Chapter 53 - Deeply In Love With You [Quick Transmigration]

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Chapter 53: Belonging (3)

 

 

The topic quickly gained traction online, and the paper found its way to the conference tables of the three great families.

 

"Who's the author?" asked the elder seated in the center.

 

"It's anonymous, but we traced the IP—Moon-Jade Sea, Research Station 301." An assistant opened a holoscreen. "There's an 80% chance it was written by Dr. Zong."

 

"The one who stole credit from You Chu at Central?" asked another elderly man, adjusting his glasses.

 

"Yes," the assistant replied. "Dr. Zong's research used to lean conservative. There's undeniable video evidence of the credit theft. He had no way to deny it, but he did have legitimate results. That's why he was reassigned to the Moon-Jade Sea."

 

"Publishing a controversial paper now... he must be trying to return. Feng Luan, what's your take?" the elderly man in the center turned to the poised young man at his side.

 

The young man addressed—handsome and sharply dressed—rose to speak. "The evidence from that incident was too conclusive. It looked like it had been pre-arranged. No way to overturn it—only through direct contact could one spot a flaw."

 

Whoever's flaw that may be.

 

"Then transfer Zong Que back to Planet A," the elder said. "Have him focus fully on cracking the biological pod technology."

 

The order was issued.

 

Luo Xin's howl echoed through the research station, loud enough to shake the ground: "DOCTOR!!!"

 

"Holy—!" Liu Chao flinched, the test tube in his hand tumbling onto the lab bench. "Scared the hell out of me!"

 

"Doctor! Doctor! Doctor! We're going to Planet A!" Luo Xin's footsteps thundered down the hallway as he burst into the lab. "The official transfer order's here!!!"

 

"Really?!" Liu Chao forgot to scold him, rushed over in excitement, and practically danced with the paper in his hands. "We're really leaving this place! Oh my god, this is amazing!"

 

Zong Que set down the petri dish in his hand and looked at the two young men practically bouncing off the walls with joy. "Go celebrate outside. Don't bump into anything."

 

"Okay, okay…" The two of them happily moved elsewhere. After exchanging a glance, something felt off to Luo Xin, who peeked his head back in and asked, "Doctor, aren't you... happy?"

 

"I am," Zong Que said, leaning over to check the new batch of petri dishes.

 

The importance of reproductive technology to the Alliance was clear. Now that he'd cracked the critical technical challenge, the only thing he lacked was the equipment and funding to implement it. Returning to the capital was already a foregone conclusion—no suspense, no surprises.

 

Luo Xin studied his always-composed face but couldn't find even a shadow of joy.

 

"Come on, this isn't your first day working with him—you know the doc's just got a poker face," Liu Chao said, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

 

"Poker face, my ass. That's called ' deep emotions concealed beneath a composed exterior.' The classic big-shot vibe," Luo Xin grabbed Liu Chao's shoulder and kept bouncing. "Anyway, I'm super happy! Woooo!!"

 

"Same! I can't hold it in anymore!" Liu Chao laughed.

 

[Young people...] sighed 1314 to itself, as if it weren't the very system that had spent all of last night staring at the merman statue.

 

With the transfer confirmed, Zong Que began to pack. He didn't have much—just two boxes, even including his neatly organized research materials.

 

"Doctor, you sure you don't want to go by sea?" Luo Xin asked as he loaded the cargo into the vehicle. "We'd stay near the shore. It should be fine."

 

"I get seasick," Zong Que said, placing his suitcase in the trunk.

 

"The doctor's been through a shipwreck, remember?" Liu Chao said, giving Luo Xin a light slap to the head.

 

Luo Xin paused, then slapped his own mouth. "Right. My bad. I always bring up the worst things at the worst times…"

 

[Host, are you really not going by sea?] 1314 asked hopefully.

 

They might get to see Yue again, even if just once.

 

[If he suddenly changes his mind on a whim, we'll have to use your golden finger.] Zong Que replied.

 

1314 considered that… not entirely impossible. That merman was dangerous—aggressive, deceitful, and cocky even on the host's territory. Who knows what chaos he'd cause if they were out on the ocean?

 

[Let's stick to land!] 1314 declared firmly.

 

"Doctor, we're all loaded up. If we leave now, we'll reach the spaceport by tonight," Luo Xin reported, bounding over.

