Advent

"Oh, by the way, did I forget to introduce myself, my name is Calvin Clapison, you can also call me Carl. People here like to call me that... Carl, Carl's... huh Haha, I know that according to military discipline, those people from outside the territory are a bit impolite, but, believe me, this is the only way to deal with them..."

The man who called himself Calvin seemed particularly chattery when he spoke, with a mediocre and boring temperament.It's as if he never showed any strangeness.

But... the person he was facing was Raymond, and Raymond could never miss any tiny clue.After all, He has more than just a pair of eyes.

Of course, on the surface, there was nothing unusual about the first meeting of the three.

Raymond was as clumsy and dull as any of the inspector's assistants, never expressing his own opinions and remarks on anything.And Allen also played the role of an indifferent and arrogant inspector perfectly. He only occasionally responds to Calvin. In most cases, he keeps silent, and the mask on his face hides all his emotions. It was so strict that it vaguely made Allen reveal an unpredictable temperament.

And Calvin seemed even more nervous.

"By the way, sir, please accept my apology. I was not able to greet you at the elevator entrance. However, I can really explain... After the group of damned octopuses attacked the base, only a few The elevator is still working. I thought you would probably get off the A4 elevator. After all, everyone likes to use that elevator. It is a new elevator, not as bumpy as the other elevators.. It is my fault , I didn’t communicate with you in time, I just waited there for two days and didn’t get you, but I didn’t expect you to come from the opposite direction..."

All of Calvin's reactions were so natural, as if he had been an ordinary unlucky sheriff from beginning to end. (All inspectors sent to Zhongzhou District were more or less excluded or professionally exiled.)

Allen raised his eyebrows behind the mask, of course he could hear the self-justification revealed by the man's respectful words.

First, everything is Alan and Raymond's fault, they should have been here two days ago.

Second, the reason why Calvin failed to greet them at the first time was purely because the Inspector, Neil Corson, did not come as planned and did not contact him, so it was not his responsibility.

Calvin is the most typical slippery bureaucrat, but with just a few words, he shirks all mistakes and responsibilities to others.

But looking at Calvin like this, Allen felt a faint feeling of kindness. In a trance, he seemed to have returned to the earth, back to his dilapidated apartment building, and the annoying apartment manager in the apartment building Members are also like this.

Allen even wanted to laugh... He didn't know that one day he would look at such a guy and feel nostalgic.

"Where is the regional office?"

Allen recalled the little bureaucrats who went to trouble the apartment manager in those years, and asked Calvin in the same arrogant tone.

Sure enough, Calvin was visibly relieved when he heard Allen speak.

"Damn it, look at all the nonsense I've said... Sorry, let's go to the office first, and then I will give you a good introduction to the situation here... If you have any questions, you can ask me, I will definitely try my best I will serve you as best I can."

While talking, Calvin has already walked to the front on his own.And Alan followed behind him, the more he walked, the more he couldn't help frowning.

The environment in the central axis area is even worse than Allen imagined... Probably because of the mental state of the people in the circular area who arrived in the central axis area for the first time, the environment near the elevator is already the best part here .The closer to the central area of ​​the central axis area, the worse the surrounding environment deteriorates.

The temperature has become extremely low, so low that it is even unbelievable.If ordinary humans were here, they probably wouldn't be able to live long.

Allen glanced at his bracelet and found that the body temperature maintenance system built into the inspector's uniform had already started working—according to Allen's experience, perhaps the real temperature around him had dropped below zero.

He looked at Raymond beside him with some concern, wondering if the seemingly rough assistant uniform also had its own body temperature maintenance system...

It turned out that his worried glance misunderstood something for Raymond.

Raymond smiled at him from behind the goggles.Then, Allen felt as if someone had hooked his finger.He turned his head, just in time to see Raymond happily raised his hand to kiss his lips, and then put that hand behind his back.

Just like a primary school student, just hooking fingers can make people happy for a long time.

Alan's cheeks were slightly flushed, and he gave Raymond a reproachful look, then quickly turned his head and never looked at him again.

