightly with plastic wrap, circle after circle, and then take a picture.
“To ensure that you don’t cause trouble, I hope that the creases on the plastic wrap on the box won’t change in the slightest before I return.”
Xuan Bai turned around twice in the box, looking listlessly at the top.
“I don’t want my perceptions to be swayed by anyone. I will seriously consider the things I’m going to verify next, and of course, I will give you the opportunity to refute them.” Ji Mo An put the wooden box into the cabinet and gently poked the little snake’s head through the plastic wrap.
“Believe it or not, it’s my decision. But the premise is, don’t interfere.”
“If I find that you’re trying to manipulate my emotions, then I’ll have no choice but to hand you over.”
“Don’t hand over Snake…” The chopstick snake immediately became teary-eyed.
“So you have to be good.” Ji Mo An was satisfied to hear the snake speak again, and only then did he close the cabinet door, lock it, and leave the room.
Actually, he was still reassured about Xuan Bai.
After all, the difference in martial strength between the snake and him was too great. If Xuan Bai wanted to control him, it would be easy, and there would be no need to rely on acting pitiful to stay by his side.
But the accident last night still bothered him greatly.
Because the snake said, “Cannot say.”
It was “cannot,” not “don’t want to.”
Could it be that there was another force controlling something, and perhaps Xuan Bai suddenly falling off the cabinet was also related to that.
So now, it depended on what else Grandpa knew.
Ji Mo An took a deep breath and knocked on the tightly closed door of the study.
“Grandfather.”
The door opened in response, but standing in the doorway was Lin Mo.
“President Ji, please come in.” He seemed unsurprised by Ji Mo An’s arrival.
“Grandfather, I… Grandfather Mu?” Ji Mo An walked in and found another old man sitting in the study.
“An An is here, sit down.” Mu Nanyuan’s expression was clearly much calmer than Ji Mo Lin’s, and he even smiled and poured Ji Mo An a cup of tea.
“We were just waiting for you. It wasn’t easy to convince old Lin.”
“Grandfather?” Ji Mo An looked at the old man pacing back and forth by the window.
“Let Mu Nanyuan speak.” Old Master Lin waved his hand and continued to walk back and forth.
“Grandfather?”
“Alright, I’ll speak.” Old Mu beckoned to Lin Mo.
“President Ji.” Lin Mo walked over and placed a palm-sized black leather book in front of Ji Mo An.
“This is… an officer’s certificate?” Ji Mo An was taken aback. He opened the book and immediately saw the two-inch photo with the red seal.
“Lin Mo, affiliated with the Central Control Bureau’s Seventh Bureau, Executive Team Leader.” As Mu Lao introduced him, Lin Mo took a step back and gave a military salute, and his aura suddenly changed.
“The Central Control Bureau’s Seventh Bureau, also known as the Central Paranormal Event Control Center’s Seventh Bureau, is under the Central Committee, but it is not open to the outside world.”
“An An, you’ve always thought that Lin Mo was sent by your grandfather to assist you with your work. That’s not the case. Lin Mo has always been my soldier.” Mu Nanyuan smiled, meeting his grandson’s surprised gaze.
“His mission is to ensure your life safety and to monitor at all times whether there are any suspicious people approaching you.”
“Come on, Grandfather will take you to see my soldiers. Although I have announced my retirement to the outside world, as long as the country still needs me, I, this old bone, will have to burn until the last moment.” The old man stood up, his eyes still bright despite his white hair.
“Yes, you also spend a lot of money.” Ji Mo Lin seemed to casually move the books on the bookshelf, which triggered a slight tremor in the entire wall.
“An An, you are an adult, and Grandpa knows your personality. The things you are about to see may shatter your perception. Whether you believe it or not, or which ones you believe, these are all up to you to judge. But you must not tell anyone what you see.”
“This is a state secret. Once it is leaked… it may cause panic in the outside world.” Mu Nanyuan nodded to Ji Mo An and took the lead in stepping into the gap that opened between the bookshelves.
“…” Ji Mo An looked at the dark staircase in front of him, his heart suddenly beating faster.
“President Ji, please.” Lin Mo raised his hand behind him in a gesture. Ji Mo An took one last glance at the bright, spacious study and resolutely stepped into the crack.
The staircase was very long, about a hundred steps.
Ji Mo An silently calculated the distance. They were now about at the first floor.
“Come.” Finally, Mu Nanyuan stopped. He turned to the left, and a white door appeared in front of him.
[Please perform fingerprint verification.] A cold electronic voice sounded, and a red light lit up at the top of the door.
All three except Ji Mo An placed their hands on the door.
[Fingerprint verification complete. Personnel identification: Mu Nanyuan, Ji Mo Lin, Lin Mo.]
[Please perform iris verification.]
…
[Iris verification complete.]
[Performing final identity verification.]
As the voice fell, the red light emitted a layer of rays that scanned over the people.
[Unidentified personnel detected.]
“He’s my grandson, I brought him.” Mu Nanyuan placed his hand on the white door again.
[Authority: Highest authority. Command accepted. Data association in progress… Welcome, Mr. Ji Mo An.]
As the electronic voice fell, the white door opened in response.
Ji Mo An held his breath and looked inside the door.
He saw… an elevator.
“?” An elevator?
“We’ll be there soon. The base is underground.”
“It’s like something out of a movie.” Ji Mo An walked into the elevator. This elevator was also pure white, and there weren’t even any floor buttons.
“Movies come from life.” Mu Nanyuan verified again. “Descend a little slower, I’m an old man, my body can’t compare to the children.”
“Command received~” A lively voice came from the elevator, like a seven or eight-year-old child.
“This is X637, also known as Qi Qi. It’s the newest type of artificial intelligence from the research institute. You’ll see its avatar in a moment.”
“Avatar?”
“The main body of X637 is in the Main Bureau. The Seventh Bureau’s headquarters is stationed in Qingzang Province, and the other one hundred and three sub-bureaus are hidden in various provinces and cities across the country, and there are also thirty-seven dispatched sub-bureaus stationed abroad,” Lin Mo replied.
“It’s okay, you’ll know everything.” Mu Nanyuan quietly looked at the expanse of white in front of him. “You have to accept it slowly. If you know too much at once, your brain will break.”
“Come on, we’re here.”
Ji Mo An walked out of the elevator, and the scene before him made his eyes widen.
Countless people in uniforms walked past him, high-tech white orbs flew around in the air, and the pure white rooms seemed to stretch out endlessly.
He had never imagined that such a behemoth was hidden beneath his old mansion.
“That person…” Ji Mo An’s gaze was suddenly drawn away by a black shadow in the air. He thought he was seeing things, but it really was a person.
Yes, a person floating in the air, without any assistance.
At least he couldn’t see any with the naked eye.
“Gu Sheng, what are you doing up there again?” Mu Nanyuan followed Ji Mo An’s gaze and looked over.
“Chief! Mr. Lin.” The person in the sky swooshed down and stood in front of the group.
“An An, in this world, there is still such a kind of person. They possess special abilities that exceed the scope of ordinary human capabilities. We call these abilities superpowers, and the holders are ability users.”
“An An, where do you want to start learning from?” Old Master Lin sighed and gently patted Ji Mo An’s shoulder. “I know this is hard to accept.”
“I…”
Ji Mo An looked at Gu Sheng, whose feet were still off the ground, and then looked back at Lin Mo, finally voicing his doubts.
“Do they have to wear sunglasses and suits when they go on missions?”