 

Zong Que turned and looked out over the windswept sea. The waves crashed against the same sea rock as always, but the merman was gone. He'd promised to return, but hadn't said when.

 

A researcher with mastery over the birth-incubator technology wouldn't be allowed to revisit this coastline until the tech was complete—until it was proven in practice.

 

That might take years. Or decades. Even people who once truly loved each other could wear down with time. A return date without certainty… meant there might be no return at all.

 

Parting is better than clinging to hope.

 

Zong Que climbed into the car. Luo Xin, brimming with energy, helped shut the door and gleefully took the front seat. "Let's go!"

 

The vehicle pulled away, hugging the shoreline at first. But soon, it turned inland. The sea fell further and further behind.

 

Zong Que glanced at the navigation screen. The car's stability was flawless—as smooth as gliding on still water. Yet Luo Xin, who had been bouncing with excitement, now looked back toward the ocean and sighed. "Suddenly… I kind of don't want to leave."

 

"Yeah," Liu Chao sighed too. "I thought I'd be glad to go, but now I'm feeling a little reluctant."

 

"Doctor, do you feel reluctant to leave?" Luo Xin asked, peering at the backseat.

 

"Mm," Zong Que replied.

 

"Goodbye, beautiful Moon-Jade Sea!" Luo Xin shouted.

 

His voice was left behind, as the road carried them farther and farther away from the sea.

 

…

 

They drove for several hours, then transferred at the bustling spaceport. With security escorts arranging everything, the three of them boarded the ship bound for Planet A.

 

Even at spaceship speed, it would take at least three days to reach their destination. Luo Xin and Liu Chao, once the thrill of departure wore off, leaned together to play games.

 

Zong Que sat by the window, watching as the spaceship lifted from the surface. In the worlds he had lived through, air travel was a mundane fact of life—but venturing into space, that was a first.

 

The boosters roared, propelling the ship from the ground, through the atmosphere, and into the depths of space. Course adjustments and navigational checks followed.

 

All around them, the darkness was absolute. Only that glowing blue planet floated luminously in the void, its vast oceans spread like silk, their tempests hidden from view.

 

Zong Que's gaze lingered there until the window closed automatically with a gentle alert tone.

 

The ship would soon engage spatial folding—a speed beyond the threshold the human eye could handle. When the windows reopened, the stars had already begun to blur and shift, streaking past in visible motion.

 

"Doctor, what're you looking at? We're missing a player. Want to join us?" Luo Xin called out.

 

"What are you playing?" Zong Que asked.

 

"Cards," Luo Xin grinned. "Cards are the best travel companion."

 

"Rules," Zong Que said, adjusting his seat and drawing closer to the table.

 

"You've never played?" Luo Xin gave a mischievous chuckle. "Don't worry, I'll teach you. Beginners always get lucky, anyway."

 

"Mm," Zong Que answered.

 

It wasn't that he had never played—he just didn't know this world's version of the rules.*

 

[T/N: While the exact name of the game isn't stated, the rules and flow make it very clear the game being played is Dou Dizhu (斗地主). Dou Dizhu is a 3-player Chinese card game using a 54-card deck (including 2 jokers). One player is the Landlord, and the other two form a team against them. Players take turns playing combinations (e.g., single cards, pairs, straights, bombs), and each must beat the last play or pass. The first to play all their cards wins. The Landlord wins solo; the other two win together.]

 

Luo Xin explained as they dealt the cards and began to play.

 

"Straight," Luo Xin led, glancing at Zong Que.

 

"Bomb," Zong Que laid down his cards.

 

"Doctor! You can't just drop a bomb like that on your first turn! That's for finishing, not starting!" Luo Xin clutched his cards in dismay. "I pass. Liu Chao, your move."

 

"Straight," Zong Que dropped most of his hand, leaving just three cards.

 

"I pass," Liu Chao said.

 

Luo Xin gritted his teeth and slammed down his play: "Bomb!"

 

"Joker bomb," Zong Que followed, leaving just a single card—a 10.

 

Zong Que had won the first round by a landslide. Luo Xin muttered, "Beginner's luck, beginner's luck. Alright, again."

 

But when Luo Xin was the landlord, Zong Que and Liu Chao won. When Zong Que was the landlord—Zong Que won again.

 

Round after round, Luo Xin and Liu Chao slumped in defeat.

 

"Doctor, are you cheating? How can you win no matter what cards you're dealt?" Luo Xin cried.

