Deep in the Living
Chapter 95 - 89 A Meal for Two

Chapter 95: Chapter 89 A Meal for Two

[University]

During the admissions exam period, scoring among the top two hundred in cultural courses citywide guarantees direct admission to a local university.

If one’s scores reach the top hundred regionally, they also earn a chance to travel to the capital [Earth City] before admission.

Talents in cultural courses from various districts will participate in a comprehensive interview there, facing extremely tricky questions that are hard to find in books.

At the same time, logical thinking and basic physical education will also be comprehensively assessed.

In the end, a hundred people will be selected to have the opportunity to attend the nation’s finest universities.

Directly managed by the World Bureau (E.I.A), located in the capital, ’Diateluo University’ is named after the Soviet explorer Igor Diyatlo who made a huge contribution to the field of exploration,

and people usually prefer to call it [Luo University].

The nature of teaching at Luo University is drastically different from that of other local universities; it is not training librarians, school teachers, or clerks.

Instead, it is directly connected with the World Bureau, nurturing Special Commissioners who specialize in researching ’Corners’.

The campus resources are incredibly rich, with a huge library here that houses the nation’s most comprehensive literature on Pseudo-People, anomalies, and deep-layer monsters.

Luo University is not exclusive; both on-campus and off-campus personnel can enter,

but each entry and borrowing from the library comes at a certain cost, with discounts and privileges for campus members.

Deep in the library,

a young man with high bun hair wearing black round glasses is searching for the content he desires in front of rows of ancient bookshelves that seem even older than the national history.

Suddenly, he seems to sense something, and his free left hand performs a quick calculation.

The alertness in his eyes quickly returns to normal.

"Come down, if the administrator finds you, you won’t be able to come in for a year."

Something quickly jumps down from the top of the bookshelf, its body almost blending with the environment, gradually fading from the edge of the bookshelf.

Under the illumination of the light, a black-haired young girl appears, seemingly not even eighteen years old yet.

"You discovered this too! I’m so annoyed!"

The young man doesn’t look at the girl, instead, he continues to flip through the book in his hands.

"What’s up?"

"Master wants you to make a trip to the North Sea... pfft~ a trip to Mingwang City."

"Why there? Hands are already short in the capital, and I’m being asked to go there?"

The girl quickly trots over and whispers in his ear on tiptoes:

"It’s not for you to deal with an anomaly, but the Connector who survived the ’Four Middle School Incident’ recently is also in Mingwang City and seems about to be released from the Psychiatric Hospital.

Master wants you to give this person a try.

If they’re really good, they will surely come to the capital in the future, and our department is short-staffed, aren’t we? If we can establish a relationship beforehand, we can directly bring them over later.

Besides, they are also of Huaxia nationality, so we could communicate in Mandarin privately if they joined our department."

"Four Middle School Incident... Well, I’ll make a trip."

...

Mingwang City, Chinese Street, Liao Sister Hot Pot Chicken

This is a local restaurant with a good reputation, featuring locked private rooms.

The waitress carries a super-large pot meant for 4-6 people to the innermost private room, her gaze unwittingly falling on the blond female diner.

Having worked here for many years and occasionally browsing the shops outside, she has never seen such a muscular young woman whose muscles were comparable to a strongman on TV shows.

The young man sitting across from her, though he also has a good physique, is much smaller in size.

The waitress finds it hard to imagine what kind of scene it would be if the two were in a romantic relationship.

She closes the door, not wishing to disturb anymore.

"Chinese food is still the best."

Anna eats meat with big bites and blows on the beer bottle, her muscular legs splayed left and right, completely lacking the demeanor of an eighteen-year-old girl.

Sitting across from her, Luo Di eats his meal normally, not touching a drop of alcohol.

Since meeting at the Psychiatric Hospital, the two have hardly spoken.

Mainly due to Luo Di, any conversation topic brought up by Anna is met with responses no longer than three words, which makes it impossible for a normal conversation to continue.

Anna also noticed that Luo Di’s attention, from leaving the hospital to arriving at the restaurant, was all focused on his own left arm. Since he doesn’t talk much, she decides not to speak either.

Anna didn’t get angry, though; she just patiently waited.

By the time the chicken pot was nearly empty, and only the last bottle of beer remained, Luo Di suddenly took the initiative to speak.

"What have you been doing after graduation?"

