"The most incredible thing is that no one has noticed it in all these years!" Hugo walked backwards in front of Azathoth and Igor, arms outstretched, emphasizing, "Not a single person! I know you humans rely entirely on intuition to distinguish between individual appearances caused by less than 1% genetic variation, but after all, it's been hundreds of years since the dawn of the big data era. Surely the federal government's database shouldn't be this outdated?"
The temperature in Keminting Town has now dropped to around zero degrees Celsius. Although the surface temperature is gradually warming up with increasing daylight hours, people on the streets still pull out their best winter clothes, making Igor, wearing a hat and a thick scarf that completely covers his eyes, look inconspicuous.
"You see, they haven't found me yet." The former federal marshal said calmly.
"..." Hugo nodded, "You make sense."
They dropped Erica off at the entrance to a nearby park. Azathoth wrapped the same scarf he'd bought with Igor around his neck, wrapping it around Erica's head. His lack of experience made his young disciple look like a bandaged match seller.
"Play around here and wait for us to come back."
Hugo asked, "Won't there be any danger?"
"Call my name if you are in danger." After giving the instructions, Azathoth confidently left the Omega girl, who was less than ten years old, on a park bench, and walked towards the Happy Cemetery in the suburbs, amid the occasional curious glances from the people taking a morning walk around.
Kemingting Town has a large transient population, but the more remote areas of the capital planet are more popular with long-term residents than those on asteroids with less desirable environments and climates. Consequently, the Xingfu Cemetery is relatively quiet, with only a few tombstones dotting the vast grassland, standing out against the white snow like black pieces in a game of Go.
Today was a day off, but as a gravekeeper, Kunna lived in the two-story building next to the cemetery except during school hours. Igor looked around, his eyes sweeping over the slightly worn wooden plaque and plastic sign advertising the Happy Cemetery, then walked over and rang the apartment doorbell.
No one answered for a long while.
Igor kept a relatively polite tone, ringing the doorbell every once in a while and glancing at Hugo. The android waved his hand, meaning: The surveillance footage here shows she hasn't left yet.
More than ten minutes later, hurried footsteps and a half-asleep, mumbling voice were heard from inside the door: "Who is it?"
"It's me!" Hugo responded loudly.
The security door was pushed open from the inside with a click. Kunna closed her eyes and greeted Hugo: "Good morning... Yawn. Are these people the elders of your family? You came too early."
"It's already half past ten in the morning."
Kunna yawned again. "But bugs are nocturnal creatures... You don't even know that, do you?"
Igor raised his eyebrows and asked, "This is the first time I've heard that human-insect hybrids have physiological characteristics that tend towards the Zerg."
"You know a lot?" Kunna, still wearing loose cotton pajamas, walked unsteadily. Upon hearing this, she paused and looked back at Igor intently. "The mixed-race people I've met are indeed closer to humans. Perhaps human genes are stronger."
"So you..."
"I just stayed up really late last night." The girl with messy dark blond hair pulled out a chair and invited them to sit down. She poured each of them a glass of water. "So, what do you want to see me about today? Do you want to check in?"
"..." Igor said, "It's too early to consider the cemetery now. I want to ask Miss Kunna, have you seen this man?"
He pushed a printout of Charlie Tollem's picture in front of Kunal.
Kunna's eyes didn't fall on the photo, but she kept glancing at Azathoth. Her expression gradually changed from initial confusion to excitement mixed with a hint of shyness. As soon as Igor finished speaking, she bent down and pulled out a piece of white paper from the drawer, eagerly asking, "Can you sign my name?"
Azathoth: “?”
Kuna gestured in the air with her hands. "So, are you all big stars from the capital? Everyone's so well-covered, so besides being a wanted criminal, you can only be actors or singers, right? And I see you seem kind of familiar with this gentleman, perhaps because you've seen one of your shows?"
“…”
Unfortunately, wanted criminal is the correct option.
Igor coughed and passed over the topic. "You misunderstood," he said sincerely. "We just have some questions to consult you."
"Then I'm afraid I can't be of much help." Kuna shrugged. "Since you know so much about the Zerg, you should also know that many Zerg hybrids suffer from face blindness. This is actually quite understandable. If it were you, you wouldn't be able to easily distinguish the appearance of each Husky. Most of the time, I identify humans by hair and eye color. Hugo's red eyes are not particularly common, and we just met yesterday, so I was able to recognize you."
"So you have never heard of the name Richard Tolum?" Igor asked, staring at Kunna's face.
"No." Kunna said frankly, "Who is he?"
Richard was just an insignificant chess piece that was accidentally pushed to the forefront, an inconspicuous stone that moved the mountain of Igor Sullivan. Regardless of whether he benefited from the incident, people did not pay much attention to him, and even the official publicity of his contributions was perfunctory.
So it's normal that Kunna has never heard of this name.
