Proposal Plan
After completing the mission, Xi Guican and He Ruge returned to their own bodies, facing the complete Kill List.
Everyone on the Kill List was a host of Taotie, totaling twenty people: ten Doves, seven Hawks, and three Independents.
Among the Doves, five were parliamentarians, and among the Hawks, three were parliamentarians.
“Knowing who the hosts are makes things much easier to solve,” Xi Guican remembered all the names and said, “In a few days, we’ll go to Central Star. Nearly half of those parliamentarians are hosts of the Taotie, so we’ll catch them all at once.”
“I’m going with you.”
Taotie divided himself into twenty parts; one Taotie was very weak, while the eight Taotie hosts made He Ruge worry about Xi Guican’s safety.
Xi Guican glanced deeply at He Ruge with his blue eyes and nodded, “Alright.”
For some reason, Xi Guican’s expression reminded He Ruge of a big cat staring at dried fish with an inscrutable gaze.
Just then, Shui Xirui’s video communication came in. As soon as He Ruge answered, he saw the chaotic classroom behind Shui Xirui. All the children were gathered together, craning their necks as if watching some rare species.
“Teacher He, Ruanruan and Dream Valley have turned into human forms!”
Upon hearing this, He Ruge recalled that indeed, it was time for Ruanruan and Dream Valley to transform into human forms. The transition from animal to human form for the cubs took only an instant, and now arriving at the classroom, they could see two freshly baked little buns.
He Ruge swiftly got up from the bed, not forgetting to hold Xi Guican’s hand as they prepared to run to the classroom.
Xi Guican looked at He Ruge and said, “Are you in such a hurry to see these little brats who haven’t even grown up yet?”
His tone carried a hint of jealousy.
He Ruge couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. He hadn’t expected that Xi Guican would always find reasons to be jealous of the cubs.
“Guican, this is a very important moment in their lives. I can’t miss it. Also, don’t you want to see what Ruanruan looks like in human form?”
Xi Guican looked at He Ruge expressionlessly, showing no signs of being moved. However, his huge wings spread out from behind, and he embraced He Ruge’s waist, saying, “No need to run. I’ll fly you there faster.”
He Ruge hugged Xi Guican and smiled, “Okay.”
Xi Guican’s embrace was warm, and the slightly cool wind during flight tousled Xi Guican’s hair.
As they neared, He Ruge first tidied Xi Guican’s hair with his hands before holding his hand and entering the classroom.
Class 1 on Land was incredibly lively. The classroom seemed to be filled with joyous laughters.
The duo of Ground Chickens loudly exclaimed, “Xiong Xinhao, you big fool, hurry and bring Ruanruan over for us to see!”
In the arms of the little black bear was a five or six-year-old boy, with red eyes and a small face as white and tender as a bun. His hair was snowy white, and two long rabbit ears peeked out from his hair.
He struggled to say loudly, “Put me down. I want to hold Dream Valley’s hand. She can’t see, and she’ll be scared.”
Sitting on the ground was a six or seven-year-old girl with light pink hair. When she closed her eyes and didn’t speak or move, she looked like a beautiful doll.
Upon hearing Ruanruan’s voice, Autumn Dream Valley softly said, “I’m okay.”
As He Ruge walked over, Ruanruan had already come out of Xiong Xinhao’s arms, wagging his rabbit tail as he trotted towards Autumn Dream Valley.
“Come, I’ll hold your hand.”
Although he was shorter than Autumn Dream Valley, Ruanruan acted like a big brother, carefully taking care of the little ones who needed help.
The two little radishes held hands, basking in the curious and admiring gazes of the other cubs.
“I also want to become human, and I want to grow up quickly,” Ground Chicken Number One said enviously.
“When I grow up, I can have beautiful feathers. Our peacock family is all so beautiful.”
Ground Chicken Number Two clicked his tongue, “Give it up. Right now, you’re just an ugly long-legged chicken.”
Ground Chicken Number One retorted, “You’re stupid.”
Ground Chicken Number Two shot back, “You’re ugly.”
Xiong Xinhao intervened, “Stop fighting, you two.”
Both naughty Ground Chickens chorused together, “Go away! You’re both stupid and ugly!”
He Ruge bypassed the duo who were bickering like chickens pecking at each other and approached Ruanruan and Autumn Dream Valley.
He couldn’t help but reach out and pinch Ruanruan’s cheek affectionately, then lovingly ruffled Autumn Dream Valley’s hair, “Such good kids.”
Just as he was about to touch them again, a large hand assertively grabbed He Ruge. Xi Guican held onto He Ruge and softly said, “Teacher Xiao He, I can be good too.”
He Ruge nodded absentmindedly, “Hmm, I know.”
