Chapter Eight: The Spirit of Aminos

A while later, Gornes, who had been carried back to the second-floor sofa, vaguely heard someone speaking beside his ear.

“Cosmic hero... open your eyes... I am Shafulin... Cosmic hero...”

Forcing his eyes open, Gornes saw two figures close to his face and instinctively slapped at them.

Both immediately looked up to dodge but then simultaneously and instinctively pressed their hands on each other’s heads.

“Smack.”

“Thud.”

The slap landed squarely on Selris’s face, causing his head to tilt sideways, and his forehead bumped against Xing’s cheek.

“It's all your fault,” both pointed fingers at each other, accusing the other of improper behavior.

“Heh heh.” Watching the scene before him, Gornes let out a carefree laugh.

“Could he really be dumb?” Selris eyed Xing suspiciously. “What kind of drug did you give him?”

“Just a normal anesthetic,” Xing replied, turning to Gornes and asking, “Which is bigger, one or zero?”

Gornes pondered for a moment before answering, “Hard to say.”

“He does seem a bit dumb,” Xing scratched his head.

Selris, however, answered firmly, “No, he’s not.”

“Huh?” Xing was puzzled. “You don’t think I’m being dumb, do you?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Go play,” Selris waved his hand, signaling Xing to step aside.

Frowning deeply, Xing sat down nearby, racking his brain over why it was hard to say which was larger, one or zero.

[You better keep an eye on her; if her CPU overheats, that wouldn’t be good.]

“It’s fine, once her brain freezes a few times, she’ll reboot herself.”

Sure enough, five minutes later, Xing easily solved the problem.

“Whichever is bigger, that one is bigger.”

[What a genius answer, truly befitting a shareholder of Pinoconi.]

“Exactly, I’m really amazing.”

Selris pointed at the husky with a shocked expression. “You can see it?”

“Of course!” Xing was quite proud. “Who do you think I am?”

“You’re Shafulin,” Gornes interjected seriously. “I remember you said so just now.”

“Why can she see you?” Selris ignored Gornes and asked the husky.

[How would I know? You should ask yourself, shrimp-head man!]

“Shrimp-head man!” Xing repeated.

“Kids shouldn’t learn such words,” Selris quickly stopped him; he certainly didn’t want Xing to evolve into a green watermelon strip.

[Anyone here understand? Today I met a self-righteous guy who has to control everything. So annoying. Sisters, I’m truly speechless.]

“Anyone here understand…”

Selris slapped Xing’s head, interrupting his ‘spell’.

Xing clutched his head. “So annoying…”

“Wait, you even developed this on your own? Could it be you have the natural ability to love?”

Xing immediately puffed up his chest. “I’m really amazing!”

“Who praised you?”

Xing covered his ears. “Not listening, not listening.”

“Hey, I just said two words and you think I’m annoying!”

“Are you deliberately picking a fight?” Xing tilted his head and suddenly pulled out a watermelon, holding it in his arms.

“Where did you learn that?”

Xing stared intently at Selris, saying nothing.

“Well then… let’s take a step back,” Selris turned to the husky floating nearby watching the show. “Don’t you have problems too?”

[Oh no, it’s aimed at me.]

“And you,” he looked at Gornes, who was helping Xing cut the watermelon, “I didn’t say you, right?”

“Huh? Me?” Gornes first gave Selris an innocent look, pointed at himself, blinked, then suddenly reversed his finger to point at Selris, saying zero frames: “I [you]!”

Xing’s clear eyes watched the scene, then glanced down at his own finger as if opening a door to a new world.

Strange knowledge increased.

He pointed back: “I have early class!”

[I have early class! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)☞]

In keeping with the spirit of “Aminos” and to promote harmonious communication between people, on the afternoon of June 28, 1349, Comrade Selris, head of the Masked Fools, held a friendly meeting on the second floor of the “World’s End” tavern with three diplomats, including the Galactic Baseball Hero.

It is reported that both parties held in-depth discussions on topics such as “Cultural Exchange and Inheritance,” “Linguistic Artistic Processing,” and “Communication Hubs between People.”

At the meeting, Comrade Husky proposed: “Cultural exchange and inheritance must not be interrupted! We must resist isolationist practices and strive to keep pace with the times.”

In response, Comrades Gornes and Xing expressed deep approval and proposed twenty-seven regulations including the “Early Class Conduct Code” and the “Geneva Institutional Standards.”

This meeting was called the First Tavern Meeting. Its success not only represented a clear understanding of communication methods and future directions for linguistic culture but also symbolized the promotion and development of the “Aminos” spirit.

...

Late at night, a carriage pulled out from the Moretti residence. On a nearby rooftop, two figures appeared faintly.

“Why do we have to stand on the rooftop?” Xing asked confusedly.

“Don’t you get it? Because it’s cool.”

[Having a breakdown, aren’t you?]

“Look,” Selris pointed to the clean-faced young man inside the carriage, shifting the topic, “he’s the protagonist of this world, Klein Moretti.”

“Protagonist?”

“Yes, someone just like you.”

“So that means he has a loving mother, a handsome aunt and uncle, a beautiful childhood friend, a sudden girlfriend, connections in both the underworld and the law, reliable elders, trustworthy partners, a spaceship, and about one percent ownership of a planet?”

“Hey, kid, why do you always say things that make people want to die?”

[Well said. Next time, don’t say that again… How to put it… I have a friend… Of course, not me, I’m not that fragile… I’m just saying… my friend, his heart isn’t very good… He broke down after hearing you… Of course, that’s not me, I’m not that fragile… It’s him… Forget it, I’ll find a whole bunch of bread men to deal with you.]

“You get upset so easily with just a few words. Ah Xing, let’s not play with it.”

“Stuck.”

[Aminos!]

Xing was still too kind; she comforted the husky: “See, you got upset again. I know you’re anxious, but don’t be. Look on the bright side, at least every meal you eat is a family reunion, and every photo you take is a family portrait, right?”

[Do you think such jokes are funny?]

“Then what do you want? To tell your parents?” Selris interrupted.

[Are you satisfied now?! You two cold and heartless people, I will never forgive you, never!]

“By the way, Xing, where did you learn these words? I never taught you, and I don’t think the train crew did either?”

“Lately, feeling too upright, Lord Hanabi took me and March to watch a few episodes of Family Guy.”

“Tearful. How many kids has Family Guy rescued from normal families?” Selris sighed deeply, his eyes full of world-weariness.

“Yeah, back in the day…” Xing tilted her head at a 45-degree angle, gazing at the starry sky, tears streaming down, scenes flashing before her eyes. “During the Universal Locust Plague…”

[What are you two so sentimental about? And are these your memories? You just have a revolving lantern?]