Chapter 119.1 – Grand Farewell
Shi Yuan spent some time bidding farewell to his friends.
He had a meal with the members of the theater troupe.
Lu Tinghan suggested arranging a nice place for them to eat, but Shi Yuan thought it over and declined.
When he was working at the Garcia Grand Theater, he often ate with everyone on the roadside. The environment was not great, with people coming and going, the smell of cooking oil in the air, and occasionally the exhaust from passing buses. However, looking back now, the colors of the long street were warm, and a simple plate of stir-fry tasted especially delicious.
So they ended up eating at the food distribution area.
A round table was placed in the corner, and everyone sat around it. There were hot and steaming stir-fried vegetables on the table.
Lu Tinghan didn’t ask Shi Yuan to keep it a secret. They all knew that Shi Yuan was going to “Dive Deep.”
In turn, they also learned about Shi Yuan’s identity.
Cheng Youwen and Qin Luoluo had already suspected it, so they weren’t particularly shocked. Wolfgang remained silent, his eyes were rounder than the copper coins.
But that didn’t prevent them from worrying about Shi Yuan.
Qin Luoluo lost her appetite and held Shi Yuan’s hand, crying with tears streaming down her face: “Wuwuwu, Shi Yuan, let’s not talk about anything else. You’ll be fine in the abyss, but wuwuwu, what if your ship encounters some problems? How can your small physique withstand it? Wuwuwu.”
“Don’t cry first. You almost wiped your snot on Shi Yuan’s hand,” Cheng Youwen said, waving his chopsticks. “He’s amazing, you know? In case something really happens, he can turn into black mist, right?”
“But what if he can’t react in time? Wuwuwu,” Qin Luoluo couldn’t stop crying. “There are turbulence and monster swarms in the abyss. It’s very dangerous, and the abysses repel each other, right? Wuwuwu.”
Shi Yuan comforted her, “It’ll be fine. I heard Mr. Qi Hong is a very skilled pilot, and Lu Tinghan knows what the monsters are thinking. I, um, I should be able to scare away some monsters too.”
“Wuwuwu…”
She didn’t really listen.
While Cheng Youwen tried to console Qin Luoluo, in reality, he couldn’t eat anymore after a few bites.
He held his chopsticks in the air and didn’t pick up any more food, telling Shi Yuan, “Shi Yuan, I want to tell you some good news. Didn’t I tell you before that I wouldn’t live for many more years due to the sequelae of the infection?”
“Um.”
Cheng Youwen said, “You brought back the fusion agent from the Empire, and they said the new version of the suppressant has a new direction for improvement. They said the new suppressant could likely alleviate the sequelae and make the body more resistant to the infection. So, I think I’ll be able to live a little longer.” He sighed, “After all, as a genius playwright, if I die, it would be a loss for the world—Ah!”
He was pinched hard on the thigh by Qin Luoluo.
“Wow, really? That’s great!” Shi Yuan was happy. “When you guys get to Elton, maybe you can perform your new script!”
“Definitely,” Cheng Youwen said. “When things get better, we’ll hire more actors, and we won’t have to play multiple roles. You too…”
He suddenly stopped, realizing that Shi Yuan wouldn’t be going to Elton with them.
Shi Yuan said, “Sounds great. I hope your performance goes well.”
Cheng Youwen opened his mouth to say something but ended up just smiling and saying, “Um.”
The mealtime arrived, and more and more people gathered at the distribution center. People crowded together, rubbing shoulders and brushing against each other, as if they had returned to a certain evening in the Gleaning City. The restaurant near the theater emitted the aroma of food, and they sat on the roadside chatting and worrying about how the tickets for the performance were selling and whether they should put up more posters. The evening sky was tinged with orange, and a bus drove along the long street towards the distance.
After that, Shi Yuan went to meet Lin Yeran.
Lin Yeran was still working at the data center and was also involved in the planning of the “Deep Dive” project. He was busy and still managed to find time to meet Shi Yuan.
He was not someone who was good at expressing emotions. In the counseling center, he often berated people, and the few times he had a good expression on his face were reserved for the excellent employee, Shi Yuan.
Shi Yuan still kept the reward for the excellent employee, the voucher that deducted 5 yuan from a house purchase of 30,000.
It’s not that he didn’t want to use it, but after working diligently for many years, he still couldn’t save up enough to reach 30,000. In the words of Lu Tinghan, he had truly experienced the hardships of being a working class.
When Lin Yeran came, he brought two cups of coffee. He gave one cup to Shi Yuan and said, “This is a treasure from the data center. I got it from Dr. Tang. There’s definitely no other place with coffee. That old man has been nagging about it in my ear for several days.” He shook the cup, “Unfortunately, we’re running out of coffee beans, so it’s quite weak.”
Shi Yuan took a sip.
He had tried Lu Tinghan’s coffee before and didn’t like its bitterness, but this coffee was too light, almost devoid of bitterness, and he could taste a hint of fragrance instead.
Lin Yeran had to work the night shift later and couldn’t go too far. He leaned against the wall with Shi Yuan and chatted for a while.
He said, “Now there are no more latecomers or early leavers. Everyone is very aware of the crisis and works overtime every day.” He nodded with satisfaction, “That’s right, if we don’t work overtime, we’ll be done for.”
Shi Yuan replied, “Oh…”
Lin Yeran continued, “But now there’s a problem. Everyone is working overtime, which is equivalent to no one working overtime. The ‘Deep Dive’ project is so complex that even the supervisor next to me, surnamed Shen, doesn’t know who to promote. In my opinion, considering his age, he should have given me all the authority a long time ago. I could have stayed at the research center forever.”
Shi Yuan responded, “Oh…” and pondered for a moment. “Mr. Lin, you’re really a workaholic.”
“Am I?” Lin Yeran didn’t think much of it. “How could that be?”
Just like an alcoholic doesn’t know they’re an alcoholic.
A workaholic also can’t possibly know they’re a workaholic.
Lin Yeran continued, “Anyway, ever since you guys went to Elton, the entire data center has been busy nonstop. I feel like I’ve aged five years, at least five years.” He took a big gulp of coffee and smiled, “But what can we do? Soldiers are on the front lines, and those of us doing brainwork have to work hard too. How about you, Shi Yuan? What have you been up to lately?”
Shi Yuan told him that recently he had been making paper flowers and shared some interesting stories from the handicraft factory. For example, someone had slipped and flattened a large pile of paper flowers, and there were a few pots of real xuejian flowers carefully nurtured by everyone, treating them like ancestral offerings, ensuring they had water and sunlight, living exceptionally well. There were also differences in the folding techniques among individuals, and two people had even almost argued over which folding method looked better.
Lin Yeran listened attentively.
When Shi Yuan was almost finished talking, he received a phone call about an urgent matter in his unit that required his attention.
Lin Yeran said to Shi Yuan, “Then I’ll go first?”
“Sure.” Shi Yuan replied. He noticed that Lin Yeran was still wearing Yan Xin’s dog tag, and the fine chain was shimmering in the light.
Halfway through his departure, Lin Yeran turned back and said to Shi Yuan, “Take care.” He was not used to saying such words, stumbling a bit, “I believe you guys can do it.”
“Okay.” Shi Yuan said, “Thank you.”
Lin Yeran nodded, and Shi Yuan watched his figure disappear at the entrance of the research center.