Then he smiled warmly at Ruanruan, “Ruanruan’s bunny ears and tail are both fine.”
He took the opportunity to pat her bunny ears lightly, “Don’t worry, Ruanruan, this is normal.”
Xi Guican once again stopped He Ruge’s mischievous hand, “My tiger ears and tail can come out too.”
He Ruge simply responded with an “Hmm,” without looking back, and continued to squat down, smiling and chatting with the two little radishes.
Xi Guican: “…”
I’m jealous, jealous enough to pickle myself.
So that evening, Teacher Xiao He tasted vinegar-simmered tiger tongue for a long time, and by the end, his mouth was swollen. His body also communicated with his long and agile tiger tail. If not for fearing thorny roses, perhaps they would have had a more in-depth exchange.
Soon it was time to send the cubs to the Western Hemisphere. On this morning, Shui Xirui and He Ruge received many farewell cards. The little Hedgehog Huahua even prepared a rose bookmark specifically for He Ruge.
“I didn’t pick it, it fell on its own to the ground, and I picked it up when I saw it,” Huahua said seriously.
After sending the cubs to the Western Hemisphere, they planted flowers together in bomb craters. At the flower distribution point were blooming flowers and flower seeds. Each pair could choose a bomb crater to start working.
The little Hedgehog Huahua planted roses, while Autumn Dream Valley and Ruanruan planted sunflowers. Since the cubs had already taken their seeds, the choices for Xi Guican and He Ruge were limited.
Xi Guican didn’t know much about flowers, but he knew roses could be given to someone special. However, rose seeds and potted roses had been taken by Little Hedgehog Huahua. So Xi Guican randomly grabbed a bag and rolled up his pants and sleeves, planting something that vaguely resembled them.
“Teacher Xiao He, look.”
He Ruge looked at the carnations arranged in a heart shape and couldn’t help but laugh. Carnations could be given to mothers and teachers.
Calling Xi Guican “Teacher Xiao He” made sense, considering Xi Guican as his son.
Thinking he had successfully expressed his love, Xi Guican looked affectionately at He Ruge, feeling that he had made a significant contribution to the increase in fatherly affection.
The Blue Whale Orphanage sent the cubs to an orphanage in the Western Hemisphere. Shui Xirui couldn’t adapt to the environment of the Western Hemisphere, so she had to sadly say goodbye to the cubs.
He Ruge planned to open an orphanage in Star Seventeen. He told Ruanruan about this and asked if he would like to go to the orphanage in Star Seventeen.
Ruanruan not only wanted to bring himself but also wanted to bring Autumn Dream Valley along.
After He Ruge told the other cubs about this, most of the cubs in the class raised their hands, wanting to go to Star Seventeen. Only a few cubs were reluctant to leave their home planet and declined He Ruge’s invitation.
However, before the orphanage in Star Seventeen was built, these cubs would stay on Star Sixteen. He Ruge planned to go to Central Star with Xi Guican, attend the rank award ceremony, exterminate eight Taotie carriers, and then go to Star Seventeen to build the orphanage.
He Ruge had already thought of a name for the orphanage, calling it “Guican Yuge.”
The specific decoration plan hadn’t been decided yet. During the journey to Central Star, He Ruge drew a simple drawing of the orphanage, while Xi Guican adjusted the mecha to automatic driving mode and worked on his marriage proposal plan with He Ruge on his back.
Yes, a marriage proposal plan.
Even though the current fatherly affection transformation rate was 92%, not yet 100%, he didn’t want to give up such a good opportunity for a proposal.
If He Ruge had witnessed the ceremony of the investiture of the Marshals of the past, he would have found that the most famous and widely influential ceremony was the proposal of a Marshal to his beloved at the investiture ceremony.
The Marshal’s beloved had a genetic disease and only had one year left to live, so she had been refusing the Marshal’s proposal before the investiture ceremony. She didn’t want the Marshal to bear the responsibility of being a widower for a lifetime just for one year of marriage.
At the beginning of the investiture ceremony that day, the Marshal knelt down and said to his beloved, “I defended the Federation that year, and the Federation honored me with the title of Marshal. And now I want to ask you for another honor, the honor of being able to protect you for a lifetime, openly and proudly.”
The Marshal’s beloved tearfully agreed.
If he proposed to He Ruge, would He Ruge cry?
Xi Guican seriously pondered this question as he turned to look at He Ruge, who was still drawing the design of the orphanage. He Ruge was full of infinite enthusiasm for anything related to creation.
If they were designing a marital home, would He Ruge be as motivated as he was now? Would they embrace each other in their self-designed marital home and grow old together?
Their house could be closer to “Guican Yuge,” but in reality, the distance didn’t matter because every day he would take He Ruge to the orphanage.