 

"Just lucky," Zong Que replied, eyes resting on the shuffled deck.

 

There were only 54 cards total. Whoever played last would collect and shuffle them, and remembering the card order wasn't hard. And if he happened to glimpse one or two extra by accident while dealing—well, that wasn't hard either.

 

[Host, you are cheating.] 1314 complained, having seen everything clearly.

 

[This kind of game has no real fairness to begin with.] Zong Que replied. [If no one notices, it's not cheating.]

 

1314 was amazed. [You can do that?!]

 

[Mm.] Zong Que responded.

 

"Another round?" he asked, looking at the two of them.

 

The pair shook their heads like rattles. Liu Chao said, "Better not. My luck's cursed today."

 

"Well, they say when you lose at cards, you'll be lucky in love," Luo Xin consoled himself. "Maybe I'll find a partner when I get back."

 

"One more round," Zong Que said, his hand pausing over the lightscreen. He began to reorganize the scattered cards. "If either of you beats me, I'll return everything I've won."

 

The two had been ready to decline—only to instantly sit up, energized.

"Doctor, you said it!"

 

"Mm." Zong Que finished shuffling and dealt the cards.

 

The game began. Zong Que opened—and then they were hit with a barrage: double jokers, four twos, four aces, four kings, four queens, and a pair of jacks to cap it off.

 

By the time he laid down his last card, Luo Xin's entire hand slipped from his fingers in a daze. His mouth hung open in disbelief.

 

"Lucky in love," Zong Que said as he patted Luo Xin's shoulder and got up to use the bathroom.

 

Luo Xin turned stiffly to the equally stunned Liu Chao. "Did I… did I offend the Doctor somehow?"

 

"Yeah." Liu Chao nodded. "You didn't realize he was cheating?"

 

"Nope," Luo Xin answered.

 

"He's showing you," Liu Chao said, "that even if he cheats, you wouldn't know. And you'd still lose miserably. So yeah, you probably did."

 

Luo Xin: "…"

 

He was innocent.

 

…

 

Along the shores of the Moon-Jade Sea, dozens of research outposts dotted the coastline—some still operational, others long abandoned.

 

Idle researchers passed time with cards, video games, or seaside foraging. Fishing up fresh seafood gave their lives a rustic charm.

 

"Sigh, heard the folks at Research Station 301 got reassigned back to Planet A," one man said, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he watched the fishing float bob on the water.

 

"Lucky them," said another, tossing stones into the waves. "But not everyone's so fortunate. Some from that station went into the Moon-Jade Sea and never came back out."

 

"Deep-sea merfolk aren't something you just stumble across. If they were, with my years of experience, I would've seen hundreds by now," the first said, knocking ash from his cigarette.

 

"Exactly. It's like a meat pie falling from the sky," the third chimed in as he cast his line. "Honestly, I'd rather not see one. Anything that survives in the abyss is bound to be vicious. The sea's too dark to see anything clearly—whatever's down there could be all teeth and fins. Then some fool topside calls it 'devastatingly beautiful' or 'otherworldly,' and next thing you know, they're writing sonnets."

 

As they spoke, the float started bobbing violently.

 

"Whoa—did I hook something?!" The man leapt up, reeling in fast.

 

A massive shadow passed beneath the surface. The second man leaned in. "Looks big. You didn't just catch a shark, did you?"

 

The rod bucked violently. The first man's forearms bulged with strain, but he couldn't pull it in. The second joined him, both of them tugging with all their strength. The rod bent like a bow, yet the tension only grew.

 

Suddenly, the line snapped taut. The rod shot from their hands and smacked onto the water with a loud splash, sending up an enormous spray.

 

From within that curtain of water, a hand seized the rod. A flash of a stunningly beautiful tail broke the surface. By the time everything settled, the two men sat dazed on the ground, staring blankly at the figure emerging from the water.

 

A massive fish was casually tossed onto the shore by the newcomer, still hooked to the rod. He stood silhouetted against the sun. The two men, flat on the ground, stared at him, stunned.

 

He looked like a gift from the sea god, every inch of him radiant and impossible to ignore. Beauty—yes—but with an edge of danger so palpable it left them breathless.

 

"Humans," the merman said, his voice deep and ethereal, "I'd like to speak with your leaders."

 

His gaze was cold as shattered ice. "On behalf of the merfolk."

 

As if he would just obediently wait here like he was told.

 

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