Chapter 26: Recruitment
After daybreak, Jiang Xu and Fei left the Jiang house together.
Before their departure, Zolan looked at them and asked, “Aren’t you going to stay a few more days?”
Aside from establishing Fei’s status in the Jiang family, the other purpose of last night’s banquet was to get Jiang Xu and Fei to stay a few more days.
Zolan knew clearly that Jiang Cheng and Joe had objections to this marriage, yet he had still insisted on his decision. He also wanted to show them that little Fei was actually a good child.
“No, Cizu.” Jiang Xu politely declined. “The First Military District has urgent matters. Fei needs to head over immediately.”
He himself had also made an appointment to meet a Cichong today.
In the end, the two bugs departed swiftly.
On the way to the commercial center, Fei remained silent for a long time. He was both annoyed at his loss of composure last night and feeling a belated sense of nervous awkwardness.
Seeing that the commercial center was close at hand, he hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “Xiongzhu, forgive me, but I cannot accompany you to the commercial center today.”
Jiang Xu cast a sideways glance at him. He didn’t disclose the purpose of his trip, only saying lightly, “Go do your work.”
Fei pursed his lips. After weighing Jiang Xu against the urgent military district matters, he said in a deep voice, “If you encounter any trouble, you can contact me at any time.”
Jiang Xu raised a hand to show he understood.
They soon arrived at the commercial center. Because flying was prohibited inside, Jiang Xu alighted directly at the edge of the commercial street. He raised his hand in farewell and walked straight in, failing to notice the shifting expressions in the eyes of the Cichong looking at him from the flyer’s door.
The morning glow dyed half the sky red, and the morning breeze rustled the leaves along the road.
Since coming to the Zerg race, it had been a long time since he last felt the sensation of rushing to a 9-to-5 job.
Looking at the breakfast stalls on both sides, this familiar feeling surfaced once again.
The breakfast stalls here offered choices for office workers, but buyers were scarce.
Jiang Xu knew clearly that most bugs had already consumed the colorless, tasteless, and odorless nutrient solutions at home.
He scanned the area and chose a stall that looked appetizing—he had left in a hurry this morning and his stomach was still empty.
“One serving of…” He looked up at the sign, “Toast salad, please.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.” The stall owner hadn’t expected his first order of the day to be from a Xiongchong.
Fortunately, Xiongchong occasionally appeared in the commercial center, so he didn’t show any odd behavior. He quickly placed two slices of toast into the toaster oven, and a faint aroma soon spread.
“Boss, one fruit and vegetable platter.”
A voice rang out, and another bug appeared in front of the food cart.
The stall owner responded, maintaining a proper smile.
That bug looked around and, upon discovering that the person in front of him was actually a Xiongchong, jolted violently the moment he met Jiang Xu’s eyes. He instantly reined in his impatience and bowed respectfully, “Lord, good day.”
Jiang Xu looked at the other’s suddenly composed demeanor and silently grumbled in his heart: I really don’t eat bugs.
He gave a slight nod. At this time, the stall owner handed over the prepared toast salad and said respectfully, “Lord, your toast salad is ready.”
Looking at the heavily wrapped food, Jiang Xu remained silent for a moment before taking it. He raised his wrist to tap his communicator against the cashier device.
Ding—”2 Bug Coins received.”
Jiang Xu walked away directly with his food. Only then did the stall owner and that Cichong behind him breathe a sigh of relief.
He followed his memory toward the office building he had rented. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of the large shopping mall sign erected in the center—One time.
Yo, I’m familiar with this. Jiang Xu was surprised inwardly. They actually used English here too?
Seeing a familiar sign in an environment full of strange characters was like finding a fresh, bright green leaf in a pile of withered leaves—both eye-catching and delightful.
But curiosity aside, he didn’t forget that his main business today was to interview a Cichong. They had already discussed most of it online beforehand; today was considered an offline interview.
Gathering his thoughts, Jiang Xu walked straight toward the office building. However, as he approached, he caught sight of a tiny figure on the front steps, and his brow furrowed unconsciously.