"You're asking so many questions right after you walk in. Now it's my turn." Kunna yawned again. Then she stood up, leaned forward with her hands on the table, and a beast-like aggressive look suddenly appeared on her beautiful face. "Who are you? What's your purpose in finding me?"
She opened her eyes. Those round, upward-angled compound eyes reappeared before everyone's eyes. Seeing them face-to-face, up close, was even more impactful than through a camera; even the tiny hexagonal eyes were clearly visible. Now, with a gurgling sound, the bulging compound eyes swiveled toward Azathoth and the others. Dark red veins appeared at the corners of the eyes, spreading outward, making Kunna's mouth and nose, which were identical to those of a human, appear hideous and hideous.
"I've seen many fools who pursued alien species out of curiosity." She grinned. "Most of them are now lying happily in the ground of my happy cemetery. I hope you won't become their neighbors."
Azathoth, who hadn't spoken since entering, looked closely at those eyes. Although he had no memory of ever interacting with the Zerg, after seeing Kunna in person, he still had some suspicions that he might have once raised this species.
Such words may make him sound like a scumbag who abandons his lover, but Azathoth himself has a wide range of aesthetic tendencies. It seems not impossible that one day thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, he would appreciate the Zerg, a race that combines the strength and wildness of beasts with the cold and ruthless rationality of humans.
What's more, the Zerg have the innate ability of biological mimicry. Although they cannot achieve complete consistency, it is not difficult for them to simulate the appearance of humans.
He looked into those eyes and thought for a long time, so long that Kunna's expression could no longer bear it and she became a little shy: "...Can't you please sign an autograph for me?"
Azathoth shook his head and asked, "Have the Zerg ever come looking for you?"
Kunna's expression froze.
"How is that possible?" She laughed dryly, patted her pajamas, closed her eyes and sat back down.
"Ordinary Federation students probably don't have the opportunity to come into contact with Zerg, let alone know so much about their habits." Igor's voice was slightly distorted by his scarf. "We have no interest in your little secret. But if possible, if this man named Richard Torum contacts you, please inform Hugo."
Hugo smiled sweetly, and from under the table he dropped a mechanical spider the size of a fingernail. It then nimbly crawled into the shadow of the room and squatted there motionless.
Before leaving, Igor turned around, thought for a moment, and then asked again, "What do you think of the Zerg's comments on Starnet?"
Kunna stared at him with her two compound eyes, like a mantis that had set its sights on its opponent.
"I only know that you must never summon Him. If you want to destroy the entire universe, you might as well try waking God up."
"I understand, thank you." Igor nodded politely without changing his expression, then walked out and closed the door of the apartment.
**
"Heavy snow—ice and snow! Oh!"
Nixon Evelyn's colleagues cheered and buried themselves in the green lawn of the park.
Nixon stuffed his hands into the pockets of his down jacket, hunched over, and watched him with lifeless eyes as he played: "When you've had enough fun, we'll go back."
"Why! Aren't we here for tourism?"
"That's you." Nixon opened the cigarette box and put the cigarette in his mouth. "I just came here to get firsthand information about climate change."
My colleague said with a bitter face: "But..."
"Hahaha, Erica, I'm here!" Several children ran past them and interrupted their colleague. The leading child shouted behind them with a smile, "Over here! If you catch up, I'll give you this candy!"
An Omega girl panted and ran after them, waving and apologizing to Nixon who was almost hit: "Sorry, sir! They didn't mean to do that!"
“…” Nixon watched them run away in a daze until they disappeared from view.
"There are more children in Kemingting Town now," said a colleague, sitting cross-legged on the snow. "Although they're a bit noisy, the lively weather in this situation actually creates a festive atmosphere."
"Nixon, what do you think? ...Nixon? Hey, wake up! Are you asleep? Why aren't you talking?"
Nixon woke up with a start. "I think I've heard that voice somewhere before, but I can't place it right now." He rubbed his hair in annoyance. "Forget it, I'm going back to the hotel."
Colleague: “What’s going on?”
"I was writing an article when an idea suddenly struck me. I'd like to title it 'The Inevitable Trend of Rapid Industrialization Affecting Society and the Natural Environment.'"
A colleague watched him go, angrily slapping the snow beside him. "That's too much, Nixon! Give me a clear answer on whether the headline is about support or just pretending to be loyal... Damn, it's cold."
Cold mist rose with his breath. Nixon walked along the gravel road with a cigarette in his mouth, feeling like he was puffing away smoke with a spark.
——"This heavy snowfall was either a natural disaster or a man-made disaster."
These are the words he said himself.
But even though I've prepared myself mentally, why is there this lingering feeling of unease in my heart?
The man looked up at the clear sky, as if washed by clear water. He exhaled a breath of hot air with a vengeful feeling and muttered softly, "God bless me. I hope the weather will be this good for the next few days."
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