Compared with the cheerful Raymond, Calvin, who was walking in front of the two, looked a little bad. He was so cold that he could feel that he was shivering even if he only looked at his back.

As a sheriff, he looked a little wistful.

"you……"

Allen spoke hesitantly. He wanted to ask if the other party was okay, but soon, he suddenly remembered his false identity.

If he was really an inspector sent by the circular area, he would not treat the staff in the central axis area so pleasantly.

"Why is it so cold here?"

Allen had no choice but to temporarily change the subject.

"Oh, sorry—sir, the temperature system here has not been repaired so far. We have tried our best to urge the group of workers, but we have done our best to ensure the water and air here. We really have no extra strength Repair temperature. And the most important thing is that basically all the excess energy generated in the central axis area has been sent to the ring area... Ahem, there is no way, after all, the repair requirements there are higher..."

Calvin looked very distressed, and he frowned and explained to Allen.

Regardless of whether he was really living in such a miserable state, or deliberately made his situation so bleak in order to avoid responsibility, from Allen's point of view, his performance was very good.

At least Allen, as a false inspector, couldn't even keep asking questions.

Compared with the circular area, while the environment in the central axis area is harsh, the management may be a little more lax. Not far away, Allen heard a small noise in the corridor.

The next thing that appeared in front of his eyes was a child who broke into the corridor without thinking and playing.It's just that compared with the people on Earth, the appearance of this group of children looks obviously different.

One child's skin was blue as if lacking oxygen, and there were horns or scales on several children's heads...

A child of the Outlanders.

Oh, yes, these people have been wandering on the edge of the galaxy for a long time, and some of them are even slaves. Their bodies are mixed with very complicated alien blood, and some of them can't even maintain the basic human shape.And this group of children who suddenly broke into the corridor seemed to be considered as outsiders with pure blood.

But in Allen's view, the situation of these children is really not good.

Their clothes are tattered, and they are thin and skinny. They look just like the group of refugees who are constantly avoiding the pursuit of robots around the central area of ​​the earth. The bright smiles on the faces of the children.

"Hey—Uncle Calvin—"

They saw the flattering and mediocre sheriff who liked to talk nonsense from a distance, and then he opened his arms carelessly and waved them in mid-air, saying hello to Calvin.

However, they soon noticed that there were two men behind Calvin whose temperament and identity were completely different from ordinary people.

The group of children stopped immediately.

They looked at Alan and Raymond with great vigilance, and the joy before immediately turned to a touch of fear.

The only difference was a boy behind the group of kids.

That was a very special boy.

Because of the extremely low temperature, all the children of the Outlanders were wrapped in ragged and layered clothes, but this little boy was only covered with a tattered T-shirt like a spider web. and arms are exposed.

Even though he was still a child, he could see the exceptionally strong muscles on his body. His hands and toes had sharp, animal-like sharp nails, and slender canine teeth, which were exposed outside like a vampire in a legend.

And his eye sockets were pure pitch black, without a trace of white.

He is by no means the kind of gregarious kid, because at the same time when all the little friends were silent and backed away timidly, that special boy suddenly stepped forward, and then walked straight in the direction of Allen rushed over.

His movements were incredibly fast, like some kind of ghost floating in mid-air, or a ghost.

Raymond stretched out his arm almost at the same moment as he moved, trying to stop him, but the kid... directly passed Raymond's arm.

As for Allen... Allen didn't even know when the little boy moved.

When he reacted, there was a strange warm feeling on his thigh, and the child hugged him straight, and then pressed his face tightly on his lap.

"Choo Choo Choo……"

A strange moan came from the little boy's throat.

He raised his head and looked directly at Allen.

Unlike his companions, the boy didn't show the slightest fear. On the contrary, he even grinned at Allen, revealing the thin, dense and extremely sharp white sharp teeth in his mouth, which looked like shark teeth. tooth.

The little boy's sudden smile could be described as ferocious, but... there was no malice in that smile.