The little Cichong also spotted him and came running over, his little hands flapping excitedly. “Eh, it’s Gege!”
“Wow, big Gege!”
His short legs moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he ran up to Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu looked down at the bug cub who wasn’t even as tall as his leg. He looked around but didn’t see any sign of his Cifu. He asked, “Why are you here? Where’s your Cifu?”
“Cifu is at work.” The bug cub pointed toward the alleyway from before. Then, as if remembering something, he carefully pulled a red fruit from his pocket and offered it up like a treasure to Jiang Xu. “Gege, big Gege, eat. Milk fruit is sweet, tasty.”
The fruit was about the size of a ginseng fruit, completely crimson red. Beneath its semi-transparent skin, the crystalline pulp could be clearly seen.
Jiang Xu had never seen this kind of fruit before. He wondered inwardly: Why has Fei never prepared this for me?
He reached out and rubbed the bug cub’s little head, a hint of gentleness unconsciously rippling in his eyes. “Saved it especially for me?”
“En! En!” The bug cub nodded repeatedly, looking up at him with a small face. “I waited for Gege, to give it to Gege to eat.”
Jiang Xu fell silent. Could this bug cub have been waiting here for me every day?
He took the milk fruit. Meeting the bug cub’s bright, expectant gaze, he hesitated for a moment before taking a bite.
The moment it entered his mouth, he abruptly frowned—there was absolutely none of the fruit flavor he had anticipated.
But he quickly relaxed his brow and rubbed the bug cub’s head again. “This is called a milk fruit?”
“En, en! Baobao eats it every day, so tasty!” The bug cub nodded forcefully.
Jiang Xu endured his discomfort and swallowed the milk fruit in his mouth. He bent down, picked up the bug cub, and handed the rest of the fruit back. “Gege has had a bite. The rest is for you.”
This milk fruit indeed lived up to its name. It only had a pure milky taste, just a hint of faint fruit fragrance more than regular pure milk, and nothing else.
However, he had disliked drinking milk since childhood, and at this moment, he actually felt like he had been “scammed” by a bug cub.
Unaware of his thoughts, the bug cub happily took back the bitten milk fruit and started taking big bites out of it. “Tasty.”
“Does Gege like it?”
Jiang Xu paused, then could only say against his conscience, “I like it.”
He carried the bug cub up the steps, approached the glass front door, and took out his sensor key to open it.
The premises had been vacant for a long time and were covered in a thin layer of dust, but the layout was decent. He planned to use the first floor as a reception area and the second floor for employee offices.
Jiang Xu glanced at his communicator. There was still half an hour until the scheduled interview time.
He placed the bug cub on the ground and gave a strict instruction: “No running around. Wait here for your Cifu, got it?”
The bug cub nodded obediently. He found a sofa to sit on himself, ignoring the dust, and happily continued eating his milk fruit.
Jiang Xu remembered seeing a storage closet under the stairs the last time he was here. He opened the cabinet door and sure enough, various tools were piled inside.
He moved the tools out one by one, wanting to clear out an area for the interview.
At the very bottom of the tools, he found a large box taking up a third of the storage room’s space. Frowning slightly, he used a bit of clever force to shift the box out.
His hands were stained with quite a bit of dust, which made him rather uncomfortable, so he went to the restroom to wash up first. The sound of running water soon echoed.
Jiang Xu came out after washing his hands and face. He walked up to the box and examined it curiously.
When he saw the writing on the box—”Smart Robo-Bug”—he was taken aback.
Is this the same type of thing as an AI robot?
Can it be used for cleaning?
If so, that would save a lot of trouble.
He rubbed his fingers together, opened the box, and a perfectly round metal ball rolled out.
“An iron ball?”
Just as Jiang Xu was feeling puzzled, the sound of tapping on glass came through.
“Hello, I’m here for the interview.”
A Cichong appeared at the door. After getting a clear look at Jiang Xu’s face, his expression showed obvious surprise: “It’s you?”
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