He could read novels written by He Ruge, listen to songs sung by He Ruge, watch live broadcasts by He Ruge, hold hands with this person, transform into an animal form and carry this person on his belly, and even fly into the sky at night to see the stars together.
Such a future… it’s beautiful.
Xi Guican smiled silently, his deep blue eyes full of profound tenderness. Only when he thought of He Ruge did the coldness in his eyes melt away, replaced by endless gentle waves.
He Ruge still didn’t know what kind of surprise awaited him.
Xi Guican’s mecha used a special channel for junior officers, so they didn’t have to squeeze with civilian spacecraft. The Federation government had prepared accommodations for Xi Guican and He Ruge—
The top floor of the Eternal Tower.
Being able to reach the top floor of the Eternal Tower was the highest honor. Only those who had made significant contributions to the Empire were allowed to reside on the top floor.
The Eternal Tower was a high tower suspended in mid-air, the tallest building on Central Star. Its materials were as translucent as crystal yet as hard as military-grade metal. The spire was tall and slender, exuding a sense of airy elegance.
He Ruge looked at this perfect blend of technology and artistic beauty, unable to help but exclaim in admiration.
“Do you like living here?” Xi Guican asked.
If He Ruge liked this architectural style, their marital home could be designed similarly.
“It’s beautiful here, but it doesn’t seem very suitable for living. I always feel a sense of distance from the heights.”
He Ruge assessed the window frames of the Eternal Tower, their intricate and complex construction adding a mysterious and brilliant atmosphere. This tall tower was like a piece of art, more suitable for display and admiration than for living in.
The investiture ceremony would take place in two days. Xi Guican and He Ruge could rest well or explore Central Star during these two days.
The top floor of the Eternal Tower was where Xi Guican and He Ruge would reside, while the other floors housed twenty senators.
As Xi Guican and He Ruge ascended, they encountered a prominent Dove faction figure, and along with it, game notification sounds chimed. Unable to directly open the game, they missed the game text.
The person they met was a middle-aged man with a refined temperament, more like a scholar than a key figure in the Federation Military Intelligence Bureau or the Dove faction. He wore simple clothing and smiled warmly at Xi Guican and maintained his composure in front of He Ruge.
“He’s not a senator,” Xi Guican said, watching the departing figure of Shang Zhaoqi.
“What’s he doing here?”
Since this was not the place to converse, Xi Guican and He Ruge decided to discuss it once they were upstairs. The news of Xi Guican and He Ruge arriving at the Eternal Tower had already spread to the ears of the senators.
Throughout the ascent, almost all the senators came out to greet Xi Guican. Along the way, the game notification sound rang twice.
It rang once upon seeing Shang Zhenting and once upon seeing a Dove faction senator from the Institute of Research, Mao Zhengqi.
When they reached the top floor, Xi Guican and He Ruge logged into the game with their Optic Neural Interface.
【Ding—Congratulations! You have successfully triggered the game segment “Shang Zhaoqi (City of Sin).”】
How many people can a city accommodate?
How much darkness can one person’s heart hold?
How much evil can one darkness breed?
We live in a city of sin, where evildoers revel in the shadows of the city. We may never know that the stranger sitting in the car is smuggling drugs, or that someone has been murdered behind closed doors, or that a drunken stranger has contracted an incurable venereal disease, or that crying infants have been abducted by human traffickers.
—
But the gray pigeons know, they walk along the boundary between white and black, and their small eyes see countless sins. They ask, who killed the nightingale?
Conscience, law, greed, prejudice…
【Shang Zhenting (Judgment Day)】
For criminals whom the law cannot punish, I am willing to do so with my own hands.
【Mao Zhengqi (Heart of a Doctor)】
Using flesh as soil, blood as irrigation, let the flowers of sin bear the fruits of goodness.
【Skip Plot】
【Yes】 or 【No】
He Ruge: No.
The plot was presented in the form of an animated series. There was a gray pigeon standing in the shadows, witnessing a villain committing evil deeds.
The gray pigeon was furious and flew to the elephant to inform it. Upon hearing this, the elephant went to punish the villain.
The elephant wanted to kill the villain, but standing in the sunlight, he was not a fierce lion or tiger. He is a just and gentle elephant. Even if he was angry, he cannot kill the villain.
So the elephant knocked out the villain. A mouse climbed onto the unconscious villain and gnawed at his features, limbs, and heart.
Together they dealt with the villain, and they were extremely happy.
The shadows on the ground were also very happy and turned into a huge shadow monster, swallowing the pigeon, elephant, and mouse.
Mini Theater:
Gray Pigeon: Who killed the nightingale?
He Ruge: It was coo coo coo.