Allen could only stare at the little boy dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

The next second, a slender tongue suddenly protruded from the boy's mouth. Alan watched helplessly as the boy rolled his tongue. A polished copper part was spit out by the little boy and placed on the own palm.

Then the boy raised his arms and lifted up the treasure he had been keeping under his tongue.

He pushed Alan and motioned Alan to accept his gift.

"what is this……"

Allen looked at the drool-dripping parts in shock, and spoke hesitantly.

And the boy seemed to be aware of his hesitation, and a faint anxiety flashed in his dark eyes.

He didn't know how to speak human words, and when he spoke, there was a series of bird-like chirping sounds in his throat as usual.

There was a hint of flattery and urging in that voice... Allen didn't know why, the moment he heard that voice, he always felt as if he could understand what the little boy said.

【"Please accept the gift I gave you."】

Completely different from the boy's terrifying appearance, a gentle and sweet aura surged out from the boy's thin body.

Alan stretched out his fingers a little hard, intending to take the drool-laden part from the boy's palm.

But before he had time to touch the parts, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from the side, and then directly grabbed the little boy by the back of the neck, tearing him off Allen's body.

The person who did it was naturally Raymond.

It has to be said that Raymond's actions were a bit too rough, and fortunately, the person who is pestering Allen now is a child of the people from the outside world, and the people from the outside world have always been much stronger than humans.Even with Raymond's rude actions, the kid showed no signs of injury... The only problem might be that he seemed to be frightened in some way.

After noticing Raymond, the little boy who had seemed a little silly and unguarded before opened his mouth to gasp, and then began to cry...

"Chirp... chirp... chirp..."

Even the crying sound of this child is a bit like a bird. Although it looks a little scary on the outside, his crying sounds very moving.

But... Raymond, who has always liked to cry, was completely unmoved by the little boy's cries.

He stared at the small thing in his hand without blinking, without the slightest expression on his face...

Of course, he didn't do anything to hurt the other party-but Allen suddenly shivered.

"Put down that child...Raymond, don't worry, that child has no malicious intentions, he just wants to give me his treasure."

Knowing that opening his mouth like this might break his role as an inspector, and it might make the sheriff around him discover the problem, but Allen still couldn't help saying this to Raymond.

Why?Maybe it's an illusion——

Allen said to himself in his heart.

Yes, it must... must be an illusion...

Otherwise, how could he feel an almost beast-like cold killing intent on Raymond?The killing intent was so vivid that Alan got goosebumps.

Alan stared at Raymond involuntarily, and his heartbeat became very fast.

No, it's impossible, Raymond probably just... doesn't know how to get along with children.

The voice called reason in his head continued to comfort Allen, but Allen still felt a little uneasy.

Fortunately... the worst thing in Allen's vision did not happen.

After hearing Allen's order, Raymond immediately opened his hand.

The child with the beast's sharp claws and sharp teeth fell to the ground with a "bang".

After landing, the child grunted suddenly on the ground with amazing dexterity, and then quickly left Raymond.But he didn't run far, and he stopped suddenly again. He turned his head and stared at Alan dazedly, grunting in his throat, as if he still wanted to stay with Alan.

"I'm working! You bastards... you should stay in the living area, not the work area. I won't be polite if I catch you being mischievous next time!"

Everything happened so quickly and so weirdly...

Just looking at the scene in front of him, Calvin immediately yelled at the group of innocent alien children in a stern tone.

Immediately afterwards, without waiting for any reaction from Raymond and Allen, he suddenly stepped forward, and then gave the weird alien child a rather rough shove.

"Let's go—Belian, you brat, I'll spare you this time for your brother's sake—who gave you the guts to offend the Inspector?! You don't want to live?!"

While yelling at the young child, Calvin pushed the child towards the other end of the corridor.

The child named Belian obviously had never been treated like this before. He looked at Calvin blankly, and then turned his head to look at Alan dazedly.

"Chirp..."

He uttered a series of bird-like calls at Alan again.It's just that at this time, the children of the other people from outside the territory seemed to have just woken up from their sleep. They didn't wait for the children to make any other reactions, they rushed over in horror, and then grabbed their little friends.

