Chapter 474: Modern Era (If-Things) (02)
“Anunu, come on, repeat after me, brother…”
Apa handed Anunu a piece of chocolate and taught her the language of Dongwuzhou.
Anunu took the chocolate and stuffed it into her mouth, ignoring Apa.
"Apa, you can't do it, let me do it."
Fink handed Anunu two chocolates and taught her in the language of North Loth, "Anunu, call him brother."
Anunu took the chocolate from his hand as usual, ate it quickly, and then ignored him.
Another team member came over to try teaching her to speak, but this time they taught her a different language.
When Hicks entered the room, he saw that the team members were all speaking their own languages and wanted Anunu to speak her native tongue.
He went up to them and slapped them twice on the back of the head, saying, "If you teach me like this, even if you teach me for a year, Anunu still won't learn."
“Not only will it not be taught, it will also make the Anunu language system more confusing.”
A female team member came in carrying a bag, took out the clothes she had bought for Anunu, and helped her change.
A man who came in with her knelt down in front of Anunu and spoke to her in the language of Yugoslavia.
With one hand behind his back, he said to Anunu, "Little Anunu, guess what your brother brought you?"
Anunu could understand some of the Yugoslavian language and looked up at him.
Seeing that Anunu responded, the man smiled and handed her a rabbit plush toy. "Look, little rabbit, do you like it?"
Anunu stared at the rabbit doll for a while, nodded, took the doll, and said to the man in the Yugoslavian dialect, "Brother."
She doesn't say thank you, but the word "brother" represents her affection.
The onlookers' eyes widened immediately. "Bai Zhi! Did you secretly bribe Anunu behind our backs?! Why does she call you 'brother'?!"
Bai Zhi glanced at them. "What do you mean by 'behind your backs'? Aren't I blatantly bribing you again?"
"Come on, Anunu, call me 'sister,' okay?"
Female team member Ji Wenjia helped Anunu change her clothes and handed her an apple.
Anunu took the apple and called out to her, "Sister."
Ji Wenjia smiled broadly and ruffled her hair, "Ah! So good."
Seeing this, the other team members tried to communicate with her in broken Yugoslavian, but Anunu ignored them.
At this moment, Apa looked at Hicks, who was assembling weapons, and said, "Boss, why don't you give it a try?"
The team members all looked at Hicks. They had seen Hicks hanging around Anunu quite a bit these past two days, but Anunu didn't seem to have said anything to Hicks.
Upon hearing this, Hicks tucked the cigarette he was holding behind his ear, walked up to Anunu, and bent down. Everyone watched expectantly as their leader suffered a setback.
Before Hicks could even speak, they saw Anunu hold out an apple to Hicks, saying, "Brother, here you go."
All the team members watched this scene in disbelief. Anunu not only called Hicks "brother," but was also willing to share her favorite food with Hicks!
Anunu is usually very possessive of her food!
Hicks took the apple from Anunu and patted her head with his large hand. "Thank you, Anunu."
Then, Hicks raised an eyebrow at his teammates, tossed the apple in his hand, and happily munched on the apple Anunu had given him.
Hicks concluded after getting to know Anunu that eating what Anunu shared would make her happy.
"From now on, you are not allowed to speak any other language with Anunu. You must speak the common language of Nanskala."
Hicks said to the team members, "Although the languages in South Africa are mixed, the systems are all similar. Anunu has a foundation, so she will learn much faster. Once she can communicate normally, we can consider other things."
One of the team members whispered to Hicks, "Boss, we're about to finish our mission and go back. What about Anunu?"
Most of them are from Dongwuzhou. Anunu was discovered in the territory of Yugoska. If she has no parents, then she belongs to Yugoska. It would require a lot of complicated procedures for them to take her away.
Hicks had certainly considered this. He originally wanted to contact the local authorities to see if he could find Anunu an adopter, but after spending two days with Anunu, he suddenly gave up the idea.
However, we still reported Anunu's situation to the person in charge here to see if we could find her family. If it is confirmed that she is an orphan, we will make other plans.
Hicks told his teammates, "We'll talk about it when we get back."
Anunu watched Hicks walk out, jumped off the chair, and followed behind him.
Hicks saw her catch up and squatted down in front of her. "Anunu is with the other brothers and sisters. I have to go out on patrol. I'll be back in a bit."
Anunu didn't speak, she just looked at him.
After a moment of eye contact, Hicks gave in and picked her up in his arms. "Alright, I'll take you with me."
Anunu smiled and hugged his neck tightly.
Hicks gently flicked her nose and led her outside the camp.
After driving Anunu around the camp, the car stopped next to their sentry post.
It was nighttime, and the desert sky was filled with stars. Hicks and Anunu sat on the roof of the car, munching on local specialty bread.
Hicks will be returning home in a few days. He is currently waiting for the handover of his mission here. Looking at Anunu beside him, who is munching on a piece of bread that is bigger than her head, Hicks feels very reluctant to part with her.