Instead of directly responding, Anna reached into her inner pocket and pulled out something resembling a passport, with the silver-stamped letter "I" clearly standing out on the document.

She then assumed a bragging posture:

"Hehe! With a rank of twenty-ninth in the whole school and top fifty in the city! I smoothly became an Intern Investigator with the Jupiter City Investigation Bureau, and I processed an anomaly event with my seniors a month ago.

Do you remember the practical accident reward the research institute owed me?

I took that opportunity to get ’Cornered Tool,’ and now I’m officially a qualified Intern Investigator.

Actually, my original plan after graduation was to work at my dad’s law firm, because it’s really hard to get into the City Investigation Bureau.

But now, after that practice, my performance has improved by leaps and bounds, and I’m now the second investigator in the family... an Intern Investigator."

Anna also cast a glance at the backpack next to her seat, hinting that her Cornered weapon was in there.

Luo Di wasn’t clear about the specific differences between an intern and a formal Investigator but remembered that former investigators had left a deep impression on him, an overwhelming power that directly suppressed and contained the Spider Woman in the community.

"Shouldn’t Intern Investigators be very busy? How come you’re here?"

"Besides the Capital City, I can apply to help with local anomaly events in other cities. Of course, most of the time, I have to stay where I belong.

Recently, there haven’t been any suitable events in Jupiter City, so I thought of checking around the surrounding cities, and then suddenly thought of you, Luo Di, in Mingwang City.

After all, we’re friends~ So I wanted to come and see you, who would have known I’d be so lucky to meet you just as you got discharged."

"Oh." The word "friend" made Luo Di pause for a moment.

"By the way, your left hand?"

"Bionic Arm."

"Oh, no wonder it looks quite real." Anna quickly shifted the topic when she realized it was inappropriate, "Are you planning to go back to Jupiter City afterward? If you’re sure you’re going back soon, we can ride back together."

"I’ll live here for a while longer, not in a rush."

The particularity of the Fifth Hospital forced Luo Di to stay here; he still needed to keep in touch with the Punishment Room, and the "money" he owed Mr. Hawke needed to be repaid promptly.

Thinking about repaying the money, Luo Di said:

"Do you have any Pseudo-Person incidents to handle in Mingwang City? I can go with you."

"Ah? To handle related events, you must be an Intern Investigator... and even if I wanted to take on an event, it would still need the local investigator to lead. I can’t take on cases by myself."

"I happen to have some contact with the local City Investigation Bureau here, so let’s ask them when the time comes."

"Ah? You already have contacts with the local Investigation Bureau? I thought you had been in the hospital all this time, no wonder you could be discharged so early.

Okay, we’ll go ask together later."

They continued to eat,

With the beer and a large pot of chicken consumed, Anna slumped entirely onto her seat, "I’m stuffed, I’m stuffed. Speaking of which, Luo Di, you probably don’t have a place to stay since you just got out of the hospital, right? Let me treat you; how about we stay at a hotel?

Cough cough~ The kind where we each get our own room."

"The local Investigation Bureau has arranged an apartment for me; I can stay there indefinitely."

"Well, later I’ll see if there are any hotels or inns near your apartment. I’ll try to stay as close to you as possible, so it’s convenient to go to the Investigation Bureau together tomorrow morning.

But it’s still early right now, is it okay to go to your apartment for a bit? I could also show you my Cornered Tool."

Perhaps because of the alcohol, Anna’s face was flush red as she thumped forcefully on her backpack, and because of such brute force, the scent of something inside drifted out.

A smell similar to raw meat.

Anna then looked up at the ceiling; she seemed eager to share her growth experiences with a friend. It seemed like she hadn’t interacted with peers since the end of the Four Middle School Incident.

The alcohol spread through the brain,

As her gaze slowly moved down from the ceiling,

She thought she saw two people sitting beside Luo Di for a split second—one of them her best friend whom she’d grown up with since childhood.

After shaking her head vigorously, a lot of the alcohol’s effects dissipated.

Looking again, there was only Luo Di and just a bulky backpack in the seat beside him.

"If Wenwen were still here, she would surely be very... Pah! What the hell am I talking about, sorry, I’m like this when I drink too much. I’ll try to drink less next time we eat."

Anna realized she’d misspoken. She figured suddenly bringing up Wu Wen might cause a strong emotional reaction in Luo Di, maybe even jeopardizing their potential cooperation.

But Luo Di didn’t show much of a reaction; he even continued on that topic:

"She will see it."