Chapter 27 Chapter Twenty-Five

"Is your hand better?" the old man asked me when I was allowed in. "It's going to be fine. Temporarily put in artificial skin this week, and they'll put my ears in tomorrow." He looked a little annoyed: "I forgot your ear, it's too late for transplantation, the make-up department will give you a copy." I told him, "Ears don't matter, so why bother making one? Am I supposed to pretend to be someone and perform a mission?" "Not exactly, you have read the briefing, what do you think of the situation?" I don't know what kind of answer he wants. "It's not optimistic," I admitted reluctantly. "Everyone is on the defensive. It's like being under a coercive tyranny." I became more and more enthusiastic about my opinion. "It's worse here. Even coercion Under the tyranny, you can still use some small means, such as bribery, bribery and so on. But now you are facing a slug, what kind of bribes can you offer to it?"

"Hmm—" he pondered, and then commented, "This idea is very interesting. Is there anything that can attract the Titans?" "Uh, what I just said was actually a rhetorical question, a figure of speech. I—" "I'm repeating what you said, but I'm not asking rhetorically. We'll assign this question and do theoretical research." "By now, you have to grasp at straws, don't you?" "That's right. Now let's talk about another question. In your opinion, which is easier to enter into other countries or the red zone for surveillance? Which would you choose?"

I looked at him suspiciously, "There is a trap here, you won't let people choose tasks." "I'm just asking for your professional opinion." "Oh... I don't have enough information. Tell me, are there any other countries besides the Americas that have slugs?" "That," he replied, "is exactly what I want to know." It dawned on me that Mary was right.Agents should not be married.If this assignment is over, I'd love to be hired to count sheep for an insomniac rich man, or something similarly modest.I said, "Which country do you want me to go to this time?"

"Why do you think I want you to go to another country?" he asked. "Maybe we can find out what we want to know more quickly and easily in the red zone." "Really?" "Of course. If there are slugs spreading anywhere except the American continent, then the Titans in the red zone must know. Why go around to the other side of the earth to investigate?" I had to put aside my plan to travel as an Indian businessman with his wife and consider his words.It's possible...it's possible. "So how on earth do you get into the red zone right now?" I asked. "I wear a plastic imitation slug on my shoulder? As soon as they ask to talk to me directly, I'll reveal it. Maybe earlier than that .”

"Don't be a defeatist. Four agents have gone there." "are you back?" "Uh, no, I don't know. That's where the difficulty lies." "You want me to be the fifth? Do you think I'm messing things up and already superfluous on the staff list?" "I think the others are using the wrong tactics—" "Obviously!" "The point is to convince them you're a traitor, understand?" The idea was so shocking that I couldn't answer it for a moment.Finally I blurted out, "Why don't I start with the easy ones? Like pretending to be a Panamanian male prostitute for a while, or trying to be a murderer with an axe? I need to get into character first."

"It's easy," he said, "and maybe it's not realistic—" "Humph!" "But maybe you can. Of all the agents I've got, you're the best at dealing with slugs. You've got to be well rested, aside from the minor burns on your hands. Or maybe we should drop you into Moscow." Nearby, let you investigate it directly. Think about it carefully, and think it through as soon as possible.” "Thank you, thank you very much." I quickly changed the subject, "What work do you arrange for Mary?" "Why don't you mind your own business?"

"I married her." "right." "My God, for God's sake! That's the only word you can say? Not even a word of blessing?" "It seems to me," he said slowly, "that you have all the blessings a man could want. But I wish you well." "Uh, well, thanks." I'm slow in some ways, but I always use the excuse that I have too many things on my mind, and I didn't realize until then that maybe the old man asked me directly. And Mary went on vacation at the same time so smoothly.I said, "Hey, Dad—" "Huh?" This is the second time I've called him that in a month.With such a shout, he seemed to turn from offense to defense.

"You have always intended to bring about the marriage between Mary and me, and you did it." "Eh? Don't be a fool, boy. I believe in free love—free choice." "The condition is that this choice is to your liking." "Look, we've talked about this before—" "I know, it's okay, there's no way I'm mad about it. I just feel like a prize stallion being led into a stable. Why this arrangement? You're not one of those 'young people should fall in love' Go 'good parents, I understand you." "Tell you, I didn't do anything. As for agreeing to leave--well, they told me that the human race must reproduce. Otherwise, everything else we do is meaningless, including this war. "

"Is that so, huh? You send two agents on vacation in the middle of the battle? So you can have your grandkids sooner." I quickly concluded, adding, "I bet you used slide rule." His face changed, "I don't know what you're talking about. Both of you are allowed to leave, and the rest is purely accidental." "Well! Accidents won't happen to you. It's okay, I'm willing to be a victim. Now let's talk about work. If you really want me to choose my own working method, then give me more time to study the feasibility of things During this period, I can also go to the orthopedic department to have a rubber ear."

I didn't bother with the ears at the time, because on the way to the plastic surgery, I ran into Mary just coming out.I didn't mean to show surprise and admiration around the departmental office, it was just too unexpected. "Honey! They cured you!" She turned around slowly for me to see. "Nice job. Right?" It is indeed beautiful.I don't see her hair being burned at all.Also, they've done some patching on the temporary skin on her shoulders, it's almost real, but I'm aware of the treatment.What really surprised me was her hair.I stroked it lightly, examining the hair on the left side carefully. "They must have cut it all off and recreated it."

"No, just patched it up." "Now you have a place to hide your gun again." "Like this?" She smiled charmingly.While straightening the curls with his left hand, suddenly, he saw a gun in each hand.This time I still don't know where the other gun came from. "It's my baby! You can do magic tricks in nightclubs for a living if you have to. Seriously though—don't let a Vigilante run into you when you do it, they're crazy." "No." She reassured me solemnly. We came to the staff lounge and found a quiet place to talk.Didn't ask for a drink, and didn't seem to need it.We briefly exchanged views on the situation.I didn't tell her about the upcoming mission, and she wouldn't have mentioned it to me otherwise.At headquarters, ingrained habits of secrecy are hard to break. "Mary," I asked suddenly, "are you pregnant?" "It's too early to say, honey," she replied, catching my eyes. "Do you want me to be pregnant?" "hope." "Then I will do my best."