"Sorry, Uncle Calvin, we shouldn't delay your work."

An older girl in the lead looked terrified, and said to the young sheriff in a slightly trembling voice.

Of course, Allen could see that it wasn't Calvin that these children were really afraid of, but himself.

"Go away—"

And Calvin looked at these disobedient little guys and yelled again.

He seemed to have a terrible headache, and he waited until the children fled away as quickly as when they came, before he turned his head to look at Allen with a stiff smile.

"I'm sorry, under normal circumstances... such accidents don't happen here. It's just that the parents of these children have been working hard during this period of time. You know how hateful those octopus people are. Once they go crazy, Our workers would have to work overtime... Looking back, even the nursery teachers were sent to fill up fuel and rewire. These kids were left to themselves and looked like they were idle, but that wasn't the norm... again After a few years, they will become very useful guys. The children of the people outside the territory actually grow up very fast. I can assure you... I personally think that there is no need to write about those things just now. report, sir, what do you think?"

Allen nodded a little upset.

He wasn't the real inspector, but just a man in an imposter, and he already roughly understood what the sheriff was trying to express.

The only thing he can't ignore is that the life in the central axis area is probably even worse than what Rafael emphasized before.

This kind of badness is not the badness of the environment, but another level of "badness".

Otherwise, there is no need for Calvin to feel so panicked by the appearance of these children.

It's almost like worrying that these children will be wiped out because of some inspector's report.

Erase children?It also……

This……

But when he thought about why he appeared here, and how Raymond changed from a human hero to a sad "object to be obliterated", Allen suddenly became less certain about his guess.

Allen's heart suddenly became extremely heavy, so heavy that it was difficult for him to even breathe.

What Allen didn't know was.In fact, the sheriff beside him was also in a very bad mood at this time.

Calvin was even a little scared. Thankfully, there was no major problem just now. Whether Belian hurt the inspector, or the inspector decided to execute the child because of the child's offense... it would be a complete disaster.

You must know that the child who suddenly threw Alan down just now is not an ordinary child, he is the brother of "Snake from Outside Territory" Wu Jie Yada.

When Calvin thought of the kid's brother, he felt a splitting headache...

Well, there is no need to go to execution at all, just what that "guy" did to that child today can be regarded as stabbing a hornet's nest.

If the guy knew that his brother had been treated like this at the hands of the new inspector's assistant—well, Calvin could have foreseen that he was about to face a lot of terrible troubles and paperwork reports.

The only hope now is that Belian will not cry and complain to Wujie Yada after he returns, and Wujie Yada had better be more peaceful, and don't think about taking revenge on the people in the ring area...

While praying like this, Calvin also felt that his expectations were as slim as a dream.

Calvin kept cursing God in his heart, and at the same time, his heart was full of doubts: Why did that child Belian show such strong favor for the sudden appearance of humans?

This is too strange...

During the period of living here, the relationship between Calvin as a sheriff and the people outside the territory can be described as harmonious, but even for him, there are still people who have not been able to deal with smoothly so far.

But it happened to be this group of people. They were simply natural weapons. Without them, many tasks in the central axis area would be completely impossible to complete.

However, this group of people is also the most hostile group to humans.Well, in the memory of the sheriff, this group of people seems to have the same hostility towards everyone, whether they are earthlings, aliens, or aliens.

Even more so with that child.Young children of their tribe will be more sensitive than adults...

Only the most innocent children would be able to act with them, but that's all.

Before being tempered by their brothers into the most vicious snakes and sharpest weapons, they will not communicate with other races, nor will they get close to anyone.

They are like some kind of cold, young poisonous snakes, who will only watch other races in this world indifferently from the sidelines.

Even Calvin, who has been teaching with them for many years, can't help but feel his heart shudder every time he thinks of them.

However, this is no wonder... You must know that this group of people lived by hunting and killing Naga in ancient legends.

Therefore, it is definitely not that I am too timid!Calvin said to himself in his heart.