Anunu smiled at him when she saw the look he was giving her.
Hicks' heart softened, and he patted her head. "Anunu, do you remember where you used to live?"
Anunu swung her short legs and said, "Right here."
This is what Anunu has told him many times: right here, nowhere else.
"look."
Anunu suddenly pointed to a certain spot ahead.
Hicks looked in the direction she pointed and saw Bai Zhi and Wen Jia sitting on the roof of a car, kissing each other.
He immediately covered her eyes.
Anunu tried to pry his hand off, but Hicks simply picked her up and moved her to a different spot, with their backs to the young couple.
Anunu tried to turn around to look, but Hicks pulled her back.
"Why can't I look?" Anunu said, pouting.
"Because you're still a child, you'll be able to watch it when you grow up."
Anunu seemed to understand but didn't quite, and said, "You can kiss."
"Yes, you can only kiss when you grow up."
Anunu looked at him with sparkling eyes, "Dear brother."
As she spoke, she stood up, cupped Hicks's face, and gave him a big kiss on the forehead.
Hicks was charmed by her actions and said with a smile, "Anunu won't be able to kiss her brother when she grows up."
Anunu looked at him with a puzzled expression. Didn't her brother just say that they could kiss when they grew up? Why can't they kiss now?
Hicks noticed the confusion in her eyes and patiently explained the difference: "People like Brother Bai Zhi and Sister Wen Jia can kiss, but people like us can't."
Anunu still couldn't understand. What's the difference between the two?
Hicks patted her head. "You'll understand when you grow up."
Just then, his phone rang.
During the mission, his personal phone number was always switched off. The only people who knew his number, besides his superiors and teammates, were his parents.
Upon checking the number, it was a call from within China, and it was a video call.
As soon as he answered the call, his mother, Luo Jin, appeared on the screen, with his father, Tang Ting, busy in the kitchen behind her.
"I figured you should have finished your task by now, that's why I'm calling you."
Hicks said, "It's done. We'll go back in a few days after the handover."
Luo Jin said, "The New Year is just a month away. Do you have any more missions? You haven't been back for almost a year, and you missed the New Year last year."
Hicks said, "It's not certain yet, but I've been granted leave, so I can go back for the New Year if nothing unexpected happens."
"That's good."
Tang Ting came out of the kitchen and leaned in front of the camera: "This year, our family can finally have a proper get-together."
Luo Jin pushed Tang Ting's head away and asked again, "Is everything going well over there? I think the international route is too dangerous. Why don't you apply to return to China for a performance review? You'll have two years of experience working by my side, and you'll be promoted soon."
When asked about her mother's suggestion again, Hicks glanced at Anunu beside her and said, "I'll think about it some more. I haven't considered it yet."
Luo Jin wanted to say a few more words of advice to him when suddenly a small head popped up in the video.
"Um?"
The little girl in the video is very cute, and looks to be only four or five years old. Hicks is still on a mission, so how come she has such a small child with her?
Lokin asked with some surprise, "Who is this little girl?"
Hicks looked at Anunu, who was staring at his phone with a mixture of helplessness and indulgence, and briefly explained Anunu's situation to Lockin.
“It’s too remote here, so we can’t hand her over to the authorities yet. We’ve already spoken with the people in charge here, and we’ll hand Anunu over to them near the airport on our way back.”
At this moment, Anunu pointed at his phone and looked at him with a questioning expression.
Hicks said to her, "This is my mother."
He then pointed to Tang Ting beside him and said, "This is my father."
Anunu nodded and followed suit, saying, "Mommy, Daddy."
Both Luo Jin and Tang Ting could understand what she was saying, and knowing that she might not have parents, their faces showed expressions of heartache.
"This child is really good-looking."
Looking at the little girl's delicate face in the video, Luo Jin exclaimed, "How could anyone bear to abandon such a lovely child?"
They were speaking the language of Dongwuzhou, which Anunu couldn't understand.
Hicks chatted with them for a few more minutes. Before hanging up, he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something to his parents, but he hung up anyway.
Anunu lay on his lap, gazing absently at the starry sky above, murmuring what she had just learned from him, "Mommy, Daddy..."
After repeating it twice, he said something else that the other person couldn't understand.
It was not any language he was familiar with.
He asked, "Anunu, what are you saying?"
Anunu looked at his face. "Mom and Dad, let's go home."
Hicks paused, then asked uncertainly, "Did you just say Mom and Dad and going home?"
"Um."
So Hicks had her repeat the same thing in the same language, recorded it on her phone, and then translated it using a translation app to see which language it was. But it didn't translate.
Hicks fell into deep thought. Anunu had just repeated the same pronunciation several times, which meant she knew the language and wasn't just talking nonsense. It seemed that Anunu's identity still needed to be verified.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com